Stories and Tales

I was thinking about the band "Friends" after corresponding with you, and I figured it might be a reasonable addition to your treasure trove of San Antonio band trivia.

My association with "Friends" came in 1971, when Bob Arthur, their bassist whom I met while he was a salesman at one of the local music stores, told me he was leaving and asked if I would like to come hear the band and possibly join. At the time, they were playing at the Garter On The River, which I had known about from the days of the Six Part Invention, a popular band that was there in the late '60s. Friends was Tony Badrak on alto sax, Chris Stanish on keys and vocals, Bob on bass, a drummer whose name escapes me, and Roxanne on vocals (I forgot Roxanne's last name). I auditioned and got the gig. We played at the river location for about a month, after which we moved to the new Garter on Nacogdoches, where we played until I left the band, which was several months. Soon after starting the gig at the Garter North, we replaced the drummer with Don Iverson. We also added a guitarist named Charlie (I don't remember his last name either). Later on, we added a trumpet player, whose name also escapes me. We played lots of Chicago covers, as well as a bunch of popular songs of the day six nights a week. I left to pursue other musical ventures. Friends went on without me, however, I do not remember who my replacement was.

Speaking of the Six Part Invention, that was truly a great band. That band was Bert Brewer on drums, Bob Schulman on bass, Augie Finger on organ, George Finney on guitar, George Menefee on trumpet, Mel Winters on trumpet and valve trombone, Peter Brewer on alto sax, and Sunny Planto on vocals. They played six nights a week at the Garter On The River for a long time. That was one of the most exciting bands I had seen in San Antonio at the time. They did great versions of Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears songs, as well as other covers.

Once they broke up, Bob and Bert formed what became Cat's Cradle. Bert was later replaced by Steve Spencer on drums. Paul English, then later Ricky Hernandez, played keyboards, and Mike Sunjka played guitar. Susie Jensen was the vocalist. They were a wonderful band, playing some real rockers, as well as a handful of eclectic but totally musical material. I remember they used to do a great rendition of the entire first side of the Beatles' Abbey Road.

Well, I hadn't planned on going on this long, but as I started writing, the memories started up, and I figured you might enjoy some of these tales. Hope I have given you something you can use on your site.

Take care.....Frank