If you enjoy what I have put together please consider donating any amount to support and help me to keep this valuable research going. Thanks!!
This day-by-day diary of Wildwood's live, studio, broadcasting and private activities is the result of three decades of research and interview work by Bruno Ceriotti, but without the significant contributions by other kindred spirits this diary would not have been possible. So, I would like to thank all the people who, in one form or another, contributed to this timeline: Mark Stephen Ross, Frank John Colli, Ross Hannan, Corry Arnold, Alec Palao, Greg Vick, Domenic Priore, Mike Handley, Brad Kelly, Berkeley Barb, Berkeley Tribe, The Stockton Silver Hammer, Don White, Julie Delucchi, The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Good Times, Kevin Rathert, and It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine.
November 1964 (?)
Once referred by their singer and bass player Frank John Colli as "one of the greatest undiscovered rock 'n' roll bands in the world," or at least to me "arguably the most promising rock 'n' roll band to come out from California's Central Valley music scene of the 1960s," Wildwood emerged from a surf band from Stockton, in the San Joaquin County, called The Mal-T's. Fronted by the late lead singer and songwriter Robert Darryl 'Bob' Zachary (b. Friday, April 14, 1944, Solano County, California - d. 2011, apparently because he was in bad shape from alcohol and drugs), the band also featured the late Charles Daniel 'Danny' Williams (b. Wednesday, March 24, 1948, San Francisco County, California - d. Thursday, March 5, 2009, in his bed at home in Stockton maybe for a heart attack) on guitar, the late Johnny Lee Hensley (b. Saturday, December 20, 1947, Solano County - d. 1970s) on bass, and Steve Pierce on drums. "Bob, Danny and Johnny were all related," their future bandmate Mark Stephen Ross recalls. "Bob and Johnny were cousins I think, and Danny was married to Johnny's sister." Originally known as The Dynamic Crescendos, the four-piece started rehearsing together at Danny and his wife's house at 5506 Leonardini Road, first in the living room, and later in the garage situated to the left side of the house.
Once referred by their singer and bass player Frank John Colli as "one of the greatest undiscovered rock 'n' roll bands in the world," or at least to me "arguably the most promising rock 'n' roll band to come out from California's Central Valley music scene of the 1960s," Wildwood emerged from a surf band from Stockton, in the San Joaquin County, called The Mal-T's. Fronted by the late lead singer and songwriter Robert Darryl 'Bob' Zachary (b. Friday, April 14, 1944, Solano County, California - d. 2011, apparently because he was in bad shape from alcohol and drugs), the band also featured the late Charles Daniel 'Danny' Williams (b. Wednesday, March 24, 1948, San Francisco County, California - d. Thursday, March 5, 2009, in his bed at home in Stockton maybe for a heart attack) on guitar, the late Johnny Lee Hensley (b. Saturday, December 20, 1947, Solano County - d. 1970s) on bass, and Steve Pierce on drums. "Bob, Danny and Johnny were all related," their future bandmate Mark Stephen Ross recalls. "Bob and Johnny were cousins I think, and Danny was married to Johnny's sister." Originally known as The Dynamic Crescendos, the four-piece started rehearsing together at Danny and his wife's house at 5506 Leonardini Road, first in the living room, and later in the garage situated to the left side of the house.
THE DYNAMIC CRESCENDOS (NOVEMBER 1964 (?) - 1965) / THE MAL-T'S #1 (1965 - NOVEMBER 1965 (?))
1) Bob Zachary lead vocals, tambourine
2) Danny Williams guitar, backup vocals
3) Johnny Hensley bass, backup vocals
4) Steve Pierce drums
1) Bob Zachary lead vocals, tambourine
2) Danny Williams guitar, backup vocals
3) Johnny Hensley bass, backup vocals
4) Steve Pierce drums
1965
The Dynamic Crescendos became The Mal-T's, a name that came from the Maltese cross, which was a popular surfer emblem at the time (later, and still now, it remains a popular bike emblem).
November 1965 (?)
After maybe a year, The Mal-T's added a local organ player named Mark Stephen Ross (b. Thursday, October 5, 1950, Stockton), formerly of The Coachmen, and The Chessman. Mark had joined the band after answered an ad that was posted in a local music store. "Prior to my joining, they were doing a lot of surf music," Mark recalls, "but that quickly changed with the British Invasion music - we played a lot of Animals, Beatles, Yardbirds, Stones, and Zombies, along with American groups like the Rascals, Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Seeds, Love (My Little Red Book), Grass Roots (Where Were You When I Needed You), and one of our big ones was Question Mark and The Mysterians 96 Tears. In some of smaller towns, some people thought we were the original band that did that song because we sounded so close to it." "We played a combination of Bob’s originals songs and covers," he adds.
