It looks like Wisconsin’s Woodstock, but who’s in the pictures? That’s what the Wisconsin Historical Society was wondering in 2009.
John Nondorf, who researched photos and illustrations for the society, left this note on one of our posts about Clicker, the rock/cover/show band that was popular across Wisconsin during the ’70s:
“It looks like some people who know a thing or two about ’70s Wisconsin music frequent this blog. I’m hoping you can help us out.
“I work at the Wisconsin Historical Society and we have a photo collection documenting the 1970 Sound Storm rock festival in Poynette.
“We have IDs for a number of the bands and artists, but there are a lot of unidentified artists. I’m assuming these were the local/regional artists who performed there. Maybe you’ll recognize some faces.”
Here’s their wonderful collection of 223 photos from Sound Storm and a Wisconsin Historical Society essay to go with the pictures we helped identify.
Robert Pulling took the photos at the festival, which took place at York Farm near Poynette, north of Madison in south-central Wisconsin, on April 24-26, 1970, an unseasonably warm spring weekend.
The photos above — all used with permission of the Wisconsin Historical Society — were among the little mysteries in 2009.
Clockwise from upper left, they were listed only as “unidentified keyboardist performing on stage, 1970” (yes, that’s a cowbell sitting there); “unidentified guitarist performing on stage, 1970” (he’s playing a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop guitar); and “unidentified singer performing on stage at night, 1970.”
But who’s who? Our friend Mark in Illinois said the guitarist shown above is Bob Schmidtke, who likely was playing in Captain Billy’s Whiz Band. (We thought he was playing with Tayles, but John Nondorf said that group was a five-piece; this group is just a four-piece.) Schmidtke went on to play in Clicker.
Mark also thought the guy in this photo is Paul Rabbitt, the guitarist for Tongue, another blues-rock band from Wisconsin. (It is.)
REO Speedwagon, then just an unsigned Midwest bar band, also is said to have been at Sound Storm. However, it isn’t listed on this poster, passed along by Tim, all the way from Singapore.
Tim also says:
“That concert is one of the very few concerts over the years that no recordings have ever surfaced of the Grateful Dead’s set. Dead Heads have been looking for years.”
Among the bands who played at Sound Storm: Baby Huey and the Babysitters, Crow, the Grateful Dead, Illinois Speed Press, Northern Comfort, Rotary Connection, Wilderness Road, U.S. Pure, Luther Allison … and the Bowery Boys, who within a couple of years became Clicker.
Another of the bands was Mason Proffit, who did …
“Two Hangmen,” Mason Proffit, from “Wanted,” 1969.
AM, Then FM 
That’s very cool. I like the pics of Baby Huey and Rotary Connection in their archive. When will the Isle Royale pics be released????
I can not add any info the photo-querry….but it sure looked like a good time! I remember fondly going to the state fair every summer through the 70s in West Allis (?) always a ton of music playing, grilled corn on the cob & brats. Perfect!
Here is a link to the poster of the concert…
http://www.deadlists.com/posters/1970s/19700426a.html
Is this the gig where the Bikers went crazy and they had to close it down??? I rember going to to three day gig in Pointette Wi. 1971
i think. And are any of those photos for sale??? Like the Grateful Dead pictures.
Rick:
No — Iola was the Wisconsin rock festival with the biker/hippy dustup. Didn’t close it down, but certainly made it interesting … well, maybe unpleasant is a better word. Sound Storm near Poynette was 1970; the photos mentioned elsewhere on this site, including those of the Dead, are available for purchase from the State Historical Society.
I was at the Poynette rock fest in 1971. They shut it down fridaynight. Our Band Big Daddy played on a makeshift stage the next day for about 30,000 people, we where still in High school.
no that was the festival in iola
I saw you mentioned Illinois Speed Press. Their 2 albums were released on CD a couple years back. It’s good stuff. Their first album was produced by James William Guercio who also produced Chicago’s first 11 albums. Guitarist/vocalist Kal David had been in a band called The Exceptions in the 60s. The Exceptions’ bass player was Peter Cetera.
