Entrevista a Ben Wayne

Segunda entrevista con un integrante de The Event que ofrecemos: la realizada por mí a su batería Ben Wayne en el verano de 2003.

Nota: La fotografía de Wayne que subimos con esta entrada nos ha sido cedida por su autor, Jason Garcia, de la Positive Action Mod Society, veterano modernista/scooterista de San Diego hoy afincado en Phoenix, Arizona:

http://www.facebook.com/jasonjgarcia

Publicaremos varias instantáneas de su archivo personal próximamente. Thanks so much, Jason!

1) Where were you born in? What year were you born in?

San Diego, CA, 1971.

2) What was your childhood like? Did you grow up in a family that loved music? Do you remember what got you interested in music when you were a kid?

I had a good suburban childhood. We (The Event) all grew up in University City. My parents were into '60s music... Dad played piano and he introduced me to Ray Charles, Jimmy Smith, Booker T., The Rolling Stones, and that kind of R&B based stuff. I got into Mod music through my older brother, David. He was into The Jam and The Chords' type of power pop. I also liked The Small Faces, The Who, and those 60's Mod bands. Living in San Diego we got into the garage/psychedelic bands--Gravedigger 5, Tell-Tale Hearts. Ken, Mike, Tim, and I used to go to concerts at San Diego State's The Back Door to check out these bands. We also liked The Milkshakes and The Prisoners. John Hanrattie who played in The Gravedigger 5 managed The Event for a while. He got me into some of the more obscure freakbeat stuff that was coming out on Bam Caruso--Wimple Winch and that type of stuff.

3) How did you get started playing the drums? Were your parents supportive of your musical ambitions?

I bought an old Ludwig and started playing in the garage with Mike, Tim, and Ken... I think we were in 7th grade. Our parents were supportive.

4) What was the Mod/sixties scene like in San Diego in the late '80s? What other sixties-styled bands did you like from around that time?

San Diego was a lot of fun during this time. Lots of bands, cool places to play. We liked The Tell-Tale Hearts, The Nashville Ramblers, The Trebels, Plasticland, The 3'Oclock, The Birminghams, The Chesterfield Kings, etc.

5) Tell me about the first groups that you played with. What kind of music did you play?

The Event was formed in Junior high school. We played garage/power pop stuff in our early years.

6) How and when did you meet up with the other members of The Event? What do you recall about how the group was formed?

We were best friends. We had wanted to start a band in 6th grade. We finally did it in 7th or 8th grade. We started out as The 4 Infidels, and later changed to The Event.

7) Did The Event have any leaders? Who were the group's main songwriters?

We collaborated.

8) Please tell me about the members of The Event. Were they nice people? How did you get along with them? As a band, were you all friendly?

We were kids who grew up together. That's why we had so much fun. We were buddies.

9) What did The Event sound like? What were the biggest musical influences of the group?

Early on we were pretty Mod. We got more psychedelic in the end.

10) Where did you rehearse? Were you good musicians?

We played in our garages. We all sucked at first, but it didn't matter because we had fun.

11) Where and when did you play your first live show? Where did you use to play? What bands did you play live dates with? Tell me about your live shows. What did your set list look like? What cover versions of '60s tracks did you do?

1st live show was in the basement of a club called Croce's in downtown San Diego. Before that it was mostly parties in University City where we played for drunk Heavy Metalers who wanted to kill us. We played easy covers--Wild Thing, Gloria, Mashed Potatoes. Later we played with Manual Scan, The Nashville Ramblers, and all those San Diego bands.

12) What kind of following did you have? Were most of your fans Mods?

Mod kids liked us. However, many of our punk and metal friends liked us too. We weren't closed minded. In fact, most of our friends were not Mods. Many of the Mods in San Diego saw us as being strange because we were so young and we were into music more than scooters.

13) Could you please tell me about your relation with Domenic Priore, Audrey Moorehead and Mike Stax?

We were all friends. They were older than us. They came to see us one night and we played John's Children, Birds, and Creation covers. They had never seen the band before. We were much younger than them, but they dug us. Domenic, Audrey, and Mike were all very nice and helpful. Mike still plays in San Diego, and I see Domenic from time to time in S.F.

14) Tell me about the Event's demo. Where and when did you record it?

Don't Remember much, but Ken Naylor has a copy and I'd love to get my hands on it. I don't have it anymore. We must have been 15 or 16 when we recorded that.

15) Please tell me about the Event's LP. What do you remember about the recording sessions? How do you feel about it now?

I had a lot of fun. I don't think that the album captured the band's live performance. We were a show--smashing stuff up and lots of theatrical stuff. The album was a bit tame for my taste. You get a glimpse of the band though.

16) Did you ever do any radio or television shows with The Event?

Audrey and Domenic did their cable TV '60s dance show--It's Happening or something like that. We played on college radio--UCSD.

17) When and why did The Event break up?

Tim and I went to college--UC Santa Cruz.

18) Where did you go after The Event?

Santa Cruz and San Francisco Bay area.

19) Finally, how do you see The Event from 15 years down the pike?

A group of fun-loving pals who liked wearing funny costumes and playing rock and roll. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.