Although they "flat out failed" during their lone opportunity to record, World War V was a major contributor to the '60s San Jose music scene. They played almost everywhere possible in the Bay Area and, in doing so, either opened for or competed against the area's best groups and acts. In July 2010, William Miller is retired from his prime Corporate America gig, and in addition to spending time with his World War V bandmates, is currently writing a book on his rock and roll days.
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| World War V (Late 1965): Tom Moellering, Willy Miller, Bill Neuroth (sitting in center), Gordo Cross and Charlie Schneider |
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An Interview With William Miller
60s: How did you first get interested in music?
WM: My dad was a steel guitarist. He played country and Hawaiian music. With his encouragement, I began playing horn (trumpet) at age 10. I did the usual school gig and played in the school band. After ‘tripping’ on Bill Haley and His Comets in the '50s, I switched over to stand-up bass when I was about 14. I played in a five-piece jazz band and youth symphony while in high school, and I played stand-up bass in four-piece jazz band while in the Army (1964). We had Ralph Mathis (brother to Johnny Mathis) singing lead until we all got shipped out. Ralph went to Vietnam as a ranger. I don’t know his outcome. I was a reservist.
60s: Was World War V your first band?
WM: I switched from acoustic bass to electric in late 1964. My first rock band was called Diplomatz (1964). We lasted under that name for about a year. There was basically the same members when we changed our name to World War V after seeing the great Rolling Stones in 1965 in San Jose. The band changed name, dress style, attitude and what I call the 'Performance Factor' after experiencing The Stones. I was both bassman and manager of the group. I handled all promotions, marketing, finances, negotiations, our look, etc.
World War V consisted of Charlie Schneider, lead vocals, keyboards and harmonica; Gordon Cross, lead guitar and back-up vocals; Tom Moellering, rhythm guitar and back-up vocals; me, Bill (Willy) Miller, bass and back-up vocals; and Billy Neuroth, drummer extraordinaire.
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| Diplomatz: Charlie Schneider, Tom Moellering, Billy Neuroth (standing on chimney), Bill (Willy) Miller and Gordo (Gordon) Cross |
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60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?
WM: We considered ourselves a blues-based rock band. Our influences were The Rolling Stones, Bobby Blue Bland, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Cream, Them and Chuck Berry, etc.
60s: What was the San Jose rock and roll scene like in the '60s?
WM: Fantastic! Since we were so close to San Francisco, there was a lot of overlap with the musical scene. Bands popped up all over the place and there was plenty of good musicians around to chose from. There were numerous clubs, dance halls and outdoor concerts to play. Some notables that launched during this era from the South Bay Area scene included Creedence Clearwater, Doobies, Jefferson Airplane, etc.
60s: Where did the band typically play?
WM: We played it all: Clubs, bars, fraternities, sororities, weddings, ballrooms, out-door concerts, private parties...you name it. We were the opening act for notables like Roger Miller, Creedence Clearwater, E-Types, etc.
60s: Did you play any of the local teen clubs?
WM: We did not play teen clubs. We were more of a bluesy, bar, club-type act. We were always an adult band. We were never cutesy.
60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?
WM: Pretty much the greater Bay area and Lake Tahoe. We never had a problem getting bookings; therefore, it wasn’t necessary for us to travel much.
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| Diplomatz (Early 1965): Billy, Willy, Charlie, Tom and Gordo |
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| Dancing to the sounds of The World War V |
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60s: Did World War V participate in any battle of the bands?
WM: Yup. Other bands we competed against were The Syndicate of Sound, Golliwogs, People, Chocolate Watchband, Count Five, and The Huns. We always did very well in these live-action performances. If anything, live performances were our strength. Our lead singer was a real powerful and active performer, with a booming voice.
60s: Why didn't World War V record?
WM: Yeah, well since performing live was our strength, our greatest weakness was the inability to write, arrange and create our own tunes/unique sound.
60s: Did World War V write any original songs?
WM: Yes. I was the one who did what little songwriting we did and Charlie, our vocalist/keyboard collaborated with me on arrangements. Bottom line on this issue: We just weren’t very good at writing lyrics nor creating our own music. Now, we did have a golden opportunity to record with Kingston Trio, Inc. (known today as A&M Recordings). We just flat out failed their test. They were actively seeking a good rock band. So, who did they sign right after our audition? ‘We Five.’ Humph!
60s: How did that opportunity with Kingston Trio, Inc. arise?
WM: A life-long childhood friend of mine by the name of Pat Selenger, was taking karate lessons from a cat named Dave Cardniss around the 1965-1966 time period (during the reign of WWV). Dave was Brazilian from Brazil and was a graduate student at Santa Clara University. He also owned the karate studio and his family had invested in a few other small business enterprises in and around the San Jose area. Dave was introduced to The World War V by our friend Pat and he attended several of our performances. Dave became a BIG fan. Through Dave, we played several gigs for the Santa Clara University folks. They were great 'gigs.' Crazy, wild and they paid well.
