Society Of Sound (S.O.S.)
LaPorte, Indiana
1967-1969

 

All members went to High School at LaPorte or Rolling Prairie in Indiana and met through dances and auditions for group. Doug Garwood (lead singer) and Rory Cubel (bass player in S.O.S. and Deep River Rock Band) formed Society Of Sound in late 1967, in LaPorte, IN. We found a great, younger rhythm/lead guitarist named Pat Seimetz (16 at the time), 12 string guitarist Harold Hooper (18), organist Randy Blank (16), and drummer Rich Mrozinski (18). The six of us played many high school dances in LaPorte county, Indiana and your local lodge gigs and a few street dances and weddings around town. We began our practicing in Doug's parent's basement and his father built us some large speaker boxes with fabric grills and 18" speakers to augment our column speakers that sat horizontally on tripod supports above the crowd.
A temporary manager, Wayne Dudley, recorded us on a 1966 model 4 track stereo reel to reel recorder. One mike was upstairs and the other on the steps to the practice basement. The sound is too bassey, but a little cleaning up could make it sound pretty clear. I have a modern cassette with the songs transferred to it. The songs on the tape (recorded in 1968) are:

Anticipating - New Colony Six, Just A Little - Beau Brummels, Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Time Of The Year In Sunset - New Colony Six, Tossin' & Turnin' - Fats Domino
You Really Got Me - The Kinks, and Back In The USSR - The Beatles

The band rank and file changed quickly when our lead guitarist's (Pat Seimetz) father wouldn't let him stay in the band. The drummer (Rich Mrozinski) went into the air force (like me but I got out due to medical discharge - hernia). We then got Pete Wikel on drums ( a huge double drum & cymbal set) and got Kelly Horn and his Gretch Country Gentleman on lead guitar. We changed our name to the Deep River Rock Band in late 1968.
As the Deep River Rock Band we played at the large civic auditorium, street dances, a few high school gigs, and the Hullabaloo club in Portage Indiana.
It was short lived and became The Confederation when Rich returned from the Air Force to play bass (not drums) as I had left the group by that time.

 

 

Personnel:
Rory Cubel - Bass & Vocals
Doug Garwood - Lead Vocalist
Harold Hooper -12 String Guitar & Vocals
Kelly Horn - Lead Guitar & Vocals
Randy Blank - Organist & Vocals
Harold Wikel - Rhythm Guitar & Vocals
Pete Wikel - Drums & Vocals

Influences:
Cryan' Shames, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Byrds

Setlist Sample:
Laugh Laugh/Beau Brummels, Live For Today/Grass Roots, Born To Be Wild/Steppenwolf
and many more.

Equipment:
Gibson EBO -1 base and Conrad violin basses, Sunn bass amp & bottom.
Ludwig pearl double drum set, Zildjan cymbals, Rickenbacker and Gretch guitars, Vox Mark X11 electric 12 string guitar, '66 Fender Stratocaster, Farfisa mini compact organ thru Fender Deluxe amps, and homemade speakers and column towers w/ Electro voice P.A. and Shure mikes.

Rehearsal Space:
Lead singers basement and an empty warehouse uptown that belonged to Mrs. Irene Richter, an eccentric but nice woman ( now passed on) who lived in a 100 year old historical mansion in LaPorte..

Band Vehicles:
Everyone's cars.

Fashion Statement:
Started with matching white jeans and same color corduroy shirts and later went to Nehru type shirts and bell bottoms.

Best Gig:
Homecoming Dance at LaPorte High School where we did a fabulous show doing "Keep Me Hangin' On" by Vanilla Fudge and great crowd reaction.

No. 2 was when we played at Democratic tent at LaPorte County Fair in 1987 and the Grass Root's drummer watched us play their song ,"Midnight Confessions" and later during their show...pointed us out to crowd as doing it better than they did.(They omitted the guitar bridge in chorus.)

Gig from Hell!:
No doubt - the Westville Mental Hospital (now a prison) where we played and had microphones ripped off stands and guitars messed with during break. Scary gig!

Last Gig:
Hullabaloo Club in Portage,Indiana where old S.O.S. members and new group formed called the Deep River Rock Band played together before Viet Nam War draft took a few of us away.

Harold Hooper's Vox 12 string
Rory with his Conrad Violin Bass

 

 

Where are they now?

Doug Garwood - Lead singer in LaPorte, IN, Pete and Harry Wikel in LaPorte, IN, Kelly Horn dead due to motorcycle accident in Tennessee, Randy Blank in LaPorte, IN, Harold Hooper is now a classical guitarist and teacher in Lafayette, Indiana (he saw the site here and loved seeing himself with hair..haha) Rich Mrozinski -drummer, went on to play in a northern Indiana group, "The Rock Doctors" (yes 2 long -haired docs were in the group) for several years until last year. He played bass and sang lead.They appeared on a televised Oprah Winfrey show when they played at her farm in Rolling Prairie, Indiana 11/2 years ago. No one else has re-entered the music scene except me when I began a short lived group called "Tyne Kyte" that played at Tri State College in Angola, IN, and at a fraternity/sorority bash in Bowling Green, Ohio. One of our groups best songs was me singing "Inside Looking Out " by Grand Funk. I am now living in Lakeville, Indiana..bought another Conrad violin bass from a cool dude in Texas and am collecting many guitars and basses from the 1980's. We have 60 now. Long live Rock & Roll!

 Information contributed by Rory Cubel Beachdude46536@peoplepc.com

 

 
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