Thursday, July 15, 2010
and don't forget kickstarter!! People have already been SO generous, but we don't get any of the money unless we meet our goal. 18 says left. 7% of the way there. If you have an amazon account, you're already set. If you don't, it's very easy to set up (then you can buy books and stuff online too, or even a kindle...that's my favorite).
Even if you can only donate $5, it will help us get to our goal of TOTAL WORLD DOMINATION!!
Thank you!
:)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
"The Music Man" from SSB Reunion/Giant Jeff Tribute '10
Here's the first of the videos and pic from the reunion that you all have been sending me. I'll be posting them over the next few days so they're all centralized. Thanks!! SSB love you all!!
I'm also planning on adding a proper description and details to the video notes on youtube. There's just a lot of information I'm trying to centralize :)
I'm also planning on adding a proper description and details to the video notes on youtube. There's just a lot of information I'm trying to centralize :)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Memories of Giant Jeff by Joel Ferguson
'Giant’ Jeff Roberts
I first met Jeff at the Pickin Parlor on May 15, 1974. That was the first night Steamboat Springs began playing a 3 ½ month gig in Myrtle Beach. He and I became fast friends and we hung out it seems like daily. He was working at a music store and turned us on to many recording artists who would later become major influences in my musical development.
To say that the Summer of ’74 was wild would be a vast understatement and I take the 5th in anything anyone might say about that time, but Son! (as Jeff used to exclaim) we had a very large time! The good times had by all who entered the Pickin Parlor and experienced the Steamboat Springs Band are still etched in our hearts as some of the best times of our lives. And Jeff was in the middle of just about everything.
Steamboat left at the end of the summer and returned many times to play at other clubs and concerts. The band became very well known in the Southeast for hard driving original electric bluegrass and country rock music. We stayed together for 2 years and then just got worn out by the constant touring and trying to live on $25 a week. The band got back together in December 1980 for a reunion concert in MB, which Jeff orchestrated.
We all followed our dreams or nightmares to various parts of the country. I moved to Los Angeles in January 1979 and lived there for 8 years before moving to Las Vegas where I still live today. While in LA I played with a band, The Midnight Riders, which won the Non-Touring Band of the Year in 1979 and I was nominated for Steel Guitarist of the Year. Steel guitar maestro Buddy Emmons won it. I won a few similar awards from the California Country Music Association and Nevada Country Music Association. But awards don’t pay the bills or feed a young family. So, after several years playing with various bands I moved to Las Vegas in1987 and went to work in 1989 with a group that owns several businesses in the Las Vegas airport and for 7 years owned all the Pizza Huts in San Diego. I have been VP of Operations and Business Development for many years. I also own 2 jewelry stores in the airport here, and I am a business coach. I also have a beautiful daughter who is the apple of my eye.
I returned to MB 3 times over the years to see Jeff and called him often. There was something about him that just made you want to be around him. Never judgmental, never upset, always encouraging, always had something new to listen to or something good to say about somebody. It just felt right to stay connected with him.
There have been a couple of strange incidences related to this reunion/benefit concert. The way I found out about Jeff’s passing was from my 8th grade girlfriend, Pam Hartsell O’Connell, who is a nurse at the hospital where Jeff died. It was the Thursday after Jeff died and I had my phone in my pocket and bent over to pick something up off the floor. The phone dialed Pam’s number but she was at work so she didn’t answer. She called me when she got off work and we chatted. Then she said “Didn’t you say you had a friend that works at Sounds Familiar?” I said yes. She said, “I hate to tell you this but I think he just passed away.” I was stunned as she told me the details but I later sent an email to my brother and the other members who I had emails for. That got us talking. Les (Burnett) and Gary (Davis) and I had not seen or spoken in many, many years. We started talking about what we could do to honor Jeff. We had to do something. So we came up with the only thing we know, playing music. Becky Warren and Les started talking and it just exploded into this awesome event to benefit SxSE and Jeff’s son, Hunter.
Had my phone not dialed Pam’s number by itself, we probably would not know that Jeff had passed and none of this would be happening. So now all 8 members and 3 road crew members and all of our families will be there on June 12th. We have not played together for 30 and with one member 35 years. We are diligently working with rehearsal cd’s to get polished up so that we will be able to put on our best show ever. It is sure to be another very large time. Everyone will be there enjoying the reunion except the one person that brought us all together… ‘Giant’ Jeff Roberts. But, ever the jokester, somehow I think he’s had a big hand in getting us all together.
Joel Ferguson
Steel guitar/Banjo
I first met Jeff at the Pickin Parlor on May 15, 1974. That was the first night Steamboat Springs began playing a 3 ½ month gig in Myrtle Beach. He and I became fast friends and we hung out it seems like daily. He was working at a music store and turned us on to many recording artists who would later become major influences in my musical development.
To say that the Summer of ’74 was wild would be a vast understatement and I take the 5th in anything anyone might say about that time, but Son! (as Jeff used to exclaim) we had a very large time! The good times had by all who entered the Pickin Parlor and experienced the Steamboat Springs Band are still etched in our hearts as some of the best times of our lives. And Jeff was in the middle of just about everything.
Steamboat left at the end of the summer and returned many times to play at other clubs and concerts. The band became very well known in the Southeast for hard driving original electric bluegrass and country rock music. We stayed together for 2 years and then just got worn out by the constant touring and trying to live on $25 a week. The band got back together in December 1980 for a reunion concert in MB, which Jeff orchestrated.