On several occasions, Dave made reference to his brother Rene, who was somehow affiliated with Kingston Trio, Inc. As we began to evolve and become a more powerful presence in the local musical scene, the time came when he made arrangements for us to meet Rene and 'show our stuff.' Consequently, we recorded a studio tape (at Tiki Recording Studios in San Jose) and made the trip to our first and only record company audition. What an intimidating scene that was.
We showed up in San Francisco at the Kingston Trio, Inc. recording studios in North Beach with our little old cassette tape of our best stuff. They pulled us into the recording studio (now this was the first time any of us had ever been in a real Big Name recording studio) along with a few studio musicians, engineers, etc. Rene plopped our little ol' tape into this huge bank of buttons, dials, and flashing lights. What a 'trip' it was. The engineer started turning all sorts of dials, pushing buttons and through these huge speakers and perfect acoustics came the clearly recognizable sounds of The World War V--'warts and all' so to speak. Man, you could even hear our lead singer, Charlie, breathing. Whew!
Rene, by the way, had been linked to the music industry in Brazil and had a very active role in the Latin music scene. He was involved with such notables as Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass and Brazil '66. Our understanding was that he came up from Brazil to join Kingston Trio, Inc. with the purpose of broadening the musical scope and depth of Kingston Trio, Inc. One of his duties, was to not only bring more Latin music into play, but to reach out into the Bay Area and reel in some of the great rock groups that were hanging out in the Bay Area at the time. Mr. Cardniss made it very clear, "We are looking to sign our first rock group." Up to that time, Kingston Trio, Inc. had pretty much focused on folks groups, bluegrass, etc. It just made good sense for them to branch out at that time and land some of the Bay Area action. Which they did.
In my humble opinion, therein lies the reasoning behind why they picked We Five. As you probably know, We Five was more of a folk-rock group than a blues-based rock band. To this day, I do believe the Kingston Trio organization could relate much more to We Five music than the blues-based rock of The World War V. Also, as I have pointed out, probably our greatest strength was our live performances. They never got to see us in action and witness the impact we had on live audiences. Anyway, that's my two-cents on this subject.
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| World War V in Milan's Pub: Charlie, Willy, Gordo, Billy and Paul Morgan (security) |
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60s: Are there any other World War V recordings? Are there any vintage live recordings, or other unreleased tracks?
WM: Yes. We have a few tapes of our performances kicking around. The most impressive was the studio tape we presented to Kingston Trio, Inc. as part of our audition. Now, with that said, no one has the slightest clue whatever happened to any of our tapes. I’m afraid they are long gone.
60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances?
WM: No.
60s: What year and why did the band break up?
WM: In the latter part of 1966. After our audition with Kingston Trio, Inc., we began to have issues and frustration in and around not being able to write, create and deliver our own tunes. That turned out to be a pretty big bummer for all of us. Hey, who wants to play the club circuit for life? And, quite frankly, we had some issues around the good old drug abuse thing. Oh well. For the most part, it was one of our better decisions. Everyone went their separate ways and most all of us had great careers. And, most all of us are retired and back playing their respective instruments in some form or another.
60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with World War V?
WM: Without getting too crazy and/or philosophical about the experience, let me just say that I truly believe that 100+ years from now, the '60s era will be looked upon as a renaissance period in the arts. Although music seemed as though it were constantly the headline and received the most attention, there were huge strides made in literature, poetry, painting, sculpturing, etc. According to the late, great Philosopher, Nietzsche, "The truth is told of a nation through its arts." Now this was the environment that the World War V was fortunate enough to be a small part of. Being in the Bay Area, we were in the heart of this amazing renaissance.
My personal experience? I met some of the most gifted, talented and interesting people one could imagine, both in and out of music. I established friendships in and around The World War V that have lasted over 40+ years. I am still in close contact with the surviving members of The World War V. Unfortunately, we lost our beloved and gifted drummer boy Billy Neuroth to an industrial accident about 10 years ago. The truth be told, he lost his life while inspecting heavy industrial machinery on his job as an inspector at a lumber mill in Northern California.
After spending over 30 years in Corporate America, and evolving up to a Senior Vice President & National Director of Marketing and Sales for a national commercial real estate lending group, and meeting and interacting with hundreds of very talented and interesting people, not one friendship stayed intact. Here I am, 67 years old, retired and my closet friendships are either from my childhood and/or my fellow bandmates. I’m good with that. And that should pretty much summarize my experience with The World War V.
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