May 2012 Roanoke’s Spark: Brittany Sparks

The Soundcheck, May Issue 2012

Roanoke’s Spark: Brittany Sparks

By:  J. Gabrielle

            I feel I’ve known Roanoke singer Brittany Sparks since she was a twinkle in her mother’s eye.  Back in the day, her mom, Dena Sparks, and I regularly partied and sang our way through many field concerts, solstice campouts, and open mics.  Dena had a vibrant spirit and love for life I knew could never be diminished.  Even though my old friend left this world a little over a year ago, that love for life and music lives on in her daughter, Brittany.

            I first heard Brittany sing at the Blues and Jazz Festival a couple of summers ago with “Sparks Will Fly” in the band competition.  I thought then the voicing from this young woman sounded far more seasoned than her tender years.  The fact is: Brittany has been determined for a long time to sing her heart out!

            “ I was singing before I could talk.  I used to perform 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' at the dinner table for our family at the top of my lungs.  I think I was 3 or 4 years old then,” she recalls.  Brittany’s mom made sure she took weekly singing lessons for several years.  The young woman joined her school chorus as soon as she was old enough.  That same summer, 1994, Dena was performing with Cliff Beach and area blues bands.

            “I remember going to many different festivals and parties where Mom was performing and my eyes were opened after that first summer. After seeing my Mom perform with so much soul and feeling...and then to see the reaction from the audience...I knew that all I wanted to do was sing. I told my Mom how badly I wanted to sing, and she said that she would support and help me in any way she could.  She came to almost all of my gigs, and she was always honest with me about song choices or different ways that I would sing things...I always asked her opinion. It was valued. I have several live recordings where you can hear Mom screaming out song titles at the top of her lungs. She was protective of me, too. I can't tell you how many times I had to stop her from jumping all over a guitar player for overpowering me.” 

            Mother influenced daughter in the music enjoyed at home: Zeppelin, Donavan, Dylan, and The Doors.  Her father comes from a musical lineage with many performing family members.  A preacher by trade, he sings and plays mandolin and guitar.

Brittany started going to the Open Mic at the Green Dolphin in high school.  This is where she began to gather the members that would one day become “Sparks Will Fly”.  Scott Sutton, Bill McCray and Thomas Wilson are the dedicated musicians performing with Ms. Sparks today (facebook.com/sparkswillflyjams).  They host the Open Mic at Schooners every Tuesday night.  This group cannot be filed under any one genre.  Brittany gets to tear up Susan Tedeschi, Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Zeppelin, Ray LaMontagne, Sheryl Crow, and more.  Brittany wraps her sultry, expressive vocal around each note and lyric.

            About a year ago, she began singing with the jam/blues/soul band Groovascape (http://www.reverbnation.com/groovascape).  Presently, they are in the studio recording new material.  Brittany has added lyricist to her talents, co-writing with the band. 

            Brittany wants to take music as far as she can go!  In the meantime, she lives in the country and tends her garden and herbs.  Raised as she was, Brittany was surprised to learn that every kid didn’t beat on drums and dance under the full moon with abandon. “Mom loved music, plain and simple. She felt music, and I could see it on her face when I was young, and it made a pretty significant impact on me. Living without her has been the hardest thing I've ever had to learn to do. I was so caught off guard by her passing.  It was just something that never, ever crossed my mind. I miss her more than I can ever tell you, and I sing for her every day.”

“And when one of us is gone, and one of us is left to carry on,

Then remembering will have to do, Our memories alone will get us through.

Think about the days of me and you,

You and Me against the World.”

