Vintage String Collage 1998

Jazz at The Flame St. Paul MN 1950-'51

Attention Jazz Fans Minneapolis Labor Temple Shows 1951-'53

Telephone Book Montage Oak Knoll 1962

Skyway 12 Club Wayzata 1965

Johnny Winter Guthrie Theater June 29 1969

Minneapolis Labor Temple Shows 1969

Early Concert Experience... Muddy Waters at the Guthrie Theater July 14 1968

Saw two concerts in 1968; Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix. 

Got a Telecastor that summer, started High School in the fall 

and started playing with Mojo Buford that winter.

Gear 1970

I bought this second hand Stratocaster in early 1970 and used it with
 Will Agar's extra Gibson Les Paul Amp on our gigs with Mojo that spring.
Nice combination... Wound up getting a Fender Twin Reverb
just before our show with B.B. King at the Depot.

Beatles and Stones 1964

I was one month shy of my 11th birthday when I saw The Beatles on 

the Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964. That got me excited about 

the possibility of playing music. Later that year I asked for a 

snare drum and hi-hat for Christmas. I wound up with a guitar instead 

and eventually set about dissecting Keith Richard's guitar bits.

Django in Minneapolis Nov. 13 1946

Django Reinhardt played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 13 1946 

with Duke Ellington's orchestra. This was his only U.S. tour.

 In the upper right corner is one of the few letters that Django wrote. 

This one happens to be on Hotel Nicollet stationary.

Early Concert Experience November 2 1968 Jimi Hendrix at the Minneapolis Auditorium

Electric Ladyland had just been released and the original band was still together.
"Red House" was a highlight for me, great blues guitar playing.
Hendrix played "Star Spangled Banner" and "Sunshine of Your Love" as a tribute
to the recently disbanded Cream. He played his guitar with his teeth, flirted with
the girls in front and made everything look genuinely easy.
These photos were snapped by my friend Lindsay Smith as we stood down front.

1st Concert Experience August 5 1966

Seeing this band in person made a big impression on me as a 13 year old guitarist. 

I had seen Jeff Beck play one-handed guitar on "Shindig", bought their records and 

learned "Mr. You're a Better Man Than I". "Shapes of Things" was on the radio 

that summer and I couldn't get enough of it, especially the guitar solo. 

They had a new bass player named Jimmy Page, pictured above standing in the
Dayton's rooftop parking ramp. Photos courtesy of John Morris.

"Big Reggie" on the Beatles August 1965 Twin City a Go Go

While my older sister was off to the Beatles' concert I had the pleasure of

spending a warm summer evening in my parent's front yard enjoying
the rock 'n roll sounds of the "Poorboys" playing an outdoor pool party at
our neighbor's house.

Musical Relatives

My grandfather and cousin were both born and raised in the Czech community 

that settled in the northeastern corner of Iowa in the mid 1800's. 

Freddie Fisher spent his childhood in Garnavillo and my 

Grandfather Joe Prochaska farmed just outside of Protivin. 

The rich musical tradition associated with Czech culture

produced many musicians on this side of my extended family.

Mojo Buford Blues Band 1970

In 1970 we played a number of shows at 

the new Depot nightclub in downtown Minneapolis. 

Opening for B.B. King was the most memorable.
Dick Garrison was the band's drummer that year
and played on all of these shows

Photo Session Sun Newspaper Oct. 9 1969

Juxtaposing models and musicians was a popular practice 

in the '60's, glamour and grit I guess...This was our opportunity
to provide some visual background for the local suburban
Sun Newspaper, October 9 1969. 

Photos by Frank Agar.

B Sharp Music December 1966

B Sharp had a great bulletin board with autographed pictures of all the
stars of the day; Beatles, Stones, and everybody on down.
It was mesmerizing to look at, a real work of art preserved under
what appeared to be Saran Wrap. I read that it went up in smoke
when the store burned to the ground in May 2005.

1967

In my first year of learning the guitar I happened to see a band called the More-Tishans at the MN State Fair. I noticed that one of the guitar players kept his hand in the same position as he moved it up and down the neck. I moved to the front of the stage and stared at that hand until the image was burned in my brain. I held my hand in that position all the way home and applied it to the fingerboard of my guitar as soon as I got there.
Voila! I had discovered the bar chord...

Tools of the Trade... Guild, Gibson, Fender and the Vox Distortion Booster 1966-'69

In 1966 distortion units were commonly called "fuzz tones" 

and they were hard to come by. I remember calling just about every music store 

in the phone book to try to locate one. Occasionally a saleswoman would answer 

the phone and when I asked if they had a "fuzz tone" 

I would inevitably get laughed at and hung up on.