The Dynamic Crescendos became The Mal-T's, a name that came from the Maltese cross, which was a popular surfer emblem at the time (later, and still now, it remains a popular bike emblem).
November 1965 (?)
After maybe a year, The Mal-T's added a local organ player named Mark Stephen Ross (b. Thursday, October 5, 1950, Stockton), formerly of The Coachmen, and The Chessman. Mark had joined the band after answered an ad that was posted in a local music store. "Prior to my joining, they were doing a lot of surf music," Mark recalls, "but that quickly changed with the British Invasion music - we played a lot of Animals, Beatles, Yardbirds, Stones, and Zombies, along with American groups like the Rascals, Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Seeds, Love (My Little Red Book), Grass Roots (Where Were You When I Needed You), and one of our big ones was Question Mark and The Mysterians 96 Tears. In some of smaller towns, some people thought we were the original band that did that song because we sounded so close to it." "We played a combination of Bob’s originals songs and covers," he adds.
THE MAL-T'S #2 (NOVEMBER 1965 (?) - 1966)
1) Bob Zachary
2) Danny Williams
3) Johnny Hensley
4) Steve Pierce
5) Mark Stephen Ross organ, cowbell
1) Bob Zachary
2) Danny Williams
3) Johnny Hensley
4) Steve Pierce
5) Mark Stephen Ross organ, cowbell
The Mal-T's #2, July 1966 - from left: Danny Williams, Steve Pierce, Bob Zachary, Johnny Hensley, and Mark Stephen Ross
1966
Steve Pierce was replaced by a new drummer named Timothy Lawrence 'Tim' Mora (b. Thursday, April 28, 1949, Sonoma County, California), who had recently moved to the area from Santa Rosa. Tim knew The Mal-T's because he lived in the same neighborhood where Danny Williams' house was located and where the band rehearsed at the time.
THE MAL-T'S #3 (1966 - JUNE 1967 (?))
1) Bob Zachary
2) Danny Williams
3) Johnny Hensley
4) Mark Stephen Ross
5) Tim Mora drums, backup vocals
The Mal-T's #3, Bob Zachary's barn, Stockton, 1967 - from left: Tim Mora, Bob Zachary, Mark Stephen Ross, Danny Williams, and Johnny Hensley
The Mal-T's #3, Bob Zachary's barn, Stockton, 1967 - from bottom to up: Danny Williams, Bob Zachary, Johnny Hensley, Mark Stephen Ross, and Tim Mora
Saturday, November 19, 1966: 'Twilight Soft Drink Social Dance', Mother Lode Fairgrounds, 220 Southgate Drive, Sonora, Tuolumne County, California
One show, from 9:00pm to 1:00am.
Friday, November 25, 1966 (?)
The Mal-T's driven to Los Angeles to recorded their first (and only) single.
Saturday, November 26, 1966 (?): Stereo Masters, 5534-5538 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California
The Mal-T's headed into Hite and Dorinda Morgan's Stereo Masters recording studio, and laid down two songs: 'Stand Up Today', and 'Here To Stay'. "The session was engineered by [Hite and Dorinda's son] Bruce [B.] Morgan," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. "He is also credited on the single as producer, but we laid the songs down exactly as we had rehearsed them, so it was essentially self produced." "Bob Zachary wrote both songs," Mark adds, "and as leader, chose them as the two to go on the sinhle. The general band consensus was that they were his strongest songs and the most obvious choices." Also according to Mark, after the session, the band went down that night to catch Buffalo Springfield at the Whisky à Go Go, the world famed nightclub located in the heart of the infamous L.A.'s Sunset Strip. [Footnote: although a band called The Poor was advertised to play as opening act that night, Mark recalls that actually the not yet famous Iron Butterfly opened for Buffalo Springfield, and he could be right because Whisky always had two or three bands playing, but they were not always billed and often the unbilled bands were simply local bands.]
Sunday, November 27, 1966 (?)
The Mal-T's driven back to Stockton.
1966/67: Music World, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California
1966/67: The Minotaur, 1009 North Wilson Way, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California
"One of my favorite venues we played was The Minotaur in Stockton," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. "It was an old house converted first into a beatnik style coffee house with poetry and bongos, then a stage was put in and local bands such as The Family Tree, Gary Wagner, the Mal-T’s and others would play there regularly. It also drew some bands from the bay area, most notably Country Joe and The Fish." [Footnote #1: the club it's now a McDonald's] [Footnote #2: Country Joe and The Fish played there on December 10, 1966]
1967: The Del Reys Pacific Play House, Pacific Bowl, 5939 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California
One show, from 7:00pm to 11:00pm.
