thestrangers

This picture was taken at one of our first paid performances, the Sailing Club's Christmas dance at the Student Center.

From left: Arnie Reed, Wayne Jones, Andrew Reeve, Harvey Bryant and William L. "Buck" Collins.

The band formed during the fall of my Freshman year at the College of William & Mary. Wayne Jones, Harvey Bryant and I were assigned to Brown Dorm and soon discovered that we had played in high school bands.

Wayne and Harvey both sang, and Wayne played guitar, so we advertised for a bass player and drummer.

"Buck" Collins lived in Old Dominion and was interested in playing with us, but he didn't have a bass. So for the first few practices and our first gig, Buck played rhythm guitar while I played the bass lines on the electric piano.

Andrew Reeve was our only "townie," so we rehearsed at his house. Andrew was a veteran of the Queens Guard, which performs at Colonial Williamsburg.

Eleven year-old Bruce Hornsby lived nearby and often watched us rehearse.

Here is one of our song lists from October 1967, when we were starting our Senior year. By then we were a well-rehearsed, tight band with a regular campus following and steady weekend gigs.

Our first paid gig was for the Sailing Club's Christmas dance. The article was written by Bruce Sylvester, who was a mutual friend of me and my roommate Dennis Howard.

We played for our Junior Class party at Lake Matoaka

My roommate Dennis Howard wrote article for the school newspaper The Flat Hat in our Junior year. He got a lot of help writing the article from yours truly.

These pictures were taken during our final gig, a party in Richmond for the U. of R. Dental Fraternity. We decided that it would be fun to dress up in the most outlandish outfits possible. Hence I'm wearing my raincoat liner inside out over my gold Strangers shirt. Notice how short my hair is. I was preparing to enter Naval OCS just six weeks after graduation.

Here we are at an earlier gig at the same venue in Richmond. From left: Arnie, Andrew (barely visible but always audible), Mike, Buck & Wayne. In my Senior year I sold my Wurlitzer Electric Piano and bought a Panther Electronic Organ, which I never liked as much as the piano. Notice our striped pants. I still have my outfit (not that I could fit in it now!).

I'm proud of what we accomplished. I think it stands the test of time. These recordings were made the the basement of our guitarist Mike Hanson, who lived on Camp Peary.

Here is a summary of the band's earnings during my freshman year (64-65). Adjusting for inflation, we made pretty good money.

Postscript

Wayne Jones (guitar & vocals 64-68) - passed away in Richmond in 1973)

Ross L. "Buck" Collins (bass & vocals 64-68) - passed away in Seattle in 2003

Andrew Reeve (drums 64-68) - Alive & well in Victoria, BC

Arnie Reed (keyboards & vocals 64-68) - Alive, well & still playing professionally in Nashville, TN

Harvey Bryant (vocals 64-65) - Alive, well & recently retired as Commonwealth Attorney for Virginia Beach, VA

Mike Hansen (guitar & vocals 1967-68) - I saw him playing with a band in 1973 but have lost track of him.

Grandell (guitar) Haven't heard from him since graduation and don't remember his first name.