Larry's Sorta Fun Stories
Larry's Sorta Fun Stories
The Sugar Shack Chronicles: Managing Rock Bands in the 1960s
After an extended break, I'm back to share stories from my days running the Sugar Shack in Chillicothe, Illinois, during the early 1960s. I'm currently writing a book about my experiences called "Rock and Roll Nights: Memories of 1963 at the Sugar Shack."
• The Trademarks, a band playing around Bradley University in 1964, asked me to be their manager after performing at the Sugar Shack
• They wanted me to be their Brian Epstein, opening doors for their career beyond local shows
• Despite my enthusiasm, I lacked connections to book them in major cities or secure record contracts
• Through a friend's connection, we arranged an after-hours recording session at WEEK-TV without formal permission
• We recorded after Johnny Carson's Tonight Show ended and the station went dark
• The TV studio wasn't built for rock music but provided an exciting backdrop for the band
• Though nothing came of the recording, I learned my strength was creating venues for bands rather than managing them
• The Sugar Shack was my true stage and contribution to the music scene
Be sure to check me out on 40's Stateside Radio on Live 365. Go to genres, search for "40s" and you'll find me there. Also, look for my upcoming book "Rock and Roll Nights: Memories of 1963 at the Sugar Shack."
Hi, I'm Larry and this is Larry's Sort of Fun Stories. Most of what you'll hear or read about actually happened somewhere in my life. Sometimes you'll hear about my experiences, my strengths and my hopes as I continue to grow as a person. You'll discover that I've made mistakes along the way, but I'm trying, one day at a time, to live a better life and sharing a little of it as we go along here on Larry's Sort of Fun Stories. So thanks for joining me. Well, thanks for joining me here on Larry's Sort of Fun Stories. I haven't been here for a while and I appreciate you stopping by.
Speaker 1:I'm writing a book called Rock and Roll Nights Memories of 1963 at the Sugar Shack. In 1963, I had a place called the Sugar Shack in Chillicothe, illinois, and I'm kind of writing a book about it. One of the chapters is all about different bands that we hired and you might want to check that out after the book comes out. It hasn't come out yet, but the band this last chapter, the last band that I have in this chapter, is called the Trademarks and in 1964, as the Sugar Shack gained a reputation for booking solid local bands, I had just started my freshman year at Bradley University, even with my nose in the textbooks really hard, my mind was never far away from the weekend lineups at the Sugar Shack. That fall, a band playing around the Bradley University campus caught my attention. They called themselves the Trademarks. Well, we booked them for a Saturday night at the shack and that was really good.
Speaker 1:But the real twist to this story is what came next. They asked me to be their manager. They wanted me to be their Brian Epstein. It was really heady stuff. Epstein had transformed the Beatles into a polished act, complete with suits, poise and sharp business sense. That ultimately landed them a contract at EMI, where they were introduced to the great music producer George Martin. The trademarks didn't need suits, but they did need someone who could open doors for them, and for the moment they thought maybe I could be the guy that could do that. But here's the gap between the enthusiasm and experience showed. I could book them for the sugar shack for sure, but beyond that I didn't have a clue how to land club gigs in Chicago or St Louis, let alone wrangle a record contract.
Speaker 1:Still, we tried something different. We tried something bold. My friend Rod Ronell had a connection at WEEK-TV and we managed to secure a friendly engineer to record the band after hours. We didn't really ask for permission, we just figured better to apologize than to miss the chance, and that's the kind of thing you could get away with back in those days. That's what Rod said and you understand this is strictly under the radar, the kind of thing that you can get by with.
Speaker 1:Only when the station was signed off the air and back then the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson ended at midnight. So after the station went dark we rolled all the trademark's gear into the studio. The studio was big, the weather set was on one side, the news desk was on the other and we set the band up right in the middle of the studio. It wasn't exactly like Abbey Road. That's where the Beatles recorded. The acoustics were rough. Tv stations weren't built for pounding beats of rock and roll bands. But there we were recording a couple of songs, chasing a dream, watching them under those studio lights. I could almost imagine them on the Ed Sullivan Show. It wasn't a perfect setup, but for a moment it felt like anything could have been possible. Well, mark and I cannot remember his last name from the trademarks later said you know, we felt like we were doing something big that night like we were sneaking into the future, playing in a TV studio under those lights with nobody around us, though it felt like we were on the edge of making it Well.
Speaker 1:In the end nothing came of the recording no contract, no tour. But it wasn't a crushing defeat. It was a sign I didn't have the tools to shape a band's career, and maybe that was okay. That night taught me something valuable my strength was in creating a place for bands to play, not for managing them. The Sugar Shack was my stage and that was enough. And this is a little bit of what the recording sounded like the trademarks in 1964. Oh, by the way, you can now check me out on 40's Stateside Radio. That's 40's Stateside Radio. That's 40s Stateside Radio. We're on Live 365. So when you go to Live 365, you go to genres and punch in 40s, and there it is. So check out 40s Stateside Radio and look for my book when it comes out, called Rock and Roll Nights Memories of 1963 at the Sugar Shack. I'm Larry, and thanks for listening.