The Collegiates

There was purportedly a rock group on every street corner in the '60's, which means there invariably was a rock group on every university campus as well. The Collegiates ruled the roost at DePauw University in Indiana from 1962 through 1966. Co-founded by lead guitarist Mac Macoy, the band's popularity resulted in consistently recurring bookings at colleges throughout Indiana and surrounding states, nightclub and resort work from Michigan to Florida, and a part in the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour. For a group whose "whole was greater than the sum of its parts", The Collegiates surely accomplished a great deal.

An Interview with Mac Macoy

60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?

Mac Macoy (MM): I always enjoyed music while growing up but for some reason I never gave much thought to learning to play an instrument until, at about 14 years old, I heard Duane Eddy’s “Rebel Rouser.” I was blown away. A year or so later The Ventures came out with “Walk, Don’t Run,” and I was hooked for life. My first guitar was a $25 Stella acoustic, a guitar from hell; it was literally painful to play. I soon got my first electric, a Supro, and in comparison it played like a release from prison. Almost two years later I bought my dream guitar, a Fender Jazzmaster. (I still have that guitar. In hindsight, I should have picked a Strat.) I learned to play by ear, and I was pretty accomplished at copying a lot of the popular instrumentals of the day, which I would play along with the records. I was never in a band until I got into college.

60s: Was The Collegiates your first band?

MM: My first band had a short but sweet history. I entered DePauw University in 1962. After about a week I met Carl Lindberg, another freshman, in the college library. We discovered that we were both guitar players. A week or two later I pledged the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. A sophomore in the “Fiji” house named Del Gowing was an energetic, outgoing piano player and singer. He had one of those little Wurlitzer electric pianos like Ray Charles played on “What’d I Say.” Del already had impressive experience, having worked in a club band in Detroit called The Invictas, which was fronted by Dick Wagner, later of Alice Cooper fame. They had opened shows for such notables as Del Shannon and Roy Orbison. Del had a friend named Bob Stross, also a year ahead of me, who was an accomplished jazz drummer, but he was willing to play rock. I invited Carl in, and very quickly we became a group - two guitars, keys and drums - and it clicked. We played my instrumentals and Del’s and Carl’s vocals. In a campus talent show we followed about a dozen folk music and jazz acts. It was my first appearance in front of a large audience, and I was scared shitless. But, as the old saying goes, we “brought down the house.” We also played a street dance in front of the student union building, and a sock-hop or two in the ballroom, which were equally successful. We were too new to put a name on this little group.

60s: Where and where was The Collegiates formed?

MM: In 1961, before I arrived at college, there was a “combo” in the Phi Psi fraternity house. Two of its members were senior Jim Zerface, a jazz-influenced guitar player, and Jim Birch, another guitar player, who was a voice major in the DePauw School of Music. They called themselves The Unbelievables. They said it was because “they only knew seven songs and they played them all to death, and it was unbelievable that they were ever hired to play house dances.” “Zerf” graduated in 1961, before I arrived, but I would soon meet him. In 1962, Jim Birch regrouped with two more of his frat brothers, Gordon Costley (drums) and Jon Halstead (bass). Jon had played acoustic stand-up bass in the Indianapolis All High-School Symphony Orchestra. These three found a guitar player and a sax player from elsewhere on campus and called themselves Jimmy & The Collegiates. Not knowing there was another rock band on the campus, I was surprised to hear them rehearsing one day as I passed by the Phi Psi house. The sax player was weak, and the guitar player could play anything - as long as it was “Johnny B. Goode.”

One day the three Phi Psis came by to see Del and me at the Fiji house. They had seen our gigs, and they wanted us to replace their guitar and sax players. They said they had contacts on other campuses, and they were confident that with Del and me on board we would soon be playing house dances around the state. Jon would handle the bookings. (And he played bass. That would be fantastic!) Jim Birch was not really a rocker, but he was a killer ballad singer, and Del would easily fill the rock singer requirement. That left Gordy on drums and me on lead. It just looked too good to Del and me. We joined up with them and the band became The Collegiates. I felt terrible about leaving Carl Lindberg and Bob Stross so soon, but as it turned out, I would invite them both back into the band two years later.

60s: Why did the band change personnel so frequently?

MM: We were a college band, and every year we lost members to either graduation or someone dropping out; it was as simple as that. Over my four years, the members were as follows:

1962-1963: Jon Halstead, bass and harmony vocals; Gordy Costley, drums; Jim Birch, rhythm guitar and vocals; Del Gowing, electric piano and vocals; and Mac Macoy (me), lead guitar and harmony vocals. Jim Zerface, now in grad school at Indiana University, stepped in for Jim Birch while he toured the Far East with a vocal group affiliated with the DPU School of Music, and he played with us that summer as well.

1963-1964: Halstead, Costley, Birch, and I returned. The new guy was Doug Byers on Hammond organ, trumpet and lead vocals, replacing Del Gowing, who had reluctantly bowed out for personal reasons.

1964-1965: Doug Byers and I returned. I happily welcomed back Carl Lindberg, guitar and vocals; and Bob Stross, drums and harmony vocals. Incoming freshman Mike Grady joined us on bass. He was a tall, good-looking kid with great bass equipment, and he was a good player. This was the line-up that appeared in the Dick Clark Caravan shows and toured more extensively in the summer. Honorable mention is due here to Bill Fiorio, who played drums magnificently for us in Florida after Bob Stross reported to the USAF Officers’ Training School.

1965-1966: Carl Lindberg and I returned. Enter Jimmy Ibbotson, drums, vocals and guitar; John Nuetzel on keys, drums and harmony vocals; Mike Devor, bass. John Nuetzel had previous experience as the bass player in the ahead-of-its-time St. Louis teen group Little Caesar & The Blue Notes. Jimmy Ibbotson was already a seasoned singer and guitar player with The Wharf Rats. Mike Devor was the only known bass player on the campus at the time, other than John Nuetzel, who was already occupied with the keyboard. Actually, there was another bass player on campus named Bob Stayman, who quietly watched us from the sidelines that year, wishing he could have been in the band. He was a good player, and he could have been in the band, but I didn’t even know he existed until two weeks before I graduated.

60s: Where did the band typically play?

MM: Our primary stomping grounds were the campuses of DePauw University, Wabash College, Purdue University, St. Mary of the Woods College, Indiana University, Monmouth College and Drake University. We played a lot of college fraternity and sorority house dances and some big all-campus events like the Fall Carnival and the TEKE Chariot Race at Indiana University. We did gigs with various Indianapolis DJs at a few teen clubs, most often with Jay Reynolds from WIFE radio, and nightclubs and resorts in the summers of ’63 and ’65. I can think of only a couple of high school events.

60s: How did The Collegiates land the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars Tours?

MM: We did not actually “tour” with the Caravan of Stars. First and foremost, we were college students, and when the Caravan opportunity came up we were already booked for most of the upcoming summer. We did two appearances with the show in May of ’65. How it came about was this: Doug Byers was from Vincennes, Indiana, and he was well known around town for his prowess as a multi-instrumentalist. A fellow named Robert McCormick was the local promoter for the upcoming show at the Vincennes Coliseum. He was in touch with Peggy Rogers, the Midwest Director of Dick Clark Productions. McCormick told Rogers about this hometown whiz kid who was in this successful college band up state. Rogers told him that Clark was always looking for new talent, and she requested some promotional material. We slam-dunked some photos and a resume, a song list and maybe a tape. Long story short, she reported back that Dick Clark liked what he saw and wanted us to open the two shows in Vincennes.

Looking back, it was very strange. There were 15 other acts in the show. Tickets were $2.00 in advance and $2.50 at the door. (Some inflation in 41 years!) The microphones and PA speakers were first-rate, but there were no stage monitors in those days, and the mixer board was almost Stone Age by today’s standards. The amplifiers were not miked, so we drove them to the max. Of course the volume levels were nowhere near what would become commonplace in a year or two. The headliner was Herman’s Hermits, who had a current #1 hit with “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter.” It was their first tour in the U.S., and lead singer Peter Noone was only 17. The other “names” in the show were Bobby Vee, who was quite hot at the time, and Little Anthony & The Imperials. After that, there were some “one-hit wonders” like The Hondells, The Detergents, The Ikettes and Billy Stewart, then on down the list to names that were probably no more “famous” than we were. One standout, however, was the very beautiful, sexy and talented Brenda Holloway, who in my opinion should have made it very big. I believe she later opened the Shea Stadium show for The Beatles. One thing for sure, though…every single one of these artists had records on the market. The Collegiates had zilch, but we were happy to be at the party rubbing elbows with these stars. (And only a week later The Stones joined the tour.)

Bobby Vee’s band, Myron Lee & The Caddies, was the back-up band for most of the acts. We played our own instruments, as did Herman’s Hermits and The Hondells. It was fortunate that we were on the bill that night, because Myron’s bass player blew out his amp and they didn’t have a back up. Mike Grady’s Ampeg B-18 bass amp saved the day for everyone, including The Hermits - not to mention Dick Clark.

Each act got three songs, and that was it. I had never played to 15,000 people before, and there I was standing two feet from Dick Clark as he introduced us to start the show. I remember actually feeling weak-kneed, like a groom standing at the alter, but at the very moment we started to play, the audience started to scream. We had no record, no national recognition, and yet they were screaming their heads off at us. I realized that if one of us messed up no one would hear it anyway, so I relaxed pretty quickly. We played “You Can’t Sit Down,” the Beach Boys’ “Dance Dance Dance,” and Adam Faith’s “It’s Alright.” The second show was like the first, but without the nerves. After the shows we were signing autographs, and I don’t think I signed the same name twice. Who would ever know or care?

I’m sorry to report that back-stage Dick Clark was somewhat dictatorial and full-of-himself, and he was obviously not popular with the other performers, who tended to ignore him as much as possible. Peter Noone and The Hermits were extremely amiable and thrilled to be a “British Invasion” band touring America. The only exception was Barry Whitwam, the Hermits drummer, who seemed perpetually pissed-off. (I have re-connected with Peter Noone two more times over the years. Back in ’89 I was visiting with him and I remarked, “I see you got your teeth fixed.” He replied, “I had to… Barry knocked them out.”) Bobby Vee could not possibly have been more humble and un-spoiled by his fame. He was asking as many questions of us as we were of him. Little Anthony was constantly exercising his high voice and chirping like a bird, and The Imperials were just hanging out and having a relaxed, laid-back time. What was very cool about being back stage was watching the participants’ interest in, and support for, whoever was on stage at the time. Almost all of them were watching from the sidelines and cheering them on.

60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?

MM: The sound of the band changed as various members left and were replaced. Our vocals always outnumbered our instrumentals, but instrumentals were a lot more common and popular back then, so early on we scored well with Duane Eddy and Ventures tunes. The next year we scored again, covering most of the tunes on “Surfing with The Astronauts,” The Astronauts being RCA’s attempted answer to The Beach Boys. Of course we did as many of the vocal hits of the day as we could. The Beatles came along at the end of ’63 and really shook up rock music, almost instantly breaking the boring “cookie-cutter” formula, and not a moment too soon. Before too long we were covering songs by the Beatles, Stones, Herman’s Hermits (of course), The Animals, The Kinks, and The Lovin’ Spoonful.

60s: Did you play any of the local teen clubs? If so, which ones?

MM: We didn’t play teen clubs too often, but I remember The Flame Club in Indianapolis, and The House of Sound in Plainfield.

60s: Did The Collegiates participate in any battle of the bands?

MM: At DePauw there were a couple of other bands over the years, and there were a few “battles” that pitted us against The Youngbloods or The Misfits, which were basically frat house combos. They were not without genuine talent, either; but we had a momentum going. Practically everyone on campus knew that we were in demand at other campuses around the state and beyond, and we were semi-celebrities. It was hard for them to compete. At the big I.U. Fall Carnival in 1964 we traded sets with Rick Fortune and The Electras, I.U.’s top group. We scored big-time with our surfing music, especially with “Misirlou,” which we played three times by popular demand. No one else I know of was covering that material.

60s: Did The Collegiates have a manager?

MM: We managed ourselves. The first two years Jon Halstead handled the business end. After he graduated, I did it. Word-of-mouth was our best advertisement. Booking gigs was pretty easy. The phone would ring. Some social chairman from some frat house on some campus would want us, and the calendar would fill up. I think band members’ friends on those campuses might have initiated the gigs in other states. The further we had to travel, the more I charged. I never had to write home for money in my entire four years in college. We never even had a professional promo shot taken. It wasn’t necessary.

60s: How popular locally did The Collegiates become?

MM: Especially in the first three years, no matter who was in the line-up, we enjoyed a popularity for which there is simply no logical explanation. No matter where we played - whatever campus, fraternity or sorority, booze or no booze - there was simply no such thing as a bad gig in terms of crowd appreciation. Even on the night after Kennedy was killed we played what we called “a screamer” at Wabash College. It never ceased to amaze me. We were playing one night at Monmouth College in Illinois, in a fraternity house that was packed to the rafters with humanity. On a break I stepped outside for some fresh air, and I heard a band playing in the fraternity house next door. I went in to take a look, and there was none other than Lonnie Mack, one of my guitar heroes (“Memphis”). There were two couples on the dance floor, and that was IT! Four in the band, and four in the audience! It made no sense. I wondered if I had somehow accidentally sold my soul to the devil. I think the ultimate reason for our popularity is that we just had an appealing “chemistry,” and that the ”whole” was greater than the sum of its parts.

60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?

MM: During the school year, we played from Indianapolis, Indiana on the east to Des Moines, Iowa on the west, and Kalamazoo, Michigan in the north to Bloomington, Indiana in the south. The summer of ’65 took us from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Merritt Island, Florida in the south, with resort and club gigs in Monticello, Indiana and Terre Haute, Indiana on the way. All gigs were at least two weeks. The Club Idaho in Terre Haute was over a month.

60s: Even though The Collegiates never recorded a single the band did record, correct?

MM: At the end of the 1964 school year, Jon Halstead (bass), Gordy Costley (drums) and Jim Birch (rhythm guitar and vocals) were all graduating. We decided to record as much of our song list as possible, strictly for us to have. We set up in the campus FM radio studio and one-take-slam-dunked almost everything into a single microphone hanging from the ceiling and fed to an old Ampex monaural tape deck. It could not have been more primitive. The vocal quality was pretty terrible and buried in the mix, but some of the instrumentals actually came out fairly well…if you happen to be rather “forgiving” by nature. In the session itself we had a wonderful time together. I think it was 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning when we finally declared “Miller time.”

In early1965 we recorded two songs in the WIFE Radio studio in Indianapolis for an upcoming TV show that we would videotape later. I used to have a copy of the reel-to-reel tape, but over the years it oxidized and disintegrated like the Dead Sea Scrolls. While in Terre Haute in the summer of ’65, we set up in a big hotel ballroom and hired a guy to tape us and capture that “big sound.” He didn’t have the right mikes, and he was not the pro he sold himself to be. The final result ran the gamut from “wimpy” to “distorted.” It was a waste of time and money. There were two other attempts to record us live at events at DePauw - one in the student union ballroom, and the other in the gym. Again, the results were less than stellar. These “babies” had faces only a mother could love.

60s: Do any of these recordings still exist?

MM: Yes, some amateur recordings do exist as I mentioned but, like UFOs, they are not often encountered. I might send you some “surfing” music. I’ll think about it.

60s: Did The Collegiates write any original songs?

MM: We did not do any original material, but we did re-arrange some music, such as an interesting combination of “Charade” and “The James Bond Theme,” and Buddy Holly’s “Think It Over,” with three key changes. We never aspired to make it in the music business, other than to be a successful college rock band that entertained a lot of people and got paid for what we were worth.

60s: What was the name of the TV show the band recorded tracks for?

MM: In the summer of 1965 the band performed two songs on a WISH-TV (Indianapolis) produced program called Talent ’65. The audio was recorded in February, and the video was lip-synced on location at Indiana Beach Resort in May. In June we were on stage in the Roof Garden Lounge at Indiana Beach at the very moment the program aired, so none of us ever saw it. I would be amazed if the tape still exists.

60s: What year and why did the band break up?

MM: In ’66-’67: By this time I had graduated and was now in grad school at the University of Illinois in Champaign, where I would soon be playing with The Rising Sons, and then The Ice-Blue Secret. At DePauw, John Nuetzel and Jimmy Ibbotson kept the Collegiates name for one final year. Nuetzel tells me that Bob Stayman was the new bass player and that the name of the new lead player escapes him completely. They stayed “local,” playing primarily on the DPU campus. They rotated lead vocals and instruments a lot and covered pretty diverse groups, including The Lovin’ Spoonful, Animals, Beatles, Miracles and many more. John says that after he left Jimmy Ibbotson just sort of lost interest, and The Collegiates were no more. Actually, I think Ibby dropped out for a year, and then came back to DPU to complete his degree.

60s: What can you tell me about The Rising Sons and The Ice-Blue Secret?

MM: The Rising Sons was a pretty strong R&B band. Kip Smith, who ran the guitar department at C.V. Lloyd’s Music in Champaign, recruited me into the band. There was Kip (rhythm guitar, trumpet and vocals), Bill Bales (bass and vocals), Greg Bambick (drums), Dave Lewis (sax, keys and vocals), Eddie Price (lead vocalist), and I played lead guitar and sang back up. I brought in my roommate, Mike McKenzie, who played trumpet and keys.

Good as the band was, we weren’t really getting the high-profile gigs in Champaign, which would be the two main clubs, Chances R and The Red Lion. We played once at Chances R and once at The Red Lion, but a lot more often we’d have gigs at the NCO and Officers’ Clubs at Chanute Air Base in Rantoul, or the Prairie Lanes Lounge (and bowling alley), and a few of the lesser clubs in Champaign/Urbana, like The Bunny Hutch. We also played clubs in Bloomington, Charleston and Sigel. As I said, we were a pretty good R&B band…good enough to play in black nightclubs like the University Elks Club and be truly appreciated. Being white, but able to understand how to play the music “black,” we were very well received by an all-black audience, and I was proud of that. Our most unusual gig was a booking at my fraternity house back at DePauw University, for their annual “Fiji Island” dance. Let’s just say that the brothers spend weeks in preparation for this event, and the house was literally transformed into another world, beyond the scope of this interview to describe. I told the guys that they weren’t going to believe it, and my Fiji brothers did not disappoint. It was one hell of a house dance, and the Sons played at the top of our game. We also played live on a local TV show called The Hop. I was only in the band for three months or so, but I was feeling discontent, and I wasn’t alone. I was thinking that it was the nature of our R&B material that kept us from getting the status gigs. I wanted some of those gigs, and a critical deadline in my life was approaching.

The Ice-Blue Secret was a short-term project for me, because I would be going into the USAF in a few more months. I left the Sons and took Mike McKenzie and Dave Lewis with me, picked up an ambitious young drummer named Steve Brakebill, and recruited Terry Lutrell out of a band that was beneath his talent. I don’t remember how I found bass player Jack Davis; I think Terry probably knew him, but he was perfect to complete the line-up. It was Jack who came up with the band name. He was also a gifted artist, and he painted up the kick-drum head to duplicate the label of the highly advertised deodorant. We learned fast and played well, and it was my best band up to that point in my life. I truly regret that don’t have a note of that band on tape. I finally got my wish about playing the higher-status clubs, and we played at lot in Chances R and The Red Lion.

All too soon I had to enter the Air Force. Bill Fiorio, who I gave guitar lessons to while he was playing drums for The Collegiates back in the summer of ’65, had by now become very good, and he took my place. The band became The W.C. Fields, a great gimmick, since Dave Lewis could really imitate the man who was the band’s name-sake. Terry Lutrell would later become the lead singer in the early R.E.O. Speedwagon, and Bill Fiorio would become REO’s first lead guitar player.

60s: What keeps you busy today?

MM: Today, I am retired after 25 years as a real estate broker and six years as the vice president of a small real estate-related software company, but music has always been in my life as an avocation. I have always had a love for the bass, and I made it my instrument of choice after over-dubbing bass on a number of sound-on-sound guitar recordings I made in 1975. I am quite proud of many of the groups I have worked with over the years in classic rock, country-rock, or straight country bands, and I have shared the stage with some very special people and extremely talented musicians. At the moment I’m working with a very lazy classic rock group that is only doing 12 to 15 gigs a year in clubs, private parties and class reunions, and I’m filling in with other bands when they have a need for me. (For those who care to know, I’ve been playing a Rickenbacker 4001 since 1979, but I have recently acquired a G&L L-2500 5-string, which is about to rack up some stage time.) I do editing jobs for writer friends from time-to-time, the major effort being Space Traveler: A Musician’s Odyssey, which is the autobiography of world-class guitarist James Vincent (http://www.jamesvincent.net). I also do graphics in PhotoShop for promotions and CDs.

60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with The Collegiates?

MM: You never forget your first love; and I don’t think you ever forget your first band, either, especially if it enjoys the level of fun and success that we had. During my four years in college, there were 13 of us in the band…or 14, if we count Bill Fiorio for his contribution on drums in 1965. I had the unique privilege of being the only band member to play with all of the others. Some of the early members never even met those who would follow them, at least not until we gathered our forces to reunite and perform for class reunions at DePauw in 1986, ’89, ’90 and ’91. In addition, we had two Collegiates reunions at Doug Byers’ vacation home on the Sea of Cortez near Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Band members flew in from Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Minnesota. I think almost everyone has met everyone by now. Let me tell you about these guys:

Dr. Jon Halstead (bass, 1962-1964) - Jon is a psychologist who specializes in helping troubled high school students in Richmond, Virginia. He is still musically active, and he plays both acoustic and electric bass with a band called Altered Takes, a group that specializes in taking a different approach in covering classic rock and pop tunes. (http://www.alteredtakes.com/index.htm).

Jim Birch (guitar and vocals, 1962-1964) - “Birchy” is the “go to” guy if you need some mechanical body part replaced…a hip, a knee, a shoulder rebuild. He is a highly sought-after specialist in orthopedic surgical products. The name of his company is Ortho Options. He is constantly on-hand in operating rooms to counsel surgeons as they implant these mechanisms in their patients. In what little spare time he has, Birchy stays in magnificent physical condition, and he competes in eight to ten marathons or triathlons a year. Even as a cancer survivor, he has participated in and completed the world-famous Iron Man Competition in Hawaii. At 64, he is currently ranked #8 in the world in his age group in the ½ Iron Man event, which covers a 70.5-mile course. Amazing!

Gordon Costley (drums, 1962-1964) - “Gordy” is a successful real estate attorney in Louisville. He still has a love of classic rock from the Collegiates days, and he plays guitar or piano now, instead of the drums, with various groups from time to time. He is now quite at home on the guitar, but he really shines on the piano.

