I was the drummer and one of the singer/composers in the
band Spott Farm from the summer of '70 till we disbanded
in the fall of '75.
I met the band "Navel" in 1970 when they played at the
Orangeville Armories and was blown away by their spirit,
great harmonies and progressive original music. I was playing
with a local band the 4 pc "April" (or sometimes as a trio
calling itself "Jolly Green Thumb")
We jammed with the fellows from Navel at our drop-in centre
before their gig. Shortly thereafter Navel split in two.
Dick Knechtal (guitar), Brian Mullen (Drums) , and Dennis
McLaughlin (vocals) left and Rick Hutt, Nick Paterson
and Bob Mahood stayed on.
I came to the Spott farm in July 1970 (I was 19) and we were
joined by John Lowrey from Toronto on Guitar. We played our
first gig in Listowel and Ritchie (our 1st manager) put the name
"Spott Farm" on the poster. Since that's what the farm was called,
and how people referred to us. Otherwise we would have been
"The Wonderful Rabbits" or perhaps "Baby Tuckoo and the
Moo Cow" (!) I guess we were lucky not to have been called
"Prune Mucous" another suggested appellation for group.
Ritchie left for the west coast (suddenly). John left to go back
home to Toronto and the 4 of us worked on our music more seriously
than any band I've ever been in. We couldn't afford to pay ourselves
salaries; but we bought a 50 lb sack of brown rice and managed to eat,
pay rent on the farmhouse and practiced 10-12 hrs a day. Some folks
continued to come by, expecting all night parties; but we soon
discouraged visitors from dropping in and would stay in the practice
room ignoring them uuntill they went away.
I guess we got a reputation as being some weird kind of cult/commune,
but really we were just struggling to pay our way by playing the best
music we could. We backed up Perth County Conspiracy and
Luke Gibson at the Harrison Legion and Kincardine Pavillion.
Before long Lorne and Chuck came in to be our roadies, Peggy found
a hundred ways to serve brown rice, Dave Scott (lead Guitar) from my
old Orangeville band came on board in the summer of '71.
The band moved out to another farm outside St Agatha to be nearer to the
urban centre of Kitchener/Waterloo and our music teachers, gigs, and new
manager: Donald Blair. Tom Holmes joined the group on Violin, Guitar
and Vocals. We played some higher profile concerts and broke up in the
fall of 1975.
That's as concise a history of the Spott Farm story as I can tell .
band Spott Farm from the summer of '70 till we disbanded
in the fall of '75.
I met the band "Navel" in 1970 when they played at the
Orangeville Armories and was blown away by their spirit,
great harmonies and progressive original music. I was playing
with a local band the 4 pc "April" (or sometimes as a trio
calling itself "Jolly Green Thumb")
We jammed with the fellows from Navel at our drop-in centre
before their gig. Shortly thereafter Navel split in two.
Dick Knechtal (guitar), Brian Mullen (Drums) , and Dennis
McLaughlin (vocals) left and Rick Hutt, Nick Paterson
and Bob Mahood stayed on.
I came to the Spott farm in July 1970 (I was 19) and we were
joined by John Lowrey from Toronto on Guitar. We played our
first gig in Listowel and Ritchie (our 1st manager) put the name
"Spott Farm" on the poster. Since that's what the farm was called,
and how people referred to us. Otherwise we would have been
"The Wonderful Rabbits" or perhaps "Baby Tuckoo and the
Moo Cow" (!) I guess we were lucky not to have been called
"Prune Mucous" another suggested appellation for group.
Ritchie left for the west coast (suddenly). John left to go back
home to Toronto and the 4 of us worked on our music more seriously
than any band I've ever been in. We couldn't afford to pay ourselves
salaries; but we bought a 50 lb sack of brown rice and managed to eat,
pay rent on the farmhouse and practiced 10-12 hrs a day. Some folks
continued to come by, expecting all night parties; but we soon
discouraged visitors from dropping in and would stay in the practice
room ignoring them uuntill they went away.