February 1967
The Mal-T's' first and only single, 'Stand Up Today / Here To Stay' (LL-003), was released only in the US on their own label, Lady Luck Records. "I don’t remember how many records were pressed," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. "As far as I know the only promotion was done by Bob and Danny driving around to various radio stations in the Central Valley to get it played, and they would go to the local record stores in those towns to make sure it was available to buy. The most airplay we received was on the local Stockton stations KSTN and KJOY. It was a real rush hearing it on the radio." "As far as I remember sales were good locally," he adds, "but I think that’s about it. The single is considered rare these days - I recently saw one sell on eBay for $575.00! I don’t even own one myself except for the original acetate from the session." By the way, both songs were later released in the US on Wildwood's posthumous double-CD, 'Plastic People' (Frantic Records 0303), in 2012.
|
|
May 1967 (?): 'Bandstand', KLOC-TV (Channel 19), KLOC-TV Studios, 2842 Iowa Avenue, West Modesto, Stanislaus County, California
To promote their recently released debut single, The Mal-T's appeared a couple of times on Jerry Teel's Bandstand TV show, a sort of local version of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, which aired from 5:00 to 6:00pm every Saturday, and from 9:30pm every Monday. "I've been thnking about that TV show for years and couldn't remember the name of it," Mark Stephen Ross recalls, "but I do remember that it was in Modesto and I remember doing it - sure wish I had the video on that!"
June 1967 (?)
Danny Williams was drafted into army, so he left the band and was replaced on guitar by the late John Turner, formerly of The Cloud. At that point, The Mal-T's moved their rehearsals from Danny's garage to Bob Zachary's barn. "That property was owned by Bob's mother-in-law," recalls Mark Stephen Ross. "Bob and his wife lived in a building separate from the main house, and we rehearsed in a part of that building." "The house and barn were on the corner of Patrick Road and Copperopolis Road," continues Mark. "From Stockton - East Main Street merge onto Copperopolis Road, then turn right on Patrick Road and that's it on the right. The original house on the corner still stands, but the barn was torn down and a house was built on that property. Bob's ex wife Jo still lives in that newer house. The other part of the property was subdivided and sold."
THE MAL-T'S #4 (JUNE 1967 (?) - AUGUST or SEPTEMBER 1967)
1) Bob Zachary
2) Johnny Hensley
3) Mark Stephen Ross
4) Tim Mora
5) John Turner guitar
1) Bob Zachary
2) Johnny Hensley
3) Mark Stephen Ross
4) Tim Mora
5) John Turner guitar
August or September 1967
Johnny Hensley left the band and was replaced by a new bass player named Robbie Orr. At that point, Bob Zachary came up with a new name for the band, Zephyr Blue, "mainly because The Mal-T's name sounded like a surf band and we felt it was outdated," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013.
Johnny Hensley left the band and was replaced by a new bass player named Robbie Orr. At that point, Bob Zachary came up with a new name for the band, Zephyr Blue, "mainly because The Mal-T's name sounded like a surf band and we felt it was outdated," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013.
ZEPHYR BLUE #1 (AUGUST or SEPTEMBER 1967 - NOVEMBER 1967)
1) Bob Zachary
2) Mark Stephen Ross
3) Tim Mora
4) John Turner
5) Robbie Orr bass
1) Bob Zachary
2) Mark Stephen Ross
3) Tim Mora
4) John Turner
5) Robbie Orr bass
1967: 'Grand Opening', flatbed truck out in front of an unknown hippie boutique store, Bob Zachary's barn, near Linden, San Joaquin County, California
"[Zephyr Blue's] rehearsal space was part of Bob's barn - he lived in the back with his wife, which was like an apartment, and the front where you see the red paint and trees etc. painted on the walls - he and his wife turned it into a kind of hippie boutique store with women's clothing, candles, leather purses etc…," Mark Stephen Ross recalls. "I remember we played on a flatbed truck out in front for their grand opening. The store didn't last long, as there just wasn't enough traffic on that country road."
November 1967
After just two or three months of rehearsals and supposedly only one gig, Robbie Orr left the band and was replaced by a new bass player named Frank John Colli, aka 'Frankie C' (b. Thursday, December 16, 1948, Stockton), formerly of Frankie and The Hiwaymen, and Frankie and The Fontels (in both bands he was the singer and guitar player). "With the addition of Frank and John, the band soon took on a more aggressive and meatier sound," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013.
"[Zephyr Blue's] rehearsal space was part of Bob's barn - he lived in the back with his wife, which was like an apartment, and the front where you see the red paint and trees etc. painted on the walls - he and his wife turned it into a kind of hippie boutique store with women's clothing, candles, leather purses etc…," Mark Stephen Ross recalls. "I remember we played on a flatbed truck out in front for their grand opening. The store didn't last long, as there just wasn't enough traffic on that country road."
