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By August of 1967, Bruce Murray had been replaced by Stan Bright on vocals and guitar.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 made 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 also 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 

The Explorers (Quincy)

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 YMCA's "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.

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.

Melon Fields

The first record on their label, A-W Records, was Uncle Alvis & The Corncobs from Missouri.  The second was Nyla Jean and the Hardtymes, also from Missouri.  

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.

The new lineup continued to perform in Quincy, even promoting the Sandy's record once it was released.  

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.

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.

Freddie Tieken, Jack Inghram and IT Records (Quincy)

In 1958, Freddie Tieken and the Rockers from Quincy, Illinois recorded two singles backing Byron "Wild Child" Gipson for Hit Records. 

     Despite Chicago, Illinois being listed on the label, Hit Records was based out of Peoria, Illinois.

By 1963, the Rockers had gone through several personnel changes.  Tieken remained but Wild Child had been replaced by Vernie Robbins on vocals and keyboards with Forrest Moore on bass and Jim Vandament on drums.   The newest member of the group was a high school student name Jack Inghram who joined Tieken on sax.

Despite his young age, Inghram also happened to own some recording equipment which the group used to record its first album By Popular Demand in the Fellowship Hall of the First Union Congregational Church in Quincy. 

"The Jinx" from By Popular Demand

The album was enough of success that Inghram and Tieken decided to move the recording equipment into Tieken's basement and start IT Studios as well as a companion record label:

Between 1963 and 1968, IT Studios produced approximately 20 singles and LPs released mostly on IT Records (*exceptions noted below) from artists and performers originating from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

IT Discography

IT 2301 Freddie Tieken and the Rockers  By Popular Demand  LP (1963)
IT 2302 Freddie Tieken and the Rockers - Humpty Jump / Bit By A Bug (1965)
IT 2303 ?
IT 2304 Freddie Tieken and the Rockers  Live! LP (1965)
IT 2305 Wild Child Gipson & the Katz & Jammers - Sweet Roll'n Stone / My Kinduva Blues (Sep 1965)
IT 2306 The Lancers - The Girl I Never Met / Gore (Sep 1965)
IT 2307 The Gallows - Come To The Party / Slow Death (Oct 1965)
IT 2308 Bunny Brown Reads Christmas Children Stories
IT 2309 Russ Ramsey - Deep In The Heart Of Texas / That's All (Jan 1966)
IT 2310 Johnny McCollum - See How A Poor Boy Has To Pay / Life Ain't Worth A Penny Without You (1966)
IT 2311 ?
IT 2312 The Intruders - Now That You Know / She's Mine (Sep 1966)
IT 2313 Plato and the Philosophers - I Don't Mind / C.M. I Love You (1966)
IT 2314 Johnny McCollum - Rockin' In The Rockies / Beauty's Skin Deep (1966)
IT 2315 The Gallows - Too Many Fish In The Sea / Remember Mary? (1966 * Maintain Records)
IT 2316 Gonn - Come With Me (To The Stars) / You're Lookin' Fine  (Sep 1967 * Merry Jaine Records)
IT 2317 ?
IT 2318 The Aquinos The Aquinos St. Thomas Seminary Hannibal, Missouri LP (1967)
IT 2319 ?
IT 2320 The State Of Confusion - My Fellow Americans / Buckwalter's Blues
This discography is a work in progress. Last updated on 7/16/19.

For more info about Freddie Tieken's life in music: http://freddietieken.com/