Reminiscing About the 2021 Season and a Preview of 2022

June 17, 2022 / Mike McAlister

Greetings to our amazing fans! It’s been a while since we put out a blog so we decided to write about where we’ve been and where we’re going. We are so looking forward to seeing all of you at our gigs this summer. Last summer was wonderful, but the specter of the pandemic was still haunting all of us and our gigs were not quite as relaxed as we would like. We are all ready to ‘let our hair down’, and our gigs will be a blast in 2022. So here is a brief history of the fun we had in 2021 and our plans for this season.

We kicked off the 2021 season at the homeplace in Red Oak on June 25th. We had the honor of playing at the Red Oak All Class Reunion (ROAR) for the 3rd time. It’s always an honor to play in our hometown. The weather was threatening outside so it was decided to move everything inside to the banquet area of the Red Coach Inn. We had a big crowd and lots of dancers. It was so great to see our friends and classmates. Thanks again to Elaine Carlson and her staff at the Red Oak Chamber of Commerce and the Red Coach Inn/Stadium 34 staff for hosting us all and a great time!

A few days later on, June 27th we had the honor and privilege of playing for the first time at the Jordan Creek Amphitheater as part of the Live At The Creek Summer Concert Series. We were the front half of the lineup along with Final Mix and our friend, the legend, Del ‘Saxman’ Jones. We appreciate his support in getting us the gig. It was an amazing crowd and so much fun being part of this awesome concert series. We were asked to come back this summer, so stay tuned...

Our next amazing gig was an outside event at the Creston Elks Lodge. We worked with our friend Barb Peterson-Wilmeth (a fellow graduate of Red Oak High School) and the Officers of the Elks Lodge to play their annual July 3rd Party. It was a beautiful evening, and we had a ton of fun! We love playing in Creston and we will see you again very soon.

On July 10th, we had our biggest gig, perhaps in our history, at the Stanton Homecoming celebration. To say it was phenomenal is an understatement. First of all, we were reunited with Neil Johnson, our amazing drummer in the original 70’s lineup. Like Gregg, Neal grew up in Stanton so we asked him if he would play on a few songs with us for his hometown crowd. As it turned out, Neal’s incredible talent and musical knowledge gave CRB a two-drummer rhythm section all night. It was so much fun for us as players and the audience. And the crowd was incredible. There were estimates of 700-800 people in attendance, which almost doubles the population of Stanton. It was wonderful to see so many people having a great time in one of our favorite places to play. A shout out to superfan, Tim Johnson and the Farmers Mutual Telephone company for hosting all of us.

We returned to the Adel Sweetcorn Festival playing a 5-hour gig on the afternoon of August 15th. We had a blast entertaining a multitude of friends and families as they hung out with us for part of the afternoon or waited in line for sweetcorn. It was a beautiful day and we had time to play about 50 songs and stretch our musical legs. The crowd was gracious as always and we look forward to coming back someday soon.

We ended the season at a wonderful event in Essex where we were the front-end of a two-band bill with Tyler Folkerts and the Double Barrel Band. The original CRB lineup played in Essex in 1977 and we were thrilled to come back to play the Labor Day Weekend Street Dance/Beer Garden. There was a great crowd and we appreciate Cole Thornton asking us to be part of the event. We had a great time!

As you can see, we had a great time in 2021. We made tons of new friends and renewed friendships with many people who have been with us since the beginning. We like to think that we play songs that remind them of the good times we all had in the past, whether it was in the 70’s or later on. We continually look for songs from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, or 2000’s that are in the vein of the amazing music of our youth. We’ve also worked up 10 new songs for our 2022 song list and can’t wait to play them for you.

With that said, our current schedule for 2022 looks like this:

We have two private events scheduled: Wakonda Country Club on June 17th and Glen Oaks Country Club on August 26th. We look forward to making new friends, but we will miss our faithful fans.

Our first public gig at the Creston Elks Club is on Sunday, July 3rd. Come on out and enjoy the hospitality of the Elks. It’s always a good time. And remember, Monday is a holiday!

The next gig will be 2 nights at our favorite place on Lake of the Ozarks, Fish and Company. Put July 22nd and 23rd on your calendar to spend some time where the food and drinks are wonderful, and the atmosphere is all about fun. Dale Blue will warm up the crowd and we will take over from 7-11 both nights. We have different set lists for each night, so you won’t see the same show twice. If you haven’t been to the Ozarks, it’s an amazing destination that has something for everyone.

A week later, we are very excited to have our own gig at Jordan Creek Town Center on Sunday, July 31st. We will be part of the Live At The Creek Summer Concert Series and we are looking forward to playing there again. It’s a great venue and we are honored to be given our own date. Come on out!

The last public gig we have scheduled this summer is at the Old Lumber Yard, aka the OLY in Stanton on August 13th. It’s a fund raiser for the Stanton Child Resource Center and we can’t wait to see everyone there to support this important part of the Stanton community. Like we said above, the OLY is one of our favorite places to play for so many reasons. See you there!

