In the
mid
to late 60's , I was at a concert held in Sick's Stadium and the show
starred
Janis Joplin, Steve Miller and several name bands, all for five
dollars.
A supposedly local band opened the show and I never heard of it (before
or since) . Their name was Butterfat.
Robert
McCormick,
6 November 2002
There was a band
out
of Seattle called Butterfat around 1970. They occupied a
community
house in north Seattle that was formerly operated by Jimmy Winkler.
They
were a good band, but I only remember a couple of their players.
Ed Rooney on bass and Henry Sondie on sax.
Robin
Feetham,
15 October 2003
Butterfat was
from
Casper, WY. They came out to Seattle for the first time in
'69.
Later they became Earthquake and
the
Tremors after Earthquake Anderson moved back to Seattle.
Jerry
Christie,
January 2007
The lead guitarist
and
vocalist for Seattle-based Butterfat (originally from Casper, WY) was
Corey
McDaniel. Bill Hayes was bassist. Bill later died after a
motorcycle
accident. Jack Lucy was also involved with the band.
Peter Cohee,
June
2006, Boston, MA
Butterfat did have
Paul
Huber and Donny Teasdale for a while, since they all came from Casper
with
Cory and is girlfriend Karen Paisley in late 60's. The Bands
first
name is Casper and in Denver in 60's was the Eddies. After a short time
in Seattle Butterfat formed and that is when Bill Hayes of Casper
joined
them. Donny and Paul might not have been in Butterfat very long since
Paul
painted more than music and Donny started playing with Linda Waterfall
about that time.
This year,
2008,
Cory has come back for re-uniuons in 8/08 and 11/08. . Donny told me
this
summer that our friend Karen Paisley (rip) was like a mom to that house
full of hippy boys. I was in Denver and talked on the phone with her
and
Cory exchanged letters to get up. In 1971 I came to Seattle for Xmas
with
the goups home. This was before Hank and other joined.
Currrently
Cory is a star worth following. http://www.thetremors.com/index.php?navarea=news.
His two man band Tremors toured this summer with Spenser Bohren in
Germany
and Italy. He is a one man act too. Last check out Cory's
new Myspace page is a work in progress (my daughter is making for
him).
The page says "Cory McDaniel is a creative singer, song writer and
guitarist.
Born on the high plains surrounded by the Rocky Mountains in the
western
United States, he was "always in rock bands," eventually wandering up
to
Seattle and opening for acts like the Youngbloods and Janis Joplin. In
1986, after a jaunt to Alaska, he returned to Casper for good, joining
forces with Dale Bohren to form the core of the Tremors. Cory wandered
into a love of the blues by traveling. Cory was first inspired by the
Big
Band sounds his parents played at home. Later, Paul Butterfield, Muddy
Waters, Howlin Wolf, Oingo Boingo’s Danny Elfman, Tom Waits and Leonard
Cohen influenced his song writing and arranging.
In 2005, he was
asked
to perform at the Mettmann Blues Festival in Mettmann, Germany as a
soloist.
Bluesweek organizer, Wolfgang Pieker, said McDaniel was “sensationally
good,” and added that although not all musical solo tours are
successful,
“with Cory McDaniel, you can be sure of an aura that was present at the
Tremors’ shows of the past.” This European tour set in motion the
desire
to move forward as a soloist. Since then he has performed at a variety
of venues in the USA.
A solo album
"Save
A Soul" is in the works which will be comprised of mostly live
performances.
Cory continues to perform with Dale Bohren as what is "Wyoming's only
two-piece
trio." The Tremors returned to Europe in June of 2008, for a wonderful
tour of Italy with Spencer Bohren. The Tremors continue to play locally
and have been asked to return to the Mettmann Blues Week in Mettmann,
Germany
in March of 2009. See tour schedule at www.thetremors.com.
BG Russell,
a
friend of Cory's, December 2008
My brother,
Allen
Hoglan, just finished playing a reunion with members of the
band.
He is friends with Henry "Hank" Sondie who lives in Port Townsend,
Washington.
Ken Hoglan,
September
2008
My husband,
Mikal
Priess, (then called Gary), was from Casper Wyoming. He was sound
man/mixer for Butterfat in the early 70’s in Casper, Seattle and on the
road to Alaska, Portland and elsewhere. He lived in the community
house in North Seattle with the band, then later moved to the Fremont
neighborhood
in Seattle by himself a year or so before I met him in 1974.
He was a great
audio
engineer who refused to mix the sound as loud as the drunken fans at
the
Medicine Show Tavern wanted it, thus incurring their wrath and several
beer bottles lobbed at his head. He stuck to his guns, refusing
to
distort the music or break people’s eardrums and managed to end the
evening
with his head intact and a happy band.
He lost contact
with
Butterfat over the years although he and I did stay with Bill Hayes for
awhile in 1979 when Bill was living in Casper.
Mikal made
great
reel to reel tapes of the band which were some of the best rock ‘n roll
blues ever recorded. He probably had the only copies.
Sorry to say
that
my beloved, talented, Rocky Mountain boy, Mikal, died of a heart attack
on October 19, 2009….35 years together wasn’t enough… My heart is
broken.
Susannah
White,
Seattle, November 2009
Paul Huber designed the Butterfat
Postcard
Stephanie Hancock, May 2011
I met him (Herk) the very first day I
visited
the band, Butterfat, in Seattle. The group consisted mostly of
guys
from my hometown of Casper, Wyoming, with a drummer from Cheyenne, and
a saxophone player from, I think, Mars. Herk was their manager,
and
they were really lucky that he was interested in doing the business for
them, though I imagine it must have worked out in his favor
somehow.
This was the very early 1970's, which was just an extension of the
better-known
"60s," with all the attendant craziness, spiritual questing, hippies,
long
hair, wild clothing, sexual promiscuity, loud music, recreational
herbal
and pharmaceutical drugs, draft-dodging and low regard for anything
resembling
authority. And Butterfat pretty much wore all of those things
openly
on their sleeves. In the middle of all of this madness that
passed
for reality, Herk stood out as a very hip, grounded, businesslike,
presentable,
mannerly presence. I don't know to what extent he participated in
the trappings of the hippies, but he fit right in, and he had an easy
authority
that allowed him to take charge of our ragtag band and actually make
progress
with us.
Herk always looked impeccable.
He
was the first person I knew to dress in vintage clothes, drive a
restored
vintage vehicle, collect antique furniture and accessories, and
generally
practice the retro-style that has since become a hallmark of the
Pacific
Northwest. He had class. He had glorious long hair, like
Buffalo
Bill. He was worldly. He had money, which we did not have,
and he always seemed generous to me. Butterfat was only part of
what
Herk did for a living, though I didn't have much of a handle on
whatever
else he was involved in. I know that he loved to buy and sell
antiques,
old cars & trucks, and stuff like that. I suppose he a bit of
a hustler, but he did it with style, and he reaped the benefits of his
efforts. There was something kind of heroic about Herk
Hancock.
He was bigger than life, and someone you'd want to know. Those
days
of 1970 to maybe 1972 will always be special to me. And part of
the
reason is most certainly Herk Hancock.
Spencer Bohren, New Orleans, LA
