Saturday, August 13, 2011

Teen A Go Go Book Publication Date Announced

The Companion book for Teen A Go Go will be published January 2, 2012! Arcadia Publishing will release the book nation wide on the second day of a brand new year.
Pre-order info coming soon.
Check out www.teen-a-go-go.com for more info and if you don't have your DVD of the film, order today.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Book Deal for Teen A Go Go


TAGG just signed a book deal with Arcadia Publishing of North Carolina. Arcadia is an established, well respected publisher of local and regional histories and they are as excited to have Teen A Go Go as we are to be associated with them.
The TAGG book is a companion to the documentary featuring loads of photos and excerpts from the film.
Below is a sample of things to come with an excerpt from Chapter 1.
Visit www.teen-a-go-go.com to learn more about the film.

CHAPTER ONE:
“We decided we were going to be The Beatles of Euless.”

On February 9, 1964, at 8:00 p.m. EST, Rock and Roll changed forever when The Beatles exploded onto the American music scene by way of The Ed Sullivan Show. Glued to their TV sets, teens across the country witnessed one of the most influential moments of rock-and-roll history. The CBS Network reported that they received more than 50,000 requests for the 728 seats available for the taping. The Beatles were paid $25,000, exactly half of what Elvis had earned eight years earlier. The Neilson ratings for the show registered more than 73 million viewers, over forty percent of the entire U.S. population at the time, representing approximately 23,240,000 households. David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, would later remark, “Do you know anybody that didn’t see it?” We certainly couldn’t find anyone. Of the more than sixty people interviewed for this project, everyone had vivid recollections of the show. So, with their jaws still on the floor and inspiration stirring within, thousands of youngsters experienced an overnight epiphany that rock and roll would be their destiny.

The next day young men and women in virtually every small town and big city in America rushed out to buy their first guitar, boys combed their hair down to look more British, and department stores were selling out of Beatle boots within hours. On February 10, 1964, it would seem that 10 million teens had something new to do.
In the wake of The Beatles and British Invasion that followed teen scenes sprang up like mushrooms across America. With the world still in shock from the assassination of the President of the United States, a global nuclear war with Russia a very real possibility, and Vietnam looming on the horizon, kids formed garage bands by the score prompting music entrepreneurs to open teen clubs, which at a buck a head serviced the burgeoning scene. Hyper-voiced deejays, modeled on ‘Murray the K’ [New York City’s most famous deejay at the time, who often referred to himself as the fifth Beatle], wannabe impresarios, and slick-talking record men rushed bands into recording studios to knock out 45 rpm vinyl discs that would surely become the next smash hit, or hopefully be purchased by adoring fans.
The 1960’s edition of American teenagers, indulged by Text Box: “Back then, they were just another band looking for their next gig, just like the rest of us.”
-Bruce Channel on the Beatlesparents who’d first survived a depression and a world war then scrimped and saved to ensure their children had an easier, better life, was the first generation in American history to have both disposable cash and the leisure time to spend it. And spend it they did; on records, concert tickets, musical instruments, amplifiers, clothes and all manner of promotional memorabilia like Beatle wigs, Beatle lunchboxes, and Beatle pillowcases, anything with a band’s logo. The revolution had begun.