Incidentally the OTHER notable member of ISP was Paul Cotton who replaced Jim Messina in Poco in the mid-70s.
And the song Take Me Back to Chicago on Chicago XI was written by Danny Seraphine and David “Hawk” Wolinski for the late Freddie Page who had been the drummer in Illinois Speed Press.
I worked on Sound Storm — wiring the stage, doing stage security, running the stage lights, etc. — and the photos brought back memories. I’ve sent John Nondorf an email with some possible IDs of bands. It was a fun time — much more enjoyable than the other fest I worked that year, in Iola. Rotary Connection in particular impressed me — friends had their albums, so I had heard them before, but live they had a quite different sound — funkier, much more bottom.
SCOTT I NEVER GOT TO THANK EVERYONE THAT HELPED ME WIITH THE SHOW, SO I WILL NOW.
THANKS FOR THE HELP AND GLAD TO HEAR YOU ARE STILL WELL.
PETER BOBO
GOLDEN FREEK ENT
I rember Tounge, i still have their album. They were one of the best bands in the state. I hope some of them are still in music today. Would
hate to see the talent go to waste.
Rick:
A lot of the bands at Sound Storm — Tongue, Tayles, Captain Billy’s, Oz, Spectre, etc. — were groups that I saw at the Memorial Union, Broom Street Theatre, the Nitty-Gritty back in the day. Amazed you still have a Tongue LP. I had an album by Soup, an Appleton (I think)-based band that played at Sound Storm, and at other times in Madison. They were pretty good, too — but the album is one of a number I once had that have disappeared. On the other hand, some pretty good albums have materialized in my collection, left by friends or whatever.
Scott, trying to find info about Oz. I knew their bass player Rollie, and caught lots of their shows in Madison. But after leaving Wisconsin in the early 70s I lost track. They played right before the Dead at Sound Storm, and I recall the crowd wanting an encore. They couldn’t believe that the crowd wanted to hear them with the Dead waiting in the wings. Good group, whatever happened to them?
if you do locate any of the group oz let me know also.I would like to give them some of the pic’s I have of them playing at soundstorm Peter Bobo
Jeff:
Don’t know what happened to Oz. I vaguely remember a lot of us being disappointed that they were leaving Mad City, but I don’t remember for where, or why — maybe a recording contract? “Cowboy Woman” is the song I remember from them, but it seems like they had a single.
Don’t remember that they played before the Dead on Sunday. But we didn’t go down to the stage much, if at all, on Sunday — just hung out at the big Janesville/Milton wall tent up on the hill. The sound system was so great, it was like they were playing right in front of you. I ended up down by the stage after the Dead were done, running one of the stage lights. Old carbon-arc things, you had to keep adjusting the carbon as it burned down. Meantime, they’re begging for donations to keep the electrical generators running. Strange days …
Peter, Are any of those pics on the Wis Historical Society page? Don’t recall seeing any labeled as Oz on there.
For Oz fans: Jack Lee, guitarist and lead singer lives in CA http://jackleemusic.com
The Bowery Boys !! i use to see them at The Pines Ballroom in Bloomer alot. Good band their every weekend.Tounge, Sound Street,
Tales. What fun times back in the day.
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Do you have any info about the festival they held at the same sit in 1971? They shut it down that fridaynight, my little band played the next day on a makeshift stage. I have one photo of it. David Witter
The fellow on the Hammond organ with the cowbell reminds me of the organist from a Milwaukee group called The Corporation (Capital Records).
I have this album by The Corporation. Side one I want to get out of my grave. Two brothers John Kondos and Nicholas Kondos,. Side two India, a John Coltrane number.
Looks like Rob Schmidke from Tayles- striped shirt- lower right. I was a sophmore in HS in ’70- too young for festivals but saw lots of bands during that time in Madison at UW-Lot 60, Library Mall, Mifflin St. Block Party, Brittingham Park, etc….
