This ad from the Lawrence Journal-World advertises one of the earliest appearances of Used Parts in 1978.
Our first gig was at the Lawrence Opera House (now Liberty Hall).
I do not
remember whose idea it was to get together and form a band; I
think there was some kind of shared consciousness that the
five original "Parts" weren't doing much and might as well
play together some. The Billy Spears Band had broken up
when Billy broke his neck in a swimming accident on August 3,
1978. I became the regular breakfast cook at the Cornucopia Cafe
"branch" which was in the Virginia Inn on 6th Street in West
Lawrence. Lee
McBee cooked at the main branch of the Corno at 18th and
Massachusetts. Buddy was living south of Lawrence in a
farmhouse, and a little later, when the Virginia Inn branch
closed, Buddy got a job cooking at the Cornucopia too!
That was one rockin' restaurant, whose food I had enjoyed for
about four years. When things were lean with the Spears
Band, Bob Case, Jimmy Ray Law, and I would play at the
Cornucopia as "The Wakarusa Valley Bluegrass Boys" and get
paid with a soup-and-salad bar.
I remember fairly vividly how we came to have our band name. I wrote down a page full of ideas for names, and took it to the Opera House when somebody was playing who would be sure to draw a big crowd. I asked everyone I could what name he/she liked best, and Used Parts was the winner. For our first gig, just to reinforce the used-parts idea, I brought an junk Powerglide transmission and set it on stage. Once was enough for that...
I remember fairly vividly how we came to have our band name. I wrote down a page full of ideas for names, and took it to the Opera House when somebody was playing who would be sure to draw a big crowd. I asked everyone I could what name he/she liked best, and Used Parts was the winner. For our first gig, just to reinforce the used-parts idea, I brought an junk Powerglide transmission and set it on stage. Once was enough for that...
 |
Here is a publicity schedule from the
Lawrence Opera House, AKA Red Dog, AKA Free State Opera
House, from August 1978. It's the first public mention of Used Parts, and this was our first gig. I had known John Lomas since he played in Polio with Michael Duby, although I'd never really gotten to know him. In 1974, I would go to Paul Gray's Jazz Place (later the Jazzhaus) for the weekly jazz jam sessions, and he was always there playing. Lee and I, of course, went way back, but our paths had not crossed in some time. Mike Beisner - who had worked as a horn player with Stan Kenton - was a Used Part, playing keyboards, for the first gig too. Mike was a trumpeter/keyboardist/arranger/singer who joined the Four Freshmen in 1982 and performed with them for years. Mike died in 2008 in his early 50s. Jim Stringer was a Used Part for one gig. He wrote: "I was a charter member of Used Parts, as I recall was Jim Wilson, the sax player who used to be with Larry Emmitt and the Sliders. Lomas called and enticed me. Jim Wilson used to run the butcher shop in Eudora. I think Jim played for more gigs, as I recall -- but, as was my life at the time, I was traveling so much with Centron that the first gig had to also be my last... at least, I don't recall doing any after that, as much as I would have liked to." Jim Stringer was right about his being a charter member, but wrong about Jim Wilson's being a member at the beginning. It would seem that Becky Reed was not included at the very beginning! |
 |
At left is an early publicity collage - hey, it was cheap to make - which shows, from top left going clockwise, Lee McBee, Becky Reed, John Lomas, Andy Curry, Jim Stringer, and Bud Pettit. I like how whoever put this together made Stringer's "hands" rest on the shoulders of Buddy and me. Any further uses of this collage for publicity just whited out his name and ignored his presence in the collage... |
We
practiced in my little house at 329 Elm in North Lawrence. I
still had the JBL speakers from the Penetrations days, at
least until I lent them out for an outdoor gig and a lamebrain
sound guy fried a horn driver. We generally borrowed PA
stuff from Billy Spears or Dwane Richardson.
