Miracle Mirror
Mark VII Class
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2012
Well, it almost happened--lol. The first time was in Jr. High School, 1965--eighth grade. We used to have Rec. nights every Thursday at school from 6:00-9:00 pm. Everybody could come and play games, watch a movie, etc. Outside the library area there was a big open space. Once and a while a teen combo would set up and play a couple of sets. I was there with a friend just hanging around waiting for the band to set up and play. I knew who the guys were in the band but didn't really know them as friends--the lead guitarist was the one who put the band together--don't remember what name they were using for the group. Anyway, the lead guitarist sees me and my friend and comes over and asks me if I could fill in for the organist in the band--for that night and the following Thursday night as his organ player couldn't make those 2 dates. I think most everybody in the school knew that I had taken 6 years of piano lessons so I could easily play the organ. He was ahead of the game because he had sheet music to all the songs which made it much easier for me to play with them without any problems. Some of the songs we played were mostly cover versions like Midnight Hour, House Of The Rising Sun, King Bee, I Want To Hold Your Hand. I know that he had a couple of originals but don't remember what they were called--I even got to sing some back up vocals. Well, it was pretty cool playing with them for those 2 Thursday nights and of course, it was great for impressing the girls--what could be more important than that--lol.
Second time was when I was in 10th grade. I happened to know the drummer that was in a "teen combo" from our high school. He lived on the same block as I did so we were pretty good friends. We were hanging out one time and he suggests that I buy an organ and join his band. Again, I knew who the other guys were in the band and apparently my friend had already talked to them about me joining the band. So, one afternoon I go with him to the band practice which was, yes, in a garage. The lead guitarist's father had actually built a wooden platform about 4 feet high that the guys could put all their instruments on and could leave them set up. There were 4 guys in the group--lead singer, lead guitarist, bass, and drums--and the group was called "The Blabbering Drivel". So, I sang a few songs with them at their practice and they all thought I should buy an organ and join the band. Well, I didn't have a couple of hundred dollars to buy an organ at that time--it might have well been 2,000 dollars so it didn't look like I was going to be in the band. A week or so later my friend tells me to come to band practice because they've got an organ there. Apparently, one of the parents had gotten an organ somehow that the band could use for a while. Don't remember what brand it was but it was a pretty cool stand alone organ. So, we practiced for a few weeks and then played a gig at a church which one of the members belonged to--kind of a teen dance in a big gymnasium and we sounded alright I guess. Played again at a teen venue a couple of weeks later--we must have done something right because the kids were dancing--lol. Again, we played cover versions of popular songs that were in the charts at the time and a few older ones too. They never had any original songs that the band played. And that was it--it was over. For whatever reasons the band just fell apart and did nothing from then on. I think that a few members of the group were just so busy with girlfriends, extra curricular stuff, school and whatever that there just wasn't enough interest in spending time to develop the band any further. But it was a great experience having done that for those couple of times and I'm glad that my mother made me take piano lessons for all those years--lol. There was a certain aura about the music in the 60's that's hard to explain. I remember walking down the street with my transistor radio and listening to "I Go To Pieces" for the first time by Peter & Gordon or The Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand"--you just knew that musically something special was going on and that you were part of it--a unique feeling that I'll never forget.
Second time was when I was in 10th grade. I happened to know the drummer that was in a "teen combo" from our high school. He lived on the same block as I did so we were pretty good friends. We were hanging out one time and he suggests that I buy an organ and join his band. Again, I knew who the other guys were in the band and apparently my friend had already talked to them about me joining the band. So, one afternoon I go with him to the band practice which was, yes, in a garage. The lead guitarist's father had actually built a wooden platform about 4 feet high that the guys could put all their instruments on and could leave them set up. There were 4 guys in the group--lead singer, lead guitarist, bass, and drums--and the group was called "The Blabbering Drivel". So, I sang a few songs with them at their practice and they all thought I should buy an organ and join the band. Well, I didn't have a couple of hundred dollars to buy an organ at that time--it might have well been 2,000 dollars so it didn't look like I was going to be in the band. A week or so later my friend tells me to come to band practice because they've got an organ there. Apparently, one of the parents had gotten an organ somehow that the band could use for a while. Don't remember what brand it was but it was a pretty cool stand alone organ. So, we practiced for a few weeks and then played a gig at a church which one of the members belonged to--kind of a teen dance in a big gymnasium and we sounded alright I guess. Played again at a teen venue a couple of weeks later--we must have done something right because the kids were dancing--lol. Again, we played cover versions of popular songs that were in the charts at the time and a few older ones too. They never had any original songs that the band played. And that was it--it was over. For whatever reasons the band just fell apart and did nothing from then on. I think that a few members of the group were just so busy with girlfriends, extra curricular stuff, school and whatever that there just wasn't enough interest in spending time to develop the band any further. But it was a great experience having done that for those couple of times and I'm glad that my mother made me take piano lessons for all those years--lol. There was a certain aura about the music in the 60's that's hard to explain. I remember walking down the street with my transistor radio and listening to "I Go To Pieces" for the first time by Peter & Gordon or The Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand"--you just knew that musically something special was going on and that you were part of it--a unique feeling that I'll never forget.