-Paul Williams, Kenny Ascher-

April 2012: The Elderly Brothers

The Soundcheck, The Valley Blend Magazine

April 2012: The Elderly Brothers

By:  J. Gabrielle

“I`ll be keeping it up until my body starts to fall apart…. The Stones might not last for ever but we`ll be going until sometime this side of ever.”          -Mick Jagger

The Elderly Brothers, Roanoke's Party Band!
The Elderly Brothers have just finished their first set at the packed Blue 5 Restaurant in Downtown Roanoke.  Prospects for service or a table aren’t looking good.  However, tonight we have our battle plan in place.  Mac Daddy is to hit the bar with God's pointiest elbows to procure drinks.  I am to conduct surveillance on the floor to commandeer a table.  I exchange greetings with keyboardist Dave Ferguson.  It’s exciting to hear he’s sitting in with the six-piece Elderly Brothers this evening, but I’m on a mission.  I “park” Dave at a dirty table to hold it for me while I quickly bus it. 
The Elderly Brothers are meandering toward the stage to resume the party.  Bassist/vocalist/humorist Danny Counts stops by to chat and says, "I'm 62, but I have to remember that I'm 16 celsius!"  Yeah.  Hell, yeah! 
When the band breaks into set two with a Duke Ellington number, Mac Daddy and I are in the catbird seat, ready to rock.   The joint is jumping!  Folks are dancing wherever there is room.  A few are named "Elaine" (pretty sure) and should reconsider the public dancing thing.  Vocalist/saxophonist Tommy Thompson takes us Down On The Bayou.  Danny Counts lays us down on his big, funky, brass bed and THEN lays around and loves on us.  Guitarist/vocalist Gary Wimmer says to keep on Using Him 'til We Use 'em Up. Then he offers an original Wonderful Way.
The Elderly Brothers have been together six years.   Several of the guys were doing Royal Kings reunions.  They were having so much fun they wanted to play more.  Gary Wimmer fell right in.  Chuck Meredith signed up to keep the beat as drummer, and they had the basic band.  Larry Wheeling was interested. "Elmo" Elmer Coles just happened to be there that night, and The Elderly Brothers began.
Dear God, the Saints, and DJs help us!  The band is jamming Mustang Sally, and I swear to you, all the white folks are on the floor.  Counts says if the crowd for whom they are performing just will not dance, they pull out this song.  They call it "The Nuclear Option".  It never fails.
The band takes a break, and I ask about the name.  Danny says, “Well, we thought of “Acid Reflux”, but then we said, we ARE “elderly”.  I comment that their song selections are so diverse (Elvis, to Bacharach, to Delbert, to Huey Lewis).  “We just bring in songs, and it doesn’t matter what.  People say, “I have NO idea what you’re gonna play next!”
The Elderly Brothers return with Gary urging to Treat Her Right.  That horn section with Elmer Coles, Larry Wheeling, and Tommy Thompson blows my mind!  Counts says it's because they play "sections".   It is a rarity to hear horns like this in a band anymore. “The horn sections went away during Arab oil embargo of '73,” according to Counts.  “Money went down and everybody fired their horn players”.   Let Love Come Between Us and I get to cut a rug with Mac Daddy.  The band follows up with Mama Tried, and the cool thing is Ferguson's keys are sounding like a pedal steel.  Tommy takes a break from sax to sing.  He sees a Red Door and wants to Paint it Black. You Really Got Me Now.  Get Offa My Cloud!  Do You Know What I Mean?
Danny sings Temptation Eyes. All patrons tempted this evening have evaluated possible romantic outcomes and are likely dancing with whom they will awaken.  I know I am.  At this point, Tommy sings Love Me Two Times, and I file that away for reference later in the night.
Looking for a good time in Roanoke Virginia?  Seek out The Elderly Brothers.  A damn good party, consummate musicians and probably the Best Hair Band out there!

The Soundcheck, The Valley Blend Magazine, "Not Just Another Roadside Attraction"

I am sitting in on band practice with the wonderfully weird Another

Roadside Attraction. The bitter cold of January melts as we warm

ourselves to a Papa Bear stove, hot tea and instruments tuning.

There is a knock on the door and Joy Truskowski exclaims, “The

Crystal Man is here!” as though pizza was being delivered. Indeed, an

earthy looking Luke enters fresh from a hike bearing excavated crystals. He

offers each band member and visitor one, and we choose a crystal calling

just to us. Crystal energy goodness in pocket, practice begins with the

spooky original, “Howling Like a Loon”.

