Rock and Roll Retro at LCSC College of Art and History

http://inland360.com/music/2015/02/reunion-concert-sends-off-lewiston-rock-n-roll-exhibit/

Reunion concert sends off Lewiston rock ‘n’ roll exhibit

Posted By: Jennifer K BauerPosted date: February 20, 2015

The Paradons

Lewiston’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Retrospective” will come to a close with a final send-off reunion concert tonight, Friday, Feb. 20, at the Lewis-Clark State College Center for Arts & History, 415 Main St. Lewiston.

Music starts at 5:30 with the 54 year-old, Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, classic rock band the Paradons. Portland-based musician  Simon Tucker performs at  7 p.m. Admission is free.

Members of the Paradons are Bob Kesler (keyboards), John Gardner (original member, guitar, lead vocals), and Rick Grimm (drums). The band was originally formed by three high school students in Orofino in 1961.

Simon Tucker, originally from the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley is now a Portland, Ore., based musician.

The “Rock ‘n’ Roll Retrospective”features memorabilia from a peak moment in history, when Lewiston was a thriving haven for rock bands during the 1960s. At its center was  Casey’s, an underage dance hall that brought in acts like Roy Orbison, the Yardbirds and many more. People from around the community have contributed items to the exhibit which ends Saturday, Feb. 21. Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Video is from our performance at Moscow Farmers Market.

Moscow Farmers Market June 8, 2013

The Moscow Farmers Market will host live music this Saturday by The Paradons.

The Paradons will begin at 9:30 a.m. with classic rock and roll from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. The three-piece rock band emerged from the Lewiston-Clarkston valley, though the members have changed over the years since the band formed in 1961.

“I’m not one of the originals,” said keyboardist Bob Kesler. “I joined the band later as a saxophone player, but took over the keyboard when a member left. Then I left the band, then came back, left again, and finally joined again when I moved back to Lewiston in 1991. But John Gardner (guitar and vocals) has been with us since the beginning.”

The band’s name is a mistake that stuck, a fortunate mispelling on the part of the late Joe Musiel, whose position as drummer passed to Rick Grimm.

The Paradons have played for reunions, wedding receptions, birthday parties.

“You name it and we’ve played it,” said Kesler.

The band said they will enjoy playing at the Farmers’ Market for the third year now.

“We like the varied audiences,” Kesler said. “The people from our generation recognize the songs, but the younger people enjoy the music just as much.”

We also had a special guest, Billy Bair.  Billy and I played together back in the 60's in a group called WJ and the Fantastics.

Origin of the name Paradons

 It's really a very funny story.  A radio station in Orofino would preview a lot of rock and roll records and let the listeners vote on whether the songs would be hits or duds.  The duds were thrown out of a window onto a pile of broken records.  The drummer at the time, Joe Musiel, would go through the old records and check out the names of groups hoping to find one to replace The Seniors.  He decided on "The Pardons".  As with most groups during that time, the band's name would be painted on the bass drum head for everyone to see.  Due to a misspelling, The Fabulous Pardons became The Fabulous Paradons and the name stuck.

Chipman-Taylor 2012

24th Annual Chipman Taylor Classic Car Show
Saturday, May 12th.  9:00-3:00
All Entries Welcome!!
No Entry Fee!!
Dash Plaques while they last!!
Free Hot Dogs and Coke!!
Rock and Roll Music by The Paradon's!!
Enjoy the sun and fun and tunes!!
See You There!!

Rusty Eck

Rusty Eck, who played guitar with The Paradons on several occasions, passed away. His smile, sense of humor and solid picking will be greatly missed. Rest In Peace, my friend.

LCSC Summer Concert Series

Lewis-Clark State College & Community Programs Presents the 2011 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES Performance Dates:

July 20 - The Paradons - Dance music from the 50's, 60's and 70's

Come join us for lunch and music on the LCSC Centennial Mall12:00 - 1:00pmBarbeque Lunch served by Sodexo 11:30am-1:00pm

Bogey's Grill - University of Idaho Golf Course

Summer Concert: The Paradons + Steak & Potatoes Dinner
Time: Friday, June 17 · 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Location: Bogey's Grill/U-Idaho Golf Course
1215 Nez Perce Dr, Moscow, ID

Join us Friday, June 17th from 5:30-7:30 pm at Bogey's Grill for a Free Friday Night Summer Concert featuring The Paradons.

Garfield County Fair

Garfield County residents will celebrate their rural roots this weekend at the annual fair and rodeo.This year's theme, "Don't fence me in," is a nod to the county's rural and agricultural heritage, said Garfield County Fair Treasurer Patti Murphy-Carr."It's basically like an old-time, family fair," she said. "It's very community-oriented -- not a big, commercial fair." The action kicks off on Friday morning with flowers, fruits and vegetables entries at 7 a.m., and cereal grains and hay entries at 8 a.m., along with poultry and rabbit judging at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Pomeroy. Friday's events also include the annual fair parade in downtown Pomeroy at 6:15 p.m., and live music from The Paradons from 7 to 10 p.m.

They had such a good time Friday night that we were invited back to play again Saturday night.

Lead Act For Talkin' Bout My Generation

We were the lead act for the Talkin' Bout My Generation music reunion on Friday, July 9th. Songs we played: Louie Louie, Not Fade Away/Willie and the Hand Jive, At The Hop, California Sun, Summertime Blues and Gimme Some Lovin. We also asked Billy Bair to join us on High Heeled Sneakers. Billy and I played together in WJ and the Fantastics in 1964-65. I played primarily tenor sax and occasional keyboards at that time.

