Dave Kiswiney Introduction
Dave Kiswiney has played bass, both as a band member and session musician for over six decades, including stints with My Friends, Mike Quatro, Pat Travers and most notably Ted Nugent. But readers of FlyGuitars.com will most likely associate him with his endorsement of Gibson basses, appearing in all the early publicity for the Gibson Victory bass. Before we delve into his long term useage of Gibson bass guitars, let's hear some of the history behind the man and his music..
FlyGuitars Tell us a story of the early days in Michigan, and how you became a musician
Dave Kiswiney I wanted to be a drummer I love drums... this is early on and I didn't have a set of drums. I'd either borrow or rent until, a drummer came along for the band I was playing with (but) there was never a bass player - forget that - so the guitar player said well you can stay in the band, you can play bass, i'll teach you. So my dad bought me a Teisco bass in 1964. I've still got it, or i've got one like it, it's not the original - and I learnt how to play it: I took it to work with me in a factory then I went to Junior College in Port Huron Michigan. I got in a band with a couple of guys: a kid who could sing and play guitar, and another guy who was a good lead player, and a really good drummer.. and we played for a couple of years in that band and it was called The Words. Basically just a scrappy little band playing Beatles tunes, old blues tunes and things of that nature.
We played local dance halls, the Music Dome which was a place to go; a lot of bands played up there out in the country and there was a Roller Rink, then there were some local bars that we could play at on the touring bands off nights which we did got to be pretty good locally, in Port Huron Michigan
Then a band came through there called The Capreez - Rosanna was a hit song in 1966 - they got rid of the lead singer and the bass player and asked me to join the band and be a lead singer and the bass player. I toured with them and we did dinner clubs, casinos. I did shows with Tiny Tim, Mrs Miller - we did Beach Boys (songs) on those reviews you'd go out and play two or three songs and get off. I did that until 1968. I quit college (and) went on the road. My whole world started happening. I got married, then in 1970 that band broke up and you know I had to make a living, so I took the keyboard player Greg Kobe and we got Kenny Rich on the guitar who was playing with The Pack (which was Mark Farner, Don Brewer - that turned out to be Grand Funk; he didn't want to do it anymore for some reason Mark was just the lead singer and Kenny gave him guitar lessons and Mark took off on the guitar so they got rid of Kenny) so it was Greg Kobe, Kenny Rich, me and we took the drummer from The Capreez, Randy Casement and we started My Friends.
Dave Kiswiney We were all living in Mount Clemens Michigan which was halfway between Detroit and Port Huron. I was working in a music store, Hewitt's Music by day and driving to Port Huron at night to play a club, you know 6 nights a week from 9 till 2, then I drive home 60 miles to Mount Clemens. And then get up and go to the music store and work, and meanwhile Kenny was writing songs, really writing good songs. I had a chance to buy a lot of basses used.
(The band) Rare Earth had just come out, you know I Just Want to Celebrate and all that. They were originally a band called the Sunliners, and they used to play at the bowling alley in Detroit, and all the Motown artists like David Ruffin, and the singers from the Four Tops would all go down and sit in with the Sunliners. They were a white Band. Well, Motown got the idea let's have a white band record black songs, right? And let's put a new label on, they called it Rare Earth.
The manager for Rare Earth heard us in a club; we had original songs we were white, and he said you guys want to make a record with Motown? and we were like yeah! Now we're the white guys on black driven (label).. you know.. in Detroit.. So we were like one of the second bands they signed My Friends to the Rare Earth label. So that's basically how we got on the Motown thing. We were broke as hell, we were recording, the manager was taking our cheques, forging our name and cashing our cheques. I saw him at a gas station putting gas in his Corvette one year as I was trying to scrape up money for cigarettes he saw me and I yelled at him and he took off out of the gas station squealing his tyres I never saw him again. We recorded 11 songs at Motown, two of which came out Concrete and Clay and Easy Rider.
Producer, Ralph Terrana worked on the My Friends studio sessions, for Motown. He talks about them from his point of view in his fascinating book The Road Through Motown (very much worth checking out, in it's own right). A little of his description is reproduced below:
The bands writing was fresh. They had a number of very good songs but the kicker was a slow tempo number called 'Revolution'. Written by the bands primary writer and guitar player, Ken Rich, it had to be one of the prettiest and most haunting songs regarding the tumultuous '60s. I was so taken with this song that I made them play it four times that first meeting.
