A Short History
Tod and Bud met at the University of Nevada, Reno, where they sang with other fraternity brothers at small clubs and beer busts. The Dean of the Business College gave them one day to quit drinking and gambling. They picked Nov. 14. Dean also sang with a folk group at San Jose State where he majored in Melonesian frog worship.
In 1968 Bud and Tod met Dean through a mutual friend and realized that they had similar interests in music and humor. More importantly, Dean bore a striking resemblance to Nick Reynolds. They started performing in the San Francisco Bay area and developing the act. The Kingston Trio was a major influence in the selection of their repertoire. They were the catalyst that prompted them to buy their guitars.
They continued to refine the act during the rebellious 70s. Long hair, sideburns and mustaches appeared along with some protest songs, but the acoustic guitars and striped shirts remained. Audiences continued to support them enthusiastically through those years and would only rarely throw things.
The 80s found them organizing and promoting some old time "hootenannies" with several very talented local folk and bluegrass groups. They were also featured one evening with the great talents of Stan Wilson and had the good fortune to open shows for Pat Paulsen, country singer Teri Gibbs, Glenn Yarbrough and John Stewart.
Through all this they never had the burning desire to leave their chosen careers and seek the fame and fortune of performing on the big concert stage of Reno, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. So far it's working out pretty much that way.
Twenty years of performing together was fast approaching without any sign of recording something for posterity. Guns were drawn and words like "or else" and "I can't spare the time" and "who is this chick Posterity?" crept into their discussion of the project. Finally a mutual commitment was made and they plunged forward with terrific support and help from special friends. They wanted to make a "live" recording in order to preserve 20 years of what friends and fans had come to know them to be -- just three rather ordinary guys having the time of their lives. Their performances are laced with tongue-in-cheek humor about themselves, as is this writing. (In fact, only half of this is true. But, which half?)