SHB
The Steve Hertel Band “SHB” Well I guess the reason I am doing this for is mostly for my 2 beautiful daughters PJ (4) and Tina (2). So they can know what their dad really was and what music has meant to me and a history of what Steve Hertel did with his music. I am going to start at the beginning and work through to now or best I can determine “now”. I started playing in 1971. For most of my life I have struggled to maintain what I consider an acceptable level of proficiency and technique. The more I play they closer I get to that level I feel is required of me. Mostly I have played guitar but play some Mandolin and Flute but not really well enough to take the instrument on stage. The first attempt at playing was at my friend Jimmy Carroll’s house for his mum and sister it was pitiful and very embarrassing. But being determined to learn I kept practicing and got with my first band (Osirus) and the only gig I did with them in The Magul social center Liverpool.
Entropy: 1973 Liverpool UK. I then met a bass player, Keith Yerlet and we formed a band in Sefton Park Liverpool were we began to practice. As the noise became UN expectable to the neighbors when drums were added. We called that band Entropy. And did our first real gig in the Newsham Park Pub in Tuebrook. Again pretty bad we were saved by our drummer who not only being the son of a priest but being a fine keyboard player and singer sang honky tonk and Rolling Stones songs for the crowd. We went on to do a few more gigs around Liverpool. That took me up to around 1973 or 74. During that time I was lucky to become friends with some great musicians one being Eddie Parker http://www.eddieparker.co.uk I met Eddie at our mutual friends house in Moscow drive Christy Machale. Christy was one of my inspirations and mentor for all my musical taste which I will be forever grateful. I tried to get a band together with Eddie with some other Liverpool musicians but was not destined to go anywhere but man what a band it was. It was never named. Somewhere between 1975 and 1979 I got lost mostly in drugs. I moved to Miami Florida and had my musical interest rekindled and bought a Gibson 335 which I eventually sold to return to England a trend which continued over the years.
Bottom Line: 1981-1984 California USA. I moved to California in 1980 and met Bo Ralston a fine singer, harmonica and guitar player. (And my friend to this day) We soon found a bass player Bill Bouchard from Chicago. Bill was steeped in the real Chicago blues and with Rod Wilson; On Drums Bottom Line was formed. Bottom Line was a hard driving rock blues band we went on to do many gigs together. We added a percussionist named Jaime Mandez; Jaime was such an amazing player. According to Jaime he had played with the Miami Sound Machine and Carlos Santana, although this was never proofed, Jaime was certainly of good enough level to have played with them. The band went on to play for a couple of years until Bo moved to Las Angeles California. After that the band reformed.
Insta-Gator: 1984-1987 California USA. Rod Wilson and I got together with friend and sign painter Frank Chisty Guitar and vocals. I then recruited my good friend Ed Douglas from London. We had Ed fly in from the UK and so Insta-Gator was born. A hard rocking in your face Rock-Blues band doing a variety of Leonard Skynard, Marshall Trucker, Hendrix, Cream tunes. We added Jimmy (the fish) Fisher on vocals and Harmonica. Jimmy was a very hot harp player possible the best I have ever played with. We added Dan Sakoda ..boards to complete the band. Insta-Gator went on to win 3rd place in the California Budweiser battle of the bands competition. And became one of the most popular bands on the Monterey peninsula. The band recorded a couple of singles and other recordings but never got a record contract. There were a few DVD’s made of the band but none for sale. The band lost Jimmy (I believe Jimmy died in the early 90s) and tried to replace him with a few singers. The first being a Husband and wife Brenda Endsminger who played with the band for a few months? Brenda singing and played Harmonica and sang. We did many gigs in central California. The husband and wife team left and we tried another singer but during this time my mum died and I took off back to Liverpool (again). During this time I had to sell guitars and did not play again until 1996. When I joined a band in Liverpool called Nexus. I did do some playing when Insta-gator was reunited in London with Frank and drummer Alan who had won a competition playing from the back of flatbed in Monterey California. Eddie Douglas joined us in a studio in South London were we played and a video was shot, I never got the chance to see the video.