We recommend that you follow us on Facebook to keep up with us and find the details of our gigs.

We are so very grateful for our fans, and we look forward to seeing each and every one of you this summer!

Written by McAlister

June 6, 2022

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The Summer of ’19 Tour

February 03, 2020 / Mike McAlister

It’s safe to say, Chautauqua Road Band had an amazing Summer of 2019! We played two new venues and returned to two of our favorites. We made a lot of new friends and will return in 2020 to at least 3 of these places and hopefully add on more...

We started off the summer back in Red Oak at ROAR, the all-class reunion at the Red Coach Inn. This was the second time we have played ROAR. We added about 10 new songs to our set list and they were all a hit. We were also able to play Roll with the Changes by REO Speedwagon as a tribute to the theme of Junction Days as well. We had a blast and we are planning to see everyone again in 2020.

**Setting up in Red Oak to kick off the summer playing season. Did we mention it was hot?**

Shout-outs go to Elaine Carlson and her husband Kerry. They are not only great fans, they are great friends.

Also, a big thank you to an original band-mom, Barbara Jean McAlister and Paul DelMonico who came all the way from Chicago to enjoy the show, talk to some old friends, and sell t-shirts. Brother Roger McAlister also came from Chicago to provide much appreciated roadie support. Darren Rushak was our sound engineer and we got a many compliments about our ‘house mix’. And as always, Jacque Richards was indispensable before, during, and after the gig. Everything was awesome and we can’t wait to come back.

The next stop on the tour was at Fish and Company near Camdenton, Missouri on Lake of the Ozarks. This was our first date at ‘Fish’ and it won’t be our last. We had a great time there, not only at the gig, but we were all able to stay in a beautiful apartment above the bar. This was an amazing perk for the ‘talent’, as we called ourselves (just kidding, of course). We played Friday and Saturday night and being able to stay on site was a godsend. The weather was pretty hot, with the heat index at show time being over 100˚ F both nights.

**Night one at Fish & Co. in the Ozarks. Did we mention it was hot?**

**The start of night two at Fish & Co. in the Ozarks. Did we mention it was hot?**

**The end of night two at Fish & Co. in the Ozarks. Notice James’ keyboards got knocked off their stands. Fortunately, nothing was damaged.**

**Jodi Couchman with Chautauqua Road Band belting out Joan Jett tunes.**

We had a guest singer join us for both nights, Jodi Couchman, or as we now know her, Jodi Jett. She killed it on two Joan Jett songs and the crowd loved it!

Big shout-outs go to Dale Blue and Leonard Sandholm for hosting us. Fish and Company is awesome. We should also acknowledge Sister Mary Richards from Alaska for coming the farthest to see us play and it was great to celebrate Old Roadie Jack Richards’ birthday with him. He’s always been one of our greatest fans and he’s still going strong! We had a lot of help from our families for the set up and the load out. As always, a big thank you to all of our amazing fans, both old and new. We had lots of ‘repeat customers’ on Saturday from Friday night and we loved seeing everyone enjoying themselves.

The next weekend we had a gig at a new venue for us; Good Times in Ankeny. We had a great time at this bar and saw a lot of new faces. We also had an encore performance from ‘Jodi Jett’ that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. It’s always great to have friends and family at our gigs and this was no exception. We always feel the love!

Our last gig of the summer tour was at one of our favorite places to play. The OLY in Stanton. The Old Lumber Yard has been upgraded and is an amazing event center for the entire community. We love playing there because the acoustics are wonderful, and the people are amazing. We can play kinda loud up front, and folks can still talk to each other toward the back.

This was an event for a group of friends having a collective 60th birthday party and since three of us are friends with the participants, we were able to party like it was 1977! We had a great time and we think we showed some of the younger folks in the crowd that we can still get it done.

We have been booked for Stanton ‘Homecoming’ in July of 2020 and we can’t wait! It’s going to be great!

We want to thank all of the folks involved in getting us set up at the OLY, especially Tim Johnson. We appreciate Tim’s friendship and all that he and his colleagues do for the community.

That’s it for our Summer Tour of 2019. We had an amazing time and we are already gearing up for next year. So far we are planning to be at ROAR in June; The Fish and Co. and Stanton Homecoming in July, and will be returning to Adel Sweetcorn Festival in August. We are working on more gigs and we will let everyone know about our dates on Facebook and other social media outlets. Stay tuned for more CRB Rock!