Yowzah! I was there! That unidentified singer at the lower left above is Joel Freisinger from LaCrosse—I think he was singing for the band Ice at that time, and I know they were there…I still have my poster for this event….I later met the guy who dive-bombed the fest in a small airplane—anyone remember THAT!!?? And how about fighting back the grassfires that claimed one couples tent? I’ll never forget thinking that a group of criminals were approaching the stage to take over when it turned out to be the Grateful Dead going on to play their set…and that fest where the bikes got torched was up North somewhere, like superior maybe…
Bill:
If you can scan that poster and send it to me at mchomie@triwest.net,it would be greatly appreciated. I probably had lots of opportunities to grab one of those posters, but we didn’t think it was that big a deal back then. And I probably wouldn’t have held onto it, anyway. Did find some sort of poster awhile back, on a GD site.
Scott–I’ll dig through my suitcase of 70s posters and artwork and scan my copy of the Poynette poster for you, but it may be a little while—I am doing pre-press a Graphic Novel I hope to have out by the end of may or so. Been working on it for four years and in fact it incorporates some scenes with a rock-type band at an outdoor festival! My wife sez I’ve been working on the book since high school and went to all those great outdoor parties with music called rock fests…
One of the bands, playing at about 3:00 am, was the Fly By Night Blues band from Madison Christopher Goff, Peter Ellestad, Gene Rankin, Paul Cleary, and Adam Ambrose). No photos of us, though.
Christopher Hoff. I think your finger slipped.Did that happen a lot on your bass as well?
I was an employee for “Golden Freak Enterprises.” We were given photo I.D.’s on a chain that let us drive right onto the grounds, instead of walking. I worked at a fast food joint in a tent to the left of the stage. Sadly, because I was only 17 at the time, and thought EVERYONE did that sort of thing, I pitched my I.D. card, and all other memorabilia.
Jim:
How did you get hooked up with Golden Freak? My connection was Dale Chapman from Janesville, a friend of friends from UW-Rock County Center. He took me up to the GF office (an upstairs room just off State St.) and introduced me to Pete Bobo/Peter Obranovich, the “president” of the company. Chapman later started TransAmerika, which I “worked” for at Iola. I was supposed to do a couple other fests that summer, but didn’t. Iola turned me off to that scene, for one thing.
THHATS BECAUSE LARRY SCHUMANNS COMPANY WAS NOT
REALLY EXPERIENCED ENOUGH TO RUN THAT SIZE EVENT.
MADE A MESS OF IT.
PETER BOBO
GOLDEN FREEK ENT.
Scott, I knew Dale Chapman back in those days. Worked with him at Wadena. I was at Mt York with a bunch of friends. Was a great weekend. Went to Iola too, was a really weird scene. I have lived in Arizona since 1971, and have lost track of Dale.
If you guys find dale chapman tell him Peter Bobo sez howdy and hopes he is well.
Jeff:
I was supposed to got to Wadena and work (for Dale, I think), but something came up (pun intended). Could have done four rock fests that spring and summer, but couldn’t go to the Kickapoo thing for some reason; my girlfriend at the time did.
Calling Iola a weird scene is an understatement. I have a bunch of newspaper microfilm “clippings” about that fest, and it reminds me how bizarre it was. (Although I have to admit that, for me personally, bad chemicals had something to do with the weirdness.)
Haven’t seen Chapman probably since the fall of 70 or perhaps the following year. I seem to remember hearing something about him going into banking or finance or something like that, but a lot of the details from that era are hazy. And I only am in contact with a handful of people that I hung out with at that time.
Scott – I last saw Dale around 1976, and I recall that he was indeed working for some sort of financial institution. I left Wisconsin in the early 70s for Arizona, and so have lost track of most of the folks I knew at the time. Recently I stumbled across a reference to Sound Storm, and started doing a little digging. Amazing what one can find. Brings back lots of great memories.
