The Squeakin' Deacon Show.......

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Do any of you old Southern California pickers remember the Sunday morning Squeakin' Deacon live radio show from the Southgate Eagle's Hall? That's one of the first places I played when I got out of the Army. There was always a lot of good talent on stage and in the parking lot. That's the first place where I ever encountered parking lot picking going on. I remember Danny Michaels used to lead the band a lot among others. I first met the great Clarence White there along with his brother Roland when they were with the Kentucy Colonels. I also got to jam a little with them on mandolin in the parking lot. Also I met Vern Gosdin there as he and his brother Rex were both with the Golden State Boys bluegrass band. Ol' Vern played mandolin and Rex played the upright bass. Their banjo player (Don Parmerlee) lives here in Virginia now and is still active I believe. Here's a list of folks I met there and you might recognize a few of them! Danny Michaels, Cindy Carson, The Frontiersman and Joanie, Charlie Williams (KFOX DJ), Biff Collie (KFOX DJ), Lee Ross (KFOX DJ) who I later played some with, Bill Black from Walt's Club, Norm Forrest, Bobby Griggs, Texas Tiny, Teddy Bear, Jack Tucker, and the list goes on and on. They just don't have anything like those old shows anywhere nowadays! It's too damn bad! I wish the younger kids could have experienced some of the music venues we had and enjoyed. I'm so glad I was a part of that time and I wouldn't trade those days for anything!

------------------
Have a good one! JH U-12

Joe Casey · From: Weeki Wachee .Springs FL (population.9)

Jerry your so right.I wonder if our paths crossed lets see I was there in early 61 until 63 when Uncle sam decided to give me an all expenses paid trip. Lee Ross and myself use to make the rounds,And I did some work with Shirley Collie for a while.Squeakin Deacon was live on Sunday Morns on KFOX. Damn I was playin the Hitching Post in Gardena when the Golden State Boys would do the guest sets On Sundays. Memories.A lot of people came out of that era.It wasn't the same when I got out.

------------------
CJC

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Hi guys, Jerry and Joe, the last couple of days I have been trying to send you emails, but they keep coming back as "----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----"

Is there any chance you can email me, just with one word if anything. I'm checking the settings on my email server as I've had a few problems with it of late.

Regarding the Squeakin' Deacon show, in an interview Ralph Mooney has mentioned playing as the house band there with Joe Sisk and Buddy Houston, he was playing the LA clubs with Joe Sisk as early as 1949 and at the Deacon's show, a little kid called Wynford Stewart used to show up. He started calling himself Wynn a little later.
Buddy, Joe and Ralph split for Vegas and while there were there in 1950, it was a short time, but long enough for Ralph to write a song called 'Crazy Arms'.
Ain't history grand.

I would love to hear some tapes of the Golden State Boys, the closest i have is the CD by the Hillmen which was cut in 1963 into 1964 with ex-Golden State Boys, the Gosdin brothers with Don Parmerly and Chris Hillman on mandolin while Vern switched to guitar, a great set, great singing too!

------------------

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Hey Joe,
I got out of the Army in June 1963 and moved to Torrance. I was around the LA area a few times before that when I was home on leave but not too awful much as my parents lived in Oxnard and until I got out I spent most of my leave time there. We probably knew a lot of the same people though. I lived and played music full time in the area continuously after that until Oct. 1985 except for a 1 1/2 year stint in the mid 70's in the north Texas/Southern Oklahoma area (Wichita Falls) and the good old Sam Gibbs agency.

Hey Jason,
I sent you an e-mail to check out your system so you should have it by now. I sent it to the address on your profile. As far as the Golden State Boys go, I remember a guitar player/singer named Hal Poindexter and also a tall Dobro player named Skip something or other.

------------------
Have a good one! JH U-12

[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 25 April 2000 at 09:54 AM.]

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Also in the Golden State Boys was guitarist and singer Tom Kuehl (pronounced "Keel"). Hal Poindexter was the brother-in-law of Herb Rice, mandolinist and father of Larry, Tony and Wyatt Rice. The Rice brothers played on Cal's Corral also, as the "Haphazards."