We all followed our dreams or nightmares to various parts of the country. I moved to Los Angeles in January 1979 and lived there for 8 years before moving to Las Vegas where I still live today. While in LA I played with a band, The Midnight Riders, which won the Non-Touring Band of the Year in 1979 and I was nominated for Steel Guitarist of the Year. Steel guitar maestro Buddy Emmons won it. I won a few similar awards from the California Country Music Association and Nevada Country Music Association. But awards don’t pay the bills or feed a young family. So, after several years playing with various bands I moved to Las Vegas in1987 and went to work in 1989 with a group that owns several businesses in the Las Vegas airport and for 7 years owned all the Pizza Huts in San Diego. I have been VP of Operations and Business Development for many years. I also own 2 jewelry stores in the airport here, and I am a business coach. I also have a beautiful daughter who is the apple of my eye.
I returned to MB 3 times over the years to see Jeff and called him often. There was something about him that just made you want to be around him. Never judgmental, never upset, always encouraging, always had something new to listen to or something good to say about somebody. It just felt right to stay connected with him.
There have been a couple of strange incidences related to this reunion/benefit concert. The way I found out about Jeff’s passing was from my 8th grade girlfriend, Pam Hartsell O’Connell, who is a nurse at the hospital where Jeff died. It was the Thursday after Jeff died and I had my phone in my pocket and bent over to pick something up off the floor. The phone dialed Pam’s number but she was at work so she didn’t answer. She called me when she got off work and we chatted. Then she said “Didn’t you say you had a friend that works at Sounds Familiar?” I said yes. She said, “I hate to tell you this but I think he just passed away.” I was stunned as she told me the details but I later sent an email to my brother and the other members who I had emails for. That got us talking. Les (Burnett) and Gary (Davis) and I had not seen or spoken in many, many years. We started talking about what we could do to honor Jeff. We had to do something. So we came up with the only thing we know, playing music. Becky Warren and Les started talking and it just exploded into this awesome event to benefit SxSE and Jeff’s son, Hunter.
Had my phone not dialed Pam’s number by itself, we probably would not know that Jeff had passed and none of this would be happening. So now all 8 members and 3 road crew members and all of our families will be there on June 12th. We have not played together for 30 and with one member 35 years. We are diligently working with rehearsal cd’s to get polished up so that we will be able to put on our best show ever. It is sure to be another very large time. Everyone will be there enjoying the reunion except the one person that brought us all together… ‘Giant’ Jeff Roberts. But, ever the jokester, somehow I think he’s had a big hand in getting us all together.
Joel Ferguson
Steel guitar/Banjo
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Memories- Part 5 Bob & Donna
Here is a bio that Donna and I both approved.....of course, that's why it took so long to get it out.......Thank you for all the work you've put into this.....
Bob Wharton (keyboard) and Donna Nash Wharton (singer)
Although Donna and I only played with the Steamboat Springs Band for a little over a year, mostly in 1976, we had many ties to the band. Donna was a singer in Athens Georgia who had joined Paul, Denny and David Zauner in the original Steamboat Springs Band which was all acoustic. I was a friend and fellow trouble maker in high school with Bill Pruitt, the first drummer of the band, and had played with Gary Davis, our singer, in a cover rock band called Ravenstone. In fact, the first time I met most of the band was the winter and spring of 1974 when Gary and I rented a farm in Colbert, Ga. which became a favorite hangout as the band formed into an electric/bluegrass group. Gary tells me the summer of 1974 in Myrtle Beach was "wild" and I will take his word for it but the energy that formed the group was in full swing long before that summer.
I left the farm in the spring of 1974 and eventually met Donna (again) when she agreed to sing with me at a "supper club" in Athens. I was a journalism major with a quarter to go to graduate from the University of Georgia when we were invited to join the band in Macon. Apparently someone had finally convinced them that everybody in the band didn't have to play some sort of guitar. Naturally we said yes -- who needed a college education when you could play in a band? We played with Steamboat from the end of 1975 thru 1976 and, as I understand it, that was probably the most touring the band did....playing from Tampa to Washington DC, in clubs, as the backup group for many bands in concert and at clubs---the most memorable being the Pickin Parlor.
Despite being voted the couple "least likely to succeed" by the band Donna and I got married in 1977 and have been married now for over 32 years. When the band decided to take a break in 1977 I finished up my degree and went to law school at Georgia. Since 1983 we have lived on Lookout Mountain, a beautiful place to live and raise kids. Except for a couple of years when I decided to try my hand at the real estate development business around Tampa I've practiced law in the Chattanooga area. We've had our ups and downs but we have three great children. Anna is our oldest, married to Carl Streck and lives in Atlanta. Their son, our grandson, Trey is almost 2 and has more than enough energy and showmanship to dance all night with the music if we could bring him along. However, since Anna is due to have a second child at the end of June I don't think they'll be coming. Rachel is 21 and is the artist of the family. She just graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design and, like any good artist, is trying to find work while working part time (sound familiar?). Dan is about to graduate from high school and getting ready to go to college. He has no clue what he wants to do but he's turning into a pretty good guitarist. He'll probably do what I did to my dad....drop out of college with one quarter to go to play in a band.
In addition to raising three children, Donna taught the childrens choir at church for many years, has sung with several choirs and occasionally lets me accompany her singing solos at church/weddings etc. Donna is also an avid gardener and her gardens are a constant source of compliments on Lookout Mountain. Looking at her gardens makes it almost worth being the gofer and general hole digger that is, unfortunately, my only talent in this area. She also says that she still hasn't decided what she wants to be when she grows up.......she'll figure it out next year when our youngest goes off to college.