November 1967
After just two or three months of rehearsals and supposedly only one gig, Robbie Orr left the band and was replaced by a new bass player named Frank John Colli, aka 'Frankie C' (b. Thursday, December 16, 1948, Stockton), formerly of Frankie and The Hiwaymen, and Frankie and The Fontels (in both bands he was the singer and guitar player). "With the addition of Frank and John, the band soon took on a more aggressive and meatier sound," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013.
ZEPHYR BLUE #2 (NOVEMBER 1967 - EARLY 1969)
1) Bob Zachary
2) Mark Stephen Ross
3) Tim Mora
4) John Turner
5) Frank John Colli (aka Frankie C) bass
1) Bob Zachary
2) Mark Stephen Ross
3) Tim Mora
4) John Turner
5) Frank John Colli (aka Frankie C) bass
Zephyr Blue #2, Bob Zachary's barn, near Linden, December 1968 - clockwise from left: John Turner, Mark Stephen Ross, Frank John Colli, and Bob Zachary
1968: Fantasy Records Studio, 855 Treat Avenue, Mission District, San Francisco, California
"Bob was responsible for our introduction to Max Weiss and the old Fantasy Records warehouse studio on Treat Avenue in San Francisco," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. "We did several sessions there as Zephyr Blue, all of them with Bob’s songs. I don’t remember much about the particular songs we recorded there during this time, and I have no idea what happened to the tapes. Bob probably has them, and I ‘m not sure what became of him either. I haven’t seen Bob since around 1969."
1968: Micke Grove Regional Park, 11793 North Micke Grove Road, Lodi, San Joaquin County, California
"I remember only one show that we did as Zephryr Blue [#2]," Mark Stephen Ross recalls. "That was at Micke Grove park in Stockton [sic] for an outdoor daytime concert. There were probably a couple of others, but my memory eludes me." "We did make quite a few trips to the Fantasy Studio with that band when Bob first met Max Weiss," adds Mark, "so I think most of the energy went into rehearsing and recording during that time."
Early 1969
Soon after the band recording sessions at the Fantasy studio, Bob Zachary "announced that he was breaking up the band," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. "He said he was starting a new band with Doug Wareham, a guy from Modesto who had had a band called The No-Namees, so that was it for Zephyr Blue. It didn’t occur to the rest of us not to carry on, so we started rehearsing with Frank on lead vocals. With Bob out of the picture we became something else entirely, and the music immediately took on a tougher edge than The Mal-T’s ever had. I was writing during the Mal-T’s / Zephyr Blue days, but Bob was not really open to contributions from other writers, so this was a new creative era for us-we began writing the songs, and we were free to be as balls out as we wanted. One of the interesting things that defined Wildwood was that we were a rock band fronted by an R&B singer singing rock. Frankie has always had great soul chops and his vocal style worked great in that context." "Our sound became much more aggressive with the lead vocal to match," Frank John Colli adds in the same interview. "We didn’t hold anything back. The music morphed into a much heavier guitar and bass driven sound with Mark constantly pushing us with a crushing full chord sound and Tim driving it home behind his drums. John Turner had a very limited understanding of chording and he was primarily a lead guitarist and a power riff man. We worked with what we had and kicked serious ass." At that point, Zephyr Blue moved their rehearsals from Bob's barn to Tim Mora's mother's barn on Baldwin Lane.
ZEPHYR BLUE #3 (EARLY 1969 - 1969) / WILDWOOD #1 (1969 - AUGUST 1972)
1) Mark Stephen Ross
2) Tim Mora
3) John Turner
4) Frank John Colli (aka Frankie C) now also lead vocals
1) Mark Stephen Ross
2) Tim Mora
3) John Turner
4) Frank John Colli (aka Frankie C) now also lead vocals
Wildwood #1, Stockton, 1969/70 - from left: John Turner, Tim Mora, Frank John Colli, and Mark Stephen Ross
Wildwood #1, Stockton, early 1970s - from left: John Turner, Tim Mora, Frank John Colli, and Mark Stephen Ross
Wildwood #1, Stockton, 1969 - from left to right: John Turner, Tim Mora (kneeling), Frank John Colli, and Mark Stephen Ross
|
Wildwood #1, Stockton, 1969 - bottom from left to right: Mark Stephen Ross and John Turner; top from left to right: Frank John Colli and Tim Mora
business card
|
1969
Zephyr Blue changed their name to Wildwood. Mark Stephen Ross came up with the name, from a book he was reading about ancient Celtic pagan rituals.
