The Johnstown Flood Company

January 4th

2009-01-04T05:46:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Paul!
Thanks for the music!

Holiday Jam

2008-12-28T15:16:00.003-07:00

I went to the Holiday Jam in Rochester on December 26, 2008. I had originally planned to go because the JFC was going to play. When fate stepped in and made that impossible, I decided to go anyway. It was a great concert and experience. But while I was there, listening and watching, I realized that the JFC would have wowed the crowd! They would have been blown away by their music, their energy, and their magic!

The Early Days

2008-11-20T11:51:00.003-07:00

Pictures from the 08 Jam

2008-11-20T09:54:00.005-07:00

Here are some pictures from our April Jam in Colorado.

We rented the PA system and amps but the guys brought their own instruments.

These pictures were of setting up the system and tuning up their instruments.

One hit wonder

2008-11-18T11:46:00.004-07:00

This summer I (Mark) was looking through some old favorites and came across this one hit wonder song called "Hot Smoke and Sassafras" by the obscure group - Bubble Puppy. It was so fun to learn and play I made this recording. I hope you enjoy it.

Our April 08 Practice

2008-11-18T10:35:00.007-07:00

The following is a recording of our first and only practice after the 39 years since we were last together in the 60s. It may not sound too good to you... but for us it was wonderful! I can not remember when I have had this much fun.

The End of a Chapter

2008-11-18T10:13:00.005-07:00

One never knows about the journey of life. The events that unfold are sometimes not what you expected. This happened to us. After our wonderful reunion in April 08, Paul's cancer returned and on Sept 3rd 08, Paul left this world for a Gig with God. The sadness was intense for all of us yet we were so happy that Tom got us together for one last Jam.

The journey

2008-05-13T19:31:00.007-06:00

This project, in all actuality, is a journey many our age are taking one last time. We are all going back in time to recapture something. I suppose the reason for each of us is somewhat different, but I think there is an underlying truth we all seek.... what brought us to this point in our lives? What was it of the past that we need to visit one last time? Simpler lives? An old love or friend? A feeling?

I remember cruising Broadway, turning around in the McDonalds' parking lot.... Kissing my girl by Silver Lake... playing 60s music on the stage of some High School with these guys. Something about all those experiences brought me to this place in time. A place Tom says we will not ever have a chance to visit aga

in.

I've watched the videos and cruised the pictures and it looks like you a

ll have had some great fun at these Rochester Jams. I want you to know I've been practicing hard. I don't know wh

o of this band will make it to this Gig in Rochester.

I do know I will carry their spirits for them if I were the only one.... but ya know, when the time comes, I don't think I'll be alone on that stage....

SKULLY: Weapon of bass destruction

2008-05-11T10:51:00.031-06:00

Now that the first reunion practice is over and I have had time to listen to a couple of our recorded videos, I really like how my project to customize my bass guitar turned out. Called "The SKULL Bass" while being fitted with new pickups and a bridge, it is now affectionately known to the band as "SKULLY". This is what I did to this bass:

When I started playing again after so many years, I ordered a bass that wasn't too expensive. A search around eBay lead me to the Cort Action 4-string bass with an Agathis body, bolt-on maple neck, 24 frets and 34-inch scale. I liked the shape of the body then and absolutely love it now. It is easy on the shoulder, finished very nicely, and manufactured in Korea.

I found some EMG HZ P-J pickups on Music123 that looked like they might fit where the original Mighty Mites were centered. I found, however, that while the split P pickup dropped in perfectly, the single J pickup was slightly too large. I used a Dremel tool with a cylindrical sander bit to rout the cavity ever so slightly and the J pickup fit it nicely.
About the same time, I noticed that the bridge had pulled away from the body and was bent. Too much string tension on a light-weight bridge. I searched around and decided on the Hipshot A series bass bridge with .75-inch string spacing. This is a terrific bridge secured by four long screws. You can load the strings from either the top or through the body.

To finish off the custom look for SKULLY, I added two skull decals: a large skull on the back in the area most likely to get scratched, and a series of skulls for the front at the base of the neck. (See photos). These decals were purchased on-line from a car decal manufacturer. I also added skull strap locks and the stylish skull adorned strap.

I never really had a chance to hear SKULLY through an amplifier until our first reunion jam. Until then, I could only practice with a headphone amp so to not piss off the neighbors. My reaction to the tone now is something between "OMIGOD" and "Holy Sh**"! Powerful, smooth as butter, pure and gutsy...that kind of says it all. The customizing project was a big success and I plan to keep SKULLY as my main axe for quite some time. The rest of the guys in the band are jealous of the fact that I like SKULLY more than any of them and they hate me for it. Jimmy actually talked about holding SKULLY hostage and replacing the skull decals with Care Bears!

I don't think so!

Ace

April Kernals

2008-04-17T19:07:00.007-06:00

Nothing's changed... they're all still nuts. I cannot remember when I have laughed so hard, but I suspect it was 38 years ago.

Well the long awaited practice is over and nobody died. There were some unknown bodies strewn about, but no crimes were committed. They came, we pla

yed, and we found we have a long road ahead of us... as to be expected. However, the soul of the band was still there. After some hard work we made it all the way through several songs, proving that we still could handle the technical challenges of making music.

The next practice session will be the one that counts. With this one under our belts, we now know what we each need to do.

40 to 7 odds

2008-04-02T20:07:00.002-06:00

So.... what are the odds? Forty years of waiting is just seven days away. Ah... Yikes? Well I'm ready ... sort of.... I mean really, who could be ready for something like this? DRUMS - check, DRUM STICKS - check, PRACTICE - check. ACTUAL TALENT - jury's out. Good thing these guys are my friends.....

Our Music Store

2008-03-18T13:28:00.026-06:00

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...

2008-03-16T18:19:00.006-06:00

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

One of my lives...

2008-03-12T21:01:00.007-06:00

Think of me as a cat with nine lives. One of my early lives was playing in a 60's garage band while in high school. Practice was usually in someone's basement, borrowing equipment when you had a "big gig" and hoping to have enough gas money to get you to the next job.

We were lucky, very lucky. In those days we were fairly straight arrows... no drugs, no booze... ah except that incident in Winona with Tom and the Dumbrowski sisters. We had more fun just playing music.

Learning a new song, buy the 45 and listen to it until the grooves were worn out. One time we played a winter dance with the theme "This Magic Moment." We learned this song and played it 10 times that night. At the end of the night we were packing up and found a program and found out we sang the lyrics wrong all night and no one said a word.

My best memories... the band brotherhood, other bands that helped us out, and the fans who loved to dance. If you're playing music and people are rock'n the house, that is what keeps you going.

More to come later... the story of the California orange Chevy van

Gig One

2008-03-10T05:40:00.005-06:00

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

2008-03-09T10:57:00.008-06:00

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

2008-03-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-06T17:55:00.003-07:00

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

2008-03-06T12:48:00.002-07:00

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