IF YOU WORKED A CONCESSION TENT THEN YOU WORKED FOR THEM NOT MY COMPANY GOLDEN FREEKS ENT.
PETER BOBO
Pete: Who was Larry Schumann? And are you talking about Sound Storm, or Iola?
larry schumann did iola i did soundstorm
It was so fantastic to see pics of Baby Huey & The Babysitters. It puts an end to the speculation that James Ramey (Huey) and the band didn’t play the venue. Also by the look of the pictures, guitarist Johnny Ross had left and there seems to be no keyboard player there so Melvin Jones must also have left.
As there is hardly anything recorded of Baby Huey & The Babysitters, it would be a fantastic thing if someone had recorded anything of them live.
Here is a Yahoo group for BH&TBS
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/jamesrameybabyhuey/
Of course there were other great groups. I’ve never heard of Mason Profitt until a few years ago when I saw a poster for the festival, but I’m now intrigued.
Thanks.
Trying to find more about Madison Mandelbaum Blues Band
Dennis, if you mean Mendelbaum, with an “e”, the original Mendelbaum Blues Band started around 1966 at the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, and included Bob Schmidtke (Guitar) Keith Knudson (Drums), Tom Lavarda (Bass), and “Blind Joe Mendelabaum” (Blues Harp, Singer), who wasn’t blind (most of the time) and whose real name was “Steve” but I can’t remember his last name. After a couple of years the band members moved to Madison. George Cash (Sax) and Ronnie Page (Organ) were other members of the band in Madison. The later adventures of the band are documented elsewhere on the web.
The lower right photo is Bob Schmitdke playing with Capt. Billy’s Whiz Bang. I played with him and Rick Markstrom ( their drummer) years later on the west coast. I rode to the Poynette festival with those guys that weekend. Rick’s former brother-in -law Bob Pulling took those photo’s and also promoted that festival.
Now about he band Mendelbaum. Bob Schmidtke was in the first incarnation of Mendelbaum which he quit to form Capt. Billy’s Whiz Bang. He was replaced by Chris Michie who later played guitar in the Pointer Sister’s band. Keith Knudsen was on drums. He was in the Doobie Brothers for years. Tom Lavarda was their bass player, he later played in The Beans and Firetown which evolved into Garbage.
George Cash played sax and the keyboard players name escapes me. ( Roni something, I think) As far as I know Tom Lavarda and maybe George Cash are the only surviving members.
Steve:
Thanks. Remember Captain Billy’s, from Sound Storm, but also from gigs at the Memorial Union and elsewhere. They had a keyboard player on a Farfisa or some such organ, doing a Garth Hudson/Band thing.
Fascinated to see those connections to the Doobies, etc.
George Cash was from Milton, my alma mater, and his younger brother, Donald “Duck” Cash, was my classmate. He played in another area band, either the Bowery Boys or Mr. Brown
TR,
The original Mendelbuam band was all the members of Villas Craig and the Vi-Counts, less villas. Bob, Ronnie Page and George Cash all played for Villas in the mid 60’s. That is how I met Bob in 1966 when we did a show with them in Warren, IL.
I am so glad to see that after all these years soundstorm is still remembered
by so many people .
I am peter bobo and anyone wanting more info or if you have memorabilia i want to hear from you at peter bobo on facebook or at soundstorm on facebook.
keep on rockin
peter bobo
golden freek enterprises
Peter, I guess after all these years I’d just like to say that Sound Storm is one of those great memories from my youth. Thanks for putting on a great show. I really got a kick out of the photos on the Wisconsin Historical Society page. Nice to know what that dude on horseback was!
I was at this event but it’s not one of my favorite memories. Baby Huey & The Babysitters was the highlight for me. The rest is a blur of psychedelic excess, no food, sleeping on rocks, and trekking through miles of rough terrain. At 17 it was survivable. If I reenacted it today they’d be carting me out in a body bag.
then you must have snuck in and ripped us off for the ticket price.
thanks so much
glad you had a good time
Busted, 42 years later! Really, I don’t remember, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you’re right and if so, I’m sorry. I’ll add it to the endless list of dumb things I’ve done.
