States like Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas and the Dakotas in many ways constitute a unique 'world-apart' within the USA. Although not too far from the bustling hubub of Chicago, the upper Midwest represents something of an outpost beyond the highly industrialized Midwest states of Ohio, Michigan or Illinois.
The more you move west or north, the more you come across places with indian names; the prairies extend ever further and you feel the immensity and isolation of the region.

When the rock 'n' roll of the '50s started to spread throughout the states, it formed the basis for a local music industry in the upper Midwest. By the early '60s, a strong network of clubs, dancehalls, booking agencies, studios and labels, in co-operation with DJs and local music mags, enjoyed a large and profitable independence.

There were few, if any, opportunities to see national stars on a local stage. Area groups therefore enjoyed a high level of popularity, and even prestige. The DJs promoted their records and the public reaction was not just positive, but often rabid. Popular bands could work within a 500 mile radius, appear practically every evening at school dances or teenage clubs and earn more than a good amount of money at it. They could be regional stars and make a great living out of their music throughout the years, but remain unknowns within the national music industry.

One of the '60s bands who made it big in the upper Midwest were the Embermen Five. They were active from 1965 to 1969 - and musically they were responsible for...

PUTTING MINOT ON THE MAP

The Embermen Five Story

In 1963, 16-year-old Ron Boen moved from Tooele, a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah, to Minot, North Dakota. While registering to attend high school, Ron mentioned to the secretary that he wanted to start a band. She told him that her son was interested in playing drums in a rock and roll band. His name was Herb Parker Jr, and ironically, his and Ron's father had gone to college together.

Ron had already taken his first musical steps. At the age of 15 he had founded the Continentals, and even prior to that he played with a band named Danny & The Downbeats. Herb started piano lessons at age seven and had his first musical experiences in school orchestras and choirs. As a teen, he began arranging and composing songs. With this background, the two decided to get something going. Shortly afterwards, Bob Johnson on bass and Paul Unwin on guitar were added to the band. Both went to the same school as Ron, as did Pete Luxom, who joined on lead guitar and completed the line-up of the Demensions.

The Demensions were an all-instrumental band and rehearsed for almost a year before they appeared in public. "The first song we learned was 'Pipeline'", remembers Ron, "the first vocal song we ever did was 'Twist And Shout'. Herb sang it at one of our rare live performances and afterwards the rest of the band was very much upset with him for singing it".

Little did the guys know that this event was the starting point of their future style. At the end of 1964 Pete left the Demensions. Herb remembers the situation: "When he decided to join another group, Paul said he knew this kid called Larry Tanner who played lead guitar. We asked him to audition. All we had to do was hear him play a couple songs, and we knew we had a great lead player!" Ron is also still impressed by the memory of Larry's ability. "Larry's method of playing was quite unique. He had incredible rhythm in his playing and fit perfectly into our style. He tuned his guitar like a steel guitar. His father had been on the Grand Ole Opry and taught Larry to play like that".

Meanwhile, the British Invasion was at its peak. Herb in particular was a real fan of the Fab Four, and the band gradually incoporated more and more Beatles material into their live set. It also turned out there was another band around called the Dimensions. Although those guys spelled their name differently (and correctly, as it happens), the Demensions thought it best to avoid confusion and changed their name to the Embermen. After a while, the "Five" was added. At that stage Herb, Ron, and Bob were all 18, Paul 17 and Larry just 16.

We're now in early 1965 and at the beginning of the history of a band that Midwest-'60s rock historian and record collector Tom T. Tourville describes in his book Rockin' The Northern Plains as "North Dakota's best '60s group".

The first live appearance of the Embermen Five was at a basketball tournament, and their first paying gig was for a performance at Berthold High School. "We received a total of $20 for the dance", laughs Ron, "and we thought it was big money!" Herb concedes that, "Our early days we were mostly just practicing and playing for school dances. But we soon had a great following from the high school kids in Minot. Some would come many miles to hear us."

Their talent and determination ensured that the Embermen Five built up considerable popularity, and they were playing regularly on weekends throught '65. They began venturing into nearby towns and before long were performing all over North Dakota. Ron managed their bookings, a job he handled for the entirety of the band's existence.

As their success continued, plans to record a single naturally arose. Ron found a recording studio in Minneapolis through an advertisement. The session price seemed reasonable and after one year of existence, the group recorded their first 45 at Kaybank studios. But the project started out as a steeple-chase.

Ron recalls, "The record was financed with a bank loan and we took a train to Minneapolis because we didn't have a car and our parents wouldn't let us use theirs'. We then had to take a taxi to the studio with all our equipment in it. We only had enough money to purchase about twenty minutes of recording time. When we got set up, we discovered that Herb had left his drum pedal in the taxi. I will never forget him saying 'Don´t worry, I remember the taxi, it was yellow' - I thought the rest of the band members were going to kill him!

