Kurt
Brame ~ Vocals
Leo
(Tom) Eberle ~ Bass
Ron
Gillette ~ Keyboards
Gene
Hubbard ~ Keyboards (B3)
Jeff
Iverson ~ Bass
Dick
Jansen ~ Drums
Ray
Kellogg ~ Bass
Dennis
Young ~ Guitar
Kurt
Brame
Ron
Gillette
Gene
Hubbard
The Prophets were a great band that got even better. All the original members went to Lincoln High and they played dances at High Schools, The Red Carpet, That dance hall at Copalis beach at the ocean. The were later managed by Puyallup radio DJ Herb Smiles.When they graduated most of them went into the military. Ron Gillette died around 1967 or 68. They got Jeff Iverson on bass guitar for a while and later he was replaced by Ray Kellogg. Gene Hubbard also joined around that time on Hammond organ replacing Ron Gillette. Around 1968 they added Bob Bennett on drums and Neil Andersson on guitar plus the horn section and became Ice
Kurt Brame was probably the best lead singer I ever heard come out of Tacoma at the time. He could sing Smoky Robinson like you couldn't believe. It was a very sad day when he passed away a couple years ago. Truly a great loss.
Tim Hill, November 2001
Here are a couple of early day "Prophets" photos: Dennis Young, lead guitar (dah!); Leo (Tom) Eberle, bass; Kurt Brame, vocals (dah!); Ron Gillette, keyboards and me. The "on stage" photo was of a "Battle of the Bands" at an NCO Club-Ft. Lewis with, I think, about four or five bands. The audience was sparse, drifting in an out throughout the day and made up of G.I.'s as you might expect... many from the East coast. Our strong R&B/Motown style went over very well. We won. I remember one group (not their names) that had superior vocals and harmony and could sing circles around us. Their song selection was more like "The Association" or "The Mamas and the Papas." Kind of "folksy" at times. In a another place and with a different audience the outcome may have been otherwise.
Richard Jansen, August 2005
This is the next level in the development of the band. Leo was planning on going to college after HS and was going to concentrate more on his studies. The aspirations of the band and the "success" we were beginning to experience, not to mention the competition was getting tougher, we mutually decided to part ways.
The Proffets
Ron Gillette voiced some concerns about keeping up with the trends in music and the band agreed. Now was a time for a major adjustment. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...as the saying goes. We needed to get an organists who could play the current trends in R&B (Booker T., Jimmy Smith, The Marquees, Billy Preston, etc.) which turned out to be Gene Hubbard from Clover Park High School who dazzled us with a little minuet at our first meeting. As well, we needed a strong bass player which turned out to be Jeff Iverson, who was taking lessons for lead guitar and agreed to switch to bass and help us. He was pretty good, but couldn't sing (we later found out he was tone deaf and hard of hearing). Our search for another bass player ended with Ray Kellogg who had been playing with "The Nobleman." We had a mutual respect for one another as bands and they encouraged us greatly. Tom Bennett, the drummer for "The Nobleman" (the fastest left hand I'd ever seen) went into the Air Force which caused a major reorganization of that group which allowed Ray to join the "Proffets". With these latest adjustments in personnel, we were off and running. I still reflect, with amazement, on the chemistry the five of us enjoyed. Everything seemed to meld together. There was a balance in personalities, musicianship, style and goals. It was really alot of fun. Our following really started to grow at this time and we were beginning to be appreciated in the dance clubs...going union help a bit too!
Richard Jansen, September 2005
Band # 641
The Proffits at The Space Age
If you have corrections, a neat photo or more information, please send it to:
Last Update: 19 January 2008
Credits: Tim Hill, Ron Jansen, Ray Kellog, Richard Jansen, Greg Beck
