The Story Of The Flowerz

1967-1968 Garage Band from Reading, PA

The Story Of The Flowerz | For a brief period of time in 1968, the Flowerz were local heros with two records on the Reading charts. The primary personnel included Jeff Stout on lead vocals, Barry Tucci on rhythm guitar, Mike Lecce on lead guitar, Bill Sheffer on keyboards, Larry Skillman on bass, and Jim Leinbach on drums.

At Mt. Penn Junior High School, Tucci was the vocalist in a short-lived ensemble called the Savages, who were “savage” in name only. “We were put together by some guy,” Tucci reminisces, “because his daughter was going to sing on the Boardwalk Show, and did two songs; the Stones’ arrangement of Chuck Berry’s ‘Around and Around’ where we backed her up and one we did by ourselves.

We recorded it earlier in the television station and then went back to lip sync it. I was the lead singer and in the middle of her song, there was a blood-curdling scream. Unfortunately the monitors weren’t in sync so when I jumped up to holler, [the scream] wasn’t there. It was so embarassing. During the shooting, we also froze like boards. After the song, the host remarked to his guest, Charlie Pride, ‘They don’t look too savage to me.’ ”

Prior to forming the Flowerz, all members with the exception of Stout played together in the Marauders, which included guitarist Danny Bausher (who later went on to play with local favourites Side Street during the early ’70s). Stout was one year behind in school and sang with the Twilights, whom according to Sheffer were “friendly competition.” Skillman and Lecce were neighbours in Stony Creek and as kids were best friends. Everyone attended classes at Exeter High School except for Tucci who went to Mt. Penn.

“The decision to change from the Marauders to a new group happened when we decided to record some stuff and bring it out as a brand new band,” Leece notes. “We replaced Bausher with Barry and also added Jeff to remake the image of the band into a more ‘hip’ type of thing.”

psychedelic era

The Flowerz rehearsed regularly in Lecce’s parents’ basement. Sheffer acknowledges “they were very patient and kind to us” and commends them in retrospect for “putting up with a lot of audio abuse.” During their first year in existence, the group was too young to drive and were ushered around in Skillman’s father’s ’66 Dodge station wagon or Sheffer’s parent’s ’59 Edsel.

They were “blooming,” so to speak—although that wasn’t how they came up with their name.

“We were trying to think of something upbeat yet catchy and decided on the name Flowerz,” Tucci says. “That was also the era of the flower child and we picked a name that related to the psychedelic era.” He acknowledges today that the moniker was fitting since “we were a bunch of flowers; a bunch of insecure young kids.”

The bands calling card appropriately coined their sound as Folkegenic. Leinbach was never very fond of the name and was overruled by the group decision.

“To me,” Leinbach says, “that name just wasn’t my cup of tea although it was a sign of the times with all the peace, love and drugs.”

Early in their career, WRAW deejay Mark Thomas (a.k.a. Merlyn Rimple) and local celebrity/Starlite vocalist Steve Musser took an immediate interest in the band and attended many of their rehearsals.

Stout remembers that Musser was there the night of his audition. He recommended to the group that Stout should become their lead vocalist. Not long after, Flowerz had their official debut which was an outside job at the Crestwood pool.

“I remember it was a good fun night,” Stout adds. “There were a lot of people and my parents even came.”

“Steve helped us a lot and really believed in our talent,” Tucci says. “For the Crestwood parties, we were naturally concerned about water and electricity.”

The band always headlined and were booked most weekends, often scheduling two shows a day.

“We were very successful in Berks County and did a lot of high school work, private parties, Sweet Sixteen, plus an occasional wedding,” Stout says.

“One annual highlight was the May Day at Exeter which was a really good paying gig. Being from Exeter Township, it was a really nice homecoming thing for us and we’d pack the gymnasium for the May Day performance.”

The Story Of The Flowerz

Another good engagement was playing at the Antietam Recreation Centre, which was a big old ballroom with wooden floors, a large stage and lots of room to dance. The “Rec” (as it was known) dated back to the ’30s and was where Shenandoah’s own Dorsey Brothers used to play. Sheffer has equally fond memories of the Albright College Field House.

“For one particular show, we had so much equipment; stuff that engineer Clay Barclay dragged out of his studio,” Sheffer says. “That roof was really shaking. It was really neat!”

Being a member of a ’60s rock band meant local fame and notoriety for the members.

“During one local performance at a high school,” Stout recalls, “the girls absolutely went wild. We incorporated artificial flowers into our stage show and would scatter them throughout the audience. The night was crazy and our song must have been going up the charts that week. I recall vividly at the end of the night signing a girls leg on top of her stockings. Being a Beatle fan, it was like the ultimate. It was unbelievable!”