The band was talented, no doubt about it. The initial track to the song was laid down. It was outstanding. Greg played B3 on this track and was doubling a bass figure at times, that had an almost eerie affect. We talk of hooks in records. That certain something that catches the ear and draws you to that particular song. Hooks can be vocal as well as instrumental. What Greg was doing on that B3 was an out and out hook. It was subtle but man did it work.
This should have been a dream project but the reality was, there were a few problems with the band. Like all talented people they could be difficult at times. I don't remember what their beefs were. I'm sure it dealt with the way they were being produced.
Things were falling apart quickly for a band that showed great promise for the label. And somewhere in Motown's vaults the session types exist. Tapes that could have generated huge money for the company now sitting and taking up room.
This is one deal I'll always remember with regret. Something pretty good was lost back then. I think I did all I could do to save it. Just didn't want saving I suppose.
Dave Kiswiney Ralph's book is not really accurate about the band giving him a hard time; that's not what happened. Tom Baird who was the producer, he was brilliant, he was a really brilliant guy, (but) Ralph and Russ took over the production things and they didn't know what to do with us. Motown were leaving Detroit and moving to California - to this day I don't really think we were treated properly. I had a letter from a guy called Joe Peraino who was kind of a silent partner with Russ and Ralph and he was sort of managing us and called me up one day a few years ago and he says I've got this letter you might want to have I don't know why I've got it but it was a certified letter written to you and handed to me - it's from the Motown attorney releasing you from your contract because you wouldn't show up for recording sessions - and I was like what? we were dying to go in and record, somebody was squashing the deal and taking the money you know.
It got to the point where Kenny just couldn't take it anymore, he was tired of the business. We had a gig and we were playing one night (and) as we were finishing this gig in Port Huron he said man I've got to quit the band I'm losing my.. Kenny don't quit the band please come on we've got a gig next week in Ann Arbor we've got to go - no I'm quitting the band love you guys see you later took his amp and went home. So there's three of us in My Friends bass keyboards and drums.
That band is getting together in July of this year and Greg is re-recording a couple of songs that were never released I Want to Live My Life and Just Want to go Back Home and I'm going to go play bass on them. He's already done the keyboards and the vocals and Ken is going to come from Grand Rapids Michigan and play guitar and we asked the drummer, Randy, to come up and he's going to play drums on it so we're going to see what happens. [now available here]
We had some friends from across the border called The Ring they were three piece band: guitar, bass, and drums. We asked John McIntyre the bass player if he'd like to come and play guitar with us, and he said what the hell why don't we just join up our band and your band and have two drummers like the Allman Brothers, and we were like ok! So six of us went to Ann Arbor the next week, and we were such good friends but we'd never played together. They had a great drummer, Gerry Baird, and a great singer, Bruce Dean was a great guitarist and John played guitar, I played bass, two drummers and Greg Kobe played keyboards and sax. That was one of the best bands I ever played in, in my whole life. That was a My Friends band, a review; I mean it was a big band and it kicked ass. We did a couple of Kenny's tunes, we would do Blues Car Crash and Joe Cocker, Chicago a lot of cover tunes the Electric Flag, Buddy Miles Express, whatever we did we did it our own way and we never really rehearsed anything. The Ring, Bruce, Gerry and John had songs that they could do, the My Friends band had songs that we could do, we rehearsed a little bit - after a while we just became this jam band sometimes we’d make up stuff and it would go for 20 minutes and people loved it, came for miles around to hear the My Friends whatever. We could play six nights a week from 9 till 2 and that's what we did.
Anyway the drummer, Gerry Baird, passed, Randy the other drummer quit playing, it all just dissolved. I gave everything up and moved to Hawaii. But every year in Port Huron Michigan I do a thing called the Can-Am musicians Alliance and I have a party (for) all those Canadians and Americans it's grown to about 80 people it's a private party and we have a big band reunion every year.
Michael Quatro
Dave Kiswiney And then I got to the Mike Quatro band and we did a record In Collaboration with the Gods. Quatro called me up, I was living in Hawaii, and he said man, I want you to come to Toronto and do this record with me and Jack Richardson - Jack Richardson has Nimbus 9 Studios he was the producer of The Guess Who, and Quatro somehow got to do a record up there. So I was like god are you a fool or what, but he said come on I'll give you a thousand bucks and an air flight. I thought I could go to Toronto, see my son. I meet Jack Richardson. I lived at his house and I was playing him songs I had written and he gave me a shot to record some of my own stuff you know after Quatro left.
