Menagerie
1980

Menagerie @ Prescott Music Center

My first Prescott band Menagerie included Wayne Pearsall, bass & vocals; Dave Kellerman, guitar & vocals; Joe Burke, vocals; Scott Ellis, drums and me, guitar, organ & vocals. During the final months we were together, Garry Greer joined the band on guitar. With this group, I moved away from bass as a primary instrument for the first time since 1970. That made the experience fun for me because building my chops on guitar and keyboards was a real challange. The format was country-rock, with the accent on rock.

In the beginning, we played mostly casuals until the word got around about us and we ended up at Matt's Saloon on Whiskey Row. Wayne's job at the Prescott Music Center helped us get bookings. It also gave us a place full of instruments to rehearse. Timberline Studios was in the back room at that time, and it was there I made my first impression on local players, recording original material. It was very like auditioning to be a member of the Prescott inner-clique. Once I passed the audition, the rest came with ease.

Menagerie @ Matt's, July 4th Also at Matt's, July 4th John & Joe harmonize on If I Fell

Wayne was the leader of Menagerie. I was happy at that point to become a sideman and let someone else handle the business. This was also a period of intense writing and recording for me. I had a four track studio in my house and used it often. I learned how to engineer a recording session and eventually secured part-time employment at Timberline as a staff arranger and producer. Timberline Publishing also signed me as a writer, which gave me free run of their 16-track recording studio when it wasn't being used by others. The night John Lennon died, I locked myself in the studio with Wayne at the console, and produced "When It Comes To You", a tribute to John, which ended up as the title song for my second solo album. Menagerie was the key that opened all of these doors.




Email me by clicking here

Previous Band * Home * Next Band

Design by Webmaster
John Hesterman
5 Grapes Music Co.
Copyright © 2001. All rights reserved