T.H.E.
Cincinnati,
Ohio
1964-1968
|
|
|
The band went
through several personnel changes over the
five years they performed together. While
some people only played a show or two with
the group, here are the primary
contributors to the development of the
group. Karl Sjodahl (guitar) and Tom
Bruckmann (bass) started the band
(originally called The Commands) with
rhythm guitarist Larry Swan, and drummer,
Tom Allgeier. The four guys worked
together on various audio-visual projects
during high school, and decided to turn
their interests in music and technology
into a rock and roll band during the
summer of 1964. Tom (A) left the group
shortly after drummer Jeff Willis joined
in 1965. For a while, The Commands worked
with two drummers, two guitars, bass and
drums. Contrary to conventional wisdom,
Jeff was the first guy in the band who
COULD read music. Larry's girlfriend,
Sherry Picket, joined the group frequently
as a vocalist during '65 and '66. Larry
left several months later, and the group
worked as a trio for a while.
Mark Winkle joined the band on keyboard
and vocals in late 1966. Local garage band
icon Don Schenk heard the group at a
rehearsal and asked if he could sit in
from time to time. The group was delighted
with the idea, and the full lineup of
"T.H.E." was in place.
Jeff, Karl and Tom were in college at UC
(Jeff in Political Science, Karl in
Radio-Television and Tom in Liberal Arts
and ROTC). Mark was completing high
school. After the band stopped playing,
Jeff and Karl went into the Army in 1969.
Jeff served with the Fife and Drum Corp
and appeared with them on the Ed Sullivan
Show in 1971. Jeff married Karl's sister
and began his career in retail when he
left the service. Karl served a tour as a
television director and radio announcer
with the American Forces Vietnam Network
in Saigon. He left the Army to pursue his
broadcasting and production career in
1972. Tom converted his ROTC experience
into a career as an intelligence officer
in the Army. Mark studied Pharmacology and
started his family in Tennessee. Don found
himself playing less and concentrating
more on his photography interests, which
he developed into a successful business.
(For more information on "The Guys", see
their web site: http://users.nac.net/karl/the/guys.html
|
|
Personnel:
Karl
Sjodahl - Guitar, Vocals
Mark Winkle - Organ, Vocals
Tom Bruckmann - Bass
Jeff Willis - Drums
Don Schenk - Guitar, Vocals
|
|
|
|
|
Influences:
Rascals,
Beatles, Motown, Doors, Kinks, Lonnie
Mack, Booker T. & The MGs, Ventures,
Neil Diamond, Byrds, Lovin' Spoonful,
James Brown,, Johnny Rivers, and a lot of
One Hit Wonders
|
|
Setlist
Sample:
Midnight
Hour, Light My Fire, Double Shot Of My
Baby's Love, Good Guys Don't Wear White,
Mustang Sally, GLORIA, But It's Alright,
96 Tears, Shotgun, Love Is A Beautiful
Thing, Feel A Whole Lot Better, Thank The
Lord For The Nighttime, Hold On I'm
Comin', Baby I Need Your Lovin, Say You'll
Be My Girl and other original tunes and
arrangements.
|
|
Equipment:
In our last equipment package, Karl played
a '65 Mosrite Ventures Model Guitar
through a VOX Super Beatle Amp. Tom played
a Mosrite Ventures Model Bass through a
Sunn 200S Bass Amp. Don played a Fender
Stratocaster through a Fender Showman Amp
with a custom speaker cabinet, Mark played
a Hammond Organ with Leslie Speakers, Jeff
played a four piece Ludwig Silver Sparkle
Drum kit with Zildjian Cymbals. We also
used a Customized PA System and Colored
Stage Lights (For more information on the
band's equipment, see the "Gear" page on
their web site:
http://users.nac.net/karl/the/gear/gear.html
|
|
Rehearsal
Space:
Karl's
Basement, Karl's Garage, Mark's Basement,
Various Backyards, and often during
sound-checks before a show.
|
|
|
|
|
Band
Vehicles:
Rented
Avis vans (after we couldn't fit the gear
in our cars)
|
|
|
|
|
Fashion
Statement:
Turtleneck
sweaters (or bulky, cable knit sweaters)
with Levis in different colors. With the
turtlenecks, we wore Sports Coats for our
first set of the night. Earlier "summer"
outfits included matching pinstriped
shirts and white Levis.
|
|
|
|
|
Best
Gig:
Our first
"farewell" show for a private group in
Dayton, Ohio. It was a great crowd. All
five of us were there (Don couldn't always
join us) We were at our best musically.
