Northeast Michigan Oral History and Historic Photograph Archive

Bates Interview

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Interview Part 1: Interview Part 1
Transcription: CC. We're at the County - Alpena County Library, this is December 11, 2015, I'm Carole Cadarette, with me is, uh, Cindy Kus, and also with us and being interviewed today is Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Bates, Wayne and Gayle. We're going to start with Wayne, uh, Wayne's history, uh, goes back a little further than Gayle's does, before they, uh, got together and made pretty good music for the last twelve years. Wayne. How are ya today? WB. Pretty good. CC. Good. Let's talk about how ya got started. WB. Uh, I probably was ten years old, my Dad played fiddle, just around the house, and house parties and uh, played a little bit of mandolin, and my Mother bought me a guitar for ten dollars at a pawn shop, and I learned from there playin' Hawaiian guitar. CK. Huh! WB. And, uh, then I had a friend, Cliff Wyman, that taught me how to play Spanish guitar, and him and I played out at Bolton Bar, was the first time I ever played in a bar, and I was probably twelve, fourteen years old. And uh, and I just started picking it up from there. Uh, my first real band I played in was Bussey String Band. CK. Who else was in that band? WB. Glenn Anderson. Before I - uh, he quit and I took his place. CC. Ok. WB. And went from there with uh, (long pause) the Drifters, with Willy Wildfong, Willy's dad and Willy's brother. And we left - Willy's brother quit, so we went to, uh, got Gayle's brother to play with us, Al, and we named the band, ah, The Drifters for a while. And Willy's dad quit, and we got Gayle's other brother, Ed, to play drums with us. CK. That's Ed and Al Kirchoff? GB. Yeah. Ed played guitar, though. WB. Her brothers. Ed was playing guitar back then, yeah. GB. Ed was played guitar at that time, yeah. WB. And we played, uh - the name of the band was GB. Westernaires WB. Yeah, the Westernaires. CK. What was Willie's last name? WB. Wildfong GB. (spelling) W-i-l-d-f-o-n-g. CK. Thank you. WB. Aaaand . . . CC. Were you still just playing just at Bolton, uh, Wayne? Or were you spreadin' out WB. No, we played out at Deer Hunt out in Roger's City. Um, played a few weddings, anniversaries, and ah... CK. About what year would this have been? WB. Sixties or seventies. CC. Yeah. GB. I think early seventies, 'cause Al would have graduated in '70. WB. Yup, I believe seventies. CK. And what kind of music did the-? WB. Country. CK. Westernaires -? WB. Yeah. CK. (and WB., together) Straight country. WB. Oh, we played a variety, Al could play a few polkas and waltzes and stuff, but it was mostly the old time country. And uh, and we broke up from there, went to uh, got Larry Golbeck to play with us on the steel guitar and we played with uh, was it AK and the Outlaws, wasn't it? GB. Mm hm. WB. Was the same band, only we picked up a steel guitar player. CK. And you called yourself AK and the Outlaws. WB. AK and the Outlaws, yeah. Then we broke up from there - Al fired me (laughs). And Willie said, well you can play lead guitar, so I started playing the lead, and we got Hank LaFleur to play with us and we called ourselves Wild Country. My daughter, Maria, drums with us . . . GB. Daughter-in-law. (louder) Daughter-in-law. WB. Daughter-in-law. CC. What was her name? WB. Maria. CC. Maria? GB. Maria. Was it Kowalski? WB. Uh . . . GB. Her maiden name? WB. Szymanski GB. Szymanski. CC. Would seem to me in that time frame, Wayne, correct me if I'm wrong but, probably one of the very first lady drummers out there, huh? In a country band? WB. I think so, yeah. And that was about at the time when they had the tractor show out on 23 North, there? CC. Yeah. WB. And then she got, well she married my son, and they moved out - she had a little boy so they moved out to Montana, so she had to quit. And then we got um, Tammy Johnson to play drums with us, and her husband, Freddy, joined the band and played lead guitar with us. CK. And you were still Wild Country at that point? WB. Yes. And then, I think Freddy and Tammy got their band together - got a band together, and we picked up, uh . . . CC. Bill Miller? WB. No, we had . . . well, we picked him, there was ah . . . oh, cripes, can't think of his name . . . Tollen. CC. Tollen? Kay