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Happy Scab - Bringing Joy through Song

Image of Happy Scab at the Hullaballoo Club
Image of Happy Scab at the Hullaballoo Club
Image of Happy Scab - Jeff Klahr
Image of Happy Scab
Image of Happy Scab
Image of Happy Scab revisited: Pete Tibbetts, Mark Dodge, Chuck Bell
Image of Kevin Collman - Scab recordist
Image of A David Greenberger Original Happy Scab gig Poster: McKean St. Francis Church Parish Center
 (Above) A David Greenberger Original Happy Scab gig Poster: McKean St. Francis Church Parish Center The color photos were taken at Chuck Bell's parents' home near Erie, Pennsylvania in either February of 1981 or January of 1983, depending on who you ask. An impromptu jam was arranged. We made a crude recording of "Hard Time," one of Chuck's original songs, with Kevin Collman playing "drums" on a cardboard box.
I've been in lots of bands. This one earned the least money, but triggered the most personal growth and passion. Thanks, Chuck, wherever you are. "For the best in music, pick the Scab." In Erie, Pennsylvania in 1969-70, I was a member of a rock & roll group known as Happy Scab. I'm not sure about the origins of the name, but I know it had at least as much to do with organized labor as it did with coagulation. This band was much more than just a band, it was a lifestyle (as much as anything can be when you're still living at home and going to school). An important milestone, both musically and personally. The Hullabaloo Incident (A tale of performance and inquisition) #3 PERFORMANCE: Jan 17, 1970 Hullabaloo club. Received $110. The set was cut short (this demands its own story) and Happy Scab was barred from ever playing there again. Quote (one of many) from Lonnie Sherman: "Hullabaloo needed this!" (From the David Greenberger Archives) Here's the rest of the story on the Hullabaloo club gig. The Scab really bulked up for this gig. The Hullabaloo club was, like, the best gig in town (for us, anyway), so we wanted to kick butt. So we borrowed as many amps and speaker cabinets as we could find, so it looked really impressive on stage. I'm pretty sure we had a couple of cabinets there that we didn't even use, but we had The Great Wall of amps behind us. Anyway, the gig was going really well - we had 'em dancing and everything was cool. Then we started playing Volunteers of Amerika by the Jefferson Airplane. This was a very political song, and Chuck and Pam would perform a little skit using an American flag and a little toy machine gun. This night, the spirit moved inside Chuck, and he decided to add a little something extra to the tableau. Our drummer, Jeff, kept a little talisman on his bass drum - for luck I guess. It was paper mache dog turds, two nice long ones crossed over one another and painted brown. Fairly convincing up close. Chuck turned around and grabbed Jeff's little turd pile, and holding it high in the air, yelled into the mike, "You see this? It's a plastic piece of shit! And that's what you are if you don't care about what's happening in this country!" Well, it actually wasn't plastic, but in those days, the term "plastic" had other, very negative connotations. All this went on while the rest of the band was vamping on the verse, and the dance floor was still full of dancers. Somehow one of our PA columns started swaying. Maybe a dancer hit it, maybe one of us did, maybe the joint was just rockin'. Well, the column went down, as it happened, right onto the shoulder of one of the dancers. The music stopped. The injured dancer was attended to. While all this was going on, the rent-a-cops who were standing at the back of the dance hall started coming toward the stage. Although the kids on the dance floor were probably not paying attention to Chuck's little tirade, the cops were. Trouble is, when Chuck held up Jeff's little turd pile calling it a "plastic piece of shit," what the cops saw was a silhouette in his hand. They thought he was holding some kind of crucifix. Erie is a very Catholic town. So the cops were coming to get Chuck. They halued him into the back room, and about five of them GRILLED Chuck for what seemed like forever. Remember, this was 1970 - just a few months before the National Guard killed four student demonstrators at Kent State University. Things were generally very weird and tense with students and the Vietnam war and all. Anyway, the dance was over - the kids all left. The rest of the band stood around waiting while Chuck got the third degree from Erie's finest. I think Pam had to go in there for while, too. When Chuck finally emerged, he was livid, we were told in no uncertain terms that we were no longer welcome at the Hullabaloo club, and were out of there, brimming with righteous indignation. - Mark Dodge Happy Scab - Chronology David Greenberger keeps track of everything. Always has. Here's every excruciating detail from David's notebook about Happy Scab, with Chuck Bell, Mark Dodge, Jeff Klahr, Pam Verity, Butch Rogers, Pete Tibbetts, and David Greenberger. GIGS: #1 PERFORMANCE: Nov 28, 1969 St. Francis Church Parish Center, McKean, PA Received $100 (it was supposed to have been $150), paid $10 to Jim Connors who got us the job, and $5 for Sorcie's P.A. system. Photos were taken at the show by Betsy Schneider. #2 PERFORMANCE: Dec 13, 