mirage
Mirage
Mirage ended my 11-year hiatus from playing music professionally, which started in April 1977 when I left Inner Light to spend more time with my family while my children were growing up.
After returning from an August, 1988 vacation at Nagshead where I got to sit in with the house band, The Wilder Brothers, I was all fired up to play music again.
As with Inner Light, I answered an ad in the Washington Post. Vocalist Chelsea Gahar had formed a classic rock band with Keith Fansler (guitar), Steve Bray (bass) and Brad Tresek (drums) and was looking for a keyboard player. I answered the ad, won the audition and several months later became the leader when Chelsea quit following our New Year's Eve gig (88-89). After returning from a month in Florida, she was dismayed to learn that the band had learned "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and "Hot Blooded" instead of the pop country songs she told us to learn while she was gone.
After Chelsea left, the group decided we wanted to continue since we had already put so much work into the and. I became the leader, because I was the only member in whose house we could practice. Over my wife's protests, I sold our AT&T stock to buy a PA and light system for the band.
We auditioned dozens of female vocalists and picked Gadget White, whose energy, spunk and grit impressed me and complimented the band's ballsy approach to 70s-80s classic rock. The Gadget White Band is tearing up the Houston, TX area. Check 'em out!
We had another round of vocal auditions after Gadget left the band. Jan Crawford got the job and sang with us during my last year with the band.
Mirage prospered from late 1988 and into 1990, grossing a little over $50,000 (over $96,000 in 2011 dollars). Our kick-ass "deep tracks" brand of 70s-80s classic rock attracted a loyal following. I spent one Sunday afternoon each month printing, stamping and mailing 400 to 600 postcards to fans who had joined our mailing list. We became the Australian Embassy's house band for Halloween and New Year's Eve.
Take a listen to some of the songs below and see for yourself.
At the Topkapi Restaurant in Vienna. From left: Steve Bray, Arnie Reed, Brad Tresek, Gadget White and Keith Fansler
Rockin' the Topkapi
Playing a bar in Woodbridge. The three pictures above were taken early in the band's history, while we were still borrowing Chelsea's PA and lights.
Our promo picture. When it was taken, we had named ourselves "Change of Pace," but when we got the proofs back, we noticed the name ("Mirage 1000") of the spotlight that the photographer had chosen as a backdrop. We decided we liked the name "Mirage" better, and it was already in the picture.
Here are some audio tracks from our last demo recording, which was made with Jan Crawford. I intend to post some audios from our Gadget White years.