THE QUANTRILL RAIDERS aka THE TROHLS - "I'm Going" (Tema Records – PTX-150, 1967)

by Achille Brunet

Compiled no less than three times,—all in 1989 and surprisingly never again since,—on such LPs as Glimpses Vol. 4 or Follow That Munster! Vol. 1, "I'm Going" by The Quantrill Raiders is, to my ear, a classic. Yet, not much has been said about the band itself. Let's unearth some clippings...

Formed in 1965 in Middleburg Heights, Ohio (southwest from Cleveland), The Quantrill Raiders actually began as The Trohls, and would be known as such for most of their existence. 

The lineup, as of March 1967, included three brothers, Larry Cox (lead vocals and bass guitar, 17), Danny Cox (lead guitar, 16) and Mike Cox (drums, 15), along with Dennis Webb (organ, 15) and Roland Solomon (guitar and backing vocals, 15).

(The Cleveland Press - Oct 21, 1966)

The members were then probably between 13 and 15 years old when they started the band. In 1967, Larry and Danny attended Midpark High School, Mike and Dennis attended Middleburg Junior High and Roland went to Parma High School.

The earliest Trohls gig I could find was on Sept 2, 1965 at the Southland Shopping Center in Middleburg Heights. According BuckeyeBeat, the band soon gained a large following on the local dance scene and in Cleveland, including by future Dead Boys member William James Wilden aka Jimmy Zero.

(The Cleveland Press - Sept 23, 1966)

By July 1966, they were included in the Best Bands Ballot, a contest organized by The Cleveland Press in order to elect the five best bands in Cleveland, along with important local names such as The Baskerville Hounds (aka The Tulu Babies), The City Squires (future Gregorians on ABC), The Epics (of "White Collar House"), The G.T.O.'s (aka Joey & The Continentals), The Missing Lynx (of "Behind Locked Doors"), The Outsiders (of the classic "Time Won't Let Me"), The Twilighters (on Bell Records), Bocky & The Visions (of "Spirit Of '64"), or The Tree Stumps (of the unreleased "Dark As Night"); only to name a few. Muther's Oats Quintet, an unrecorded combo, won the contest but The Trohls ranked sixth, just after The Outsiders who took the fifth place.

From Sept 1966, The Trohls appeared several times at the Casa Di Baron restaurant in Parma Heights and The Note in Ruggles Beach until November, when they changed their name to The Millstone Pebbles. Only one gig was advertised under that name and they were back as The Trohls in February 1967. 

The Trohls at the Rolling Stone Club

(The Cleveland Press - Apr 4, 1967)

The band was then regularly booked at the Rolling Stone Club on Brookpark Road in Cleveland, where The Music Machine had also appeared. The band was apparently known for the comic antics of the three brothers on stage. An article published in March described what seemed to be the typical end of a Trohls concert at the Club.

"Danny and Larry spray shaving lotion right in their little brother's face, Mike, who keeps right on drumming until he becomes weak, then his big brothers come on stage and cheer him up with Cheerios. At the end, he throws his drumsticks up in the air. Larry is the perfectionist of the group, Danny comes up with the showmanship gimmicks."

(The Plain Dealer - March 17, 1967)

The article also mentioned Danny wrote the songs for the band, including one called "I'm A Fool". That song was never recorded nor released to my knowledge. Reportedly, one of their antics also included a vacuum cleaner, without further details. The band also appeared around that time at The Lantern in Berea on the Paul Revere And The Raiders program.

During the following months, the band had many gigs at the Rolling Stone, as well at Padua Franciscan High School, St. Edward High, the Hullabaloo in North Ridgeville, the Boston Mills Ski Lodge, Chagrin Armory, The Stable in Painesville,  the "In" Spot, sometimes opening for The Rationals and The Choir.

In June 1967, they got a regular job at the Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio where they appeared until the end of July, also playing at the Wildwood Lake Sand Dance and the Mentor Hullabaloo during the summer, and It's Boss in September.

After that date, news about the band became sparser. They changed their name to The Quantrill Raiders likely around late 1967/early 1968, when the group recorded their great lone single at Audio Recording Studios in Cleveland, engineered by Don White.

