HOW IT ALL BEGAN


1960 was a special time for many of us. Music had evolved to the point where it was now speaking directly to us, about the things we were going through as teenagers. It spoke of our relationships and the situations we were actually having to deal with at the time. Rock & roll had personalized itself and there was magic in the air as we listened to the songs of Buddy Holly, Buddy Knox, Ritchie Valens, the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley to name a few.

Of course, instrumentals were also a sign of the times and the airwaves were filled with the sounds of The Ventures, Johnny and The Hurricanes and Duane Eddy, all from the U.S. as well as The Shadows from England.

Many were not satisfied to simply listen to this music but dreamt also of being able to perform it as well. The lives that these stars appeared to be living was very attractive and as we believed, quite possible for us to attain as well no matter who we were or where we were from at the time.

The instrument of choice for many became the guitar while others devoted themselves to the drums or the keyboard. Each town and city could boast of their local favorites and in Kenora, Ontario, we were no different. Weekly dances were being held as many "Teen Clubs" were springing up to cater to the needs of the teens in the area. In Kenora, "The Twi-Liters" and "The Lakers" could frequently be heard at the Legion Hall or in the basement of the Knox United Church. Meanwhile,  in Keewatin, three miles west of us, the Plessis brothers had formed a group called "The Flamingos" and they frequently held their dances at the Memorial Building there. It was at one of these dances that I decided to focus my attention on performing and set out to learn all I could in the shortest time possible. If they could do it I thought,  I could too!

Not wanting to take music lessons, a couple of friends from school who were members of "The Lakers" wrote the chords out that I needed to get started and advised me to practice until I could play them with little trouble. Within three months of picking up the guitar, I was making money in my first band called "The Teenbeats." However, without a steady drummer, playing regulary became a problem. As time went on, I was introduced to Wayne Faulconer, Wayne Cardinal, George Jones and John Karwacki and the five of us formed the nucleus of "The Tempests."

It was this band that would eventually become "Satan & The D-Men," a much more exciting name at a time when the band name actually did matter.

We had no way of knowing how far we would get and that in 48 years time, we'd still be performing under the same name for a much larger crowd than we could ever imagine.



...HARD WORK & PROMOTION