My memory banks have hit a short-circuit. Was it Skip Conover that was the Dobro player?

The band with Chris Hillman, Don Parmeley, and the Gosdin Bros. was called the "Blue Diamond Boys" on Cal's Corral. The recordings they did got changed to "The Hillmen" as a result of Chris' success with the Byrds.

Memory fading fast... system dangerously low on resources... zzzzzzzzz....

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Hi guys, and thanks to Joe and Jerry for your emails.
Jerry, with yours I forgot to one letter when I saved it, not quite sure how I managed that one!..but now I've got the full email thanks.

I was interviewing Bob Warford on the Golden State Boys.
Bob wrote:

quote:
On the other hand, I do recall seeing and hearing Gene Davis and his band on "Cal's Corral", a live television show broadcast from the Huntington Park Ballroom, Huntington Park, California, every Sunday afternoon during the early 1960's. I was in a bluegrass band, the Golden State Boys, starting in early 1964, and we played regularly on that show as well. The version of the band that I was in consisted of Hal
Poindexter (lead vocal and guitar), Larry Rice (mandolin), Eric White (bass), myself on banjo, and Bobby Sloane on left-handed fiddle. That same band (without Larry, as I recall) toured in early 1964 for a couple of weeks with Marty Robbins, playing dates in Colorado, Idaho, etc. On the television show, Skip Conover would play dobro on occasion.

Also guys, I have seen a picture of the full
1964 GSB's with Larry Rice, Hal P., Bobby S, Bob Warford, Eric White and Skip on dobro. They played the LA country music Jamboree put together by the Local 47 in '64.
So yeah Herb Skip Conover was the dobro player.
There were quite a few versions of the group especially in the end, in 1964 Bob Warford went to school, The Rice family relocated to Florida, where Tom Khuel ended up working in a group 'Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party' with Larry. While Bobby Sloan{e} went on to J.D Crowe's group with Larry and later Tony Rice.

Herb, regarding the Blue Diamond Boys, I believe you are right about that being their name. Don Parmerly's version of the GSB's had to change their name as there was two versions of the group operating by late 1963, thanks to a management rift, etc.
Once the Hal Poindexter GSB's got more active the Don Parmerly GSB's became the Blue Diamond Boys.
I think you are right and the Hillmen name was only used when the LP originally came out in 1969 to cash in on Hillman's name.
The weird thing is, Chris Hillman has actually started going along with the story that they changed the group's name to the Hillmen while he was still in the group!
Go figure...
Then again he has also mentioned in various interviews that he replaced Herb Rice in the group, but I've seen a photo of the group from around August 1963 with Hal Poindexter and Don Parmerly with Vern Gosdin playing mandolin!

Hmm, also a bit more on the trivia front, Larry Rice also remembers doing a couple of gigs with Del McCoury in the group in 1964.
Del went on to lead the group into 1965 with Billy Baker on fiddle, while Don played banjo and guitar.

------------------

[This message was edited by Jason Odd on 26 April 2000 at 05:53 PM.]

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Jason
Re: Del McCoury and Billy Baker. Larry is correct. Del and Billy were playing with Monroe when he came out and worked the Ash Grove Club (where Perlowin and I also held forth). Del and Billy stayed behind and worked with the GSB's for a short while.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Herb, were you at the 1963 Ash Grove, etc tour by Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys?

I think every West coast picker with an acoustic instrument must have gone to one of those gigs, even Del's first solo LP in 1968 came through a contact on that West Coast stint with Monroe. Ry Cooder has even laid claim to getting up on stage one of those nights with the 'Big Mon'..I've heard that most of the Pine Mountain Boys, butch Waller and allwere there, various KC's and GSB's were in that crowd!

------------------

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Yes, I was there for that one. I saw Monroe 3 or 4 times at the Ash Grove, the Stanley Bros. (with Carter), Flatt and Scruggs, Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley, et. al.

