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Hullaballoo

Posts: 2264 Threads: 83

From Purdie Shuffle

Saw the Spoonful mentioned... I got to sub for Joe Butler (1966/7?) for a week when the Spoonful was the house band at the Cafe' Wha in Greenwich Village, NY. I was the in-house drummer at Ben-Gor Studios on Bleeker St. and one day I was assigned to play with them for a week until Joe got back. Great bunch of guys, the club was packed every night. They had a huge following in NYCity and if memory serves, I bagged a couple of fillies at the club during my short stint with the band. They went on to record, Do You Believe In Magic shortly afterward and then it was 'rocket to stardom' for those boys. I had a ball playing with them. Fun, upbeat, feel-good music. Easy gig. I don't know if anybody remembers them, but I also got to sub for two weeks with the Blues Magoos. (One hit wonders, their big tune was, Tobacco Road.) Ahhh, the 60's! John

Wow, I had no idea Purdie. We're amongst sort of a kind of celebrity here. 15 minutes of fame? Maybe more? Anyway thanks for sharing. John Sebastian seems like a cool guy. LovedWalking the Welcome Back Kotter theme too :)

The greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you. - Joyce Meyer
Posted on 12 years ago
#11
Posts: 816 Threads: 72

1966. I remember the Blues Magoos. Had their first two Albums. The band I was with then even played a couple of their tunes.

Posted on 12 years ago
#12
Posts: 2251 Threads: 381

From Purdie Shuffle

Saw the Spoonful mentioned... I got to sub for Joe Butler (1966/7?) for a week when the Spoonful was the house band at the Cafe' Wha in Greenwich Village, NY. I was the in-house drummer at Ben-Gor Studios on Bleeker St. and one day I was assigned to play with them for a week until Joe got back. Great bunch of guys, the club was packed every night. They had a huge following in NYCity and if memory serves, I bagged a couple of fillies at the club during my short stint with the band. They went on to record, Do You Believe In Magic shortly afterward and then it was 'rocket to stardom' for those boys. I had a ball playing with them. Fun, upbeat, feel-good music. Easy gig. I don't know if anybody remembers them, but I also got to sub for two weeks with the Blues Magoos. (One hit wonders, their big tune was, Tobacco Road.) Ahhh, the 60's! John

Wow! The Lovin Spoonful! John, what a great band! I can't believe that you played for these guys! As a Canadian, I appreciate the connection ( Zal Yanovsky)! "Tobacco Road"! Sure, another great song from the day! It was also covered by a group called The Nashville Teens! Really cool floor tom pounding. More stories please, John!

Brian

Just a drummer who loves all things about vintage drums! Nothing more, nothing less.
Posted on 12 years ago
#13
Posts: 9005 Threads: 266

> Wow, I had no idea Purdie. We're amongst sort of a kind of celebrity here. 15 minutes of fame? Maybe more? Anyway thanks for sharing. John Sebastian seems like a cool guy.

Not even 15 minutes! I got to rub shoulders with a bunch of guys that later went on to become famous, but it never happened to me. Re: Sebastian, he was/is a surprisingly intelligent guy who was real serious about (his) music. It was fun, 'Pop', easy stuff to play. The kids at the club really loved those guys. And just to keep it on-topic, I believe the Spoonful appeared/played on, Hullabaloo!

> More stories please,

I don't want to derail the thread! Just to put a cap on it: When I was 17 I was signed by 'Elan Associates', two producers that were originally from the West coast (L.A.) who had established offices in the Brill Building on 57th street so they could build a stable of NY musicians/artists. Elan was the producers of the Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, and bunch of well-known west coast bands. They set-up their own recording studio on Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village (Ben-Gor Studios) and I was signed on to be the 'house-drummer.' The studio musicians got turned into a band and Elan booked us first-class gigs all over the country. They also managed the Pig Light Show (a psychedelic light show,) and whenever we went out to play, the *Pig Light Show (*Jackie Cassen & Rudy Stern) would travel with us. That is how I got to play with the Spoonful and the Magoos and several others. I would show up at the studio for work and the boss would assign me to go work with so and so for a week or a night, whatever. Whenever they needed a drummer, I was it. I was on a career track to be a working session drummer in NYC at a time when NYC still had a thriving music scene. I messed it all up for myself with drugs. Specifically heroin. I got a bad rep for showing up for gigs stoned, or late because I had to cop before doing the gig. Bad scene man. Good news; I've been clean since 1969 and went on to have a good life and raise a family.

Happy ending, The End....

Back to Hullabaloo!

John

Too many great drums to list here!

http://www.walbergandauge.com/VintageVenue.htm
Posted on 12 years ago
#14
Posts: 5356 Threads: 87

John that's pretty dang cool! I never knew either. I love hearing stories like this. On a side note congrats on kickin the habit. ;)

Glenn.

Not a guru just havin fun with some old dusty drums.
Posted on 12 years ago
#15
Posts: 9005 Threads: 266

Spoonful on Hullabaloo: That's Joe Butler on the drums. Joe was an 'actor' turned drummer/rock star. I don't know if you can tell from the video, but he's a tall, lanky dude, about 6'3"/6'4". His throne is set so high, it looks like he's standing up behind the kit. Good player too. He did most of the lead vocals, not Sebastian. John sang on a lot of stuff, but for gigs and shows, it was mostly Joe in the lead singer spot.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBVOYkhNb1o[/ame]

John

Too many great drums to list here!

http://www.walbergandauge.com/VintageVenue.htm
Posted on 12 years ago
#16
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