BRUCE CHANNEL (Songwriter and recording artist; singer of “Hey, Baby” an international hit in 1962. Member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame): I first met The Beatles while touring England in 1962. They opened a couple of shows for me at the time. Back then they were just another band looking for their next gig, just like the rest of us.
SUMTER BRUTON (Record collector, TCU student, baseball jock, and aspiring guitarist; in the ‘70s played with Robert Ealey & The Five Careless Lovers; founded The Juke Jumpers with Jim Colegrove; owner of Record Town; performs with Hank Hankshaw and The Bruton-Price Swingmasters): I was a sophomore at TCU and Capitol [Records] had sent me some things to put on your books; covers that said The Beatles are coming! and nobody knew who The Beatles were. I’d be carrying my books to class and they’d say, ‘Who’s that?’ and I’d say, ‘I don’t know much about them, but they’re supposed to be some hot act out of England that’s going to be on TV soon.’
LARRY ROQUEMORE (Singer and saxophonist with Larry and The Bluenotes and Soul Purpose): We’d been reading [about The Beatles] for some time through the trade publications, going ‘there’s this band in England that’s causing a big controversy because they have long hair,’ and when we saw them on Ed Sullivan, I was going, ‘this is different,’ and we were all on the phone with each other going, ‘did you just hear what I heard?’ From then on, everybody started growing their hair and dressing alike and trying to play English music.
CANDACE CHASE (Lead singer and bassist for The Candy Canes): We were watching Ed Sullivan and The Beatles came on. My girlfriend, next door neighbor, and I were watching. And I said, ‘That’s what I want to do. That’s it.’ I didn’t want to do anything else.
DAVID DENARD (Bassist for The Novas and owner of Dragon Street Records): We changed the way we looked, we changed the way we dressed, we changed what kind of instruments we wanted.
MARK  STEVENS (Radio DJ): Even a couple of them [musicians] affected an English accent. They didn’t even know they were doing it; they just liked the English scene so much.
DANNY GOODE (Bassist and singer with The Excels, The Orphans, and ATNT; member of the Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame): We started in December ‘63, my brother and I with two other friends in high school and formed The Excels. We were pre-Beatles by about two or three months. In the spring of ‘64 is when The Beatles came over and it really took off. [We went] from being not really noticeable in school to being invited to every party, and ‘by the way, can you bring the instruments?’ It was great fun, the stage fright was right up in your throat, but we got used to that. I think I was seventeen when we first started, and James was nineteen. [Seeing The Beatles on TV] was your basic turning point. That’s when we decided, ‘That’s what we’re going to do.’
PHIL STRAWN (Singer with The Orphans and ATNT): The next day everybody had their hair combed down and was trying to find Beatle boots and a guitar. There was a mass run on music stores. Up to that point The Beach Boys were kind of the alpha dogs of the music world. Everybody was wearing striped tee-shirts and chinos and tennis shoes and doing surf music.
MICHAEL J. DOHONEY (Drummer with The Misfits, The Chancellors, The End, and The Shux; in the ‘70s played with Little Whisper & The Rumors; performs with The Paul Byrd Band): I was sitting there glued to the set. It was a profound effect. I’d been wearing my hair combed back, I listened to The Beach Boys a lot, and the next day, I was standing at the mirror, practicing combing it down and over to the side. The hairstyle changed immediately and I went through a couple of Beatle wigs.
TOMMY HANLEY (Of Anderson, South Carolina; guitarist for The Spirals and The Penetrations): Actually, I did not [see The Beatles on Ed Sullivan]. Dad always insisted that we go to church on Sunday nights and VCRs were unheard of then. Of course I heard them on radio and in time I saw those Ed Sullivan performances. I thought the entire British Invasion sound, including The Beatles was incredible. It affected most teens in our community to some degree or another. For a certain few of us it affected us enough to form our own bands.
Text Box: “I woke up with long hair the next morning”
-John NitzingerJOHN NITZINGER (Guitarist-singer-songwriter with The Barons; Cellar musician; songwriter on five Bloodrock albums; Capitol solo artist; in the ‘80s recorded and toured with Alice Cooper; teaches music in Fort Worth at Nitzinger’s Music Factory. Historian Rick Koster has called his lyrics ‘Texas rock’s answer to Dylan Thomas.’): It changed my life. I woke up with long hair the next morning. I sat there, grunted and grunted, and next morning, I had long hair. Yes, The Beatles changed my life and still do, because they’re the best band that ever was and ever will be in my opinion.