1969
Wildwood's debut single, 'Plastic People / Swimming' (Magnum 420), was released only in the US under Magnum Records, a label owned by the band's new manager Max Weiss (the former owner of Fantasy Records). The single, which was pressed in only 500 copies, was recorded at the Fantasy Records Studio in San Francisco with Jack Engelman as producer, and Max Weiss as engineer. The A-side was written by Frank John Colli, while the B-side was written by the entire band. "'Plastic People' and 'Swimming' were the first songs that we wrote in 1968," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. "Frank brought in finished lyrics for both songs. 'Plastic People', like most of our songs came about through jamming on grooves and riffs until we hit on something we liked. I usually came up with the chord progressions. My goal with the writing was to make the songs go somewhere interesting - progressions, arrangements, and melodic instrumental hooks that the vocal could play off of. That was easy with Frankie. Whatever chords I’d throw at him, the first thing he would sing was always good, melodically and emotionally." "The way we would create our original music was by brain storming until we came up with a riff while jamming at rehearsal," Frank John Colli adds in the same interview. "Then Mark would usually come up with a chord progression of some sort and we’d put it all together until we had a completed piece of work. In most cases the next step was coming up with the lyrics which usually fell on me since I was the Vocalist. And to be perfectly honest I was the only band member that could sing. If you could call it that. I sounded much older than I was. I wrote the lyrics to 'Plastic People' after being turned down for a a part time job for refusing to cut my hair. It just seemed to me at that young age that I was surrounded by hypocrites going through life and Bull Shitting people about who they really were by living lives that were filled with lies. 'Swimming' came about after my high school sweetheart left to go away to college and I felt like I was drowning between the love I had for her and the love I had for rock and roll." "We did get a little airplay on KMPX FM in San Francisco and also did a live on-air interview with that station," Mark also recalls. By the way, both songs were later released in the US on their double-CD, 'Plastic People' (Frantic Records 0303), in 2012, and in Spain on their album, 'Plastic People' (Out-Sider OSR063), on September 14, 2017.
Spanish album front cover, 2017
|
Spanish album back cover, 2017
|
1969
Wildwood's second and last single, 'Free Ride / Wildwood County' (Magnum 421), was released only in the US under Fantasy's Magnum subsidiary. The single was recorded at the Fantasy Records Studio in San Francisco with (although uncredited) Jack Engelman as producer. "I never met this guy," Mark Stephen Ross recalls regarding the producer. "He wasn’t at any of the sessions, and I don’t recall ever meeting him. I think maybe his name is a pseudonym for Max Weiss. I don’t know why Max credited him as producer. Technically, Max produced the 'Plastic People/ Swimming' single. After that, he wasn’t present for our sessions. He left us to our own devices. We had free reign in the studio and basically produced ourselves while he played crossword puzzles upstairs". The A-side was written by Frank John Colli and John Turner, while the B-side was written by Mark Stephen Ross, Tim Mora, and William Chalker, the latter a merchant seaman and aspring songwriter who was introduced to the band by Max Weiss.
|
|
1969
Few months after his departure from the band, Bob Zachary showed up at a Wildwood's rehearsal because he wanted back in, but by then the band had become something entirely different musically, so they said "no thanks".
1969: Fantasy Records Studio, 855 Treat Avenue, Mission District, San Francisco, California
Wildwood recorded seventh songs: 'Blue Eyed Woman' (written by the band), 'Mothers' (written by the band plus William Chalker), 'Choo Choo Thunder' (written by the band plus Chalker), 'Gotta Keep Movin' (written by the band), 'Steel Cathedrals' (written by the band plus Chalker), 'Probing The Secrets' (written by the band), 'The Weasel' (written by the band), and a 2nd version of 'Free Ride', that were later released in the US on their double-CD, 'Plastic People' (Frantic Records 0303), in 2012, and in Spain on their album, 'Plastic People' (Out-Sider OSR063), on September 14, 2017 [minus 'Blue Eyed Woman'].
Friday, November 14, 1969: Stockton Civic Memorial Auditorium, 525 North Center Street, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California
Also on the bill: Steve Miller, Mid-Eastern Fire-Eating Act. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was presented by The Pacific Student Association of the University of the Pacific.
Friday, November 21, 1969: 'KZAP Birthday Party - A Concert For The People, By The People', Building 'A', California Exposition and State Fair (aka Cal Expo), California State Fairgrounds, 1600 Exposition Boulevard, Sacramento, California
Also on the bill: The Grateful Dead, Country Weather, A.B. Skhy, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. Sound by Swanson. Lights by Rainbow Jam. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 1:00am, was the 1st Birthday celebration for (the now defunct) Sacramento's album rock formatted radio station KZAP-FM.
|
|
|
Saturday, November 22, 1969: Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, 900 North Broadway, Turlock, Stanislaus County, California
Also on the bill: Country Weather, Daybreak. Sound by Smith. Lights by Rainbow Jam. Food by Alice's Restaurant. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by KCEY, a local AM radio station, and Gold Rush.
