1990
In the spring, Rick decided he’d had enough of the sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll lifestyle. Well, actually the sex part was probably exaggerated – after the booze and drugs, most women would have nothing to do with him! “Once that train was back on the rails, the first place Rick and I went was to the pawn shop to get his big, red Gretsch out of hock. From that moment on, it was inevitable that we put the band back together”, says Dave. The Screamin’ Deacons lineup was together again for most of 1990, even managing to record three new tracks – the Prinsthal original “Hurting You, Hurting Me“, the Paul Revere and the Raiders classic “Kicks“, and Dave’s tribute to Rick’s newfound sobriety, “The Party’s Over“.
1991
Most importantly, Dave’s daughter was born in January, becoming the first child of a Deacon. However, it became increasingly apparent that other demands on the members’ time were cutting into their availabilty for the Deacons. Kenny was already in two other bands when the call came, and Dan had made a success of the recording business, most notably producing two cd’s for Hamilton folk duo Open Mind.
1992
Cam, Rick and Dave begin to work on a “new Deacons” concept, with Cam & Rick on guitars, and Dave on bass. (Cam’s still in the army, but he’s been posted to the Hamilton recruiting office).They actually play one gig with this lineup, with Kenny on drums, but it’s very apparent that Kenny’s just too busy and they need to find another drummer. Auditions begin, but they can’t find anyone that they’re all comfortable with. Exasperated by the whole process, Cam stood up after the one of the last audtions and exclaimed, “Hell, I play drums better than any of these guys!” Dave: “Rick and I just looked at him and went ‘Oh, yeah?’ And that’s how Cam got his gig back as the Deacons’ drummer. For the next four years, we were a trio.”
In a completely unrelated matter, the Toronto Blue Jays win the World Series in six over the Atlanta Braves.
1993
For the first time since the Paperboys days, Rick starts writing original material prolifically. Since the new songs seem to be well received live, the Deacons make the decision to go back into the studio and record the best of them. Recorded with Atilla Turi at Mainway Studios in Burlington, the songs, “Wildflower“, “A Diamond Rough“, “Runway Star“, “Red Light of Love“, “Little Girl Lost” & “On the Line” are all Prinsthal originals. Eventually, all six are released on cassette, entitled “Downtime“.
“Probably the most diverse set of stuff we ever recorded, both heavier and, at the same time, more “poppy” than anything else”, says Dave. “In some ways, we were still establishing the three-piece band’s identity. I remember exactly when we recorded it, though. I missed the entire American League Champoinship Series because we were dubbing and mixing that week!”
It all pays off, though. The cassette is well received, and Joe Carter homers off Mitch Williams to give the Blue Jays their second consecutive World Series win. Oh, and for the first time, Dave is referred to by his initals, “D.J.“, in the credits.
1994-1995
These two years tend to run together, because “All we did was gig. Rick was in school, Cam & I had day jobs, and we were still working more than a lot of the so-called ‘full-time’ musicians in Hamilton. The guys in other bands were always coming up and asking. ‘How do you manage to work so much?’ It came down to Cam and Rick busting their asses, getting in club managers’ faces every day, and not giving up until we got work. They both made a lot less money than I did, so I think hunger might have been a motivating factor”, says D.J.”This is also the period when we played the company Christmas party at my day gig three years in a row. It was fun to see the looks on the faces of my co-workers when they saw what that guy in the suit was up to in his spare time!”
And though he wasn’t a Deacon at the time, Dan Thorpe got married over the May long weekend in ’94. D.J. was best man. It’s the circle of life (or something like that).
1996
After almost three years, Rick has again written enough solid material to go back into the studio. They choose to go back to the ex-Deacon who’s still in the recording business, Dan Thorpe. “Dan had bought a house by this time, and had set the studio up in his attic. We recorded most of it in August. Man, it was hot! It felt good to bring the recording back into the ‘famliy’, though. We went outside for the last project, and that gave us enough confidence in our own judgement to record with somebody really familiar.”
Eight songs were assembled into a cassette release – the Prinsthal originals “Broken Homes“, “Never Been in Love“, “This, Too, Will Change“, “Suit of Armor” and “The Real World” were combined with Hamilton songwriter Mike Williams’ “Ready to Go” and sixties nugget “It’s Cold Outside” (recorded by Raspberries’ precursor The Choir). Surprisingly, though, another Prinsthal original drew the most attention – “I Remember (When ‘the Gown’ Had Bands)“, a tribute to the acts that were the foundation of the Hess Village music scene. Those memories, though ten years gone when the song was written, were clearly near and dear to a lot of people. “I actually got into an argument with a guy in a bar about the lyrical content of that song”, recalls D.J. “I oughta know what the words are, buddy. I play the damn thing every night!”
Entitled “The Real World“, the cassette was the second-most important event in the Deacons story in 1996. It was ready just in time to combine its release with Rick’s stag & doe party.
“It became kinda the opening act for Rick’s wedding. Once again, I was tabbed for best man”, says D.J. “By this time, I was getting pretty good at the ‘speechifying’, and really, there’s no greater honour, especially for a ham like me.”
1997-1999
It was becoming increasingly apparent that Cam was bored with just being the Deacons’ drummer. “The guy has a ton of talent, plays about a dozen different instruments, and could get a gig on three or four of them.”, says D.J.”He was also fascinated by the recording process, just as I was ten years earlier, but it had moved into a totally new arena. Now, it was all digital. He wanted all of that.” As Cam embarked on his new journey, the remaining two Deacons arrived at the same conclusion at the same time. “Rick phoned me, and we both almost said at once, ‘We’re gonna have to phone Kenny and Dan’. So, the Screamin’ Deacons lineup was back together again, and so it would remain for the next two years. “I guess you can blame me for breaking up the band”, says D.J. “We were coming off this huge, and I mean huge, street party gig in Oakville. Literally thousands of people. They closed off Lakeshore Road from one end to the other, and because Kenny was tight with the woman who was promoting the show, we were featured on the #1 stage. I was 40 years old, it’d been a long time since we’d played a show of that significance (remember, we were mostly playing pubs for a couple of hundred dollars a night at the time – we used to snidely refer to it ‘indoor busking’), and I thought to myself, ‘Crossley, old man, there’s a very real possibility it won’t get any better than this’ and decided to pack it in. Regrets? Yeah, well, I love to play, but there’s a lot about it I don’t miss. I think the time away has made me realize how much fun it really was.”
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