There was the
time that those Viking bonzos the Apemen came to town.
They were on an arts grant from their government, qualified by
playing at a single gig in Washington. On their way back, they
stopped in at KFJC.
That's the short
version. The long version goes something like this:
Several phone calls traded between my house and the Netherlands
resulted in the band agreeing to play at KFJC when they come
to America on vacation. They're playing one gig in Washington,
so they are bringing just their guitars. At this juncture, they
are a four piece band, two guitars, bass and drums. I agreed
to set them up with a drum kit, and amps. The drums and bass
amp were supplied by the Berzerkers, one guitar amp by Rick Escobar
of the Woodies, and one by Uncle Al. Three days before they were
due to show up at KFJC, I got a phone call. While on their way
to the US, they stopped in England and picked up a keyboard player.
Could I arrange for a Farfisa.
Well, that was a bit much, but the Berzerkers came up with a
keyboard from the infamous Papa Don of "Windsurfing"
fame. On the day of the visit, Berzerker Dino Francesconi had
brought his Stratocaster just in case.
About a half hour before the Apemen were due at KFJC, I got a
call from Oakland. They lost their bass player somewhere. He
went to the store three hours ago and never came back. They're
going out to look for him. Then the bassist calls and says he's
on his way, but doesn't know where the band is. Well, an hour
and a half later, they arrive at KFJC. The first words out of
their mouth come after looking at Dino's Strat. "Is that
the only guitar?" They had come with nothing. Uncle Al races
home, returning with his Strat. A frantic phone call to an ex-KFJC
staffer got us a bass after about 45 minutes, which was Brought
over from the East Bay. Then the bass player says "But I'm
left handed" to which I replied "you're gonna play
it!"
They played the loudest fastest highest energy surf set I've
ever seen... crazy men with a vision of surf honed in Holland.
With the first tune, Uncle Al and I looked at each other, and
we knew it was all worth it.
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