We've both missed playing in a group like Steamboat Springs over the years. Donna has worked on and kept up with her singing better than I have; however, I still love to listen and play and even attempt a little writing now and then. I have enjoyed playing with my son, Dan, who, ironically, loves to play the "old" rock songs most of all.
Steamboat Springs was an intense experience for all of us. Even though the band was very young (I think the oldest member was 24) it was like a family. When we weren't on the road we even lived together in a big dilapidated "estate" near Macon with Brian and Linda cooking and tending house. Myrtle Beach was like a second home and the hospitality and love of the many people there who loved the new kind of country rock/bluegrass we were trying to do was tremendous.
Even though we did not spend the months and years in Myrtle Beach like some band members, we remember Giant Jeff as a great friend and a fantastic source of musical knowledge. I personally remember his distaste for "disco" which was popular at that time (a distaste which I continue to share) and yet, if anyone came in the store wanting disco music he'd rattle off groups like it was his favorite kind of music. Jeff was a legend among members of the band and we are both proud to be able to contribute to his memory.
We will also miss Paul Seagraves, one of the founding members of the acoustic band. Donna, of course, worked with Paul and Denny before "electric was cool" and I got to know him both in Colbert and later, after he'd left the band and returned to Athens because of his arthritis. Paul was true "country" with all of the ups and downs that make those stories so compelling. We will also miss the presence of David Zauner, writer extraordinaire and the most optimistic person in the band for many years, who will be unable to come to the reunion. He was a vital member of the Steamboat Springs family.
It's hard to believe it's been over 30 years since we played at the Pickin Parlor, but every now and then I'll find myself moving (I never could dance) to those hard driving country/rock/bluegrass songs. For a moment or two, I"m taken back to the raw excitement of those hot summer nights where the music came together and the dancing started and each night took on a life of its own.
We both look forward to every moment of the reunion.
Bob and Donna (Nash) Wharton
Bob Wharton (keyboard) and Donna Nash Wharton (singer)
Although Donna and I only played with the Steamboat Springs Band for a little over a year, mostly in 1976, we had many ties to the band. Donna was a singer in Athens Georgia who had joined Paul, Denny and David Zauner in the original Steamboat Springs Band which was all acoustic. I was a friend and fellow trouble maker in high school with Bill Pruitt, the first drummer of the band, and had played with Gary Davis, our singer, in a cover rock band called Ravenstone. In fact, the first time I met most of the band was the winter and spring of 1974 when Gary and I rented a farm in Colbert, Ga. which became a favorite hangout as the band formed into an electric/bluegrass group. Gary tells me the summer of 1974 in Myrtle Beach was "wild" and I will take his word for it but the energy that formed the group was in full swing long before that summer.
I left the farm in the spring of 1974 and eventually met Donna (again) when she agreed to sing with me at a "supper club" in Athens. I was a journalism major with a quarter to go to graduate from the University of Georgia when we were invited to join the band in Macon. Apparently someone had finally convinced them that everybody in the band didn't have to play some sort of guitar. Naturally we said yes -- who needed a college education when you could play in a band? We played with Steamboat from the end of 1975 thru 1976 and, as I understand it, that was probably the most touring the band did....playing from Tampa to Washington DC, in clubs, as the backup group for many bands in concert and at clubs---the most memorable being the Pickin Parlor.
Despite being voted the couple "least likely to succeed" by the band Donna and I got married in 1977 and have been married now for over 32 years. When the band decided to take a break in 1977 I finished up my degree and went to law school at Georgia. Since 1983 we have lived on Lookout Mountain, a beautiful place to live and raise kids. Except for a couple of years when I decided to try my hand at the real estate development business around Tampa I've practiced law in the Chattanooga area. We've had our ups and downs but we have three great children. Anna is our oldest, married to Carl Streck and lives in Atlanta. Their son, our grandson, Trey is almost 2 and has more than enough energy and showmanship to dance all night with the music if we could bring him along. However, since Anna is due to have a second child at the end of June I don't think they'll be coming. Rachel is 21 and is the artist of the family. She just graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design and, like any good artist, is trying to find work while working part time (sound familiar?). Dan is about to graduate from high school and getting ready to go to college. He has no clue what he wants to do but he's turning into a pretty good guitarist. He'll probably do what I did to my dad....drop out of college with one quarter to go to play in a band.
In addition to raising three children, Donna taught the childrens choir at church for many years, has sung with several choirs and occasionally lets me accompany her singing solos at church/weddings etc. Donna is also an avid gardener and her gardens are a constant source of compliments on Lookout Mountain. Looking at her gardens makes it almost worth being the gofer and general hole digger that is, unfortunately, my only talent in this area. She also says that she still hasn't decided what she wants to be when she grows up.......she'll figure it out next year when our youngest goes off to college.
We've both missed playing in a group like Steamboat Springs over the years. Donna has worked on and kept up with her singing better than I have; however, I still love to listen and play and even attempt a little writing now and then. I have enjoyed playing with my son, Dan, who, ironically, loves to play the "old" rock songs most of all.
Steamboat Springs was an intense experience for all of us. Even though the band was very young (I think the oldest member was 24) it was like a family. When we weren't on the road we even lived together in a big dilapidated "estate" near Macon with Brian and Linda cooking and tending house. Myrtle Beach was like a second home and the hospitality and love of the many people there who loved the new kind of country rock/bluegrass we were trying to do was tremendous.
Even though we did not spend the months and years in Myrtle Beach like some band members, we remember Giant Jeff as a great friend and a fantastic source of musical knowledge. I personally remember his distaste for "disco" which was popular at that time (a distaste which I continue to share) and yet, if anyone came in the store wanting disco music he'd rattle off groups like it was his favorite kind of music. Jeff was a legend among members of the band and we are both proud to be able to contribute to his memory.