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Bohemian Inspiration

March 16, 2019 / Mike McAlister

Two recent events inspired me to write about what makes Chautauqua Road Band a great band. The first event involved watching the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody a few days before it won 4 Oscars at the Academy Awards. I have always been a big Queen fan and I saw them perform in concert twice in the 70’s. Their shows were amazing, and I loved the movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, I would highly recommend it. More about Bohemian Rhapsody later…

The second event that happened recently was Gregg transferred some old cassette tapes of Chautauqua Road Band to digital media that were recorded when we were in high school. (Technically, James, Gregg, and I were in high school. Paul was almost in kindergarten…) There were four recordings, and one of the recordings was when we had a sort of ‘farewell concert’ in June of 1977 at my house. The three of us had recently graduated from high school and I was getting ready to go to Sweden for the summer as a foreign exchange student. We were all going our separate ways at the end of the summer and we knew we would probably not get back together as a band anytime soon.

The last CRB show in 1977. Stuart Peterson, Gregg, Mike, Neil Johnson (kneeling down), and James.

As we could hear in the recording of our ‘concert’, it was clear we had all been drinking (18 was the legal drinking age) and I for one, definitely sounded under the weather. For the most part, the music still sounded pretty decent, but the most notable aspect of the tape was the banter between the songs. We were having so much fun with the crowd and each other. There was true camaraderie then (as there is now) and you can hear in our voices that we loved what we were doing. As Gregg said when he heard it after all of these years, we also projected a ‘ballsy, devil-may-care, raw talent’. The amazing chemistry we developed back in the 70’s was real, and we discovered 40 years later that it never went away.

The idea for this blog entry came together for me as I thought about our chemistry and the scene in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ where Freddy Mercury meets with the Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon to consider playing at Live Aid after being estranged for a few years. Freddy says that even though he tried to be successful on his own, he realized that he needed the input from the other 3 members of Queen to make his music worth hearing. He went on to explain that each member contributed the right amount of criticism, encouragement, and new ideas to make each song a Queen song.

Meeting at the Beverage Table at the last CRB show. Mike, Bill Fish, James, Neil Johnson, and Stuart Peterson

In Chautauqua Road Band, as it was in the 70’s and it is now, we do a few original songs but mostly perform covers of many iconic rock songs of the past 50 years. We inherently know that we must support and challenge each other in order to do justice to those amazing songs. It is what the great bands do.

At the end of the day, I am most grateful for the opportunity to play music with three other musicians that I consider my brothers and I know the feeling is mutual. Being able to play great music with people I love, for the people I love, is one of the most rewarding aspects of my life. I truly believe that our respect for the music and the joy we show when we play is the reason our fans enjoy our shows.

The original Chautauqua Road Band. James, Pat Lewis, Mike, and Gregg

Chautauqua Road Band at Red Oak All-Class Reunion 2018: James, Paul, Mike, and Gregg

As I write this article, we currently have four gigs lined up for the summer of 2019. We are going to play for the Red Oak All Class Reunion (ROAR) on June 28th; two dates at The Fish and Co. at Lake of the Ozarks on July 19th and 20th; and a private party on September 7th. We are hoping to book a few more gigs, so keep checking our website or Facebook page to find out if we are playing at a venue near you.

We are always very excited to play for our amazing fans and we look forward to meeting those of you who haven’t heard us yet. Our events may not be quite as historic as Queen playing at Wembley Stadium in 1985, but we will do our best to entertain you with our special brand of rock. See you soon!

Mike McAlister
March 2019

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Iowa Roots

January 04, 2019 / Mike McAlister

During the summer of 2018, I spent several hours with one of my best friends, Gregg Messer as we drove to a few gigs a few hours from home base. Since then, I have often thought about one of the subjects we discussed. It was about how four teenagers from small towns in the great state of Iowa were able to make some of their dreams happen. As we have all grown older and see how things work, what we were able to do in the mid-70’s was admirable, and I think played a role in how the three founding members of Chautauqua Road Band became successful businessmen as well as accomplished musicians.

In case you haven’t heard our story, the genesis of CRB began in 1974 when James Richards and I started playing music together as 9th graders. After playing with a few other guys in town without much success, we were introduced to Gregg Messer and at that time we knew there was a chemistry that could turn into something special. We soon found a drummer, Pat Lewis from Sidney, and within a few months we learned enough songs to play our first gig in December of 1975.

We played 40 gigs in the next 18 months and made almost $11,000 from 1975 to 1977, which adjusted for inflation would be nearly $45,000 today. What was even more impressive was that we had no manager or booking agent. We had a sound guy, Bill Fish, who helped us set up and ran the PA for us during this stint, but from a business perspective, all of us were the managers and roadies. From the beginning we were a very democratic band, with no single member taking a leadership role. All of the decisions were discussed by all members and we only went in the direction if everyone agreed.

Another impressive fact was our parents were not directly involved in the operation of the band. They would help where they could and my mother had my 1968 Chevy Impala ‘souped-up’ to pull the trailer with our gear, but from a business perspective, our parents were not involved. I remember very few disagreements within the band and it was understood that our mission was to play good music, create a party on stage and hope the audience came along with us.

Fast forward about 40 years and the band is still a 4-man democracy. We are still not represented by an agent and we have all had a hand in landing gigs for the band. We have no disagreements on the music we play, even though we have 40 more years of music to choose from. When it comes down to why we do what we do, our mission has not changed. At one of our shows this summer, a friend of the family saw us for the first time and their comment was that you could tell by the look on our faces that we were having a blast playing. It is who we are.

