Summer 2009 - Gold Coast Rockers

SUMMER 2009
“
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
from your Executive Committee“
'
And I was telling......
Winners are GRINNERS
No, Keith, DONT!!
I Won ! I Won ! I Won !!!
Now, lets see: this
goes here and......
Page 2
The GOLD COAST ROCKERS
NEWSLETTER is published
quarterly.
The editor & committee welcome
and invite all articles of interest
but reserve the right to publish
any articles.
Articles can be sent to the editor
via email ( stan06@yahoo.com ) or
submit material to any committee
member
In this Issue
The President’s report
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CALENDAR OF SPECIAL EVENTS
2009/10
Editor
GCR demo
AGM 2009
Dec. 18th Friday
Christmas Hop
Sharks Function Room
Band Dance On
Sunday Santa Barbara
Guests
Mt Nimmel
HOP report
Halloween night
Hail Rock n Roll ( pt 2 )
Jan 13th
GCR resumes, FREE
entry for FINANCIAL MEMBERS
26th Australia Day BBQ Jack
Evans Park Boat Harbour Tweed Heads
11am . BYO, Members Must List for
meal tickets
Feb
Gold Coast Rockers meet every
Wednesday at the Broadbeach
Bowls Club, Broadbeach except
for Christmas break. Dancing
lessons start at 6.30 pm for
advanced , 7.15pm beginners
with general dancing
at 8 pm.
Club internet site,
goldcoastrockers.com
13th Valentines Night,
Gold Coin entry,
Broadbeach Bowls Club.
Band Dance On
Mar 13th Gangster & Mole Hop
Runaway Bay community center.
BYO.
Band TBA
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed herein, are those of the contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Gold Coast Rockers inc. or its Committee, nor will the club be held responsible for any information or
advice published herein.
Page 3
Committee members
Ewan Sprague
Rod Liefman
Diana Buckler
Pauline Schafer
Shirley Forbes
Cecilia Leger
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Publicity Officer
Social Director
Dance Hop
Editor
0416 114 310
0419 676 366
0417 122 303
0410 291 173
0412 751 313
0409 051 167
Suzanne Vandervalk
Stan Simankowicz
Kevin McDonald
Diane Briskey
Exec Com
0418 766 891
0409 478 60
0419 660 632
0432 454 395
Social Committee
John Byne
Barbara Johnstone
Dale Tompkins
Jerry Sharp
Annette Moylan
Steve Sharp
Nola Richardson
Kerry Hasic
Valda Sprague
Samantha Cole
Marianne Cole
Susan Moore
Carol Fisk
John Nicholls
Maggie Varga
Gay Thomas
Ray Stewart
Bands For
Wednesday Nights
Dec 9th
16th
Route 66
Wally & the Gators
Feb 3rd
10th
17th
27th
NEWS FLASH
16th Dec. Last night for
Year .
Prize for Best Table &
Best Dressed.
Santa to visit.
All Children welcome
Cruisers
Wally & the Gators
Plum Loco
Shindig
2010
Jan
13th
20th
27th
Texas Shuffle
Route 66
Dance On
Paddy was coming through customs at the airport carrying a large bottle.
“ What have you there ?” asked the suspicious officer .
“ Tis Lourdes holy water . I am bringing it home with me ,” said Paddy.
The Officer took the bottle and tried some. “ Why, it’s Irish Whisky,”
He spluttered.
“ Lord bless me, said Paddy. Another bloomin miracle !
Page 4
President’s Report
Well here we are again. Into another festive season. The year seems to
have flown but at times in the past seems to have dragged on. The
anticipation of waiting for the Mystery bus trip or Mt Nimmel hall picnic
to arrive seemed at times to take forever. But don't you agree they
were well worth the wait.
We have a new and extended committee now and I trust we can continue to bring new and
enjoyable times for you. Hopefully the Social Picnics will continue, as it's a great time to
catch up with people and have a good chat when normally you don't get the chance to catch
up as much at a dance.