We will also miss Paul Seagraves, one of the founding members of the acoustic band. Donna, of course, worked with Paul and Denny before "electric was cool" and I got to know him both in Colbert and later, after he'd left the band and returned to Athens because of his arthritis. Paul was true "country" with all of the ups and downs that make those stories so compelling. We will also miss the presence of David Zauner, writer extraordinaire and the most optimistic person in the band for many years, who will be unable to come to the reunion. He was a vital member of the Steamboat Springs family.
It's hard to believe it's been over 30 years since we played at the Pickin Parlor, but every now and then I'll find myself moving (I never could dance) to those hard driving country/rock/bluegrass songs. For a moment or two, I"m taken back to the raw excitement of those hot summer nights where the music came together and the dancing started and each night took on a life of its own.
We both look forward to every moment of the reunion.
Bob and Donna (Nash) Wharton
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Memories- Part 4 Steve Brown
I’m Steve Brown former “roadie” for Steamboat Springs Band and yes; I’m Bucky and Joel’s brother.
To speak of the present, I’m always inclined to include some of the past. How much detail depends upon the audience! I first met Joel Ferguson in 1968 or 1969 when I helped him prepare for his Life Guard Exam. He passed and spent the summers flexing for the girls poolside. Joel, I’m not sure you ever thanked me properly.
I may have misinterpreted Leary’s phrase to Turn on, Tune in and Drop out when I left Presbyterian College after two, less than stellar years to do my thing in Macon, Georgia. After all, there was a war to protest, an historic music scene to enjoy and a counterculture to explore.
A couple of years later, someone from SSB contacted me (Bucky, Joel?) looking for a place to shower. They had just move to Macon and the utilities had not been turned on at their place. They ultimately moved to the Big House and I moved into the “Brown” house located on the same property. What fun . . .
SSB soon began traveling enough to warrant additional road crew. Bucky promised that I would meet more women than Frank Sinatra . . . I joined. He lied.
The band returned to Myrtle Beach for the second of the Pikin’ Parlor stands. That’s when and where I met Jeff. – Giant Jeff, soft spoken with a big grin. For years, if I were in MB, I would stop by his record shop to say hello. Eventually I stopped: a lesson to be learned.
I left the band in 1977 or 1978 and moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. We had passed through this area on the way to a gig in Blacksburg, Virginia (Steve Mc Broom at 117 South Main). It was Mid-October and the trees were on fire with the most vivid colors. Living in Georgia and Texas the seasons went from green to brown to green – I was hooked on this new palate. I still enjoy those beautiful trees every year and reminisce about the first time I saw them.
I cobbled my two years worth of college credits with three more into an engineering degree and worked in a development group for one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electrical connecters. After four years, I left for a better fit to a small upstart company. An acquaintance that recruited me promised I would meet more women than Frank . . . not really, but I joined anyway, leaving a company of 25,000 employees worldwide to become employee number-7. More school ensued and I was soon directing the marketing and advertising activities. That was almost 25 years ago. Today, we’re employee-owned with about 70 employees.
My wife Judy and I have a ten-year-old daughter, Hannah and a four-year-old Schipperke, Olive. Judy loves to garden and I love watching her. Olive loves to dig in Judy’s garden and I love watching Judy chase Olive. Hannah’s our gift. She shows us the wonder in the ordinary as well as how to walk on stilts, ride a unicycle, play soccer and field hockey. In turn, I show her how to divide fractions . . .
We live in a Historic District of Winston-Salem in an eighty-year-old Craftsman bungalow that we’ve spent the last couple of years renovating. Any spare time is spent cycling, fly-fishing or back packing, activities unique to this area. Our life is elegantly simple filled with family, a few close friends, good food (wine), laughter and those same beautiful trees.
To speak of the present, I’m always inclined to include some of the past. The time I spent with the guys, the people I met along the way, including Jeff Roberts, are special pieces in the mosaic that’s forming my picture.
To speak of the present, I’m always inclined to include some of the past. How much detail depends upon the audience! I first met Joel Ferguson in 1968 or 1969 when I helped him prepare for his Life Guard Exam. He passed and spent the summers flexing for the girls poolside. Joel, I’m not sure you ever thanked me properly.
I may have misinterpreted Leary’s phrase to Turn on, Tune in and Drop out when I left Presbyterian College after two, less than stellar years to do my thing in Macon, Georgia. After all, there was a war to protest, an historic music scene to enjoy and a counterculture to explore.
A couple of years later, someone from SSB contacted me (Bucky, Joel?) looking for a place to shower. They had just move to Macon and the utilities had not been turned on at their place. They ultimately moved to the Big House and I moved into the “Brown” house located on the same property. What fun . . .
SSB soon began traveling enough to warrant additional road crew. Bucky promised that I would meet more women than Frank Sinatra . . . I joined. He lied.
The band returned to Myrtle Beach for the second of the Pikin’ Parlor stands. That’s when and where I met Jeff. – Giant Jeff, soft spoken with a big grin. For years, if I were in MB, I would stop by his record shop to say hello. Eventually I stopped: a lesson to be learned.
I left the band in 1977 or 1978 and moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. We had passed through this area on the way to a gig in Blacksburg, Virginia (Steve Mc Broom at 117 South Main). It was Mid-October and the trees were on fire with the most vivid colors. Living in Georgia and Texas the seasons went from green to brown to green – I was hooked on this new palate. I still enjoy those beautiful trees every year and reminisce about the first time I saw them.