Leece fondly recalls the same show. “After the single came out, we played a high school dance and during a break, Jeff stayed on stage for whatever reason. The audience flocked to the stage and we signed autographs.”

“On the downside, when you’re in a band, you don’t really have a life as far as being in high school,” Tucci remembers. “You’re practicing and working with that band. You don’t go to dances. You play at ’em!”

The Flowerz participated in numerous battle of the bands throughout the region. Stout notes one that took place at the Abe Lincoln Hotel Ballroom was really exciting because their record was hot on the charts. Also, Sheffer recalls that due to their popularity, “we never went outside the region because we had enough work right here.”

The Story Of The Flowerz

The band was booked at a WRAW Wheelchair Basketball Night along with rival band, the Undecided. “The deejays played against an organized team of wheelchair basketball players and got their butts kicked!,” Sheffer says. “After the game, the Undecided went on first and did their bit and then we went on. I just remember it was a great night and we played under the net. Both bands were tight.”

Just because they were popular didn’t mean they had state-of-the-art gear, however. Later in their career, Tucci’s cousin, Ricky Kuhn, came in as their lightman and electronics technician.

“We always had equipment problems,” Sheffer says. “I always carried a soldering iron since we constantly had microphones breaking. By fate, that sort of weaned me for my future vocation.”

“I remember one time playing a private party at Blanche Horine’s basement,” Sheffer says. “I had this old amplifier which was a piece of junk. It had a non-polarized plug and if you plugged it in the wrong way, the chassis got hot. Unfortunately I had leather shoes on a cement floor and when I kicked the on switch, I got nailed. While I was getting toasted, I couldn’t let go of it! Everybody was looking around saying to themselves, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ I almost bought the farm that day.”

Under the guidance of Musser, the group decided to record a single.

“We went to this big old building someplace in the middle of nowhere” [which is currently the rear cinderblock ediface that houses a temporary employment agency off Route 422 in Shillington], Tucci notes.

“It took a lot of work because we really fought to make it as professional as possible. I remember all the old amps in the room and my fingers bleeding and feeling as if they’d fall off because you had to play things over and over again. But the big thrill was after you worked on the song, the engineer would put it on and play it all together. Right then you’d feel like you were on a cloud because it sounded really good!”

“The basic tracks were recorded live and the drums were in a booth,” Sheffer adds. “They had a nice studio with rugs hanging on the walls.”

The Story Of The Flowerz

The band’s first record, “I Need Love Now” b/w “My Sad Story,” reached #2 on WRAW the week of February 11, 1968. The A-side was sung by Leinbach while the flip was sung by Stout.

“When we did the B-side, if you listen closely you’ll hear a mistake,” Sheffer adds. “We were overdubbing a background vocal part on one mic. Everybody had on their headphones and by the third harmony, Jeff continued singing ‘all.’ At the end of the take, Clay responded ‘I picked up on that mistake guys. What I’ll do is erase that mic at that point and it should solve the problem.’ Unfortunately the mic across the way also picked it up. You can barely hear it on the single but it’s there.

“Early on, we learned that studio time was money. When you’re paying $90 an hour, you don’t screw up. That’s what I like about the error; we kept our cool!”

For the release, Flowerz were featured guests on WRAW’s Teenage Open Mic call in show. Later that day, the group participted in an autograph signing at Pomeroys department store in downtown Reading.

“We paid for the first session and pressed 2000 copies,” Sheffer says.” I know the label sold out fast on that one. Unfortunately it was too late to press up anymore.”

“The station actually admitted that we would have been number one if we had more copies,” Skillman remarks. “At that time we were the band in Reading!”

Tucci’s recollections differ somewhat and are perhaps more realistic. Regardless, it was a momentous feat for Flowerz.

“For seven weeks, the Lemon Pipers’ `Green Tambourine’ was number one and we couldn’t push past it.”

“It was a very exciting time because we were looked up to by everybody,” Stout declares. The opening drum break on “I Need Love Now” would introduce WRAW’s evening show immediately after the 6:00 news.

“My family was always at the dinner table at that time so I’d bring in a portable radio and was proud of that accomplishment,” Sheffer says. “Almost every night you’d hear that song.”

The Story Of The Flowerz

The band’s pride was epitomized in its hip threads.

“We had custom navy blue jackets with Property Of Flowerz embroidered in white on the back,” Stout says. “It was cool because we’d walk up and down the street in downtown and everybody knew us.”

Although their spring 1968 follow-up, “Flyte” b/w “Talkin’ Bout Love,” only reached #12 on WRAW, Sheffer feels that it showed more of a developed sound and reflected that the band had been together for a few years. The single also had a glaring error.

