Friar Tuck & The Monks
Friar Tuck & The Monks were one of the more popular bands playing throughout western and central Kansas in the 1960’s. Described as a "psychedelic soul" band, the group performed at all the area hotspots throughout Dodge City, and ventured into southern Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and northern Oklahoma. In 1969 they recorded and released their sole 45RPM single, a cover of The Beatles’ Help backed with Escape, a group original.
An Interview With Ron Bowell
60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?
Ron Bowell (RB): My Dad was musical and so we had music on around the house all the time. I got my first guitar at 13. I wanted to be Elvis.
60s: Was Friar Tuck and The Monks your first band?
RB: In 1963 I was in a group that sang a lot of Kingston Trio stuff. I heard The Beatles in 1964 and got an electric pickup for my guitar. I started a band known as The Executives. In 1965 I went to college and helped form a band known as The Mau-Maus. This band eventually became The Coachmen and in late 1966/early 1967 we formed Friar Tuck and The Monks.
60s: Where was Friar Tuck and The Monks formed?
RB: In Dodge City, Kansas in late 1966. Ron Fitch, Ron Bowell, and Richard France began work on Friar Tuck. They were joined by Gary Livingston and Don Pippitt:
Ron Bowell - Bass guitar and lead/backup vocals; Ron Fitch - Lead guitar and backup vocals; Don Pippitt - Organ; Richard France - Drums and lead/backup vocals; Gary Livingston - Tambourine and front man.
60s: Who named the band?
RB: Another musician in Dodge City, Joe Bailles, was booking our band and he thought up the name.
60s: Where did the band typically play? What type of gigs did you usually land?
RB: Friar Tuck probably played most at the Hillcrest Inn in Dodge City. The Starlight room was another dance spot in Dodge. Other clubs included The Lamplighter in Salina, Beachcombers in Great Bend, Jo-Jan-Gae-Re in Ulysses, Red Dog Inn in Lawrence, Red Dog Inn South in Wichita, The Dark Horse Inn in Hays, Rusty Bucket in Colby, Barn A Go-Go in Chase, The Touch of Gold Club in Topeka, Renfroe's in Emporia, and Coya's Castle in Lenexa.
We probably played more dances in National Guard Armories and rented halls all across Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. These jobs were pure capitalism. A hall would be rented, a front man would be sent to the town to put up posters, and the band would show up on dance night expecting a large turnout. The main problem with this method was that Friar Tuck and The Monks posters quickly became a collectors item and often the posters would come down about as fast as they were put up.
The remainder of our gigs was made up of high school proms and homecomings, fraternity dances, and outdoor fairs and festivals. One highlight was appearing with Gary Lewis and The Playboys at the Dodge City Civic Center.
All in all the guys made a pretty good living and were able to pay bills and stay in school.
60s: Did Friar Tuck and The Monks participate in any Battle Of The Bands?
RB: We never did any.
60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?
RB: We were often described as a psychedelic/soul band. Groups that influenced us were The Beatles, The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Spencer Davis Group, The Rascals, and The Kinks.
60s: Did the band have a manager?
RB: Richard France, our drummer, had his own booking agency. He booked the majority of our jobs. We played some for the Riorden agency in Hays and for Mid-Continent Productions in Lawrence.
60s: How popular locally did Friar Tuck and The Monks become?
RB: We were well known in western and central Kansas. There are those who have said Friar Tuck was the best band ever to come out of Dodge City, Kansas.
60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?
RB: We played all over Kansas, southern Nebraska, eastern Colorado and northern Oklahoma.
60s: What other local groups of the era do you especially recall?
RB: Some of the other bands in Dodge at the time were Larry Grant and The Flames, The Soul Kings, and The Rolling Five. Bands playing the same clubs as we did were Spider and The Crabs, The Red Dogs, The Blue Things, The Flippers, and Green River Ordinance.
60s: Your group recorded one 45: a cover of The Beatles’ Help b/w Escape.
RB: The Friar Tuck single was recorded at Webb Studios in Emporia, Kansas in 1969. We decided to slow it down and, as I recall, Vanilla Fudge's treatment of You Keep Me Hangin On (which we covered at shows) was an inspiration. Escape was an original that I wrote. I believe we sold 1,000 of them.
60s: What is the middle section in Help? Is that something the band composed?
RB: The piece in the middle of Help was also original. In live performance Ron Fitch sang the middle part in sort of a Bob Dylan/Val Steckline(Blue Tings) style and the song was much longer (8-9 minutes). When we cut the record we were told it needed to be shortened as much as possible to get airplay so I wrote and sang the short chorus that went onto the 45, which we recorded in Emporia.