This band has a strong sense of identity. Part circus, vaudeville, tent

revival, dust bowl migrant camp: the band has dubbed their sound: Blue

Ridge Cabaret. It has the feel of another era. It is also part freak show: I

feel the eerie excitement of wanting to peer behind the curtain to see what

really lurks therein.

“Hey! Did you know blood bounces on ice?” Jordan’s random comment before unleashing their next number, “Winter’s Dogs”. Jordan Rivers is a visionary and an inventor. He constructed the homemade kit drummer Charlie Gibson uses. He is also responsible for much of the band merchandise: a wacky mix of clothing patches, hand stamped CD covers, and matchbooks. The band also sells homemade mustache wax. Bandmate Richard Harvey says of Jordan, “He's not always grounded in the practical day to day sort of affairs: the heavenly ideas don't always work out in these earthly realms, but he has unstoppable creativity energy and enthusiasm. Jordan loves to make crafts and has about 100 fanciful ideas to every one fanciful idea of the other band members.”

Lucy Coronado is Jordan’s mate, though she goes by Lucy De Los Rios

(translated “Lucy Light of the Rivers”). The beauty of this makes me gasp.

Lucy has studied dance and has a passion for costume making. Much of the

band’s musical material begins as collaboration with the couple. In fact,

they are the band’s inception. Lucy plays a dizzying washboard and also

constructs them for sale.

Charlie Gibson was the next member to join.  The self-taught drummer grew up in Callaway, Virginia in a musical family. With no drum kit, he would

beat on anything he could find. He plays the homemade “Clockworks”,

keeping a steady sort of burlesque show beat at times. Other times, it’s the

perfect circus beat to the man on the tightrope. I asked him the weirdest

thing he has encountered in Roadside. He says on a recent tour through the

South, they wheeled the band equipment in on a wheelchair. Then, Charlie

used that as his drum throne for the set.

Joy Truskowski is by far the most traveled member of the group. She was

born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, studied film in Chicago, taught video skills

in Southern Mexico. She came to Roanoke to begin a tour of intentional

communities intending a documentary film. Instead, she fell in love with

Richard Harvey and began to attend Chris Shepard’s Studio One Open Mic.

Here she met The Roadsiders and eventually joined them. With melodica

and flute, she with Richard offer the melody.

Richard Harvey has lived in Roanoke all of his life and is influenced by

every kind of music. He has studied mandolin, violin, and, most recently,

tenor banjo. He kept crossing paths with Jordan at Irish jams and open mics.

“ I liked their joyful energy and thought that it might be fun to try my hand

at providing some melody and improvisation to their songs which they were

chunking out on ukuleles, a guitaron, a resonator guitar and a homemade

drum kit!! So I started playing with them, and Joy, who was tagging along

for fun, began getting drawn in more and more.”

Step this way, Ladies and Gentlemen! See before YOUR VERY EYES a

genuine, melodic symphony of Houdinic proportions!! I leave you with a

Tom Robbins quote from his book that inspired the band.

“Logic only gives man what he needs. Magic gives him what he wants”