Saturday, December 6, 1969: Calaveras County Fairgrounds, 2465 Gunclub Road, Angels Camp, Calaveras County, California
Also on the bill: Loading Zone. Lights by Liquid Smoke. Sound by Ropes Electric. Food by Alice's Restaurant. The show was presented by Gold Rush. "That was the same day as the Altamont concert," Mark Stephen Ross recalls about this gig. "We had been in San Francisco the night before, and were driving back the morning of the 6th to make our show, so on the way we drove by Altamont. There were hundreds of people on the highway overpass and the side of the road heading up the hill to the concert as we drove by. At the time, I was sorry to miss it, but later I was glad I did."
1970: Fantasy Records Studio, 855 Treat Avenue, Mission District, San Francisco, California
Wildwood recorded three songs: 'Mary Midnight' (written by the band plus William Chalker), 'Durango' (written by the band plus Chalker), and 'Mister Wild Love' (written by the band), that were later released in the US on their double-CD, 'Plastic People' (Frantic Records 0303), in 2012, and (only 'Mary Midnight' and 'Mister Wild Love') in Spain on their album, 'Plastic People' (Out-Sider OSR063), on September 14, 2017. By the way, it was probably that same year that, one day, during one of their usual weekend recording sessions at the old Fantasy warehouse studio, that jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi dropped by. "Max [Weiss] was his manager, so were were introduced, and he came in and jammed with us on a couple of songs," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. "He played the studio grand piano and I played B-3 - that was a treat." Another time, again probably that same year, "Max called us and askef if we would be interested in recording with Gene Vincent," Mark adds. "Of course we said yes, so we spent a day with him recording a version of Kris Kristofferson’s 'Sunday Morning Coming Down'. I wish I had those recordings - Gene was a real gentleman. He died less than a year later."
Saturday, April 18, 1970: St. Stanislaus Church Hall, 7th Street at K Street, Modesto, Stanislaus County, California
Also on the bill: The Cans. Sound by Peterson. Lights by Bayshore Fruit Co. The show, which lasted from 8:30pm to 12 midnight, was presented by C.Y.O.
Saturday, April 25, 1970: 'A Free Dance', Raymond Great Hall, University of the Pacific campus, Rudkin Way, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California
Also on the bill: Chester Finnegan. The show, which lasted from 9:00pm to 1:00am, was presented by The Silver Hammer, a local biweekly alternative newspaper, Stockton's Raymond College, and Wildwood.
The Stockton Silver Hammer (April 1970)
Wildwood #1, Raymond Great Hall, April 25, 1970 - from left: Mark Stephen Ross, Tim Mora, Frank John Colli, and John Turner
from left: Mark Stephen Ross and Tim Mora, Raymond Great Hall, April 25, 1970
|
John Frank Colli, Raymond Great Hall, April 25, 1970
Tim Mora, Raymond Great Hall, April 25, 1970
|
Saturday, May 16, 1970: 'Free Dance', Sage Room, San Joaquin Delta College campus, 5151 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, San Hoaquin County, California
Also on the bill: Silas. The show, which lasted from 9:00pm to 1:00am, was presented by The Silver Hammer, a local biweekly alternative newspaper, and Wildwood.
The Stockton Silver Hammer (May 15, 1970)
Saturday, May 23, 1970: 'Come Party in the Mountains', Mother Lode Fairgrounds, 220 Southgate Drive, Sonora, Tuolumne County, California
The band was advertised as 'Wildwood and Friends'. "It just means that we have musician friends that will sit in with us," points out Mark Stephen Ross. "I don't remember who that might have been, but we may just billed that way because there was no real opening act." The show, which lasted from 9:00pm to 1:00am, was presented by The Silver Hammer, a local biweekly alternative newspaper, and Wildwood.
The Stockton Silver Hammer (May 15, 1970)
Tuesday, September 8, 1970: Lion's Share, 60 Red Hill Avenue, San Anselmo, Marin County, California
Also on the bill: Feelin', Wolfgang, and others.
Wednesday, October 14, 1970: Lion's Share, 60 Red Hill Avenue, San Anselmo, Marin County, California
Also on the bill: Maryland Duke, Loose Gravel, John Wilcox. One show, started at 9:00pm.