I cobbled my two years worth of college credits with three more into an engineering degree and worked in a development group for one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electrical connecters. After four years, I left for a better fit to a small upstart company. An acquaintance that recruited me promised I would meet more women than Frank . . . not really, but I joined anyway, leaving a company of 25,000 employees worldwide to become employee number-7. More school ensued and I was soon directing the marketing and advertising activities. That was almost 25 years ago. Today, we’re employee-owned with about 70 employees.
My wife Judy and I have a ten-year-old daughter, Hannah and a four-year-old Schipperke, Olive. Judy loves to garden and I love watching her. Olive loves to dig in Judy’s garden and I love watching Judy chase Olive. Hannah’s our gift. She shows us the wonder in the ordinary as well as how to walk on stilts, ride a unicycle, play soccer and field hockey. In turn, I show her how to divide fractions . . .
We live in a Historic District of Winston-Salem in an eighty-year-old Craftsman bungalow that we’ve spent the last couple of years renovating. Any spare time is spent cycling, fly-fishing or back packing, activities unique to this area. Our life is elegantly simple filled with family, a few close friends, good food (wine), laughter and those same beautiful trees.
To speak of the present, I’m always inclined to include some of the past. The time I spent with the guys, the people I met along the way, including Jeff Roberts, are special pieces in the mosaic that’s forming my picture.
Memories- Part 3 Les Burnett
My name is Les Burnett and I was the bass player for Steamboat Springs. Today I live in Ball Ground, Georgia with my wife Susie. For the last 25 years I have been involved with computers as an operator, programmer, and programming manager.
We appreciate you taking an interest in this and helping to get the word out to everyone about the tribute to Jeff Roberts on June 12th. One thing I want to be clear about is that this is an event dedicated to Jeff’s memory and is not intended to be about Steamboat. The band is simply joining with the all of Jeff’s other friends to mourn his passing and celebrate his life while benefiting the organization he cared so much about, South by Southeast. We are honored to be a part of this.
Joel Ferguson called me the Saturday after Jeff passed away to give me the news. The news about Jeff had a lingering effect on me. It seemed that whenever I had a quiet moment, my mind would wander back to Jeff. The best way I can think to describe the feeling was simply ‘sad’. Jeff was a good friend and someone we all respected a great deal. I’m sorry to say we had not talked in a long time. I guess we get caught up in our own lives and I’ve never been very good at staying in touch with people. But that didn’t change the fact that we were friends. I have a lot of memories around Jeff and they represent a time in my life that was special to me.
I’m sure you will get a lot of information about the ‘Summer of ‘74’, so I’ll talk more about my time with Jeff between ’78 and ’80. Steamboat came back to the beach in 1978 to try another Summer at the Pickin’ Parlor. I guess the band had run its course and after that summer, we called it quits for good. I had taken a job at the Myrtle Square Record Bar to earn some extra money during the day. Sam Hannaford was managing the store and Jeff was there too (Assistant Manager I think). So when the band broke up, I stayed at the beach instead of returning to Macon, Ga. Jeff and I spent a lot of time together during this time. I guess more days than not, after closing the Record Bar we would head to The Tale of Sixty Days for a beer. Hanging out with Jeff was like being promoted to ‘local’ status for me. He introduced me to lots of local friends and he made life at the beach so much more fun for me. We went to a NASCAR race, cookouts and parties around the beach, and I even survived the Bunny Bust one year (barely). Myrtle beach was so different back then. When the Summer was over, the town was totally different. No more gridlock traffic on 17. Everything slowed down and while I guess it was tough economically, it was like having Myrtle Beach all to yourself until Can-Am week the next year. So, we were just good friends hanging out together and having a good time. That was like a second life for me at the beach that didn’t involve a band. I was just living at the beach and feeling at home there. Jeff was a big part of that.
I have one little story – One day we were riding down Oak St. and as we came up to a light, Jeff put his truck in park, got out and walked up to the car ahead of us. It had North Carolina plates I think, but definitely out of state. I didn’t know what was going on but it looked like Jeff was kinda upset with them for some reason. I can imagine the people in the car looking out their car window into Jeff’s belt buckle. Before the light changed, Jeff was back in the Blazer. I asked him what that was all about. Apparently they had thrown some trash out of the car. Jeff was simply reminding them that he didn’t drive to their hometown and throw out trash and he would appreciate it if they’d show the same courtesy. Jeff was proud to be from Myrtle Beach and from that story to the work he started with South by Southeast, he put his pride into action for the community.
In the summer of ’79, I started playing with Don and Steve Russell down in Murrells Inlet and eventually we became the Russell Brothers Band. The Russell family opened the Grey Man Restaurant down in Pawley’s Island in late 1980 and we were the house band. As I migrated farther South to Pawley’s, I didn’t see Jeff as often.
After Joel called with the news, the members of Steamboat started emailing each other with links to news stories about Jeff and lots of talk about the old Steamboat days. It took a while for us to find everybody. I think Bill Pruitt was the biggest challenge. It took me several days of searching the Internet to come up with Bill. I found a picture of him and passed it around to everyone for their opinion. Someone would say yes, someone would say no, but if you looked at the picture long enough and removed the moustache and goatee, you could recognize the grin. It had been over 30 years since we had talked with Bill. So not long after we all started talking again, the idea of a Steamboat reunion came up. I had heard about SxSE while reading about Jeff and came up with the idea of a reunion gig for Steamboat that would honor Jeff and benefit SxSE. After checking with all the Steamboat members, I reached out to a couple of friends at the beach for their opinion. I talked with Steve Russell and Phyllis Tannerfrye to see if they thought it was a reasonable idea. They thought it was and Phyllis went so far as to attend a SxSE meeting and make the suggestion. Phyllis and Steve provided me with contact info for SxSE and I wrote a note making the suggestion. Honestly, I was prepared to get turned down. Steamboat did a reunion appearance at Cowboy’s in 1980 (with a lot of help from Jeff), so it had been thirty years since we played at the beach. It seemed likely that no one would be interested in a band from 30+ years ago. Well, luckily I was wrong about that. The correspondence between Steamboat and SxSE started flying, more and more people at the beach started getting involved and that’s where we are today – well on our way to making this idea a reality.