 www.ReverbNation.com/AnotherRdSideAttraction
Booking: RoadSideShow@gmail.com

Places: The Third Street Coffeehouse

In 1988, I was living in Birmingham, Alabama and working for Norfolk Southern.  In that capacity, I traveled to the Roanoke offices once a month.  Burning up I-81and eyes blazing with dreams of singer-songwriter stardom, I searched for venues in which to perform that would match my itinerary.  It was then that I discovered the warm haven in the Star City known as The Third Street Coffeehouse.
This venue thrives in southwest Roanoke City in the basement of the Trinity United Methodist Church, and the space once served as a Boy Scout den.  Church members had renovated it only a year earlier.  Their dream was to build a coffeehouse. The result is the “mother of all coffeehouses”.  It has more simple rustic charm, warmth, and acoustic goodness than 1,000 pricier and more ambitious establishments.  Long before there was a Jefferson Center or a Kirk Avenue, Third Street wrote the book on “listening room”.  It was here that Roanoke won my heart.
For the last 25 years, the little coffeehouse that could raises the roof in song every Friday night.  It is a non-profit operated by volunteers for the love of song.  Open mic starts at 7:30, and the headliner goes on about 8:15 PM.  It is also home to the monthly meeting of the Southwest Virginia Songwriters Association (www.SVSAsongs.com).
It features hardwood floors, genuine log walls, a little stained glass, and candlelight by teacups.  The low ceiling is printed with the names and bare feet prints of Boy Scout initiates nearly 100 years ago.  Were this in Austin, we might call it a Mecca for the troubadour.  But, in gentle Roanoke, it seems to remain a secret.  Walk down those three little steps at the corner of 3^rd Street, SW and Mountain Avenue, and one enters a different world.  Time seems to slow down just a little bit.  People are kinder and gentler.  When performers are performing, the audience speaks in a library whisper.
At intermission, all proceeds from the hat that is passed throughout the room go to the entertainer.  Coffee, tea, sodas, popcorn, and desserts are offered for modest price.  Nobody gets rich there, at least, not in money.  No, the rich part comes in other ways in this unique ministry.  In all these years, no one has bid me come to a service.  No one has preached to me (though musicians are asked to keep it family oriented).  Rather, there is a simple, quiet welcoming and acceptance of everyone.  For the audience member, Third Street offers a relaxing night of song, usually (but not always) singer-songwriter based.  The greatest gift may be to the performer, for the room listens to your every word: your every note.  It is the perfect room to hone one's craft as a teller of stories.  Many of the people who signed my mailing list in 1988 remain on that list to this day and still support my music.
So many performers wish to play there, and it is tough to get a date.  Just some of the amazing songsmiths include; David Simpkins, Chris Shepard, Another Roadside Attraction, Tim Seeley, Dollar & Walker, Greg Trafidlo, David LaMotte, Bill Hudson, Marc Baskind, Al Coffey, Grace Pettis, the late Samuel Thomas Mann, Pops Walker, Bill E. Payne.  All of these and so many more have stood on this stage.  The venue draws touring musicians as well. Last summer, Tim Rice from Portland, Maine performed.  Michigan native Matt Kroos entertained on a double neck guitar in February.
On April 13^th, the Third Street Coffeehouse celebrates its 25th Anniversary.  I am honored to be making an appearance.  Of all the venues in eleven states in 25 years, The Third Street Coffeehouse remains home to my musical heart.  You are invited April 13th, and any Friday night.
Sign up for open mike 7-7:30; open mike performances 7:30-8:15; featured performer from 8:30-10. This is a smoke-free, alcohol-free, no cover charge venue!  A hat is passed for donations to the featured performers. For more information, please contact Marian McConnell at 540.309.4707; or email marian.mcconnell@gmail.com. Check them out online at: www.YouTube.com/user/3rdStreetCoffeehouse and also on FaceBook.

The SoundCheck, The Valley Blend Magazine, "I Got You Babe"

The Soundcheck, February 2012, The Valley Blend

by j. Gabrielle

“People who make music together cannot be enemies, at least while the music lasts.”                                                                                      ~ Paul Hindemith

February is the month for lovers.  What better time to celebrate local musical couples!  Having “coupled” musically myself, I can tell you emotions run the gamut.  I have stood onstage singing “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and felt the raw, hot rush of the realization that I absolutely wanted to “sleep in the desert tonight” (or anywhere) with the man singing next to me.  Other times, performing with your mate is kind of like having someone’s thumb on your head constantly.  I sought out some local performing couples (and surprisingly there are many of them) to get other perspectives.