Judging by the enthusiasm of the social committee some great times are in store for you
this year, if we can fit it all in. Suggestions of an extra mystery bus trip, possible at night,
also a progressive dinner, and re -introduction of another boat trip picnic, are all sure to
create a great atmosphere of fun within the club.
I am very excited with the ideas the new committee and Social committee
are coming up with and are willing to pursue.
2010 is going to be a fantastic year for the club.
Wishing all of you a very, very, merry Xmas and a safe and Happy New Year.
Regards
Ewan Sprague
BIRTHDAYS
SEPTEMBER
Bill Pammer
Ron Irving
Leonie O’Grady
John Beever
Barry Papwpth
Heather Cooney
Bev Showers
Robert Fletcher
Jutta Doyle
Klara Horvath
Roy Koops
Ivar Jauger
Christine Shappand
Tony Debaitista
Kim Riley
Katherine Robinson
Tony Briggs
Suzie Mullholand
Janice Jackson
Ian Hofmeier
Garry Brown
Ron Patterson
Carol Lansdown
Barbara Johnstone
Chris Malaney
Kevin MacDonald
Gunther Dittmar
Kaylene Schmidt
Charles Csabi
Michael Seredycz
Krystyna Thomson
Jennifer Hudson
Lance Taitcha
OCTOBER
Janet Bladen
Judith Phillipps
Paul Simson
Daryl Bray
Kerrie Hasil
Elaine Neilson
Janet Pangrazio
Geoff Taylor
Marcia Bos
Mark Treacher
Samantha Cole
Anna Bonnici
Kate Morale
Jade Beale
Karl Eriksson
Jenny Smith
Zoltan Horvath
Laurel Otto
Dale Ringham
June Thalhofer
Sandy McKerr
Louse Christie
Gayle Blackmore
Alan Roberts
Bo Cleo
Gill Fahey
Dale Tomkins
Peter Tully
Rhonda Walker
Errol Zelinski
Jo Jackson
Nolea Richardson
Lea-Ann Simpson
Page 5
NOVEMBER
Helen Woodfrord
anna Lee
Geoff Baker
Joyce Rodrigues
Royn Rowson
Jayk Cole
May Stewart
Susan Hance
Cecillia Leger
James Zhou
Christine Tyso
Douglas Ringham
Gavin Johnson
Welcome
to new
members
Laura McNicol
Fay Ross
Pat Rae
Denise Brown
Yvonne Wilson
Hellen Myers
Kerri Shepperd
Brian Spicer
John Anderson
Carol Ann Kinlyside
Kaye Watts
Robert Juniel
Ron Reeve
Carol Ann Fisk
Fay Cook
Norelle Neave
Ingrid Thurecht
Rolf Saxon
Alex Markowski
Phillip Headland
Phillip Michael
Linda Stevens
Fiona Hyland
To all our students and
friends thank you for all
your support and friendship
over the past year.
Merry Christmas and a
Prosperous New Year.
Tim & Lani
Kim McLaughlin
Raymond Smith
Gary Sharp
Rosalind Sharp
Phillip Hamilton
Nola Smith
Teresa Foote
Kay Redshaw
Lorraine Smith
Sandra Jones
Di Hutchins
Alex Salasch
Les Pearce
Anthony Tindale,
Dale Mottley,
Suzanne Stevenson
Robyn Rowson
Baden Hutchins
Clive Cowdell
Shelley Cowdell
Beverley Kitching
Bevan Walton,
Ao Alison,
Barbara Schroeder
From the Editors Desk
Hi All,
As usual quite a busy time again .( STILL ? ) With the
Sunday meetings, ad hock Saturday night dances and our regular
Hops there seems to something happening all the time. Our
AGM produced quite a number of significant changes this year.
We were fortunate to retain the services of Ewan as the
President. I think everyone would agree he and the committee have done a fantastic job
last year. We now have a blend of new enthusiastic members and experienced previous
members on the Executives and Social committees. The best of both worlds which means
our club is in excellent hands.
