Unlike most
of the bands I mention on this web site I don't have any interesting Rings stories
to tell myself. I didn't know these guys, really, though we had mutual close
pals like the late, very groovy Richard Randall. Certain bands get a special
dispensation from the "personal remembrances" approach I'm taking, however,
because they were such a part of the scene that the picture wouldn't be complete
without them. The Rings are one of those bands.
The Rings went from weeknights at Cantones to No. 65 with a bullet on the Billboard Hot 100 with the tune "Let Me Go", following the Cars onto major labeldom with their self-produced debut LP on MCA. Had they not been signed by the Music Cemetery of America label that blew it with so many other Boston bands who can tell what heights the group might have reached. Following their second album in 1982 the Rings disbanded, with some members regrouping together in Bamboo Gang and later the Wicker Men. I made it to a few Rings shows and the band was tight, melodic and always impressive, but we ran in different circles. In the absence of my usual little vignettes and anecdotes I thought it best to let the band tell its own story.
Mark Sutton was the first person to answer the questionnaire I sent out. I agree with him that "this will be a lot more interesting if you can amass the recollections of all that were involved." But I loved his simple, heartfelt response so I printed it verbatim. It raises a few issues with great resonance for me- that of "not making great recordings when it counted", for example. If I had one piece of info to offer any new band (besides "stay away from narcotics") it would be something that Josh White, the president of Dolphin Records told me years ago. I was mixing a Lifeboat show at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, N.C. and explaining how I was really a guitarist and was going to be a producer, not some roadie or soundman. Josh told me something like: "we have to be adaptable and wear many hats in the music business, whatever it takes to make things happen we must do. But the number one thing we have to do is make records, because when all is said and the gigs are long done those are what are left for posterity. Making records is what we do". The Rings left some fine music behind, but I think many of us like Mark wish we'd compromised less and recorded more back when the juices were flowing and the sparks flying. Here's what Mr. Sutton wrote to me about the Rings:
"The Rings
came together in the basement of a house on Elliot Street in Jamaica Plain that
we affectionately called Belle Rive. We had jackets made and everything.
I still have mine. It was a house full of artists of all stripes (painter, actor,
musicians, film makers). I look back with love on the experience. We all met
doing telephone sales. Bob Gifford was working (a straight job) with
Richard Randall (bass player,Babies Arm, Classic Ruins).
Bob was bringing home tapes of MIT's Late Risers Club, 1977. The Boston
original music scene was brand new, positively vibrant, exploding. Cantones,
Inn Square Mens Bar, the Space, the Club, the Rathskellar. I was fresh out of
Berklee. Michael Baker and I met in Berklee. Micheal was (is?) an agressive
and driven man. I have heard that he is currently managing Patty Griffin and
lives in Nashville. I do not know if this is really true. I haven't seen or
heard from him in years".
"Bob Gifford encouraged me to
write music. Bob wrote music. We amassed...a collection. I called Michael and
a Berklee drummer named Bob Woodbury. Michael wrote music. We set up
in the basement. We played. We felt we needed a lead singer, and held auditons
for same. It was a riot, but in the end we found no one. Richard Randall said,
"Fuck it. Just get up there and do it. The audience will grow with you.", or
something like that. He is the single biggest influence on my early decision
making process, and I attribute much of what I accomplished musically in the
city of Boston to his "kiss my ass" attitude. He's no longer with us. He is
missed. May he rest in peace".
"The original name of the band
was Rings Around Saturn, I think. I think we even played a gig with that
name. We all pitched in names, but I'm pretty sure it was Bob that came with
The Rings. While I was a schooled, craftsman-like musician, Bob was (and still
is) an artist. Bob was the soul of the band, and he did his best to resist my
efforts to sand everything down. Regrettably in the long run he was outnumbered.
This is why we never made great recordings (when it counted)."
"Woody didn't work out. We held auditions and found Matt Thurber. Still in college, and hell bent and determined to make a difference, musically. A real student of the art/craft and those musical contributors who were making waves at the time. This is not to minimize his musical contribution, but Michael Baker was the business end of our stick, and he dove in head first. I didn't get it at the time, but in retrospect I now believe that if not for Michael's efforts
you wouldn't be asking for historical information on the Rings. Bob Gifford, Michael Baker, and Matt Thurber in their twenties were very special people, and very unique musicians in their own right. The Rings was one of those bands that was greater than the sum of it's parts. Remove one member, band gone. I am grateful for the experience."
I also miss Richard Randall (we just called him Randall when I hung out with Baby's Arm; he was Arm bass player number thirteen, I think I was number eleven). He was a good shit, a funny guy and a good bass player to boot. I know Mark isn't alone in mourning his passing. Too fucking many of the crew from those days are gone now. Bob Gifford was the next member to give me a ring (groan...). He had this to say:
"It is 1998 and I am thinking about my twelve years in the Boston Music scene. I put down my bass and my mike in 1991 and thought, that is that end of that, mate. But here I am writing new stuff , thinking about recording it and thinking , maybe I’ll start playing out again. And then I think...... DON’T BE A FUCKING IDIOT !....you are just now able to pay your bills you silly twit!.........But then logic has never gotten in my way before, why now?"
