It was in the
fall of 1964 when a group of guys in New
Castle, Indiana, who were mostly high
school musicians, decided to put together
a rock band. The number of
gigs we were playing increased
significantly, to include jobs in Illinois
and Michigan. We started working on
original songs. In November,
1965, we entered a jingle advertising
contest sponsored by a men's clothing
manufacturer. We won the statewide contest
and became one of the six finalists to
compete in the company's national contest.
Unfortunately, we didn't win that
one. The band went to
the Jan Eden recording studio in
Indianapolis, Indiana, in January 1966, to
record six original songs. We signed a
contract with Muncie, Ind. disc jockey
Bill Craig Jr. - BCJ Productions - as our
agent later in 1966. Craig thought the
band should change its name. So we decided
on "The Wild Things", I suppose borrowed
from the song title by The
Troggs. In the summer of
1966, the band went to a small recording
studio in Santa Claus, Ind. to re-record
two of our original songs, "I'm Not For
You", and "Love Comes, Love Goes". Those
songs were released on a 45 rpm record on
the Showboat label. The record got
some airplay on local radio stations and
we sold quite a few copies - although I
don't recall how many - in East Central
Indiana record stores. By the fall of
1966, several other local garage bands had
formed including the "Stix and Stones",
the "Kwestions", the "C Quins", and the
"Grenadiers", but I think our band
continued to be the most popular local
band; probably because we had a
significant head start on the
others. As is often the
case, just when things are going great and
looking promising, the band was disrupted
by the war in Vietnam. My number was
coming up for the draft, since I had
turned 19 in the fall of 1966. I decided to
enlist in the Army for the military music
school at Norfolk, Virginia, with an
assignment with the Army band at Fort
Harrison in Indianapolis. The plan was for
me to continue playing with the Wild
Things after basic training and the music
school. Bass player Phil
Mann replaced me on bass. Phil sang
background and played tambourine on our
record. Unfortunately,
the music school didn't work out for me
and I ended up with the 2nd Battalion,
37th Artillery, in Bad Kissingen, Germany.
The unit later returned to Fort Lewis,
Wash. for the remainder of my 3-year
enlistment. The popularity of
the Wild Things continued to grow. The
band switched to the Beacon Talent Agency
in Indianapolis and became the house band
for a while at the Triangle, a popular
teen night club in Greenville, Ohio.
Phil Mann
eventually was replaced on bass by Richard
Douglass from Muncie, Ind. The wild things
broke up in 1968. Barnes and Bennett
joined another popular, well-established
local band, the "Chosen Few" from Muncie.
That band went on to a successful 14-year
career as the "Faith Band", which recorded
several excellent albums, opened for some
of the top rock bands all over the "Faith Band"
eventually recorded the national hit
single "Dancin' Shoes", written by lead
singer The Wild Things
didn't "make it big", and things didn't
work out the way I had hoped they would,
at least for me. But it was an
unforgettable experience, a lot of fun
with a great group of guys, and 2 1/2
years of my life that I wouldn't trade for
anything. Personnel: Influences: Equipment:
Rehearsal
Space: Band
Vehicles: Fashion
Statement: Best
Gig: Gig
from
Hell!: Last
Gig: Comments: Above: The Wild
Things publicity stills. Listen
to the Wild Things! Above: more
publicity stills and a copy of their set
list. Where are they now? Barnes, Bennett, Hamilton and I
have continued to work with various local rock, blues, Guitarist Dave Bennett has changed
the direction of his music career with a CD he released in
2004 titled
Information contributed by Eldon Pitts |
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