Ed Neff, Bruce Nemerov, Butch Waller, Rick Shubb, Grisman, all came down for Monroe's visits, usually once a year. Ry was there and played, but soon afterwards gave up bluegrass music. He said Clarence was going to say all there was to say in bluegrass guitar and he (Ry) was going to pursue other musical avenues.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Cool, Herb.
Speaking of Ry's other projects, and totally off topic. But some time back I got a CD of Ry's mid 1960's group the Rising Sons with Keven Kelly, Taj Mahal, Gary Marker and Jessie Lee Kincaid, most of was it unissued until the 1990's. Great take on beat pop meets Delta Blues. Kind of like the Byrds might have been if they were more R&B orientated, rather than folkies.
Taj Mahal really shines on the set.

------------------

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Jason
I remember the Rising Sons very well. Here's some trivia for ya:

Jessie Lee Kincaid's real name is Nick Gerlach. I went to high school with his younger brother, Quentin Gerlach. Their uncle was an old leftist folkie named Fred Gerlach who used to run with Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, the east coast leftist crowd in the 1940's. Fred used to build 12-string guitars that were huge.

Anyway, Nick goes back east and meets Henry Fredericks in Boston, and Henry changes his name to Taj Mahal. Together, they move out to LA as an acoustic blues duo, in 1964.

In 1965, the "Rising Sons" was formed to play in the Martin Guitars exhibit at the 1965 Teen-Age Fair in Los Angeles. The booth was organized by McCabe's Guitar Shop and I was working the booth demonstrating Martins. You have the correct personnel (although the original drummer was Kevin Kelley

). After this short gig, the group felt viable and continued for a little while, replacing Kevin with Ed Cassidy. They played the Ash Grove and were seen by a young guitarist, Randy Wolfe, who was the nephew of Ed Pearl (Ash Grove owner).

So, Randy starts a teenage blues band like the Sons, calling it "The Red Roosters." It featured Randy, Mark Andes, Jay Ferguson, and John Locke. This was 1965-66. Ed Cassidy meets and marries Randy's mom and joins the band. This band matures into the famous band "Spirit" ("I gotta line on yooooouuuu, babe"), and Randy Wolfe is renamed Randy California by Jimi Hendrix.

Randy died a couple of years ago, drowning in Hawaii while saving his son from the same fate. Sad. Not many know it, but Randy took lessons from Clarence White (of course, we all did at the Ash Grove) and could play a sh*tload of bluegrass guitar!

Mark Andes lives in Austin now, and when we reminisce about the old days, it sounds like a couple of old farts (we're both 52) talking about WW2! It's fun, though the youngsters we play with frequently don't give a crap.

I've got more trivia, if you ask the right probing questions.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Herb...uh.....I'll just have to get my jaw off the floor there amigo!

I have been trying to find out Mahal's real name for about 10 years!..admittedly I didn't try and find out where his old man used to teach in Boston and all that, but I knew that Taj wasn't his real name.

It's interesting to note that the Cd and the sleeve notes of the Rising Sons follow the line that Ed was the original drummer and by the time of their first Columbia session, Kevin came in to the group to take the drum stool. Everything else I've read has suggested that Kev was the first in and then replaced by Ed.
I've got a heap of photocopies of KRLA Beat, which was the fan mag that was attatched to station KRLA in SoCal and it's got a 1965 article on the Red Roosters. Ed is in the band pic which was taken outdoors, Ed of course was much older than the rest of the band, and bald so they put him so far in the shadows that he's just a shape {LOL}

Herb, I gotta sent you a Canned Heat article I wrote with lotsa help from Mike Perlowin, I think that might interest you as well.

On a note heading back to country style performers, does anyone remember Dave & Lulu Spencer they played around LA, etc the Cobblestone and I think Cal's Corral and the Deacon's show.
Herb, their drummer in the mid 1960's was was Jerry "Stoney" Stonecipher!

------------------

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Jason
I played regularly with Dave and Lu Spencer at the Checker's Club on Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, during a good part of 1971. The Checker's was half way between the Rag Doll and the Palomino. We had an incredible guitar player named Robert Hardy who could definitely show Jr. Brown a few things. (Robert unfortunately died in 1974 in Corpus Christi TX). Dave and Lu were divorced by this time, and married to other people, but they still had the band together.

Occasionally, Donnie Cagle would sit in. Don was the first openly, swishy, homosexual country singer I ever met. His day gig was running a sweat shop with Mexican women sewing stripper costumes all day.

