|
HISTORY OF THE GAMUT The GAMUT has been around North Eastern Cincinnati for about 25 years, playing our fingers to the nubbins for all the good folks in the area. This whole damn thing started when MARK GLEVICKY got a call from MIKE MCKEOWN (Mac) in 1979 about joining the church guitar group where he was king (along with Charlie, the tambourine-playing maniac). Mark thought about it for about 2.5 seconds after he hung up the phone, said to himself "No WAY", then turned to his wife Kim and said "If that putz calls back next week, tell him "NO WAY". Mac called back, and quick-thinking Kim said "Phone for you dear", and Mark was promptly talked into doing this stuff for the next 8 years! Then in 1982, before this church gig died of natural causes ('cause naturally we didn't want to get up on Sunday morning any more...), Mark decided that it was time to have some fun on Saturday night, so it was his turn to talk Mac and his lovely wife FRAN MCKEOWN into puttin' a rock and roll band together! Mark called up his old buddy "Berg" (MIKE HESTERBERG) the drummer , they got a few beers at the Old Saloon, talked themselves into this whole thing, and then went over to Mac and Fran's house to seal the deal...with more drink. The band was dubbed "The Mark Michaels Band" because...well it's pretty damn obvious why when ya got 2 Mikes and a Mark in the group! In the weeks that followed, mad purchases were made; Shure Vocalmaster amps, Hammond Porta-B keyboard, old Leslie tone cabinets, plastic Peavey monitors, and of course music stands with night lights! Cool, huh? We even decided to haul all this great stuff in Fran's old Chrysler station wagon...the "rollin bowlin alley". Well, we went back up to the Old Saloon and told the new owners (Jim and Mark Heidel...along with brother Jeff make up 3 of the finest folks this band has had the pleasure to work for) that we were the best thing since Larry Welk and that he should hire us sometime in the future. So they did....for the next Saturday. We peed in our pants, cried, and then went back to Mac's and practiced every night for a week. We learned great stuff like "Solitary Man", "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and "Your Nobody Called". Man, what a lineup. It took just one job to realize the the nimble, fast feet Mark had just weren't going to cut it on the ol' Hammond bass pedals........MAN, WE NEEDED A REAL BASS PLAYER! One quick call to an old buddy Newmy (JERRY NEWMAN), and he showed up with the old Vox Bass amp and Fred Collins (just in case we laughed, Fred was there to pound us). The core of the band was born.... Time flies when you're havin' fun and man we have had some fun! We picked up a lead player that thought he was a southern rock god (nuff said about him) and started working! Festivals, dances, bars, parties, reunions and .......are ya ready? A NUDIST CAMP! Yea, man we actually played an outdoor gig at a nudist picnic. No, we didn't have to get nekid, however it's the only job in the band's history where every wife came to the job! Wonder why? You haven't lived till you've seen two nude guys rolling around in the dirt fighting over a woman. And what musician can say that they backed up a male singer who was wearing a T-shirt and gym shoes only? Huh? We laughed till we blew beer out our nostrils! We picked up a gem in 1987 (or thereabouts) when Greg-Bob (GREG KOWAL) came to drum for us for 10 years and became our great friend. Greg moved here from New York and was the steady hand of the band every since he walked in the basement door and said "That's not the way they play that on the record, but I'll do it if you want me to". He spent the last 4 years of his tenure with us COMMUTING 110 miles each way, just to be a member of our family. In March of '97, his company decided they needed him more than us and he's now playing in a country band (oh god) and following behind little animals in Bethlehem PA....... We will never replace his smile and his steadying influence on the band, but the flame burns on. Greg, We love ya man..... Our luck continued in 1992 when BRUCE KIRCHER came in to bend the strings for us in the lead position. Who'd a thought that someone from Western Hills could fit into this group? This man has put the fun back in the music. We knew this to be true the night we were having new publicity shots done and Bruce came out wearing his lovely wife's slip over his hairy chest. What a charmer. Oh yea, and since we were afraid that the new guy would tarnish our good name, we changed it to "The Gamut of Rock and Roll" :) Time marches on and sometimes very sad things put bumps in the smooth road of our rock and roll family. We had a BIG bump in early '99 when Mac and Fran, two of our original members from '82, filled out their Gamut retirement papers. When we started, part of our pay went toward covering their babysitter. Now their 2 oldest daughters are married and their youngest son is engaged....damn, time does fly! A thousand nights have been spent together rockin', singing, smiling, practicing, hauling, drinking, worrying, freezing, sweating, faking, loving, hating, laughing, and most importantly.....making music. Those times will never be forgotten......This whole thing wouldn't have happened without them, period. Mac & Fran, thank you for 16 fantastic years of music, love, and memories. There will ALWAYS be two reserved seats on the bus for you guys whenever you want 'em. Fast forward to a brand new millennium and we got....... a brand new singer ! If you're looking for smooth, soulful, right-in-your-face vocals, you have got to check out Ms. AMY MCFARLAND. She's rockin' right out front and giving it everything she has...which is more than enough for everyone