Music Style Neo Classical Apocalypse Renaissance Fusion

Musical Influences The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds, Country Joe, Frank Zappa, John McLaughlin, Miles Davis, too many more to list.

Similar Artists What you thought?

Artist History The Whale got his name in 1969 when he was a member of the infamous Castle Gardens Gang. They didn't play music, but they had a lot of fun. Some of them spent time at the Detroit House of Corrections. I want love and affection not the house of correction. Fortunately whale managed to avoid entanglements with "The Man". Whale's musical career started when he split his chin open at a community swimming pool in Garden City. I think it was 1964. His mom bought him bongo drums and a "Meet The Beatles" album to cheer him up. It worked. Whale soon developed a taste for Bob Dylan as well. "Bob's songs really seemed to have something to say." Thanks Bob. Detroit had a lot of great music in the sixties and Detroit Radio was second to none. Around the time T he Who came out with "I Can See For Miles & Miles" there was a drum set in the basement. "I really had to learn that drum part Keith Moon was playing, so I sat down and figured it out." After that, Whale was hooked on drums and Rock and Roll. Whale's h ouse soon became a haven for neighborhood musicians and the Castle Gardens Gang. There was rarely adult supervision but things never really got out of hand. One Labor Day weekend we decided to set the gear up on the patio and play out side. The neighbor o ver the fence was having a barbecue and called about five times telling us not to do it. We were tuned up and ready to go when the neighbor came to the fence screaming and waving his arms in the air. I went over to ask him what was up. He screamed , "Di dn't we request that you don't make all that racket?" I calmly replied, "Yes, but we don't play request." On return to the throne (that's the chair a drummer sits on) we broke out with a sort of Blue Cheer rendition of the Eddie Cockrin song "The Summer Time Blues". Then the police showed up and shut us down. They said they could hear us a mile away. We were loud. Stuff used to rattle of the shelves in the basement. Whale was also an avid painter and aspired to be an artist. Mostly day glow posters under a black light. Rowen & Martin had Goldie Hawn's body painted. Whales subjects were often bikini clad girls from the neighborhood that were hangin out in the basement with the rest of the gang. Who say tv's not influential. We used to skip school an d have jam sessions after the folks left for work. eventually we got caught and Whale was expelled from school. There were a number of other incidents that lead up to this. Back in the sixties and early seventies, we used to stage sit ins and protest over things we didn't like about the way the establishment did things. This came to a screeching halt when U.S. Government Troops started shooting unarmed students dead. Most hippies weren't prepared to die for their beliefs. Are you? At this point, Whal e's father got custody of him and his brothers. We moved to the slums of Grosse Pointe Farms. Michigan that is. They have a lot of clicks in Grosse Pointe. Mostly rich kids. Whale graduated and split. It was the middle of a blizzard and Whale was fed up. So he borrowed a sleeping bag from the friend that named him Whale and had the guys drive him to the free way. "I'm going to California." Don't go Whale, California doesn't really exist, it's a figment of the imagination. They arrived at the free way a nd Whale said, "See ya." Around Chicago, the snow turned to freezing rain. A motorist stopped and gave him a ride to Minnesota. He wasn't going there, but it got him out of the freezing rain. In Minnesota some guys in a pick up truck tried to run him ov er. Whale jumped the ditch and escaped with his life. When he got to Interstate 35 he decided to head south thinking, "It might get warmer." He hitched a ride from an A.W.O.L. soldier in a souped up Mustang. "I'm going as far as Fort Riley Kansas", he s aid. The soldier was tore up. He had been partying hard for a week or so before he real iz ed his leave had expired. He really needed a break from driving and Whale took over. We were almost to Fort Riley when I woke up. The Mustang was leaving th e road and I could feel the gravel under the wheels through the steering wheel in my hands. I s aid, "Oh God!" and the car came to a safe stop. The soldier woke up and took back the wheel at this point. We arrive in Fort Riley and I had him drop me off at Grey Hound. I took the bus to Denver. To be continued.

Group Members The Whale and who ever else he can find.

Instruments voice, guitar, keyboards, percusion

Location Westland, Michigan - USA

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