History

Southern New Hampshire in the 60's was pretty cool.
And after The Beatles hit the scene in February of '64, things really took off.
There were always plenty of hip dances that we waited for all week. We had Teen Haven, Club 96,
Bennett's Barn, York Beach Casino, Pine Grove Pavilion, and The Monkey Club.
Plus, most High Schools held regular dances with live bands. And what bands they were ..
The Tidal Waves, The Spectras, The Ill Wind, The Ramrods, The Pendletons, The Young Adults,
The Rockin' Mods, and The SevenTeens were just a few of the names we followed faithfully.

First Guitar and Amp

I used to stare for hours at this guitar and amp in the Sears and Roebuck catalog.
This setup cost $350 back in '65 (Note the guitar and amp page cut out and framed).
I eventually scored both of them (Thanks, Pop) and I was on my way.

My first little 'combo' with Carl Provencal and Tom Flanagan in the Summer of '65 had no name.
Two guitars, drums, and no bass .. playing instrumental tunes. (Ventures of course)
We also began with no microphones and with Tom using cardboard boxes and a grill grate as a drum kit.
We used to cut rehearsals to run home and watch "Where The Action Is" and "Hullabaloo".
Shortly after that cousin Steve Theodore and I started The New Sounds (catchy, eh?) which
soon became The Surfs with John Kane and George Tibbetts, steered by manager Bob Dubois.
By 1967 it seemed like everybody in High School had a cool band and a name to match:
The Vibrators, The UFO's, The Whipped Cream Conspiracy, and
The Wild Knights with Mike Ekola and Bugsy Beringer (that was us).

Fresh out of HS in '69 I worked my first bar gig with Freddie Dame and the Fables at The Clover Club, in
Salisbury. In 1970 along with Mike Duffy, Thom Scagliotti, Vic Levesque, Doug Lieb, Tom Lavoie, and
Mark Robillard, Freddie Fleet & His Band With the Beat (later known as Streetlight) jumped on the
Chicago-Blood Sweat & Tears craze. 1971 saw the jazz trio Wine Cellar with pianist Joe Simon play
Monday thru Saturday at Portsmouth's Holiday Inn, with yours truly on bass.

Plum and it's alter ego Master Cylinder, with friends Jim Spilios, and Jim Polychronis both
came in '72 and early '73 saw the first power trio Trigger with Ed Staples.
That led to Guillotine with Mark Gagnon and John Rzcuidlo, and a furious Summer run at
The Barrel Inn, The Red Onion, The Ancient Mariner, and Riverstyx.
1974 brought Four Hits and a Miss with Marilyn Berry and Glenn Rabideau followed in '75 by
Bullwinkle which included Andy Davis and Terry York, and a short appearance by Greg Dame.
Then in 1976 there was a quick stint with Bruce Helton and Bob Woodbury in Clear Blue Sky and
that led to Bullwinkle II .. house band at the famous Kimball Hotel.

(.. take breath here ..)



In October 1976 I joined The Franconia Notch Band with John 'Buck' Bochert, John Bendall,
Brad Parker, and Wayne Ferreira. These two shots were taken at an
all day Rockfest held on 7 July 1977 at Cheshire Fairgrounds, Swanzey, NH.
  I snapped the bottom photo looking through Wayne's cymbals out on a crowd of 11,000.
Look closely, and you'll see the Somersworth gang holding down the fort next to the stage.

Jamming at the Kimball Hotel

From 1976-'78 Dover had it's own Mafia. Every day we terrorized Hannon's, John's Pizza, and the KIMBALL.
If you missed the Kimball days in Dover, nobody can describe it to you.
If you do remember the Kimball .. no explanation is necessary.
L to R: Bob Clement, Rick Bellomer, BV, Brian Richardson, Rusty Hudson, John Fulmer ..
and a cast of thousands more. (I hurt myself many nights those years)

1978 also saw The Monroe County Outlaws with Paul Sadler, Neal Thomas, and Steve Toland, which
led to another venture called Tennessee Express in Key West. Then Buck, Bendy, and
company reunited in 1979 for another round as The Notchband.

Stevie's Wedding Bash

Of course when cousin Stevie got married on 19 July 1980, it was our duty to crash the party.
Dennis Dionne plugged us in .. and Dan, Stevie, and I seriously rocked out.

1980-83 saw two versions of The BVD Band with John Desjardins, Paul Topham,
Pete Bellissimo, and Les Benoit, and in early '83 the first BVD Solo show was born.

Original solo setup  1983



Armed with a Tascam 244 4-Track Cassette deck and a Boss Dr. Rhythm drum machine ..
(boom-chucka-boom-chucka) .. it became obvious that this idea could work.
These shots were taken at two of the very first BVD solo gigs.
Who knew I'd still be doing it 25 years later.
Hmmm ... let's see .. relaxing in a nice cushy chair ... hey, that's not a bad idea.

While the Solo show remained the focus for 20 years, my band journey continued as well:
Big Night Out with Mike Endicott and Deb Bowler, and The Cooties with Fran Calo both came in '84;
The Studebakers with Dan Pomerleau in '85, ZBop with Barry Rousseau and Lani Copp in '86,
Los Dos and Advent in '86-87, BVD Band III with John Bartlett in '87, and
in 1989 it was The Delrays with Sharon Demeritt followed later by
The Clarence Dobbins Review in Nashville. 

40th Birthday Bash

Jamming with old friends at my surprise 40th birthday party held at
the Rollinsford Legion function hall on 26 May 1991.
L to R: BV, Brad Parker, Jim Spilios, Barry Rousseau.

The beat marched on in the 1990's.
The Wanderers in '91, The Blue River Band with Wayne Brewer, Dan Thomas, and
Jack Jimenez in '93, Tightly Integrated with Larry Lytle in '95, Lumbago with Steve Topham in '96,
The Hasbinz with Mike Walsh in '97, The Termites in '98, Heist with Leon Chapman and
Tammy Burns in '99, and The Bonnevilles with Jim Bitetti in 2000.

There were many more not mentioned here and most of the people who have supported me all
those years are still following me today.
For that I consider myself incredibly lucky and I am grateful beyond words.
If it ends tomorrow I have already been rewarded many times over.
But hey .. I'm not done yet!