The Palomino Bands

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Time for my annual post about the Palomino Club and it's bands.
Any input would be interesting and much appreciated.

The club kicked off in 1949, Hank Penny played there some, but he had other gigs at the time. (The Cowtown, which Wade Ray took over, and a ballroom gig.)

Penny and a smaller version of his band played there, he intiated a Monday Jazz session night with the Barney Kessel Trio is what I heard from a pretty good swing-jazz player of the period. (Buddy Ray)
Sammy Masters recalls seeing Penny's band and Joe Maphis playing there in the early 50s.

Billy Wright from Spade Cooley's band was another regular, in 1953 one of the regulars to work the club was the Teddy Wilds band, a spin off from Ole Rassmussen's Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Through the early to mid 1950s, bandleaders and singers like Billy Wright, Eddie Cletro, Gene O'Quin and Charlie Aldridge played the
Palomino on a regular basis.

In 1956 it trimmed to Eddie Cletro, Mel Ryan and Gene O'Quin leading bands.

By 1958 adverts for the club read "The Palomino, the Valley's largest western night club, presents dancing nightly with your favorite recording artists and stars of Radio and TV."
The bands were still fronted on an lternating basis, Mel Ryan, Speedy West (with Merrill Moore), and Jack Rogers.

In '59 it was the Tunetoppers (with various members of Gene Vincent's Blue Caps), Mel Ryan and Jack Rogers.

Then it was the Tunetoppers and the Gene Davis Band, after the Tunetoppers folded in late 1959, so it was down to one main band.

The Gene Davis Band 1959-1960
(I've seen a photo of the Pal's sign bearing that name from 1963, the Palomino Riders name came later).

From 1959-1966 Davis led the Pal' band, although on Mondays and the weekend there were period when others played there. Quite often one of the leading guys in the group (Jerry Inman, etc) would get to lead
the group without Davis, sometimes with a heap of fill-in guys.
Ralph Mooney was the original steel player in '59, he left in 1960 to join Wynn Stewart, there was probably some temp player, then Red Rhodes came in on steel in late 1960.

1966-1969 Red Rhodes & The Detours played the Pal' after Gene Davis left.

1969-1971 The Tony Booth Band.

1971-1972 The Larry Booth Band.

1972- 1973 The Jimmy Snyder Band.

Late 1973-1976 Jerry Inman & the Palomino Riders.

1976- 1977 Brian Mark and The Marksmen.

1977-1978 Ira Allen & the Palomino Riders.

1977-1981 Jerry Inman & the Palomino Riders.

After this it gets quite convulted, the bands seem to have gone back into the alternating group thing that they had in the 1950s.
There was a band with Thumbs Carlisle, Glenn Castelbury (aka Castleberry), etc.
The Palomino of the 1980s saw regulars and band members like Rick Shea, Jay Dee Maness, Jack Daniels, Marty Rifkin, James Intveld, Ronnie Mack, Dwight Yoakam (who was already way too big for the club, but enjoyed dropping in), George Highfill, Rosie Flores, Gene Clark, Dave Alvin, Lucinda Williams, Cliffie Stone, Billy Block, Boo Daniels, Arnie Moore, Steve Duncan, Donald Lindley, and Jim Lauderdale among others.

There were also B-bands, a sort of second group that operated, in some cases it was a temp group for the Mondays, or later the Thursday talent nights. Quite often there were Sunday bands that the main group drew on for members.
In the late 1960s a Monday residency was a popular gig, a second Detours was formed for most of 1969 and took the job, although the
Flying Burrito Brothers had it for a time as well, while obscure country-rockers Tex had a small run there in 1970.

And sure right into the 1990s, although too much to even go into here.

Jason

..then there's Danny Michaels, oh yeah.. the very briefly had the
Pal' gig in the late 1970s. I forgot that!

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

Jimmy Snyder started another spell there in ~May 1978, bringing most of his band from the Redding area (Lane Boslaugh, Greg & Rose Humphrey, and Rex the left handed guitar player). The gig was still 6 nights per week, 8:00 PM until 1:30 AM, 2 to 5 sets per night depending on other bands, $36 per night, off Sundays. This was the only time I was in a Palomino band, and I had to buy 2 shiny flowered shirts from Red Rhodes to get the gig. The shirts were too big for me then and they are too small now. I lasted 3 months and Jimmy Snyder lasted a few months longer than that.

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Isn't that where I used to go catch Bobby Black and the Black Brothers, too?

