So we're about to the 11th grade I believe. This is when I started playing with Eric Leifert (guitar) and Steve Keister (drums). Steve's brother Mike played guitar very well too but he was a bit older and already in college.
This was another big turning point for me musically. Eric and Steve exposed me to Robin Trower, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc. - basically more of the heavy and moody stuff. They were into Zeppelin and Rush as well. We hit it off pretty good. We had a great circle of friends too. Much partying :)
At some point in the 10th grade Phil Hurd and I started to form a band with Donald Davis on drums. I was playing bass. I don't even remember where the bass came from to be honest. We didn't last long. But I figured I ought to mention it.
When I first heard Robin Trower's Bridge of Sighs album I about lost my mind. This music was AMAZING. Really amazing. James DeWar was a fantastic vocalist. And Trower! Wow! Trower played the most incredible stuff. He still does. When you first listen to him it seems simple but as you dig in his music is very rich with subtleties and complexities that are just brilliant. I've listened to Bridge of Sighs more than any other album ever. I've owned the LP, 2 cassettes, and 3 copies of it on CD!Another reason I remember this time period is because it was around this time that I traded away my Antigua Telecaster for a piece of crap Ibanez Iceman. Yucko.
So Mike D. played bass with us and I'm sure a few other guys did along the way as well. Who knows? We played stuff like The Ocean, Freewill, War Pigs, Iron Man, Livin' After Midnight, etc.
We didn't have a singer really. Bob Stanley would come over and sing once and a while. Bob was fun and really wanted to be a singer. Mostly he wanted to get stoned and cruise around Lake Barcroft.
We usually practiced at Steve's house early on. His parents didn't seem to mind the racket and it was handy for Eric since they were next door neighbors.
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