Sorry, I know this is getting long but I have to mention the relationship between this band and Myrtle Beach. It’s probably a mistake to put a lot of complicated thought into it (and I have) when the connection is really very simple – we like them and they like us. When I think about the band in 1973 - 74, we were all 19 to 21 years old. Most of us were going to school at the University of Georgia but not really trying that hard. The series of events that brought us to the Pickin’ Parlor is interesting in itself, but in 1974 that’s where we found ourselves with one thing going for us – we really liked playing music. I think the music was fun and the effort was honest. It probably wasn’t that important if the music was good or not. But that was just the band’s side of things. The other ingredient, the more important one was the people in Myrtle Beach. You could have taken the same band and put us in a club in another beach town and it would not have been the same. I remember playing at the Pickin’ Parlor and one of our local friends would come in and we were glad to see them. Their being there made it fun. The way they treated us and even took care of us was amazing. I’ve heard a number of locals say that those were some of the ‘best times of their life’. Personally, I’m glad to have been a part of that and I have to agree. I want our friends in Myrtle Beach to know that they hold a special place in our hearts and the history of the band. Jeff is a big part of all this. Jeff and all the special people in Myrtle Beach made Steamboat happen.
The band will always be grateful to our friends at the beach.
Les Burnett
We appreciate you taking an interest in this and helping to get the word out to everyone about the tribute to Jeff Roberts on June 12th. One thing I want to be clear about is that this is an event dedicated to Jeff’s memory and is not intended to be about Steamboat. The band is simply joining with the all of Jeff’s other friends to mourn his passing and celebrate his life while benefiting the organization he cared so much about, South by Southeast. We are honored to be a part of this.
Joel Ferguson called me the Saturday after Jeff passed away to give me the news. The news about Jeff had a lingering effect on me. It seemed that whenever I had a quiet moment, my mind would wander back to Jeff. The best way I can think to describe the feeling was simply ‘sad’. Jeff was a good friend and someone we all respected a great deal. I’m sorry to say we had not talked in a long time. I guess we get caught up in our own lives and I’ve never been very good at staying in touch with people. But that didn’t change the fact that we were friends. I have a lot of memories around Jeff and they represent a time in my life that was special to me.
I’m sure you will get a lot of information about the ‘Summer of ‘74’, so I’ll talk more about my time with Jeff between ’78 and ’80. Steamboat came back to the beach in 1978 to try another Summer at the Pickin’ Parlor. I guess the band had run its course and after that summer, we called it quits for good. I had taken a job at the Myrtle Square Record Bar to earn some extra money during the day. Sam Hannaford was managing the store and Jeff was there too (Assistant Manager I think). So when the band broke up, I stayed at the beach instead of returning to Macon, Ga. Jeff and I spent a lot of time together during this time. I guess more days than not, after closing the Record Bar we would head to The Tale of Sixty Days for a beer. Hanging out with Jeff was like being promoted to ‘local’ status for me. He introduced me to lots of local friends and he made life at the beach so much more fun for me. We went to a NASCAR race, cookouts and parties around the beach, and I even survived the Bunny Bust one year (barely). Myrtle beach was so different back then. When the Summer was over, the town was totally different. No more gridlock traffic on 17. Everything slowed down and while I guess it was tough economically, it was like having Myrtle Beach all to yourself until Can-Am week the next year. So, we were just good friends hanging out together and having a good time. That was like a second life for me at the beach that didn’t involve a band. I was just living at the beach and feeling at home there. Jeff was a big part of that.
I have one little story – One day we were riding down Oak St. and as we came up to a light, Jeff put his truck in park, got out and walked up to the car ahead of us. It had North Carolina plates I think, but definitely out of state. I didn’t know what was going on but it looked like Jeff was kinda upset with them for some reason. I can imagine the people in the car looking out their car window into Jeff’s belt buckle. Before the light changed, Jeff was back in the Blazer. I asked him what that was all about. Apparently they had thrown some trash out of the car. Jeff was simply reminding them that he didn’t drive to their hometown and throw out trash and he would appreciate it if they’d show the same courtesy. Jeff was proud to be from Myrtle Beach and from that story to the work he started with South by Southeast, he put his pride into action for the community.
In the summer of ’79, I started playing with Don and Steve Russell down in Murrells Inlet and eventually we became the Russell Brothers Band. The Russell family opened the Grey Man Restaurant down in Pawley’s Island in late 1980 and we were the house band. As I migrated farther South to Pawley’s, I didn’t see Jeff as often.
