1960s Garage Bands

I had dropped out of the University of Rochester in January 1967 and went for the bigtime in Los Angeles. All I had was a suitcase, a Fender P bass and a Gretsch White Falcon. As fate would have it, I knew a girl from Rochester, Carol Ann Scott, that was working at Capitol Records. Carol knew everyone in the biz . She introduced me to some people and within a month I was signed to Mercury Records as a performing member of the T-Bones, who had a hit with 'No Matter What Shape.' They hired both me and Jim Keltner.

I had met Randy Benjamin and Chuch Carey shortly after arriving in Los Angeles. Carol at Capitol put me in touch with these two guys that had a duo. We became fast friends and were all living at the Hollywood Sunset Hotel or the Colonial West across the street on Sunset. One night, Randy went down to Santa Monica Blvd. to get some pizza take out. While he was waiting in line he heard these two guys talking about having to get a drummer and a guitar player for the band to perform (the original tracking of the album was done by sessions players). Randy is one of the most engaging people you would ever want to meet. He introduced himself and mentioned that (he knew) this guy that just came out from New York and was a great player and he was sure he would fit the bill. Randy gave Tommy my telephone number at the hotel and the next day he called and asked if I would be willing to come over to the sound stage at A&M to see if I could cut it musically. The next morning I was picked up and taken to A&M (this was the only time that we rehearsed at A&M; the rest of the time was at a place Mercury Records owned). So on that first day when I got there everything was set up and I was introduced to everyone. Jim Keltner was also the new man, so we had just met as well.

The rehearsal went well. They showed us the set sheet and the basic structure of the songs. It was a piece of cake and the money and guitars were spot on. The T-Bones band was instrumental, aka the Alka Seltzer commercial. Tommy Reynolds played steel drums in the goup and went on to record with The Stones on a few tracks. I remember one TV show we did, The Danny Thomas Show, was live at Pacific Palisades. Sonny and Cher were also on the bill and we all shared a common dressing room. Everybody in The T-Bones were pot smokers and we thought that Sonny and Cher may want to split a joint beofre the show. When I asked Cher if she wanted to join us she politely said they didn't do drugs. So much for the image. This was 1967; both Jim and I left the group in July. What was so great about playing in the band was Mercury Records also had The Ventures and they had come out with Mosrite guitars. Within the first week, I had my hotel room full of Mosrite guitars, double neck, bass, a couple of six-strings, etc. They wanted me to use those when we performed. They were actually nice instruments and it was fine by me.

While living at the Hollywood Sunset Hotel I would come across other musicians everyday on the elevator. I must have seen Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon) everyday. However there were many others. Little Richard was playing in the lounge of the hotel (circa February-May 1967) if you can believe that.There was also P.F. Sloan who had written hits for Hermans Hermits ('Shes A Must To Avoid') and a band called Harpers Bizarre who had a hit with Paul Simon's '59th Street Bridge Song.' We were all friends.

One night in mid-May of 1967 Randy, Chuck and I were in Chuck's room and got a phone call from Harpers Bizarre's manager, who was always on top of everything. He asked if we wanted to come to his room to listen to something he just got an acetate of and thought we would want to hear it. That turned out to be an understatement, to say the least.

We got up there and every musician in the hotel was there. After everyone was seated, he turned down the lights and puts this acetate on the turntable. No one knew what this was all about . Then we all heard for the first time a song called 'A Day In The Life.' I don't know how to describe the feelings everyone had. It was just silence after the extended finale of the song. It was like, "Why even try?" The bloody Beatles did it again.  To this day, I have no idea how he got an advance pressing of this song. I do know Paul was in town around that time as Randy had seen him in a car on Santa Monica Blvd. a few days before. I was one of a handful of lucky people in the world to hear that song before its release. On June 1st, Sgt. Pepper's was released to the public.