FlyGuitars How long did you play with Michael Quatro for?
Dave Kiswiney Couple years it was pure hell, absolutely pure hell. I made a couple of records, wrote some songs with him, went out to California when Motown moved out there because somehow he got involved with Motown - it all runs together for me. Michael was a really good keyboard player he was on the Lawrence Whelk show when he was just a kid playing ragtime piano. He was very good and talented but it was a very explosive scenario with him. He was managed by David Krebs who managed Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Focus and Sabotage, people like that and that's how I got in the Nugent band.
Ted Nugent
David Krebs called me up one day, while I was in Toronto, and said I need you to go audition for Nugent. I need a bass player to go to Europe they just finished an album. I was on my way back to Maui but he bought me a ticket to Florida and I changed my ticket to Hawaii. So I was up all night and I met Nugent at this recording studio and I played a couple songs with him and Cliff and then they took me back to the airport and I flew to Maui and I was just toast you know but.. David Krebs called me up in Hawaii and said well Nugent wants you to come back to Michigan and audition, and I said I'm not going anywhere. If he wants to hire me, he can hire me, but I'm not going to audition anymore, i'm tired. so they hired me and I went back and rehearsed with Ted in his living room with all the animals hanging off the rafters - went back to Maui grabbed my clothes and took off to Europe and that's how that started... I was in the right place at the right time which is all that life is about you know... and, you're prepared to deal with whatever life throws at you.. I guess I was prepared.. I was single, I could play bass, I could sing. My Ship Came In and I was at the harbour instead of the airport you know.
I started in the band in 1979 and (the) first (shows were) the Orange Bowl and something in Sacramento. It was only a few gigs then we went to Europe. I was temporary it was just to go to Europe.. well he kept me and after we got to Europe he said I want to keep you for the whole year... and we're only going to do weekends I'm getting a divorce trying to get custody of the kids I need to show the judge I'm a good father I'm going to be with the kids all week... and i'll keep your retainer for the whole year ok? and I said ok. I was still living in Hawaii in Maui and they were letting me go home when I wanted, or stay in New York, or go to Florida - I mean it was like ridiculous. I can't tell you I mean how much money they spent on travel just keeping me in the States in a hotel with a rental car. Isn't that crazy? .. so I got an apartment in Ann Arbor which is close to the airport in Detroit, and not far from Kalamazoo, and I used to live in Detroit, so I had friends.
I stopped New Years Eve of 1989. I was sort of able to make a living, get out of debt, move to Nashville, married a girl in 1984, that I met in 1980, played a little bit more, and finally got a job as a talent agent.
I did a couple more gigs with Ted I did the Texas Jam and there were one offs like in '92 or '93 he did a couple of one offs I did them with him he did something here in Tennessee, a volunteer jam and I did that with him, which I did a couple of years ago in 2015 and I did Nashville (in) 2016
Gibson Endorsement
Ted was a Gibson artist, the previous bass players didn't play Gibsons, so when they saw me with a Ripper they just jumped on me and I welcomed it. It was great it was the first real endorsement I ever had... and it was fun - they took me to the NAMM shows: McCormick place in Chicago and Anaheim.. and we played music with BB King, and Larrie Londin.. all these guys that endorsed.. I mean it was great.
I did the ad for them, I mean I was just an ambassador, I still am. I mean they gave Nugent I don't know how much stuff... and then all he really wants is a '59 Les Paul. He's even selling his Byrdlands.. he went to the NAMM show last year in Anaheim and had a booth.. with his stuff in it guitars.. guitars and amps.
I could go to Kalamazoo whenever I felt like it, and get together with Pat Aldworth who is my artist rep. And we became really good friends, we'd play golf together you know. He'd come to all the shows. I still see Jim Deurloo every year when he comes here to NAMM.
FlyGuitars Tell us about the early NAMM shows you attended for Gibson?
