Roamin'
Empire
Westland,
Michigan
1969-1973
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Dan and Frank played
together for years in Jr. High...parties and talent
shows. Dan knew Steve from the neighborhood. Steve
had a lot of jamming going on in his basement with
many different musicians. The four of us just
seemed to click. Dan had a ton of equipment from
his previous band the "Purple Rush". He supplied
most of the cabinets and amps for our first few
gigs. Our first gig was in December 1969 at a
Whittier Jr. High dance. We played every school in
the Livonia district and a lot in surrounding
areas. Also church dances, small concerts. We
played for LYI (Livonia Youth Incorporated) three
times a week that first summer. Monday and
Wednesday at a Jr. high and Friday at a High
school. we made 25 bucks for the Jr. highs and 100
bucks for the high schools. That's 25 bucks for the
WHOLE band...6 dollars and twenty five cents
apiece, but we loved it. Later on we played at the
Full Tilt Boogie Ballroom, the Carawee ballroom,
the Crow's Nest West. We did a gig with Robin
Seymore from CKLW .
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Personnel:
Dan Bethuy - Lead Guitar/Lead Vocals
Frank Higgins - Rhythm Guitar/Lead
Vocals
Dan Frantz - Bass Guitar
Steve Polcyn - Drums/Vocals
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Influences:
Johnny
Winters,Savoy Brown,Led Zepplin,Humble
Pie,Spooky Tooth.
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Setlist
Sample:
Rock-n-Roll Music (Frost), Mean Town Blues
(Johnny Winters), Over the Hills and Far
Away (Led Zepplin),Walk Away (James Gang),
Overture to Tommy (The Who).
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Equipment:
Home made speaker bottoms. West , Sunn,
Traynor, Marshall, Silvertone, Crestwood,
Gibson, Fender, Home made Eliminator
cabinets for P.A., 18 inch metal horns
from a football field.
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Rehearsal
Space:
Steve's
basement.
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Band
Vehicles:
1966 Ford
Econoline, and everybody's
cars.
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Fashion
Statement:
American
flag for a cape( almost got
arrested).
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Best
Gig:
Warm up
for Bob Segar at the Ford Ice Arena.
Probably the biggest crowd we played
for.
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Gig
from
Hell!:
Wedding
for "Tiny" (a bouncer from Bimbo's, I
think in the Ann Arbor area. You can
imagine the size of "Tiny's" dad. He
didn't like our volume(we only had 1
volume----10) He said, and I quote "turn
that music down or I'll push this band
right through the wall" Well Tiny didn't
like that, he wanted LOUD rock-n-roll at
his wedding. He wipped out his wallet,
paid us , gave us an extra 50 bucks and
said, "you're working for me, I'll take
care of the old man" We did come out of
that one alive.
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Last
Gig:
Some high
school dance somewhere.
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Editor's
Note:
Wow...talk about deja
vu!!! I was at that wedding (your gig from hell).
At least I'm pretty sure I was. The wedding I'm
thinking about was in '72 (I think), it wasn't in
Ann Arbor though, it was at a hall at Mercy
College at Southfield & Outer Drive, in
northwest Detroit.
Tiny was someone I knew thru a mutual friend, and
he was big as a mountain and I remember that he
also was a bouncer somewhere. I think he worked for
my family's vending machine business for a while
too. Anyway, myself and Keith (who's my partner
here at this website) were hired by him to play
some hippie-dippie-acoustic-folksy music at the
wedding ceremony which was I believe at St. Mary's
of Redford on Grand River in Detroit...Father Bob
Kreucher presiding. Hired wasn't the exact
word...Tiny "requested" that we play, and you
didn't deny a "request" from Tiny. At the reception
the band was really, really loud (and really,
really good I might add). One song I recall being
played was "I Don't Need No Doctor" by Humble Pie.
I remember every detail you mentioned...his dad
going berserk, and Tiny stepping in to keep the
music as loud as possible. I remember hearing Tiny
telling his dad that if he didn't like it he could
leave! I think his dad actually left the reception
after that. I also remember being concerned (not
prepared) after hearing a couple of guys in the
men's room talking and laughing about Tiny putting
acid in the wedding cake. Don't know if there was
any truth to that, but I never felt any weird
effects afterwards.
I just got off the phone with my wife at work, read
her what you wrote and asked "does that sound
familiar?" She never hesitated..."yea, we were
there too". So even though you said you thought it
was in Ann Arbor...I gotta think it was the one we
were at in Detroit (it was after all, over 30 years
ago). Too funny, and what a small world. Wonder
what ever happened to Tiny?
- Dan/MFB
Yes Dan, that was Tiny's
wedding that we played. "I Don't Need No Doctor"
was one of our signature songs. Not only did Tiny's
dad leave the party, he took half the uncles and
aunts, grandma & grandpa, and everyone else
that couldn't stand the music, after we informed
them that we didn't do any polkas (heck, we did
Oh-bla-di Oh-bla-da, what else did they want!)
-Frank
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Where
are they now?
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Fall
2003
Dan Bethuy lives in
Whitmore lake. His son is playing in a band. Frank
Higgins is living down the street from his old high
school ( Franklin) and is still playing in the band
Second Wind. Dan Frantz lives in Walled lake and
has a full set of equipment in his basement for
friends to come over and jam. Steve Polcyn passed
away 2 years ago from cancer.
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Information contributed by
Frank Higgins fwankie@triton.net
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