B. Bailey Brown needs to get in on these discussions, because he was right there in the middle of us at this time, hanging in the clubs, and seeing the bands. That is where BBB and I first became good friends, at the Checker's Club in 1970 or 71.

Stoney was the drummer in "Tex," the band I was in with Boomer C. and Michael Murphey in 1970. "Tex" had broken up and Stoney, Boomer and I were playing with Garland Frady up at the Jack 'O Diamonds in Palmdale. There was a big earthquake in February of 1971 in Los Angeles, and Stoney packed up Wanda and moved to Oregon. BTW, "Stonecipher" is not Stoney's real name, either. I've forgotten what his real name is, maybe Boom can remember.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Herb, regarding the Jack Of Diamonds, I heard that around 1970, Butch Hendrix was working at the at The Jack of Diamonds, and that Wayne Moore was there too, as a bass for hire, although Buck Felts joined Butch as his bassist in 1970, apparently his first bass player gig ever. At least that's what I heard.
Did you know Butch or Buck?

I just got an email yesterday from Boomer as I asked him about Stoney, he mentioned the same move!
Herb, did you get an email from me with a picture of one of the 1963 versions of the GSB's?..my emails have been unreliable of late due to my @#$% server.
I can try to send it again if you like?

------------------

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

I too recall Dave Spencer from about 1974. He was playing in a club in Newhall with friends Ted and Annie Moon. Ted on guitar and Annie on vocals. A fellow named Earl was playing Drums. They also played a restaurant on Lankershim Blvd south of Roscoe called the Knight Lounge. That was a time when the Playtime, Little Nashville, the Cockpit, the Viking, the Corral, Pixes and other clubs were happening.

I recall many nights after a gig, racing to the Playtime for last call and drinking coffee waiting for 600 AM to catch the first call of the new day, music playing non stop all the while.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Jason
I remember Butch Hendrix well but Felts is a dim memory if at all. Wayne Moore, definitely a strong memory!! He played bass with Garland during our tenure at the Jack. Like you said, he came with the club. At least that's what Larry the bartender said.

A super nice, modest guy.

The Jack O' Diamonds (and for that matter the Holiday 2 in El Monte and the Cajun Country on Sherman Way in N. Hollywood,) booked a lot of weekend recording talent, and I wound up working a lot with Freddie Hart, Joe and Rose Lee Maphis, Billy Armstrong, Red Simpson, Henson Cargill, the Chaparral Bros., Tom and Ted the Legarde Twins, etc. etc. etc. when I was on Garland's band and also Jimmy Lawton's band.

Your photo of the GSB's came through loud and clear. Thanks. I hadn't seen a photo of Herb Rice in 35 years!!

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Hi guys, hey Herb, Buck said pretty much the same thing about you, he knew your name, but mainly knows you through what Jay Dee mentions. You guys really played a lot of similar ground in the early 1970's, but you were moving on just as he was coming in.
Buck also played with Billy Armstrong & the Chapparal {spelling?} Brothers, but in 1972.
Wayne has gotten back into recording in the last couple of years which is pretty cool.
It's a good GSB pic, I nearly flipped when Ace Tipton sent it to me.

Hey what ever happened to the Sqeakin' Deacon, does anyone know?

------------------

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Squeakin' Deacon, ...wasn't his real name Carl Moore?... anyway, he died a long time ago. I'm sure someone else out there has the details.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Hey Jason,
The ol' Squeakin' Deacon died about 30 or so years ago. He wasn't in radio at the time of his death. Like Herb said, his name was Carl Moore and I think his wife's name was Marge! When you talk to Donny "Buck" Felts ask him if he remembers me. I didn't really know him except by sight as he always seemed to be working the other side of town. I knew Butch Hendrix pretty well though. He was a fine singer/guitarist. The last time I saw Butch was at the Crazy Horse Saloon in Santa Ana and he had the band that night which consisted of Al Bruno on guitar, Dave Gant (now with Garth Brooks) on keyboard and fiddle, maybe Monte Paul on drums, and I forget the bass player. Ask Buck if he was working with Billy Armstrong when Art Sanchez was playing steel. Art was working with us at the Swizzle Stik in Huntington Beach when he left to work with Billy. He was replaced by a guy named Steve Silver who later went to work with Mary Kay Place and Barbi Benton. I enjoyed that band as we had JoAnne Rinard on vocals, Rod Culpepper on bass/vocals, Art Sanchez on steel, Monte Paul on drums/vocals, and myself on lead guitar/mandolin. This would have been around '71-72 time frame.

