The Garage Band: A True Story

By Bruce N. Carlson

It was the summer of 1971. John and I were at his parents house sitting around talking about starting a band. John was already in a band, but was looking for something new.

We both knew of a drummer, Tom, we went to school with. He would be a good addition, if he was interested. The fourth member was Pete. Even though he didnt play, John thought he would be able to pick up bass easy enough.

We asked, and they came.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493186419

Bruce N. Carlson

I was born October 6, 1952 in Franklin, New Hampshire. After growing up and residing in Islip, New York I relocated to Newport, New Hampshire where I decided to write about Gen-u-wine Rat, a true basement band. I think there are a lot of young people out there who were in a basement band, who did have a dream of making it big. I believe we wouldn’t have the bands today if it weren’t for that dream. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did living it, if only for a while.

Book preview

Copyright © 2010 by Bruce N. Carlson. 89206-CARL

ISBN: 978-1-4931-8641-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. Date: 03/12/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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INDEX

The Introduction

The Beginning

The First Practice

The Name

Our First Job

Amityville

Battle of the Bands

Pratt

St. Mary’s

Junior Jamm

New Year’s Eve

The Last Dance

The Secret

Dedication

I dedicate this book to John, Tom and Pete, without them

this story would never happen….

The Band

Gen-u-wine Rat

Vocals                                Bruce

Guitar & Vocals                John

Drums                              Tom

Bass Guitar                        Pete

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Doreen, Pat, Jim, Mike and Martin for all your help and support that you gave us. You were always there for us. I would also like to thank John’s Mom and Dad, Doreen’s parents along with Martin’s family for allowing us to use their homes and basements for practice and special thanks to my Mom and Dad. You put up with a lot, even getting us out of trouble with the police. To my sister Wendy, thanks for helping me with the book. And last but not least, to all the people who came to