Where Did The Saxes Go?
The players in the present day Phil Seymour band.
Recently, a number of people who played sax in bands with me, have gotten in touch through the Internet. I can't remember the name of the sax player from my 1962 Northridge, California band, but thanks to Facebook, I now know that in 1963, Fi Lopez was the first of the Texas sax players who joined me in the pursuit of the magic that music can bring.
Fi was part of a band we had in Alpine, Texas. I think that was the band with Mike Bustillos on lead guitar, James Bates on bass, and Pat Calderon on drums. (When you read this Fi, let me know if I got that right.) That was while we were at Sul Ross, I think.
Fi wrote: "Seems like you are doing a great job at remembering all of the musicians that have played with you through the last half-century!! Wow ---over 50 years--man, that is terrific!
My folks moved to Houston and Mike went there with my brother Jerry and me to check out the big city music scene. Mike found an audition in the newspaper, and I went with him. The band ended up wanting me to play with them. Mike got discouraged and went back home to west Texas.
I auditioned with that band for a little club called the Gulfway Lounge. The lady that ran the club didn't like the band, but she hired me and told me to put together my own band and we would start in 2 weeks. I put an ad in the paper specifying what instruments I needed and we were off and running. I got extremely lucky right off the bat with Bob Raines on drums, Richard Smith on bass, Pee Wee Smith on B3 at first, (but soon replaced by Bo Lee), and on the sax, Cal Thompson.
Cal got in back in touch with me after all these years, by searching the Internet. I even forgot I had the website that he used to reach me. Cal played on the record, "Don't Tell Me", that Ray Rush produced. We were young and it was the early sixties. Cal joined the Air Force, and that's when Bill Hershey joined the band, (Cal lives in Florida now, and is still playing his tenor). Bill added a friend who also played sax, so he and Greg Gonzalez became the sax 'section'. Greg and Bill are back in touch through Facebook.
From Cal; "Looks right to me man"
From Greg; "I think that you had a guy named Shelton or Sheldon with you before Bill, then after a short time Bill turned the gig over to me alone when we got the downstairs and upstairs gigs (7 hours a night, six nights a week)
The last of the Houston sax players who played regularly with me was Bill Patterson. He later played in my 1967 Hollywood band and played the tenor solos on records I made there that I can't remember the names of. I may have expanded my mind a bit too far that year. (I haven't heard from Bill Patterson, yet.**)
There were no regular horns of any sort in my bands after that*, although there was a really good harmonica player in Oregon, (Jay Shuffle), who could actually play real melodies, (a rarity among blues harmonica players).
There is a band with an alto sax player and pianist that I been part of in the last dozen years, but in that trio I am a guitar player. The two ladies I play with, were part of an all girl band in 1938, and still play well today. We formed that trio in 1998 to play special events in Richmond, California. Since I moved up to Redding, a 92 year old guitar player takes my place when they play gigs. I travel down there for recording sessions every 6 months or so. It's a lot of fun, and they really know their stuff.
I am looking to add a sax or two to my blues band here in Redding, and there are some who sit in with us at the Shasta Blues Society Thursday jam, but none so far that have the chops or heart, of Cal or Greg or Bill or, if he was still playing, Fi. But who knows what the future has in store?
If any of you reading this can add more to the story, please do. Most of what I have written was because you reminded me.
*I woke up this morning, (well before the crack of dawn), remembering that Tony Castro played tenor sax in a band with me down in Monterey. It was the early 90's.
**I think his last name may have been Potter, and Bill Patterson might not have played sax, but was studying medicine.
Fi was part of a band we had in Alpine, Texas. I think that was the band with Mike Bustillos on lead guitar, James Bates on bass, and Pat Calderon on drums. (When you read this Fi, let me know if I got that right.) That was while we were at Sul Ross, I think.
Fi wrote: "Seems like you are doing a great job at remembering all of the musicians that have played with you through the last half-century!! Wow ---over 50 years--man, that is terrific!
My folks moved to Houston and Mike went there with my brother Jerry and me to check out the big city music scene. Mike found an audition in the newspaper, and I went with him. The band ended up wanting me to play with them. Mike got discouraged and went back home to west Texas.
I auditioned with that band for a little club called the Gulfway Lounge. The lady that ran the club didn't like the band, but she hired me and told me to put together my own band and we would start in 2 weeks. I put an ad in the paper specifying what instruments I needed and we were off and running. I got extremely lucky right off the bat with Bob Raines on drums, Richard Smith on bass, Pee Wee Smith on B3 at first, (but soon replaced by Bo Lee), and on the sax, Cal Thompson.
Cal got in back in touch with me after all these years, by searching the Internet. I even forgot I had the website that he used to reach me. Cal played on the record, "Don't Tell Me", that Ray Rush produced. We were young and it was the early sixties. Cal joined the Air Force, and that's when Bill Hershey joined the band, (Cal lives in Florida now, and is still playing his tenor). Bill added a friend who also played sax, so he and Greg Gonzalez became the sax 'section'. Greg and Bill are back in touch through Facebook.
From Cal; "Looks right to me man"
From Greg; "I think that you had a guy named Shelton or Sheldon with you before Bill, then after a short time Bill turned the gig over to me alone when we got the downstairs and upstairs gigs (7 hours a night, six nights a week)
The last of the Houston sax players who played regularly with me was Bill Patterson. He later played in my 1967 Hollywood band and played the tenor solos on records I made there that I can't remember the names of. I may have expanded my mind a bit too far that year. (I haven't heard from Bill Patterson, yet.**)
There were no regular horns of any sort in my bands after that*, although there was a really good harmonica player in Oregon, (Jay Shuffle), who could actually play real melodies, (a rarity among blues harmonica players).
There is a band with an alto sax player and pianist that I been part of in the last dozen years, but in that trio I am a guitar player. The two ladies I play with, were part of an all girl band in 1938, and still play well today. We formed that trio in 1998 to play special events in Richmond, California. Since I moved up to Redding, a 92 year old guitar player takes my place when they play gigs. I travel down there for recording sessions every 6 months or so. It's a lot of fun, and they really know their stuff.
I am looking to add a sax or two to my blues band here in Redding, and there are some who sit in with us at the Shasta Blues Society Thursday jam, but none so far that have the chops or heart, of Cal or Greg or Bill or, if he was still playing, Fi. But who knows what the future has in store?
If any of you reading this can add more to the story, please do. Most of what I have written was because you reminded me.
*I woke up this morning, (well before the crack of dawn), remembering that Tony Castro played tenor sax in a band with me down in Monterey. It was the early 90's.
**I think his last name may have been Potter, and Bill Patterson might not have played sax, but was studying medicine.