------------------
Have a good one! JH U-12

Joe Casey · From: Weeki Wachee .Springs FL (population.9)

God I wish my memory wasn't failing me so bad, How come no one ever mentions a great song writer and well ,decent singer ,Wayne Kemp? I use to love to sing harmony with wayne. "He's a Louisana Man"

------------------
CJC

[This message was edited by Joe Casey on 29 April 2000 at 01:07 PM.]

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Hey Joe,
I knew Wayne from the old Sundown (George's Roundup #2) in Wilmington. He used to do the Sunday afternoon thing there with a friend of mine a guitarist named Sammy Watson who could do steel licks better'n anyone I ever saw. They had an Indian guy on bass at that time but I don't remember the drummer. Wayne was working at George's Roundup on PCH with Buddy Cagle at this time. He was a fine country singer/guitarist/song writer for sure.

------------------
Have a good one! JH U-12

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Hi guys, thanks for the info on the 'Deacon', I appreciate.
Hey Jerry there was someone I meant to ask you about Larry Bales, he played bass and worked with Wynn Stewart and a few others around Southern California (Georges Roundup, Palomino, Swizzle Stick), also worked with Blackie Taylor in the 1970's.

I'll drop Don Felts and Butch a line, I need an excuse to catch up with Butch, as I haven't heard from him in a while.
Have any of you guys heard of Bob Warford, Herb and a few of you might go as far back as his Bluegrass days, with the likes of Golden State Boys.
Herb, Bob mentioned that he had a short lived group that played in the Riverside Area for a few months. It was called the Broken Chains, and the lead singer was Jerry DeMers, who had also worked the Chequers club, sometimes with Dave and Lu Spencer.
The other Broken chains members were Dennis Morse and Eric White, a spin off of Gib Guilbeau's group The Reason, which became Swampwater.

Joe, you mentioned Wayne Kemp and Jerry mentioned Buddy Cagle. I thought Pat Price might drop in as he worked with them both in the Long Beach area. I only really know his talents as a songwriter.

------------------

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Hey Jason,
I remember Larry Bales very well. We were pretty good friends as for the last 4 or 5 years I was in California Larry lived in Orange County like I did. We did quite a few gigs together and I happen to have a video tape of one we did at the Golden West club in around 1984 or so. Larry was a good bass player/singer/ and one hell of a comedian. I still use the one he told me about a drummer we had. Larry said "He's so dumb he thinks Poontang is the capital of Viet Nam". He also wrote some good songs and had some success in this area with some major artists. Blackie might still be able to get in touch with him if he's still alive. I'm 60 now and Larry was older than me and you know how musicians tend to die young!

As far a Bob Warford goes I never got the chance to know him but I got to see him perform a few times. We played the Wagon Camp at Knotts Berry Farm on a show once and Bob was there with Freddy Weller I believe. He's the first guy I saw next to Clarence who used a B-bender Telecaster and did it very well. If I remember the show right they didn't have a steel player but Bob did Red's steel parts on Telecaster just like he'd played 'em on the record.
------------------
Have a good one! JH U-12

[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 30 April 2000 at 08:05 AM.]

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Jerry, I had a feeling that you might have known Larry, I have an email contact for him if you want, I can send it to you or email me and I'll pass it on.
He's in Vegas now and I passed on his contact to Blackie, who had lost touch with him since the move.

Bob had bender No#2 all right, geez I wonder if he still has it?
I've trying to find stuff thathe played, but it's only a few Lp's here and there, Freddie's '72 LP, one Everly bros song, and the Countryside {Michael Nesmith's band and label} material, most of it unissued or deleted.
Jerry, I'm going to use that line of Larry's now, a classic.

------------------