Band Affiliations:

The Mauds – Years active with Marv Jonesi: early 1969 to May 1970

Hometown: Chicago/Wheeling

Style of music: rock/soul/R&B/blues

Original personnel (again – during my time): Jimy Rogers – lead vocals…Mike Schwab – bass and backup vocals….Denny Horan – drums…myself – guitar and lead/backup vocals…Richard Tufo/Sam Alessi – Hammond organ…Frank Laurie – trumpet/backup vocals….Denny Speigel – trumpet….Jim Zollers – trombone….can’t remember name (?) – sax/flute.

Personnel changes: The horn players all left sometime after the summer of 1969….Richard Tufo left and Sam Alessi replaced him on Hammond some time in 1969. NOTE: I had replaced original guitarist Fuzzy Fuscaldo in early 1969.

Overview of musical style, scene: Before I joined the band, from its birth in 1967 (I think) Thr Mauds were more of a teen-appeal band, having several local hits (Hold On, I’m Comin’, Soul Drippings). When I joined the band it had morphed into a powerful jazzy rock/soul band with four horns. We got signed to RCA Records. We recorded one single – Man Without a Dream (written by Carole King/Gerry Goffin) backed with Forget It, I’ve Got It. I don’t think the record was ever released or promoted commercially (though I do have a copy).

“We played a club called Barnaby’s on State Street – where I would sit in with Taj Mahal, Mike Finnigan and The Serfs, members of Chicago (then called CTA), and with drummer Joe Vitale from the Ohio band Marblecake – he later became Joe Walsh’s drummer of choice.”

The Mauds played all the Chicago-area teen clubs (The Cellar, The Wild Goose, Valley View (in Frankfort, IL),the Deep End, and others. We also played night clubs in Carbondale (Bonaparte’s) and other venues up and down the state.

Jimy Rogers passed in 2010. Frank Laurie lives in southern Nevada – don’t think he’s playing at all. Richard Tufo ended up producing records for Curtom – Curtis Mayfield’s label. Have no idea where any of the others are or what they’re doing.

Flash – Years active: 1970 – 1972
Hometown: Chicago
Style of music: soul-rock

Original personnel: Jimy Rogers – lead vocals…John Christy – Hammond organ….Marv Jonesi – lead vocals/guitar….John Hardy – bass/backup vocals….Marc Coplon – Drums/lead & backup vocals.

When and how formed: Flash was formed by the members of several other Chicago-area bands – including The Mauds and the Soul Machine. The first few months of Flash it was still called The Mauds – the name change came in mid (?)-1970.

Philosophy/style: We tried to make music that would uplift people’s spirits – positive, funky, and well-played and sung. We played mostly originals and a few covers. We put the band togethe in LA originally – then moved it back to Chicago. We went back and forth between the two cities several times. We played the Whiskey aGoGo in LA in April 1971. After which the band broke up for a while – as four of the members returned to Chicago – I headed for the Bay Area, where I played on a few sessions and stayed for several months with Mike Finnigan – future keyboard player for Dave Mason, CSNY, Bonnie Raitt, etc. In August 1971 I returned to Chicago and Flash reformed and began gigging again.

We recorded four demo tunes at Columbia Studios in Chicago – none of which was ever released or signed to a label.

“We were practically the house band at a club called Beaver’s on State Street. Buddy Miles used to sit in with us when he came to town. Also Joe Kelley – the late great Chicago bluesman sat in, along with many other local musicians and friends. We also played downstate at several Red Lions (Champaign and Bloomington) and other clubs. We played several clubs in the LA area also – in Anaheim, Santa Monica, Whittier, and LA proper.” – Marv Jonesi

We continued gigging as a five-piece until New Year’s Eve 1971 – at which point John Christy left the band and we continued on as a four-piece band until about May of 1972 – at which point the band broke up.