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The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, July 7, 2011
Eye Street
Index Monkees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Sundai Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Bunnell Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Arts Alive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 ‘The Wild Party’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 The Lowdown with Matt Munoz . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Art for Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26-29
Editor Jennifer Self | Phone 395-7434 | e-mail jself@bakersfield.com
Ax man still swinging away Teddy Spanke recalls vibrant nightlife BY MATT MUNOZ Bakotopia.com editor mmunoz@bakersfield.com
T
he golden era of honky tonkin’ kind of sounds like a scene from “The Blues Brothers”: Some of the best musicians in town — and these guys could play — would hit the stage every night of the week to entertain dancers, drinkers and brawlers, the air thick with country music and the smoke from 100 Marlboros. But the reality wasn’t all fists and whiskey in Bakersfield, according to guitarist Teddy Spanke. Still a familiar face on stages throughout the city, the veteran musician recalls a time when playing music afforded full-time employment. Today it’s a rare occupation in Bakersfield, even for the busiest of sidemen. “You could actually make a living like that, playing music five nights a week, 9 to 1:30 a.m.,” he said from his day job as a general contractor before hitting the road again. “We had a club scene. Places like Casa Royale on Union Avenue, the Country Star, Bakersfield Inn, Howdy House, the Funny Farm, Suds and Rockabilly’s.” A transplant from Vancouver, Wash., Spanke comes from a family of musicians well known in the Bakersfield music scene. “My dad, Ted, was a pianist, but he didn’t believe it was a trade. He came from a strict Catholic home — everyone had to learn to play an instrument. My mom, Bonnie, played stand-up bass in the USO. My brother, Roger, plays guitar, and my sister, Theresa, is a singer,” he said. Spanke said the music bug bit him relatively late, even after taking lessons from Mark Moseley, nephew of Mosrite guitar builder Semie Moseley. “I had my first guitar lesson when I was 15 years old from Mark. It just wasn’t my thing at the time. I was a studious kid. A troublemaker, but I was a straight-A student,” he laughed. Like most teens, the Bakersfield High School student was more interested in cruisin’ Chester with friends and chasing girls. But one late night during his junior year in ’79, Spanke nearly lost his life behind the wheel of his prized
FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN
Teddy Spanke plays a few licks on Dorothy. Spanke recalls the good old days when a musician could make a living playing on local stages.
1970 Oldsmobile 442. “It was a really fast car and I was being young and reckless, hot rodding down Truxtun Avenue. We had just come from cruising Chester. No drinking. It was about 2 in the morning and me and my buddies didn’t see anyone around. There was water in the street and I spun out in front near the old Hill House.” After suffering a broken neck, Spanke endured a lengthy recovery and began working at his father’s custom stainless steel business for a few years. Unsure of his future, the then20-year-old found renewed interest in music after meeting guitarist Eugene Moles for the first time. “I saw Eugene play at the Junction (now the Best Western) on Pierce Road back in ’81. I knew I wanted to be able to play like that — country rock. He was playing with someone I knew, so we became friends. Music actually
became secondary. We became inseparable.” That friendship would ultimately lead Spanke to the purchase of his first guitar — a ’61 Gibson SG. Soon, he began finding a way into the music scene thanks to Moles. “I would go out to Trout’s and it was busy all the time, rowdy and packed. It was stereotypical of a country-western bar. We didn’t have a mechanical bull though. Bobby Durham would play along with Eugene and his now-ex-wife, Sherry, was on the keyboards. When she took a break, I’d play guitar, keys. I became a hired gun.” In subsequent years, that hired gun status would help Spanke become a full-time ax man along with brother, Roger. “Roger was touring at the age of 17 with some local guys like Don Kidwell and others. They had a booking agent and were touring all over the place.”
‘Music has no color’ Spanke knew just how to make the most of a gigging opportunity in the busy scene of club life in the ’80s. After mastering country-style playing, he began experimenting with the rock, funk and soul being played in the multiracial club scene by bands like Straight Away, Street Legal, The Press and others. “Music has no color. I listened to everybody — Tower of Power, Eddie Van Halen, Frank Zappa, even Little River Band.” Because of that love of all styles, Spanke’s resume reads like a who’s who of heavy hitters of the Bakersfield music scene. “Monty and Tanner Byrom, Pat Bannister, Rick Reno Stevens, David Frizzell, Mark Yeary …” he said before stopping to share one of his favorite duets. “I got to jam with Buck once. He used to come in at noon to the Crystal Palace. He was sick one afternoon and there was a busload of Japanese tourists that came
through town. The place was closed, but Buck came out and asked if I had my acoustic guitar. So we sat in the mezzanine and we played to the people. He said, ‘These people came a long way …’ We played for about 45 minutes to an hour.” But Spanke’s talents haven’t been relegated to just local stages. Over the years he’s performed throughout Nevada, Nashville, along the East Coast and Europe. Today, the 49-year-old can be seen regularly with his band Teddy Spanke & The Tex Pistols, a group that goes back to the ’80s with Durham. He also plays at New Life Christian Center on Sundays. Making sure the next generation of Spankes carries on for the family, he’s shared his love of guitar with his two sons, Michael and Ryan. “I’m really proud of them both. They’re both great fathers and great players. I’ve been blessed,” he said.