Rock and Roll Reunion

Talkin Bout My Generation - Join us July 9th and 10th for a reunion of the musicians and the fans that were the 60's music scene in Lewiston, Idaho

http://www.rocknrollreunion-lewiston.com/

The Paradons at Chipman Taylor - May 8, 2010

Bob, Rick and John at the Chipman Taylor car show.

This was our 6th year playing at the Chipman Taylor car show. Hopefully we'll be around for one more in 2011.

Moscow Farmers Market May 1, 2010

Band has been rockin' through the decades
The Paradons will open the 2010 Moscow Farmers Market music series
By Alan Solan Daily News staff writer
Posted on: Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Paradons, a three-piece rock band based out of the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, might look like a band doing a reunion tour, but, in fact, they haven't really ever stopped performing.

The band was formed by three high school students in Orofino in 1961 and originally was called The Seniors. After the students graduated, the name was changed to The Fabulous Paradons.

There have been some personnel changes over the years, but the band, now known simply as The Paradons, has been together for nearly 50 years, said keyboard player Bob Kesler, who joined the band in 1965 as a sax player. The band has played weddings, birthdays, car shows and done the "bar scene," he said.

"There aren't too many places we haven't played at over the years."

One place the band has not played, however, is at the Moscow Farmers Market. That will change Saturday morning when the band will be the first musical act of the 2010 market season.

The band will play from 9 a.m.-noon at Friendship Square on Main Street.

"We're just hoping the weather cooperates," said Kesler, whose day job is with the University of Idaho Job Location and Development Office.

Guitarist and singer John Gardner is the lone remaining original member of the band.

The other member of the current lineup is drummer Rick Grimm, a valley resident who has been playing drums since 1971.

There is no one in the band named Don, much less a pair of them.

"We get that a lot," Kesler said.

The band also is not to be confused with the doo-wop group of the same name that started in the 1950s, Kesler said, adding the bands are familiar with each other.

Kesler said the band plays "classic rock" from the '50s to the '70s, but is not a highly choreographed act like the King Pins.

"We're not as elaborate," he said. "We just pretty much stick to the music. We just go out to have a good time."

The Paradons - 2005-2009

The Paradons - 2005-2009 - Bob Kesler, John Gardner, Rick Grimm, Leon Chromie

Leon Chromie

The music got a little quieter today - Leon Chromie passed away. With his cheerful attitude and bright smile, he never met a stranger. He loved playing music on his guitar and cruising in his 1956 Chevy. If you knew Leon, you knew one of the best.

I remember when Leon joined The Paradons - John, Joe and I were doing our annual bbq and playing music at my house. My neighbor, Donna Cole, asked if her brother could come over and play a few songs with us. We said sure - Leon brought his guitar and amp over, picked a few songs with us and became a member of the band.

The Fabulous Paradons - Early Days

1963 - John Richardson, Joe Musiel, John Gardner, Jon Elvin, Larry Riggers

1964 - Joe Musiel, Dave Pruessler, John Richardson, Bob Miller, John Gardner

Pictures courtesy of John Gardner

The Paradons circa 1988 courtesy of Rusty Eck. Tim Heintz, Joe "Pode" Musiel and Rusty.

The Fabulous Paradons 1964

Joe Musiel, Rusty Eck, Dave Pruessler, John Gardner, Sandy Eck

Picture circa 1964 courtesy of Rusty Eck.

The Story of the "Purple" Light

When the ambulance/hearse was purchased from the City of Kamiah it still had the red light on top - and it was FUNCTIONAL. Stories about the red light will come later but this is about how the red light became purple. One afternoon as I was driving on the way to a gig we were pulled over by a state patrolman near Jaques Spur. Being a law-abiding person, I rolled down my window and respectively handed my driver's license to the officer. Of course we had no knowledge of why he had pulled us over. The officer pointed to the red light on top and said he had received complaints from people that had been pulled over by us using the red light and a siren. I assured the nice officer that we had no siren, but he insisted on looking under the hood for himself and proceeded to the front. We knew that the hood was sprung and that if you were not careful opening it the hood would spring out and knock you on your butt. As I reached for the door handle the officer told me to stay in the rig and he would look for himself. I tried to warn him, well not too hard. We watched as he pulled the lever - the hood sprung out, hitting him in the chest and knocking him back a couple of feet. He tried to look composed while we tried not to burst out laughing. Looking under the hood, he pointed to something and said, "What's that?" I replied that it was a vacuum whistle (the whistle could be operated to sound like a siren and I had that pretty well mastered). Of course he wanted to hear it, and leaned over the fender about 8 inches from the whistle. To this day I swear the devil made me do it - I grabbed the ring and pulled sending a ear-splitting shriek into the air. The officer jumped, hitting his head on the hood and knocking off his hat onto the dirt. I knew we were dead meat. Mr. Patrolman grabbed his hat, dusted it off and stomped around to my window. Almost throwing my license back at me he roared to get rid of the red light AND the vacuum whistle or the next time he saw us he would confiscate the rig and haul us to jail. The next day Joe and I painted the lens of the light purple but at night it still looked RED! We never did get rid of the vacuum whistle.

Ambulance/Hearse

This classic Cadillac ambulance/hearse was the band rig for the Paradons. It was purchased from the City of Kamiah by Joe and Bob and was used for several years to carry all of the band equipment. Originally painted gray and black with red crosses on the doors, it was decided that a repaint was in order. After a couple of weekends of sanding it was sprayed a bright yellow - hard to miss, eh? Above the driver's compartment there was a zipper in the headliner concealing a shelf that would hold a couple of cases of "beverages". In the back, a compartment where medical supplies originally were kept would hold another two cases of "beverages". There was talk of a hole underneath the jump seats through which items magically disappeared. There are many memories, maybe we will share some of those at a future time.