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

I played steel at the Pal with Jimmy Snyder and the Palomino Riders for most of 1981. We were the house band, and played almost every night, often alternating sets with other acts - Canned Heat, Ricky Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, many others. Lots of interesting people dropped by - Michael Parks, Dudley Moore, James Burton, Arnold Schwartzennegger... We won "Best Non-Touring Band" in some West Coast country music awards show, which I think was a regular thing every year for whoever was at the Pal. Jerry Brown was the Gov of CA then, and he rented the place for a "Toga Party" one night. Don't know what went on, we didn't play it and weren't invited. :-0

C#
www.calsharp.com

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Cal, hey there, I know your name from Faron Young's band, didn't know you were a Pal' Rider as well.

Most of '81, so were you around when Canned Heat's focal point Bob ‘The Bear’ Hite died of a drug-related heart seizure behind the Palomino, after performing at the club with Canned Heat on April 6th, 1981.
Not trying to be gory or anything, just trying to pin down who was there back in April, I imagine it would have been a memorable night, for all the wrong reasons though.

Doug/Earnest- regarding the '78 Snyder band, John Noreen told me that he got the gig in '78 after Ira Allen left.
I assumed that Red took over for a bit and then you came in, I was thinking this was all 1978.
You once wrote to me "When Red played in the house band at the Palomino Club in 1978 he played a Dekley. Whe he left the band and I took his place, I had to buy his shirt."

And after you, I think you were replaced by Pete Grant in 1978.

Now this might be where Danny Michaels came in, he didn't last a real long time, as Snyder was back in 1979.
I'm a little stumped on the late 1970s and early 1980s in case you didn't notice.
Lotsa traffic in the line-ups.

Wayne Durham once identified the 1979 Jimmy Snyder group of Archie Francis drums, Pete Grant on steel guitar, Doug Atwell (fiddle), Rex ??? on guitar and Wayne Durham on bass. Wayne was apparently the first to bail.
At some point Jack Daniels joined the group, at least according to Stu Schulman who would sub on guitar for Jack Daniels.

In the end Stu told me that he replaced Pete Grant on steel in the Palomino Riders.The band was then Jimmy Snyder, Jack Daniels (guitar), Steve Duncan on Drums, Ed Hill on piano, Greg Humphries on bass, Doug Atwell on fiddle. (circa 1980?)

Dan Tyack once wrote me, "I played at the Pal after I left Asleep at the Wheel in late '80. I played there for a little over a year. For most of my time there, Thumbs Carlyle was the guitar player.
Dan Tyack
Stu Schulman preceeded me at the Pal. I got Joe Shelby down from Northern CA after I started working with the Sweethearts of the Rodeo (with Vince Gill on guitar).
This, I believe, would have been 1981.
Joe Shelby was born in Berkeley, and in a small biography claimed to have played with Johnny Lee, Jerry Jeff Walker, Billy Joe Shaver, Lorin Rowan and Billy Spooner of The Tubes. He mentioned that in 1981 he joined the Palomino Club band, although I think his stint was short.

I've heard that Thumbs Carlisle took over the group by late 1981. Thumbs group included Stu Schulman on steel guitar.
This might have been one of the B-bands though, I never thought to ask Stu about this band, a few people have mentioned it.
I think Thumbs band at the Palomino was known as the Shut-Outs, and Garth Hudson from the Band was known to sit in on the rare occasion.

Guest and Sunday bands around 1980-1982 that I have heard of where John Stewart and the Juke Box Commandos, The Chuck McDermott Band, The Glen Castlebury Band and Cort Casady's Canyon. The Glen Castlebury Band at the time were regulars at The Lone Star Saloon at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Highway.

Others I've heard about:
Paul Bowman's Band.
Gary Tacket once told me, "I played the Palomino in LA in 82-84 with Paul Bowman who had JD Manness, Steve Duncan, Jack Daniels and the like with him."

The Glen Castlebury Band
The band led by Glen Castleberry was the house band for the Thursday evening talent night for about a year and a half. This was around 1982-83. Arnie Moore (ex-John Stewart) the bass player and vocalist also appeared as an actor in several television films. The group was completed with Boo Daniels on steel, Jack Daniels (guitar) and drummer Steve Duncan who had worked with Ricky Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band. Around this time a young singer named Billy Ray Cyrus used to come in and sing on some of those talent nights.

Confusin' huh?

