Thuh
Sqwamps
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
1965-1967
|
|
|
"Whatever you do, Mr.- spell the name
right!"
|
I formed The Dukes in 1964
with Paul Slingbaum on lead guitar (Hagstrom) and
Glenn Halpern on drums. I played guitar. We soon
added Tony Curcio on (Hofner) bass. Tony began to
play guitar and left the band. I wanted to add
keyboards, so I brought in Steve Batoff. He and
Paul constantly argued over who was leader, so Paul
quit. Steve brought in Ricky Rydell on lead guitar
(he knew the chords and solo to "Till There Was
You"!), and Mitch Sussman, (who could play "Wipe
Out" all over the kit) came in on drums, forcing
Glenn "Pete Best" Halpern out. We convinced Alan
Brenner to play bass, as the girls liked him and we
figured they'd come to our gigs: we were right.
Steve was the leader of the band because he had the
deepest voice. He also sang "We Gotta Get Out Of
This Place." To this day, I can't see Steve without
hearing him sing, "In this dirtyol' paht uh thuh
city..."
|
Personnel:
Bob Rush - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Rick Rydell - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Steve Batoff - Organ, Vocals
Mitch Sussman - Drums, Vocals
Alan Brenner - Bass
|
|
|
|
|
Influences:
The
Beatles and British Invasion bands such as
the Stones, Animals, DC5, Yardbirds
etc.
Also American "defender" bands such as the
Lovin' Spoonfull, Gentries, ? and the
Mysterians,
Rascals, Blues Magoos, Electric Prunes(!),
Turtles, Association etc.
|
|
Setlist
Sample:
Wooly
Bully, Heat Wave, Twist & Shout,
Gloria, Wipeout, I'm A Man, Day Tripper,
Good Lovin'.
|
|
Equipment:
Well, we all had matching Ampeg amps,
which was our local claim to fame. I can't
recall the model, but they're pictured in
one of the photos. I had a 1965 Epiphone
Casino (which I still have), our lead
guitarist had a Gretch Country Gentleman,
Organist used a Farfisa thing, drummer had
silver sparkle Ludwigs, and our bass
player had this beast he made from a
6-string Japanese guitar. Of course, we
used Shure microphones and Atlas mic
stands (!), with a Bogan P.A.
System.
|
|
|
|
|
Rehearsal
Space:
The
basement in Mitch's house.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band
Vehicles:
Mitch's
dad's station wagon (although all of the
parents ultimately took turns!)
|
|
|
|
|
Fashion
Statement:
Our
outfits were either navy shirts with white
trim, white jeans and desert boots, or
red, white and blue "Mod" shirts with
white jeans and Beatle Boots, we also
played unmatched to be 14 year old
"outlaws."
|
|
|
|
|
Best
Gig:
Well, as
far as Thuh Sqwamps are concerned, I would
say our best gig was at Rye Valley Country
Club's summer dance in 1967. We played
great, promoted it great (the place was
packed), looked great and got mobbed by
gangs of young girls! As one band led to
the next, I must say my favorite gig was
played with my 9-piece horn band Faustus
in 1968. We were at a local radio station
"Marathon" where our slot was between
Tommy James and the Shondells and the Ides
of March. I'll never forget the feeling of
the power of all that sound.
|
|
|
|
|
Gig
from
Hell!:
The
closest Thuh Sqwamps ever came to "the gig
from hell" was when we were playing a frat
party (we were all 14 and 15 years old!)
and some jerk poured beer down the backs
of our amps. That really wasn't so bad,
after all, and we were thrilled to be
playing there!
The true gig from hell occurred with a
later band which evolved from Thuh
Sqwamps. We were playing a weekend in a
mountain resort. We had a real
temperamental jerk of a lead singer who
insisted on a big vocal break in a certain
song (where the break really didn't work,
but we humored him). On this particular
night, the break came, and the jerk's
voice cracked. He looked at the audience
who, along with the band, were silent,
said, "I can't do this" and walked off the
stage. We didn't get laid that weekend,
and to this day I blame that
singer!
|
|
|
|
|
Last
Gig:
I don't
recall. Thuh Sqwamps were an evolving
thing. We all went to different schools,
and started playing with different groups
of people, so I don't think any of us can
really pinpoint the true last gig (someone
said "Candlestick Park, in San Francisco",
but I assure you that was not
it!)
|
Sqwamps
Memorabilia
|
|
|
Where
are they now?
|
|
|
Bob
Rush
I am a
chiropractor in Philadelphia. I was an
Elvis impersonator through chiropractic
college, played bass for a musical comedy
act in the late 70's, and did a great deal
of clubs and studio work in the 70's. I
currently have an 8-track recording studio
set up in my house, and play guitar and
bass with a 60's revival band made up of
guys I knew from the 60's. After all these
years, we can finally figure out the
chords to all of those songs, but "Friday
On My Mind" still throws us!
