The Origin Story

How did it all start? I'm writing this for me as much as anybody...while I can still remember. There was an event called 'Britweek' in Orlando every year and one particular year it was to be hosted by Full Sail University and was to feature Graham Nash and a local British Invasion cover band as backup. The Redcoats were unable to take the gig and suddenly, Dale Rock, the person in charge of the music had an emergency. Apparently, there were no other groups around that could do it, so his band, Rock City, took on the task under the name Bangers & Mash. At that time, I had no idea what the name meant, but I learned quickly. That is the name of a British dish of sausages and mashed potatoes. It doesn't immediately sound appealing to most of us in the US, but after a recent trip across the pond, I can understand. For some reason, the meat we had for our meals in restaurants was much better than back in the US. 

Bangers & Mash took the gig and appeared at Britweek, but Graham Nash was a no show. The gig was a success anyway and the band was excited about a brand new path for our music. It never happened because the band leader had to take a job in Nashville and the band parted ways.

Flash forward a few years, and I was still gnawing on the idea of playing old songs from when I was a kid. While playing in a blues band called The Hodads, I met drummer Bob Marwick, who shared the same interest in the music of our youth. We met up again in another band, The Cosmic Cowboys, and I started thinking hard about the possibility of doing the music with just a trio, if I could pull off the bass parts with my left hand. We experimented a bit with that, but the guitar player wasn't really interested in the old stuff. 

Meanwhile, a friend of a friend puts me in touch with Jerry Polk, who I haven't seen in 30 years. We played together for a long time in the Polk County Band, and I knew that Jerry could do it. He was interested and we arranged a get together at my house. From the instant we started playing, I knew we had what I had always hoped for. In fact, it was better than that, because somehow Bob and I were locking on beats. Suddenly, the music part was easier and what was usually work became play. 

If you want some inspiration from all of this, try to imagine having this much fun late in life...I never expected it, and there are plenty of people that tell you about their glory days....I just never thought those days would be these days..

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