Our Music Store

I remember going to the two Rochester music stores in the sixties, Bach Music and Welhaven Music, gawking at all the Fender and Gibson amplifiers and all those great Fender guitars. I had the rock and roller bug like a lot of other kids after the British invasion. I even talked my Dad into getting me a half dozen bass guitar lessons at Bach's. I played the only loaner bass they had...a Kingston. Several years later around 1968, I made my first bass purchase at Welhaven's. I traded a white Fender Duosonic six-string electric that I had bought from my brother, and maybe a buck or two more, to buy a red Kalamazoo bass. So began a good relationship with the owner, Earl Welhaven. The store had its start in 1954, and I can still remember it in their former location several blocks further south on Broadway.

I believe I got hooked on guitars at a junior high dance that was held every Friday night. These youth 'mixers' had a DJ, usually one of the cool upper-class students, and we slow-danced to Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet", did the limbo to Chubby Checker, attempted the twist and the mashed potato, and rocked to "I Want To Hold Your Hand", one of those awesome early Beatle tunes. At one mixer, the curtain parted on the stage, and appearing there were four young rock and rollers: three guitarists and a drummer. That was my first experience watching a live band perform. I don't even know who they were, but they captivated me that night! One odd thing I recall, was that they all shared one Gibson amp, and it was positioned in front of them not behind. (I recently read that in the 50's the amp was usually in front of the performer.) This group was unannounced. They just appeared on stage and it floored me! Wow! I wanted to be up there on that stage with them. In a few years, I would be...

Welhaven Music was the local Vox amp and instrument dealer and that brand was really hot due to the super stardom the Beatles had. My second bass was a Vox teardrop-shaped guitar that I chose from a Vox catalog at Welhaven's. Later, I would upgrade my Fender Bassman amp to a Standel and eventually a Vox Westminster. I didn't like the tone of the Westminster with it's massive 18-inch speaker. It actually failed during a gig out of town one weekend, so I had to plug in to Paul's amp. That didn't sit with him very well. Somehow, we got Earl to order us equipment without having anyone older sign for it. I replaced the Westminster with the Vox Sovereign and it's four 12-inch speakers. It was quite an improvement and I eventually added a second cabinet to stack on the one I had. That made for a very impressive amp, even though it was tough to reach the controls.

Welhaven's also kept our drummer in sticks, drum heads and cymbals. Back then, the store was crowded with rock and roll gear. Little Jimmy Welhaven would help his Dad out by waiting on customers or running here and there taking orders from Earl and obeying them promptly. Whether we needed strings or picks or we just wanted to hang out, Welhaven's was our store!

During the summer of 1969, the world famous "Voxmobile" made a stop at Welhaven's and we played next door above the Labor Temple with another local band to commemorate the visit. Vox had this car built by George Barris of California for $30,000. It came complete with guitars, amplifiers and speakers, and a Vox Continental organ! Check out the photo...







"Ace on the Bass"

Drummers log...

Star date 3.15.08.

It's snowing out and I'm in the basement fine tuning, practicing and listening to Led Zeppelin.... does it get any better than this?  The anticipation of our first reunion in 40 years has me psych'd.  The chatter between us all has increased as well as some concern now and then.  Tom made us sign a NO SUCK pact so the practicing has been intense.  

I never really knew how we sounded back then so I'm insulated from judgement.  Drummers sat in the back of the bus and while we didn't have monitors I did have Tom's great bass playing right next to me to keep me rock'n.  I know we are far from pro but it really doesn't matter.  It's the same as back then.....  I'm a drummer in a Rock n Roll band!  When we play together again, the Zeppelin I'm listening to will pale by comparison... well at least in MY mind....

Mark

aka Guns

Gig One

Our first Gig is at the end of our practice in April.  We will be playing for a small private party which is being thrown for the retiring Director of the Clear Creek County Advocates.  We're all looking forward to playing for the first time in 40 years!

CCC Advocates

Tribute to Janis

The loss of talented singers like Janis Joplin is distressing to say the least. It's hard to imagine that voice improving with age but one can only dream about something that will never be. To think of the sixties one must always add her to the menu of fine musical dining. Her Blues singing was far beyond her age in maturity and the power of its delivery, well now... just listen to a tribute below...