After Joel called with the news, the members of Steamboat started emailing each other with links to news stories about Jeff and lots of talk about the old Steamboat days. It took a while for us to find everybody. I think Bill Pruitt was the biggest challenge. It took me several days of searching the Internet to come up with Bill. I found a picture of him and passed it around to everyone for their opinion. Someone would say yes, someone would say no, but if you looked at the picture long enough and removed the moustache and goatee, you could recognize the grin. It had been over 30 years since we had talked with Bill. So not long after we all started talking again, the idea of a Steamboat reunion came up. I had heard about SxSE while reading about Jeff and came up with the idea of a reunion gig for Steamboat that would honor Jeff and benefit SxSE. After checking with all the Steamboat members, I reached out to a couple of friends at the beach for their opinion. I talked with Steve Russell and Phyllis Tannerfrye to see if they thought it was a reasonable idea. They thought it was and Phyllis went so far as to attend a SxSE meeting and make the suggestion. Phyllis and Steve provided me with contact info for SxSE and I wrote a note making the suggestion. Honestly, I was prepared to get turned down. Steamboat did a reunion appearance at Cowboy’s in 1980 (with a lot of help from Jeff), so it had been thirty years since we played at the beach. It seemed likely that no one would be interested in a band from 30+ years ago. Well, luckily I was wrong about that. The correspondence between Steamboat and SxSE started flying, more and more people at the beach started getting involved and that’s where we are today – well on our way to making this idea a reality.
Sorry, I know this is getting long but I have to mention the relationship between this band and Myrtle Beach. It’s probably a mistake to put a lot of complicated thought into it (and I have) when the connection is really very simple – we like them and they like us. When I think about the band in 1973 - 74, we were all 19 to 21 years old. Most of us were going to school at the University of Georgia but not really trying that hard. The series of events that brought us to the Pickin’ Parlor is interesting in itself, but in 1974 that’s where we found ourselves with one thing going for us – we really liked playing music. I think the music was fun and the effort was honest. It probably wasn’t that important if the music was good or not. But that was just the band’s side of things. The other ingredient, the more important one was the people in Myrtle Beach. You could have taken the same band and put us in a club in another beach town and it would not have been the same. I remember playing at the Pickin’ Parlor and one of our local friends would come in and we were glad to see them. Their being there made it fun. The way they treated us and even took care of us was amazing. I’ve heard a number of locals say that those were some of the ‘best times of their life’. Personally, I’m glad to have been a part of that and I have to agree. I want our friends in Myrtle Beach to know that they hold a special place in our hearts and the history of the band. Jeff is a big part of all this. Jeff and all the special people in Myrtle Beach made Steamboat happen.
The band will always be grateful to our friends at the beach.
Les Burnett
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Memories- Part 2 Bill Pruitt
I stumbled onto the Steamboat Springs Band as they were forming in Athens, GA sometime around the spring or summer of 1973. We were what I call a “living room band” as we played for several months in various living rooms in Athens….working through our early original songs and covers of well-known country rock and bluegrass numbers. We were “discovered” at the Union Grove Fiddler’s convention in the spring of 1974 where we were offered a job as the house band at a nightclub that was yet to be opened in Myrtle Beach, SC. At the time, we didn’t believe it was a genuine offer for a genuine job. What we did that afternoon in the big tent at the Union Grove convention was just a small taste of what the band was really doing when we were picking in the living room. The reality of a job in Myrtle Beach landed in the spring of 1974 when the band drove over to the SC coast from Athens one weekend and we had our first look at the newly-constructed Pickin’ Parlor nightclub. The agreement was sealed when we saw the beach house where we would eventually live as we entertained the vacationing crowds coming to the Parlor on Friday and Saturday nights and the faithful regulars who stayed and closed the bar on weeknights. The summer of 1974 – a magical time. We played 6 nights a week at the beach to many thousands of people over the summer and we got so tight as a band we could tell when Gary’s guitar lead or Joel’s peddle steal riff or Willy’s wild leap and frantic fiddle lick would take us down through a six minute jam …. or bring us to end the song in a quick thirty seconds. Sometimes it only took a certain look from one musician to the other and off we went into musical hyperdrive. From that first walk across the new concrete floors and pine-bark split boards that decorated the Pickin’ Parlor - through the many miles, concerts, hotels rooms, fast-food dinners, and barrooms - we entertained thousands with a distinct sound and distinct attitude about life and music.
I played drums and sang back-up vocals with the band for the next 3 years after the summer at the beach (it is hard to nail down the exact dates as you look back through 30 plus years). I reluctantly left the band while we were living in Macon, GA. for three reasons: I was tired of being broke and wanted to make more money, I was tired of being on the road and wanted to pursue a girlfriend (which turned out to be a short-lived relationship) and I figured it was time to return to college. I don’t remember the last performance that I played with the band, but I do remember the special times we had on stage as well as the challenges of being at the beck-and-call of our booking agency. Once we left home in Macon thinking we had a week-long gig to play out of town and didn’t get back home for about 3 weeks as the booking agency kept adding dates to our calendar! I was shocked and surprised when I had an email pop-up a few months ago asking if I was the same guy who played for SSB. The last time I had contact with the other band members was over 32 years ago … it turns out I was a hard person to find.
As this tribute and reunion has taken shape, I have been surprised and a little nervous. Listening to the songs we recorded so many years ago has sparked memories and emotions that were not anticipated. Giant Jeff and memories of those special years has pulled us together again! Since SSB I have continued my love for music playing contemporary Christian music in church. In a quick look over my years since Steamboat – I moved from Macon to Milledgeville GA to finish college (I received a BA degree in English literature from Georgia College in 1978) then moved to Augusta, GA where I received my initial training in respiratory care. Later I received subsequent training through the Advanced Respiratory Therapy Program at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics in Chicago, IL in 1982. Janet and I married in 1987 and had our first child in 1988 (Jessica). My formal education concluded as I received my MBA from Brenau University in Gainesville, GA in 1990… in fact my graduation from graduate school occurred on the same day as the birth of our second child – Jonathan (needless to say, I missed the graduation ceremony). We now live just outside Mobile, AL on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Memories- Part 1 Bucky Ferguson
Hey! Since you all were so awesome to send me your reminiscences and photos, I'll put them up on the blog. Very good writers, you all!
