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| The Centaurs:;
Coronado
Magazine Centaurs Article
The Centaurs was formed in the fall of 1962 and
later evolved into Linda & The Centaurs, Framework and Bright Morning.
Original members:
Cliff Lenz, '64 Keyboard & Lead Guitar
Rick Thomas, RIP '65 Lead Guitar
Pat Coleman, '66 Drums
Doug Johnson, '64 Bass
Joined
Later:
Drew Gallahar, '63 - Bass
Randy Chilton, '65 - Sax
Clair Carlson, Vocals
Kenny Brown, '64 replaced Pat Coleman on Drums
Jane Siner, replaced Clair Carlson on vocals
Bill Lamden, replaced Randy Chilton on Sax
Danny Orlino, '68 replaced Rick Thomas in late 66’
Linda Morrison, replaced Janie Seiner on Vocals
Steve Kilajanski, replaced Randy Chilton on Sax
Pernicano, replaced Kenny Brown on Drums
Rick Cutler, replaced Kenny Pernicano on Drums
Paul Bleifuss, replaced Rick Cutlet on Drums
Carl Spiron, replaced Paul Bleifuss on Drums
Terry Thomas, replaced Carl Spiron on Drum
(This is starting to look like the story line in This is Spinal Tap!)
Cliff played a Fender Stratocaster, Fender Bandmaster.
Rick Thomas played a Fender Jaguar, Gretsch "Country
Gentleman" and had the first Fender Showman amp in
Coronado,
Kenny Brown played Ludwig Drums, with White PEARL Finish.
Danny Orlino played a Fender Stratocaster.
The Centaurs was formed in the fall of 1962 and later evolved
into Linda & The Centaurs, Framework and Bright Morning.
Left
to Right - Top row: Drew Gallahar, Cliff Lenz, Ken Brown, Bottom Row:
Bill Lamden and Rick Thomas
The Centaurs- 1962-1969 by
Cliff Lenz
Funny
how a love affair with rock and roll and a seven year odyssey of performing,
recording, road trips and opening for some of the biggest names in rock, can
begin with just a casual meeting between two high school kids. In the fall
of 1962 a classmate and friend of mine at Coronado High, Doug Johnson, said
there was a new student named Rick Thomas who played electric guitar and
that we should meet. I had a Les Paul jr. and a breadbox size
amp. and thought that two guys could sound a lot more like the Ventures than
just one guy. So I called Rick and we got together at Doug’s house with
our guitars for a jam session. Miracle of miracles, we could actually
play something together that didn’t sound half bad- the Venture’s tune
“The McCoy”, E, A and B7th and lots of open string melody
notes, but what the hell -- it was a start and, it was a
thrill. I’m sure that it’s a thrill for all young musicians
who, never having played with someone else, experience for the first time
what collaborative music making can be.
We
started practicing on a weekly basis putting a repertoire together. Pat Coleman became our first
drummer and we enlisted Doug Johnson to play bass. Having no prior musical
experience, it was a little too much for Doug and he politely resigned from
the band after a few weeks. Not
long thereafter the (now) trio was asked about playing for an after-football
game dance. Assistant
principal Mr. Oliver wanted to make an announcement over the school PA that
a band would be performing but we didn’t have a name. He actually suggested we call
ourselves Rick and the Shaws or Cliff and the Dwellers!! We had been thinking about possible names. At the time, the Air Force had
rolled out its new ballistic missile, the Atlas Centaur - That’s It! Call ourselves the Centaurs and
every time they fire one of those babies off, we get free publicity. It was decision time in the
principal’s office -and so the group was officially launched with Mr.
Oliver’s announcement that the “Centaurs” would be playing that night.
I think we had maybe fifteen tunes and played everyone of them three times,
but we made it through the gig without a single tomato flying toward the
stage. Another thrill
and we were hooked.
The
new venture would include the frequent addition and deletion of
personnel. (This,
not necessarily in chronological order). We added a girl singer, Clair
Carlson, and saxophonist, Randy Chilton. Kenny Brown became our new
drummer with the prettiest pearl Ludwig drum set in San Diego. Drew Gallahar, (a guitarist and trumpet player in
the CHS stage band) joined
us on bass. I got a
Fender Strat and Bandmaster amp. Not
to be outdone, Rick got a Fender Jaguar and Showman 15 amp and a Fender
reverb unit! We got
the gig as the house band at what would become the legendary Downwind Club
– the junior officer’s club on North Island where we played for six
years barely keeping our heads above the oceans of beer served every Sunday. A wonderful saxophonist from La
Jolla, Bill Lamden replaced Chilton. For a time, Janie Seiner was our
vocalist. There were dances, concerts, and car shows all over San Diego and
we even played for a change-of-command party at North Island with more
captains and admirals than you could count. A major thrill was recording a
couple of surf tunes in the United Artists Studio in Hollywood, a session
that was produced by Joe Saracino who had been the producer of the Ventures.
We also played on the Sunset Strip in the summer of ’66 in the same club
where the Doors became famous.
