The State Of Confusion (Quincy)

March 1967:  Marc Hollembeak, Bruce Murray, Tom Stowell, Bob McIntosh, Ray Steward, Mike Kamphaus

The State Of Confusion were a group of teenagers from Quincy, Illinois that formed in January 1967.  The earliest lineup consisted of Marc Hollembeak on bass, Bruce Murray on vocals, Tom Stowell on lead guitar, Bob McIntosh on rhythm guitar, Ray Steward on drums and Mike Kamphaus on organ.  The band was managed by Mike's father, Carl Kamphaus.

The group won a Battle of the Bands competition at the Quincy YMCA "Pub" in March 1967.  For the contest, Brian Smelsor filled in for Murray on vocals.  The prize was reportedly a recording session at the Golden Voice Recording Company in South Pekin to "cut a master tape."  It is unclear if they ever claimed their prize.

By August of 1967, Bruce Murray had been replaced by Stan Bright on vocals and guitar.  Bright was from the Missouri side of the Mississippi River and attended nearby Palmyra High School.  

That summer the State of Confusion came in second at the big Battle of the Bands held in downtown Quincy, beating out The Explorers but losing to The Times.  Several thousand teenagers were in attendance for the contest which came with a $100 prize for second place.  For the next year or so, the band played a variety of school dances and teen centers around Quincy as well as parts of eastern Missouri.

By June of 1968 the band had gone through another lineup change.  Marc Hollembeak was replaced by Mark Buckwalter from Palmyra, MO.  Buckwalter had previously been a founding member of the popular area group, The Gazorks.   On drums, a young Steve Tieken from Quincy had taken over for Ray Steward.  Tieken's dad, Freddie Tieken, was a popular area musician / bandleader and part owner of the local recording studio, IT Studios.

The State of Confusion would make their only commercially available recording at IT Studios.  Sometime in the summer of 1968, the group recorded two original tunes:  "My Fellow Americans" written by Bright, Buckwalter and McIntosh and "Buckwalter's Blues," an instrumental credited only to Mark Buckwalter.  The single was released on Tieken's IT Records.

 

In early August 1968, the State of Confusion performed at a Carson, Pirie, Scott fashion show in downtown Quincy.  Mike Kamphaus served as the show's organist.  The band however appears to have broken up before the winter.  Guitarist Bob McIntosh was headed off to college in Carbondale and 12-year old Steve Tieken would soon be drumming with the newest group in town, Electric Creation.

Steve Tieken on stage with the State of Confusion at the Palmyra Homecoming Dance 1968