It was my eighth grade graduation party(June 1964) and I had the Citations Combo play on my patio. The combo was cool and the drummer had awesome drums lit up by internal red lights. Recently a member of the Citations hooked up with me from my combo's website and sure enough in his gig book from 1964 was my party. They charged me $40.00. I noticed the attention they were getting and the very next day I bought a used red solidbody electric truetone guitar. I didn't have an amp, so I was able to attach a cord with an alligator clip to the guts of my hi-fi. It actually worked pretty good. Of course, mobility was a slight problem. My very first date and I was asked to a poolside party at Glendale (behind the putt putt) in Melrose, again featuring the Citations. I then got a Twin-Twelve Silvertone Amp with reverb...too cool and a Kent Guitar. Back then guitars and amps mostly came from Western Auto or Sears and Roebuck. This was the first of several combo parties thrown on our back patio on Golf Club Lane in Green Hills.
I mostly taught myself guitar. I had taken guitar and vocals at a very young age at the Eva Thompson School of Music downtown, mostly learning Ricky Nelson songs. The school taught you to be a performer and not music theory and held regular recitals for the students. Later, I took guitar lessons at Cotten's Music in Hillsboro Village. Within a few months I was in my first band. I played sax and rhythm guitar. By accident, I found I could sing pretty good and soon was a lead singer. A string of bands followed, each a little better than the last. My first band was the Mystics in 1964 and we got paid to play the opening of a Sinclair Gas Station. My second combo was the Sands in 1965 and I traded up to a Silvertone Six10 and played bass and sang lead. Next came the Pagan IV in 1966 and then The Shadows in 1967-68. My last band was Tranqulity Carnival in 1970 and they were heavy metal and we were so loud we could only play outside. We played the bandshell in Centennial Park and I retired since my voice wasn't suitable for Zeppelin LOL. Music was now to listen to and smoke dope and I lost interest. In 1970, I sold all my equipment to finance the birth of my first child.
I had several amps and played bass through 4 Fender cabinets, 2 Bassman and 2 Bandmaster. I had a Fender Precision Bass and a Vox Spitfire Guitar (english strat).
Many years later, I bought a blue sparkle drum kit and mounted red lights (just like the Citations)in it. I started acquiring used equipment and eventually had a wall of Acoustic Amps, a Farfisa Double Keyboard with Yamaha Leslie, a Yamaha Piano and even a Hammond Organ with Leslie. Numerous guitars including a vintage goldtop Les Paul.
These days you don't even need an amp and can go direct to the mixing board. No more broken backs carrying Hammond B3's and leslies around either. You don't even tune by ear anymore. Still, the experience was priceless.
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