60s: Who was the band's primary songwriter?
RB: Ron Fitch and I collaborated on a few originals and some re-arrangements of standard tunes. (I have compiled a CD) of live recordings of Friar Tuck. Nothing else besides the 45 was recorded professionally.
60s: One of the songs on the CD is an original titled Friar Tuck's Music Machine. This was no doubt an original...
RB: Friar Tuck's Music Machine was indeed an original that Ron Bowell and Ron Fitch and Don Pippitt put together. Much of our arranging was done community style.
60s: It's interesting to hear in the many live cuts that the band was well aware the performance was going to be their last...
RB: We knew that we were all going our separate ways after college by probably Christmas time of 1968. It was inevitable and there were no hard feelings at all. Barring someone offering us a record deal everyone had plans that did not include playing every weekend. We timed the release of the record for just before the last dance and sold all 1,000 copies during the month of May and June 1969.
60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances? Does any home movie film footage exist of the band?
RB: We have some home movie footage that was done in the style of The Monkees TV show. We did open for Gary Lewis and The Playboys once.
60s: What year and why did the band break up?
RB: The band disbanded in mid-1969 as most had graduated from college and were going their separate ways.
60s: How often, and where, do you perform today?
RB: I am a church planting pastor at a rock and roll church in Salina, Kansas. I get to play two or three times a week. I still have a Fender Dual Showman amp. It is a blast. None of the other guys are playing in a group of any kind.
60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with Friar Tuck and The Monks?
RB: It was a good run with some good friends. We all remain friends today. We learned a lot. We made a lot of mistakes. But all in all it was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world. I still stop occasionally in towns where we would play and check to see if the old buildings are standing.
We are talking of a possible reunion performance in Dodge City, Kansas over 4th of July weekend 2005 (Dodge City High School Super Reunion including classes from 1964-1968). I'm not sure we will be able to pull that off but it's fun talking about it.
Additional Recollections by Ron Bowell
Live Songs (Preserved on CD):
Band Intro, It's Alright, You Don't Know Like I Know, Keep On Runnin’ - Last Dance National Guard Armory 1969
Cry Like A Baby - Last Dance National Guard Armory 1969
Hey Joe - Last Dance National Guard Armory 1969
Love is a Beautiful Thing - Last Dance Natl. Guard Armory 1969
Midnight Confessions - Last Dance Natl. Guard Armory 1969
Come On Down To My Boat - American Legion 1967
You Make Me Feel So Good - Last Dance National Guard Armory 1969
Feel A Whole Lot Better - Fitch Recording Studio 1997
Light My Fire - Hillcrest Inn 1968
Break Theme - Hillcrest Inn 1968
Friar Tuck's Music Machine, Show Me A Man - Last Dance National Guard Amory 1969
I Love You - Last Dance National Guard Armory 1969
Sweet Soul Music - Hillcrest Inn 1968
You Got Me Goin' - Hillcrest Inn 1968
Little Bit of Soul - Hillcrest Inn 1968
Stormy Monday Blues - Fitch Recording Studio 1997
Hey Joe 2 - Fitch Recording Studio 1997
Final Break Theme - Last Dance National Guard Armory 1969
*All live recording done in Dodge City, Kansas
The live work was actually recorded in three different places on old reel-to-reel equipment. The primary source is the "last dance" in early June of 1969. Dave Ljungdahl set up a reel-to-reel in the National Guard Armory at Dodge City, Kansas. A second main source is a recording done at the Hillcrest Inn in Dodge City in late 1967. Ljungdahl was again the sound engineer. It was a night of goodbyes as four Dodge boys went off to the Navy the next morning. Danny Trent, Donny Cecil, Jimmy Fitch, and Terry Livingston were sent off with a free keg of beer given away. The third source of live recording was an open dance in 1968 at the American Legion Club in Dodge City.
The Friar Tuck and The Monks single was released in 1969. The songs were recorded at Webb Recording Studio in Emporia, Kansas. One side is a slowed and altered version of Help by The Beatles. The other side is a Friar Tuck and The Monks original called Escape.
Three additional cuts were recorded by Ron Fitch, Ron Bowell and his son Tony Bowell with a porta-studio unit. Feel a Whole Lot Better, Stormy Monday Blues, and Hey Joe 2 were recorded in 1997 in Kansas City. Thirty years later and the guys can still play, plus the gift has been passed down to a new generation.