“We had a tape break [on `Talkin’ Bout Love] and if you listen closely, you’ll notice the third verse is really uptempo,” Stout recalls.

“Tape was lying all over the floor and Clay had to reel it all up,” Sheffer says. “There was a piece that was so mangled that he had to actually edit it out so we lost a fraction of a beat.”

Despite the technical flaw, the band felt it was a good take and Barclay discouraged them from redoing it.

During one long Saturday, the group returned to Barclay’s facility and recorded the highlights from their 16-song live set. This tape was to be played through the PA system in sync while the band performed live for the WXAC dance held at the Albright College student centre. Leece remembers that particular session “seemed like it took 24 hours!”

“It was a long day but I thought the concept was great,” Sheffer similarly recalls. “When we performed, it was like there were two bands on stage while the tape was piped through the Voice of the Theatre speakers. I’ll tell you that place was rockin’! I have fond memories of that night. All things considered, it worked out great. Imagine that from a bunch of teenagers! ”

“There were some moments where we looked back at Clay and we didn’t know what the next cued song was,” Stout adds. “I think he was looking to make us sound as best as possible. ‘I Need Love Now’ was sung by Jim and he switched instruments with Mike who went back on the drums and I strapped on a guitar which was turned down since I wasn’t very competent.”

While researching material for the Barclay Story retrospective, not only did Arf! Arf! locate the mixed down tape, but also on-stage chatter by the local emcees for the show. This remarkable time capsule magically captures the life and times of a teenage event from a bygone era.

As a follow up to “Flyte,” Flowerz recorded the previously unreleased “Saturday Morning,” which was poppish and musically influenced by the Turtles, Mamas and Papas, and Spanky & Our Gang. For that track, producer Steve Musser invited his acquaintance, Terry Gerhart, to sing back up.

“Barry came up with the original idea and the song sort of evolved,” Stout says. “We’d work on it during practice and I even recall making progress on it after a performance at the Green Valley Country Club. It was very catchy and fun to sing. We recorded the whole song on one long day, appropriately starting the session one Saturday morning.”

The group occasionally crossed paths with local favourites, the Milestones, who were heavily influenced by the Byrds (lead guitarist Randy Rhodes played a 12-string). Other popular bands during that era that the band recalls were the legendary Jordan Brothers, Pat Farrell & the Believers, the Other Side, plus Hamburg Field House favourites the Triumphs, Steam Machine and later Auburn.

The Story Of The Flowerz

Around that time, the band was going through a transition. Skillman notes that “the music was begining to change” and “a heavier psychedelic sound was coming into prominence.”

“We got into a whole different scene and played a lot of harder things like ‘In A Gadda Da Vida’ and material by Steppenwolf and Cream,” Stout confirms. “I don’t think Bill and Jim liked what we were doing as much as our older repertoire. Besides, they were more into cars and girls.”

Not long after, Leinbach left and was replaced by drummer Howard Blanck.

“I got kind of tired travelling and being on the road,” Leinbach confesses. “I just didn’t care for a lot of the showbiz. It was fun when I was younger, packing up the stuff and moving together with all of the guys. When it got to the point of being a job, I didn’t care for the travel.”

Through connections, Flowerz got interest from Stang Records which were popular at the time with the Bubblegum sound. The label fronted money to do a recording session that produced eight original songs. Sheffer recalls leaving one Saturday morning in their Dodge wagon to a slick recording studio in Englewood, NJ. Lecce dates the session to January 1969 because on the return trip the band listened to the Jets beat the Colts in the Super Bowl.

“I remember it was real dark in this place unlike Clay’s studio which was big and bright and a real up thing,” Tucci says. “We did the most depressing song, ‘I Know I’ll Be Alone,’ which was one of those ‘end of the world, my baby’s left me’ songs and it came out real well.”

Ironically, the downtrodden tone of the material was reflected in its creators as well.

“After the session, we got disillusioned,” Stout says. “It just wasn’t the same and we were getting a lot of promises from labels. We’d get excited one week hearing that we’d be doing a session for Columbia or Buddah but things never panned out. It just got to the point where we just packed it in.”

“We were going through a lot at the time,” Skillman says. “We got record contracts and brought them to a lawyer.”

“The group even had ‘parents night’ where everybody’s family came together to talk things over,” Stout adds.

Despite the frustration, some excellent material was produced though the tracks remained unreleased. Stout considers the bluesy “I Know I’ll Be Alone” to be one of Tucci’s best songs. Eventually Sheffer departed and was replaced by keyboardist Doug Ruhf. (Erik Lindgren)