1969 Prep school. Brutus J. Badwater & The Smoothies played during Happy Scab's breaks. Received $105, paid $5 for P.A. rental. Photos were taken at this show. #3 PERFORMANCE: Jan 17, 1970 Hullabaloo club. Received $110. The set was cut short (this demands its own story - click here to get it) and Happy Scab was barred from ever playing there again. Quote (one of many) from Lonnie Sherman: "Hullabaloo needed this!" #4 PERFORMANCE: Feb 6, 1970 Party for District Band Members (at Fairview HS??) Received $70. #5 PERFORMANCE: Feb 26, 1970 White Swan Civic Center, Fairview, PA. Received $27. #6 PERFORMANCE: Feb 28, 1970 Mad Anthony's Hat, closing day. #7 PERFORMANCE: Apr 3, 1970 Fairview High School. Final show of the band. Received $50. The performance was recorded. Eddie Haleman & The Skylarkers made a special guest appearance. The Complete Chronology Oct 4, 1969 Bell's house. Learned "The Weight," "I Shall Be Released," "Signed DC," "White Rabbit," "Piece of My Heart." Oct 5 Bell's house. Pam didn't attend. Learned "Kow Kow," "Message For Pretty," "Salt of the Earth." Oct 18 Bell's house. Learned "Everydays," "Boris The Spider." Oct 19 Bell's house. Made recordings. Oct 22 Greenberger basement. Pam didn't attend. Attempted "Out Of My Mind" (never again though), "NYC Blues." Oct 28 Greenberger basement. "Star Spangled Banner." Nov 1 Greenberger basement. Linda Connors, wife of WJET disc jockey Jim Connors came to hear us. Nov 2 Greenberger basement. Learned "As Tears Go By,' "My Back Pages." Nov 9 Greenberger basement. Learned "Omaha." Nov 15 Greenberger basement. Learned "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Heart Full of Soul," "House Is Not A Motel." Nov 16 Greenberger basement. Learned "Stray Cat Blues." Nov 20 Greenberger basement. Learned "She Loves You, "For No One." Nov 22 Greenberger basement. Learned "All Along The Watchtower," "Paperback Writer," "Trouser Press," "Volunteers." Nov 23 Greenberger basement. Learned "Something." Nov 26, 28 Roger's house. Practiced for first job. Pam was in NYC. #1 PERFORMANCE: Nov 28 St. Francis Church Parish Center, McKean, PA Received $100 (it was supposed to have been $150), paid $10 to Jim Connors who got us the job, and $5 for Sorcie's P.A. system. Photos were taken at the show by Betsy Schneider. Dec 6 Bell's house. Pam wasn't there, she was in Harrisburg with the Junior Philharmonic. Learned Chuck's song "Country Western Man." Dec 7 Bell's house. Learned "3/5 of A Mile," "Teeny Bop Blues" (by Dodge). Dec 13 Bell's house. prepared for second job. Got a new microphone - Unisphere A. #2 PERFORMANCE: Dec 13 Prep school. Brutus J. Badwater & The Smoothies played during Happy Scab's breaks. Received $105, paid $5 for P.A. rental. Photos were taken at this show. Dec 20 Dodge basement. Worked on songs that needed to be improved. Dec 23 Mark got an electric piano (Wurlitzer) Dec 29 Dodge basement. Learned "Here Comes The Lightning" (by Dodge-Bell) Dec 30 Practice at Mad Anthony's Hat, bookstore on Peach Street. Learned "Lady Madonna." Dec 31 Practice at Mad Anthony's Hat. Learned "A Day In the Life." Jan 2, 1970 Tibbetts basement. Learned "Spicks And Specks," "Under My Thumb." Jan 4 Tibbetts basement. Learned "Miss Amanda Jones," "She's A Rainbow." Jan 7 Tibbetts basement. Learned "Collage," "I Can't Get No Nookie" (by the Masked Maruauders) Jan 9 Tibbetts basement. Jammed: Chuck, Mark, Pete, David, plus Eric Livingston and Kevin Collman - "Season Of The Witch," "I Am The Japanese Sandman," "Duke Of Earl," "I Can't Get No Nookie," "NYC Blues.". Jan 10 Tibbetts basement. Learned "Wooden Ships," "Hey Jude." Jan 11 Tibbetts basement. Vocal practice only. Jan 15 Tibbetts basement. Learned "For What It's Worth." Jan 16 Tibbetts basement. Went over songs for Saturday show. Pete got a new acoustic guitar and a sure microphone and stand. #3 PERFORMANCE: Jan 17 Hullabaloo club. Received $110. The set was cut short (this demands its own story) and Happy Scab was barred from ever playing there again. Quote (one of many) from Lonnie Sherman: "Hullabaloo needed this!" Jan 25 Tibbetts basement. Learned "Bluebird." Jan 31 Tibbetts basement. Attempted "Feel A Whole Lot Better." Feb 1 Tibbetts basement. Nothing accomplished. Feb 4 Tibbetts basement. Butch wasn't there (at play rehearsal). Not much accomplished. Played 1950s songs. #4 PERFORMANCE: Feb 6 Party for District Band Members (at Fairview HS??) Received $70. Feb 8 Shot first three feet of Happy Scab movie. Jeff wasn't there. Feb 15 Tibbetts basement. Learned "Handy Andy Fix-it Man" and "Oglivana" (both by Bell-Greenberger) Feb 16 Tibbetts basement. Made recording. #5 PERFORMANCE: Feb 26 White Swan Civic Center, Fairview, PA. Received $27. #6 PERFORMANCE: Feb 28 Mad Anthony's Hat, closing day. Mar 14 Tibbetts basement. Learned "Sympathy For The Devil." Apr 1 Tibbetts basement. Chuck quit. #7 PERFORMANCE: Apr 3 Fairview High School. Final show of the band. Received $50. The performance was recorded. Eddie Haleman & The Skylarkers made a special guest appearance. Apr 17 Bell's house. Going away party for Chuck. Jammed: Chuck, Butch, Mark, Tom Beam, Adam Brezinski, Paul Tatara, Doug Adams. Apr 19 Chuck left for New York. Apr 28 Jeff quit and joined Kelly's Cellar. Image of Happy Scab Drum Sign

 

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