THE FAB YEARS

I was born in July 1950, which means I’m being closely watched for signs of a mid-life crisis. It won’t, I’m certain, involve young blondes and fast cars. Mostly, I’m just trying to make sense out of the 30 or so years preceding this milestone.

My career as a performing musician spanned roughly the 20 years between 1970 and 1990. What a fine time it was to be in my 20’s and 30’s, traveling around in my van with my dog. Home base was always midcoast Maine. One weekend I’d play -- solo or with various musicians -- in Bar Harbor; the next in North Conway, the next in Kennebunkport, Portland, Laconia, etc. In some years I played as many as 280 dates, mostly clubs, concerts, and colleges. Many of those nights, I would run a cable from an output on my sound system into a simple cassette machine, and hit “record.” Most of the time I’d remember to at least label the box with the date and who’s in the band, but seldom did I ever listen to the tapes – they’d just get tossed into a box in the attic to be rediscovered at the turn of the next century. Certainly, no one ever monitored these recordings for quality; just hoped for a decent mix, and forgot all about it after last call.

By early 1990, I was played out. My last gig happened to take place at Bowdoin College, and no students showed up, just a few long-time friends. Joining me that night was Mike Burd and Rob Coffin. The fact that it was the last gig, I kept to myself.

Fast-forward to 2000. I’ve got a successful business booking and producing entertainment, and many weekends free. I hit the big 5-0. A full decade of perspective, and the only part of performing I really missed is the magic that happens between musicians who enjoy playing together. I wandered under the eaves and started listening to some old tapes. I was quite surprised at the energy and especially the dumb-luck quality of the mixes – as if someone would someday find these old tapes of some interest.

Some of the tracks were recorded in February 1982 in Larry Luddecke’s studio in Somerville, Mass called Duckland. It was great working with Larry, who has been my close friend literally since we were infants, who has always been a musical hero of mine, and who added some great piano parts on the Windy & Warm album.

So here then is a collection of mostly live accidental recordings representing an important part of my life. Please don’t look for the perfection that a recording studio would have afforded, this is raw stuff. But I hope some of the fun we had comes through.

Special thanks to Rob Coffin for doing what he could to make these tracks presentable; to Kitty Fassett for friendship and support, Jim Lyna for web assistance, and to Rick Winslow for everything.

Chuck Kruger
December, 2001
Thomaston, Maine

THE PLAYERS

Chuck Kruger: acoustic rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Michael Burd: bass, backing vocals
Rob Coffin: lead guitar, backing vocals
Ron Bouffard: drums

Larry Luddecke: keyboards, backing vocals
Mike Abbott: tenor, soprano, alto saxes, Lyricon
Ellen Starr: piano, vocals

Drums: Lance Burpee, Gene Tourangeau, Ben Smith, Mike Radovsky
Vocals: Martha Goodrich, Ellen Starr, Carol Luddecke, Heidi Metzger Hoffman
Guitars: Bruce Boege, Dave Lewis
Piano: Roy Clark
Bass: Sam Smith, Dan Hall, Paul Rice
Mandolin: Willy Kelly

Contact: 207-354-8928