rockin' with her. Amy brought a smile to everyone's face when she walked in, and then she sang and we broke into unabashed grins and hoots. She scared the crap out of us at first with her take-no-prisoners audition, but you know what? She's the sweetest part of this band..... At about the same time that Amy came aboard, we were fortunate to welcome JIM REICHWEIN as our drummer. Jimmy provided the bottom to the band for 1 1/2 years and did a stellar job keeping us in the pocket and rockin' the groove. He also became a very good friend to each one of us. He has 5 boys all under the age of 8, so Jimmy plays music to keep some sanity in his life! With that kind of beautiful commitment, the man has to pick his gigs carefully. We on the other hand, are musical slaves and will play almost anywhere at any time......so......we had to go find someone with that kind of sickness...er, we mean "thinking"! Enter Mr. JEFF KOEHNKE! Jeff came to us in December 2001 and he kicked some serious butt on the thumpers. Jeff plays drums professionally for the last 25 years in and around town with local favorites like "Shrimp Shack Shooters" and "Staring at the Sea". He was the Gamut's personal bodyguard as well...hell, he's about 6'4" and will smile graciously while he stares down at you! He's a puppy dog with killer percussion instincts. Alas, brother Jeff got the corporate call in late 2002 and was promptly told to "go out and travel around the country at least 40.......no 50 percent of your life"! Well, that life on the road does not bode well for a man that has a beautiful daughter and wife at home waiting for him by the fire on the weekends. And if those weekends are chock full of Gamut rock, life becomes tougher than....well, pretty damn tough. Jeff's stay with us was very short (14 months) but very, very good. He taught us kicks, stutter beats, double times, and snaps that we didn't know we had in us. And now we have another reserve drummer in the bull pen when we need him! Huge hugs Jeff, for being a part of the Gamut and being our friend. And don't ever give that band jacket up man.... Once again we hunted high and low for Dr. Rock Skins and we lucked out yet another time with a great, great musician and friendly dude by the name of BILL STEINKAMP. Bills resume includes The Heaters and Sweet Alice along with a raft of others. He's got style and flair without shoving it down your throat, and he brings something to the band we've never had before in a drumzilla.......vocals! Bill has got a soulful, funky, velvety lead voice that oozes soul, funk and rock. Look for him to bring us up yet another notch in soulful, in-your-face rock. One other thing we *had* to have, and Bill fit the uh, bill....he lives in Western Hills! Hell, someone had to fill that cityside balance that Bruce used to hold down. Did I say he "used" to hold down? God, that's hard to write, let alone say. Once more, in late 2002, we hit another giant bump in the road when Bruce reluctantly and sadly walked in to our corporate offices and tendered his resignation papers. Our brother had put in exactly 10 years and 12 days when he walked into the sunset (moonlight) after our New Years Eve gig...but we knew he was now looking forward to spending more of his leisure time with his lovely wife Mel and his beautiful daughter Roxanne. We had (and will always have) a bond that is based on, but far transcends, rock and roll and our band. He's a man of kindness and creativity, and brought us up quantum leaps in our ability to produce excellent live music and learn how to be a true family, both on the stage and off. There will not be another Bruce....but the good news is.....there doesn't have to be. We still continue to make some great acoustic music with the boy and will always share pizzas, beers, Party in the Parks, and foreign movies many times in the years to come. We love ya man. And, as is the case with Mac and Fran, there's always a seat on the bus for you no matter when and no matter what comes along! When one door closes, another opens with the Gamut. The door opened again for us in June 2002 when Glen Voorhees came down the basement, strapped on his axe, and made some beautiful music with the band. He came in as an additional guitarist to keep brother Bruce in line, but now that Bruce has chosen the easy chair, Glen mans the high strings department in the band. He comes from one of Cincinnati's best rockin soul bands in recent memory...The Splits. This boy should have been a record industry producer...he lives to fashion a tune into something that cooks and pops just a bit more than the average bear band. And, if you look up "laid back" in the dictionary, you'll find his picture. Glen has brought us balance, tone, style, and a touch of sonic space....we *think* more when we put a tune together now. July 2003 proved to see the band get "forked" in the road yet again, but as always we came up on the good side of lady luck. Bill was unfortunately not able to stay with us long enough to realize how weird Mark really was (hum, maybe he was), but none the less, moved on to more family oriented weekends. What that brought to us was a brand new drummer and friend in Mr. GARY WILLHITE. Gary had the courage to answer our ad and actually wrote back again after we told him he had to carry all the gear for a year before we'd teach him the secret handshake. He lives in Western Hills (is this becoming a trend here?) and his wife Joyce agreed to let him come out and play with us about 60 nights a year....so we gotta love her! We convinced Gary to join up after he had hung up his Speed King pedals (he used to play two of 'em for his bands from the 70's and 80's) and had settled into suburban bliss with his children and his employer, Nike, which of course is corporate-perfectland! Natch, we told him "Just do it". And he did! We are blessed yet again! Mr. Rick Machala showed up in June of 2004 to take on our mixing and light duties, What a fantastic find and friend........we can't say enough good things about our boy Rockin' Rick.....also known as BIG DADDY. Our only complaint was that Rick didn't stay long enough! He heard the calling of local rock radio again in the Summer of 2005 and had to answer. We will always remember his contribution to this band as the man who brought structure and balance to our sound, after 21 years of us working "at" it. Thanks Rick. We miss ya. Sad things can turn into wonderful things, as we've proven time and time again in the Gamut. 