|
page 25 |
|
The Chancellors / Viscounts |
|
|
|
|
As you can see in this article that ran on approximately Nov 7th-1963, we added a fifth member: Ants Lacono (Anthony to his mom) on tenor sax. We did this for one important reason and one reason only. That is: Ants could play Harlem Nocturne. Way cool. To play in a minor key was considered "pushing the envelope" at 15, plus, he often talked over our heads in Jazz acronyms that made us feel very worldly and sophisticated. What did we know? We were playing the tunes I was learning from my guitar teacher (Ted Nelson) such as: Blue Moon and other acid rock favorites. No wait. This was the early 60's. THEE 60'S thing hadn't hit yet. Oh yes, Ants could play "Tequila," too. This was good for 12 and half minutes at a dance ANYTIME. Long before Pee Wee Herman made it famous again. Our drummer, Jeff Lengyel, felt quite confident making a statement in the news article predicting the direction that music would be taking in the next few years. You can read them in the far right hand column of the article under "School Parties." They were so off and incorrect as to become stuff of legend. Let us now, 35+ years later, anoint him with the much deserved title of "NOTRADAMOS de CHANCELLORS." You see, we didn't know a lick of Jazz, other than "Take 5" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, and as far as Rock n Roll lasting only 5 years more, well, you be the judge. His bold statements live on to this day between band members who haunt him with it. Norman Fletcher was completely focused on drawing Don Martin comics from Mad Magazine, and he was good at it, too. Norman's and my other escapades included a late night fire hydrant opening (it took a 5 sided wrench. A buddy had a homemade one and had given it to him). Once, we opened both sides of a fire hydrant late at night just around the corner from Norman's house on College Avenue. We went back across the street and hid in some shrubbery. We laid down on the ground and waited to see what would happen. About 20 or 30 minutes passed with that hydrant just pouring out water from both sides. We began to wonder if anybody would ever notice.Then, a cop car pulled up and stopped. We were snickering and holding our mouths as to not make a sound. The cops scratched their heads wondering what to do. Remember, it took a 5 sided wrench to open it. I doubt very much they had anything in their trunk other than a standard adjustable wrench of some kind. Anyway, they doodled around for about 15 minutes and somehow got both sides of it turned off. They then briefly took their flashlights and looked around the area for anyone or any clues. Finding nothing, they got back in the police car and slowly drove away through the neighborhood, trying to spot something. Gradually, they turned the corner and went out of view. Norm and I looked at each other with an ignorant grin, acknowledging what the other was thinking and said, "Let's do it!" and we bolted across the street, opened up both sides of the fire hydrant again and took off for keeps this time. Ah, the adrenaline that makes young boys attempt these things is bewildering to the more mature residents of the city. And then there was our other occupation: Late night swiping of garbage can lids. Twice we did this. The first time to the tune of 49 lids out of local alleys and then placed them in an X formation in front of a girl's house that we both knew. 65 on another occasion. On the second occasion, very late at night, we were in an alley getting garbage can lids and we saw, what might have been, a cop car that slowly passed the end of the alley way. Sure enough, it was the police. Apparently somebody had phoned in. We didn't know if they were coming back or not, but if they did ...we were trapped and had to think fast. There was a car inlet off the alley at one of the houses and there was a car parked in it. We ducked in there in hopes that if they came back and shined their spotlight down the alley and didn't see anybody ... then, they would just continue on down the street. No such luck. They did come back and after shining the spotlight down the alley, the turned in and started coming down the alley towards us. Up to then we were only standing beside the parked car. When we saw the spot light flash down the alley we went around the car and hid between the front of the car and the backyard fence. Ducking down so as not to be seen through the windows if they DID drive down the alley. The cop car, indeed, did come slowly down the alley towards where we were hiding. They pulled up and stopped right where we were. We heard the car door open. I nudged Norm and whispered "Quick. Get up on the bumper so our feet don't show if they look under the car." So up we went. Hearts pounding and thinking "we are in deep sh_t. Our dads will kill us." Sure enough, as we were crunched down out of view from the top and legs pulled up on the front bumper ... we saw a flashlight go over us through the car windows and then again right beneath our legs under the car. We rolled our eyes at each other and tried not to breathe. Norm had this gritted teeth "holy shit" look on his face. It was hard to not laugh, even in the face of impending doom. Ultimately, the cops got back in their car andjust slowly drove away. It wasn't a major crime we were doing or anything, but, the adrenyline rush was the same. Did we go home? No. We finished our dastardly deed of swiping the garbage can lids and, again, placing them in the intersection in front of the same girls house. Then and only then ... did we go home and gloat our selves to sleep. We were very proud to make the "city news in brief" section of the newspaper on both of those garbage can raids. Yes, the very same newspaper that ran this article above. We did like music, though. Honest we did. We just had the teenage mischief thang really, really bad. We once blew up a toilet bowl in Jr. High School with a cherry bomb. Norm ordered the cherry bomb fuse out of a magazine. He was good that way. Spliced it in for me and everything. The fuse was about a foot and a half long, total. I had it in my pocket in class. Our room was right next to a bathroom. Our teacher left the room for some reason so I slipped out of class ... went around the corner into the bathroom ... placed it in a toilet, lit it, then walked casually around the corner and back into my math class and waited for it to go off. Unbeknowns to me, just after I left the bathroom some poor kid walked into to use the rest room. Fortunately he was using the urinal when it went off in the toilet that was in the stall. Not only did it probably make him mess his pants, but, the dean of boys or some teacher came running in and the poor kid got blamed for it. I think they let him off due to a lack of evidence, but, he bore the reputation among the teachers for the incident. Hardly honorable of Norman and I to not save that kid and go admit to doing it. Nahhhhhh. Not a chance. Then there was the cat electrocuter. But that's another story that we aren't proud of at all. Fortunately, the one and only kitty used, got away. We live in shame and disgust of our adolescent ignorance on that one. We both love cats to this day. What gets into boys minds? Why would we do such a thing? The only reason I put this in here was to display the level of ignorance that young boys are capable of. Awful. Dad's are well aware of it. They were boys once, too. It's the Mom's that have no idea how bad their young "darlings" can be when left to their own initiatives. And
there were other strokes of genius. We became involved in
local politics at this early age. (Cutting edge trend
setters that we were. NOT) To explain: Keyboardist Danny
Johnson was running for ...well, let me elude to his own
words in quote. .."....that group helped make high school
history. I remember that I used the band to get elected yell
leader of Davis high and you guys used to play at the
rallies because the pep band sucked-and some coaches got
together and wanted me to stop using the rock band cause
they were stupid |