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
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
If
you have corrections, a neat photo or more information, please send it
to:
Last
Update: 22 July 2010
Credits:
Roger
Stomperud, Gerry Berg, Gord
Walkinshaw, Brad Miller