Funny thing
is, I don't remember where we practiced after I left that
house and moved in with Amy
Pavone in 1980. I know we kept working up new
material, but I don't remember where. Ah, memory; where
does it go?
 |
These five photos were
taken at an early Used Parts gig at the Opera House (now
Liberty Hall). You see that most of us were still kinda doin' the cowboy thing in apparel. John's trusty old Stratocaster consists of the neck and electronics from the gold-metalflake 1960 Strat I owned during the Penetrations, and the body from John Wilhite's '65 Strat. Doh! John Lomas, Lee McBee, Becky Reed, Andy Curry |
 |
John, Lee (hidden), Becky, Andy, and Bud Pettit. Looks like we borrowed those white Peavey mics from Dwane Richardson for this gig. |
 |
I got a basset hound puppy in 1978 and named him Clyde. Poor thing, I actually brought him to an Opera House gig one time. He just sat on the stage. John, Lee, Becky. |
 |
John and Lee. |
 |
Bud with cheesy grin. Notice the lamp on top of the bass amp, sharing space with beer. The lamp was a fixture of ours until we realized it was just one more stinkin' piece of equipment to lug around. |
One of our posters, designed by Mike Barlow, who often worked for barter.
I may have traded him an old Chevy truck or a Kawasaki motorcycle for this poster design.
I like the guy drinking from an oil can.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Wilson joins the band.
 |
In 1979, we added Jim
Wilson. Buddy and John knew Jim from their playing
together in Country Strings and
Brass; Jim was the "brass" part. Jim played
(plays) tenor saxophone and sang a few numbers. At
the time, Jim owned a little grocery store in downtown
Eudora. He was a little older than the rest of us,
with a wife and two teen-aged daughters, but we didn't
hold that against him. He'd been playing in the
area since around 1959, his first band being The Sliders, who were very
popular in their day. We all played in more than one band at the time; I played with the Richmen Express and/or Billy Spears; John, Jim, and Bud played with Country Strings and Brass; and we all had "pickup" and miscellaneous gigs going on. The photo to the left is from the Lawrence Journal World, probably 1977 or so. |
| Here are some MP3s from a
1979 gig at the Off-the-Wall Hall with both Lee and
Jim playing. This recording was made on a recorder which turned too fast, so playback was too slow. I had to jump through some hoops to get it to the right speed! |
Nobody
But You - Becky sings this Little Walter tune Papa's Got a Brand New Bag - the band gets a good groove on this James Brown song. You can tell that it had been a while since Jim had played this kind of music. He got the hang of it pretty quickly. Funny But I Still Love You - a great ballad from Ray Charles's Atlantic-Records era. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You) - this up swing number was on Elvis's first album, and it's a good one. "Just a Little Bit" followed with "Goin' Out of My Head" - Lee singing the former, Becky the latter. Don't Let Go - Lee sings this fun old song, written by Jesse Stone. I Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters classic. Flip, Flop, and Fly - Andy's perennial greatest hit, a medley of lyrics from Big Joe Turner. |
Lee left
the band - amicably - at the end of 1979, so we were back to
five members. I recall that we added Greg Mackender on
piano and organ for maybe a couple of gigs. He was
excellent and fit right in musically, but I think we just
didn't have enough work to keep him interested. After
all, we all had something else to do; Used Parts was pretty
much a part-time thing.
*** NOTE:
Along with Billy Spears, Lee McBee is being inducted
into the Kansas Music Hall
of Fame March 7, 2009! ***
*** Bill Lynch (see below) was inducted in 2007 as a member of Tide. ***
*** Bill Lynch (see below) was inducted in 2007 as a member of Tide. ***
 |
At any given
gig, we might have friends sitting in. Lee
McBee and Bill
Lynch often sat in, together or
separately. Bill Lynch had been in the
area since around 1970 and had played in a bunch
of bands, including Tide. He'd also played
on occasion with Mike Finnegan. He was a
super-dynamic singer and fine guitar player
(still is, as far as I know - I last talked to
him in about 1999, and he was in the L.A. area
playing in a zydeco band). See the ad for "Used Parts Deluxe" playing at the Off-the-Wall Hall, featuring guests Bill Lynch and Jim Wilson. I included some of the other ads on this page for a reason. Notice that Country Strings and Brass, featuring Jim Wilson, were at the Knights of Columbus the following night, and "The Sensational Dwane Richardson and the Richman [sic] Express" were at the Topeka K of C - but no date is given! |