I DID MY SHARE OF DUMB SHIT AS WELL.
ANYWAY I HOPE YOU DID HAVE A GOOD TIME, AS I DIDNT REALLY DO IT FOR THE MONEY, JUST A RADICAL ROCK AND ROLL PRODUCER.
SO YOU SEE ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS IS THAT YOU WERE THERE AND HAD A GOOD TIME.
YOU CAN FIND A COMPLETE WEB SITE THAT WI HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUT ONLINE, THERE ARE LINKS TO IT AND SOME OTHER STUFF REGARDING SOUNDSTORM 70 ON FACEBOOK, SEARCH PETER BOBO
GOLDEN FREEK ENTERPRISES
Yah, I was 18 at the time, and our little group of friends all bought our tickets at some Head Shop on Farwell Ave in Milwuakee—we arrived after dark on Friday and indeed stumbled through what seemed like miles on a roughly bull-dozed path through the woods before we arrived at Shangrila—a genuine hippie festival! Otherwise, I had a very similar experience as KL above, though I do recall running around stark naked and accidentally ran into a guy that managed several bands from LaCrosse…it was an awkward moment as the manager guy hadn’t yet come out the closet with his sexuality even though we all knew….ME:” aaaahhh, um, nice weather huh?” Him: “Oh my….” I got a double sunburn that took weeks to peel after that concert!! LOL
I BELIEVE I HAVE COLOR PICTURES OF YOU NAKED WALKING THROUGH THE CROWD. I HAVE OVER 800 COLOR PICS OF THE FEST AND THE WI HISTORICAL SOCIETY HAS AN ENTIRE SITE COVERING THE FESTIVAL. SOUNDSTORM AND YOU CAN ALSO CHECK OUT SOME STUFF ON MY PAGE PETER BOBO ON FACEBOOK.
GLAD YOU FOUND YOUR WAY IN AND THANX FOR PURCHASING A TICKET AT JOYNT VENTURE IN MILWAUKEE.
KEEP ON ROCKIN
PETER BOBO
GOLDEN FREEK ENTERPRISES
Mendelbaum Blues Band played “Can’t Be So Bad” by Moby Grape first day I landed in Madison–right outside the library. Then they disappeared.
Ha! I think I saw that gig too: September, 1968? Powerful stuff, as I (foggily) recall.
I ran into a flute player from the bowery boys at the come back inn last summer he knew my first boss who was in the Tongue band in the early seventies. I still keep in touch.
That is Bob Schmidtke and the band is Captin Billies Whiz Bang as I remember. Bob, Rick Markstrom (who is still wailing the blues in Eugene Oregon) and terrific B3 organist who’s name escapes me right now. this was just before Bob and Rick left CPWB to form the Tayles with myself, Jeremy Wilson and Paul Petzold. The Tayles were on the bill for this show as well but with our first line up. Woooo….long time ago!
S
It’s been a while, and it’s all been fun !
Wow, I remember Tayles playing after dark on Friday night at Sound Storm. Some things will live on in my mind forever. I was camped with a couple of friends about half way up the hill next to a tree. Great tunes and great times.
If that’s when they played, I was probably on stage, doing “stage security” — all 6-3 and 150 pounds of me. Other bands on the Friday night lineup included Rotary Connection, and what was introduced as the Happy Year Band, but turned out to be Siegel-Schwal Blues Band.
Larry Robertson was the B3 player who’s name has been erased by old age from Scott’s memory.