Don't forget its YOUR club and they are your representatives so please if you have
any ideas, suggestions see one of the Committee members .
On a personal note its been a rather difficult year for me due to family changes and
moving residences a couple of times. However there certainty have been some fantastic
moments and great enjoyment as well over the year. I am now settled and at peace with
the world just in time for the Festive Season. “Yahhoo !”
To ALL my fellow Members , Families and my Special Friends
Merry Christmas & a wonderful New Year
Stan
Page 6
HERE and THERE
GOLD COAST ROCKERS DEMO 30 JULY FOR TAC-QLD
The Gold Coast Rockers donated their time
again to come and DJ & dance for the kids
at the TAC-Q Camp disco on Tuesday 1st
July 2009.
We did not know what to expect prior to
arrival as we were only informed that "the
camp is run annually for wheelchair bound
kids with intellectual disabilities".
However the kids had a wonderful time and
enjoyed the music selection and rated the
disco night as one of the best nights of the
camp again this year.
They rely heavily on the generosity and
support of the community to continue these
camps each year so once again Gold Coast
Rockers has delivered for another
worthwhile cause. Thank you.
We would like to thank the dancers: John & Annette Moylan, Jeffrey
Lang ham & his partner Pauline Schaefer, Ron & Kerri Patterson,
Marianne, Samantha & Jayk Cole & of course DJ Dale Tompkins for
donating his time and playing great music.
Dale Tompkins
Page 7
AGM 2009
An excellent attendance for the 2009 AGM.
With around seventy members and guests there
wasn't much spare room in the dining hall of the
Broadbeach bowls Club. It was interesting to
note on the day that many club executive positions
had more than
one nomination.
The members
present had a
choice for whom
to vote for,. a win, win, situation for our club.
After the customary incumbent committee stood
down from their positions , Tim Hunsberger had the role of
chairing while voting was taking place. Due to the large number
of nominations a confidential ballet was required for each
position thus drawing the voting procedure out. The meeting
was halted for lunch and for which the club subsidized.
With the new committee in place the meeting was thrown open to general business . I
felt a bit sorry for our President “ Ewan” as the meeting got “ quite spirited “ at times. It was
the longest AGM that I can remember which means that members are” interested in their club”
.
Great to see !!
Your Committee members are :
President
Vice Pres.
Treasurer
Secretary
Publicity Officer
Social Director
Hops Co-ordiator
Magazine Editor
Executive Committee
Executive Committee
Ewan Sprague
Rod Liefman
Pauline Schafer
Diana Buckler
Shirley Forbes
Cecilia Leger
Suzanne Vandervalk
Stan Simankowicz
Kevin McDonald
Diane Briskey
Social Committee:
Jerry Sharp, John Byne, Barbara Johnstone, Dale Tompkins, Steve Sharp,
Nola Richardson, Keith Hasic, Valda Sprague, Samantha Cole, Marianne Cole, Susan Moore,
John Nicholls, Annette Moylan, Maggie Varga, Gay Thomas Ray Stewart.
Page 8
HERE and THERE
A Pleasant Sunday afternoon
was held at Santa Barbara as one of the Sunday
get togethers . The venue was popular with around 50 members attending. Most chose to
just lap up the
mild Spring
weather and
socialize while a
few energetic
ones enjoyed
the large dance
area available.
The Sunday
meetings are
proving to be
very popular and more will be planned for later. Ed
Long time GCR members Andy and Heather made a surprise guest appearance
at the Mt Nimmbel Sunday Dance. They were down from Burrum Heads for a family visit
when they decided to surprise us with their company.
Andy has also gone back to his “YOUTH “ days and joined a local Hervey Bay
Rockers bike club. ( Just never know with Andy !! )
Ed
Andy & Heather
Andy and his new TOY
Page 9
Combined GCR & SCARAB event
DANCE.
Mt NIMMEL
HALL -AUSTINVILLE
Well, another top day was had by
all.