"I'm Going", an original written by Danny Cox, is the standout side with fast pace and slower parts, though both sides are great garage rockers with fuzz and organ. The flip side, though being more pop and a cover, has a great riff and remains uncompiled.

The single was produced by Don (Dante) Rossi of The Tulu Babies/Baskerville Hounds, through whom they most likely obtained their flip side "Sad Eyed Lady". The song was an original by Baskerville Hounds organist Doug McCutcheon (also the writer of their Hit single "Hurtin' Kind" as The Tulu Babies). They had included "Sad Eyed Lady" on their 1967 album on Dot Records, as The Baskerville Hounds. By then, Doug was out of the group and in the service.

The Quantrill Raiders single was issued in January 1968 and doesn't seem to have made much noise. The only gig I could find under their new name was at the Brunswick Hullabaloo that same month. They reportedly disbanded not long after that same year.

I couldn't find much on the members after that. After the band broke up, at least Danny Cox and Roland Solomon went on to play in The Baskerville Hounds. Danny Cox later joined a group called Happy Daze and then Freewheelin' in 1974-76. Solomon was also in the early 1970s post-Baskerville Hounds band Raintree. Around 1975, he also joined Rainbow Canyon. 

More information would be appreciated.

__________

Sources include articles published in The Cleveland Press and The Plain Dealer, as well as the account on the band at buckeyebeat.com.

THE KRACKERJACKS - "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" b/w "Girl" (Vampire Records — Acetate, 1967)

by Achille Brunet

What a cool acetate! And what a label!! Sold in 2019 for $3,383, this great rarity has never been issued nor compiled and I'm longing for the day I'll hear the full songs at last. So for now we'll have to be content with the excerpts, their cool story, and we'll take this opportunity to dive in the unusual case of Vampire studio as well...

The Krackerjacks formed first as The Cracker Jacks at Pleasantville High School near Atlantic City, New Jersey with Albert "Al" Eble (lead singer, from Northfield), Gerry Sharpe (lead guitar, from Northfield), Dave Lambert (rhythm guitar and vocals, from Northfield), Wayne Andress (bass, from Absecon) and Bob McArdle (drums, of Pleasantville).

Wayne Andress on guitar.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 29, 1962)

Wayne Andress played guitar and sang from the age of 9, performing solos from 1961 in sixth grade at New Jersey Avenue School in Absecon, NJ. Later at Pleasantville High, he formed and played with The Wayne Andress Group in May 1966 and was also accepted as second bass in the New Jersey All State Chorus. Dave Lambert was previously in another Atlantic City band called Lincoln And The Continentals in July 1966.

The band likely formed at the start of the school year in Sept 1966, likely evolving out of The Wayne Andress Group since it was said later they formed in 1965. The first known appearance of The Cracker Jacks was at the Hullabaloo Scene dance club in Pleasantville on Sept 30, 1966. The band was managed by James "Jim" Edward Throckmorton, a distributor of lubricants for cars and music producer working between Allentown, NJ and Pennsylvania, with a foot in Atlantic City, NJ.

(Press of Atlantic City - Jan 6, 1967)

From November, the band adopted the Krackerjacks spelling and was back at the Hullabaloo Scene on the 2nd. The band was good enough to attract the attention of RCA Victor through their manager, and on Nov 30 it was announced they cut a demo tape titled "Try It" produced by Bernie Lowe, a composer and producer active in the record industry since at least the beginning of the 1950s and who also produced The Sidekicks on the same label at that time.

This first song was unfortunately never issued. While the band expected to be signed, it turned out RCA only offered a contract to lead singer Al Eble, the only member not in high school. The later preferred to stick with his pals and refused, which caused them to be dropped by Jim Throckmorton.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 17, 1967)

With no adult to supervise them, The Krackerjacks worked twice as hard at their nightly rehearsals, forcing Gerry Sharpe to quit his after-school job. In the first months of 1967, the band appeared at the Jerry Blavat Show, the Hullabaloo, Dewey's, the Liteen Week shop teen show and at Pleasantville and Mainland High Schools.

In January 1967, the band went to Vampire studio and cut two original tunes, "Girl" written by Gerry Sharpe, and "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" (title misspelled on the acetate) written by Dave Lambert.

Hear extracts of both sides.