Scott, you remember Randy (Rad) Wilcox, lead vocalist who came to sing with you guys right before the band broke up? Or Detroit Mike, who roadied with you for a while? Whatever happened to the song “Rough and Tumble Women”
the photos in the collection labeled as Mason Proffit are most definitely NOT Mason Proffit. I saw them at Wadena, Iowa in July, 1970. This group of shots is not them. John Talbot’s Steel guitar is nowhere to be found, and Tim Ayres, bassist, was clean-shaven, and never wore a hat onstage. Also, they did not tour with a keyboardist until 1972. Too bad there are no shots of the band, as they were a very colorful bunch to watch!
YOU ARE CORRECT NOT MASON PROFIT, I PROMOTED THE SHOW AND STILL WAITING TO SEE WHO GETS IT RIGHT. IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW EMAIL ME AT peterbobo56@yahoo.com
I saw Mason Proffit at Central College in Pella Iowa. Can’t remember the exact year but was like 1971 – 1973. BAlbre7451@aol.com
Was Mason Proffit at Sound Storm? I don’t remember them being there, but perhaps they played during the day on Sunday, when I wasn’t around the stage. I think they were at Iola, but if they were, I didn’t see them — too whacked out, in the compound behind the stage.
they did not play at soundstorm in Poynette
Thought so. I’m about 99-percent sure that they played at Iola — but, as I said, I was too f—d up then to remember a lot. I think they played sometime between Brownsville Station and Buffy Ste. Marie.
Regarding Buffy, heard her on 3WK the other night … shoot me in the face! Ditto for Ravi Shankar, who played at Iola, perhaps before MP. The crew had to build a shelter from the sun for a guy who grew up in India, for God’s sake …
IOLA A POORLY ORGANIZED AND RUN MESS. COULD HAVE BEEN FUN EXCEPT THE PROMOTERS, LARRY SCHUMAN AND JR FROM NORTH CENTRAL PRODUCTIONS WERE TOTALLY CLUELESS ON HOW TO DO IT. THEN THE MESS WITH THE BIKERS SHOOTING UP THE PLACE BECAUSE THEY RIPPED THEM OFF INSTEAD OF PAYING THEM FOR THEIR SECURITY SERVICES. BAD IDEA ANYWAY HIRING THEM FOR SECURITY AND ALLOWING THEM TO GET SHITFACED DRUNK FREE OF CHARGE. GUESS THEY THOUGHT THAT WAS GOONNA SMOOTH OVER THE NO MONEY THING..WRONG!! TOO BAD CAUSE A LOT OF THE BANDS LIKE BSM AND OTHERS WERE CLOSE FRIENDS OF MINE. ALSO THE REASON VERY FEW INDEPENDANT PROMOTERS WERE EVER ABLE TO DO ANY MORE FESTIVALS. I GUESS TIME TELLS ALL AS IT DID IN THIS CASE.
KEEP ON ROCKIN
PETER BOBO
SOUNDSTORM AND GOLDEN FREEK ENTERPRISES
THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED
THEY ARE THE REAL JUDGES OF ROCK & ROLL FESTIVALS
Pete:
Didn’t think MP played at your festival. But do you have a list of who actually did play?
Im trying to find some info on the band woodbine. From what i hear, they have at least one album. I’m trying to get a hold of it or a recording for my mom. Would be awesome! Thanks
Josh–I may be wrong, but I believe that Woodbine was the band that Bill Camplin, the folk singer, was in…he runs the Cafe Carpe in Fort Atkinson WI, so you call or visit him there…or you could look on eBay for the album…
Thank you so much! My search continues.
Hi again. Wow! That opened up so many doors! I have the album on order. Thanks again!
SOUP ! if you were in Wisconsin back then you had to know SOUP. My boys were the best there was back then. I was the Soup soundman and roadie when they got back together. I met them at Ripon College. Three of the greatest guys I ever worked for back then. John B
John:
Someone from Soup is in one of those three photos? I saw the group a number of times, besides at Sound Storm, and nobody in those photos looks like the lead guy — Doug Yankus, or something like that, was his name? — anyway, Also had their album, but it disappeared at some point over the past 40-plus years.