Rick
left the group late in ’66 and was replaced by Danny Orlino. The rest of us were now at San
Diego State and Danny was still at CHS. He
was a truly gifted player. (Bob Demmon, longtime CHS band director and rock
guitarist with the famous surf group, the Astronauts, once told me that
Danny was maybe the finest guitarist he had ever known personally). I now doubled on guitar and
organ. I think we were
the first
rock
group in San Diego to use a cut down Hammond- the keyboards were in one box
and the guts in another for portability. I also invested in a Leslie
speaker, which really enhanced our sound.
From
’62 to ’67, the music had morphed from Pop to Surf to R&B to
Psychedelic. We now
had a new chick singer, Linda Morrison- (she lived in San Diego) a great
talent who became a real driving force with her powerful vocals. Not bad to look at either- later
became Miss San Diego. Steve
Kilajanski took over on sax for a while.
We
now had an agency booking engagements for us- Allied Artists of San Diego,
and we joined the musicians union. Kenny
Brown became our manager giving way to several new drummers, all excellent
players- Kenny Pernicano, Rick Cutler, the late Paul Bleifuss (formerly with
the great S.D. band the Impalas) Carl Spiron (who played with one of San
Diego’s all time great groups Sandi and the Accents/Classics) and later
Terry Thomas.
Evolving Circa,
mid 1967. "Linda and the Centaurs"- Band members left
to right: Drew Gallahar (holding his Gibson bass), Rick Thomas
with shades and his Gibson Birdland Guitar, our singer Linda
Morrison, Steve Kilajanski, sax, Rick Cutler, drums, and Cliff Lenz,
Hammond Organ and guitar.
In
various incarnations- The Centaurs, Linda and Centaurs, Framework (with
great vocalist and song writer, Jerry McCann) and lastly Bright Morning, we
had the thrill of opening for some of the great rock groups of the era in
concerts at Balboa Stadium or the San Diego Concourse- The Jefferson
Airplane, Doors, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Leaves, the Association,
the Sunshine Company, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Steppenwolf, Frank
Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and others.
Cliff
Lenz in his Framework days (will hope to add a page on Framework soon)
With
great reluctance, I left my last band (Bright Morning) and my long-time
guitar buddy Danny Orlino, in 1969 to head north to go to graduate school at
the University of Washington. Danny left San Diego and has been a famous
guitarist and singer in Guam for many years. Kenny Brown converted his band
manager skills and keen business sense into a successful real estate and
property management career in the Los Angeles area. Bill Lamden became a
dentist. Drew Gallahar
still has his hands all over guitars but now he makes them- he’s a guitar
builder at the Blue Guitar in Mission Valley. I had a 20 year career as a
television producer and the host of “Seattle Today” on the NBC affiliate
in Seattle but I was also composing and performing music at the same time.
Along the way I received an Emmy for composing the theme music for the Phil
Donahue show. I
have returned to music as a guitar and piano teacher in the Seattle area.
Sadly,
Rick Thomas died of cancer in 2004 after a career as an electrical systems
maintenance engineer. I visited him in Chico, CA a few months before he
passed away. We got
out the guitars and played and reminisced. A few months after he died, his
parents sent me his guitar, which I will always treasure. It’s an uncommon Fender model
called the Coronado.
Thanks
to all those of you who listened and danced to our music over the
years. It was a great
party!
Cliff
Lenz, co-founder/leader- the Centaurs
The Centaurs by Ken
Brown
The
Centaurs Rock N Roll Band from Coronado during the 60's meant
something special because "The Centaurs" were part of the
60's Rock N' Roll Revolution. I can remember an article in the Coronado
Islander (High School Paper) which pictured the Centaurs success on par
with the Beatles. They were riding high and so were we. When you are
young, talented and restless the imagination becomes your reality. We
were on top of the world, our world, and it was great fun for all who
participated. We went from playing at Sea World to the Downwind Club to
All Night High School Parties to our own Dance concerts. A highlight
was the Centaurs opening for 'The Doors' at Balboa Stadium. The
participants had their own special role for they too were part of the
60's rock & roll revolution.
I
can safely say that I would not trade a moment of this musical bonanza
for any other. We were living life at a fast pace with all the
trimmings. Local people knew we were The Centaurs. We carried it
wherever we went. We were young talented musicians (all in the local
musicians union) who had set a new stage and pace for rock and roll. We
had the 62 + 64 Chevy 327 Impala's, the Delorean, The Lotus and Hemi
engines and a bunch of other hot cars of the time. The Centaurs were
sexy, with strapping lads and foxy singers. If you were not in the
'mood' before our event inevitably you left in the 'mood'. And that's
my point.
During
our 25th Centaur Reunion at the Coronado Women's Club we had an
array of people (some family), others were supporters with their
special memories of what "The Centaurs" did for them. We
brought the new 60's sound to Coronado and all it's surroundings. We
opened the musical doors for our generation. We may have never competed
with the Beatles, but we sure promoted their music, along with the
Rolling Stones and a whole lot more Legendary Rock Bands of our time.
Can't have much more fun than that because "We lived the
Dream".
Ken
Brown, Drummer and Business Manager of "The Centaurs" and
"Framework" from Coronado
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