Fast forward to August of 1974-1975. I was in Los Angeles trying to pitch some songs. I was hoping that someone at A&M would remember me. I had met this girl there a year or so earlier named Carol Arias; she worked for Darkhorse Records and had a sister named Olivia that was also a secretary for George at the time. I had called her and told her I was going to stop by. I had just pulled in the parking lot in the back of the building (the old Charlie Chaplin studios). Getting into A&M at this time was impossible unless you had worked there and someone knew you. I was just getting out of my car when a Mercedes pulled in the stall next to mine. It was Jim Keltner. We had not seen each other for seven-eight years. We started to chat about those times way back when. I asked what he was doing there and he said he was going to a mixing session of a friend and asked if I wanted to join him (when in The T-Bones I sang a few Beatles songs and he knew I was into it). I said sure and followed him in. There, in the console room, were two people, an engineer and George Harrison. Jim introduced us and I just hung around for a while and absorbed what was going on. George had recently finished a live tour and apparently they had recorded some of the shows. It was great. Ironically I was there to see Carol Arias at Darkhorse (George's company). It wouldn't have been right to intrude on George's time with me trying to pitch some tunes. George in that setting was exactly like you would expect him to be--a very regular guy. On occasion he would ask if this or that sounded decent (his voice was not in the best shape during the tour and I think if they had plans to release a live album, they decided against it that day); what do you say to a Beatle? He knew. He was great and said it was good to meet you,see you around here again sometime when you're working. (I had not worked at A&M for several years. The last time had been rehearsing with Lee Michaels which lasted all of a week) Jim Keltner I am sure got a kick out of this whole excange. As everyone knows, Jim has played with everybody that is anybody. I have been lucky to have played with both Keltner and Steve Gadd in my lifetime.

It was in December of 1976 when a friend called me on the phone and said he just read in the Sunday paper that there was going to be a show on Broadway of all Beatles music and they were auditioning locals at SIR (Studio Instrument Rentals) in San Francisco. I got the paper, read the ad, and figured why not? I knew I was a ringer for Paul's or George's part. Apparently this was much larger in scope than I could ever have imagined. They were holding auditions in London, Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and every other English speaking country in the world. I took my Martin D-41 with me and a capo for 'Here Comes The Sun.'  If I really wanted the part, that would cinch it. There were a lot of wanna be Beatles there--probably fifty at the very least. SIR is very professional and they had the mics set up on a soundstage and a baby grand piano. I was about in the middle of the group.  Each ersantz Beatle would go up and play two songs. No one could seem to pull it off. They all played the wrong chord changes and the vocals were spotty. They then called "Jake Gerber." I must say I was quite smug. I have never lacked for confidence in this arena. I think I played 'Hey Jude' on piano first and it sounded like Paul and the producers knew it. Then I picked up the Martin. "Do I play 'Blackbird' or 'Here Comes The Sun?'' I wondered. I asked them which tune to play. They both fit very well with just one acoustic guitar. They said they were convinced I could play Paul, so play the Harrison song. I am glad I brought the capo. I did 'Here Comes The Sun' and nailed it. It is amazing how well you play when you have an audience of important people. As soon as I finished they pulled me aside and said I would be flying to Los Angeles in two days.   I will never forget this bit. The press was all over this show and the auditions. After I had done my two song bit, there were no less than ten photographers flashing pictures of me. It was surreal and only the beginning.

This was the end of 1976 or the beginning of 1977. I was picked up by a limo and taken to SFO and met at the gate by one of the producer's assistants. We flew to Los Angeles together and I had a couple guitars in the baggage, a Fender bass and a Stratocaster. I can't recall this guys name to save my life. He gave me the whole story.They already had the first bunk in New York City and they had already been rehearsing for some months at SIR New York. All this was for the understudies. (In Broadway parlance an understudy has a relative minor perjorative connotation. That is far from reality.) We got off the plane at LAX and there was a limo to pick us up. We went directly to SIR and they had flown in all the best from around the world to see who would work together best. In other words, they would have me on bass on one song and someone else on guitar, then switch it with all the variables.  Imagine twelve Beatles vying for four spots.  It was apparent by the end of the day what four were going to be flying to New York within the week. Reed Kalin was Paul, Randy ? was John, and I was George. They changed the drummers at the last minute. They gave us one week to get our affairs in order and we had to be in New York City the following week. I had a great bungalow in Palo Alto and payed six months rent in advance and just covered everything with sheets and said goodbye.