Jim and Renee Oliphant are “Ragtop”.  I caught their first show of the year at the intimate Third Street Coffeehouse.  They open with Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” (oddly accompanied by a persistent alarm).  As they conclude, Renee announces that her husband failed to turn his phone volume down.  Jim protests “But that means it’s time to play!”  The couple laughs and they embark on a pleasant evening of favorites.  The two met in 1978 in high school (just before graduation) and married in November of that year.  After raising a family and just dabbling in music, they made a bold new commitment to each other in 2010.  They scaled down their comfortable lifestyle and cast their lot in the music business full time.  Judging by their very busy schedule, the move was a successful one.  Back onstage, Jim shares that after 25 years, his guitar is suffering from age and intonation problems.  He likens it back to his marriage of 33 years.  “I’ve got some things that aren’t the same after all these years; yet, she still keeps me.”

Songwriting folk duo Dan and Marian McConnell met in 1989 in Roanoke.  Their first date was a jam session at Marian’s apartment.  Married in 1993, they have been performing together (and separately) ever since.

“I believe that it is important to encourage Marian to experiment and pursue as many outlets for her creative talents as she is comfortable with.  In our 21 years together, we’ve never had an argument….We know better than to ever take each other for granted,” says Dan.

Marian lends, “He helps me balance my need to be organized with a willingness to ‘play it by ear’.  When we first started playing together, I’d put together a set list, which he promptly ignored and played what the crowd wanted to hear.  It helped me understand the philosophy of what we jokingly call ‘Semper Gumby’ (Always flexible).”

Rick Godley is the drummer for The Kind, and his wife, Wendy, is the lead singer.  Rick said, “For whatever temporary frustrations that crop up between Wendy and me as we try to balance all of this on top of keeping a home, raising two kids, the rewards, lessons, laughs, and growth remind me daily that this is where I was meant to be and what I was born to do.  I am blessed to be married to a very, VERY patient person and knowledgeable musician. She is very forgiving of my faults thankfully.”

And Wendy says, “I will add that I think that playing music with the person you share your life with adds a connection in a form other than words. No matter how difficult it may seem to be to work through the challenges we face in life, the shared moments when the music is working - when all the pieces fall into place - is a healing and strengthening salve that speaks to us in a way that is hard to reach with words. It is a connection between the band and the audience and a connection within the band, too. I feel very blessed.”

I asked Jane Powell to give me an impression of performing with husband, James Johnson, who keeps the beat on drums.  “J.J. will probably tell you I’m a pain in the butt.  Maybe we shouldn’t talk to him about me?  Poor J.J. for putting up with me.  What a jewel he is!”

I run into James accidentally some nights later drumming for Welcome to Hoonah.  He added, “We just have mutual respect for each other.  It’s just a blessing and an honor to play with her.  Jane takes everybody on a journey.”

Another Roadside Attraction has two married couples performing.  Jordan Rivers and Lucy de los Rios is one couple, and Joy Truskowski and Richard Harvey is the other.  Joy shared some impressions with me.

“I met Richard at an intentional community (basically a homesteading commune) in Floyd in 2009. I went there for a 2-month internship to learn homesteading skills, and Richard lived there. I was extremely determined to focus on learning and not get into a relationship, but Richard just knocked my socks off. He's funny, cute, thoughtful, patient, honest, kind, loving, and supportive. Starting a relationship just happened very naturally, and it was very comfortable.”

“Richard is the first person I've ever been in a relationship who plays music. It's very precious and rewarding to be able to play with somebody who I'm so close to and who I love so much. We both encourage each other to play, write, and practice as much as we can. I love that support. For most of my life, I've prioritized other things over music. Seeing how dedicated he is has inspired me to prioritize music more in my life, and that has been a precious gift.”

Other couples we just couldn’t visit with this time include: Tom and Mandy Snediker of The Kind, Doug and Robin Settles, Steve and LaWanda Langston, Brian Paitt and Amanda Bocchi, Kera Moore and Bryan Martin, Walter Trexell and Thalassa McBroom, and Mary Leifkin and Tommy Meloche.