Tuesday, November 10, 1970: 'Tuesday Night Audition', Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, California
Wildwood - along with Kwan Ditos, Jonah, and Lights by Infinity - played at one of the infamous Tuesday night series instituted by Bill Graham at the Fillmore West since September 1968. The series was called 'Audition Night,' and three local bands would play for a small admission fee ($1.00). The best of those bands would often open a weekend show on Friday and Saturday, sometimes even the next weekend. The Tuesday night series seems to have gone on almost every week for the life of the Fillmore West, excepting the summer of '69 when a six nights a week concert schedule was employed, as well as occasional nights when a big act would play a Tuesday. However, although the Tuesday night concerts are regularly alluded to, there are almost no records of which bands played. By my estimation, there must be approximately 100 Tuesday night Audition concerts, possibly more, meaning perhaps as many as 300 acts played the Fillmore West that we are not generally aware of. If the Tuesday night "winner" also played on each weekend, as appeared to be the case at least some of the time, then there would be approximately 50 or more acts that were part of the "main" Fillmore West schedule that we have no direct evidence of. At the very least, this fact explains the number of lesser known groups who claim to have played the Fillmore West who never appeared on a poster. There were no posters or flyers for Tuesday night show, and the band "added" to the weekend gig was not on the poster, as the artwork had been done and the posters distributed considerably earlier. The Tuesday night Audition shows did not have posters or flyers that I am aware of, with occasional exceptions. There does appear to have been press releases, probably as part of regular Fillmore West press releases, so the performers would have been announced, but probably only on FM radio and at the Fillmore West itself. As rock music became more important, the Tuesday night shows would sometimes be listed in the paper as filler in the entertainment section, which is how I found out about most of the shows. Bill Graham liked playing basketball, and apparently each Tuesday the Fillmore West "team" would play a game at the Fillmore West against another team (such as a radio station) prior to the show. A bit of this is shown in the 1972 Fillmore movie. Afterwards, three bands would play from 8:30pm to 12 midnight, followed by an "informal jam" from 12 midnight to 2:00am. However, there is no guarantee that the best band of each Tuesday night was guaranteed to be the opener on the next weekend. I'm sure it happened of course, and perhaps regularly, but I have yet to see indications of who actually opened which show. The Fillmore West was designed as a money making operation, but Bill Graham was also very shrewd about what would now be called "Leveraging His Brand" (had such a term existed then). First of all, each of the three bands was paid Union Scale for a two-hour session. I do not precisely how much this was, and obviously depending on the number of members of the band it would vary slightly, but it was probably a relatively small amount. Thus, it would not take a large crowd to justify the expense of the evening (since bands had to join the union in order to play Fillmore West, some bands may have effectively not been paid at all). In late 1968 Graham started both a booking agency and two record labels. One record label was supported by CBS, and was called Fillmore Records; the other label was San Francisco Records, distributed by Atlantic; and the booking agency was the Millard Agency. Thus the auditions were not just for finding opening acts at Fillmore West, which was hardly an impossible task, as Graham had done so for years at the Fillmore without a Tuesday audition night. Tuesdays provided Graham first look at acts for his record company, and immediate indications of the stage act of local bands for his booking agency. Anyway, apparently Wildwood's audition that night did not impressed Bill Graham too much, as he neither booked the band to open a weekend show at the Fillmore and/or signed them for his record label or booking agency.
|
Wildwood #1, Fillmore West, November 10, 1970 - from left: Mark Stephen Ross, Tim Mora, Frank John Colli, and John Turner
|
Wildwood #1, Fillmore West, November 10, 1970 - from left: Tim Mora, Frank John Colli, John Turner, and Mark Stephen Ross
Mark Stephen Ross, Fillmore West, San Francisco [photo from a previous unknown gig there in 1969/70]
|
Frank John Colli, Fillmore West, San Francisco [photo from a previous unknown gig there in 1969/70]
|
from left: Mark Stephen Ross and Tim Mora, Fillmore West, San Francisco [photo from a previous unknown gig there in 1969/70]
Mark Stephen Ross, Fillmore West, San Francisco [photo from a previous unknown gig there in 1969/70]
Tuesday, March 9, 1971: 'Tuesday Night Audition', Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, California
Wildwood - along with Canterbury Fair, Wizard, and Black Rock - played again at one of the infamous Tuesday night series instituted by Bill Graham at the Fillmore West since September 1968.
Sunday, May 30, 1971: 'Monterey Music Fair', football stadium, Monterey Peninsula College campus, 980 Fremont Street, Monterey, California
Also on the bill: Barry Melton and The Fish, Loading Zone, Good Thunder, High Country. One show, from noot till dark.
Thursday, August 19, 1971: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California
Also on the bill: Common Ground, Kenturney Sucker's Rhythm Aces. One show, from 9:00pm to 1:00am.
Berkeley Tribe (August 14, 1971)
Wednesday, September 15, 1971: '50¢ Night', The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, California
Also on the bill: Home.