Nexus: 1996-1999 Liverpool UK. I answered a ad in Frank Hessey’s in Liverpool a band looking for a guitarist, I answered it and went for the audition; I was rusty, very rusty. Embarrassingly so! Despite this I was asked back for a second audition. Given some material to work on which I practiced the shit out of! I returned and played my ass off and got the gig. I later found out that the band were afraid of me, they thought I was a violent psycho and would duff them up if they told me no! Ha what a joke if they only knew what a pussy cat I am. Pete Smith on Vocals and Guitar. Barry Lee drums. And we added Jean Marc on Bass and Nexus was formed. Nexus performed mostly original material written by individual band members and collectively. We played over the years around 300 gigs. Jean Marc was replaced by Chris Nichols on bass. Chris is a very talented musician and along with Barry’s very unique style of drumming Nexus produced outstanding material. We did a mini tape kinda live and studio recorded by my life long friend Steve Powell. Steve is a well known engineer in Liverpool who has had his own studios and worked for the Paul McCartney Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Steve is also a very accomplished guitarist who played in bands in Liverpool. We went on to achieve the most I have ever done with any band. We recorded the first Nexus CD in 1997 called His Majesty’s Expedition to the Heavenly Empyrean. Which I believe you can still buy on the Internet. We also did a course for LIPA which we recorded 2 tracks going Down (Steve Hertel) and You (Pete Smith). Chris made his way to Canada in 1997 and we replaced him on bass with Steve Feeny. Shortly after Nexus disbanded and I moved from Liverpool to Rawtenstall outside Manchester. I immediately formed my next band The Fabulous Hooch Band.
The Fabulous Hooch Band: 1999-2000 Manchester UK I put an add in the local music shop in Rawtenstall as I was pining it to the wall a voice from behind said “ are you looking for a drummer” yes I said and Dave Webb introduced himself to me. We found a bass player named Pete Taylor. I was working in Manchester at the time and heard that one of the Boss’s was a singer, Dave Broadbent who was from Liverpool and told me he knew that the big guy in the big office with Chief accountant on the door was known to blow a harp. I convinced Dave to make time in his hectic work schedule to come sing with the band. I then went to the big office and the scary Scotsman in his big suite and 3 piece suit sitting behind his big desk and plucked up the courage and asked him if played Harmonica? STEWART SPEIRS looked up ad said no! not really, well I mean yes but never with any one, I said he should and he did and he turned out to be one of the finest MOOTHIE players I had the pleasure of playing with and he turned out to be one of the best and nicest friends I have (thank you for playing your Harmonica at my wedding, you were the hit of the day) In Stewart’s native land of SCOTLAND the harmonica is known as a "MOOTHIE", in ENGLAND I’ve heard it being called a "GOB IRON" - "GOB SLIDER". Now the band complete Hooch was a band of many styles very much a blues and R and B band but also a great rock band not afraid to try many styles of music. It was hard task to keep Dave and inevitably we replaced him with Angie Laine http://www.angielaine.co.uk. Angie a female solo artist from Beacup, joined and the band went on until October 2000 when I left with my wife back to the USA. I then met fellow Brit Lofty Whittaker and formed Useless bastards.
Useless Bastards/ Hot Rats 2002-2008 I played with Lofty through many versions and Band names. The first was The Useless Bastards with Jay Lawhon on drums. This three piece played many gigs together. Mostly hot rock. The band then changed to Useless B’s as there where places we played that would not bill us as Useless Bastards. That then changed to the Hot Rats to over come this problem. I met Dave Whitaker vocalist and drummer. Lofty Dave and I went out as The Hot Rats a 3 piece power trio. Somewhere after I met Buckster and great guitarist and convinced him to join us and he brought along Snow ..boards. Dave went out front and Jay came back on drums. We referred to the band as the big Rats! But were billed as The Hot Rats. This band did some recording and was a very powerful band with the technically brilliant Buckster on Guitar. Again the band was short lived and we went down to a three piece again. Dave went his own way I met a singer called Mike Alston who wanted to sing with us and also played drums and Jack Codron a keyboard player so had the idea to have two drummers. Mike showed up with Tony Jones an extraordinary singer. So another 6 piece hit the road. We had a couple of rehearsals and Mike got us a few gigs. The chemistry and vocals was unbelievable Tony certainly a most talented Musician. Harmony with 5 singers was great but band compatibility suffered. And thus came to an abrupt end. And I played a couple of gigs with some guys in Portland but was tiered of name changes and buying domain names and building websites so was convinced to go and start my own band under my own name. So not being comfortable with that I called it The SHB Band.
I would like to thank all who read this. I would like to thank all the people I have been lucky enough to play with. And I deeply apologize to those who I have forgotten names or left out. I will see how it goes with SHB.
As a last note for being selfish and only really caring about 4 things in my Life! My lovely wife Dawn. My two wonderful and beautiful girls, PJ and Tina. And my Music.