Dave Kiswiney They were huge. 1979, Gibson took me to McCormack place in the summer. That was summer NAMM, that was my first one in Chicago. It was pretty big you know, it was like my first time seeing all that. I was like a kid in a candy store. They were taking me around I was meeting people, people giving me things, "here take this thing" and that bridge, and tuners, and that pick up, and then we'd play. I played with Larry Londin on drums who was a Pearl guy. That's when I met BB King, Ralph Armstrong was there.. in 1980 they came out with those, had to be the Victorys. And Ralph was a cool guy, man he was a good player, we had some pretty good moments with Ralphie. He had that Sunburst Tobacco Sunburst (Victory). Anyway that was the NAMM shows. We played a lot, and there were a lot of parties, we'd get up and jam. The winter NAMM came in 1980 and that was even bigger, in Anaheim. Holy crap that was huge! They were doing the Chet Atkins thing; I think he's just come back to Gibson if I'm not mistaken, he was a Gretsch guy. I think that was 1980 my memory isn't that good about that stuff. I did as many of those things as I could do anything for Gibson they wanted me to do I did it, they was so good to me you know.
FlyGuitars Did you ever meet Bruce Bolan
Dave Kiswiney Yes Bruce was a fantastic Guy.. he was the guy at Gibson. My guy was Pat Aldworth he was the artist rep and Bruce Bolan was really in charge of it. Yes Bruce moved to Nashville and ended up with Fender. Tim Shaw (also) works for Fender.
Session work
Dave Kiswiney I was living here (Nashville), and there was a band called the Rockets from Detroit that had Jim McCarty, and Johnny B (Badanjek), a great drummer from Detroit. Me and Mark Farner and Johnny B went out one year in '85 and did the Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad deal. Anyway Dennis Robbins was in The Rockets and he had moved to Nashville and he found out I was living in Nashville, and he remembered me from the Nugent stuff and he got hold of me said man do you want to come over and play bass on a couple things I'm working on with this guy Warren Haynes and I thought yeah, what the heck. So I went to his apartment took a bass and a little practice amp, a little Supro with a 10 inch speaker in it. I met Warren; they had written some songs and I rehearsed with them, and we did a showcase for Jimmy Bowen at CBS records, and Dennis got a record deal. David Hungate came to the showcase and wanted to introduce himself to me and told me he liked the way I played bass and I said what's your name and he said David Hungate... woah. So we got the deal and we recorded the album, and Warren would come over to my house and hang out. I'd go watch him in a local bar. If i'd of had my shit together I'd have managed him or something. To this day he's one of the greats, I love him, he's so good. I remember he wrote some songs with Dennis, two of a kind, working on a full house and a couple other ones that Garth Brooks cut and made Dennis a rich man. Dennis and I had a big falling out because I wouldn't go on the road with him to tour the album. I said I can't I've got a gig with Nugent this year he said "f*** Ted Nugent you need to be.." and all that. You'll never hear from me again, and he slammed the phone down. and I was like well that's the name of that then. Nothing ever happened with Dennis except he got real rich from writing hit songs - he wrote lots of hits and he got a lot of national cuts. I've never seen him again. I forget about how many people I had a chance to play with, like McCarty and Johnny B and Mark Farner.. Mark and I still stay in touch.. I booked him that's how I got into the booking business.
FlyGuitars What about the album with Pat Travers?
Dave Kiswiney Hot Shot.. that's a really good record, if you listen to that record, i'm all over it.. I helped him write a couple of songs on there, but I think we only put one 'tonight' that he gave me writers credits on, but I say 95% of all the stacking all the backups on top of him that's all me singing on there - which is what I did when I'd go to recording sessions, if they didn't use me on bass, they'd use me on vocals. They always used me tracking my own voice multiple times which I did with Jack Richardson.
FlyGuitars And Barry T Goldberg?
Dave Kiswiney Sorry I missed you. I'm on When the Night Comes, Diamond Blues, Summer of 81, Shake it Up, Slave of Love, The Unforgiven, there's 16 songs on here I'm probably on half of them. That's Danny Gore playing guitar, Danny Gore still plays guitar with Rob Grange who played bass in the original Ted Nugent band. And you know who produced that stuff? Cliff Davies.. the drummer and producer for Nugent was the producer.. and we did that album in 1981 and 1983. 1981 was really the year; I had an apartment in Ann Arbor and I was still living in Maui but I would come back and stay at the studio where I kept all my stuff I kept all my basses at that studio in Ann Arbor. I would go there for a month we'd record and I'll go back to Maui for a month and then I'd come back to Ann Arbor for a month you know, I was really living the life being able to travel back and forth and make records with people, and I was making a living while not touring with Nugent. He didn't Tour that year, and I did again in '83.
FlyGuitars And you're still working in the music business?
Dave Kiswiney I'm a booking agent, I started my own company: High Performace Entertainment, it's a talent agency. That's what I do...
Thanks to Dave Kiswiney for taking the time to be interviewed, and for supplying images
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