2005 and Ricks departure, as sad as it was, opened a huge door for us when our good friend Kilowatt answered the call to "fill in for a few gigs". Well, we held our collective breath and got down on our chubby little knees after each event Watt mixed for us, and prayed to the sonic gods that he would see the light of night and decide to stay. Our prayers (along with the Vulcan mind melt that Glen did one night at Waffle House post-gig) did the trick when Watt came up to us all and said..........Hey boys and Girl, I wanna be a Gamutian! We were knocked out! A perfect fit for the Gam Fam, and in all humbleness we know we have the best sound guy in the Midwest, if not Norwood anyway. Put simply, if you haven't heard the band since Kilowatt began mixing us in July 2005, you haven't heard the band. As a huge bonus, we are graced occasionally with the extra mixing finesse of Watt's right hand lady (and wife!).... Rachel. What the hell more could we ask for??? As this is written, it is almost 5 months since we had yet another humbling, deep, heart-tugging, departure from this band of brothers (hell, Amy's a brother too). It's taken that long to be able to write anything down, and it's still tough to see this text on the screen. On March 3rd, 2006 after 820 awesome gigs over 23 1/2 years (from the beginning of the band) , our man Jerry (Newmy) sadly hung up his bass to enjoy his family, his boat, his riverside campsite, and everything else he needs to enjoy. His "last waltz" gig was attended by well over 100 fans coming to say farewell, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. What can we say about a man who has stood with us through the best and worst (trust us on this one) of times a band could possibly ever have? Perhaps it's best put by simply saying that our hearts will always be a bit empty, sad, and hollow without Newmy around.........but will also be forever full, blessed, and privileged to be so damn lucky that we were able to have spent all these nights with him. God bless ya Newmy, Gamut Bassist Emeritus forever.... Next, welcome to the paragraph of this diatribe that says a bit about an excellent musician and one of the most laid back and happy dudes we've ever rocked with......Mr. Mark Stephenson. But you'll want to just call him Stretch for "short".....even though he ain't ........at 79 inches tall! It takes a big man to fill a legends shoes, so we damn well had to get a big man to take over on the bottom end. You know you got the right guy when he's chosen after 6 months of auditions, encompassing over 25 talented bassists. And as the saying goes and goes in this band, we are once again blessed to have Stretch and his lovely wife Debbie in the band fam clan. We're pretty sure we have the next 24 years covered on the low end. It also wouldn't be fair not to mention some loyal, trusted, and close-to-our-heart friends who grace our stage every now and then to make some fantastic music. Back-slaps, hugs, and an ice cold Bud Light held high and toasted toward Larry Blum, Tom Damen, and Parker down at Millers. As with any band, along the way we've also had a few band mates ride the bus for a while and "keep the flame alive" with the music we all love to play. Thanks to John Smiley, Art Davis, Mark Lucus, Jimmy Reichwein, Denny Griewe and Jeanne Blessing for your contributions. In the late summer of 2007, The Gamut crossed a major turning point and decided that the road for that rendition had come to a "rest stop". Some had other projects to move to, some were in need of a rest or a change, and some made other choices. It happens. But what has come from these decisions is amazing. It has been a new re-bonding of most of the core of the 80's and early 90's Gamut, but now in a new casual, "Lite" version. Hey baby, we keep up with the times! We get together in the Gamut Studios once a month and simply play the songs we love the best, smile as our harmonies blend once again, and just talk about life and just how much we enjoy being a group (of some form!) again. We plan on doing about 2-3 shows a year at some our favorite haunts with, most importantly, the fans and friends we've known forever. Because it's all about the love and the people who we've shared our times with through the years. We sincerely hope you'll come see us, sing with us, and dance to our music again. And if you're a Gamut Alum, call or drop us an email and plan to come on over to make some more music with the home team. This story will hopefully never be finished. We're sneaking up on our 900th job and starin' squarely into OUR 26th year and it still FEELS GOOD to play! I must say that our wildest dreams in '82 we never would of guessed that this bus would drive into the year 2008 and beyond, but we are still rockin'. As long as there's ice cold Bud Light and Early Times, the soft glow of a bar light or two.....and most importantly YOU GUYS......we'll be there just "doin some tunes" for ya. Stay with us.....
|