Even though we have a different drummer (the amazing Paul Richards, younger brother of James) than we had in the 70’s, we have been able to maintain the amazing chemistry of the original band. I truly believe the reason we had 41 gigs in 18 months back in the 70’s is that we were decent musicians who really had a blast when they played together.

We were very fortunate to find each other, but I also contribute our success to our roots in Southwest Iowa. Growing up is SWI we had to work to get what we wanted. We earned money working part-time jobs to buy our gear. What we had was ours, nothing was given to us. We learned that if we were going to be successful, we needed to work on our skills and practice our craft as much as possible… while going to school and participating in extra-curricular activities.

The attributes we developed as young men contributed to our success as adults. The work ethic has served us well over the years and we have been able to work on our skills and practice our craft while working full-time (or more) and raising a family. Now that we are working to make a little more time for the band and gigs, we are getting the opportunity to grow as musicians and we hope to play for more and more people as time goes on. The journey we have been on over the past two years is a tribute to the roots of the band in the 70’s: We do it ourselves, we do it as a team, and we do it to have fun.

***Tim’s 60th Birthday Bash (August 2018)***

If you have attended any of our gigs over the past 42 years, we sincerely hope that you have enjoyed hearing our music and seeing our show… If you haven’t heard us yet, we hope you come out soon to listen and dance, if you are so inclined. We have enjoyed playing together for a long time and all the things that made us successful in the beginning are the same things that make us fun to watch today. We love what we do and how we do it… we look forward to seeing you at a gig soon!

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The Summer of ’39 or was it 2018?

August 27, 2018 / Mike McAlister

After the initial ‘CRB reunion jam session’ in the summer of 2016, we decided the band would begin the effort to book gigs and work towards being a serious rock and roll band playing events across the Midwest and beyond. One of our earliest target events was the Red Oak All Class Reunion (ROAR) that is held during Junction Days in June of each year. We believed playing this prestigious gig would established CRB in Southwest Iowa as one of the premier bands for any occasion needing great live entertainment.

As the world turned, we were asked to be the headliner for the 2018 version of ROAR and we were thrilled. The Red Oak Chamber of Commerce embraced the idea of having local (or bands originally based in Red Oak) bands to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Junction Days. It is our understanding that Phil Lamb (from Code Blue, who played Saturday night) was instrumental in getting our name in front of the committee. We owe Phil and everyone involved in the event a huge debt of gratitude for putting their faith in us.

**On our way to the gig, we had a short side trip to Gregg’s hometown of Stanton and much to our surprise we got a mention on the town marquee.**

The ROAR (Red Oak All-Class Reunion) was a big success and we owe a big thanks to several people who made it possible. Paul and Betty Fay ran the sound and lights. We want to especially thank the Red Oak Chamber of Commerce, namely Elaine Carlson, Susie Boremann, and Mr. Brandstetter (We can’t call him Larry). And a shout out to Mike’s brother, Roger who came in from Chicago to be a great roadie for the day.

From Red Oak we went to Creston to one of our favorite places to play, The Lobby. We played to a great crowd that stuck with us through 3 sets and we all had a great time! We appreciate Tim Gray’s hospitality and we look forward to returning to Creston someday soon. We love it there because everyone comes to have fun!

The next venue was Trekfest XXXIV in Riverside, Iowa. For those of you who didn’t know, James Tiberius Kirk will be born in Riverside in the year 2233. From there he will become a Star Fleet Captain of the Starship Enterprise.

It was an extremely hot day with the heat index around 105 F˚ when we started playing. Thankfully an industrial-size fan was blowing across the stage and we enjoyed playing to a courageous crowd throughout the afternoon. We appreciate the intrepid sound crew and our host, Kevin Meller, Executive Director. We would love to come back to Riverside next year.

We had a stormy ride home as parts of the state received up to 9 inches of rain that evening. Everyone got home and all’s well that ends well.

Creston — The Lobby

Riverside — Trekfest 2018

Riverside — Trekfest Float

A few short weeks later we were on the road back to Southwest Iowa to play a private party for our friend Tim Johnson. This party had been in the plans for several months and it was held in a new venue in the great town of Stanton. A warehouse was converted into a pop-up event center and we were thrilled to be the first band to play there. It was a private party and about 250 of Tim’s friends and families attended to help him celebrate his 60th birthday.

We want to thank Tim and his family along with Mickey Anderson and Paul Vanderholm. Sarah Culver was also instrumental in the amazing decorations and getting the crowd involved in the dance party that ensued. We all had a blast and we can’t wait to get back to Stanton to rock out again!

The last gig of the summer was an absolute blast. We were invited to play at the 39th Annual Adel Sweetcorn Festival and it was our pleasure to play to such a great crowd. We especially enjoyed the participation of the Tea Girls and their non-stop dancing. The best part of being in a band is watching everyone have a great time. We knew it was going to be a good night when they started dancing right away.