Vampire was a recording studio set in the back of a barbershop at 1128 Atlantic Ave. in Atlantic City, NJ, operated by owner Leo Masucci, who was barber most of the week, and recording engineer for music and movies the rest of the time. His wife Kay occasionally helped.

Leo Masucci had emigrated from Alife, Italy in 1928 and settled as a barber. Filming as hobby at first, he was soon asked by local businessmen to shoot publicity films for them. First working at Tel-Ra studios in Philadelphia, Masucci soon set up his own studio in the back of his barbershop.

(Press of Atlantic City - July 17, 1966)

Masucci would open the recording studio every Wednesday, every evening after hours, and on Sundays by appointment only. In Sept 1966, Masucci had been the only one equipped to film The Beatles when they were in Atlantic City and made a 25min tape featurette for TV that was, according to him, broadcast even on British TV. 

In July 1966, produced by Jim Throckmorton, Dave Lambert's previous band Lincoln And The Continentals had also cut an acetate at Vampire studio. The acetate was apparently sent to New York companies but nothing came of it and no copies have surfaced to my knowledge.

Lincoln And The Continentals at Vampire Studio.

(Press of Atlantic City - July 17, 1966)

To note some online sources list Throckmorton as the co-owner of Vampire but the article I found on the studio mentioned mostly Masucci, and Throckmorton was billed only as producer.

Among the few acetates from the studio to have surfaced, most of them are pop, jazz and soul music but one reportedly fuzz/psych acetate by a yet unknown band billed as The National Gross Products is known to exist. Songs are "God Dam The Pusher Man" and "The Pusher".

Two area radio stations played "Girl" and "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" and out-of-town producers promised them the moon but nothing followed. In February 1967, Wayne Andress's father Charles M. Cohen, who had been in the background all the time, stepped in to manage them full-time.

From then on, the band practiced four or five times a week at Cohen's house at 311 Spruce Street in Absecon, considering gigs and constantly thinking of ways to improve the band. They appeared at many places, such as the Jerry Blavitt Record Hop in Ocean City, the Harvey Holiday Hop in Margate, the Elk's Hall in Vineland, the Absecon Youth Center, the Mainland Swim Club, ect., ect. and another half-dozen places among the more popular of the area, as well as countless private parties.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 19, 1967)

In March, thanks to an eulogistic article written by Sonny Schwartz in the Press of Atlantic City praising the band, they received many offers for gigs and a TV appearance. In April they appeared at the Alibi Lounge, then at Tony Mart's in Somers Point where they got regular jobs for the whole month.

The band attended several Battle Of The Bands, including the Holy Spirit High School Talent Show, and on March 22 at the Atlantic City Armory and ranked second at both.

(Press of Atlantic City - April 15, 1967)

On April 15 they appeared on TV on Channel 40 in Wildwood, and forgot an expensive piece of equipment at the station when they left. A frantic phone call was made and the band had the surprise to see their equipment returned to them through the cooperation of all the police departments along the way by police car relay!

From June 1967, The Krackerjacks became regulars at the 300 Lounge in Absecon where they stayed until the beginning of September. However, at the end of the month, lead singer Al Eble had left the band and accepted a long-term contract with Jubilee Records. Nothing came of it as far as I know.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 10, 1968)

The band kept playing at least another year. In the fall of 1967, Gerry Sharpe entered Atlantic Community College with the aim of becoming a history teacher. Wayne Andress started to make plans to leave for Rider College in the fall of 1968 to study business education and teaching. 

Despite missing Al Eble, the band still played at the Alibi Lounge and Tony Mart's and had a busy summer, with bookings at the Sea Horse Pier in Brigantine, NJ six nights a week and with a more psychedelic sound. The band likely disbanded during the summer of 1968.

Krackerjacks drawing that came 

with Sonny Schwartz's article.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 19, 1967)

After that, Gerry Sharpe was apparently the only member to keep up with music, first with The Sharptones, a country band later renamed Gerry Sharpe And The Country Gentlemen with a gig at the Split Rail Tavern in Cardiff and the Rascal Lounge in 1971. He was back at the Split Rail the next year with The Mullica River Boys, and in 1973 with The Country Comforts. That's the last I could find.