We started off at Shell
Mudgeeraba and had a caffeine
heart starter whilst waiting for
our fellow SCARAB companions to
arrive.
The time to leave came, but wait!
Where was our intrepid Prez to
lead us off in his white Maroon
Charger. After a quick buzz around the troops, it was ascertained that yours truly (that's
me) knew the way to go.
Been my motto for a long time. "Way to go, Daddy-o!"
So the troops all lined up and
waited until I got the Fire bird to
the front of the line(took a couple
of minutes to do this 'cos I had
to tell her she needed to stay in
'geriatric' gear, so we didn't have
any stragglers!) and 'birdie loves
to lairise' especially around
curves and corners which she hugs
so well!
We went through Mudgeeraba
town and out onto Springbrook Rd.
and cruised along there enjoying
the wooded scenery and paddocks.
Isn't there just something about our lovely green
Aussie bush, that makes you feel so good- especially
when you're Cruisin' with the one you love (no, not
the Car)and playing the CD!!
Over Mudgeeraba Creek and turned off onto The
Austinville Rd. A couple klicks along here we crested
a slight rise and Lo and Behold - The Gold Coast
Rockers had beaten us and taken the best parking
spots! What a cheek! (I think they may have taken a
leaf out of another local car clubs handbook which
says: leave early and get the best spots!)
Page 10
After sorting ourselves out we settled in, got the drinks
and nibblies happening, and proceeded to greet old and
new acquaintances . One old acquaintance who happened
to know what my trade is, got me to connect the gas
cylinder to the oven inside the kitchen and also show
him how to turn on the front burner of the BBQ. Both
worked well after I cleaned them with my brand new
white T Shirt!!!
Then Wally and the 'Gators fired up and proceeded to
put down some fine music for us to dance to. I
must say the band sounded great both inside the
hall and out. Congrats on a great line up Wal.
PS If the boys had played Johnny Hortons'
Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor in the old Nimmel
Hall, it would
have really
made my day!
Talking about
the Hall hasn't it got
great character! Just think about some of the
conversations and functions etc. that have gone on in
there over the years - before it was extended
especially.
You couldn't wish for a more pleasant setting to hold a
function on a day like today.
After Rockin' and Boppin' the
morning away lunch time rolled
around. What a fine festive
board our members' good ladies
provided for us - loved the
salads - and the BBQ cooked to
perfection by Steve and Dale.
Steves' meat - say no more!!
A big thanks must also go to
Cecilia and her little band of
tireless helpers for laying out
the platters, and of course to all who provided them.
Then came the desserts and fresh fruit - yum.
More thanks to Freddie for washing up and his harem for cleaning up.
And more Wally and the 'gators - just to help settle it all down.
Thanks to GCR Committee for putting on the day, and a big thanks
to all who made it a memorable one - just by turning up (and
eating all the bloody sausages)!
To all at GCR thanks for the invite, we'll be sure to come again!!
Rod Liefman
Page 11
Indy,
Err”
A1 GP,
Err “ MOTOR RACING HOP 2009 !!
Hmm !! bit of a tough one this year
with the naming of our Hop. In
the end it didn't matter as we had
a full house again, actually a bit
oversold. Our Dance co-ordintors
certainly have their hands full
when it comes to Hop time. The “
HOP” was again held at the
Runaway Bay community hall, an
excellent venue.
As per past Hops many of
the same members came and
helped to set up the Hall and a splendid job they did as
well. Some of the revelers turned up early and dressed
up their table which added to the overall scene.
The dance floor was quite full all night with Wally and
the boys supplying the foot tapping music.
To add some excitement to the night we had an
auction for some very expensive motor race tickets
kindly donated to the club by John and Annette Moylan.
It was interesting to see that the “ Bidding was quite
spirited “ with one keen fan taking most of the tickets.
Page 12
.
Again Cecilia organized some
excellent raffle prizes for the
night. Ewan again organized some “
Pizza “ for later in the night which
went down very well indeed.
At the end of the night it was
marvelous to see everyone pitch in
and clean up . As they say “ Many
hands make light work”!