I was the last Guy hired by US Pure as a Roadie after meeting the Band at Central College in Pella Iowa and sadly the Gig only lasted a year. I was at both Festivals with them. I would love to hear from anyone connected to them back in the day.
Larry Robertson was the the keyboard player in Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang. Rick Markstrom, their amazing singing drummer and I still play together frequently, this coming Friday in fact.
Steve: Cool. Captain Billy’s was one of those regional bands that I saw a lot in Madison and the area. Great to hear that at least some of those folks are still making music!
Turns out I just unexpectedly played with Rick Markstrom about 2 hours ago at Mac’s nightclub in Eugene, Oregon. I just turned him on to this website which I discovered after goggling Bob Schmitdke. The 3 of us all moved to the west coast together in 1977 to join an up and coming band the fell apart right as it was about to break.
Someone was asking about the band OZ, and I skipped thought all of this and didn’t see any info, so I’ll tell you what I Know. Roly Salley has been Chris issack’s bass player for the last 25 years. He also wrote the second song on that Robert Plant, Alison Krauss album, Raising Sand, that won the best album Grammy a few years ago. Roly was interviewed by Terri Gross on the NPR show Fresh Air about 20 years ago because of solo record he’s released. Jack Lee lives around Santa Barbara, Cal. and plays keyboards in the Donna Green Band along with Greg Loeb who I used to play with in Madison in the band CRANK in 71, 72.
Steve: I’m assuming all these names you mention are members of Oz? I saw them play a number of times — the one that sticks in my mind was at the Nitty Gritty, one of the top venues in Mad City in the late 1960s/early 1970s.
I have that Krause/Plant album. I wasn’t as big a Zep fan as some of my friends, but I got into Bluegrass big time 10 years or so ago (now more into the album rock of my 20s), and thought Krauss was top-notch. My wife bought me “Raising Sand,” but I wasn’t that impressed.
I ‘ve never listened to that album myself, I just know it was a huge hit record in 2007. Anyway, Roly Salley wrote the song,”Killing the Blues,” track # 2 on the album and he was the bass player for OZ. Jack Lee was the main guy. Singer, guitarist, keyboards and song writer for OZ. The rest of those names belong to some other famous people. Rick Markstrom, who I performed with earlier this evening was also the drummer for The Tayles after Captain Billiy’s Whiz Bang disbanded.
Nice thread. Saw Tayles in Rock Springs a couple of times. Fuse was on the bill that was posted. Did they play Poynette?
Ned was in the first version of the Tayles. Jeremy Wilson was the only original member. He owned the name and use it on later incarnations of the band. The early 70’s lineup became the most popular throughout the midwest. That’s the lineup whose names I mentioned. Bob Schidtke was probably Wisconsin’s very best guitarist. Rick Markstrom, their drummer, happened to come to my solo gig at Sweet Cheeks Winery , outside of Eugene, Oregon, just last night. I think Ned Englehart went on to form the hugely popular Doctor Bop & the White Raven.
Yes they did play Poynette, Sound Storm. That was Ned Engelhart’s version of the Tayles. Half of the later version also played Poynette as Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang. I just saw their Drummer, Rick Markstrom last night at a solo gig I played out in wine country on the west coast.
That’s Bob Schmidtke who played in both of those bands in one of the photos at the beginning of this feed. He’s the guy playing the gold top Les Paul wearing the red and white stripped shirt. He was one of my very best friends.
Interesting connection. I remember both of them playing Sound Storm, I think — I don’t remember everything about those three-plus days — and I believe that one of them played Friday night, when I was working stage security. Wish there was a chronological list of the groups that played there, to help my 65-year-old memory. Saw both Captain Billy’s and Tayles play in Madison — Memorial Union, Broom Street, Nitty Gritty? — as well as Spectre, Soup, Siegel-Schwall, etc.