To note that a musical and comedy revue called Len Carries And His Krackerjacks was popular in New Jersey all through the sixties but they were in the Jersey City/Newark area and were not related.

THE 4 TODAY aka THE UNIVERSALS - "I Lost Her Love" (L & F Recording Service — Acetate, 1964?)

by Achille Brunet

I acquired this unknown acetate four years ago. It was recorded by Port Arthur, Texas band The Universals. By carefully looking under the glued band name, it appears the band first recorded it as The 4 Today before changing name.

I found no trace of gig under either name. It seems to have been recorded by teens, most likely in the early/mid-sixties. The songs are at the junction of late rock'n'roll (especially for "Flame") and early garage rock (for the jangly "I Lost Her Love"). An address stamped on the A side gave the name of S. Fernandez.

Salvador Fernandez was born in 1929. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, Texas in 1950 and served in the U. S. Army during the Korean War.

Being well in his 30s by the mid-sixties, I assume he was the band's manager, or at least a relative of someone in the band, rather than an actual member. I traced him thanks to the fact that he had lived all his life in the same house indicated on the acetate, unfortunately only to find he had passed away in 2016.

A song titled "I Lost Her Love" was copyrighted in March 1964, credited to Jerry L. Randolph. The songs sound like they might have been recorded in 1964 and people named Jerry L. Randolph lived in the area so that's always a possibility.

Three different songs called "Flame" were copyrighted around that date so it's harder to determine. 

(Thomas Jefferson High - 1950 Yearbook)

L & F Recording Service, located in Port Arthur, was operated by Lois Beadeaux and Floyd J. Beadeaux who was also a publicity chairman of the Junior Chamber of Commerce for the Miss Port Arthur contest and a Jaycees director.

The acetate's label shows it was recorded at L & F's second address on 1812 Procter Street, where it had moved in 1959 two years after its establishment in 1957. The studio was renamed in 1970 so the acetate was at least recorded between these two dates. During these years, the studio also recorded the singles by Curt Block And The Vibrations, and The Sons Of Barbee Doll.

 

Don't hesitate to drop me a line if you know more about the band.

(The Orange Leader — Nov 22, 1957)

THE REJECTS - "3 Hours Til' Dawn" b/w "Hard Workin' Man" (Dasca — D45003, 1967)

by Achille Brunet

Today, let's have some Vermont memories and shed some light on the band that gave us the crude punker "Hard Workin' Man", a song I became obsessed with ever since I heard a scratchy sample of it on an auction site.

The Rejects formed in 1965 in Rutland, Vermont as a four-piece, led by Gordon "Buff" Spaulding. The earliest gig I found was in May 1965 at a Hootenanny Dance held at the Mount St. Joseph Academy's auditorium.

Less than a month later at the Variety show of Rutland Havenwood School, the band had extended to a six-piece with Buff Spaulding (leader, guitar), Mark Sammons (guitar), Rick Bloomer (drums), John Pfenning (drums), and Steve and Rod Van Buskirk (trumpet), all students at Rutland High School. The unusual thing is the presence of two drummers, though I don't know if they played at the same time or shifted between gigs (or songs).

(The Rutland Daily Herald - March 7, 1966)

In February 1966, John had left, Rod was absent and Buff, Rick, Steve and Mark played as the Buff Spaulding Jazz Quartet for an event of the First Methodist Church.

Still The Rejects had not been put on hold and were back a couple of weeks later, joined by Tom Wormwood assisting Steve on trumpet. They won a band competition at the Castleton Federated Church on March 7, against a Fair Haven band called "Hairs".

(The Rutland Daily Herald - May 5, 1966)

In May, the band's local popularity led them to appear on WCAX-TV's "Dance Date" show in Burlington. This time, Steve had left the trumpet to Rod. At that time, the band's set list included songs done by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass.

In June, The Rejects attended a Jamboree at the Otter Valley Club while the latest radio equipment was showcased to thousands of Northeast radio operators. They appeared a second time on the same TV program in July, without Rod and adding a female vocalist, Carol Thrall. Two female vocalists, Connie Cook and Andy Bishop, were also members for two months, I think around that time.

The recorded lineup of The Rejects

(mid/late 1966 or early/mid 1967)

In September, due to graduation, the band lost many members and had to evolve, and the new lineup finally crystallized into the one that would be heard on the Dasca single.