An excellent night was had by one and
all,
NOTE !
As our Hops seem to be
getting more popular I would suggest
members get together early ,and
organize their tables before they go
and see the Hop co-ordinator. This
will help to speed up the whole
organizing and planning of the Hop and
reduce the work load on our members.
As a Mate of mine says, “ Have fun “
Ed
Page 13
Halloween Night !!
Scarey !!
that's all I can say. I haven't seen
members go to that much trouble with their
dress for a while except for” Bob” that is. He
ALWAYS “ SCARES ME “ .
An excellent night , everyone got into
the theme for the evening and weren't there
some fantastic outfits !!! Well done to ALL that
got involved for the night. Ed.
Page 14
Hail ! Hail Rock n Roll
( Part two)
Juke box distributors began putting rock 'n' roll records
in their machines, thus providing a new line of
communication to white audiences who did not listen to
Negro radio stations.
At the same time a number of white groups were
including rhythm and blues into their repertoires in
response to the increasing demand for up tempo four
beats to the bar dance tunes.
This was the year that Bill Haley & His Comets recording
of "Crazy Man Crazy," became the first rock 'n' roll
song to make the best selling lists on Billboards' national
chart, at the same time increasing the popularity of
rock 'n' roll music.
This wave of popularity for the music ever increased, and
Hollywood was quick to react with a bunch of really crappy movies that basically dealt with
the general social life of adolescents wrapped around some of the most outstanding live
music performances by the popular artists of the time, (which saved the movies sliding into
obscurity).
You can buy DVD's that have the songs and artist only cut from some of these movies, to
save being 'cornballed' to death. Hunt around Amazon and similar sites.
However two movies focussed specifically on the generation conflicts of the time and
provided figures that teenagers could identify with - in the style of their dress, haircuts,
speech etc.
The Wild One - Marlon Brando and Rebel Without a Cause - James Dean were models for a
great many of their audiences.
The film industry responded faster than the music industry to its new audience and allowed
negro styles of speech to be included in the scripts. Be-bop talk which had its origins back
in the early days of jazz amongst the negro musicians, was soon being heard on the silver
screen. 'Dig' 'flip', 'cat' 'jive' 'square' 'cool' along with a lot of other new words were
becoming everyday talk for the exuberant adolescents, to the point where lists with the
meanings of the words needed to be displayed (in magazines etc. ) to get the message out.
I remember seeing them in the daily news when films were being reviewed and also in TV
Week when '77 Sunset Strip' was on TV. Do you remember Edd ‘Kookie'Byrne the car hop in
that series, with the cool haircut and attitude. His TV personality gave rise to a song
'Kookie, Kookie lend me your comb!'
'Dig what I say, Daddyo! If you don't know more than 4 terms of bebop talk, then you're a
square man!' so 'Dig you later, Alligator, I'm gone!' But before I split the scene solo, have
you seen that crazy pair of 'Dale' black pegged slacks in the local menswear, the hipsters
with the 12" cuffs?, Man, they're so far out they're gone!'
Five distinctive styles of music developed virtually independently of one another in the
years 1954 to 1956 and collectively became known as rock 'n' roll:
"
Northern Band Rock 'n' Roll - whose best known artist was Bill Haley, also Freddie
Page 15
Bell & the Bell Boys, Frankie Cavallo and the
House Rockers, Boyd Bennett
"
New Orleans Dance Blues - Fats Domino,
Frankie Ford, Huey Smith and the Clowns, Little
Richard
"
Memphis Country Rock - aka Rockabilly Elvis Presley, Johnny Burnette Trio, Buddy Holly,
Eddie Cochrane, Jack Scott, Gene Vincent, Carl
Perkins, Roy Orbison, Buddy Knox, Ray Smith,
Jerry Lee Lewis (many female artists tended to
sing in this style as well - Wanda Jackson,
Brenda Lee, Janis Martin, Barbara Pittman, just
to mention a few).