11 - Riot Comin' Soon - Radar Rose

11 - Riot Comin' Soon - Radar Rose

Rock'n Roanoke The 1960's, The SoundCheck, December 2012

The Soundcheck, November 2011
by j. gabrielle


Roanoke Music in the 1960’s

When Chuck Berry made his infamous appearance at Lakeside Amusement Park, and when many R&B acts came to Virginia, those were the days when acts did not travel with their own rhythm section.  Instead, the agent would find local musicians to fit the bill.  The Divots from Roanoke, Virginia was one such band.

Bob Newman, Russ Gwaltney, Don East, Andy Christiansen, and Perry Calligan began the band as The Roulettes.  The name change was necessary because of a conflict with the Roulette name and a record label in Salem.  In 1961, The Roanoke Times reported on a hot new single released by the band recently reviewed in Billboard Magazine!  "Missing You" was the "A" side, written and sung by Christiansen for his girlfriend.  "Diddy-Wah-Diddy" was the "B" side.  The band was touring voraciously at fraternity parties and clubs on the east coast.  Band members changed.  Bob Hess, Richard Cecil, Jim Lough, Eddie Johnson, Dan Durham, and Odgie Fitzgerald worked their way in.  It was, in fact, the latter gentleman who coined The Divots name at Hole Number 9, Salem Municipal Golf Course.

The Kingsmen and Don Day & the Knights performed Top 40 and Rock-n-Roll.  The Rock-A-Teens out of Richmond came to record their hit "Woo Hoo" in Salem.  Roanoke was a hot bed of music.  One thing united musicians and fans across race lines: radio station WLAC, 1510 AM out of Nashville, TN.  Sponsored by Randy's Record Shop in Gatlinburg, the station's powerful 50,000 watt signal took wing at night.  It reached most of Eastern and Mid-Western U.S., the Deep South, the Caribbean Islands, and parts of Canada!  Four white D.J.s (who most people assumed were "soul brothers”) spun the latest R&B hits from the late 40's into the early 70's deep in the night.  John "R" (Richbourg), Gene Nobles, Herman Grizzard, and Bill "Hoss" Allen grew a huge fanbase with irreverent commentary, double entendre humor, and a bag full of Memphis sound, rock, and soul.  Later, the Ska movement, R&B artists, and Greg Allman all touted the station as influential (as did musicians and fans in our Valley!). 

Roanoke’s Henry Street was known as "The Yard".  As in your own backyard, your "Dukedom", if you will.  Located there was Kaiser's Record Shop, and that's where one bought the latest 45 heard on WLAC and WPXI.  At the age of 15, world-class and renowned jazz saxophonist Byron Morris worked at the record store.  Morris' musical pedigree reads like a who's-who of Roanoke music.  His father, "Jim Billy" Morris performed with The Aristocrats in the 1940s.  The young Morris attended high school with Jimmy Lewis, founder of the Premiers/Chevys.  Both men were inspired by Addison High School band director Joe Finley. 

The Premiers were a vocal band that was backed by The Chevys.  Jazz trumpeter Elmer Coles joined the group in about 1962 when he was just a kid.  Hal Walker (tenor sax) got Elmer in the band.  On the "white side of town", they performed at the Brooke Club, The Candlelight Club, Flo and Johnny's, and Colonial Hills.  The latter was "just a place teenagers went and drank 3:2 beer," according to Coles.  3:2 beer was a low-alcohol beer that could be purchased by anyone at least 18 years of age.    On the "black side of town" popular night spots included the Ebony Club, Wagon Wheel, and the Star City Auditorium.  The Premiers and the Chevys played many college venues, and they backed many artists, including Marvin Gaye, Solomon Burke, and B.B. King.

In 1963, Roanoke hometown favorite The Divots performed for the University of Georgia's Homecoming.  They backed a nine-act rhythm and blues bill that sold-out the 40,000 seat Sanford Stadium.  Major Lance, Jerry Butler, Don Covay & The Goodtimers, Irma Thomas, Mary Wells, King Curtis, Gene Chandler, Don Gardner, and Dee Dee Ford.  Elmer Coles moved into this band about 1964.  Some call them Roanoke's best band ever!  At one time, The Divots’ prowess was SO great, and SO well-known and respected, they backed nearly every major R&B act touring in the 1960s.  This also included The Supremes and Herman's Hermits.  This is about the time the competition heated up between the Divots and The Premiers/The Chevys.  The Divots tended to get their vocalists from Jimmy Lewis' band including their first African-American singers, Wayne Johnson and Sonny Womack.  Musicians, as always a little ahead of their time, integrated long before the clubs, who would not do so until about 1968.