"I had been kicking around Boston
since moving here from Maine in 1973. I worked at many silly jobs..... too many....
too silly...too excruciating to mention. In 1975-1976 I had been working on
an independent film in the Boston area and that’s another story. But, because
making movies is so much fun, you really have to pay a lot for this luxurious
diversion. Since I had taken out some bank loans in order to help finance this
film, it was now time to get some gainful employment and pay back those loans.
A close friend of mine, no longer with us,may he rest in peace, Richard Randall
aka Randall told me of an opening in his company for an apprentice orthopedic
bracemaker. Sounded interesting, needed money, I took the job. In between taking
casts of people and molding braces, we wrote songs and listened to music non
stop, often to WTBS. Oedipus, Carter Alan,Tom Lane. Hey Tom how are you
doing? Oh yeah...999, ultravox,devo,flying lizards,the heads,the pistols,buzzcocks,
rezillos,x-ray specs,unnatural axe, sham69, costello,la peste,cars,nervous eaters...What
really stood out about this music was the ...don’t take yourself so serious
attitude, there was such simple joy....there was the sheer HOLY FUN OF IT !"
"In 1976-1978 I lived with a bunch
of actors,artists,musicians in a big old wally ass house in J.P.(Jamaica Plain)
We called it Belle Rive. It was an exciting place... lots of great people,
many wild and woolly nights. Many evenings we would hang out and jam and sing
in the living room making up songs and ruining old ones, it was great. Randall
was a frequent visitor and he encouraged both Mark Sutton and I to pursue our
musical meanderings. Randall suggested the name The Rings Of Saturn which
we used for our first gig at a loft at 38 Thayer Street. (We also played
another gig as The Wrings when we found out that there was an English
band called The Rings, but then we just said fuck it....we’re The Rings and
thats the end of it.) Mark and I and assorted housemates andvisitors continued
making noises, sharing tunes and lyrics in the living room. When things got
electric and loud, we moved TO THE BASEMENT. Up to this point
in my life I had only played guitar but Mark and Randall were teaching me some
bass licks and I was digging it. After a couple weeks of this, Mark called a
drummer and a guitarist he knew from Berkeley College.That would be Woody as
the drummer and Mike Baker as the guitarist. So the four of us started playing
and writing songs. And moving in many different directions trying to figure
out what and who we were. That sounds so much more sophisticated then spinning
in circles cause we hadn’t a flipping clue! I mean we covered tunes that we
liked but no one else even knew they were covers. Hey maybe it was the way we
butchered them,what do I know ! Then, when we felt that we were incapable of
singing, we auditioned about 15 lead singers. What an incredible drag that is...Although,
there was one singer who was quite amazing, she was a black woman who sang blues
and gospel and she kicked the shit out of everything we played...Sometimes I
wonder what would have happened if we had gone with that line up! At any rate
we finally decided that we would each sing our own tunes and so that was that."
"We continued to struggle and try find our way but we were hitting a wall as far as mutual direction was concerned.We had played our first few gigs but no magic was happening on stage or elsewhere. We needed a different rhythm than Woody could or would provide and so Woody got gone and we now had the sheer joy of trying to find a good rock drummer. So off we went to audition hell again! Good drummers with restraint,great licks and good time are real rare. One drummer came in and threw his drums down a flight of stairs into the basement, to impress us I guess. Then he chained his kick drum to his drum throne and proceeded to beat the shit out of the skins regardless of what we were playing....I think he was an angry young man. Now after auditioning a few more drumsters along comes this college kid. He is quiet and friendly.And he plays like he loves it and it loves him and man have we got one great fucking drummer. That was Matt Thurber. Now, even though we were still pulling in different musical directions we had achieved some sort of cohesion and it felt like we were a group. We started to focus in on our own songwriting and stopped playing obscure covers ! We worked hard, practiced at least 3-4 hrs a nite, 3 to 4 times a week."
"Playing around this town in 1977-79 was pretty straight forward. It seems that at any given time there were only about 5 clubs where you could play original music as opposed to top 40 clubs/cover bands etc. One club would close down and another would open up. Let’s see there was the space,the underground,jonathon swifts,the paradise,inn square men’s bar,the club,cantones,the rat,spit.jaspers,club 3,bunratty’s to name a few. So if you wanted to play here’s what you would do..... Anything. Bands would start out playing week day nights. Trying to get a slot opening for a cool headliner on a week end. Pay your dues,make mistakes, learn a lot, badger the club owners or whoever was booking the clubs.....The hottest club for a couple of years was the Rat on a Friday or Saturday. The first gig we played with Matt felt different on stage, It was a good feeling.It was different, something was in motion for us.We played around Boston for a couple of years opening for bands, finally headlining clubs. We recorded demos in a couple of studios around town. Played our first gig at a loft in the south end and three years later almost to the day we headlined at the Paradise which was a good thing to do. Some of the best gigs were about the people you played with and who came to see you and whether or not you clicked that night.We had great times playing with the Classic Ruins at Cantones a couple of times.......... A big high was opening for the Cars at the Music Hall. When we were doing sound check I remember looking up at the towering ceiling and getting this feeling of reverse vertigo, like I was being pulled up into the air. And I was not doing any chemicals either!"
