Do you remember Mark Pearson? He was in our band too. (His dad was a well-known Spokane doctor.) Mark and I later ended up trading spots back and forth in The Brothers Four (he's in the group currently). I don't recall recording anything with the group, but I do recall playing around town for the Lions Club and Rotary and such. How 'bout Starlit Stairway - the local talent show that aired every week on one of the TV stations? Was is KXLY? (This was way before Star Search!) Our band won that a couple times. Do you remember the Boyle twins? Boyle Heating Company sponsored the show and it opened every week with the Boyle girls singing, "When you need coal or oil, call Boyle." And I remember the first time I appeared with the band on that show - it was like Hollywood! We're really on TV! What a thrill.
I think that's probably what really sparked my career ambitions. I got stars in my eyes at an early age and I just kept climbing the ladder.
Mike asked below about banjo bands, so here's a little preview of one of the chapters in my book that's in the works. Dutch Groshoff's band consisted of his students, who ranged in age from about 10 to 14 I think. His son, Larry, was the oldest and, since he was Dutch's son, he assumed the role of de facto leader.
We wore red & white striped coats (I think my mom made mine) and straw hats, and believe it or not - I still have that outfit (although it doesn't fit me anymore). I recall that there were about 8 to 10 of us in the group and we played arrangements that Dutch concocted. Stuff like (as you mentioned) "Bye Bye Blues", "Tio San", "Chinatown, My Chinatown", "Five Foot Two", "Ain't She Sweet", etc. All stuff that came in real handy years later when I started playing Shakey's Pizza Parlors in LA to pay for my college tuition at UCLA.
The biggest banjo band I ever saw and played with was in Oregon back in the 1970's. I'd been invited by John McKinley of Salem to attend a gathering of banjo players at a state park outside Salem somewhere. We were a little late arriving at the event and as we drove into the park we weren't quite sure where it was being held. Being a nice summer day, we had the windows down and before long we could hear an odd plunking sound coming from off in the distance. As we got closer to the sound we could distinguish that it was multiple banjos playing some of the songs I mentioned above. We rounded a bend in the road and there on a hillside in front of us was a group of probably 300 banjo players all strumming together. Depending on your point of view, it was either the most gawdawful sound you've ever heard or it was like angels strumming their harps. (Honestly, because of the varying levels of musicianship, I think angels would have been running for cover.) But we parked and I tuned up and joined in the fray. I think we cleared the park that day.
For the uninitiated, we in Dutch's band all played 4-string plectrum banjos (tuned C-G-B-D). The traditional banjo bands from the 1920's and '30's would have tenor banjos as well (tuned C-G-D-A), maybe some banjo ukes, a couple of banjolins (mandolins that look like banjos) and at least one bass banjo. Usually you would not see 5-string banjos in these ensembles. The whole audio range was covered and the arrangements were structured somewhat like big band arrangements with different banjos playing different parts. Tell me why this never caught on!
Here's a link to a photo of the Dallas Banjo Band, a modern day version. They use a tuba instead of a bass banjo. http://www.dallasbanjoband.com/
The Sacramento Banjo Band is probably the best known group in the genre performing today.
http://www.sacramentobanjoband.com/
And here's a link to the Fraliner Banjo Band from Philadelphia. If you've ever watched The Mummers Parade you've probably seen these guys.
http://www.fralinger.org/
Of course, the internet is endless, but here's one more link that's kinda fun. This shows some pictures of Classical Banjo Orchestras. Check out my favorite, The Banjo Chicks, at the bottom of the page.
http://www.classicbanjo.com/groups.htm
Now you got me goin'! I could probably do a whole research project on this subject.
So Pat - do you have any photos of our band? Are you still living in Spokane? Nice to hear from you - keep in touch.
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