Chicago, Windy city Banjo band, 1962-1964

Chicago, 1962-1964

    The first band I worked with in Chicago was the 6 piece Steamboat
Stompers led by Jack "the Bear" Brown. The Stompers cashed in on the
banjo craze by adding two banjo players and changing the name to the Windy
City Banjo Band.

    Our first regular gig was from 900pm to 300am at the Tumble Inn, a
saloon just a bit North of the loop.  Some of the other places we played on
other nights: Bourbon Street, the Velvet Swing, and the Scotch Mist.

    Our best gig was at a South Side restaurant called the Red Arrow.  For a
year we played every Friday and Saturday night alternating sets with a
mature Black band called  Franz Jackson's Original Jass All Stars.

    (See "About Phil" for an interesting story about how us young white kids
were treated so kindly and helped so much by Franz Jackson and his  band
mates who played traditional and New Orleans jazz since the 1920's.)

    Franz financed an LP for our band. It was recorded in the Columbia
Studios in Chicago.  LP Cover and back reproduced below.  Available on EBay!