MIKE HARRISON (Singer with The Rising Suns, The Menerals, and The Neurotic Sheep; hosts karaoke shows in Dallas): We did see The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, and discussed at great length how outstanding it was that those guys were doing what they were doing. They changed the world! They influenced my life, and I’m sure his life, to the nth degree. There’s been nothing like it before or since.
RUSTY BURNS (Guitarist with A Song Service; in the ‘70s played with Point Blank; independent musician/producer): I remember sitting with my family watching The Beatles. Ed Sullivan was kind of the only game in town in that particular time slot. The Beatles were coming and we’d already heard about this, and I already had the record, so I was really up on what The Beatles were doing, and after I saw them and witnessed what it was they did, and seeing they played really good live, even over all the screams of the girls, we decided that we were going to be The Beatles of Euless. I think I was twelve, so I was still a child, but we learned the Beatle record though, I’m telling you. We had that thing down within a month. We had that whole album. We played it. Life changed when The Beatles came on board. Everything changed. The way I played, the way I looked at playing, the way I wanted to dress, the way I wanted to speak. These guys had something, and even if it happened today, it would still happen the same way, because they had something.
LEE PICKENS (Guitarist with The Group, The Atomic Clock, and The Crowd +1 who changed their name to Bloodrock when they signed with Capitol Records): I saw The Beatles all three times they were on Ed Sullivan.
BRIAN FREEZE (Guitarist with The Group and The Atomic Clock; currently recording a blues CD): It wasn’t as good as when we saw ‘em live.
Text Box: Brian Freeze with The Atomic ClockLEE PICKENS: I took my girlfriend to see them in ‘64 at Memorial Auditorium in Dallas and when they came onstage she wet her pants. We never could hear The Beatles singing because of the screaming. The second time I saw them was in ‘65 and some friends of mine and I flew down to Houston. One of the guys that went with us looked so much like Peter Noone [lead singer of Herman’s Hermits] that girls were chasing him around down there. Then Brian and I and some other guys flew up to Memphis in ‘66 and saw The Beatles there.
ROGER JOHNSON (Singer-guitarist with Eric & The Norsemen of Lawrence, Kansas): I saw The Beatles in person in Kansas City when they were there in ‘64. You couldn’t hear much; everybody was screaming. I was in the upper deck, there were all these junior high girls going nuts, but it was magic time.
RED YOUNG (As Pinky Young, keyboard player with The Committee and Sundown Collection; since 1967, based in L.A.; has recorded and toured with dozens of marquee acts): When I first heard The Beatles on the radio I thought it was a black band when they did that ‘one, two, three, foah!’ It was different than anything I’d ever heard, and nobody had seen ‘em, so I thought it was kind’a cool. When I saw them on TV I didn’t have the same reaction that most of America did, because there weren’t any keyboards, so that was a drawback in my book. But I liked ‘em. Before them, it was more rockabilly and that sort of thing. When The Beatles came out it was all about the songs that were written. Up until that time, everything was pretty much blues based, or a carry over from the 1940’s schmaltzy sort of thing, Pat Boone, that sort of stuff. When The Beatles came out, all of a sudden it had a much harder edge.
EDD LIVELY (Guitarist with The Mods; later led his own blues band, Edd Lively & The Movers): [After The Beatles,] it was still about the girls, but then suddenly, the music became more important.
SUMTER BRUTON: When rock‘n’roll hit I remember hearing “Rock Around the Clock” played at the Forest Park swimming pool over and over and people doing the dirty bop, ducktails. The ‘50s guys were pretty tough. They had chains, they were hoodlums, and I think the ‘60s guys weren’t as much hoodlums as kids that were learning how to play an instrument [so they could] make some money and get laid, possibly. Bands got younger. They weren’t as good. They weren’t playing as long as Delbert and Bruce Channel and all those guys. Delbert and the Rondells decided to make the big switch to the British Invasion. They learned a bunch of Beatle tunes and had a big thing at the Lake Worth Casino. It lasted about three weeks and all their old fans complained, so they went back to playing Bobby Bland and Bo Diddley and Jimmy Reed. There were a lot more bands and a lot more people learning how to play guitar, but there was just a difference in talent for a while.
BUD BUSCHARDT (Producer for Sump’n Else rock’n’roll teen show at WFAA TV Dallas): Just as when Elvis came on the scene all the young guys would go out and buy a guitar and try and be an Elvis. When The Beatles came on the scene we saw guys grouping together to form their own little bands.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Persistence Equals Perspiration

