It was 1982-83…I was in college and balancing my studies, my jobs, playing in a band, playing solo gigs and the beginnings of a recording career . My professors were an understanding group knowing full well that I had my eyes on a life in music but also knowing my mom was right there in the cafeteria and she wanted to see me make it through school AND be a musician. They were in many cases already fans who attended my concerts and shows. They allowed me to arrive late to class…hand in work at odd intervals and in some cases had adjusted the curriculum a bit to make sure I would get through school. One of those professors was a man named Larry Weller who was well liked and respected in the English department. In my final year he noticed that I often arrived late, tired and in need of sleep or sometimes not at all. So he announced one day in class…in front of everyone that I was in danger of failing not for lack of effort but because of the fatigue of touring and struggling to make it back home for classes. He wanted to discuss a solution with the other students. They came up with a plan for me to write songs based loosely on the curriculum or by a suggestion from another student and then perform them in class. They all get some free shows and I get to pass…win/win.
Around this time, after THE WAX had broken up I got a cold call from a guy named Steve Hughes. Steve played piano and guitar for a really well known band on the circuit called CLASS OF ’59. They were a 50’s band and a really good one. Steve wanted to start his own band and was looking for a singing guitar player. Well…playing for a 50’s band and learning that repertoire wasn’t really on my to-do list but… once THE WAX had dissolved I wasn’t doing a lot of playing or making money so why not!
Steve assembled John Devai on bass and vocals, Jerry Meunier on drums and vocals, me on guitar and vocals and Steve Hughes on piano, guitar and vocals. I discovered the music was really fun to play and none too simple either. It was the first band I played in that had 3 lead singers and sang often in 4 part harmony. It was in this band that I started to fine tune vocal arranging.
After a month of rehearsals in the bass player’s living room which I have no idea how John’s wife ever put up with us all hours of the day and night, we were ready to hit the road. Now, if I thought THE WAX was a money making business…THE PRIVATE EYES was even bigger. Steve was very ambitious and very industrious. Thanks to his persuasion and planning we not only toured almost every week but he had managed our income so well that we now owned our own light system and truck and had our own touring sound engineer. He had also arranged for our bookings and promotional material and the sound system itself was the only thing we had to rent. I spent close to two years in this band and the band got better and better all the time.
This was the first time I played in a band that was this efficient but there was no mistaking whose band this was. Up until this time I had always played in bands that were kind of like little democracies where decisions were made by all. While the little democracies were soothing they weren’t always the best way to do things. Steve came from the old school of band management where there was a “front man” who usually was the band leader and made all the decisions, and “sidemen” who were just that…sidemen. While we DID make band decisions together it was more about majority rule now and I was usually not in the majority. With three people able to sing lead, it was a little tricky to throw one’s weight around because there was really no identifiable “front man” things were often a power struggle. One example was when we experienced a problem when a booker needed a new promo picture and the photographer had not delivered his prints in time. I responded by drawing a cartoonish version of the band and suggested (non too pleasantly) we use it instead of a photograph. My humor (often caustic and sarcastic) was lost on the band and crew and another heated argument ensued. I loved this band, it was a good band and I learned a lot…again probably because I was the youngest member.
The end
Hard working, efficient and profitable, we were well on our way to purchasing our own sound system and becoming a completely self sufficient organization. We had just finished a long engagement at a place in Ottawa called Arnold’s on the corner of King Edward and (don’t look for it, it isn’t there anymore…it’s been replaced by a parking lot and an LCBO). I learned to drink hard and take drugs there…and I quit the band there. I sold back my shares and surrendered my lighting equipment in exchange for getting out of the band’s financial responsibilities. Good timing…I stayed at the hotel with our sound man Richard Lee and the band left with the truck and equipment for Montreal. Two hours later the phone woke us and the band needed a ride as the truck had broken down in Casselman, Ontario. We fell back asleep and three hours later we showed up at the truck stop in Casselman where the band had been waiting for hours. The truck was badly damaged and the band was not happy. So all five of us crammed into my Chevy Monza with my gear in the back and went off silently and sullenly to Montreal. I was 22.