The
Thin Red Line -1960's
Jim
LeCluse, David Hoole, Dennis Peck, John Stefanuk, Byron Beauchene
Thin
Red Line
Cranbrook,
British Columbia
Seattle,
Wasington
About
1966 ~ 1978
Members
Byron
Beauchene ~ Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals
Dave
Birch ~ Bass
Robbie
Day ~ Bass, Trumpet
Dick
Dorwart ~ Saxophone
Dave
Hoole ~ Guitar, Vocals
Robert
Porcaro ~ Vocals
John
Stefanuk ~ Lead Guitar, Vocals
Lynn
Stokes ~ Rhythm Guitar, Trombone, Vocals
Ken
Yip ~ Drums
Later
Members
Mike
Allan ~ Bass
Orly
Anderson ~ Bass
Eric
Birkeland ~ Keyboards
Doug
Booth ~ Drums
Joe
Chemay ~ Bass
Michael
Crouse ~ Bass
Oscar
DeZoto ~ Drums
Jim
L'Ecluse ~ Drums
Chris
Leighton ~ Drums
Steve
Nelsen ~ Drums
Steve
Metcalf ~ Bass
Rick
Osborne ~ Guitar
Dennis
Peck ~ Guitar
Gary
Ruhl ~ Bass
Tom
Sparks ~ Guitar
Crew
John
Austin ~ Sound
Doug
Boad ~ Sound
I had
been
at the first practice as a guitar player but I opted out when Dick
Dorwart
departed.. I later joined on as a keyboard player about the same
time the band's name was chosen.
This is the
version
that worked through agent Paul Handler in Spokane back in 1967.
We
all quit our day jobs and gave it a whirl. After a disastrous
tour
to Utah and following a cancelled tour with the Fireballs, I quit the
band.
The booking agent had been black-balled by the union for not paying the
Troggs for a tour and the Fireballs refused to play. The tour was
to start in Winnipeg and finish in the USA. At least we got to
party
with the Fireballs in Winnipeg but they got paid to drive there from
Clovis,
New Mexico and we got to play Lethbridge on the way home for gas money.
I ran into the
Thin
Red Line again in 1976 at a little bar south of Seattle and there were
no original members left. Rick Berglund and Bob Vaquero were the
only two Canadians still in this great band.
The later stage
of
the band was working out of either Seattle or Vancouver but that is
long
after my stint.
Paul Handler
would
bring The Thin Red Line down to Spokane from Cranbrook to play The Cool
Blue Inn when the house band "The Rotations"
had a weekend away. I remember hearing them one night at the club
and seeing these "2 x 4 Guitars" in bright colors all over the
stage.
We partied with the boys that night and I can still remember two of the
guys calling each other "cabbage farmer" and "cement head".
My current band
is
Canadian
Crossfire
Byron
Beauchene,
April 2008
I won't mention
the
chick in Utah in the white mini and thigh high boots that disappeared
under
the stage with our singer and caused our sudden departure sans pay to
Canada.
The sign out front said The Thin Red Line from New York City anyway.
Good
thing I had a credit card because the band was running on empty. We
followed
that up with the Fireballs tour that went in the tank and we got deeper
into my credit card. After leaving the band I ended up taking a Gibson
330 to settle the account. That Gibson wound up being pawned by my
daughter
(who was just a baby on the Utah trip) for gambling money in Calgary,
Alberta.
I had sanded the red finish off it and stained it an orange brown
shade.
I'd love to find it again some day. Best damned guitar I ever owned and
I even wrote it up in my song "Hang On To Me"
Byron
Beauchane,
April 2008
I was on stage at the Ratskeller
Inn, C'oeur D'Alene, Idaho,
with
my British Columbia (Cranbrook, BC) band “The Thin Red Line” when Neil
Armstrong walked on the moon in July, 1969. One of those “where were
you
when…” moments you never forget.
We stayed in a cheap motel near the
club.
One afternoon, we returned from breakfast to find our room overrun with
cops, ambulance attendants and firemen. It seems a maid,
mistaking
for a dead body the sleeping form of our horn player in a bathtub full
of tepid water, had called the cops in a panic. In those days,
believe
me, the last thing a “long-haired, hippy musician” wanted to see in his
motel room was a bunch of crew-cut, curious cops.
David Hoole, Vancouver, BC,
September
2011
I was the lead Singer in the
band
from 1969 through 1978 when we disband in Seattle, Washington.
When the band moved to Seattle in
about
1972, we were one of the hottest tickets around Warehouse, Parker's
(Aquarius),
Pipe Line, Flight Line and it goes on and on.
Bruce Allen and I watched the band
break
up using so many different players, some 27, I think. I lost
count.
Birkland and I stayed till the end.
Would love to do a reunion .
I know the originals are all still
playing.
I'm working in Seattle and still singing and writing as well as
recording
my own stuff ( 3 CD's ) and playing around with some great talent.
Anyone up for a Thin Red Line band
with
Porcaro, Peck, Anderson, Birkland and L'Ecluse?
Let's get the word out! I could be a real blast.
Rob Porcaro, September 2011
In June 2013, we had a reunion visit
and
jam session of some of the original band in Cranbrook, B.C.
Those present were Dennis Peck, Lynn
Stokes,
Jim Lecluse, Dave Birch and Byron Beauchene. We're planning another
session
next year.
Byron
Beauchane,
June 2013
If
you have corrections, a neat photo or more information, please send it
to:
Last
Update: 18 June 2013
Credits:
Darryl Riffero, Lisa McKitrick, Mike Allan, Chris
Leighton, Richard
Evans, Brian Boad, Orly Anderson (Harreson
Caldwell),
Chuck Burbank, Gary Ruhl, Byron Beauchene, Oscar DeZoto, Robert
Porcaro,
Lorne Truscott, David Hoole,
Band
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