18 April ‘07
Wednesday
Ron (Pete) Petersen and I have known each other since the 9th grade at Jane Addams Jr Hi. During the summer of 1955 I was asked by Ron and Chuck Schoning to join them in an R&R band called “The Four Frantics”. Going into high school and being a member of one of the most recognized R&R bands in the Seattle area was great. We played at most of the school dances for Lincoln High and for all of the other 7 high schools one time or another as well. I remember playing at the Seattle Coliseum in 1955 and having the Musicians Union Representative stop the “gig” because we weren’t members yet. Well it was either sign the application and pay the fees or pack up and head home. Hell, with a huge group of teenagers from 8 high schools on the dance floor, we signed and paid… I had a great time playing with these guys. Then there was the time when we tried out for The Ted Mac Amateur Hour program. We had to drive to Spokane and preform for the auditions...we came in 2nd. Oh well, it was the opportunity that mattered (at least that's what they said). We drove to Spokane in my dad's new 1955 Pontiac convertable, 4 of us with all of the instruments. Top down and off we go...We were fortunate in having the opportunity to make some “45’s” under the “Dalton” label, and we even made it to into the national charts with an instrumental in 1959. Louise and I just happened to be in London, England in June of 2005, listening to BBC 2, when we heard this DJ telling his listening audience that he had brought in his personal collection of records from the 50’s to the 70’s, that he personally enjoyed listening too. Yep, he played one of our songs, “Straight Flush”. His comments were; “This is a group from Seattle, called the “Frantics”. That Ron (Guitar), Chuck (Organ), Bob (Alto Sax), Dean (Bass), and Jim (Bass) and myself on (Drums) that at one time either made up the “Four Frantics” or the “Frantics”.
Wednesday
Ron (Pete) Petersen and I have known each other since the 9th grade at Jane Addams Jr Hi. During the summer of 1955 I was asked by Ron and Chuck Schoning to join them in an R&R band called “The Four Frantics”. Going into high school and being a member of one of the most recognized R&R bands in the Seattle area was great. We played at most of the school dances for Lincoln High and for all of the other 7 high schools one time or another as well. I remember playing at the Seattle Coliseum in 1955 and having the Musicians Union Representative stop the “gig” because we weren’t members yet. Well it was either sign the application and pay the fees or pack up and head home. Hell, with a huge group of teenagers from 8 high schools on the dance floor, we signed and paid… I had a great time playing with these guys. Then there was the time when we tried out for The Ted Mac Amateur Hour program. We had to drive to Spokane and preform for the auditions...we came in 2nd. Oh well, it was the opportunity that mattered (at least that's what they said). We drove to Spokane in my dad's new 1955 Pontiac convertable, 4 of us with all of the instruments. Top down and off we go...We were fortunate in having the opportunity to make some “45’s” under the “Dalton” label, and we even made it to into the national charts with an instrumental in 1959. Louise and I just happened to be in London, England in June of 2005, listening to BBC 2, when we heard this DJ telling his listening audience that he had brought in his personal collection of records from the 50’s to the 70’s, that he personally enjoyed listening too. Yep, he played one of our songs, “Straight Flush”. His comments were; “This is a group from Seattle, called the “Frantics”. That Ron (Guitar), Chuck (Organ), Bob (Alto Sax), Dean (Bass), and Jim (Bass) and myself on (Drums) that at one time either made up the “Four Frantics” or the “Frantics”.