 |
We also were
the band most often called on to warm up for any
visiting blues artists appearing at the Opera
House. We warmed up for Muddy Waters,
Flash Cadillac, Asleep at the Wheel, John Mayall
(whom we were better than IMHO), Albert Collins,
John Lee Hooker, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Sonny and Brownie I will always remember, as they made a sound you would consider unbelievable coming from an acoustic guitar and a harmonica. GREAT STUFF. Hard to believe they didn't even like each other. Jim Wilson said that Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel tried hard to get him to join his band when we warmed up for them. I don't doubt it a bit (although the rest of Jim's story, as is so often the case, is suspect). We also warmed up for Homesick James and the Dusters at the Off-the-Wall Hall. None of these warm-up gigs paid worth a damn, but it was a chance to hear some real giants up close and personal, play to large crowds, and maybe get a nice mention in a review. |
| Here's a review of the Muddy
Waters concert from "The Catchword," a Kansas City
weekly entertainment magazine. Muddy was good,
of course, but he was old and tired compared to the
time the Penetrations warmed up for him seven and a
half years earlier. |
 |
Although it wasn't Used Parts per se, "the boys" plus Jim Stringer were hired to play with Eddie Harris, the jazz saxophonist, at the Opera House. It was the dead of winter and, apparently, the Opera House had neglected paying the gas bill. It was damned cold. Here's what Jim Stringer wrote about that gig:
"The other memorable (or
NOT) gig that you and I, John and Buddy did was the thing
with Eddie Harris at the Dog (or whatever it was at THAT
time), though I've certainly tried to erase that from
memory! I think we all expected he'd play "Listen Here"
and "Compared to What", but he had a book of be-bop, none
of which I'd ever even heard before, though I'd been
playing nothing but be-bop at the time! Eddie showed up
about 15 minutes AFTER the gig was supposed to start... I
don't recall that there were many people there anyway. I
think he was pretty miffed by the whole thing -- I mean
TWO guitar players? All white boys!"
Used Parts at a private party at the Lawrence Ramada Inn, 1984. We'd run out of gas by this time, but we could dress nicely!
For several years after the Parts broke up, Jim and Marilyn Wilson would invite us to their house in DeSoto for New Years Day.
Here are the boys in the Wilson's kitchen in 1984, being boys.
Copyright 2006, 2023 by Andy Curry
Here's a picture of Eddie Harris,
with John Lomas in the background, at that gig:
 |
Aside from the Off-the-Wall Hall and the Opera House, one of our most frequent venues was the Jazz Place, soon to become the Jazzhaus. The Jazzhaus is in a loft on Massachusetts Street, and at that time, it didn't have its own P.A. system, so hauling the equipment up and down the stairs was always a lot of fun. It's a nice, intimate place to play, generally standing room only when anyone even slightly popular plays there. The pictures here are obviously from Halloween, 1980 or 1981. |
 Andy with Judy
"Bozetta" Jones |
 Farmer John Lomas and Buddy the Enforcer |
 |
 |
June 2006 - I saw Jon Hoke
last weekend, and he provided a recording he
made that I didn't have. Here are the first
two sets from the Jazz Place Christmas Party on
December 13, 1981. The sound is pretty
decent; drums, especially the bass drum, are
a little loud, and Wilson's, Pettit's, and Lomas's
mics for some reason don't come through as well as
Becky's and Andy's. But it's good
anyway. It sounds like we're all feeling
pretty mellow, as James Brown might say.
Becky sounds great here, and I must say I sound
pretty darned good too. The music is
presented in the same order as we played it.
|
Lomas's calendar.
John Lomas has actually kept calendars, and he lent me ones from 1979 and 1980. One interesting thing is that, except for Becky, we were all making more money playing in other bands at the time. Here's the Used Parts itinerary for those years:
1979
John Lomas has actually kept calendars, and he lent me ones from 1979 and 1980. One interesting thing is that, except for Becky, we were all making more money playing in other bands at the time. Here's the Used Parts itinerary for those years:
1979
Jan. 5 and
6, Off-the-Wall Hall
Jan 18 and 19, Opera House
Feb 2 and 3, Coyote Club, Wichita
Feb 20, ?
