7 minute read
Grand Funk Rail Road
AMERICA’S BAND IS ROLLING INTO COLUMBUS
By David Turner
It was July 9, 1971, and all of Shea Stadium was shaking. Staff engineers were afraid the building might collapse. Whole sections of seating rode up and down as tens of thousands of screaming fans rocked to the music booming from the stage. The band and the crowd in the jam-packed stadium were locked together in the pure celebration called rock and roll. It took The Beatles three weeks to sell out Shea Stadium, and this band had done it in just 72 hours.
Thus was the power of Grand Funk Railroad.
Often called “The People’s Band,” Grand Funk Railroad is rolling into RiverCenter come March 8 at 7:30 p.m. To find out more about the upcoming show, the band, and the current tour, The Local was able to talk to Grand Funk drummer and founding member, Don Brewer.
Grand Funk Railroad got its name from the Grand Trunk Western Railroad that ran through the band’s hometown of Flint, Michigan. All three original band members started performing at an early age, with Don recalling, “I started my first band when I was 13.” That band was called The Red Devils. From there, Don joined a band called The Jazz masters, which later became Terry Knight and the Pack. Early 1969 saw the formation of Grand Funk Railroad.
Don is no stranger to Georgia. It was at the July 4th, 1969, Atlanta Pop Festival that many diehard Grand Funk fans in Georgia first saw them perform. They played for free and were the festival’s big sensation. Don recalls, “I remember it was our big break. Before that, nobody had heard of Grand Funk Railroad. After our show, the word of mouth spread fast, and that got us going.”
Once fans got a taste, they spread the word and showed up in huge numbers to all the shows. This attention led to an infamous episode in 1969 where Grand Funk got kicked off stage by Led Zeppelin’s tour manager.
It was Fall of 1969 and Led Zeppelin had just released a big hit album, and we were kind of the new up and comers,” Don says. “We were big in Michigan. Led Zeppelin and Grand Funk were being handled at that time by the same booking agent, Premiere Talent, so they figured to combine us as an opening act for around ten shows. Premiere Talent explained that ‘We’ll put our new act out with Led Zeppelin, and you know that will give them some exposure.’ So, we’re at Olympia Stadium in Detroit and the audience is just going crazy for us.
Then, Peter Grant, the Led Zeppelin manager, gets very upset, and he comes to our manager and tells him to get us off the stage immediately. But we kept playing. And what ended up happening is they pulled the plug on us, right there.
We were supposed to do ten shows with them, but the next night they kicked us off the tour, so that was it.”
That year also saw the band release their first two albums - On Time, and the self-titled Grand Funk, which reached No. 27 and No. 11 on the charts, respectively. What came next was a string of eight consecutive Top 10 charting albums.
After Grand Funk moved on from its manager Terry Knight in 1972, the band engaged the well-known musician Todd Rundgren as their producer. It’s from this collaboration that the band charted its first number one hit, “We’re an American Band,” in 1973. Another number one hit was released in 1974, fan favorite “The Loco-Motion.”
Frank Zappa famously produced the band’s album Good Singin,’ Good Playin’ in 1976.
“Craig Frost was Grand Funk’s keyboard player at that time. Craig and I went to see the Frank Zappa movie 200 Motels. Craig and I are sitting there watching the movie, and there’s a part where Frank Zappa says ‘Oh, I could be like Grand Funk Railroad.’ Craig and I got a kick out of that, but it gave me an idea.
At that time, Grand Funk were looking for a new producer for our next album. So, sitting there with Craig I asked what he thought about getting Frank Zappa to produce it. Craig was all in, so after talking to the band about it, our management reached out to Frank and made it happen. It was great to hear Frank agreed to produce for us. In fact, it was Frank that came up with the name for that album. We asked Frank, ‘What do you think we should call this record?’ Frank suggested ‘Call it what it is, good singing, good playing.’ Frank and I became good friends while working on that album.”
Don talked about the band’s current tour. “Well, I’m just tickled that everybody still comes out and wants to hear the songs, and we have real good crowds every night and it’s just amazing, really. I’ve been doing this most all my life, since I started my first band when I was 13, so I’m very fortunate. I’m just loving it! I love getting out and playing for the people and having them get up on their feet and have a good time.”
Before guitarist Bruce Kulick dropped out of the band in early 2024, the band’s lineup had been constant since around 2000. Don went into detail on the band that is coming to Columbus March 8th.
“We’ve got pretty much the same band touring now that’s been together since 2000, minus Bruce Kulick. I’m on drums and vocals, and there’s Max Carl, formerly with 38-Special as our lead singer. There’s Tim Cashion who was previously with the Bob Seger Silver Bullet band. Tim is playing keyboards. There’s Mark Chatfield. Mark came from a band called The Godz. Back in the 70s, The Godz were a band out of Ohio, and I produced their first album. Mark plays guitar. Of course, you know Mel, an original member and our bassist. It really is a great band.”
The band’s bassist and original member Mel Schacher, has been referred to in many articles as “The God of Thunder.” Don set the record straight where Mel gained that moniker. “That tag came from the Grand Funk fans, you know, that’s just something they put on Mel. They threw it out there.”
Besides delivering fans the big hit songs at the shows, sometimes the band gives the audience a surprise. “We’ve got a couple of new things that we do for the show. We’ve got one where everyone in the band plays percussion on different types of drums. Then we’ve got a couple other surprise songs that we do,” Don says. Don shares how on tour, he can tell who the long time Grand Funk fans in the audience are. “It’s always a lot of fun to look into the audience and you can tell the people that have seen the band a few times. The big Grand Funk fans bring albums with them to get signed and that kind of stuff. It’s always a lot of fun.”
If you haven’t experienced a Grand Funk Railroad show, then strap in and get ready to rock the house. Like the name of the great Grand Funk song says, it’s real “Foot stompin’ Music.” You don’t want to be out on Broadway seeing the RiverCenter shaking and wondering what’s going on – you’ll want to be inside with the band having the best time of your life.
Don't get scammed. Grab your tickets at RiverCenter.org.