Cal, do you remember singer Lane Brady?
Thom Bresh mentioned her in an article, said she was performing with Jimmy Snyder and the Palomino Riders circa 1981. After Snyder’s group Lane and Bresh formed songwriting performing duo Bresh and Brody from 1981-1985, then she later worked as a country/jazz/MOR singer and appeared in various adverts, films and television shows.

Also of note, I have read that Gene Moles Jr. the Bakersfield guitarist joined the Pal' band in 1981, but who with?...I have no idea.
His dad was Gene Moles who worked for Mosrite guitars and played on most of the 1960s albums by Red Simpson. My source on Gene Jr. aka Eugene Moles was writer Gerald Haslam who wrote some great things on Bakersfield, however his Hollywood timelines are sometimes a little out.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

"obscure country rockers Tex"...?

ROTFLMAO!!

Chris Forbes · From: Beltsville, MD, USA

Was that the Jack Daniels who was in Highway 101?

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

When I was there in '81 we had Gene Moles on guitar, Steve Duncan on drums, Doug Atwell on fiddle, Johnny ? on bass, and a piano player. Later, Johnny left and Snyder imported a husband & wife team from around Redding to play drums and bass. I have pix of some of these folks at my Mom's.

Yeah, I remember the night the Bear died. It was quite a shock.

Lany Brody came out and sang with us sometimes, but not on a regular basis. She had lunch with George Burns once and came in all excited about that.

I also worked some other gigs around LA with or without Snyder, with Thumbs, Castleberry and others. So evidently were were off from the Pal those nights. I do remember working the talent night every week. That was a trip.

C#

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Cal, thanks man, I gotta thank you for the input on that one. Gene Jr. is apparently in Nashville, although the last time I heard that, it was a few years ago.

Cal, when did you leave SoCal and hook up with Faron?

If anyone's wondering why Herbster's interested in the obscure country rockers Tex, well it's an in joke, although I'd seriously like to see a reissue of their lost recordings on a compilation by the main songwriters previous group. Long story..

And yeah, it's that Jack Daniels, a guy who started playing country music as a young 'un in the mid 1960s. Apparently Highway 101 were formed with Jack coming straight from the Pal' gig in 1984.

Chris Forbes · From: Beltsville, MD, USA

Thanks Jason

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Jason,

I worked with Faron in 1980 and then went to LA in '81 and worked the Pal and then came back to Nashville in August and went back with Faron.

I see Eugene every once in a while here. He was working with Del Reeves and doing some sessions at Gene Breeden's the last time I saw him, which was a while ago.

I'd forgotten about it til I saw this thread, but I'VE GOT A VIDEO TAPE FROM THE PAL THAT'S BEEN SITTING IN MY CLOSET FOR 23 YEARS. Sheesh... I'll post a clip today if I can.

C#

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

I can't remember which house band John Noreen played in but I don't think it was Snyder's; I think it was later.
John was a wonderful steel player and I thought he was very cool because he was always watching a little TV set with an earphone while he played but they say that is why he was let go.

Pete Grant · From: Auburn, CA, USA

John Noreen is one of the really fine relatively-to-completely unknown players. His style shows a string Jay Dee influence (can't go wrong there), but he's fully his own player.

[This message was edited by Pete Grant on 30 October 2004 at 11:29 AM.]

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

Wow, what a history! I have one Palomino story:
In the 80's I was touring with a South Carolina band called "The Zassoff Boys" and we had a day off at Vandenberg AFB. The drummer rented a car, (we couldn't take the tour bus) and we headed into Hollywood and eventually ended up at the Palomino, as we'd all heard so much about the great bands there. Hoping for J.D. or some great country act, we were instead regaled by Glen Yarbourough, who unfortunately didn't really do it for us. We ended up drinking Quervo by the pitcher for hours with Dan (Grizzly Adams) Haggerty and it was downhill from there. When we got ready to leave, the drummer insited on driving, as he'd rented the car, and none of us were in any shape to go into combat with him. But after doing a bat turn in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard, we wrestled him over to the curb, tied him up with jumper cables, and threw him into the trunk. Got back to Vandenberg somehow... next morning as we're about to leave in the bus we notice the drummer is M.I.A. A couple of us high-tail it over to the rental place, where they're just about to send the car out again. We open the trunk and Mr. Drummer was just waking up. I thought for sure he'd go ballistic, but he was very apologetic...

