I had my first band back in 1967 We practiced around the corner from a 7-11 I had a one string guitar and I played it on my lap 'Cause I was 12 years old and didn't have no strap It was my... MY FIRST BAND
We only knew how to play one song But sometimes it lasted over four hours long We'd throw some words together hopin' they would rhyme Then I'd try to play guitar and sing those words in time It was my... MY FIRST BAND - from the single My First Band by Ben Vaughn
Every word of the above is true. The town was Mt. Ephraim, New Jersey, and the band was called Verbal Garbage. I played a guitar with only one string, the low E. My repertoire consisted of Satisfaction, Peter Gunn and the first part of Rebel Rouser before the key change. Bill Roccia played drums and Dan Arcaini played bass and organ, sometimes simultaneously. We dug the Ventures and the Trashmen, but after hearing the Freak Out album by the Mothers of Invention, we decided we needed original material. Hoping to sound psychedelic, we wrote a tune called Don't Spill Ketchup On My Toast Bread, which had about 120 verses and could literally last as long as four hours. We only played live once. It was a backyard party and the audience was bewildered, cementing our group self-image as "misunderstood artistes." A few years later, we added local hotshot Bill "Fitz" Fitzgerald on guitar and reemerged as The Derelicks. We played '50s rock 'n' roll and dressed as greasers (see above photo). We had one original tune called The Funky Derelick that featured my show-stopping James Brown mike stand tossing routine. Show-stopping because of how many times I lost control of the mike and whacked an audience member square in the teeth. Sometimes I would play drums while Bill did his Elvis impersonation. Dan also took a turn at the mike each night, improvising an eloquent yet rambling soliloquy on teenage love. To our amazement, we were instantly popular and actually got girls. Which, of course, went straight to our heads. We eventually stopped rehearsing altogether, but did play quite a few gigs that year. We'd pile our gear into my brother Ted's Corvair convertible and barnstorm the South Jersey area. I distinctly remember playing a church coffee house where a fight broke out and a Battle of the Bands that turned into a near riot during our set. It was great and it was rock 'n' roll. Everything was groovy until we replaced underage drinking with heavy pot use. That's when things went downhill. There's nothing worse than watching stoned guys dressed as greasers play introspective, self-conscious, spongy versions of Jerry Lee Lewis songs. Our last gig was a total embarrassment. We were too high to play our instruments. At least I was. Ironically, it was a benefit dance for Smart Set, an anti-drug youth group. I don't remember the group officially breaking up. I think we just lost interest and moved on to other things. Myself, I waited until I was 27 to throw my hat back in the ring, and things have worked out great for me ever since. But I have to admit that none of the satisfaction I get from my adult achievements will ever match the idiotic teenage exuberance I experienced lo those many years ago. We were spontaneous and we were stupid. Which, as we know, makes for the best rock 'n' roll. PERSONNEL:
|