The Tayles I remember were Ned Englehart and Tom Schwabenlender. Is this the same band or another with the same name? The Tayles I used to listen to at the Nitty Gritty, back when it was still Glen n Ann’s, had been a Beatles cover band called the Canterbury Tayles as high school students. I don’t recognize the names above.
Ned was in the first version of the Tayles. Jeremy Wilson was the only original member. He owned the name and use it on later incarnations of the band. The early 70’s lineup became the most popular throughout the midwest. That’s the lineup whose names I mentioned. Bob Schidtke was probably Wisconsin’s very best guitarist. Rick Markstrom, their drummer, happened to come to my solo gig at Sweet Cheeks Winery , outside of Eugene, Oregon, just last night. I think Ned Englehart went on to form the hugely popular Doctor Bop & the White Raven.
I saw Ned in Dr Bop in Boston. Larry Robertson was in that band too. I thought it was sad that Ned was playing bass in an oldies band instead of blues guitar, but then again I never knew they were hugely popular.
Ned Engelhart was indeed a member of Dr. Bop & the Headliners featuring the White Raven. And saying they (meaning the 1970s version of the band) were hugely popular is a putting it mildly. They were basically the best show band in the country at the time.
I hear that Ned will be in Madison May 24 with his current incarnation of the band, Count Bop & the Headliners, for a short gig at the “world’s largest brat fest”, of all things. The original Dr. Bop, Mike Riegel, passed away a few years ago. Two of the other members of the original 70s group, the White Raven and Troy Charmell, are now playing occasionally in Madison and out East as The Weasels. It’s just the two of them and an acoustic guitar or two.
Does anyone know why Peter Bobo isn’t contributing to this discussion anymore?
Peter “Bobo” O’Branovich died in November 2018… r.i.p.
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sheboyganpress/obituary.aspx?n=peter-g-obranovich-bobo&pid=190872968
Sorry to hear of Peter’s passing. Hard to believe that the 50th anniversary of Sound Storm is coming up. He gave a great gift of a lifetime of memories to those of us who attended. R.I.P. old friend.
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Does anyone remember the sax (soprano) player in Mr. Brown? I found an old music notation that I think he wrote for me. I took some lessons from him a long time ago. I never got the sax, played guitar instead. Took lessons from the legend Roy Plumb. But that’s for a different thread. Also any jazz guitarists in the Madison area that studied with Roy? I’d like to meet up.
I thought it was George Cash, older brother of my Milton Union HS classmate. But can’t find any record of that — or of Mr. Brown, for that matter, although I do remember the band. George did play sax for the Bowery Boys back in that day.
I actually think it came to my old self. It was Paul Harper I believe. Now residing and playing in Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Probably a fantastic player now! He was good back in the day in old Madtown. I think the guitarist in Mr. Brown was a guy named Jim Mudgett. Also a good player. He played one of those weird Epiphone solid body guitars with P-90,s. Very bluesy goodness.
Found three references in the Capital Times in September 1976 to Jim Mudgett playing with, or opening for, Mark Koenig and the Nightcrawlers at the Church Key. A number of references, mid ’70s to mid ’80s, to Paul Harper playing sax, including with a group called Java. I departed Madison’s orbit in early ’77, and hadn’t spent much time in the city the year before that, so these names I don’t recall. Except the Church Key.
Sad story to follow: I had heard from Frankie Lee old harp player for Mel Ford and The Fairlane’s. Before Westside Andy. That Jim Mudgett tried to commit suicide and cut his wrists severing tendons and that he could no longer play. 😦
The sac player for Mr. Brown was Bob Corbit. He’s still living in the Madison area. Jim Mudget moved to Jackson, Mississippi and passed away a few years ago.
The sax player for Mr. Brown was Bob Corbit. He’s still living in the Madison area. Jim Mudgett moved to Jackson, Mississippi and passed away a few years ago. Jim could still play guitar and made some personal tapes of music he wrote. Such an amazing talented man.
Who else was in Mr. Brown? And why do I remember some connection to Milton?