Product Fyve
Boise, Idaho
1966 - 1967

Members
 

Steve Cederburg ~ Vocals
Mike Fisher ~ Lead Guitar, Vocals
Frankie Pierce ~ Rhythm Guitar
Richard Sanders ~ Bass
Mike Wallace ~ Drums, Vocals
 

In Memory of
 

Frankie Pierce
8 Dec 1950 - 27 Feb 2013

When I joined the band in 1966, the personnel consisted of Steve Cederburg, Mike Fisher and Richard Sanders, who had known each other since junior high.  They were looking for a drummer, and I happened to have been one since 1964, but hadn't yet been in a band that had actually performed in public.  After several rehearsals, it was decided that another instrument might be a good addition, so I invited one of my friends, Frankie Pierce, to try out as our rhythm guitarist. That completed the lineup.

Our first paid gig was as opening and intermission entertainment for a magician (who happened to be our bass player's dad, Don Sanders) on Halloween at the NCO club at the local National Guard installation, Gowen Field.   During the time we were together we played just about anywhere we could plug in our amps... grange halls, drive-in restaurants, departments store grand openings, frat parties, battles-of-the-bands, etc.  In fact, at least once, we played three gigs in the same day!  Probably our finest moment came in the fall of 1967 when we finished 3rd (out of 21 entrants) in a statewide battle-of-the-bands held during the Western Idaho State Fair.  A cousin of mine was in a fairly prominent band out of Ontario, Oregon at the same time, and they finished 9th, so I got family bragging rights out of that, as well.

We played more music by the British bands of the era than anything else, and a lot of that was album cuts and 'B' sides:  Tthe Rolling Stones' "Off The Hook", "Oh, Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin')", "Paint It Black" and "Empty Heart" among them;  the Beatles' "Things We Said Today"; Them's version of "Gloria", and our take on the Kinks' take on "Dancing In The Streets".

However, not long after that both our lead guitarist (Mike Fisher) and lead singer (Steve) joined the Marines and eventually went off to Vietnam.  Richard moved with his father to Mill Valley, California until his return in the summer of 1969.  Frankie and I continued on through a couple more bands over the next couple of years.  When Richard returned in '69, the three of us (and another guitarist) formed a band called "Ex Libris"... but that's another page.

As of this writing, all five (Fyve?) of us are still among the living, and I am still in touch with each of them, some more often than others.  I still consider them all as my friends.  I'm sure it's true of almost everyone's 'first' band, but this was a band and a time and a feeling that I'll never recreate again in my life.  I've been in many better bands in my life, but there's something real special about that first one.

Mike Wallace, February 2012
hardprom@hotmail.com

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Last Update:   2 March 2013
Credits: Mike Wallace