A comment from
Dr. Bob:
I meet old friends who were wonderful
musicians who say they no longer play. I
feel so sad when I hear this, because
music still means so much to me, and I
could never imagine stopping. I am
grateful for all of the experiences, and
for my desire to continue to play. It's
great too, to finally be able to afford
all of the cool gear I always
wanted!
|
Mitch owns a well-known local deli, and is also in
catering. He says he stopped
playing drums in college.
Rick played the Broadway pit, toured and recorded
extensively in the 70's as a solo and with
bands,
played with "I Love New York," and today is a video
editor.
Steve played with a number of bands, including
Valentine with Frank Stallone, and today is a
clinical psychologist and lecturer. He still has a
very deep voice.
Alan's whereabouts are unknown.
|
Dr. Bob
(the rock & roll
chiropractor) UPDATE! My 60s
revival band, Apple Jacks, is also
performing as The Rip Chords ("Hey
Little Cobra," 1964) with original member,
Richie Rotkin. I had been researching a
"Where Are They Now" article, and besides
becoming very good friends with Dino
Danelli of the Rascals (that's a long and
funny story for another time), I met
Richie. He and I became fast friends, and
The Rip Chords were reformed at the end of
the summer of '98. I finally have a hit
record although (1) I was 12 when it was
recorded, and (2) I wasn't
there!
|
|
|
|
I'm in the upper
left (older and wiser) in the B&W, and
with the P-Bass in the color shot.
We're doing quite well for a new (old)
band. Oddest thing is having been 12 when
"Cobra" hit.
That was a year or two before Thuh
Sqwamps.
I've developed quite a nice relationship
with some of my rock heroes, most notably
Mike Maxfield, original lead guitarist of
Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, and his
new-ish bass player Eddie Mooney. We've
actually called each other on a number of
occasions. They're all in Manchester,
England, and still quite active (Billy J
is in Long Island, NY!). The Dakotas play
a lot of gigs with (check out this list):
The Foundations, The Searchers, The
Animals, Herman's Hermits, Freddie and the
Dreamersand Wayne Fontana and the Mind
Benders. There. That's about 80% of Thuh
Sqwamps' set list! Cool, no?!
:)
For more
info on the Rip Chords go
HERE
|
|
A
recent letter from Dr. Bob that we just
gotta share with you!
10/19/02
Hi Dan,
Wow, things are
spiraling like crazy. Why wasn't I this
alert in the 60's? (Too busy Sqwamping,
would be the answer!)
Rip Chords just came back from Las Vegas
where we played on a bill with The Box
Tops, Freddy Cannon and Jay &
Techniques. Sat in the bar with Alex
Chilton et al following the show, drinking
martinis. What a lovely fellow.
Also working on a book with Vic Flick
(who?!) Vic played guitar on The James
Bond Theme, also World Without Love,
Silhouettes, Have I the Right, It's Not
Unusual... so many of the parts we all
learned were Vic!
Also, Andy White (who? Not thee
Andy White who played drums on the
Beatles' PS I Love You and Love Me Do -
yes him!) is coming TO MY HOUSE next
Friday to help me with Andy's book.
I've worked with Billy J Kramer (at my
house for New Years last year), Three Dog
Night, Peter Noone (we email) and spent a
good deal of the summer playing with Al
Jardine. I was recording tracks for my
daughter's demo (she's being produced by
Dino Danelli of the Rascals). My wife
yells down, "Bob - Al Jardine's on the
phone." (He called to BS) so I stopped and
picked up the phone. I said, "Only for you
would I stop a recording session." He
said, "No! Don;t do that!" and I said, "Al
(I said 'Al' to Al -
you know?) if it weren't
for you and The Beatles I probably
wouldn't even be recording now! We talked
about Ray Charles and
Danelectros.
Point is - it's
you, it's me. Sounds like I'm bragging -
OK, I am, but only because it's so surreal
to me! And here I am - little Bobby Sqwamp
is hanging with his idols. Dreams really
can come true - only the time table gets a
bit skewed at times.
Hope all is cool!
Warm regards,
Bob Rush, DC
Thuh Sqwamps
|
Information contributed by
Dr. Robert Zachary Rush.
|
|