Mark

My 1968 Vox Stinger IV teardrop bass

My first electric bass was a red Kalamazoo, a budget guitar series made by Gibson in the sixties. As our band went through gear upgrades, the teardrop-shaped bass caught my eye. Hey, Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones played one. Another local band had a bass player who had the Vox Constellation teardrop bass. I preferred the lower priced Stinger IV. Here is a picture of it just as I saw it in the Vox 1968 musical instruments catalog. I purchased it from Welhaven Music in Rochester, Minnesota and kept it long after the band broke up. It was a sweet guitar, although considerably neck heavy with the iconic Vox paddle headstock. I loved the graceful lines and the tone of that bass and still find it one of the most eye-appealing guitars ever designed.



I sold that bass in 1979 since I no longer played it. That was a big mistake! I never suspected that many years later I would get the bug to play bass again. In 2003, I started watching eBay hoping to someday find a Vox bass like the one I had. I did find one, but didn't win the bid. I really didn't expect to see another Stinger IV this late in the game, but I happened to check eBay one evening and there it was! It was a Stinger IV bass guitar just like the one I bought in the late 60's and it looked in perfect condition. A music store in Ohio had it listed, so I figured it would be a safe transaction. I bid $700 and knew that I wouldn't be at home at the time the bidding ended so I could raise my bid if needed. I just figured I would leave it to fate: If it was meant to be mine, I would win it. Imagine how surprised I was when I checked on it when I returned from my trip. I had won the bid with my $700 offer! Nobody bid even a dollar more! A week later, the Vox teardrop bass that I probably paid less than $200 for in 1968, was once again mine!



I began restoring its luster from end to end. I even removed the pick-ups and controls and cleaned them inside. I polished all of the metal to remove the years of tarnish and put back that sparkle again. I polished the body and put on new Pyramid flatwound strings. Everything is original except for the two bridge cover screws. The bass stays intonated and in tune which I find amazing. It has that woody, alive resonance that only a semi-hollow body could produce. The 'broomstick' neck is the thinnest I've ever seen. It's fast and the action is low just how I like it. A truly wonderful vintage bass from a time that will live on in all of us 60's era music lovers. I won't part with this bass ever. It connects me with a better time...and you know what that means!

"Ace on the Bass"

Picking drums

Forty years ago when we were last together as a group, I had a nice Ludwig acoustic set. They were called psychedelic. I wish I still had them as they are rare and worth a pile now days. Anyway, I needed a new set to practice and play with but a lot has changed over the years, so I did the Geek thing and got on the net, typing, "drum set" into my search engine.

I had heard about electronic drums but didn't think much of them until I found ROLAND. Man- oh - man, what a find this was. The TD20 Roland Vdrums are what I ended up buying and so far I've been very pleased. They met my requirement of the feel of an acoustic set yet added so much more to my experience. I can practice without disturbing anyone by running through the earphones, or I can blast away with the stage monitor I have.The main computer drives the sounds that are sampled from real sets, the choices of which are almost endless. I can modify any of them to my liking. I can play Ginger Bakers set or click and I'm doing Led Zeppelin. It also has a synthesizer for any other sounds I may need. The heads are all impact, inertia sensitive and can do all that a real set can. I also have several "bars" that I can set for anything, including other instruments or actions.
I have added something unique I'm told.... my Mac. The boys at the drum shop (Thanks RUPP'S) rigged me up an attachment and I mounted my computer to the cage, "wiring" it via my transmitter and receiver to the TD20's computer. This way I can practice via ITunes, or any other sound software, right through the drum set. I plan on figuring a way for an interesting drum solo with the assistance of the Mac and Garage Band software.

Well I suppose I may not be the the worlds best drummer but at least I'll be looking cool. :)

Mark Kline
aka Guns

A band reunion

It's hard to express the feeling of getting together with my former band members after 40 years has gone by.  It's both exciting and intimidating.  Since Tom convinced us to do this project last year, we've all been practicing separately for many months and April will be the first time we have jammed together in all these years.  I wonder how we will sound after all this time. I can tell you this though... I'm excited about it, to say the least!

Mark 

Guns