Shout outs go out to Deb Bengston for hosting us and Darren, the sound guy, for doing a great job. We appreciate his quick dashes to the stage to restore power to James’ amps! We also enjoyed playing the ‘Summer of ‘39’ to the Bryan Adams’ tune with a similar name. The beer was pretty good, too!

As we approach the end of the summer we want to thank everyone who came out to see us play. We love to see all of you and we can’t wait until we get in front of you again. Rock and roll lives and we are thrilled to bring it to all of our friends!

Stay tuned for more gigs! They are happening!

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Iowa? I Could Have Sworn This was Heaven…

July 12, 2017 / Mike McAlister

Field of Dreams is a classic movie (especially for Iowans) with many great scenes and memorable lines, such as the title of this post. For the Chautauqua Road Band, we could have sworn we were in heaven on a Saturday night in June.

**CRB ON THE ELKS LODGE STAGE / JUNE 24, 2017**

When we decided to get CRB back together last summer, one of our goals was to play a gig during the 2017 Red Oak Junction Days. We put the dates on our calendars and even went as far as reserving hotel rooms nine months in advance in anticipation of playing a gig that weekend. We felt confident we would be able to find a place to play and as the world turned, the venue turned out to be at one of our favorite dance halls from back in the day.

As part of the 40th Class reunion festivities for the Red Oak Community High School Class of 1977, the class graciously sponsored a public dance at the Red Oak Elks Club. We truly appreciated the support from Lynette, Kim, and our classmates for making the dance happen. CRB last played the Elks Club on February 25th, 1977 and when we first walked into that hall on Saturday, June 23rd, 2017, a little over 40 years later, the memories of those great times we had in high school came roaring back. We were very excited to start a new chapter in CRB history.

As we set up our equipment and started the sound checks on that Saturday afternoon, we all felt that the gig was going to be special. To be honest, we may have also been a little nervous. At 9 o’clock when the house lights went down, we took a deep breath and cranked up our amps. As we hit the first power chord of ‘Light and Sound” our hearts jumped for joy and we were magically transformed into young men once again, much like the baseball players in ‘Field of Dreams’. And like those ball players in the movie, we were doing what we love to do… in a place that we call Heaven.

Thank you, Red Oak, we had a blast! We can’t wait to play for you again…

A few shout outs:

Barbara Jean McAlister for coming in from Chicago. Folks were thrilled to see you again.
Jack and Leslie Richards for traveling from St. Louis to drive their incredible 1937 Cord in the parade and be an advertising force for the band
Terry McAlister who flew in from Virginia to be at the dance, and his daughter Georgia who drove from Ames
Matthew Messer for his excellent work running the sound system for our rehearsals and the gig
Our beautiful wives and children for their eternal and much needed support
The staff at the Elks Club for being great hosts
And last, but not least, the ROCHS class of 1977 for sponsoring an amazing event that brought so many people together. See you in 5 years?

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Coming Home

June 13, 2017 / Mike McAlister

The Chautauqua Road Band is coming home! CRB will play a dance at the Red Oak Elks Lodge on June 24th, 2017, which is almost exactly 40 years since the last time we played in our hometown. To say it is a special occasion for us is an understatement.

As you might have gathered from reading the information on the website or Facebook, we got back together last summer (2016) and have been working toward playing gigs again. In the process we have rediscovered the magic we had as a high school garage band in the mid-70’s. Our musical skills have improved over the years and we have learned several new songs, some that would have probably been too difficult to perform 40 years ago. We have expanded the use of a keyboard and our guitars and amplifiers are much higher quality than the gear we used back in the day. It’s safe to say we are better than ever!

But the most important element of our success now, as it was then, is that we have a blast when we play together. The best part of being in the band is the fun we have when we make music together. It is one thing to sit in alone in our living rooms and play a song. It’s a very different experience to play along with 3 awesome musicians and crank out a classic Doobie Brothers tune. In CRB, we are friends who are musicians and our audience enjoys the energy this chemistry creates.

The dance is at the Elks Club and it is sponsored by the Red Oak High School Class of 1977. The dance will start at 9 pm and go until midnight or so. It is open to the public and we will take a $5 donation at the door. A little of the money will go to defray the costs of the dance, but the remainder will go to the Class of ’77 and for a charity of their choosing.

We promise to rock the Elks Club like we did 40 years ago. For those of you who helped us experience some of most enjoyable evenings of our teenage years, we hope you will join us to re-live the magic. For anyone new to our band, we want you to stop by and experience the good time music that makes you feel great!

Chautauqua Road Band is coming home and it’s going to be amazing… see you there!