When I got off the plane at JFK there again was a limo and Reed had flown in from Los Angeles within the past hour, so we shared the ride into the city. We took a red eye and arrived in New York at 6:00AM, however youth has its upside. We were put in a hotel in midtown a few blocks from SIR. We were sharing a suite with the two other "Beatles." Reed was a former member of the band The Grass Roots and had Paul's range vocally and played great. The drummer, whose name I believe was James, was easy to get along with; he was a ringer. Now we had one other guy, Randy. He was to play Lennon. He was about 6'2" tall (we were all 5'7"-5'8"). That was an issue from the perspective of the band visually.

We went to the soundstage later in the day and heard the group that already had their jobs. They were The Beatles! Mind you, back then VOX was still not USA friendly, so all the amps had a VOX facade and different internals. They looked like the originals, but were much better with JBLs in the cabinets and some top of the line power amps in the heads. The stage was set up perfectly. They even had an original Mellotron (talk about something breaking down every five minutes. The tape loops were a real problem).

The first person I ran into was Murry The K, "the fifth Beatle."   He looked much different without a rug on.  He came to almost all the rehearsals. He was like a technical advisor (and suggested) how to stand/move on stage, etc. He was great! Then we had a musical director, Sandy Yaguda. He was the one that would tell each of us what vocal part to sing on any given song. The original New York band was very tight and sounded exact ly like The Beatles and Mitch Wiseman was a ringer for Paul (he was righthanded and learned to play bass left handed . That is how much he was into it) so much so that people mistook him for McCartney on the street. We started rehearsals in earnest the following day.

There was a huge problem from the start with me. Randy, who was to play John, didnt' look the part and sang like Tom Jones; he didn't sound like a Beatle. He played a guitar, but had to be taught the changes each night in the hotel room. This after rehearsing eight hour a day. We really butted heads. The rest of the bunk I was in were great. Reed was a fantastic Paul. He and I would play all night in the suite together, just for the fun of it. Randy was like an outsider to the rest of us and I kept complaining that I couldn't play with him. As the weeks rolled on this became a real problem. When we were practicing on stage I would stop in mid-song and complain about something he was doing wrong. This did not go over well with the others that had the money invested in this project. I also would use jazz inversions on some of the chords which Sandy picked up on and would tell me everyday to play it straight like The Beatles did. Between this scenerio, with Randy and me not playing what I wanted but rather than what they wanted, became enormous. By the third week I was in deep water. I was asked by two of the primary players in the production to get off the stage. Sandy, who was quite a bit larger than me, took me by the throat and said if I didn't straighten up I would be fired. I promised I would do as told. However, the very next day, the same thing happened and I was getting a mental block whenever I had to sing with Randy. When we returned to the hotel I told Reed and James as well as Mitch that I thought I was going to be fired. They all said there was no way that could happen; that if anyone was going it was going to be Randy. They believed I was not replacable.  I learned a valuable lesson here:  No one is irreplacable.

The following day after rehearsals we had returned to the hotel room and I remember telling Reed and Mitch that I was going to be fired unless they could help me get Randy axed. They still felt that was not going to happen. At about 9:00PM on a blistery New York winter's night the phone rang in the suite. It was a call for me. It was from the offices of Leiber/Krebbs. I was told to come over to the offices as soon as possible.  I must have turned white. I told the guys I had just been summoned to the chief's offices.  Everyone became very quiet.

I took a hack over and was ushered into Steve Krebb's office. All the primary investors were there. I was told to sit down and shut up. They went on to tell me the show was to preview in Boston in late Mrach and then the Winter Garden in April. Time was getting close and I had done nothing but upset the applecart. They then handed me a one way ticket and a check. I was to fly back to SFO the following day. I was shellshocked to say the least. I tried to explain my dilema to no avail. They said they had invested millions in this production and that the Winter Garden opeing would make or break the show. Cest la vie. When I got back to the hotel, everyone knew by the look on my deflated face. I was out after six weeks. None of my roommates knew who was going to replace me.  However, the following day, Marshall Chrenshaw was coming in as I was going out.

