| With some help from
Lorne Saifer, I became the first
artist on Columbia's new Portrait
label in 1976. In those days
it was very cool and chique [sic]
to have a billboard on Sunset
Blvd. In all honesty, it was
a big moment inside my head,
having that billboard there for
two months. This was right
at the top of La Cienega as you
turn right on to Sunset
Blvd. Funny ... as I'm
lookin' at this now, it seems that
the Burton on the billboard looks
a bit creepy. -- Burton Cummings 2012 |
|
If memory serves me well
enough, it was a cold, snowy, mid winter
Saturday afternoon, much like today in
Winnipeg…it was the era of the earliest
phases of the Deverons….probably '63…as
good as my recall is, I'm not concretely
certain what the exact lineup of guys was
that afternoon…I know Edd Smith was there,
and Derek…maybe just Savoie on drums and
no Bruce Decker yet…probably could be
that, as that was the lineup that played
the Cellar…ah yeah…the long gone,
legendary Cellar…
We, as a very young, naive band, were
working a lot, seemed we were "catching
on" somehow…we had a gig booked at one of
the Community Clubs for that Saturday
night, but we'd agreed to do an afternoon
show at Rainbow Dance Gardens on Smith St.
right in downtown Winnipeg. There were
starting to be Friday night dances there,
and sometimes the crowds were huge…nice
high stage and an "old ballroom" feel and
vibe, so no matter who the band was, they
felt big time…really a remarkable place to
play.
There we were, that early selection of
Deverons, a winter Saturday about two p.m.
and it was time for us to go on stage…Edd
and I looked at each other…there were
three paying customers there.
We'd agreed to a percentage of the door
that afternoon, cause we were playing that
night anyway, so as far as our young
brilliant business minds were concerend,
it was all cake or gravy…yikes…we played
till four pm and unplugged and packed up,
thinking about that night, where ever it
was going to be, maybe River Heights, or
Lord Roberts, or Pirates in Transcona, or
Edmund Partridge School out in West
Kildonan…not a lot of people had shown up
that day at Rainbow…came time for us to
"get our percentage…divvy up our cut…"
We got two bucks…fifty cents each. We got
our winter coats on and departed
seperately, to meet three and a half hours
later for a real Saturday night of Winter
Rock…great days for toughening up, but
pretty depressing at the time…in Winnipeg,
most of the guys in the bands were pretty
young in those days, and the competition
was palpable. Some guys were getting
records from England before us and singing
the songs on a Friday night at some club
or school, and if they beat the other
bands, the buzz went all over town. I
remember one time, the Deverons had the
rare night off, and I went to see the
UnNamed with Ralph Watts and Ron Risko at
some club…Ron was singing "Show Me That
You Care" by Gerry and the Pacemakers, and
I hadn't heard it before…I was floored.
Felt I'd been scooped or one-up'd…this was
how immediate the vibe of competition was
then…it wasn't even one of our own
Winnipeg songs we were tussling over…it
was just "who got the new stuff first"…
After that revelation that night, I recall
when "I'm Down" came on CKY one Friday
night as an exclusive…I was floored once
again, and turned it up…I tried to recall
enough of it from that one listening in
the car on the way to the gig, enough, I
guess, to call it out on stage that night
and fake my way through it with the guys
doing their best to follow. None of us had
rehearsed it with all those stops and
stuff…or the solo…we just faked our way
through it…just kids…don't really know
what the hell I was thinkin', but in those
day s, I guess the guys went along with a
lot of what I did…
The Deverons…River Heights Community
Club…a Saturday night "regular event"
through a particular three year period…I
can still almost feel as though I'm there
on a Saturday evening…
and speaking of that, it's Saturday
evening now…so it's time to listen to some
sixties music, perhaps a few of the songs
the Deverons used to do at River Heights…
Wishing all a great weekend…peace and
calm…
BLC
As posted on the BURTON
CUMMINGS FACEBOOK PAGE, January 7,
2017
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All photos by David M. Perich
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