"We were in a panic because our recording time had already started. So we ran out of the studio and Herb saw a taxi about two blocks away. We ran it down and unbelievably it was the same taxi and in the trunk was that drum pedal. When we got back to the studio we had just enough time to record one take of each side. That is exactly how the songs appear on the record. Herb and I were so out of breath from chasing the taxi, I am surprised we could even sing the songs."

The tracks the boys managed to put down that day were two group originals, written by Herb Parker Jr: 'Fire In My Heart' and 'Without Your Love'. While the B-side is a romantic ballad, the brooding 'Fire In My Heart' is well-described in Jim Oldsberg's Lost & Found mag (# 4) as "basic no-frills garage-rock".

The 45 was released on the Studio City label (SC 1053) in June 1966. Herb explains what the deal was all about: "The Studio City label was simply the label of Kaybank recording studio. The deal was that Kaybank would distribute a certain amount of the records to radio stations around the country, and also give 1000 copies to us, which we sold completely. I remember hearing 'Fire In My Heart' several times on Oklahoma City radio stations, and some of my friends stationed in the armed forces said they heard it in California, Texas, and so on. We were teenagers. I think if we had a manager at the time, the song could have been a national hit."

Regional success was a given, at least. 'Fire...' took the #1 spot on the Minot radio station playlist for six weeks and received extensive coverage on radio station KFYR Bismarck, at that time the top rock station in the state. Even KOMA in Oklahoma picked it up for quite a bit of play.

All signals showed 'green' for the Embermen Five when they entered a Battle Of The Bands contest at the North Dakota State Fair. The grand prize was a recording contract. Although the boys didn't finish at No. 1, the promoter was more interested in their music than in the winner's and suggested to the band an interesting deal. Herb elaborates: "We were asked to come to Minneapolis again to re-record the record plus four more songs. I think originally we were to go to Chicago, but went to Minneapolis instead.

"A woman named Gloria was financing the recording I believe, and the label was going to be the Gloria label with Chess Records distributing. We were asked to sign a contract for performances, but it would have meant leaving school. At that time we were all in college except for Larry who was still in high school, so we turned it down. I have no idea what happened to the recordings, but I remember I was not pleased with the recording session."

Were the Embermen Five sorry for missing a big chance? "Not really", Ron says. "Of course we always dreamed of the big time, but I don't think any of us seriously put the music ahead of our studies. You will remember that this time period is during the Vietnam war and anyone not in college was surely drafted. That made college a pretty strong incentive."

On August 15th 1966 another highlight in the band's young existence came up. They were booked as the opening act for the Beach Boys appearance at the Municipal Auditorium in Minot. The guys were understandably nervous prior to go on stage, but as Bob told it in an article published in the Minot Daily News at that time, "it came off great." Another interesting sidenote from that event comes from Ron: "The Beach Boys liked our equipment better than their own, so they used it for their performance."

The Embermen Five's popularity continued unabated and in addition to heeding their collegiate duties they played gigs as far as Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota. They even made forays into Canada on a few occasions, particularly Winnipeg, Manitoba. As the Gloria/Chess deal had fizzled, the band went back to Kaybank and recorded four new songs there.

Again all tracks were written by Herb Parker Jr. While 'That´s Why I Need You' and 'Baby I'm Forgettin' You' were prime '60s punk killers, 'Someone To Hold' was a brillant pop-garage number; 'My Love For You Won't Die' another straight ballad. The band believed in 'That's Why I Need You', with it's great choppy rhythm, haunting organ and biting guitar break, and made it their next A-Side. On the same 'garage level', maybe even better, is 'Baby I´m Forgettin' You', a sublime, driving number with gritty fuzz bass and a fabulous siren-like Larry Tanner lead solo. Truly one of the greats of American '60s regional rock.

The difference in style between the punkier tracks and ballad-type tunes the band recorded is obvious. Herb Parker: "I really liked 'Baby I'm Forgettin' You' which was the follow-up to 'Fire In My Heart'. The slow songs I wrote were simply for variety. I didn't have a favour for romantic ballads, I preferred rock and roll. Our sound was what I like to call 'raw rock and roll'. But I can see how one would think of it as punk rock, especially 'Baby I'm Forgettin' You'".

In the summer of 1967 both singles were released on Studio City. 'That's Why I Need You' b/w 'Someone To Hold' (SC 1062) and 'Baby I'm Forgettin' You' b/w 'My Love For You Won´t Die' (no number). But by that time radio station policies had changed. The DJs were new and less interested in playing local talent. So the band decided to release the third single as well and promote both records at dances. "To put out both 45s at the same time was a big mistake on our part" says Ron, "because as a result no individual song got tons of airplay. They all bombed big time which is too bad, as a couple were terrific'.

The band nevertheless continued on their way, and consolidated their reputation as one of the most exciting live acts in the upper midwest. "Our recordings don't completely reflect the sound of the Embermen Five", Ron regrets. "The group used a lot of three and four part vocal harmony. We also did a lot of Motown type music that isn't reflected in our records."