The show went on to be the bigggest money maker on Broadway and the touring company for some time. I ran into Joe Peccorino a few years later as he was touring with the cast. (He was the original Lennon and his voice was so close to Lennon's you could not tell the difference.) I had liked Joe from the get go and thought he was a tremendous talent and Lennon's doppleganger. We had a nice chat and spent some time together after the show. He told me everything that had happened the night of my departure and what the mood was at rehearsals after I was fired. The irony is, everyone had the same take on Randy as I did; however, I was the one that couldn't keep my mouth shut. In business, you can't have a rogue/maverick/loose canon or whatever you want to call it. It just takes one cog that is not working to bring down the whole assembly. Leiber/Krebbs were riding high in the seventies. They were Aerosmith's company.  All they touched turned to platinum from record sales to Broadway.

Richie Furay and I met in Denver. We became friends and played a bit it together. I am privy to what really went down.  Rich was in Buffalo Springfield and was the best singer in the band and then formed Poco, which in many people's opinion and mine in particular had the worst record deal in music history. Thanks Epic Records for being the most shortsighted label of all time. You had a supergroup that got blown away by The Eagles.  Your marketing team showed a lack of faith in one of the most professional and talented bands of all time has gone unnoticed by a large majority. The Eagles are great, but Poco was not only first with that country rock sound, they were the best.  Richie is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Buffalo Springfield and not Poco. Steven Still is in the Hall of Fame for Buffalo Springfield and another great group Crosby, Stills Nash & Young (CSN&Y). So Neil and Steven thrive and Richie had a band equal to CSN&Y and they get no mention? Music is about marketing...

60s: You alluded to the fact that after Groop Ltd., Kerim went on to The Heard. What did you think of that band? They were another legendary Rochester garage band...
JG: Unfortunately I think I may have "Heard" them only once. We were all good friends. They were smart. They did not do the Beatles covers as such. They did some definitely. But I think Gary Quinn was Jagger's doppleganger. They did the Stones and more blues tunes. They had a lot of talent. Pete (Genovese) played drums, and Brad Wheat guitar and vocals. Bradley was a very gifted guy. He was not a great technician on guitar, but was very much like Brian Wilson. He played great, no question. It was his simplicity and his great ear for harmony. That far exceeds this business of everyone thinking the faster you play the better you are. That is bullshit. Brad was in the pocket. Gary was on vocals. I can't remember who else was in the band. The talent was there. I am sure they were great. The problem was this. All this talent in Rochester and not one of the bands broke nationally. Actually - I should be corrected; Mitch Miller and Chuck Mangione made it. It is a pity. There is this conservative movement. There is something to be said about Liverpool and Rochester. Long dark cold winters breed terrific musicians.

60s: What about today. How often, and where, do you perform?
JG: I write great pop songs. I have recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles as well as in Rochester. I still play for a couple of hours per day. I just play guitar to write. I switched to bass a few years ago. I play and sing all Maccas lines. I am still looking to get signed. My material sounds so much like The Beatles people still ask the same thing: "Is that a Beatles song I have not heard before?" They are that good.

I am at San Francisco State. I'm an Itinerant student. I have lectured on music production and am working on my thesis. You know all the major Ivy League schools have courses on Beatles' music. We have one at State. Saul Gropman teaches the course. He is very knowledgeable.

I was in Denver (a while ago). I met with Richie Furay for four days. We did a lot of talking about his days with the Buffalo Springfield and Poco. We got to play a bit as well. I tried to coerce him into starting a band. He is a pastor now. He's a great man, and still has that voice and he writes amazing songs. It was rather surreal. One day I was sitting on the couch and started playing 'Child's Claim To Fame.' All of a sudden I hear the harmony behind me. What an experience singing that song with the man that wrote it. I have a tape of the tunes we rehearsed. He still has a plethora of great songs recorded with no label. It's a pity.