In response to a question asking about favorite, least favorite and just plain memorable shows Bob wrote:
"Playing a biker club in New Hampshire (with the Real Kids?) and after the sets some clown came in with a gun trying to get somebody. They finally got him out of there with no blood shed............ I remember a couple of gigs where the only audience for your set was the other band you were playing with.....Opening up for BlueOyster Cult at Long Island Coliseum which was a scene right out of Spinal Tap you gotta believe. One of our best nights was at the University of New Hampshire on a three bill act Robin Lane and the Chartbusters were headlining,the Neighborhoods went on first, the Rings went on second. After Robin Lane's set all three bands came back on stage at the same time and jammed on a couple of tunes- it was way over the top and a very magic moment. You shouda been there! Other acts The Rings played with were Squeeze, Ian Hunter,Jim Carroll Band,the Pretenders, David
Hohannsen Group."
Jesus, does every band that played back then have a Real-Kids-NH-Biker-Bar Near Death episode to tell? I mean I certainly do- it's over on the bones page. Lots of things Bob and Mark say ring true and familiar.
The final respondent to the Rings outreach effort was Bob Woodbury. Here's his tale:
Back in Boston during the 70's a band was born in the basement of a house in Jamaica Plain. The Rings..... Mark Sutton, Mike Baker, Bob Gifford and Bob Woodbury. If we were trying to acheive some kind of sound I guess I would have to catagorize it as "Power Pop". Lots of rehearsal and practice with some talented musicians. I vaguely remember the first gig we had was at an artists loft somewhere in the South end, I believe. We then went on to perform in other clubs such as The Rat, Cantones, etc.....The band had a good sound with Mike on rhythm, Mark on lead, and Bob and I forming the base of the group.
Somewhere down the road we decided to do a demo tape of the band at some guys basement studio. I remember doing five different songs drum tracks in one afternoon, because we were on a limited or low budget. Anyways the demo came out sounding pretty good for what we had to work with. We did a Beatles cover, "Slow Down", and each of the members of the group recorded one of their original songs for the demo tape. Mike's was "Hold On", Marks was "Wronging My Rights (All Night), Bob's was "Love Hemmorage", and mine was " Maybe Next Time I'll Learn". I still have a copy of that demo tape and pull it out every few years to get some shits and grins. Anyways, we were the epitome of starving artists in Beantown. The fucking money wasn't there. We would do gigs for next to nothing and sometimes it would click and other times it was O.K. I had just graduated from Berklee College of Music with a diploma in Instrumental Performance in 1977. I really thought that this gig would have panned out if given a chance. The potential was there.
After about a year with " The Rings " I was asked to leave the group that I had helped form because I didn't play simple enough. I was too complicated of a drummer. In retrospect, they may have made the right decision for themselves. I packed up my kit and went looking for greener pastures.
Somewhere through the grapevine I heard that Richie Parsons and Dave White were looking for a drummer for " Unnatural Axe ". I auditioned and got the gig with them. Same dives but a little better following. This group was pure "Punk", or should I say "Puke". One gig that I did with them was a strange twist of fate for me. We were headlining at the Paradise theather and the Rings were warming us up. The Rings were on the verge of a record contract with MCA. They bought out the show and gave all the tickets to their friends and fans. I believe their manager was the former program director for WBCN. Either way it was brilliant. The A&R man was there from MCA and they put on a very good show that night. The fans rushed the stage that night and the Rings sounded good. They eventually got the record contract and put out two albums with Matt Thurber on drums. I suppose they did acheive some nominal success at the time.
I still play drums and have been playing drums since my days at Boston. In 1982 I joined the USMC band and played for them for 6 years. I got out in 1988 and have been playing in various groups around the Lakes Region in New Hampshire. I now play for the "Rusty Rockstar Roadshow". A 6 piece rhythm and blues group that performs regularly throughout central NH. We perform mostly on the cruise ship M.S. MT. WASHINGTON during the tourist season and perform various outdoor summer concert series throughout the Lakes region. Clubdates, Parties, Weddings. I've been playing drums for 33 years now and have no intentions of giving up my quest to be the best at what I do best. Playing drums!!!!!! I still play the same 1971 Ludwig 5 piece Rocker set that I have performed with thousands of times, in psychedelic Red.
Bob Gifford - Bass, Vocals
Mark D. Sutton - Guitar, Vocals
Bob Woodbury - Drums (first version)
Matt Thurber - Drums (replaced Woody)
Michael Baker - Guitar