Although the band was formed primarily for the fun of making music, for a bunch of college students they made quite a lot of money with the group. Ron explains why: "We cared a lot about how we sounded and how we looked and had the reputation of being very clean-cut. I think that added to our popularity and maybe allowed us to get paid more for our appearances than others." The Embermen Five were one of the first bands in the area to have a tour bus paid for through some extra percentage they got through their regular participation on tickets sales on their shows. An unusual deal for a regional band in the '60s.

After three years of existence, the band's first real problems occured in early 1968. Lead singer Herb was a music major in college and the heavy gigging was taking toll on his vocal chords. To get some pressure off him, the band added Larry's 15-year-old brother Jerry as a second vocalist. As was the current trend in the Midwest, the Embermen Five now incorporated a horn section into their live act. Bob played tenor, Ron alto-sax and Paul played the trumpet.

1968 is also the year when the band's last record was released. This time it wasn't recorded at Kaybank. They went to the small Century studio in Fargo, North Dakota, that also ran a custom press. Herb explains the simple reason for the change: "We were not contracted with Kaybank and Century Recording was closer to us, so it was less expensive." The record came out in May 1968 with a b&w picture sleeve.

Surprisingly, it was not the powerful, horn inflected A-Side 'Do You Have To Be So Cruel' that became the hit, but the Jerry Tanner sung flipside, 'Tomorrow Never Comes'. This was a c&w song written by Ernie Tubbs in the 1930s. Ron: "We came across it through a B.J. Thomas B-side and recorded it simply because we liked the song. It was a big change from anything we had previously done. Although it was our second biggest hit, it too was actually the B-side to what we thought was the better side."

But the end of the Embermen Five was on the horizon. In the summer of 1968 Larry Tanner left for personal reasons. He joined a band named Pierson Lake for a short while and recorded two 45s with them. In the fall of the same year, Herb Parker dropped out because of a busy schedule in his senior year in college. In the spring of 1969, Paul left to go on active duty in the marine corps. In June Bob got married, but continued to play with the band.

The Embermen Five officially ceased to exist in July of 1969. Ron describes the situation: "We had always planned to play together until we graduated from college, unless of course, we got that big break. Since Bob and I were the only original members of the group, the fun was gone. So we two, along with Jerry and two other musicians we had picked up to fill in, ended on a high note." Although the band still enjoyed substantial popularity at that time with their still-unique sound, for Ron there was a difference: "The fun of six close friends wasn't there anymore because so many of the original group were gone."

Ron, Bob and Herb graduated from college in the spring of 1969. After the split of the band Larry & Jerry went to Oklahoma and formed the Contagious Brothers. Herb later joined them and they toured full time for a few years. The Embermen Five played together one more time in 1978 when the Contagious Brothers toured through Minot. The original line-up practised a few songs together in the afternoon and performed one set that evening.

The Embermen Five are still in touch with each other today. Ron & Herb live the closest together and see each other more often than the rest of the band. Herb today is the director of vocal music at Williston High School, in Williston, N.D. Larry & Jerry Tanner live in Oklahoma City. Bob joined the navy after graduation and now lives in Michigan. Paul became a television news director and lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Ron still resides in Minot, where he owns a recreational vehicle dealership.

Even if the last track the band recorded was titled 'Tomorrow Never Comes', for the Embermen Five 'tomorrow' is here now. For a second time in their lives they are putting FIRE IN OUR HEARTS!

THE EMBERMEN FIVE - LIVE!

The live tracks you find on this release were recorded on a cheap and basic reel-to-reel device by a friend of the band during an appearance at the Minot Air Force Base in January 1968. Needless to say, the sound is by no means up to today's rarified standards.

Herb Parker Jr. has had the tapes secured away for the last 35 years. When this Embermen Five retrospective was in the works, much discussion ensued as to whether these tracks should be included or not. Ron was quite sceptical, fearing it would ruin the impression of the band's studio recordings. We at Break-A-Way rate the material to be historically important and consider the quality of the better-sounding tracks to be more than adequate to warrant inclusion. We like to serve '60s music fans and collectors, not hi-fi buffs; more importantly, we believe that even if the tracks have a lo-fi quality, they underscore what an excellent live band the Embermen Five truly were.

Listen to Ron's cooking organ on 'Land Of 1000 Dances'; the incredible cutting guitar breaks by Larry, or Herb's powerful drumming on the same track. Take their powerful 'I'll Go Crazy' or their moody version of the Zombies' 'You Make Me Feel Good' - they have class. Check the CD bonus tracks and listen to how The Embermen Five turn the usually concise two-and-a-half-minute 'Gloria' into a stunning and vigorous five-minute musical trip. And last but not least, enjoy their competent rendition of Roy Head's 'Treat Her Right'. Even if the quality of the sound is not perfect, the quality of the group is obvious - because the Embermen Five played with heart and soul.