I honestly have to say one of the things I remember most and admired the most about Summer Heat was the fact that they didn't play the "top 40" songs that so many local dance bands played. Summer Heat was innovative, playing a lot of what was at the time called "Progressive Underground" rock music. Songs by Cream, Spirit, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Vanilla Fudge, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf. Summer Heat did NOT play songs by the Cowsills, the Monkees, the Archies, or The Partridge Family, and might I add to that, a hearty THANK GOD!!!
For those who attended our dances around the Rushville area, this was what they had become accustomed to because a lot of our fans were diehard Summer Heat fans and wouldn't miss a dance we played for anything. Sometimes, however, when we played out of town, that became a different story. Out of town dances where no one really knew that much about Summer Heat were occasionally requesting songs that fit the "Bubble Gum" genre, which was definitely not in the bands repetoire.
And the other wonderful thing that Summer Heat did when they played, they played LOUD! And not only did Summer Heat play loud, but they also played, in my opinion, great! The band practiced a lot, and I do mean a lot. Our practices were held in a law office just off main street, and the music brought kids from all over the west side of town who gathered outside the law office to hear the music being played. Although they were never officially street dances, on more than one occasion our practice sessions became just that: mini-street dances.
I must, at this time, do just a bit of bragging on myself, because, frankly, with each dance we played, I got better and better with the lighting and my "Simulated Stimulation" actually got the band a lot of compliments. There were times when my light shows were simply inspired by the music itself, and there were also times when the light shows were "chemically enhanced" shall we say. We are, of course, speaking of the 1968 to 1971 years, give or take, so a lot of free flowing supply of mind-alterers were readily available. To my recollection, no one in the band partook of any such substance, but the entrepenuer of Simulated Stimulation did on more than one occasion.
I actually got our songs down to a lighting scheme, so that when the song was played the lighting effects stayed pretty much the same each time the song was played. Occasionally, yes, I changed a few things, but for the most part, the lighting became just another part of the song that remained the same each time.
Still, for me, something seemed to be missing. Something seemed to me needed to be added to each show to make it just a little bit different than the last one. As we added new songs, I felt the need to add new theatrics as well. Being basically a non-gifted musician, Jay gave me a set of morrocas to play, a tambourine which I became quite proficient at one finger twirling and I got a cowbell which was used whenever we played the lengthy instrumental portion of "Rock Me" by Steppenwolf.
Still, this didn't quite seem to be enough, and soon, unbeknownst to the members of Summer Heat, I began plotting a special addition to our scheduled dance that was to be played at the Community Building immediately following the final game of the Rush County basketball Sectional.
Not only did it set a precedent for Summer Heat becoming the most unpredictable local band Rush County had ever had, but it set the stage for many theatrical performances to follow.
to be continued.....
No comments:
Post a Comment