Feb 22 and 23, Opera House
March 2 and 3, Ramona's, Perry - this little beer tavern was run by Robbie Schall
March 16 and 17, Off-the-Wall Hall
March 23 and 24, Coyote Club
March 28, 29, and 30, Opera House
April 20 and 21, Ramona's
May 4 and 5, Off-the-Wall Hall
May 8, Off-the-Wall Hall
May 18, Opera House with Albert Collins
June 1, Big Eat
June 24, picnic at Lone Star Lake
June 29, Opera House with Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows
July 13, Ramona's
July 27, Off-the-Wall Hall
August 10 and 11, Coyote Club - Buddy had mechanical problems with his truck, and we fixed it in terrible heat at Lynn Piller's house
August 31, Off-the-Wall Hall
Sept 27, KU Student Union Ballroom
Oct 5 and 6, Off-the-Wall Hall
Oct 12 and 13, Coyote Club
Nov 2 and 3, Off-the-Wall Hall
Nov 12, Off-the-Wall Hall
Jan 18 and 19, Opera House
Feb 2 and 3, Coyote Club, Wichita
Feb 20, ?
Feb 22 and 23, Opera House
March 2 and 3, Ramona's, Perry - this little beer tavern was run by Robbie Schall
March 16 and 17, Off-the-Wall Hall
March 23 and 24, Coyote Club
March 28, 29, and 30, Opera House
April 20 and 21, Ramona's
May 4 and 5, Off-the-Wall Hall
May 8, Off-the-Wall Hall
May 18, Opera House with Albert Collins
June 1, Big Eat
June 24, picnic at Lone Star Lake
June 29, Opera House with Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows
July 13, Ramona's
July 27, Off-the-Wall Hall
August 10 and 11, Coyote Club - Buddy had mechanical problems with his truck, and we fixed it in terrible heat at Lynn Piller's house
August 31, Off-the-Wall Hall
Sept 27, KU Student Union Ballroom
Oct 5 and 6, Off-the-Wall Hall
Oct 12 and 13, Coyote Club
Nov 2 and 3, Off-the-Wall Hall
Nov 12, Off-the-Wall Hall
1980
Jan 4, Opera House
Jan 25, Opera House
Feb 1, Opera House
Feb 19, Opera House with Muddy Waters
Mar 7 and 8, Coyote Club
Mar 17, Off-the-Wall Hall
Mar 28, Opera House with John Mayall
April 9, Opera House, benefit for ... Spears?
Apr 16, Off-the-Wall Hall with Homesick James and the Dusters
Apr 18, Off-the-Wall Hall
May 3, Opera House
May 16, Off-the-Wall Hall
May 23, Opera House
June 2 and 3, TNT Club, Topeka
June 15, picnic
June 21, Off-the-Wall Hall
July 3, ?
July 14 and 15, TNT Club
July 18 and 19, TNT Club
Aug 1, ?
Aug 14, Opera House with Asleep at the Wheel
Oct 19, ?
Dec 15, ?
Jan 25, Opera House
Feb 1, Opera House
Feb 19, Opera House with Muddy Waters
Mar 7 and 8, Coyote Club
Mar 17, Off-the-Wall Hall
Mar 28, Opera House with John Mayall
April 9, Opera House, benefit for ... Spears?
Apr 16, Off-the-Wall Hall with Homesick James and the Dusters
Apr 18, Off-the-Wall Hall
May 3, Opera House
May 16, Off-the-Wall Hall
May 23, Opera House
June 2 and 3, TNT Club, Topeka
June 15, picnic
June 21, Off-the-Wall Hall
July 3, ?
July 14 and 15, TNT Club
July 18 and 19, TNT Club
Aug 1, ?
Aug 14, Opera House with Asleep at the Wheel
Oct 19, ?
Dec 15, ?
*** Newly added November 2011 ***
|
 |
Here are the
Parts at the Jazzhaus in Summer of 1983.
No costumes this time. I can't remember if I played upright the whole night or just part of the night. These were four-hour gigs... |
I can't put my
finger on any one reason why we didn't keep
playing. We certainly liked each other well
enough; there were no personality conflicts or
artistic differences. I think it was just a
matter of the individuals in the band going
through some big changes and moving on to other
things.
Becky was involved in raising her son as a single mother. She ended up moving to Kansas City, singing in bands, and marrying Stan Kessler, with whom she sang in Baby Leroy.
Buddy got married and bought a house.
John got a job on campus, as did Bud.
During the whole Used Parts "era," I partied too hearty, getting to the point where I could not support myself. I lost my girlfriend, moved in first with Billy Spears and then with Sandy Barket. Finally, I went to live with my father in Overland Park and went back to college, getting my Associates Degree (with honors!) in 1985.