Several close friends, including two
former bandmates, came along to see what
they thought was our last appearance, one
friend even shot five rolls of film of the
show. Everybody (the band and the crowd)
had a great time playing, singing and
dancing together.
|
|
|
|
|
Gig
from
Hell!:
There
were so many, particularly in the early
days of the band. Probably the worst was a
Battle of the Bands sponsored by a radio
station. The show was held at a local
movie theater, and their sound system was
terrible. We had to set up on one half of
an incredibly small round riser (barely
large enough for Jeff's drum kit). One
band loaded up on one half of the riser
while another band was playing their set
on the other side, facing the audience.
The riser rotated between acts to reveal
the next band in the competition. Several
pieces of equipment fell off the riser
while it was turning, and one of our amps
didn't have power. It was a disaster. Of
course, we didn't win, and weren't really
surprised. We laughed about it afterwards,
then went out for Cincinnati
Chili.
|
|
|
|
|
Last
Gig:
We had
several shows which we thought were our
last. Near the end of our time together,
when someone would ask us to play, we took
the job if we could arrange everyone's
schedules. Our actual last gig was a
private St. Patrick's Day party in an
apartment complex's indoor swimming pool.
There was a ton of natural reverberation
off the water, concrete deck, glass
windows and metal roof. Recordings from
that show, particularly our versions of
Light My Fire and Cold Sweat, sound HUGE.
The earlier farewell show was more fun.
Don couldn't make the last gig, and while
we had a good time, our hearts weren't
100% into it.
|
Comments:
For a ton more
info on T.H.E., the 60s and Cincinnati Garage Band
influences, check out their web site
http://users.nac.net/karl/the/home.html
|
After long-term assignments with
Disney and Sony, Karl still works in the entertainment
industry, creating educational entertainment experiences for
museums, theme parks, attractions, restaurants and retail
stores. Tom retired from the Army (as a Colonel) and handles
security for a Cincinnati bank. He's the father of two
teenagers. Mark is a Pharmacist and a Father (also of two
teenagers) in Maryville TN. Jeff sells high-end home audio
and video gear and plays drums regularly with Bluefish, a
blues/rock/gospel trio in Charlotte, NC. Don still runs his
successful photography studio and a business consulting firm
in Cincinnati. All of the guys still play music when the
spirit moves them. They have stayed in touch over the years
and occasionally reunite the group for the fun of playing
and making recordings together. For more info, see
the"Reunions" page on their web site:
http://users.nac.net/karl/the/reunions.html
(Left to Right) Karl
(Guitar), Jeff (Drums), Mark (Keyboards),
Tom (Bass). The picture was taken on a break from
recording instrumental tracks in 1995 (hence, the
headphones). We cut tracks for five songs... "Feel a Whole
Lot Better" (Byrds) - "I've Been Lonely Too Long" (Rascals),
"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Wilson Pickett / Blues
Brothers) - "Summer in the City" (Lovin' Spoonful) and "Love
is a Beautiful Thing" (Rascals). The equipment we used for
the session came mostly from our individual collections.
What we didn't have in our basements, we rented from a local
music store.
Mark's Hammond B3 and Leslie were too big to bring to
Charlotte, so Mark used Karl's Korg M1, on electric piano or
organ settings for the track recordings. We added Mark's
Hammond Organ, our main vocals and a few M1 horn parts at
Mark's house in Maryville, TN, a few days later. Don added
his guitar and vocal parts to "Everybody Needs Somebody To
Love" at an eight track ADAT studio we set up in a
Cincinnati hotel room several weeks later. (Tom, Jeff and
Karl were also there for those sessions.) We added final
background vocals, guitar overdubs, horn and percussion
parts and a few sound effects (like the traffic noises on
"Summer In The City") and completed the final mixes before
the gear had to go back tothe rental company at 9:00
AM..
Information contributed by Karl
Sjodahl
|