GB. Jimmy Tollen CC. Jimmy Tollen WB. Not . . . This, this was later we picked up Jimmy Tollen. Um . . . GB. Hank LaFleur? WB. No, we had Hank. GB. (inaudible) Oh, Rose? WB. No, we had Rose, but this was before. Not Tollen - it's . . . he comes out to the bar and plays with us, big guy- GB. Oh, Paulie Nolan! CC. Paulie Nolan, of course! Paul Nolan. GB. Yeah. CC. So it was you, Paul Nolan, and . . . WB. Uh, Rose CC. Rose, and who was your drummer at the time? WB. Uh, we got uh, Paul Conger. CC. Ok. And you were called what at that point? WB. Wild Country. CC. Wild Country. Ok GB. They just kept switchin' musicians. WB. Yeah. CK. Did you all do vocals, or were there . . . ? WB. Yeah, Paul Nolan was a vocal, he was good, I mean the kid was good. And Rose Cuddy, she could sing, but . . . she could sing. CC. Um, I remember those days. Uh, you're getting into the point where I could, I could remember coming out and - and seeing and listening to you. Um, but I remember places now that you were playing, like the Eagles and some of the different clubs and different bars and out at WB. Eagles and Elks, um, Corner Bar. I think at that time, it might have been Brother's Bar or something. CC. Yes. Probably out on 32. That was a, that was a country bar. WB. Yes. Jack's Bar. CC. Would you agree with me, uh, Wayne, that seemingly back in those days, there was a lot of places to play, but depending on what your style of music was, is where you were playing. WB. Yeah. CC. In other words, you weren't playing the Owl - WB. No. CC. - somebody else was doing that. The country bands tended to, to gravitate to the ones that he just named - those, those were country- CK. (inaudible) CC. bands uh, that played in those places. The Corner Bar, Club, uh, Jack's Bar was Club 32 WB. Yeah. CC. That's where they tended to play and they were made most welcome, and that's what they did - they drew the folks that liked that style o'music. WB. VFW. CC. Yup. WB. Played there for quite a while. CC. Mm hm. GB. You play at Bolton? WB. Bolton Bar, we played out there for seven years, I think it was. CC. Did you play, was you in this game long enough to play both the old Bolton before it died and the new Bolton? WB. A little bit of the old Bolton. CC. Ok, ok. WB. But when the, and then guy took over at Bolton, he hired us in there. And we played out there for . . . three or four years, and then he sold it. CC. Ok. WB. And then we played out there for about seven years, I think. CC. Did you play - how many nights a week did you play? WB. Mostly on Saturdays. CC. Mostly Saturdays, ok. Do you think your style of music has evolved over the years, Wayne? WB. No . . . Has it? GB. Oh, yeah. From old time country to what we're doin' now? WB. From old time country to old time country? GB. Well, I know, but we've, I mean, we've graduated into, you know, some 50s and 60s music and - and a couple of the new modern CC. Mm hm GB. . . . pop songs, WB. Well, now, yes. GB. . . . which you never used to do. CC. What about the sound equipment, Wayne, and the instruments? WB. Oh, that's - uh, the sound equipment was, when we first started out, all we played with was the guitar and amplifier, and a microphone. CC. Yeah. WB. Now, you've got PA systems, ah, monitors, and it's a lot better, you can hear yourself - the sound is so much better now. CC. Yep. Ok, besides your parents' inter- influences for you, uuh, who were your, uh, the ones that when you were listening to the radio then, who were you listening to? WB. Uh, probably Jimmy Dickens, Ray Acuff on the Grand Ole Opry, and my, really, one I watched a lot 'round here when I was younger, my Grandma - Grandparents used to take me out to the old Bolton Bar, and it used to be The Madcaps was out there. Uh, Barney Morey, Mel May - Charley May's dad CC. Yeah. WB. And, uh . . . CC. Jack Hepburn? WB. Jack Hepburn. Tom, uh . . . can't think of his last name, played lead guitar. And I used to go out there and sit on the railing, ah, and watch Mel May play, you know, guitar. And I wouldn't take my eyes off of him, I just . . . CC. Ok. WB. But, I think - that's before I started playin'. CC. But that was your influences, because that's what you enjoy doing. WB. Yup. CC. Sure. Sure. CK. And you listened on the radio? To? Different musicians back then? WB. Yeah, always country music - that's the only radio station I'd