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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Correction on that drummer: it was Jack Sargent, not Steve Duncan, who was on the band when I started there. They say your memory is the first thing to go, and I don't remember the second. Ha! I know that's an old joke, but it's funny to me 'cause I can't remember it.
Here's a video, with the drummer & bass player from Redding. www.calsharp.com/music/movies.htm

C#

[This message was edited by Cal Sharp on 30 October 2004 at 03:26 PM.]

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Cal, thanks man, was Steve Duncan in the group at a later point?

EB, John Noreen, played with Brian Mark and The Marksmen; the house band in 1976-77, with Billy Graham (fiddle), Curtis Stone on bass, Billy Joe Walker Jr. and Harry Robinson on guitars, John Hobbs (piano), John Noreen on steel, and Mikey ‘Moon’ Porter.
He wasn't 100% about the stint with Snyder, he told me it was very brief.

A pity that Palomino Club doco folded a few years back, but the couple making it went through a rather disasterous seperation.
Funding wise I think they might have hit a wall as well, they'd filmed some interviews, even had a reunion gig of sorts, Jay Dee, Buck Felts and Archie Francis from the mid 70s Jerry Inman Band. I think Al Bruno and others had been interviewed.

Forumite Jim Eaton had one of the B-bands, Easy Money, they played the Sunday and behind the opening acts while Inman's Riders backed the headliners. If of course they didn't have a self contained band, if the FBBs or Asleep played, then they got bumped as I understand it.

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

I never knew Steve Duncan. I played some gigs with Brian Marks at other places. At one of them he told us he got mugged in the parking lot after the gig and lost our pay. Luckily, I got my money, but I don't know about the rest of the band; I think some of them got stiffed.

Tommy Thomas was a cheap bastard. He wanted us musicians to hobnob with the customers on break, but he charged us full price for drinks, so we would patrtonize the liquor store next door and hang out in the parking lot or drive down to the Baked Potato to listen to some jazz on our breaks, which were often a couple of hours, if another band was on the bill.

But it was fersure a fun gig. I enjoyed it a lot.

The way I remeber it, Tommy let us go in Aug, 81. That was cool with me, because I'd already decided to go back to Nashville. Snyder showed up in Nashville a few months later, and has been here ever since.

C#

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Interesting to note that Gene Davis was set up to take over at the Palomino in 1984, but for some reason it all fell through.

Hey Cal, when are you going to add some more stories to your website, do you have plans to do more?

Wayne Franco · From: silverdale, WA. USA

I went by the Palaming at least 5 days a week for years. i worked at Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank and passed right by there on my way to work. Saw a lot of bands there. I did play banjo at the talent show a couple of times on Sunday. I remember Vassar Clemens with Doug Jernigan. At the time I had no idea who he was but was fasinated on how he could play jazz on the steel guitar. As I recall, Arnold Schwartzneger was there with Sally Fields. I saw Bill Monroe there a bunch of time. That night they might have been on the same show. I remember Monroe getting someone up to sing and management finally went up and told him he had to get down because everyone was there to see Bill sing. One time I stood outside the dooe and listened to Tom T Hall from the sidewalk. I also think it was J.D. on steel on the Sunday I went to the talent night.

Gene H. Brown · From: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Well....I must say this thread is very interesting to me. I knew Doug Atwell and Jack Daniels very well up in the Northwest, Portland, Oregon, Seattle area and ran around with Jack quite a lot to all the jam sessions. Jack always wanted to play steel guitar, but he could always do some great steel licks on guitar that would make your hair curl!
I also worked playing Steel almost two years for Ira Allen, only his band was called The Renegades when I worked for him up in that same area, all were a great bunch of guys and Ira had a lot of talent, we thought he was going to make the big time there for a while, but it never happened, too bad, he was a great guy. Also worked with Gene Breeden in his studio in Vancouver, Washington called Ripcord Records, before he moved to Nashville, for quite some time, he's another great guy!

Gene

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If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!
;)

Chris Bauer · From: Nashville, TN USA

Was the "Rex" in 1978 Rex Stenzel (sp?)? If so, he ended up playing around Sacramento in the mid to late 80s and early 90s. Played a Fender 8 string pedal steel that he had gutted and turned into a lefty. He was never really known as a steel player but I always loved hearing him play. Probably even more than I liked his guitar playing. Really soulful steel playing!

I've always liked the small amount of John Noreen's steel playing I've heard. I've never caught him live, though, and would like to. Anyone know what he's doing these days?