History:
Friar Tuck and The Monks formed in late 1966. Ron Fitch (lead guitar) and Ron Bowell (bass guitar) had been together in bands (The Mau-Maus, The Coachmen) since 1965. They in turn were acquainted with Gary Livingston (tambourine and front man) and Richard France (drums). Fitch and Bowell found Don Pippitt (organ) in a Dodge City garage band and were impressed with his skill on keyboard. All five eventually came together to form one of the most well known bands in Dodge City history.
Friar Tuck and The Monks played a variety of music but the main criteria was that it had to be "danceable". Psychedelic rock, top forty, and even soul music found its way into the Friar Tuck play list.
The band headquartered in Dodge City and later Emporia (the guys were students at Dodge City College and later Emporia State Teachers College). The travel area consisted of all of Kansas, Eastern Colorado, southern Nebraska, and northern Oklahoma.
Travel was accomplished in a custom painted hot orange psychedelic 1951 Chevy bus. The bus had four bunks and room in the back for equipment.
The group disbanded on good terms in the summer of 1969 as the majority had made it through four years of undergraduate work and needed to go their own ways.
Personnel:
Ron Fitch (nickname Fitchy, lead guitar) was a self taught guitar player. Many a night when the rest of the guys went out, Ron would stay at home an play his guitar. The discipline paid off as he became a great lead player.
Ron Bowell (nickname Bowlzy, bass guitar, lead vocals) had received training in voice in high school and put the training to work in Friar Tuck. He started at rhythm guitar but moved to bass early in Friar Tuck's development.
Don Pippitt (nickname "Shtuttle, Peep or Wilson Pippitt", keyboards) was undoubtedly the best musician in the band as he had been trained formally in the piano. His interjection of classic themes into a feedback session on You Really Got Me Goin’ was innovative and his lick on Light My Fire is awesome.
Richard France (nickname Reech or Scrooge, percussion and lead vocals) never met a drumstick he couldn't break. He was also known for his higher than average vocal range which allowed the band to cover many songs like Bread and Butter and Stay. He was also known for his out front theater while singing lead on some of James Brown's tunes. Reech did most of the booking for the band and worked face to face with the managers of the clubs. He also handled most of the money, hence the nickname Scrooge.
Gary Livingston (nickname Doc, tambourine, MC) did a great job at keeping the show moving. He had the ability to work a crowd, always learning names and something about them. He would then use this to connect with the crowd as the dance progressed.
Equipment:
The equipment used by Friar Tuck and The Monks evolved as time went by. They started out like a lot of bands with Silvertone (Sears and Roebuck) amps and guitars. By the end of their time together they were using the latest and most powerful equipment available at the time.
Ron Fitch played a blond Rickenbacker guitar. Amplification was supplied by a Fender Dual Showman amp running into a pair of 2x12 Fender Bandmaster cabinets. The sound was enhanced by the famous Fuzz Tone distortion pedal. Ron Bowell used a cherry red Gibson EB0 bass guitar. His power came from a Fender Bassman amp played through a pair of 2/15 Fender Dual Showman cabinets with Altec Lansing speakers. Don Pippitt used a Farfisia organ. It had one of the most distinct sounds on the market. It was powered with the coveted Vox Super Beetle amp and cabinet for amplification. Richard France played Premier drums. Gary Livingston unsuccessfully searched for a tambourine that would neither break nor wear a hole in his pants leg.
The PA for the band consisted of a 100 watt Bogen mixer/amplifier and twin 2x15 Dual Showman cabinets. All lighting for the band was "homemade". Four color spots of 150 watts each were placed on both sides and in the middle. The band was also one of the first in the area to develop and use strobe lights in their show. These were wooden boxes with slits in them along with sewing machine motors on a rheostat for speed control. Three hundred watt spot lights were used inside the boxes which resulted in more than one "fire in the hole". What a trip!
Where Are They Now?
Ron Fitch went on to medical school and is a successful Ob./Gyn. He has been somewhat of a pioneer in the Kansas City area in the field of laproscopic gynecological surgery.
Gary Livingston went into education and rose to be Superintendent of some very large school districts in Kansas and Washington. He is now the Chancellor of a university in Washington state.
Don Pippitt stayed in Dodge City and helped out his parents until their deaths. He now has a degree in Nursing and works at the Larned State Hospital.
Richard France has been successful in contracting and real estate in the San Francisco, California area. He is also the proud parent of a beautiful daughter.
Ron Bowell continued playing in rock bands in the Abilene area and farmed with his dad for some years prior to going into Christian ministry. He is now a church planter in Salina, Kansas and still rockin’ every Sunday at the CrossRoads Church.
-
"Copyrighted and originally printed on
www.60sgaragebands.com
"Listen live, online to their music at Beyond The Beat Generation, 60's garage and psychedelia".