I guess we got a reputation as being some weird kind of cult/commune,
but really we were just struggling to pay our way by playing the best
music we could. We backed up Perth County Conspiracy and
Luke Gibson at the Harrison Legion and Kincardine Pavillion.
Before long Lorne and Chuck came in to be our roadies, Peggy found
a hundred ways to serve brown rice, Dave Scott (lead Guitar) from my
old Orangeville band came on board in the summer of '71.
The band moved out to another farm outside St Agatha to be nearer to the
urban centre of Kitchener/Waterloo and our music teachers, gigs, and new
manager: Donald Blair. Tom Holmes joined the group on Violin, Guitar
and Vocals. We played some higher profile concerts and broke up in the
fall of 1975.
That's as concise a history of the Spott Farm story as I can tell .
Hey there......glad to see the Spott Farm blog up and running.....still my favourite band of all time....music makes my heart soar and I can still feel the joy in the music.....hope this site will attract many "old" Spott Farm fans and perhaps open the band up to new generations of music fans...and it wasn't just about the music....but the vibe that the band created....peace, harmony and some stuff that seems in short supply these days.....
ReplyDeleteGod I loved the Spott Farm! I loved the people, I loved the music and I love that I got to know them…well I got to hang out at the farm on weekends and some of the members came over to our house for Thanksgiving Dinner and of course they stopped by the restaurant every once in awhile too. That was cool. In 1970, I was just a kid from Toronto who moved with my family to Greenbush Snack & Gas Bar on Highway #9. It was a great place to grow up but it was NOT very exciting in those days. Lay Lady Lay from Nashville Skyline had just been released and I made my dad crazy with Johnny Winter’s 1st Album (That was fun). Rod Stewart had released Gasoline Alley and it blew me away. Love it to Death by Alice Cooper scared the shit out of my parents and I heard the Eagles for the first time. I remember it like it was yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing Edward Bear, Copper Penny & The Stampeders when they played locally in Harriston & Clifford and it was good. I enjoyed it. Live music is still the air that I breathe.
Then I saw and heard The Spott Farm in Hanover and what I remember most about that night was CSN - Suite Judy Blue Eyes, followed by Santana then Yes and Genesis OFF THE RECORD. Better than the record in fact. The band members would actually take the time to stop and talk with us. Rick and Bob hung with us for almost the entire break that night and after that every other band would be measured by The Spott Farm for me. There was real peace displayed by these people at the farm and I liked it…no I loved it. It was like a gentle warm hug. The music was great but the vibe was intoxicating.
One Saturday morning Jerome let me play his black Rogers drums at the farm and we talked about music until I had to go. I never forgot how he instructed me to practice paradiddles. Paradiddles drove me CRAZY but I was able to do it after awhile and now I drive people crazy by tapping out paradiddles on tables or with my pencil or along to songs playing on my computers. I ran into Jerome at Long & McQuade here in Vancouver a few years ago, at least I think it was Long & McQuade. It might have been at “Drums Only” after Ray moved from Kingsway to Granville Street. I was glad that he remembered me.
I would hear them practicing from the porch at the restaurant and listened with distain as the local farmers would come in for a coffee and pie and complain that their chickens weren’t lying eggs and their sheep were disturbed by the loud “hippie” music. It’s funny now, but it pissed me off then because they didn’t appreciate it like I did. My mom still has a picture of me and Peggy hamming it up at Greenbush.
I sat in the living room at the farm with Lorne and listened to Rick & Bob writing and practicing a new song. Jerome wandered in and picked it up at that spot and brought it all together. Magic I tell you…musical magic. I’m thankful that Jerome has put those songs up for us to hear again. I hope people will hear them and appreciate them like those of us who were there do.
Spott Farm happened at a place in my youth when I was really searching for a path to follow. When they allowed me to hang out at the farm & listen to the practices and treated me like I wasn’t just some dumb kid, I realized what I wanted to do with myself. They were good people. Since then I have played Drums and guitar in the US and Canada in numerous bands and duos and now have a home studio where I sit and write & record my own songs. Life is good.