Reverbnation

Just to let the Deacons’ faithful know, we now have a presence on Reverbnation, which enables me to have a “My Band” page on Facebook. Follow the link to see it.

30th Anniversary gig

Thanks to Louis at the Hamilton Blues Society, there’s now a bunch of video from the 30th Anniversary show on Youtube. Here’s a sample –

Paperboys 30th Anniversary Gig…TONIGHT!!

Just a reminder that our original band, The Paperboys, is playing a 30th anniversary show in Burlington, Ontario on October 2nd. It’ll be the first time I’ve seen some of these guys in 25 years, so it should be a blast.

The venue is the Plough and Harrow, and is just east of the intersection of Guelph Line and New Street in Burlington (across Guelph Line from “Don’t Fret”, which I’m sure will be familiar to all pickers in the area).

Hope to see you all there.

OMFG II

So, it;’s official… the Paperboys reunion gig is on, for Saturday, October 2 at the Plough and Harrow in Burlington, almost 29 years to the day from when we got the first vinyl copies of “Lookin’ For Sharron” back from the pressing plant.

Rick, Dan and I are currently hashing out what we’re actually going to play, but, at this point, it looks like one set of Paperboys material, one set of Deacons material, and one set of….well, we don’t exactly know, yet.

However, we’ll see you all there….rockin’

OMFG

There’s a rumour afoot that there is going to be a Paperboys reunion gig, to roughly coincide with the 29th anniversary of the release of “Lookin’ for Sharron”. Stay tuned….

50th birthday pics

I’m posting all the photos I have of my 50th birthday party. If anyone has any others, please feel free to send them to me and I’ll get them up, as well. The new album will be at the bottom of the page.- just scroll down.  As you will no doubt be able to tell, an excellent time was had by all.

Ahh, history…

I mentioned pictures a while back. These are some more from Rick’s Facebook collection – here’s a never-used publicity shot of the three piece Deacons circa 1993 –

and here’s an often used picture of us playing the G&G, probably in early ’87. No, I don’t know who drew the hat on Dan –

Man, I miss that room. It had the livest, most in-your-face sound of any I’ve ever played in. The combination of that wood floor, the leaded glass, the plaster walls and the heavy velvet drapes (and the fireplace!) gave it a very live sound with very little natural reverb. Too bad they decided that that little stage was better served being a bankette.

Two anniversaries in one!!!

Well, as those of you with absolutely nothing else to do have probably already calculated, today is the first anniversary of the Deacons website!! And they said it wouldn’t last!! I gotta admit, it’s a proud accomplishment, but then I guess I never was at a loss for words.

Second, and more importantly, today is Rick’s birthday!! He’s playing and singing better than ever, so I’m not going to be the one who gives the actual number away.

As a little salute, here’s a pic of us in, I believe, the spring of 1991, opening for Mojo Nixon in the basement of the Pig & Whistle in Burlington. Note the mullet on the bassplayer – yeeesh!!

We are not alone…

Mulder & Scully were right…we’re not alone. And that being the case, here are all the other “Deacons” we could find in the musical lexicon:

First, there’s the “Deacons Hop“, by Big Jay McNeeley.

Then there’s “the Deacons“, a punk band from Brooklyntowne, NY (Is “Brooklyntowne” just a fancy name for Flatbush?)

There are even “Deacons” that predate us – here’s a band from the Pacific Northwest, who would’ve been contemporaries of The Wailers, The Kingsmen, and The Raiders. Wonder if they ever played the Spanish Castle? Sundazed has a contemporary record, but I can’t tell if it’s the same band or not (since it’s on Soma, a local label from Minneapolis, one would suspect not).

Jimmy Johnson was in yet another “Deacons” from Chicago.

I’m pretty sure there was also a big (seven or eight-piece) R&B band from the DC area that was called “the Deacons”, but they no longer (that I can find) have a website.

There are “Deacons” gigging right now in San Diego.

There’s “Debi & the Deacons“, who have a decided musical advantage, being from “Nuawlins”, but being folically challenged brings them back to the pack.

There are “Soul Deacons” in New Mexico. (Hey, wait a minute! Look at their gig calendar – they’re in New Mexico, fer cryin’ out loud, and they had a gig cancel ‘cos of the weather? What, it was too dry?)

Then there’s the “Bleeding Deacons“, who claim to be the most evil band in the land, and have cute little outfits to back that up.
There are the “Deacons of Dixieland“, who look to be a rockin’ bunch.

The Reflections (“Just Like Romeo and Juliet”) were apparently known as the “Deacons of Doo-Wop”.

Jackie Mittoo, a ska/reggae organist who moved to Toronto and had some solo success in the late sixties and early seventies, sessioned for an act in Jamaica called “The Deacons” before he left the island. He was also a founding member of the Skatalites.

A new set of Deacons – they must be  cool, ‘cos they’re from Oshkosh!

And finally, here is a guitar maker whose name I’d be proud to have on my headstock.

Deacons Timeline IV – “The Deacons Decade”

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.”