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| August 1968: Steve Paden, Craig Albright, Marion Harsell, Bob Seifert, Butch Gail, Steve Strothoff |
The Explorers were a group of teenagers from Quincy, Illinois. They formed in 1966 and went through a series of lineup changes over the next several years. Sponsored by a local fast-food restaurant, the band recorded and released their only single in 1968, the highly regarded "Blue Flavored Lollypop."
The earliest lineup of the Explorers consisted of Gary "Butch" Gail, drums; Bob Seifert, bass guitar; Jerry Mast, rhythm guitar; Steve Strothoff, lead guitar and Jeff McClean, lead vocals. (Photo from May 1967).
The group played wedding receptions, proms, dances and at the Pub in Quincy. They reportedly had two thousand dollars worth of equipment and six different outfits consisting of "colorful shirts and trousers."
Sometime between May and August of 1967, the band went through a shake up. Craig Albright replaced McClean as the lead singer, while Steve Paden replaced Jerry Mast on rhythm guitar. They also added Marion Harsell on organ.
The new lineup performed in front of thousands of teenagers at a Battle of the Bands competition held in downtown Quincy, Illinois on August 23, 1967. The Explorers finished third place out of 13 bands. The Times won the contest with the State of Confusion coming in second. All three groups performed live on WGEM's Teentime broadcast that summer.
The next summer, the same lineup of the Explorers would take the top prize at the competition. The Battle of the Bands was held July 31, 1968 at Sandy's Drive-In (Twelfth & Locust) in front of a crowd of 5,000 teenagers. The runners-up that year were a soul group from Quincy, Ralph and the Sensations.
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| Ralph and The Sensations |
Both groups won an all expenses paid trip to Springfield to compete at the "Young America Fair," a division of the Illinois State Fair. Their performances at the fair's "Combo Clash" were to be broadcast live over WGEM back in Quincy.
Right around the same time, the Explorers recorded their only single, "Jennifer Ann" b/w "Blue Flavored Lollypop." Both songs were written by guitarist Steve Strothoff and singer Craig Albright.
The record was produced by Averbeck-Warren Associates. The company, owned by Roman Averbeck and Ted Warren, was a newly-established movie production studio based in Quincy. They produced primarily sales and training films, commercials and educational films. They also had a sound studio where they produced demos and other sound recordings for which they sought out local talent. "If you can sing, dance, rattle the bones, or play a musical instrument, we are interested." They briefly had their own record label as well.
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| Melon Fields |
The third release on A-W Records was by Melon Fields, a teenage folk rock group from Quincy. Their single, "People It's Raining" / "Sail Away," was released in August 1968.
The Explorers' single was next. Instead of being released on A-W Records however, it was on the Sandy's "label." Presumably, the restaurant chain sponsored the recording and paid for the release. The sleeve was also used to advertise the restaurant while acknowledging the Explorers as "1968 Battle Of The Bands Champions."
The Explorers' 45 was available in Quincy by early October of 1968. The band, however, had split into two groups before it's release.
Butch Gail and Steve Paden retained the Explorers name, adding four new band members: Roger Likes, vocals; Dan Peacher, lead guitar; Steve Ehrhart, rhythm guitar and Greg "Buddy" Gail, trumpet.
As for the four members that left the Explorers (Craig Albright, Bob Seifert, Marion Harsell, and Steve Strothoff), they formed a new band with Steve Tieken on drums and John Stroot on rhythm guitar. (Tieken, the son of musician and bandleader Freddie Tieken, was 12 years old when he joined the group.)
No longer able to call themselves the Explorers, the band asked the public for name suggestions.
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| Quincy Herald-Whig September 30, 1968 |
By early November, they had settled on Electric Creation.
By February 1969, the Explorers had added a seventh member, Donny Lowe on organ. Lowe was from Pittsfield and a student at Gem City College at the time. Most of the other band members were still finishing up high school.
The Explorers' new sound was described as "a little soul, a little psyc, a little rock - we do the whole show." According to guitarist Steve Ehrhart, "We don't have any ideas about writing music or making records. We just want to play."
Both the Explorers and the Electric Creation continue to perform in and around Quincy through the summer of 1969. In early August, the Electric Creation won the combo clash at the Adams County Fair. According to the Quincy Herald-Whig, "Their selection was made on the basis of their psychedelic rendering of "You Keep Me Hanging On" and "Try A Little Tenderness." According to one review of their outdoor performance, "They've just ruined the hunting around here for 20 miles."
Both bands called it quits by 1970. That summer Butch Gail and Steve Paden reunited briefly with Steve Strothoff in a new group, Loco Weed, which performed at the 1970 Adams County Fair.
