Motherfox (Charleston)

Motherfox (or Mother Fox) was an early 1970's rock band based in Charleston, Illinois.  Most of the band members were students at Eastern Illinois University at the time:

• Steve Huston - Vocals
• Clyde Sims, Jr. - Guitar
• Bruce Berry - Bass
• Dennis Ostermann - B3 Hammond Organ
• Ron Walker - Drums
• David Mitchell - Trumpet
• Steve Derry - Trumpet
• Tom Snader - Trombone

Prior to Motherfox, Steve Huston had been a founding member of Head East but left the group temporarily while attending college.  Clyde Sims and Bruce Berry had previously been members of the Fugitives in Decatur, Illinois, where they had recorded two singles as teenagers in the mid-1960's.  Sims wrote two of the group's originals:

"I Asked Her" & "(I Aint Gonna Give Up) My Way of Life"

 

Motherfox first started performing in the summer of 1971.  They were one of the first bands to play at Ted's Warehouse, Charleston's legendary rock venue / drinking establishment.

The group was soon being booked by the Champaign talent agency Blytham Ltd.  Like most bands on their roster, Motherfox played the college and bar circuit throughout Illinois and neighboring states.  They were sometimes billed as "featuring the sound of Chicago."

In May 1972, the band recorded several original tracks at Golden Voice Recording Co. in South Pekin, Illinois:

• The Change Is Comin'
• Morning
• You Gotta Live

These recordings circulated among fans of the band but never saw an official release.  Years later, Dennis Ostermann made them available on his SoundCloud page.  In addition, he shared multiple live recordings of the band, including more originals as well as an entire set from Ted's Warehouse.  

Dennis Ostermann · Motherfox 1972

Here is "Suite To The Sun," written by Clyde Sims and recorded live at Ted's Warehouse on August 25, 1972.

Motherfox were only together for a few more months before calling it quits.  Steve Huston would go back to drumming and singing with Head East by 1973.  He went on to write over half the songs on their debut album, Flat As A Pancake, and remained with the group for the next decade.  Huston passed away in 2023.

Motherfox actually re-formed in early 1975.  They ran ads in the Daily Illini and Eastern News, looking for a saxophone player and a guitarist.

By the spring they were played gigs throughout central Illinois again, including shows at the Red Lion in Champaign and Bloomington.  Their return, however, only seems to have lasted a few months.

Guitarist Clyde Sims eventually joined Jim Easter and the Artistics, a Charleston / Matoon group that first got its start in the early 1960's.  Sims recorded one album with the group in 1977.  He passed away in 2019.  

Dennis Ostermann would form the Ashby Ostermann Alliance in 1977 in Charleston.  The group relocated to the Chicagoland area where they self-released their first album in 1981.  They reunited in 2016 and released a second album a few years later.

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For more on Ted's Warehouse and the Charleston rock scene: