Reekers

Tom Guernsey has recently compiled a CD of songs by his first band, The Reekers. Best known for recording ‘Don’t Call Me Flyface’ and the original version of The Hangmen’s classic ‘What A Girl Can’t Do,’ the CD also includes recordings from the ‘70’s and beyond. In addition to his work with The Reekers and The Hangmen, Guernsey was also involved with two other ‘60’s groups, The Piece Kor and The Omegas. The CD is available for purchase at CD Baby.

An Interview With Tom Guernsey

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

Tom Guernsey (TG): I started taking guitar lessons when I was 12 years old. I listened to Elvis, etc. (this was 1957), but did not play rock & roll until The Beatles hit in 1963. By that time I was playing and studying jazz guitar, and listening to a lot of jazz guitar players. When I heard ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ I ran out and bought a cherry red flat top Gibson with a whammy bar, abandoned jazz and started learning Chuck Berry riffs.

60s: Was The Reekers your first band?

TG: The Reekers was the first band I was in and still exists, at least in theory, although we have not played a gig in since 2003.

60s: Who named the band...and why?

TG: I can’t remember for certain who came up with the name The Reekers, but it was probably lead singer Joe Triplet. The name was appropriate, as on any given night, the band might “reek.”

60s: Where and when was The Reekers formed?

TG: Tom Guernsey, Mike Henley and Joe Triplet, who all attended Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland, formed The Reekers in 1964.

The current band is Joe Triplet on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Tom Guernsey on lead guitar and vocals, Bob Berberich on drums and vocals, Mike Henley on piano and vocals, and Sam Goodall on bass. Originally Richard Solo was on bass and Jim Daniels on drums.

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

TG: The sound of The Reekers has always been straight ahead, uncomplicated roots rock and roll. We were influenced by Elvis, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, The Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc.

60s: Where did the band typically play?

TG: The Reekers’ gigs were primarily at beer halls and parties, some radio station gigs to promote their records, and a few clubs and colleges, mainly in the Washington D.C. area. We did not play teen clubs.

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

TG: The Reekers played in one battle of the bands, which was judged by Cass Elliot and Zally (Yanovsky) who later joined The Lovin’ Spoonful, but at the time were in a D.C. based band called The Mugwumps. We finished second. An instrumental surf band finished in first place.

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

TG: The Reekers were never really a “touring” band, but did play some gigs out of the D.C. area, primarily in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and at Bard College in New York.

60s: Did The Reekers have a manager? If so, how did you hook up with him? How active was he in promoting the band?

TG: High school friend Toby Mason, who financed their first recording sessions, managed The Reekers. Band members also were active in securing gigs.

60s: What were the circumstances leading to those first recording sessions? This would be the ‘Flyface’ 45, correct?

TG: The Reekers went into the studio with the flip side of ‘Flyface’ (‘Grindin’’) in 1964. Tom and his brother John wrote the song. It did not sound like what they had hoped for, so they made plans to go back into another studio called Edgewood Studios in Washington, D.C., owned and operated by Ed Green, an excellent engineer, who later moved to Los Angeles where he was very successful doing sound for all kinds of major music awards shows. By the time they went into Edgewood, Tom had written ‘Don’t Call Me Flyface.’ ‘Flyface’ and ‘Grindin’’ were recorded straight up live with no overdubs. However ‘Flyface’ is two takes spliced together somewhere near the middle. I really liked the front of one take but also thought the back end of another take was really cool. Ed Green told us to go out for some burgers while he looked for a place to “splice” the two takes together. He said he would play it for us three times when we came back and if we could tell him where the splice was, the session would be free. Well, we came back and listened to the song three times. Sure enough, it was the front of one take and the back end of another take, but to this day I have no idea where the splice is. I attribute this to Ed Green’s skill as engineer, but also give The Reekers credit for playing the song consistently at the same tempo without a click track. The songs were recorded in one-track mono, a decision made by Tom based on the fact that one track mono was $10 per hour and two-track stereo was $20. Considering all this, Ed Green’s recording skills shine thru to this day!

60s: Who was the band's primary songwriter?

TG: I wrote the early songs: ‘Flyface,’ ‘What A Girl Can’t Do’ and ‘The Girl Who Faded Away’ (and ‘Grindin’’ with brother John) and then went on to write for The Hangmen, and after that, The Reekers again. Later on Joe Triplet and John Guernsey became prolific songwriters for Claude Jones and The Rosylnn Mountain Boys. Joe wrote ‘Lesson To Learn’ which was recorded by Rod Stewart, and John wrote ‘All The Kings Horses’ which was recorded by Emmy Lou Harris.

60s: Do any other '60's Reekers recordings exist? Are there any vintage live recordings, or unreleased tracks, that are not on the new CD?

TG: There are two or three songs that The Reekers recorded that are not on the CD – ‘Low Flyin’ Rock’ and ‘With One Stone’ both written by Joe triplet but I don’t know who has copies of them. Also currently not on the CD is The Reekers’ original version of ‘What A Girl Can’t Do’ and ‘The Girl Who Faded Away.’

60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances?

TG: The band made no TV appearances.

60s: While still with The Reekers you became involved with The Hangmen. I know this might be really involved...but how did your association with the band start?

TG: I was attending Montgomery Junior College in 1964, when I started the group The Hangmen with George Daly. At the time, I was still in The Reekers but the other members were away at other colleges. The Reekers had already recorded ‘What A Girl Can’t Do’ and Fred Foster, the owner of Monument Records in Nashville (Roy Orbison, Ray Stevens, Boots Randolph) heard the record and loved it. Since The Reekers were not really available to back the release of the record, Fred Foster suggested to me that the record be released under the name “The Hangmen.” The record was released in 1966 and quickly became the #1 selling record in Washington, D.C., northern Virginia, and suburban Maryland, and was actually #1 above The Beatles’ ‘We Can Work It Out,’ which was #2, for a number of weeks.

With the success of ‘What A Girl Can’t Do,’ The Hangmen became a fixture in the Washington, D.C. rock scene. The Reekers had only occasional gigs when the other members of band where in town. (Drummer Bob Berberich and guitarist Tom Guernsey were in both bands.) The other Reekers eventually went on to other bands (Claude Jones, The Roslyn Mountain Boys) and Hangmen/Reekers drummer Bob Bereberich eventually moved on to play with Nils Lofgren and Grin. The Reekers got back together in 1972 to play the Washington club scene and recorded several tunes, including ‘Night Time Of My Life Time,’ a song written by Tom, and a song that Ray Charles really liked and almost recorded himself. The Reekers got back together several times in the ‘80s and ‘90s and last played a gig in 2003. There is still the possibility of other gigs.

60s: How did you become involved as a producer with The Piece Kor and The Omegas? What do you recall about those groups?

TG: I left The Hangmen in 1968. I produced the group The Piece Kor through contacts with old Hangmen manager Larry Sealfon. Also in 1968 The Reekers cut two songs I wrote entitled ‘I Can’t Believe’ and ‘Mr. Yates.’ United Artists released the songs under the name The Omegas. As with The Hangmen and ‘What A Girl Can’t Do,’ The Omegas were a touring band I knew, and at the time The Reekers were not, and so the record was “released” by The Omegas. Both The Piece Kor and The Omegas were solid groups.

60s: How often, and where, do you perform today?

TG: I am now living in Portland, Oregon so that my wife and I can be near our kids and grand kids. After a 25 year career in Washington, D.C. writing music for radio and television jingles, scoring for film, and producing various artists for labels such as Sony, TK Records, etc, I am trying to get back into music the way I approached it in the ‘60s: Writing and playing for fun…and if anything else happens, that’s gravy.

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

TG: The Reekers has been an ongoing experience, and over the years has been a source of fun and amusement if not financial reward. It is also worthy to restate that members of The Reekers went in to such bands as The Hangmen, Nils Lofgren and Grin, The Roslynn Mountain Boys, Claude Jones, The Mystery Band and The John Guernsey Band. It is also worth noting that The Hangmen’s existence would probably have been quite different were it not for The Reekers version of ‘What A Girl Can’t Do.’

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