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Timing Is Everything

May 02, 2017 / Paul Richards

The Time Was Right

The 40-year Reunion Gig at The Ridgemont in Windsor Heights

A little more than 40 years ago, the time was right for 3 high school sophomores to form Chautauqua Road Band and go on to play over 40 gigs from 1975 to 1977. After the last gig in June of 1977, Gregg, James, and Mike went on to attend college and start families and establish stellar careers (outside of the music world). About 40 years later, the time was right for the original three members of Chautauqua Road Band to reunite and re-capture the magic.

With the addition of an amazing drummer, James’ brother Paul, between July of 2016 and January of 2017, the band worked out over 30 songs and were ready to accept the challenge of a gig in April. Forty years between gigs is a long time and if the three originals tried to get together to play 20 years ago or even 10 years ago this most likely wouldn’t have happened. Family commitments and demanding careers would have taken priority over making a commitment to playing gigs.

Some friends of a family member were willing to take a chance on CRB and on April 14, 2017, it was the perfect time to put on a show for CRB fans, old and new. In early March, Sean and Dory Stevens, who own The Ridgemont, agreed to have CRB play, even though they never had a band play in the bar before.

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When it came time to play, the band was understandably nervous. Although the bandmates had played gigs in various bands since 1977, it had been several years since they had played in front of a crowd. The plan was to perform many of the songs played by the original version of the band like China Grove and Can’t Get Enough. They also played many new songs (at least new to the band) such as Boys are Back in Town and Already Gone. They even debuted a few more recent tunes, Learn to Fly and Best of You. They also played four original compositions, two of them written in 1975 by James and Gregg.

Dancing commenced on the second song of the evening and it continued for almost every song thereafter. Eventually, the nerves died down and the band played through two sets for a total of about 30 songs. Even though they weren’t perfect, they were all good. The crowd was enthusiastic throughout the evening and the band was grateful for the positive response.

The first gig in 40 years was a success on all levels. Playing in front of a crowd is a symbiotic experience. The band receives energy from the crowd and the crowd responds to a band having a good time. The live music experience is as much fun for the players as it is for the audience. The 40th reunion gig for CRB was a great time for everyone and the band is looking forward to the playing for our fans, new and old far into the future.

The time was right for the 40th Reunion of Chautauqua Road Band.

A few shout-outs from the band:

Thanks to ‘Old Roadie Jack’ Richards for being there. It was great to have you with us… supporting us as much in 2017 as you did in the 70’s.

Thanks to Rick Maly of Maly Sound and his assistant Dave for an outstanding job of shaping our sound. We received many compliments about the sound being great in the bar. Rick and Dave worked very hard well before, during, and after the gig. We appreciate all they did for us.

A big thank you to Sean and Dory for taking a chance on us. We hope a live band at The Ridgemont was good for business. We appreciate your hospitality and support. It had been a long time between gigs and we will always remember our first ‘reunion’ gig at The Ridgemont

And lastly, thank you to the multitude of family and friends in attendance. It meant the world to all of us to have your support. We hope we entertained you and made you proud. We felt your love.

Yours in rock... Chautauqua Road Band

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The CRB Woodshed Chronicles – Part 2

April 08, 2017 / Mike McAlister

“…and I hope you’ll be alright. ‘Cause me and the boys will be playin’ all night”…

KISS released the song Beth in 1976 and it made it up to #7 on the charts. I always interpreted this line in the song as the boys in the band had to practice a lot.

For most folks that haven’t had the privilege of playing in a rock band, they would probably think that getting together with “the boys” and playing music would be all fun and games. However, I’m here to tell you it is a lot of work. Don’t get me wrong, when the four of us are together we have a lot of fun, but we are working very hard. We work hard because the “face to face” practice sessions only happen every few months and we need to make the most of the time we have together.

But before we talk about our “face to face” practices, let’s talk about how we get ready for serious woodshedding.

Back in the 70’s we would sit by our turntables and listen to a song over and over trying to catch the elements of a song and then play them on our instruments. There were no how-to YouTube videos to watch back then. We had to rely on our ears and playing skills. Figuring out a song is much easier today using 21st century technology. I also think our improved skills and understanding of music theory help us understand the structure of the songs better and make it easier to learn.

Here is how we put together our sound across a thousand-mile gap: We use software that transcribes the music up or down to the key we want to play it in. In some cases, we have found that our voices can’t quite hit the same high notes that Steven Tyler could hit in the 70’s. As Gregg points out, “Steven can’t even hit those notes today”. So Gregg will records the original song in the new key and puts it into a source file. Then, he uploads it to our Dropbox folder, allowing us all access from wherever we are practicing.

I use the same source file in New Jersey as my brothers in Des Moines use for learning the songs. Once I have the source file, I can use the same transcribing software to slow down the music (but not change the pitch) so I can hear the notes more clearly. I plug my bass into an interface that goes into my computer and listen to the song through headphones. I then play along with my bass through the Garage Band app. Essentially, I have my own personal woodshed in my living room and I don’t have to bother anyone else.