DIY film-making is a beat down. It is a profession fit only for fools and dreamers and I'm pretty sure which of those two categories I fit in to.  
Two weeks ago I spent five hours uploading Teen A Go Go into the createaspace system to be posted on Amazon. Today they tell me my graphics don't 'fit their guidelines.' Back to square one.
The best thing about working in this day and age is it is possible, in theory, to reach millions across the globe. The flip side is getting your film in front of the right viewers is an arduous and time consuming process.
The mantra of the independent filmmaker is persistence equals perspiration. Chip away a little bit every day.

Every film is a collaborative process. Teen A Go Go could not have been made without the talent and cooperation of hundreds of people and dozens of bands. One of the coolest people I have met in this process is Dick Schalk of The WAYDS. Dick is a fabulous musician and an all around good guy. He graciously let us use footage of The WAYDS, which is some of the only archival footage from the period with sound.
I am posting a portion of an interview with Dick below.
You can read the entire interview on their website:  http://thewayds.com. You can also find links to their music and view their film footage by clicking around the site.

Q: Who named the band? Is there any special significance?

I (Dick) named the band The WAYDS. I remember my dad bought a new naugahide couch, and I decided to lay down on it and take a nap. I don't know if it was because I was breathing the outgassing fumes from the naugahide while I slept or if it's just a coincidence, but the name came to me in a dream while I napped on the new couch. I woke up with the name still running through my head, and decided to us it as a name our new band. True story.
Q: Did The WAYDS write many original songs?

A: Actually, it was pretty unusual for most bands from the '60s to write original music, but we did write a few. My most favorite original was named "Mr. Foster loves us all", which is kind of a sugary-sweet sounding name, but it was really about a ghost in a "haunted" house in our area. I can remember all of us sneaking up to the house one evening, peering through the windows, looking for the ghost of Mr. Foster. We were all scared to death! We didn't see any ghosts, but it left an indelible impression on us… to the extent of writing a song about it! I think this was the first song we ever wrote. We literally wrote the song too (notes on a treble and bass clef); after we finished it, my dad took it to the post office and mailed it to our house by certified mail. We were told by an old country western musician that if we did this and didn't open it, it was "as good" as copyrighting it. I've still got the unopened letter at home.

Check out The WAYDS. They are great guys and a great band.
I'm going back to redo my graphics and resubmit to Amazon. Wish me luck.
Visit www.teen-a-go-go.com to purchase DVDs and learn more about the film.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

What to Leave In What to Leave Out

One of the easiest things about producing Teen A Go Go was the multitude of great stories and story tellers that made themselves available to our cameras.
One of the hardest things about producing Teen A Go Go was deciding which stories and story tellers to include and who had to be left out.
The first cut Melissa edited included more than 60 people. All were great and deserving of screen time. There were many more that didn’t make the first cut that easily could have been included.
During filming we interviewed close to 100 people. One reason we rolled tape on so many was you simply never know for sure who is going to leap out of the camera and who is going to roll up in a ball like an armadillo on the highway. It happens all the time. The problem with this shoot is there simply were not that many bad interviews. Most everyone was personable, funny and full of great information and stories.  
The issue we had after the first cut was finished was the film lacked continuity. Individual segments were fine enough but no personality was onscreen long enough to make a connection with the viewer. As a result the entire film seemed disjointed.
Choices had to be made. Almost half the good people we interviewed were already not in the film and we had to leave out even more. Melissa struggled with this issue for a long, long time.
I sometimes think we should cut two separate films, Teen A Go Go Group A and Teen A Go Go Group B. Both would be the same basic film; same themes, similar stories, just different musicians, fans and industry people and music. (That will be another blog, which music to include and which to leave out.)
I would like to take the space to talk about one particular man and band that has been extremely supportive of the project, almost from the beginning; Tom Kirby, drummer for the Michigan band, Tonto and the Renegades.
While Teen A Go Go focuses on bands and the scene in Fort Worth, Texas, the teen scene explosion happened all across the country. We didn’t have the budget to travel and interview bands from all 50 states, so we asked some people to tape their answers to questions we sent them and mail them back to us. Tom was gracious enough to do so and also gave us permission to use several songs from Tonto and the Renegades and sent us a cache of pictures as well.
Tom became involved with Teen A Go Go when he heard about the project on 60sgaragebands.com, Mike Dugo’s wonderful site covering all things 60’s garage. Dugo also sent us a taped interview that did not make the final edit, sorry Mike.
Tom has, over the past four years, periodically checked in offering words of support and encouragement. Whenever I sent out a mass email updating followers about the project’s progress, Tom was invariably one of the first to reply with a big ‘thanks for the info’ and always offered words of encouragement to keep plugging along.
There were several times I thought the project was dead in the water; that the obstacles were too much to over come. It was Tom’s unflagging enthusiasm and support that kept Melissa and I trudging forward.
It wasn’t just Tom that kept the momentum flowing, there were many more like him that showed indefatigable support. Melissa and I are grateful to you all.
I have attached below a short biography of Tonto and the Renegades from The Lansing City Pulse (http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/print-article-4396-print.html). You can also find more info at http://www.60sgaragebands.com/tomkirby.html. The Michigan Rock and Roll Legends site is   michiganrockandrolllegends.com. There is a great fan site on Facebook that can be found at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=47424154079. Check out "Anytime You Want Some Lovin'" on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGU7WQPxFOs.  
Many good and talented people generously gave their time and talents to make this film possible. Melissa and I both appreciate the efforts made to contribute to the film. In our eyes all are equally valuable. In the days and weeks ahead I will write about more people that wound up out of the final version.
Visit www.teen-a-go-go.com to purchase DVDs and learn more about the film. 

