Although not a founding member—and although he left prior to the group's disbanding—John Galobich was a key member of one of Milwaukee’s top bands, The Ricochettes. Initially their drummer, Galobich eventually became the band's manager and under his guidance The The Ricochettes performed all over Milwaukee and headed down to Chicago to record several songs. Galobich parlayed his experiences with The Ricochettes to springboard into a career managing other well-known groups of the era. Currently, he offers quality vinyl reproductions via eBay of some of the greatest LPs from the period.
Visit the Ricochettes' MySpace page for more information on the band, and to sample some of their songs...
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An Interview With John Galobich
60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?
John Galobich (JG): I always loved music, and had one of those RCA 45 changers as a small kid. I listened to everything.
60s: Was The Ricochettes your first band?
JG: As with all teen musicians I was in several “bands” before The Ricochettes; most, however, were inconsequential. So much so that I do not even remember their names...if they had one.
60s: Where ans when was The Ricochettes formed?
JG: The Ricochettes were originally formed in Milwaukee, probably in 1963. That was before my involvement. The founding members were Ar Kriegel and his friend across the street, Herb Hohnke.
The more or less original four members were Kriegel and Hohnke, Jerry Wollenzien and me. Before that, fit in somewhere, was an early member named Pat Fuhr.
First Incarnation:
Ar Stevens - singer and lead guitarist
Herb Hohnke - singer and bass guitarist
Jerry Wollenzien - singer and guitarist
Jon Jon Galobich - singer (?) and drummer
Second Incarnation:
Ar Stevens - singer and lead guitarist
Herb Hohnke - singer and bass guitarist and keyboards
Jerry Wollenzien - singer and guitarist
Mickey Milewski - singer and guitarist
Jim Milewski - singer and bass guitarist
Humpty Neuhoffer - drummer
Third Incarnation:
Ar Stevens - singer and lead guitarist
Mickey Milewski - singer and guitarist
Jim Milewski - singer and bass guitarist
Bruce Cole - drummer
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60s: How would you describe the band's sound?
JG: The band started as a typical basement band. (In the Midwest the winters were too cold for us to practice in the garage.) As such we started with instrumentals: Johnny & The Hurricanes, The Fireballs and of course The Ventures. Ar began singing lead on early things like Rick Nelson, Buddy Holly, etc. Once Jerry joined (he recommended by a vocal teacher) he and Ar sang more and more harmony on Everly Bros and other Buddy Holly things. Once The Beatles arrived we began leaning toward their music and that of other English groups. We let our hair grow and became known as “Milwaukee’s Beatles.”
60s: Where did The Ricochettes typically play?
JG: At first a great source of gigs was the Catholic Youth Organizations. Every Catholic church had one and they all ran dances. We also developed friendships with several Milwaukee radio DJs at WOKY and WRIT. The jocks began recommending the band or directly hiring us for their gigs.
A Midwestern concert producer, Ed Pazdur, hired us for his Rolling Stones Milwaukee concert. He liked our sound and the fact the audience did also. He hired us for subsequent concerts in Milwaukee and Chicago featuring The DC5, Herman’s Hermit, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, etc. All these gigs were concerts at great halls like Aerie Crown and Orchestra Hall in Chicago and the Auditorium in Milwaukee. Needless to say they were big 5,000 plus audiences.
60s: How did you land the gig as backing band for Roger Smith at The Lelani Nightclub?
JG: We got the Roger Smith gig through luck, happenstance and hustle. A man named Allan Carr came to Milwaukee as advance man for a Dick Clark Caravan starring The Beach Boys. I had no luck getting The Ricochettes on the show. However, several weeks later I was vacationing at the Lelani resort in suburban Milwaukee. I bumped into Allan Carr at the pool with his client, 77 Sunset Strip star, Roger Smith. Carr hit on the idea of having our group appear with Roger in a Beatles wig doing a parody of the extremely hot Beatles. It was a success and a year later we reprised our role to show off the bit to his newly announced fiancée Ann-Margaret. I maintained a friendship with Allan Carr through his days as a film producer (Grease, etc.).
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60s: How far was the band's "touring" territroy?
JG: The Ricochettes toured throughout the state of Wisconsin. We also traveled to Chicago for several concerts for the aforementioned Ed Pazdur Productions.
60s: Did The Ricochettes participate in any battle of the bands?
JG: We never participated in battle of the bands as such. That was not a big thing in the area. We did perform in numerous shows with other local bands like The Robbs and Destinations.
60s: Did The Ricochettes have a manager?
JG: The only manager we had was me. After my experience managing The Ricochettes I went to work for Columbia Records doing promotion. I later managed such acts as The Ides of March, Chase and The Arbors.
60s: Do you recall the circumstances behind the band's opportunity to first record?
JG: Our recording opportunities were all self generated. We took ourselves down to Chicago to record at Universal Studios. We paid for the session. We also paid to press the records. Remember this was way back in 1965 when groups did not regularly take that route.
60s: Did the group write many original songs? Who was the band's primary songwriter?
JG: The group’s primary songwriter was the lead singer, lead guitarist, Ar Kriegel. For the last 15 (?) years he has been the musical director for '50s recording artist Bobby Vee.
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60s: Are there any other Ricochettes' songs? Are there any unreleased or live recordings?
JG: We do have a tape of two songs recorded again in Chicago at Universal. No one but me remembers the session or the songs. I think it is an example of mass Alzheimer’s. I sent the tape to Ar and he is trying to update it.
60s: Did The Ricochettes make any TV appearances?
JG: We did two memorable TV appearances. One in Milwaukee for a local teen show called Something Else. The only thing that has survived is a sound recording taken off the TV by Ar’s father in his living room. We also did a pilot for an unsold show in Chicago. Ed Pazdur Productions produced the show and Chad and Jeremy were the guest stars. I believe the show was called Wing Ding.
60s: When and why did you leave the band?
JG: I left the band in about 1967. Three other musicians replaced me. Two brothers Mick and Jim Milewski played guitar and bass respectively. Bob “Humpty” Neuhoffer played drums. This incarnation of The Ricochettes made a recording produced by WRIT DJ King Zbornik, 'Come In My Love, Out Of The Rain.' Chicago’s Quill Records released it. In 1968 I came back as the band’s manager. We released a record on Chicago’s Destination label.
60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with The Ricochettes?
JG: It was one of the most pleasurable periods of my life.
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Singles
I'll Be Back / Can I Be Sure (Raynard RS 10030)
Come In My Love / Losing You (Quill 102)
Find Another Boy / I Don't Want You (Destination 629)
Find Another Boy / Don't Waste Your Time (Continental 500)
Unreleased
Oh Little Girl (Ar Kriegel original)
Tell Me Girl (Billy J. Kramer cover)
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