Del Gowing (piano and vocals, 1962-1963) - Del is also a successful attorney, living in Florida. He has not kept up with music in his life, but he has admitted to me that he has some regrets about that. Del was a “natural” performer, and when he jammed with us at a band reunion in Mexico he proved that he has still “got it.” He is still in touch with Alice Cooper guitarist Dick Wagner, who he played with in The Invictas all those years ago.

Jim Zerface (guitar, 1962-1963) - “Zerf” is an inductee in the DePauw University Athletic Hall of Fame, in honor of his prowess on the DPU basketball team. Gifted with a quick wit and a unique, slightly “askew” sense of humor, he might have made a great stand-up comic. He has been a never-ending source of entertainment for the rest of us. After 27 years, Zerf retired from his position as Director of Pupil Services in the Nashville public school system. As a sideline, he has been successful as a songwriter, with 57 titles registered with BMI. 35 of his songs have been recorded, with seven of them reaching the “Top 40” and three in the “Top 10”, performed by such diverse artists as Reba McIntyre, Dean Martin, Roy Clark, The Kendalls, Perry Como, Jerry Lee Lewis, and even George Burns.

Doug Byers (keyboards, trumpet and vocals, 1963-1965) - Doug is a building contractor who specializes in custom homes in the $1 million + price range. Doug left DePauw to play with the Dick Halleman Orchestra at the posh Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale, AZ and the “Top-of-the-Mint” in Las Vegas. In 1967 he was recruited by Domingo Samudio (Sam) to join Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs. He was the first of The Collegiates to perform with a national act. After a couple of years, a nearly fatal car accident ended his tenure with Sam the Sham. Doug has continued to play over the years, both with Dick Halleman and with a classic rock trio called Flashback. These days he has been doing a lot of song writing. He records his songs in his studio at his second home in Mexico, usually performing all the instrumental and vocal parts himself.

Carl Lindberg (guitar and vocals, 1964-1966) - Without a doubt, Carl has spent more nights on stage over the years than any of the rest of us. Like me, Carl also switched over to bass, but much sooner than I did. Out of college and living in Detroit, Carl worked the club circuit steadily with The Checkers, then Finger-Lickin’ Good, and Powder Creek Combine, to name the principal groups. He moved to Phoenix in 1977, where, under the stage name Carl Shepherd, he continued to lead his own bands, most notably Shepherd’s Flock and the still very active Western Electric Band, an outstanding country-rock group. For many years he has had his own booking agency, Shepherd Entertainment, booking bands and other acts for every conceivable kind of event. And, because he “likes the action,” Carl does quite a lot of business buying and selling guitars, amps and PA gear.

Bob Stross (drums and back-up vocals, 1964-1965) - Bob is a college professor at Webster College in Missouri, sort of what we might expect, or at least wish for, from a man who is as intelligent, steady and reliable with his people skills as he was on the drums. Unfortunately, Bob has not continued to play music over the years, but he still has the “tubs” set up in his basement, and he tells me that he still hits on them from time to time.

Mike Grady (bass, 1964-1965) - The ancient Greeks used to say, “Those who the gods love die young.” In the band Mike was the youngest of us - tall, blond, handsome and amiable…a real “babe magnet.” Unfortunately, he put too much interest and energy into the band and not enough into his studies, so he had to drop out of college after his first year. After touring with us through the summer of ’65, he entered the Air Force, and his four-year enlistment included a year in the Vietnam War. After leaving the service he went back to college and pretty much “aced” every course he took, then married his high school sweetheart. Together they raised beautiful twin daughters. He owned and ran a highly successful fruit juice-bottling business in Florida, and he did very well in real estate investments. On August 7th, 2003, 36 hours after a minor out-patient surgery, Mike died of septic shock caused by an infection that invaded his system during the surgery. He was beloved by his family, his friends and his employees. There was a very memorable night in 1977 when Mike partied in Tempe with Doug, Carl and me. (Bob Stross was in Kentucky at the time, but we called him…at 3:00 AM.) It was unfortunate that Mike was unable to attend other band reunions, and a shame that some of the other members never got to meet him. R.I.P., Mike.

