It was way back in
1966 when Larry Reed and Ken Helle started talking
about getting a group together in St. Petersburg,
FL. We practiced for months together using very
inexpensive equipment, I had a no-name guitar and a
small amp with an 8-inch speaker. Larry had a small
keyboard which he plugged into my amp. After a
while we decided that we should form a group and
have some fun. Larry knew of a drummer, Art
Lettelleir, who had played in several country &
western groups and was looking to start playing
rock. We gave Art a call to see if he would be
interested in joining us in our quest for garage
band fame, and he agreed. We began working on early
Beatles, Stones, some old standard rhythm &
blues, and whatever was in the top 40 on the radio.
After a few more practice sessions we finally found
our bass player, Bob Warnick. Bob came by one of
our practice sessions with a friend of ours who
knew we were looking for someone to play bass. He
unpacked his gear and we ran through "Got A Line on
You" by "Spirit," and the rest, as they say, is
history. The "Sounds of Creation" (SOC) was on it's
way to fame, fortune, and whatever kind of trouble
we could find. After a few months of
practice we decided it was time to bite the bullet
and go to our local music store and spend the cash
for new gear. Art already had a nice set of drums
and Bob had his Fender Bass, but Larry and I needed
to upgrade. I got a great Gibson SG and Larry ended
up with the perfect set of keys, a Hammond B3 organ
(he eventually got the Leslie to go with it). We
were lucky to be able to practice in a housing
development clubhouse in exchange for some manual
labor around the grounds. After working up enough
songs to cover 5 or 6 sets we started seeking
gainful employment as "The Sounds of Creation," but
we still hadn't quit our day jobs, Our first gig was playing
at a small biker bar (The Club 49) on 49th Street
South in St, Petersburg, FL. We played weekends at
the place for a several months all the time
building our set list and learning more Iron
Butterfly and Steppenwolf songs to meet the
requests of our new support group, the local biker
gang (what a great bunch they were). A few of the
girls in the club wanted to help us get started so
they made some of our clothes. Saved us a lot of
cash and they get their own business started.
After several months at
the Club 49 we auditioned for a new club on the
beaches, The Pink Pussycat. We started a six week
run at that club and packed in the crowds. It was
on one of those really busy nights that we got an
offer from a local agency to sign a contract, which
took a lot of the pressure of finding jobs off of
our shoulders. We started touring Florida and
having a blast. We became what was known at the
time as a "change-over" band. We worked up enough
of a variety in our sets to where we could go into
a jazz club, piano lounge, or country western club
and change it into a Rock & Roll club. Half the
night was spent playing the type of music the club
was noted for and the other half we started with
the heavier rock & roll ( Led Zeppelin, Iron
Butterfly, Mountain, Cream, Santana, etc...). By
the end of our contracted time at the club we had
changed it into a rock & roll night club
suitable for rock and heavy metal customers.
Although we never cut a record, we did have a few
original songs, the most requested of which was one
called "Love is the Answer," a driving, hard
rocking dance song. We played in clubs from
St. Pete / Tampa to Key West and along the east
coast of Florida, especially around Coca Beach
during many of the old Atlas rocket launches at the
Cape. We were once invited to watch an Atlas Rocket
launch from the close-in area at the Cape after
meeting some of the launch personnel and astronauts
at one of the clubs (the lounge at the Hilton) we
were playing in at the time. We never played open
venues like rock concerts, but we were always
booked in a nightclub for at least a six-week run.
One of our best gigs was the six-week job at the
Castaways Resort in Freeport, Bahamas. What a time
that was, lots of fun. Over a year went by of
playing clubs in Florida when our agent told us he
was close to sealing a deal for a tour of clubs in
England called, "My Fathers Mustache." Before that
deal was sealed the group started to break-up and
we only lasted for a few months and some of us went
on to get "real jobs" for one third the pay.
Playing in "SOC" with Larry, Bob, and Art was a
great experience and a helluva lot of fun. It was a
time in my life I'll never forget. Personnel: Influences: Setlist
Sample: Equipment:
Rehearsal
Space: Band
Vehicles: Fashion
Statement: Best
Gig: Gig
from
Hell!: Last
Gig:
Information contributed by Ken Helle
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