The second important piece of the puzzle is James, Gregg, and Paul are practicing together in Des Moines (at an undisclosed location) and they are working out the vocals and other details on each song. By the time we get face-to-face, we have all the notes, the tone and the basic arrangement down so that we can spend our time together making sure we get the little details right to get the perfect CRB sound.

An important aspect of our face-to-face practices is we all push each other and help each other get it right. For example, we probably played Slow Ride a hundred times back in the 70’s and it probably sounded okay. This fall I spent several hours at home listening to the source file and practicing the amazing bass line. When we got together last December to rehearse, I helped James and Gregg play one of the rifts a little more accurately and when we played the song as a band this time, it sounded better than ever!

This is the basic approach we are taking to making our music. We have spent a total of 6 days together in rehearsal and we have made amazing music together. The three originals have recaptured our chemistry and if anything, we are tighter now than we were back in the 70’s. To top it off, Paul is an amazing drummer and musician who makes all of us better.

But the proof will be in the pudding as they say. If you haven’t listened to our demo songs on this website, I invite you to do so. You will hear our attention to detail in those recordings. We have worked hard to capture the energy and love we have for some of the most amazing good time classic rock recorded in the last 45 years. At the end of the day we are very excited for you to hear what happens when ‘me and the boys’ play all night.

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The CRB Woodshed Chronicles — Part 1

March 03, 2017 / Mike McAlister

Woodshedding is a term that musicians use to describe practice sessions where they work out the details of the songs. Practice makes perfect and even the most accomplished musicians must practice their craft frequently to be at their best. Since I live in New Jersey and the Richards brothers and Gregg live in the Des Moines area, there are a few logistical hurdles that make the ability to practice frequently difficult. Nonetheless, we believe we have figured out a way to bridge the thousand-mile gap.

However, before we talk about the ‘how’, let’s talk about the ‘why’. It takes a lot of effort to get the sounds right and the notes right and the song arrangements right. Even if the musical skills are decent for the individual players, practice and repetition make the songs sound great. CRB will need to ‘woodshed’ our set lists to get everything right.

Practicing the CRB original tune Light & Sound for the first time in 40 years. — Practicing the CRB original tune *Light & Sound* for the first time in 40 years.

After the initial get together in July of 2016, we all made a commitment to work toward getting gigs and playing for our fans again. We want to be an excellent classic rock cover band who will play a few original tunes that rock. We also know that since our skills and equipment have improved over the years, we want to be more faithful to the original recordings than we were 40 years ago. In the 70’s we admittedly played decent imitations of the originals, but we know we can do better this time around. It’s easy enough to say this was our goal, but from a practical perspective we needed a strategy.

A QUICK SIDE STORY
I was at my local Harley Davidson dealership last fall for an event and a band was providing entertainment for a few hours. The band played a variety of songs with many of them in the classic rock category. On most of the songs the bass player did a good job, but when they played Long Train Runnin’ I was disappointed. His rendition was not very close to the original bass line and for me the cover was not very good. When I listen to a band cover a song, I would like to hear most of the elements of song as well as flavor the band brings. It is CRB’s desire to be faithful to the songs we play.

As the world has turned, it is now clear the original lineup of CRB played some of the most enduring rock songs ever written. Led Zeppelin, Doobie Brothers, and ZZ Top songs are still played on the radio every day. When I talk to people about music, most people, regardless of their age, consider classic rock one of their favorites. I don’t know how much of the current music will be played 40 years from now, but I’m sure they will still be playing Led Zeppelin. It is great stuff. Even more reason to do it right.

Takin' Care of Business sounded great! It was like we picked up right where we left off in 1977. — *Takin' Care of Business* sounded great! It was like we picked up right where we left off in 1977.

At the end of the day, our goal is to play some of the greatest rock songs ever written to the best of our abilities. I personally hope other musicians will not be disappointed in my interpretation of Tiran Porter’s amazing bass line on Long Train Runnin’. To everyone hearing us play, we want the songs to sound a lot like the original so they will want to dance or sing along to songs they know and love. To make that happen, it is going to take a lot of practice.

I hope this explains ‘why’ we are taking our rehearsals so seriously and why we needed to work out the logistics of ‘woodshedding’ our music. I am happy to say that we have figured out a strategy and in the next blog I will talk about ‘how’ we are making it work.

Rock on,
Mike

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A Long and Winding Road

January 11, 2017 / Mike McAlister

As mentioned in the previous entry, the idea for the CRB reunion started when our old friend, Bill Fish, suggested a CRB get together on Facebook. It’s quite possible that we would have gotten together eventually, but for the three original members, we will always appreciate the little nudge to get it going sooner than later.

To say there was a lot of water under the bridge since the last time Chautauqua Road Band played in public is an understatement. The last gig played by the three ‘originals’ was in June of 1977 on the porch of the Roy Martin house, where Mike’s family lived. It wasn’t a paid gig, but a celebration for our fans, family and classmates. Copious amounts of beer were served (legally, the drinking age was 18) and a few of us watched the sun come up the next morning from the front yard. There is a tape recording of part of this event that may see the light of day… if it survives the recording process. We are in the process of transferring it to digital media to be preserved for future generations.

