Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart The Faces - Edgar Winter White Trash , Black Sabbath - Jack Snipes - Link Inn,
1971
290### 5 Acres On Geneva Pond – January 1971/ There was comfort being back in Geneva where I grew up. I quickly rented a fantastic 5-acre cottage for $60 a month. My family moved to Geneva in 1959. As a kid I rode my bike around Geneva Pond where my cottage was located. It was a pleasant blessing. I could play my drums without neighbors complaining, calling the police. I rode my motorcycle but needed a car. I sold my Honda 450 for $600.
The first automobile I bought was a 1959 Fiat 500 for $200. (A very cool, interesting car, but it quickly developed electrical issues that couldn’t be resolved at my local garage. I bought a Red 1967 Volvo 122S for $850. Fantastic
#39 $$$ Gig - January – 1971 Sheiks Club
Orlando, FL/ My first gig in Orlando was a fill in spot with 2 musicians I knew from West Palm Beach. (Evan Jones and his wife Patti. I heard them several times in 1969. They played in the lounge of a popular 24-hour restaurant. Musicians gathered after their gig to hang out. I bought a used trumpet from Evan. I learned a few scales and sold it. The Orlando club, called Sheiks was in an isolated part of Orlando.
Sheik’s was known as a “Show Club” The main attraction was a “show band” called The Executives. They were a four-piece rhythm section with horns. Their image was built around their name. Clean cut with Brooks Brothers suits. They were good musicians. Audiences liked them. They had routines and did comedy. ‘Very-professional)
I don’t remember how I got the gig. I played a week on a Rogers drumset owned by the drummer in The Executives.
291### Louie Simmons – Paddy Wagon $15 – Dancing Girl – King Crimson – Led Zeppelin – Faces – Black Sabbath/ Returning to Orlando I reconnected with my old Junior High School friend Louie Simmons. I started making the rounds to different music nightclubs. (Looking for a gig and reestablishing myself in the area) I visited The Inferno and other clubs. One of my first hangs with Louie was a casual trip to the beach.
Not long after arriving I was tossed into a Paddy Wagon and taken to jail with several others. Not a drinker, I had an open container. Fortunately a very attractive young dancer I met at The Inferno bailed me out. The fine was $15. Louie and myself attended many music concert events including The Celebration of Life. Other music concerts include Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, The Faces and Black Sabbath. Louie Simmons (rip) was a great friend.
#40 $$$ Gig - 1971 - Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Sonny Kenton - Orlando, FL/ Sonny Kenton was a truly gifted guitarist and vocalist. Sonny was from Central Florida. Playing B3 - Hammond Organ / vocals was (Carty Mac) from Jackson, Mississippi. We put together a lounge lizard group and began our search for gigs. It was a tough compromise to play music we enjoyed mixed with commercial Top 40.
We added stupid matching band uniforms and eventually got a few gigs. Our first gig was at Johnny Unitas club called, The Golden Arm. One night Johnny was there. I got an autographed photo from him. The Golden Arm gig was intercepted. Our trio had real music potential but we were weighted down trying to get lounge lizard employment. Because of Sonny’s voice, our set list included a few songs that audiences approved. In 1971, we played Rainy Night In Georgia by Brook Benton.
Sonny had an amazing voice that didn’t match his appearance. You had to see him sing and experience it in person. Sonny tuned in E and kicked bass pedals. He was a very gifted musician. Year’s later audiences loved Sonny’s renditions of Michael McDonald. Carty was a soulful funky player from Mississippi. (Content to play the blues.
#41 $$$ Gig - 1971 - Jason Jones Solomon Carlton & Jones Orlando, FL/ I got a call to play with this young guy named Jason Jones. Audiences loved him at this little club he played. As a duo I played drums, he sang, doubled on guitar and piano. Jason became wise to the music business and formed a group called Solomon Carlton and Jones. They became Orlando’s most popular nightclub group.
#42 $$$ Gig - 1971 – Link Inn Maitland, FL/
My good friend John Rakestraw and his family had also returned to Orlando. Experiencing the disaster of Hurricane Camille in August 1969 they lost everything. I was in West Palm when they arrived to regroup. John joined a group with Bob Justice from Tommy Cashwell’s band. I hadn’t seen the Rakestraw’s since 1969. I didn’t have a phone at my Geneva cottage. My messages were phone calls to my family’s house a couple miles away. Rake was working in a local club band.
They had a regular gig downtown Orlando at the Citizens Bank building. The club was on the top floor. I went a few times just to make myself known. Eventually that gig ended. Bass player, Doug Farwig, John Rakestraw and myself formed a group. Our first gig was a lounge called The Link Inn, a small neighborhood bar in Maitland, Florida. (The club was owned by an old money Family” They also owned Club Juana and other venues. Our trio was regularly joined by vocalist (Jack Snipes) Jack was the MC, singer, bandleader at The Club Juana. Jack drove the 10-minute commute to increase attendance and liquor sales at ‘The Stink Inn’ (renamed by Rake and myself)
Jack Snipes was a big guy of Cherokee decent. He looked like Will Sampson, the actor in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Snipes took up a lot of space on that small bandstand. Jack usually stood on the floor. He sang a variety of material. His calling card was Tom Jones. I played “It’s not unusual” with Jack, many times.
He also entertained the crowd with his adult only humor. I enjoyed playing drums behind him. He could be very funky and loved to belt it out. He was macho enough to sing without a microphone. Termination of our trio from The Stink In was the first of many.
#43 $$$ Gig 1971 Casselberry, FL. The Factory/ Our trio’s next gig was a few miles north. A new spot called The Factory. A bottle club, we didn’t start playing music till midnight. That gig lasted a few weeks. I don’t remember our trio’s name. It was sounding good. Like John Rakestraw, Doug Farwig was from Washington, DC. I learned that musicians from D.C. knew how to play. Jimmy White was a guest singer. He sang Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, RnB Soul Tunes.
292### Frank Zappa – Led Zeppelin – Rod Stewart - The Faces – Chicago – Steely Dan – Three Dog Night – Black Sabbath –
Edgar Winter – King Crimson/
Back to Orlando in 1971, I experienced the enjoyment of live music events. These weren’t 1960’s British Invasion bands but a new revival of groups from America and England. My main venue in 1966 was for teenagers called The Tiki Club in downtown Orlando. In 1970 the popular venue for music was called The Eddie Graham Sports Complex, aka Orlando Sports Stadium.
In a short period of time I heard Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, The Faces, Chicago, Steely Dan, Three Dog Night, Black Sabbath, Edgar Winter, King Crimson.
It was an exciting time to hear those bands. I write about hearing those groups and drummers in my book,
“130 Drummers I’ve seen and heard in my lifetime”