I'll start with my fabulous uncle Bucky.
--Bucky Ferguson
My name is Bucky Ferguson, former sound engineer for Steamboat Springs and yes, I am Joel’s brother. I have been in the agricultural equipment business since 1977, first with my dad as a manufacturer of specialty spray equipment and for the past 22 years as an agricultural tractor dealer. I am still very much involved in music. I play bass in a party/dance band called “Doctor, Doctor!” and played dobro for a local bluegrass band in the eighties. I live with my wife Terri and our 19 year old son Jimbo in Tifton, Georgia.
After the “Summer of 74” in Myrtle Beach, Steamboat travelled throughout the southeast opening for acts like Linda Ronstadt, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Wet Willie, Sea Level, Jimmy Buffet, Bob Seger and played most of the big clubs and many of the dives in the southeast. We were always one listener away from “hitting it big!” Playing rockin’ country and bluegrass music in the 70’s, before country music was popular, required we have a generous supply of one or more of the following types of people who were either: 1. Drunk, 2. Stoned, or 3. Persons of discriminating tastes but, willing to open the mind to anything that makes you feel that damn good! I remember a guy in Spartanburg, S.C. saying or rather slurring "I don’t even like country music, but you guys are f - - - - - - great!” I don’t remember any country bands other than Steamboat that could open for bands like Bob Seger or Leslie West at Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom in Atlanta but, I also remember playing a converted milking barn in North, South Carolina on Thanksgiving night. Yippee!
There are points at which even the most committed members of any band call it quits. I think most any of us would have stayed together if we could have made any sort of a living on the road, but $5.00 a day…while you were on the road, wears thin after 2 or 3 years. I always thought “$5 a Day, 8 to a Room” would be a great name for a country song.
The first break-up was in 1977. Ellis Schweid, the replacement for original fiddle player Willie Royal, coerced the band into giving him a salary because he had a wife. He had the personality of a pile of jagged rocks. Everyone was tired; tired of Ellis, tired of not making any money, and tired of the road tired of each other. The next time Steamboat Springs played together was the summer of 1978 for another run at the Pickin’ Parlor. This time original fiddler Willie Royal returned but, the magic of the “Summer of 74” did not. After the Myrtle Beach gig, Steamboat didn’t play again until the December 1980 Reunion at Cowboys in Myrtle Beach. This incarnation included Joel Ferguson on pedal steel/banjo, Mike “Tex” Wheeler on drums, Bob Wharton on piano, Les Burnett on bass, John Henry Gates on fiddle, Gary Davis on guitar and his wife Martha on vocals.
For the next 30 years I rarely listened to any Steamboat Springs tunes. I could barely remember the words to my favorite songs. The band was a fading memory. A previous part of my life that was hard to share. How easy is it to describe how much fun it was to play the Fox Theatre with Linda Ronstadt? You can’t, and no one wants to hear it more than once anyway. Life goes on…then my brother called and told me that “Giant Jeff” had passed away. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I was stunned…. mad…..hurt. Jeff was always there, always Jeff. It didn’t matter how long it had been since you talked or saw him, he was always the same. It took a few days for us to round up all of the rest of the members of the band but, the internet makes things easier. We soon decided to try and put together a reunion at the beach to honor Jeff’s memory and as a fundraiser for SxSE. I volunteered to listen to all of the tapes, cassette and 8 track, to put together all of the songs the band might want to do.
For two solid weeks after work and the entire weekend I listened to Steamboat songs….very old acoustic stuff with the original lead singer Paul Seagraves to the 1980 Reunion. Listening to all the old music while converting it to digital format has helped me deal with Jeff’s passing. His hand is definitely in this 2010 reunion.
I remember the last time I saw Jeff; my family was at the beach for a vacation 4 or 5 years ago. I hadn’t spoken to him in too many years, so I decided to look him up. My son and I found him exactly as I had last seen him…hawking music! Man, some things never change. We spent the afternoon reminiscing, lamenting, what if’ing and BS’ing. We laughed about the band living in the “pink house”, the parties and how we got window old air conditioners, furniture and beds from a ramshackle beach house.
Supposedly, the house belonged to one of the owners of the Pickin’ Parlor. Above all, we talked music and what I was into and what my 14 year old son Jimbo was into. He knew it all! Jimbo was amazed at how one man could know so much about so many musicians and bands from so many different genres of music.
I left there with some cool Ray Brown tunes and a loaned copy of The Fantastic Shakers, “Shakin’ the Shack.” Sorry buddy, I can’t bring the cd back to you(or not just yet anyway), so “I GUESS I’LL JUST HAVE TO PLAY IT REAL LOUD!” Jeff, they do know how to shag in Heaven don’t they?
--Bucky Ferguson
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Reunion
Hey all you Steamboat Springs fans! Let's get the party started by blogging here. See you June 12th in MB!
Joel
Joel
Monday, March 8, 2010
Save the date: June 12th!
In honor of our friend, Giant Jeff, we'll be having a reunion concert!Jeff Roberts, dear friend of Steamboat Springs Band members, died a few weeks ago. He was a founding member of S X SE. This reunion concert of the Steamboat Spring Band members is to honor Jeff's memory and benefit S X SE. Time of event may change, date of event will not. All Steamboat Springs band members will be playing.
| Date: | Saturday, 12 June 2010 |
| Time: | 8:00 - 10:00PM |
| Location: | Myrtle Beach, SC |
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