"
Chicago Rhythm and Blues- Chuck Berry,
Bo Diddley,
"
Vocal Group Rock 'n' roll - aka DooWop.
The Platters, The Diamonds, The Midnighters, The Coasters, The Cadets, The Jacks, The
Drifters, The Penguins and heaps of other groups with bird names.
Of the five styles, rockabilly was by far the most complete, as it integrated aspects of
country and western with rhythm and blues in a more consistent and original way than the
other styles.
Many of the artists and songs from the other styles that
achieved recognition, were there all along, they just had to
make small adjustments to blend in. eg. Haley, Domino,
Cash, Perkins, Horton
Because each style developed in a different region they
also sounded different to one another.
Through its grass roots character, the collective identity
of the five styles put it in sharp contrast to established
modes of popular music, and the various styles expressed
the mood of the audiences in a way that had never before
been presented in popular music.
In 1957 the music started to change slightly - still had its
teen appeal - but the original exciting style began to recede
into the background, and was replaced with a wide range of
softer more melodic versions, more often than not written by younger people.
I can remember my dear old Mum, buying me 45rpm discs that had this 'softer' sound, but I
really liked the wilder sound of artists Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and the Johnny
Burnette Trio.
New artists were entering the scene and artists such as Sonny James, Tab Hunter,The
Everlies and Tommy Sands came along with tunes that 'had a beat, a catchy chorus and
related to teenagers'.
As the late fifties approached, these singers made way for yet another wave of alternatives,
Page 16
ironically comparable to the kind of alternatives that had been presented to the people
who a few years earlier wanted rhythm and blues!!
Few of these singers wrote their own music and few produced worthwhile rock 'n' roll.
They did however, serve the music industries' purpose of softening rock 'n' roll into
something that did not intrude or aggravate suburban living rooms.
Their heirs took the change even further and became a group of singers who had rapidly
lost all connection with the spirit and rhythm of rock 'n' roll.
Many of them came from the same Italian neighbourhoods that spawned all the crooners,
and so we had the 'Bobby ' era: Bobby Darin, Bobby Vee, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Rydell, along
with the Frankies, Fabians and Dions - little more than puppets dutifully doing as their
producers instructed.
By the time these singers became the most
regular hit makers, authentic rock 'n' roll was
a distant memory.
And so it went on through the late fifties and
into the early sixties, with new fads coming
along to attract the young teenagers as they
were now called.
Surf Music, the Twist (and all its derivative
dances) and then the Liverpool Sound or
Mersey Beat.
Thank God for all the Independent Record
Companies and the thousands of real rock 'n'
roll songs (recorded in the early days of rock
'n' roll) that we can now get via the internet,
and through record auctions.
Consider this. In the 50's approximately 2000 new records were made each week. Of
these 1 or 2 made it onto the charts. Of the remainder there was hundreds upon hundreds
of top quality rock 'n' roll records that were only heard at local dances etc. because the
artists didn't have the werewithall to promote themselves in wider area.
So world wide collectors like myself have sought and found some absolute treasures since
the mid to late sixties, when we shunned the Liverpool Sound and sought the source of the
music we loved so much - rhythm & blues.
Along the way all the rare rock 'n' roll records became unearthed.
Thanks too to the younger generation coming on and wanting to sound like the original
artists and not like the British 70's thrashed version of rockabilly/psychobilly, that so
many think is the real thing!
Most of the information in this article has been precied from a book I've had since 1971. I
added some of my own info and feelings to it. It's called 'The Sound of The City' written
by a pom called Charlie Gillett. At the time Rolling Stone called it the most exhaustive
study of rock 'n' roll and the music industry. If you enjoyed my little article, you will
definitely love the book, almost 400 pages of nostalgia.
Rock On Rod
Page 17
Available at Gold Coast Rockers every third
Wednesday
Page 18
What are you looking
AT?
Page 19
I like this BOY !!!
The Presidents
“ True colours ? “
Hmm, nice fork !
GCR Social Committee 2009/10