The Royal Aircoach was formed in 1967 by small town musicians from Topsfield and Danvers, Massachusetts. These young men were influenced, as many were, by The Beatles and other British Invasion groups. Fifteen-year old lead guitarist, Robert Greene and vocalist Jeffrey Skinner, 16, had a high school garage band called What's Left, while in the neighboring town of Danvers, songwriter Ed Goodoak, 16 and bass guitarist, Alan Gagnon, 16, were trying to get something going. The catalyst for this would be in the form of drummer Gilbert Van Geyte, 17, whose parents owned the local dry cleaning business in Topsfield.
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| The Royal Aircoach, 1968. L-R: Alan Gagnon, Frank Iovanella, Gil Van Geyte, Jeffrey Skinner, Robert Greene, Mike Saulnier and Mark Connelly |
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| Robert Greene onstage in 1970 |
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The Story Of The Royal Aircoach
By Robert Warren Green (November 2008)
Ed Goodoak was somehow involved in clothing deliveries and the connection was made. Gil talked to Bob while he was picking up some clothing and The Royal Aircoach was born. At first, Ed started singing, but it became clear early on that his talents for songwriting were vastly superior to his voice and stage presence. Jeff Skinner was brought in, as was guitarist Rick Noon,17, who lived a few houses down from the Van Geytes. In the neighboring town of Ipswich, lived Mike Saulnier, 17, who was a good organist. The foundation for the big buzzy sound of The Royal Aircoach was laid.
Rehersals were held in the Van Geyte basement and the songs were mostly heavy and blues based in the underground psychedelic style. The band perfomed its first gig at a hole in the wall club in Salem, Massachusetts called The Bilge. The total pay was six dollars for the band. Through 1967 into 1968, they played in many halls and clubs in New England, including the legendary King's Rook club in Ipswich. Management was taken over by Alan's father, Chauncey Gagnon, and he made sure that the band had equipment and was booked regularly.
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| The Royal Aircoach, 1968, L-R: Mark Connelly, Robert Greene, Jeffrey Skinner, Gilbert Van Geyte and Alan Gagnon |
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Sometime early in 1968, The Royal Aircoach caught the ears of producer/guitarist Teddy Dewart of Teddy and The Pandas and recording engineer Bruce Patch. Bob, Jeff, Ed and Alan had been working on several original songs and the band went into Bruce's Wayside Recording Studio, in Wayland, Massachusetts to record 'Wondering Why' and 'Webs of Love.' As these songs began to get radio airplay, guitarist Rick Noon was drafted by the U.S. Army and was shipped off to Vietnam. He was replaced by Bob’s friend and Topsfield musician Mark Connolly, who played guitar for a short time and then moved to organ, as Mike Saulnier left the group at the request of his girlfriend. A big part of The Royal Aircoach stage show was the blazing psychedelic light show provided by Frank Iovanella and classmate of Gil's.
Considering that the members were still in high school, the band toured on weekends and during the summer and were performing at larger venues such as the Hatch Shell in Boston, many New England colleges and the Stoughton Armory. Co-acts at performances included The Beacon Street Union and a little known band called Aerosmith. The band went back into the studio and recorded 'Waking Skies,' 'Wax Theory' and 'Wrapped Up in Your Mind,' which was probably one of the heaviest (and loudest) songs recorded during that era.
Onstage, The Royal Aircoach were an exciting group to see and hear. Sponsored by Traynor Amplifiers, the band had big gear and played very loud. Gilbert Van Geyte's drum style was up front and very busy; somewhat remeniscent of Keith Moon. Robert Greene lists his influences as Pink Floyd and Pete Townsend. He could spin a guitar in the air in similar fashion and he liked effects such as echo, wah wah pedals and fuzz boxes. Mark Connelly often rocked his keyboard while playing and Alan held it all together with his thumping bass-work.
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| Aircoach: Robert Greene, Gilbert Van Geyte, Alan Gagnon and Mark Connelly |
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For two years the band enjoyed success and its identity and mission were pretty much intact. Ed's and Bob's songwriting continued, but as is common with the evolution of bands, things changed slowly. Jeff Skinner left the band for personal reasons and The Royal Aircoach, in another attempt at identity search, dropped the British Invasion-style "Royal" title, and simply became Aircoach in early 1969. During this time, the band consisted of Bob on guitars and lead vocals, Mark on organ and vocals, Gilbert on drums and Alan on bass. The music was still very good, but the band lacked the distinct sound and identity of the early times. A few recording sessions produced some decent material, but no records.
Forces inside and outside the band were pushing for a more commercial sound and R&B covers. Management struggles between agents for control over the band were common. Gilbert left the band to study business at Northeastern University in Boston. Alan was in college as well, but stayed on. The exits of Jeff and eventually Gil completely changed the sound of The Royal Aircoach. For a while the group was performing a production of Jesus Christ Superstar with great success around New England. Aircoach hired drummers Dan Camera and Peter Tucker, and singers Paul Neenan, Carolyn Allee and Margie Nelson, but the magic was hard to hold onto and the group disbanded officially in late 1970.
Today some of the members are still in New England, most still involved in music. Ed Goodoak released an album of original songs tiltled Goodoak and Owl. Ed now lives somewhere in Thailand on a beach. Mark Connolly, aka Maxx, went on to become a fantastic musician and composer. Mark released several records in Boston and played with all of Boston’s best musicians. He has a great Web site and, as of late, produces new age style piano and electronic keyboard music. Mark lives in Kingston, New Hampshire. Bob Greene writes songs, does studio and stage work, he has toured with Patty Loveless, UpCountry and opened for Foreigner in August of 2007. Bob resides in Rangeley, Maine. Gilbert Van Geyte always has a set of dums in the house and lives in Boxford, Massachusetts. Alan Gagnon was living in the Worcester, Massachusetts area and working in technical design, but passed away in December 2008 at age 57. He is missed by all. The whereabouts of Jeffrey Skinner are unknown, but we are still searching...
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| Alan Gagnon, Robert Greene and Ed Goodoak in 1970 |
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In July 2009, we received the below email from Mark Astolfi:
I was a friend and classmate of Alan Gagnon ("Daddy Gags") at Danvers High School '69 and still have the 45 he gave me. I remember he hated that crappy edit at the end of 'Wondering Why' when the echo stuff starts. Would you consider posting a "cleaned up" edit in his memory?
Below is that edit. Thank you, Mark...
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| Royal Aircoach, December 2008: Mark Connelly, Gilbert Van Geyte and Robert Greene |
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