A few days after the party/concert/kegger, Mike was on a 747 headed to Sweden for the next two months. Gregg and James went to their summer jobs and started getting ready to attend college in the fall. There was some intermittent contact over the next few years between the three amigos, but their college careers took precedence over any thoughts of playing together again… After that summer, the idea of getting CRB back together was probably never more than a whisper in the back of their minds. However, for many years Mike teased his wife that when he retired, he was going to go back to playing ‘classic rock’ for the people. Perhaps it was little more than a whisper…

Before we start blogging about what the band is doing now and our plans for the future, we think our readers may find it interesting to hear a little about how we got to this point. In the next few postings we will talk a little about the paths our lives have taken over the past 4 decades. Not only some of the fairly interesting information about personal lives but our musical journeys. When we started talking about the reunion last spring, we all realized that our love for music had grown over the years and our tastes have expanded since the days of playing Led Zeppelin and Dobbie Brothers songs. Don’t get us wrong, we will always love “Rock and Roll” and “China Grove”, but we also appreciate “West Coast Blues” and “So What”, by Wes Montgomery and Miles Davis.

We will also talk about the newest member of the band in this discussion. Paul has had his share of interesting life and musical experiences and we will tell his story, too. For many reasons, Paul is a perfect match for the band and we will talk about the road that led him to be the drummer for the next (amazing) version of CRB.

We appreciate all of the support our old and new fans have shown us at the beginning of this next phase. We hope you look forward to getting to know us a little better. Stay tuned for more!

Rock on... Mike

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The Next Adventure

December 29, 2016 / Mike McAlister

In 1975, four high school sophomores from Southwest Iowa started a band. The idea was to get the first gig and hopefully more gigs after that. The first gig was a dance in Sidney in December of 1975. As the world turns, and God willing, we have a lot more gigs to play.

Mike McAlister and James Richards became friends as junior high classmates in the Red Oak, Iowa. They both had a passion for performing music and during their freshman year they started playing with a few other musicians in the area. These groups got a few gigs, but it was never a sustainable situation. Early in their sophomore year, Mike and James were introduced to Gregg Messer, who lived in the next town over, Stanton.

The magic came together when Mike, James, and Gregg got together the first time. Knowing that something special was going to happen, a drummer auditioned for the band and the Chautauqua Road Band was born. Pat Lewis helped launch the band on a successful run as four high school students provided quality rock to the people of Southwest Iowa for the next two years.

Fast forward to 2016; a simple Facebook post was all it took. In the spring of 2016, James posted a picture of his new ‘music room’ at his house. An old friend of the band and former sound man, Bill Fish, commented that it would be great to get CRB back together again. Mike commented, ‘Need a bass player?’ and shortly after that, Gregg replied, ‘Need a guitar player?’. That was all it took to get the ball rolling.

A few emails later, the wheels were in motion to organize a reunion. James and Gregg live in the Des Moines area and had gotten together a few times over the years to play and reminisce. Mike, who had moved out of the state in 1981 and currently lives in New Jersey, on the other hand had not been in contact with James or Gregg since 1978, except for James attending Mike’s wedding in 1981. Future posts will talk about how all of us have kept involved in music all of these years, but suffice it to say, once we all started talking to each other, we were ready to rock again.

As luck would have it, a great drummer was readily available to fill out the lineup. James’ younger brother, Paul, is an accomplished drummer and was willing to join the ‘old guys’ to complete the band. Once all of the pieces fell in place, the dates were set for the ‘reunion’ last July. A friend of Gregg’s provided a wonderful space (air conditioned, thankfully) to make some noise and we all made our way to the site on a Friday afternoon. Even though we hadn’t seen each other for almost 40 years, there were some brief discussions about family and work, but to be honest we were probably more interested in cranking it up than chit chat. We knew there would be time to catch up later…

Prior to the reunion we agreed to ‘learn’ a few songs so we had something to work on when we got together instead of just having an unstructured jam session. The first few chords and drumbeats of Joe Walsh’s ‘Rocky Mountain Way felt amazing. Everybody sounded great! We got through the song on the first try and when we were finished there were a lot of big smiles and high fives. We were back! In the span of 5 minutes the three ‘originals’ knew they were going to be able to recreate the same magic they had all those years ago. Now this was a Band!

We plan for this to be the first blog entry in a series of many. There is a lot to write about… for example, our journeys over the past 4 decades that brought us back together at this point in time. We will also talk about what the band is working on now and what we want to do in the future. We are going to do gigs again. Hopefully lots of gigs. This blog will be a place where we can talk about our events, the experiences we have, and our great fans.

Join us on our journey. It’s going to be a hoot!

Until next time, Rock On!

Chautauqua Road Band
Mike, James, Gregg & Paul

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