Keeping up with the new sounds of the time, the band had now given up trumpet players and added an organ. Along with Spaulding and Sammons on guitars, the band was now comprised of Donald "Don" Ravenna (drums), Mike Densmore (bass), Craig Robinson (organ) and two girl vocalists, Lisa Kimmey and Martha Lord. Don had previously been a member of The Fugitives, another local band, in 1965.

(Bennington Banner - Dec 30, 1966)

Having become the most popular rock 'n' roll band in Rutland, the band saved money from the gigs and gathered a total of $4,000 worth instruments and speakers. They also started saving to finance a record.

In November, the band attended the huge "Southeast Varieties" held at Southeast School to which over eighty local performers appeared, in which Carol was featured as a soloist. Then The Rejects appeared at Fisher Elementary school in Dec 1966, before winning another Battle of the Bands in January 1967 at Rutland Junior High. 

David S. Calef, April 1967.

Having saved enough money and with the help of their parents, the band paid a $400 fee for the recording and pressing of some original material. The members were at that time all between 15 and 18 years old.

They called on David S. Calef, a Vermont director of broadcast, radio engineer and promoter of his own small Vanguard Productions company, who seemingly took advantage of the ambiguity and presented himself as working for the Vanguard Records from New York City. Calef recorded their two songs on February 12 right at Rutland High School, likely very cheaply.

"Hard Workin' Man" was written by Buff Spaulding in December 1966. It's a really cool garage track with a great riff and guitar solo. Despite being placed on the B-side, it was presented as the top side even at the time.

"3 Hours Til' Dawn" is a great moody punker as well. Mark Sammons wrote the song the night before the recording session. Both songs have great guitars and organ sounds, with many voices and great backings by Lisa and Martha.

Dave Calef sent the recordings for a pressing of 1,000 copies, while the band started to promote the upcoming record, appearing yet again on "Dance Date" and performing their two originals.

The copies were delivered at the end of March and the band was apparently a little surprised to find Dasca instead of Vanguard on the label. In addition, Buff Spaulding's name was misspelled. They were also justifiably disappointed with the sound quality, as the recordings were indeed crude.

(The Rutland Daily Herald - Apr 5, 1967)

The record was nevertheless the pick of the week at radio station WHWB. Spaulding announced they already had plans for another record, but were waiting to see if the first one sold. The idea was that if they could sell the 1,000 copies, another run of 2,000 would be submitted. 

Meanwhile, the band, that had been chosen to represent the Rutland Region, left for Burlington for a statewide Battle Of The Bands against five other combos sponsored by Jaycees. They played on April 8 in front of 250 teens at the Black River High School Gymnasium but unfortunately didn't reach the podium.

(The Rutland Daily Herald - May 1, 1967)

Back at home, the band found a spot at the end of April at The Towne Shop on Merchant Row and Center Street, a clothes shop, where they played a 2-hour afternoon gig and did their best to sell their single and autographed them to an enthusiastic crowd. Still, the band considered the disc had failed. They said having sold only 1,500 copies, which seems to imply with their plans to order 2,000 additional copies that half of the discs remained unsold.

Still thinking of making a better record, the band set up on the second floor of an old barn on Grove Street, in the rear of the Melody Radio-TV Shop owned by Spaulding's father and spent the summer converting the attic into a completely equipped recording studio, including a glass enclosed control room, to be able to professionalize their sound.

At the band's own studio in the old barn.

(The Rutland Daily Herald - March 21, 1968)

Yet again because of graduations, Mark Sammons and Mike Densmore left the band and Bill Comstock was brought in on guitar and saxophone. Lisa Kimmey also took up organ while Martha Lord took up the guitar too. 

The Rejects came back again on "Dance Date" in October, and on Nov 27, won a second time at the local contest that allowed them to represent Rutland again in the statewide Battle of the Band in April the next year. In December, Martha Lord was also named to appear in the publication "Outstanding Young Women of America".

Bill and Buff working hard on new songs at their studio.

(The Rutland Daily Herald - March 21, 1968)

The band kept appearing at Teen Dances at the beginning of 1968 and in March, they devoted themselves to record material for another single in hope of a chart-buster hit. Spaulding's father helped operate the deck while recording.