John Nuetzel (keys and vocals, 1965-1967) - John has been a salesman a good part of his adult life, usually specializing in highly-technical gizmos like computer-driven laser what-cha-call-its that cut extremely intricate parts out of all sorts of metals, plastics and other stuff. (I’m sure he could describe it better than I can. Let’s just say that the gizmos are very expensive.) In later years John and his wife owned and operated Mill Stream Farms in Princeton, Minnesota, breeding Tennessee walking horses. If you want to learn all about these fine horses, visit http://www.millstreamfarms.com/. A man of many talents, John is the author of two novels and a book of short stories. John is divorced now, but doing fine, and for you ladies who like musicians, he plays bass, keys and guitar…and he has a collie puppy.

Jimmy Ibbotson (drums, vocals and guitar, 1965-1967) - When Jimmy Ibbotson auditioned for The Collegiates at the beginning of his freshman year he was “over-the-top”…a wild man; think of “Animal” on The Muppet Show. Maybe he was just trying too hard, but he was a little spooky. I wanted someone who would be more stable and professional, so I happily invited Bob Stross to play with Carl and me again. It was the right decision. Ibby did play with us the following year, and he was still a bit of a loose cannon, but what I didn’t realize at the time was that I was witnessing in this volatile personality the development of a natural-born entertainer. In 1969 or ’70 Jimmy Ibbotson joined The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and he first hit the airwaves in 1970 with “Mr. Bojangles,” and “House on Pooh Corner,” two certifiable hits on one record. Anyone who has ever seen The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in concert might arguably say that Jimmy Ibbotson was the most charismatic personality on the stage, and given the talents of the others - Hanna, Fadden, Carpenter and McEuen - that says a lot. His abilities on guitar, bass, drums, accordion, mandolin and other instruments, along with his unique vocal style, superb song-writing skill and energetic on-stage persona are, in my opinion, the principal reason why The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band enjoyed such a long career. Ibby left the band two years ago. Without him, I think that great band is now heading into the sunset.

Mike Devor (bass, 1965-1966) - Whereabouts unknown. None of us can tell you a single thing about him. He vanished like a ghost. I guess one out of 13 isn’t bad.

Bill Fiorio (drums, two weeks at the end of summer, 1965) - Honorable Mention here. Bill was, and still is, another natural-born entertainer. He was the first guitar player in R.E.O. Speedwagon. I don’t know the story about his departure from that band, but he has been playing great music and entertaining large audiences all these years, and he shows no signs of slowing down. He is very well known, especially in the Midwest, as “Dr. Duke Tumatoe.” (http://www.duketumatoe.com/).

Now, having paid homage to these men let me finally answer your original question… How do I summarize my experience with The Collegiates?

First, simply getting together with others to make music is a hell of a lot of fun, especially if you sound good. Second, there is no experience quite like the “rush” you get from receiving the heart-felt applause from thousands, hundreds, or even a few dozen people.

I have never been a strong singer. I would like to think that if I were, I might have the guts to perform solo appearances. Del, Birchy, Gordy, Doug, Carl and Ibby all have that ability. Without them, the rest of us support players would never have had the opportunity to enjoy that amazing, unique energy of audience approval. For me personally, sharing that energy with the other members made the whole experience so much more meaningful and memorable. What is especially critical here is that you actually like one another, and we certainly did. We had a lot of laughs together.

So right here is what this entire, long-winded interview is really all about. I don’t know how others may think about this, but I truly feel that a Higher Power has controlled a number of events in my life so beautifully that I couldn’t possibly want it any other way. For my part, I think the reason that there ever was a Collegiates is that these men and their families became life-long friends, to me and to each other. They are a great blessing and are like family to me, and all these years later we are still very much in touch. I can’t see how it could get any better than that.