The Parts came together twice more, once for Billy Spears's 60th-birthday party at the Flamingo Club (1989?), and in 1991 for an outdoor wedding reception. Ironically, we have video of both of those events.
Becky was involved in raising her son as a single mother. She ended up moving to Kansas City, singing in bands, and marrying Stan Kessler, with whom she sang in Baby Leroy.
Buddy got married and bought a house.
John got a job on campus, as did Bud.
During the whole Used Parts "era," I partied too hearty, getting to the point where I could not support myself. I lost my girlfriend, moved in first with Billy Spears and then with Sandy Barket. Finally, I went to live with my father in Overland Park and went back to college, getting my Associates Degree (with honors!) in 1985.
The Parts came together twice more, once for Billy Spears's 60th-birthday party at the Flamingo Club (1989?), and in 1991 for an outdoor wedding reception. Ironically, we have video of both of those events.
| Here
are
some more MP3s, kind of a "best of"
compilation. Sorry, it's all you get. |
Honky
Tonk - the Bill Doggett instrumental
classic Back in the U.S.A. - Andy sings this Chuck Berry number Good Rockin' Tonight - Wynonie Harris My Babe - the Willie Dixon song, duet by Becky and Jim Hearts of Stone - this song has been done by Elvis, the Carter Family, John Fogerty, the Fontaine Sisters, and many others - but Used Parts did the hell out of it, in a medley with... Cherry Pie - nice vocal by Andy, with wonderful backup harmonies and saxophone. I'll Go Crazy - this James Brown number ends the medley (we've left out "Show Me," the Joe Tex song that immediately preceded it). After 10 years of trying to sing this song, I think I finally got it right! Further on up the Road - Becky sings this Bobby "Blue" Bland number. If I only could have remembered what key to start in! Funny, But I Still Love You - this cut was recorded at Doug and Susan Waldron's wedding reception. Bill Lynch sings duet with Becky. Walking Through the Park - Lee McBee sings this Muddy Waters number in his usual full-tilt manner, also at Doug and Susan's wedding. Night Life - Andy does a pretty good job on this Willie Nelson number, more or less following Ray Price's smooth style. Someone once called me "the Bing Crosby of Lawrence." what the....? Three cuts from I don't know where... I'm not sure if I was even playing here, or if Bud was the drummer. I do not hear John Lomas or Becky, but Wilson's definitely playin' the sax!. All three feature Bill Lynch on vocals and guitar. The sound is really weird, but once you get used to it you hear that it's SMOKIN'. Twistin' the Night Away - we usually did this Sam Cooke song as an instrumental, but in this recording Jim Lynch joins us on lead vocals and guitar. Unidentified instrumental - from the same gig as "Twistin'," above. I Wonder - again, Bill Lynch and Wilson on an old Ray Charles number (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 - most bands can pull out this Bobby Troup chestnut, and we were no exception. Our Day Will Come - I love this song by Ruby and the Romantics. Just a Little Bit - we got this song off an old record, but I don't know whose. This version, sung by Becky, is a little different from the one Lee did. Since I Fell for You - we're a little more faithful than most to the original version by Buddy Johnson and his Orchestra. Great singing by Becky. Jim loves this song. Suds - also known as "Chicken Shack" - blues instrumental. Tequila - the Champs hit, recorded at the Coyote Club in Wichita. While at the Coyote, we stayed with Lynn Piller, formerly of Tree Frog, and his wife. The whole recording has bad distortion from the P.A. feed, but it's tolerable on this instrumental, where we had a great groove goin' despite not being sure where the bridge was coming. My Man - the Billie Holliday number, from the Coyote Club, included to show another side. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You) - from Elvis's first record. Also from the Coyote Club recording, included here because of the amazing guitar solo by John. It's not perfect, but it IS amazing. |
Used Parts at a private party at the Lawrence Ramada Inn, 1984. We'd run out of gas by this time, but we could dress nicely!
For several years after the Parts broke up, Jim and Marilyn Wilson would invite us to their house in DeSoto for New Years Day.
Here are the boys in the Wilson's kitchen in 1984, being boys.
Copyright 2006, 2023 by Andy Curry