Tonto & the Renegades
Tonto & the Renegades and the Beaux Jens were admitted rivals in their small town. The two Grand Ledge High School bands would play various parties, venues and battle of the bands, although they never shared a bill.

Gary “Tonto” Richey, bassist/vocalist of Tonto & the Renegades, recalled only brief encounters with their rivals outside of school.
“I think I only saw the Beaux Jens play once or twice,” Richey said. “One of those times was at a party at Toby Bates’ (of the Beaux Jens) house. We were busy playing our own shows on Friday, Saturday and sometimes more — so was their band.”
Tonto & the Renegades’ story started much like their neighboring Lansing bands. Terry Slocum, guitarist and vocalist for the band, recalled a pivotal moment in his life.
“In 1964 I was 14 years old, that’s when I first saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan,” Slocum said. “I played clarinet at that time, and I thought, ‘Man, this thing has to go!’ So I went down to Marshall Music and traded it for a guitar.”
The band, which also included Tom Kirby (drums), Bill Ford (guitar/vocals), Jeff Keast (organ), and later Dave Pung (organ), started practicing in Richey’s parents’ basement in 1964. It wasn’t long before they were winning multiple battles of the bands and becoming favorites in the Michigan teen circuit.
One of the popular teen clubs, The Sceen (near Sunfield, southeast of Lake Odessa), was frequented by most Lansing bands, as well as the Beaux Jens and Tonto & the Renegades. The club owner, Don Trefry, even financed 45s for the Grand Ledge bands under the record label name Sound of the Sceen.
Today, those 45s are highly collectable and fetch hundreds on eBay from buyers across the globe.
Garage vinyl collectors mainly seek out Tonto & the Renegades' “Little Boy Blue” single, a 1967 fuzzed-out garage anthem. Slocum said he wrote and sang it for Vicky Schnepp, his then-girlfriend. The song was later featured on the second volume of the wildly influential “Back From the Grave” compilation on Crypt Records.
But back in the 1960s, the band’s cover tunes were the band’s top attraction.
“Back then, it was all about the covers,” Kirby said. “You didn’t get acceptance for your originals until you proved yourself to people — they had to like you. People came to dance, so they wanted music they knew, and they wanted it to sound how they knew it. Not that you couldn’t make it your own, but it had to be solid. After our records were on the radio and the band was well known, we could throw in our originals and people would be happy.”
Eventually the band’s song “I Knew This Thing Would Happen” charted locally on WILS. The band’s second (and final) single featured polished tunes written and produced by Dick Wagner of the Bossmen, The Frost and Alice Cooper’s band.
In the 1960s, popular radio wasn’t exclusive to major-label stars. If a local DJ happened to dig a local band’s single, he would play it, sometimes boosting it to a local hit.
Both WILS and WJIM would play local singles.
As local radio picked up on the Tonto singles, so did major record labels, including Decca and Columbia.
“We were about to sign with Columbia,” Kirby said. “We were going to take the deal because they offered us a national tour, $10,000 advance and they were going to distribute our record nationally. They were the best of the five offers.”
While the record deal was in the works, Kirby was sent a letter from the United States government: He was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1969, which ended Kirby’s music career.
“It killed it. The war killed Tonto & the Renegades,” Kirby said. “After I did three tours in Vietnam, I never went back to playing. I got home in the early 1970s and got on with my life. Gary and Terry were off playing with other people.”
While the band never signed a major deal, in 2008 “Little Boy Blue” was named the #14 Top Song by Michigan Rock and Roll Legends — along with other inductees such as Marvin Gaye, Bob Seger and Del Shannon.
Also, in 2002, all four of the band’s recordings were compiled on a 45 by Misty Lane Records, an Italian label.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Teen A Go Go: A Little Film About Rock and Roll History

I started on a journey five years ago to make a little documentary about rock and roll. Never thought it would be such a long, frustrating, yet rewarding journey. I'm starting this blog to share the experience I've had as a film maker and music enthusiast. To be perfectly honest, it also seems like a good way to promote the film.
I'll be sharing my experience making the film, what I learned about rock and roll history, my thoughts about the music and the people I've met along the way. I would also like to hear your stories and discover even more music from the period.
To learn more about the film please visit our website: www.teen-a-go-go.com.
More in a few days.

Mark A. Nobles