There was no mistaking the crash of Drake's guitar hitting the ground through a wide open AC-100 amp.
I was fourteen years old when Paul Revere and the Raiders rolled into Milwaukee in the fall of 1965. The Raiders were part of a Dick Clark "Cavalcade of Stars" tour. After school, I took the #11 bus downtown with a few friends to see the show.
For an encore, the Raiders played "Ooh Ooh Pa Do." Near the end of the song, Drake Levin and Phil "Fang" Volk climbed up on top of their AC-100 amps. Considering that these amps are nearly five feet tall, this could certainly be a hazardous activity. This evening, Drake lost his balance and disappeared behind the amp. There was no mistaking the crash of Drake's guitar hitting the ground through a wide open AC-100 amp. A few moments later, Drake walked around from the amp, obviously hurting, but ever the showman, completed the show.
Many years later, Phil "Fang" Volk and I became good friends. He told me that on another night, he fell from his AC-100 as well. After that night, he told me that spotters stood behind the amps to catch a Raider should he slip and fall.
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