Roger Jerome and the Casuals - Photo Courtesy of Gerry Berg
Roger Jerome and the Casuals
Vancouver, British Columbia
1961 - 1964

Members
 

Jimmy Bayer ~ Piano
Gerry Berg ~ Guitar
Roger Jerome ~ Vocals
Al Leitch ~ Saxophone
Art McConnell ~ Bass
Scotty Miller ~ Drums


Alumni

Danny Baceda ~ Drums
Tom Baird ~ Keyboards, Vocals
Derek Cave ~ Guitar, Vocals
 Donny Gerrard ~ Vocals
Wes Henderson ~ Bass, Vocals
Al Johnson ~ Vocals
Don Pasmore ~ Bass
Ray Richards ~ Drums, Vocals
 

Maunus Pikker & Johnny Eccles ~ Management

In Memory of

Roger Jerome Gillespie 1938 - 2006
Listen to Roger

Tom Baird

Scotty Miller  d: 20 November 2008
Scotty was retired and had been living in Sooke, B.C. on Vancouver Island.

Gerry Berg  d: 20 July 2010

Gerry - 2008

Scotty's son Brad found this picture taken in 1962 with the band on stage at the Kelowna Regatta.  The extra two guys in the photo were our managers Maunus Pikker and Johnny Eccles.  They found us a lot of gigs and were fun to work with.

Gerry Berg, January 2009


Roger Jerome and the Casuals - Photo Courtesy of Gerry Berg

Roger Jerome and the Casuals - Photo Courtesy of Gerry Berg
We had lots of fun in the 60's, and the Casuals did very well.  We auditioned at "Danceland" for the "Teen Town Dances" and they kept us busy every weekend.  The Teen Town Dances were mostly held at schools throughout the lower mainland and Richmond, White Rock, North Vancouver, Marpole Community Centre, Clinton Hall, New Westminster, and towards the end we even did Penticton, Vernon, and the Kelowna regatta.  While at the Kelowna Regatta (alongside Guy Mitchell) "Long John" Tanner, who was the local DJ in Kelowna at the time, invited us up to his studio at CKOV and had us do some recordings for him. That same year we won the PNE "Battle of the Bands" which was sponsored by CHEK TV Channel Six in Victoria.

Vancouver was very much alive in the early 60's and I remember us playing at places like the Kubla Kahn, Smil'n Budha, Harlem Nocturne on East Hastings, Golden Horseshoe by the PNE, and of course the "Hollywood Bowl" in New Westminster.  We had to have the "Ray Charles" sound, and purchased a "Wurlitzer" electric piano from Woodwards Department Store in Vancouver, who were the dealer at the time.  (Also Roger having a Woodward's credit card kind of helped to).

Roger Jerome left the group and was doing folk songs.  I later joined him with "The Yeoman".  Art our bass player moved to the UK and was a concert violinist.  Scotty our drummer moved to the U.S.  Wes Henderson came on board and did vocals and played bass.  Singers were never a problem in the early 60's.  We had a gig at the old Lamplighter on Lougheed Highway by Willingdon and our singer couldn't make it.   LaVerne Gerrard (a regular at the old Flame Supper Club on Grandview, with the Vancouver Shades) said his brother Donny was available.  Donny filled in and never missed a beat.  Derek Cave helped us out quite a bit in the early stages with vocals, along with Tommy Baird.  Tom was quite a showman....I remember doing a "Teen Town" dance at Capital Hill Hall in North Burnaby with Tom on keyboards... .He had us all up on top of the piano, up onto the ledge above the piano, and there we were.....looking down at this wild crowd of teenagers.  Those were the days.......even Danny Baceda (later owned Oil Can Harry's) played drums for us for a while.  We would practice at his house up by the Kootenay bus loop.

There wasn't much money around in the early 60's for musicians, and I remember making copies of the Fender Precision Bass.  I made 4 or 5 of them.....right down to making the pickups with 1/4" magnets (purchased from Tormag Transmissions) and what seemed like miles and miles of magnet wire.  Wes Henderson was playing bass for us at the time and I made him a "fretless" white one.  Ike & Tina Turner were playing at the Blues Palace (old Alma theatre) on Alma St. and Wes was up there with his beautiful white bass.  I could not get the large bass machine heads and had to use guitar ones, but they worked just fine.  From 10' away you couldn't tell the difference.   Wes and Tom went on to Motown and I know they also wrote a few songs for "Three Dog Night" along with Wes' wife Lynn.

Roger Jerome (Gillespie) has now retired after many years with Long & McQuade Music in Vancouver.  We are still great friends and I talk to him and Ray Richards all the time.  Roger, Ray, and Derek come to the odd www.youngandtherestless.net gig and still have it!

Gerry Berg, September 2006


Cards provided courtesy of Gerry Berg


Roger Jerome and the Casuals won the P.N.E. battle of the Bands in 1962 sponsored by CHEK TV



Three Original Members of the Casuals - Photo taken in the 1980's
Gerry Berg, Ray Richards, and Roger Jerome Gillespie

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Last Update:  22 July 2010
Credits: Roger Stomperud, Gerry Berg, Gord Walkinshaw, Brad Miller

Band # 1628