ever, ever listened to. CC. Yup. WB. And when I - I played at the Armory when they had Bundy Mountain Jamboree down there- CC. Yes. CK. What was it called? WB. Bundy Mountain Jamboree. CK. Oh. Yeah. WB. They played on Friday nights, and then Saturday, the winners from that, they used to sing on the radio Saturday mornings they had a country show. CC. Were you silly like me, and went up against Hank LaFleur? WB. Yeah. CC. And ya lost. WB. And I lost. CC. Yeah, me too. WB. I, uh - I won in, uh, the class that I sang in, and then I got to the finals, and I sang against Hank, and Hank beat me out. I think I finished third then. CC. Ok. Same guy that he played in a band with. CK. Was this the one where audience applause- WB. Yeah. CK. That's how they decided who the winner was? CC. This was Butch Lyon's family that did this. Butch Lyon- that we've already interviewed. That was over at the Armory, and uh, they played uh, wonderful country music, with wonderful musicians. WB. Played there for a few years - I can't remember how many years they played there. CK. Can you put a time on it? CC. Uh, nineteen, nineteen uh, fifies? WB. Yeah. CC. Yeah. 1950s, 'cause I was like twelve or fourteen, like that, maybe not even fourteen. So. 1950's. Yeah. Between '50 and '55 for sure. Yup. How about today, Wayne, what do you think about the dif-, we called country music back then, both you and I - how much has it changed today? WB. Oh . . . CC. Much? WB. So much, I think. I, myself, I don't, uh, listen to it very much. I listen to the old - if there's an old station on it, like Willie's Roadhouse, then I'll listen to that. CC. Sirius radio? WB. Yeah. CC. Ok. Ok. WB. And they play the old - the old time country. CC. And as we think back about the places back in - in the day, that there were to play when you were in all these different bands that you named, compared to back then and now, today, is there any comparison of places to play, places to ply your trade? WB. Oh, yeah, I think so. Back in - when I was younger you could, of course the prices were cheaper back then, too.
Creators: Carole Cadarette and Cindy Kus, Interviewer; Gayle Bates and Wayne Bates
, Interviewee
Media Type: Audio; Image; Text
Item Type: Interviews
Description: The first time Wayne Bates played guitar in a bar he was around 12 years old, and the bar was The Bolton Bar. Wayne learned to play fiddle at the age of 10, then Hawaiian and Spanish guitar. He likes playing old time country and continues to play in the Alpena with his wife Gayle in The Over the Hill Band.
Though Gayle chose to stay in the area and raise a family, Porter Wagoner offered her a start in Nashville at the age of sixteen. In this interview the couple discuss their musical roots and how music brought them together.
Place of Publication: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Library
Date of Original: 11 December, 2015
Playing Time: 30:12
Subject(s): Country Musicians
Personal Name(s): Bates, Gayle ; Bates Wayne ; Wyman, Cliff ; Bussey String Band ; Anderson, Glenn ; The Drifters ; Wildfong, Willy ; Kirchoff, Al ; Kirchoff, Ed ; The Westernaires ; A. K. and the Outlaws ; Wild Country ; Szymanski, Maria ; Johnson, Tammy ; Johnson, Freddy ; Tollen, Jimmy ; LaFleur, Hank ; Conger, Paul ; Nolan, Paul ; Dickens, Jimmy ; Morey, Barney, May, Mel ; May, Charley ; Hepburn, Jack ; Bundy Mountain Jamboree ; Lyon, Butch ; Zdan, Al ; Marzean, John ; Laney, Dick ; Eller, Jim ; Lynn, Loretta ; Hopp, Carol ; Bruning, Chuck ; Wagoner, Porter ; Lonzo and Oscar ; Wodkowski, Bob ; Over the Hill Band
Collection: Musicians of Northeast Michigan
Language of Item: English
Copyright Statement: Protected by copyright: Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Copyright Date: 2015
Copyright Holder: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Library
Recommended Citation: In text- Bates, Wayne (2015) Bates, Gayle (2015)
Reference- Bates, Wayne (2015, December 11) or Bates, Gayle (2015, December 11). Retrieved at http://www.nemoha.org/3321163/data?dis=dm
Contact: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library
Email:specialcollections@alpenalibrary.org
Website:
https://www.alpenalibrary.org

Agency street/mail address:
211 N. First Ave.
Alpena, Michigan 49707
USA
(989)356-6188
Transcription: Meg Converse

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