The Divots were about to get a taste of their own medicine.  In 1965, founding members Perry Calligan and drummer Roger Fowler left.  The Royal Kings were born and, you, dear Reader, know their great-great grandchild: The Kings. 

Most of the bands during this period were focusing on R&B and so-called Beach Music.   WROV-AM is said to have aired “The Cheater” by Bob Kuban &  The In-Men, a 1965 Top 40 hit and had been the harbinger of that record's success, particularly with the Shag and beach music aficionados.  All of the bands discussed here are featured in Greg Haynes’ Anthology, The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music.  Also mentioned are The Vikings.

The Vikings did not fall into the same category as these rhythm and blues players.  The Vikings were formed in 1961.  With their white socks, striped shirts and weejuns, they soundly resembled their famous counterparts after whom they were modeled: The Kingston Trio.  Success came quickly for Allen Wells, Lane Craig, and Tommy Holcomb (all college-bound musicians).  They had their own Saturday night primetime TV show on WSLS (just after Roy Rogers) by 1962.

Elmer Coles interjects, "Of course, when the Beatles came out, that ushered in a whole new era of music.  Black or white, you liked some Beatles!"

All the R&B bands started adding some of this new Beatle music (and also some BeeGees).  New players and bands changed.  Danny Counts entered the scene.  Tommy Thompson and Bobby Webber also became prominent.  Larry Calligan formed Little Rickie and the Romans.  “The Shylocks” performed at an attempted teen age night club at Crossroads Mall.  Al Coffey (The “Swiss Army Musician) recalls hearing bands here, but not for long calling it an “experiment that didn’t work”.

Coffey remembers beginning to play in this time and that “clubs just weren’t interested in bands not playing stuff on the radio”.  “Roanoke didn’t really catch on to Rock-n-Roll until the 70’s; they were just stuck in soul and Motown”.  He remembers a club called The New Wood that stood at Elm and Franklin. It was the first place he heard The Royal Kings.

The Vikings stayed together during college with the occasional Miss Virginia Pageant gig.  After graduation (about 1966), they became the house band at the Rathskellar in the basement of the American Theater. Tyler Pugh was added on bass.  In 1967, a venue was about to transform.  Tri-owners Jerry Nesbit, Bill Crews, and Ki Luczak renovated the then 31 year old Coffee Pot and made The Vikings their house band.  Once again, Billboard Magazine touted a Roanoke band as "up and coming".  Their London Label release "The Goodie Wagon" as The Vikings V with the addition of Steve Snedegar on bass and WROV's Fred Frelantz garnered National attention.

The trials and tribulations of The Vikings would take us solidly into several more decades.  Suffice it to say, additional personnel, financial backers and name changes never did get The Vikings out of Roanoke.  They remain a beloved band in the hearts of Roanokers.

There was a band called The Coordinators with Tim Ferguson on drums, Cedric Lawson on piano, Booty Staples on bass.  Elmer Coles says this is the first band he performed with that "had a big touring bus". 

In the mid to late 1960s, many of the bands dissolved.  Elmer Coles explains that a lot of the guys started touring with National acts.  Others, like himself, were mesmerized by jazz.  Mike Webber, bassist for the Divots, went on to tour with The Judds.  Elmer Coles hooked on with The Stylistics, and Cedric Lawson went with Miles Davis.  Oscar Jackson, Cole's band director, played tenor sax with The Imperials, Temptations, and Dionne Warwick.  Byron Morris went to D.C. to establish his own sound and jazz band, "Unity".

Times, and music were a-changing.