"We're making the master tapes ourselves," said Buff Spaulding. "That last record, the one that flopped, that was done by a 'professional' and we consider it... well, an experiment."

Martha Lord masters her own songs at the studio.

(The Rutland Daily Herald - March 21, 1968)

Martha Lord wrote eight songs for the band and Spaulding helped with the arrangements. One of them was "Love Ya", reportedly a "slow, rhythmic, almost haunting melody" with vocals by Lisa and Martha which the band members thought had a good chance to make it big. Another one was called "Hold Me Baby".

According to an account of a session, "when the Recording sign in the studio flashed on, Miss Lord looked as professional as Peggy Lee as she sang her own lyrics. Spaulding seemed pleased and laughed loudly when Ravenna ended with a loud drum flourish."

(The Rutland Daily Herald - March 21, 1968)

The master tapes were shipped to three big companies; MGM, Columbia and Robin. Spaulding was confident that at least one of them would be impressed enough to do something with them, adding that MGM had already offered them the services of an arranger for free. But all the band members except Bill Comstock were now seniors at Rutland High School.

"A lot depends on what happens with our recordings between now and September," Spaulding said. "If they flop, we're off to college. If we get a hit, we'll stick together. Either way, it's a lot of fun."

In April, the band attended again Jaycees' Vermont Battle of the Bands. The Rejects ranked fourth but still won a consolation trophy. Some other competitors had colorful names: one was called The Other Man's Grass when another was the Apathetic Mushroom!

(The Brattleboro Reformer - Apr 1, 1968)

Sadly, to my knowledge, the eight new Rejects songs were never picked up and are now lost in time. As Spaulding had announced, the band likely broke up as members left for College in Sept 1968.

Yet, Spaulding remained active, including as a manager and booker for local venues in Rutland. In 1969, he arranged a tour that included The Zombies at the College of St. Joseph, coordinated various rock concerts in Main Street Park and engineered live recording sessions for local folk singers. 

A venue in the Park booked by Spaulding.

(The Rutland Daily Herald - July 17, 1969)

One day, Spaulding made a bet with a local band that he could put together a band formed with high school guys who had never played before and make them beat anyone in a Battle of the Bands. That's how he created and managed The Original Cast Blues Band. The band competed in the Battle and Spaulding won his bet! One member, Thomas McHugh, who was described as an outstanding guitarist, unfortunately died homeless in 1989 after a short self-destructive life, pretty much washed up by alcohol and drug use.

In 1970, Spaulding operated the record section of his father's shop and offered the city to pay for trash cans in the high school area with his own funds but he also wanted to advertise his music and store on the said cans, which the city couldn't allow. Later that year, Buff obtained The Flock from Chicago to come to play at the Castleton State College.

As for David Calef, the 'professional' recorder that laid on tape the two songs we have today, he later became a member of the committee of Miss Vermont, owned the Jerry Lewis cinema, and produced educational documentaries for TV on tape.

In 1974, it was made public he had failed to pay his personal property taxes but he kept up with the Miss Vermont contest and his theater, now called First Cinema, also selling electronic equipment and telephones through his Vangard-Dasca company. He became president of the Battleboro TV Network and directed many TV programs. His company later became Vanguard Telephone. He finally added Greyhound racing to his list and was active until the end of the 1990s.

(The Brattleboro Reformer - Feb 26, 1982)

Buff Spaulding stayed in Rutland and kept ties with music in the following decades. He opened the Melody Music Center where he sold guitars and other musical equipment and his recording studio kept attracting many people.

A local musician, Art Rothafel, remembers that "Buff was sort of a wannabe producer. There were a lot of touring bands that played on the mountain, and they'd always come to Buff's. We had this ongoing flow of musicians coming to Rutland. Local kids with musical aspirations hung out at Spaulding's studio, learning from the visiting musicians. It is uncanny how many really great musicians came out of Rutland. There was just a slew of people. We had our own little community of musicians, and the nexus of all that was Buff Spaulding's studio."

After keeping up as a local figure with a great influence on local musicians, Gordon "Buff" Spaulding passed away in 2019 in Rutland.

Gordon Walter Spaulding, Jr.

September 2, 1949 - May 30, 2019