VOYAGE

• Once upon a time, I was in the band Voyage which debuted at the Holiday Inn in January, 1976.
  
  Original Band Members:
  
  

  Top Row
  Ed Kefauver		keyboards, vocals
  Bruce Fransen		alto and tenor sax, flute, clarinet, vocals, percussion, guitar
  Middle Row
  Dale Hooper		guitar, vocals, bandleader*
  Phil Carter		vocals, trombone, drums, percussion
  Brian Baumgardner		drums, vocals, flute
  Bottom Row
  Charles Donald Schattenberg who went by Don or Schatt		tenor, soprano and bass sax, flute, vocals, percussion
  John Freytag **		bass, vocals

  
  * Phil called the tunes. Dale signed the checks.

  

• I had never been on the road. Bruce took me under his wing and helped me survive our times away from home.
  
  
• We had yellow VOYAGE t-shirts made with Carl Skenk Production written on the back. Here's the story on those: It was not uncommon for us to announce that someone at the club was wanted on the phone. One evening, during one of our breaks, John walks up to a mic on stage and announces: "Telephone call for Carl Skenk. Carl Skenk, telephone." Other than a slightly odd name, I didn't think anything of it. A week or two later during one of our breaks at another club, Bruce and I were sitting at a table talking with some folks when we heard John again: "Carl Skenk, you have a telephone call, Carl Skenk." Well, Bruce and I looked at each other and busted out laughing. The people at the table had no clue why which made it all the funnier. You had to know John and you had to be there, but it really was a hoot. So, Carl Skenk was born and became our fictitious production manager.
  
  
• John was an interesting guy. He could say more in three or four words than the rest of us could say in three or four sentences. He had nicknames for a few of us:
  
  

  Bruce		Spruce
  Don		Little Ball of Sweat
  Brian		The Green Lantern and The Middle-aged Teenager

  
  
  
  • Bruce came up with a nickname for Ed: "Schmedley Montague Kefauver, III" which he would say in a thick, British accent.
    
    
  • Dale used to call himself "that Hooper boy" with the 'oo' pronounced like the word book. If I recall correctly, he said he was called that along the way growing up.
    
    
  • Phil's nickname was Flip. I assume he came into the band with that nickname already.
  
  
• Once we came out with our yellow VOYAGE t-shirts, some friends of the band decided to follow suit. Abby/Dede had one of them made; Nancy/Pat the other one. We wore these a few times on stage during our first set. These t-shirts have been boxed away for decades and somehow stayed with me through about a dozen moves. When I remembered them, I found them in the attic. It's a wonder any of them survived.
  
  
• Although we busted our butts four or five sets a night, six nights a week plus rehearsals, after paying our bookie (Starleigh Entertainment still in business), truck payment, etc., we took home slightly more than minimum wage. However, I really enjoyed my time and felt privileged to work with these talented musicians. Voyage made a big splash and it was quite a ride while it lasted.

  

** Sadly, John is no longer with us. If you were fortunate enough to hear us play the disco version of the Theme From Star Trek , you heard how good a bass player he was. If only we could play our opening song just one more time.

Jan 20, 1953 - Sep 8, 2019