KRACKER
- Rock 'n' roll Warriors
Perhaps it was in
the
Summer or maybe in the Fall of 1977 that the narcotic scourge of disco
reached an ignominious apex from whence began its inevitable
decline.
Surely, in the city of Spokane, Washington, this would hold true. For
out
of that place and time emerged KRACKER: an excitement generating rock
'n'
roll turbo producing a power sufficient to crush that snakes head
of
pre-recorded disco mania: that beguiling serpent who subdued Spokane's
nightclub scene like a false idol mesmerizes a heathen.
Refusing to lay
their
rock 'n' roll souls beneath that golden calf, KRACKER was, in the
beginning,
branded as outcasts. Marginalized under disco's cheap and easy fame,
the
group was relegated to performing within the confines of seedy dives,
small-town
gigs, frat houses and the like. But these engagements were not done in
vain. For it was in these obscure places of low estate that
KRACKER,
those puritans of rock, honed their craft. And indeed they honed it
well.
For, in time, the establishments wherein they plied their musical wares
could no longer contain the growing numbers of pilgrims escaping
disco's mundane message. And the fans came in droves seeking baptism
under
the thundering rock 'n' roll fury that was KRACKER.
And the group
gained
in stature, reputation and fame; distinguishing themselves within a
broad
pantheon of booking agents, record executives, producers, disc
jockeys,
trade magazines and promoters. As KRACKER albums began selling in their
thousands, and as KRACKER music filled the airwaves of the Inland
Northwest,
so the venue in which they performed did change. Thus it happened that
the group moved from the nightclub stage onto the concert stage; and
from
there into the halls of glory.
So who were
these
valiant rock warriors who led the vanguard against disco's infamous
name?........
They were MIKE STIRN: the founder of KRACKER: the song-writing
lead
guitarist who skillfully wielded his ax like a phalanx to penetrate the
hearts of swooning young female admirers.
And there was STEVE SAMSEL; the lead singing composer whose song
writing
abilities and well seasoned voice gave KRACKER the clean, original and
expressive sound that put heart behind their thunder.
And there was AL BRAUN; the bearded bassist who presented himself on
stage
as a foot stomping viking in drag whose throbbing bottom notes formed
the
solid foundation upon which KRACKER built their sound.
And there was DALE DUNSMOOR; the soft spoken but hard hitting drummer
whose
simple, steady rhythm pulled the group through each song like a
powerful
locomotive.
And there was CHUCK BURBANK; the irrepressible, uncompromising
producer/audio
tech who pushed the P A system to the limit of its capacity and beyond;
ensuring that the decibel level remain sufficiently high to cause death
among small animals.
And there was TOM HALL; the brilliant young recording technician who,
after
engineering The KRACKER Album, went on to great success with other
recording
groups of renown.
Then there was Sheldon Miller the song writing, showman, singing
drummer
who played funky powerful beats, and really had the ability to get the
audience involved in the show.
So hail to you,
KRACKER;
you rock 'n' roll warriors of the night who bore the torch and fought
the
fight: who kept the faith while others fell: whose strength endured
through
disco's hell. And now you guitar-clad boys, remembered till this day,
can
surely look back with pride and say "We stood as watchmen on the wall,
we held our posts though lesser men did fall. We were those mythic
warriors
who stood for right; who vanquished mediocrity that rock's light may
shine
bright. Yes we were those rock 'n' roll warriors of the night who bore
the brunt of disco's might; we few, we valiant lads who fought the good
fight."
Chuck
Burbank,
October 2002
Sheldon Miller,
January 2008
Tony Winslow
passed
away May 4, 2004 after a courageous battle with Multiple Sclerosis.
Tony was a
founding
member of The Capers, and the Northwest Rock and Roll Band, who toured
the state for the Governors Council of the Arts in the early
1970's.
He also worked with groups such as The Kingsmen and Junior Cadillac
before
joining Dennis Roberts whom he worked with for many years.
Tony joined our
band,
Kracker for a short while before his illness forced him to retire. He
was
a talented guy who had a great sense of humor and was always fun to be
around. He will be greatly missed.
Steve
Samsel,
May 2004
After Dale
Dunsmore
left the band he was replaced by Sheldon Miller. When I joined
Kracker
Al Braun was still the bassist at the time. I did get to play
some
shows for a short time with Al Braun on bass. Al Braun left and
was
replaced on bass by Gary “Smitty” Smith who was later replaced by
Jim Bartlett. Later one of Sheldon’s contacts, L.A. based Don
Tunnel,
came on board as the band’s manager.
Sheldon
Miller,
January 2008, February 2009
I played bass
in
Kracker for a bit. I believe I replaced Al Braun, original
bassist.
Sheldon joined on drums at the same time I joined. Steve Samsel
came
& went & was sorta replaced by Gordon Deems (guitarist
extraordinaire).
My tenure was
about
six months but it seemed like an important time for Stirn, trying to
keep
his band going. They did an album before me & one after me
but
no recording with me.
Gary Smith,
November
2008
I joined Kracker on bass guitar at
the
beginning of 1981. We gigged around Spokane and Coeur d'Alene playing
at
Goofy's, The Ratskeller, Cotton Club, and others.
We mainly played in Canada as "USK"
(to
avoid confusion with a Canadian "Kracker"... USK meaning United States
Kracker. I THINK that's the way it went - can't exactly remember. Mike
Borderman was on drums. We played a wide variety, including
some
new wave (Squeeze, Splint Enz, DEVO, etc) as well as the Stones, The
Baby's
and of course, a lot of Steve and Mike's original stuff which was
excellent!!!!!
Mike's wife Carole ran the sound
board
AND sang harmonies from there as well-nice job!
I really enjoyed being in the band.
We
took a trip to LA in March, driving down from Edmonton-... five people
in an equipment laden step van freezing our asses off. Good times!
We went down to play some "showcase"
(free)
gigs . . . Don Tunnel was the manager and he arranged the trip. He had
ties with Spencer Davis (Gimme Some Lovin') and Spencer was going to
produce
the band.
I'd been playing bass for a couple of
years
and was adequate. I'm sure that I would've been replaced, at
least
in the studio. I was not an experienced recording bassist, that's
for sure! Plus, I'm pretty direct when it comes to
opinions,
and I thought Don was taking advantage of the band with 25% off the top
for management. It was pretty steep, I thought, especially since
we were only playing club gigs at that time. We went all the way
to LA to play 4-5-6 shows, and they all canceled except for one at The
Central (later The Viper Room of River Phoenix fame) and the other at
the
OK Corral.
I don't know how the whole Don
Tunnel/Spencer
Davis thing worked out. I was fired in June or July. Dave Nordstrom (I
think that was his name) became available, and truth be told, he was a
better player than I was and seemed to fit right in. I probably
would've
fired me, too.
Mike was an excellent player-slide
guitar,
and, had a cool look on stage. Steve sang his ass off and did a great
job.
His talent was obvious and fit the band.
Mike was like me, competent but not
spectacular.
He sang a little and also had his pilot's license. We went flying
once and I bounced the landing (I also had my license) . I don't
know what happened to Mike, the good guy.
I did run into Mike in Spokane in
1999.
He looked the same as he did 18 years earlier. Don Tunnel? I have
no idea where he is.
Bob
Sluys, January, 2011
Kracker
- Waste of time (USA 1978)
on
YouTube
Al
Braun's You Tube Page
Steve
Samsel
Available
at CD Baby