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Just wondering if any of the pickers, or indeed the fans like W Franko might have kept any pictures, ads, flyers from the past.
Cal, do you for example have the ability to take stills from that Pal clip you've run of your site?

Gene Brown, hi there, I know your name from the Breeden studio crowd in the 1970s.
Did you end up playing on any of the Red Simpson stuff from the 1970s at all?
Gene also had an indie Portland Records, I don't know the exact years, I thin Red had an indie single in the 1970s, but some discographers have listed some Rose Maddox sides for Gene's Portland label as early as 1968-69.

In regards to Jack Daniels, he moved North in the early 1970s, I think he formed the group that recorded for Tally (Silverado I think) in the mid 1970s, while working the Northwest.

Gene H. Brown · From: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Hi Jason,
Yes, I was hooked up with Gene Breedon all through that era and Yes I played behind Red Simpson, in fact, Red recorded one of my songs I wrote in 1967 called "If The World Ran Out Of Diesel" on the Capitol Label out of Los Angeles. And Rose Maddox also recorded one of my songs as well as Rose Lee Maphis and Jerry Naylor. Rose Maddox and Rose Lee Maphis were both on the Portland Label, but Jerry Naylor was on Capitol Tower out of Los Angeles. Man, how time flies, seems like yesterday, those were some fun times for sure. I have a new CD of my own coming out with ten of my own compostions going to be released sometime in January on the Caribou Label here in Canada with national distribution within Canada, I'm also a singer as well as a steel player. When it comes out, I might just post my web site on the forum so those who are interested might have a listen, plenty of steel, twin and even three fiddles on some stuff, good ole fashioned COUNTRY MUSIC like you used to hear.
Thanks for asking, Jason
Gene

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

I've lived in L.A. since the early 70s and like most guys,must have played the Pal a thousand times. I used to live about a mile away so it was real easy to hang out there a whole lot. I was never in the house bands mentioned but I knew and still know a vast majority of the pickers mentioned. Most of the gigs I played there were one-night deals where I'd play w/a featured act after the Inman,Snyder or Brian Mark band would do an opening set. The bands I remember picking there with were Blackfoot,The Burns Sisters(Brenda Burns was later with AATW),Billy Swan,Buddy Hollywood,Jo-El Sonnier,Randy Meisner,Jim Lauderdale,Eddy Dunbar,Red Simpson,The Jim Leslie Band(Jim used to do the Sunday afternoon B-B-Q gig there in the late 70s),A whole mess of various chick singers,Dale Watson and probably dozens more I can't remember right now.
One thing nobody's mentioned were the weekly Barn Dance gigs concieved and hosted by Ronnie Mack. It went out live on KCSN and always featured a great house band - Harry Orlove on guitar,Marty Rifkin on his long scale Stringmaster,Paul Marshall on bass,Billy Block or Steve Duncan on drums,Ronnie on guitar and often the late great Steve VanGelder on fiddle.The house band would do an opening set followed by 4 or 5 other acts doing about 20 minutes each and a house band "by invite" jam session till closing time. I've subbed for Marty a bunch as well as sat in on his Fender on that gig. I probably have dozens of hours of video from onstage,backstage and whatever else in the club of some pretty interesting stuff - some of it not suitable for children.Someday I'll cull thru that stuff and put it on DVD. The other cool thing was the Monday night band/talent show which could fill a book by itself. I personally videotaped the last talent night and it also had a couple of bizarre and XXX moments. That tape circulated all over L.A. and Nashville and became an underground hit.
And let's not forget about the long time bouncer - "Tiny". Tiny was so big that when two or three guys were fighting,he could pick up the whole fight and carry it outside. One night after he threw somebody out for fighting,they came back and shot him in the back with a crossbow as he stood outside the front door. After and ambulance ride and some minor surgery,he was back on the door the same night! The bolt from the crossbow was removed from his back in 3 pieces,mounted on a trout plaque and kept above the bar for years - till the joint closed down. The best stories of course are the ones I can't tell for fear of being sued,divorced or kicked off the forum...
I still miss that place. -MJ-

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Jason-

I can make some stills from the video. I've found a few pics of the guys at the Pal when I was there; I'll post them on my movie page in a day or two. Maybe I should make a page just for the Pal...

Most of my road stories aren't fit for human consumption, or I'd have more of them up. Smile

>

I used to have a pic of my ex-wife in a Pal T-shirt, but a subsequent girl friend destroyed it. Not the shirt or the ex - the pic.

C#

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