Felicidades
Portland,
Oregon
1976
- 1979
Members
Nick
Gefroh ~ Timbales
Dave
Grafe ~ Bass
Mark
Grafe ~ Flute
Larry
Haggin ~ Guitar, Lead Vocals
Bobby
Johnson ~ Guitar
Chris
Kern ~ Steel Drums, Vibes
Lewis
Livermore ~ Trumpet
Cato
Lyles ~ Percussion
Al
Nohlgren ~ Saxophone
Danny
Schauffler ~ Saxophone, Flute
John
Smith ~ Keyboards
Bobby
Torres ~ Percussion
Tim
Tubb ~ Trombone
Scotty
Wardinsky ~ Congas, Timbales
Heather
Grafe ~ Manager
Felicidades in 1977
John Smith, Chris Kern,
Bobby Johnson, Danny Schauffler
Front Row;Dave Grafe,
Wheatflower(
dog) Larry Haggin, Hassan, Laurie Sammons, Bef Grafe
The
progenitor
band for Crazy 8s, and Nu Shooz was (and
is)
a group called Felicidades founded in 1976. This Rock-Reggae/Latin
group
consisted of Danny Schauffler, John Smith, Dave Grafe, and Lewis
Livermore.
They evolved into NU SHOOZ (1979) who went on to chart on Billboard Pop
Charts at #3 with "I Can't Wait." Dave Grafe dates further back to the
early 70s with bands like Foothill Diesel, and Skyriver, and later Joni
Harms.
The Crazy 8s
formed
on the U of O Campus in about 1983. The 8s were selected, as a “novelty
act” for Star Search, and scored 4 stars rivaling their opponents,
Sawyer
Brown. Danny Schauffler quit the NU SHOOZ, after recording “I Can’t
Wait.”
While the SHOOZ single was climbing the charts, the Crazy 8’s college
hit
“Johnny Q. Public” was getting broad rotation at college stations in
New
York, many states in between. Getting gigs on campuses all over
the
U.S and Canada was no problem for the next decade. Quarterflash had put
Portland on the map, in 1982, with “Harden My Heart.”
Marv and Rindi,
would
hire the horn sections from both the Crazy 8s, and NU SHOOZ for big
events,
like Neighbor Fair (in front of 300,000, fans, or the end of the Elton
John tour at the Paramount. Lewis Livermore (of Nu Shooz) played
trumpet
on most the Crazy 8s albums. He now plays with Pepe and the Bottle
Blonds.
This horn section Lewis, Danny, and Tim Tubb is still together on
reunion
gigs, such as Felicidades summer show at the 2007 Oregon Country Fair,
and Crazy 8s 20th anniversary. The Felicidades 30 year reunion was a
milestone
in Oregon Rock History. Now with 14 alumni, Felicidades comprised John
Smith, Lewis Livermore, Dave Grafe, of NUSHOOZ, and Tim Tubb and Danny
Schauffler of Crazy 8s, Bobby Johnson of Foothill Diesel and Skyriver,
Bridge,+ and The Sinners. The musicians that make Felicidades click,
Chris
Kern on Steel Drums, Scotty Wardinski (professor at UCLA) on Congas,
and
Timbales, and Larry Haggin, lead vocals and guitar. Their “Garth
Huddson”
was Nick Gefroh, who played in the Portland Rock-Latin Jazz scene back
into the 1960s. He taught them how to put the right Latin rhythm
patterns
together.
Dan
Schauffler,
December 2008
The Felicidades band became Nu Shooz and
was
nominated for best artist Grammy 1984 #3 hit on Billboard"I Can't
Wait".
Indicated below are members in this photo who went on to play with Nu
Shooz.
Front row left: Danny
Schauffler
sax, flute (Nu Shooz) Dave Grafe bass (Nu Shooz)
2nd row: Chris Kern steel drums,
vibes;
Larry Haggin lead Vox guitar; Heather Grafe, manager; Scotty
Wardinsky
(Nu Shooz), percussion; John Smith, piano (Nu Shooz);
Bobby Torres, percussion (played at Woodstock with Joe Cocker)
3rd row : Cato Lyles,
percussion
(Nu Shooz co-writer 'Make your Mind Up'); Lewis Livermoore, trumpet (Nu
Shooz);
Al Nohlgren (Upepo 1975); Nick Geofro,
drums; Mark Grafe, flutes.
Danny Schauffler, July 2010
Felicidades - 2010
Woodburn
Reunion
Includes Tim Tubb
(trombone
far right) of Crazy 8s and Danny Schauffler, sax (Crazy 8s)