1971: Wally Heider Studios, 245 Hyde Street, San Francisco, California
"Mercury Records A&R guy Russell Schmidt took us into Wally Heider's in 1971 to record songs to try to get us an album deal with Mercury," Mark Stephen Ross recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. "We laid down three songs that day, 'Knock On Any Door', 'Lonesome Roads', and a remake of 'Steel Cathedrals'. The sound quality at Heider’s was superior to Max’s studio, and the tracks sounded great, but I still prefer the original version of‘Steel Cathedrals’ over the one we did at Heider’s. The new version felt rushed, and it didn’t have the spontaneity or the same anguished energy of the original from Max’s studio. Nothing came of the Mercury deal, they passed on us. Later on, post Wildwood, Russell Schmidt did hook Frankie up as lead vocalist for Sahara, a band featuring some of San Francisco’s finest musicians at the time." By the way, the three aforementioned songs ('Knock On Any Door' written by the band, and 'Lonesome Roads' and 'Steel Cathedrals' written by the band plus William Chalker) were later released on their double-CD, 'Plastic People' (Frantic Records 0303), in 2012.
Friday, February 4 - Saturday, February 5, 1972: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California
Also on the bill: Country. One show each day, started at 9:30pm.
Berkeley Tribe (February 3, 1972)
Sunday, March 5, 1972: Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium, 525 North Center Street, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California
Also on the bill: Cold Blood, Country Weather. The show, which lasted from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, was presented by Funkie Co.
|
Wildwood #1, Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium, March 5, 1972 - from left: Mark Stephen Ross, Frank John Colli, Tim Mora, and John Turner
|
Wildwood #1, Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium, March 5, 1972 - from left: Mark Stephen Ross, Frank John Colli, Tim Mora, and John Turner
Friday, March 10, 1972: in the rotunda, Modesto Junior College campus, Modesto, 435 College Avenue, Stanislaus County, California
Lights by Overload. The show, which lasted from 9:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by ASMJC (Associated Students Modesto Junior College).
Saturday, March 18, 1972: Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey, California
Also on the bill: Stoneground, Earthquake. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by KRML (1410 AM), a radio station licensed to serve Carmel, California, and produced by A Productions Unlimited.
Monday, March 27, 1972: Fieldhouse, Stanislaus State College campus, 1 University Circle, Turlock, Stanislaus County, California
Also on the bill: Tower Of Power. One show, started at 8:30pm.
Friday, April 21, 1972: 'Dance Concert', Merced County Fairgrounds, 900 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Merced, California
Also on the bill: Cold Blood. One show, from 9:00pm to 1:00am.
Sunday, May 14, 1972: Stockton Civic Memorial Auditorium, 525 North Center Street, Stockton, San Joaquin County, California
Also on the bill: Ike & Tina Turner, Shanti. The show, which lasted from 7:00pm to 11:00pm, was proudly presented by Gold Rush Productions.
Thursday, June 1, 1972: Chateau Libertè, 22700 Old Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Friday, June 30 - Saturday, July 1, 1972: Chateau Libertè, 22700 Old Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Also on the bill: Doobie Brothers (30), Delta Wires (1).
Thursday, July 27, 1972: Chateau Libertè, 22700 Old Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Thursday, August 3, 1972: Town & Country Lodge, Highway 9, Ben Lomond, Santa Cruz County, California
August 1972
Mark Stephen Ross left the band to explore other musical options. Throughout the 70s and 80s he played with a lot of great artists such as Mark-Almond, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Delbert McClinton, Brenda Russell, Brian Wilson, Ronnie Laws, Stephen Bishop, Rick Springfield, Roger McGuinn, and last but not least his own band Dream Patrol. Then, in the mid-90s, his focus began to shift from playing live to composing music for television and he even won back-to-back Emmy Awards in 2007 and 2008. In recent years he also works as producer and arranger for his wife Ann Kelly, who is a singer and songwriter. By the way, although Wildwood carried on for a while as a trio, they never played live with that lineup, so this above was their last gig together.
WILDWOOD #2 (AUGUST 1972 - FEBRUARY 1973 (?))
1) Tim Mora
2) John Turner
3) Frank John Colli (aka Frankie C)
1) Tim Mora
2) John Turner
3) Frank John Colli (aka Frankie C)
February 1973 (?)
After about six months of rehearsals (with various stray musicians that they had out to jam) but no live shows, Frank John Colli left the band (he continued to writing and performing with a lot of bands (including Sahara) as well as solo), and at that point "John and Tim attempted to keep it together but nothing came of it. The Wildwood sound was over," Frank recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. After the band disbanded for good, Tim Mora continues to play drums with various local bands (including Thunderwing), while John Turner disappeared from the music scene and sadly passed away a few years ago.
After about six months of rehearsals (with various stray musicians that they had out to jam) but no live shows, Frank John Colli left the band (he continued to writing and performing with a lot of bands (including Sahara) as well as solo), and at that point "John and Tim attempted to keep it together but nothing came of it. The Wildwood sound was over," Frank recalls in an interview with Kevin Rathert for It's Psychedelic Baby! magazine in January 2013. After the band disbanded for good, Tim Mora continues to play drums with various local bands (including Thunderwing), while John Turner disappeared from the music scene and sadly passed away a few years ago.
