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Skip to: 1975 | 1976
| 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1992-2009
Date |
Location |
Event |
5/31/74
|
Appleton, WI |
Lawrence University, Riverview Lounge – Our first gig! |
6/1/74
|
Appleton, WI |
J. W. Puddy |
6/11-15, 18-22, 25-29/74
|
Appleton, WI |
Embassy Motor Lodge |
7/3, 6/74
|
Appleton, WI |
J. W. Puddy |
7/7-13, 14-20/74
|
Appleton, WI |
Embassy Motor Lodge |
7/21-27/74
|
Mankato, MN |
The Horny Bull |
7/28-8/3/74
|
Oshkosh, WI |
The Second Sun |
8/6-9/2/74
|
Racine, WI |
Sir Thomas Lounge |
Week of 9/8/74
|
Appleton, WI |
J. W. Puddy |
Week of 9/15/74
|
Oshkosh, WI |
The Second Sun |
Week of 9/22/74
|
Marquette, MI |
Cliff’s Ridge Ski Resort |
10/1-27/74
|
Racine, WI |
Sir Thomas Lounge |
10/27/74
|
Appleton, WI |
Lawrence University Chapel |
10/28/74
|
Green Bay, WI |
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay |
11/1/74
|
Neenah, WI |
Neenah High School |
11/?/74
|
Marinette, WI |
Sometime at about the same time we played in Marinette, I believe at Marinette Catholic Central High School |
11/9/74
|
Rochester, NY |
Rochester Institute of Technology |
11/16-18, 22-24/74
|
?Racine, WI |
Just You and Me |
11/27-30/74
|
Appleton, WI |
J. W. Puddy |
Early 12/74
|
Oshkosh, WI |
The Second Sun |
12/10/74
|
Dooley’s |
East Lansing, MI
We were contracted to play two weeks here, but were fired after the first night. They didn’t like our Beatles’ Medley. |
12/20-22, 26/74
|
Racine, WI |
Sir Thomas Lounge |
First week of 1/75
|
Racine, WI |
Sir Thomas Lounge |
| Week of 1/7/75 |
Appleton, WI |
J. W. Puddy |
| Week of 1/14/75 |
Appleton, WI |
The Pendulum |
| 1/21/75 |
Sheboygan, WI |
University of Wisconsin Center, Sheboygan |
| 1/23/75 |
Fond du Lac, WI |
? |
| 1/25/75 |
Brillion, WI |
Michiels Brillion Inn |
| Week of 2/9/75 |
Appleton, WI |
J. W. Puddy |
| Week of 2/9/75 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Teddy’s |
| Week of 2/16/75 |
Appleton, WI |
The Pendulum. We also seem to have played at Teddy’s again. |
| Week of 2/22/75 |
Appleton, WI |
The Spectrum (in Sabre Lanes) |
| Week of 3/3/75 |
Marquette, MI |
Cliff’s Ridge |
| Week of 3/10/75 |
Appleton, WI |
J. W. Puddy |
| Week of 3/10/75 |
DePere, WI |
St. Norbert College. There seems to have been another night at Teddy’s, too. |
| Week of 3/17/75 |
Racine, WI |
Sir Thomas Lounge. I also have listed in one book that we played in Chicago during this week, and at Pine Mountain – I assume the ski resort in Iron Mountain, MI. |
| Week of 3/31/75 |
Marquette, MI |
Cliff’s Ridge |
| Week of 4/7/75, also week of 4/14? |
Appleton, WI |
The Spectrum
We were rehearsing for the Milwaukee Symphony job at the same time that we were playing in this awful club with the flashing dance floor (lit from underneath). |
| Week of 4/21/75 |
Oshkosh, WI |
A one-nighter. This may have been the gig we played in the basement of the old Rolfe Hotel. The club was known as The Grotto. Tom Theabo sat in with us on guitar. |
| 4/25/75 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Milwaukee Symphony Pops Concert |
| Week of 4/28/75 |
Racine, WI |
Prairie School |
| Week of 4/28/75 |
Chicago, IL |
Mr. Kelly’s; a private party – a bar mitzvah |
| Weeks of 5/5/75 and 5/12/75 |
Appleton, WI |
The Spectrum |
| Week of 5/26/75 |
Skokie, IL |
Poor Richard’s |
| Week of 5/26/75 |
Appleton, WI |
The Country Aire |
| Week of 5/31/75 |
Racine, WI |
Jerstad-Agerholm Jr. High School |
| Week of 6/7/75 |
Oconomowoc, WI
Racine, WI |
We played two proms, both on the same night. The Racine gig was a “post prom” affair, starting at 1 or 2 am. |
| 6/22/75 |
|
|
| 6/27/75 |
|
|
| 7/4/75 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Summerfest. I’m not sure that this was the exact date, but I think so. Our first shot at Summerfest, we played on a rock and roll stage for local bands. Things got better for us in future years at Summerfest. |
| 7/19/75 |
|
|
| 8/19/75 |
Chicago, IL |
Chicago Tribune Noon Concert. I’m pretty sure Woody Herman’s band also played at this time. It was when Wisconsinites Lyle Mays and Steve Houghton were on the band. |
| 8/21/75 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Riverside Theater (with Weather Report) |
| 8/22-23/75 |
Skokie, IL |
Poor Richard’s |
| 9/12/75 |
|
|
| 9/25/75 |
|
|
| 11/3/75 |
|
|
| 11/14/75 |
|
|
| 11/28/75 |
|
|
| 11/7/75 |
|
Roger’s |
| Late 11/75, early 12/75 |
The usual haunts |
We played again at the Kenwood Inn, and at Poor Richard’s. I’m not sure of the dates. |
| Early December ’75 |
Neenah, WI |
Armstrong High School |
| 12/9-11/75 |
Appleton, WI |
The Pendulum |
| Late December ’75 |
Appleton, WI |
Lawrence University |
| Early 1/76 |
Iron Mountain, MI |
Pine Mountain Ski Resort |
| February, possibly March ’76 |
Milwaukee,
Galena, IL,
Skokie, IL,
Green Bay, WI |
I have payments from Kenwood, which must be the Kenwood Inn at UWM, and Galena, where we played at a ski lodge (Chestnut Mountain), and Poor Richard’s. I have in the check register that we played two Wednesdays and a weekend at the Kenwood Inn. There is also a deposit from Green Bay – a UWGB gig? |
| March ’76 |
Wisconsin,
Illinois |
I have payments for gigs at J. W. Puddy in Appleton, Roger’s in ??, and St. Norbert College in DePere, as well as Poor Richard’s again, more than once. There is also a deposit from Mel’s wedding – this was Mel from the Village Pub in Winneconne, WI. His reception was at the Legion-on-the-Lake (American Legion) in Oshkosh. |
| Early April ’76 |
Wakefield, MI,
Marqutette, MI |
We played at a club in Wakefield, where there was supposed to be a big crowd because of the ski season. Unfortunately, because of an early thaw, there was no snow. We played a daytime concert to promote the evening gig, and only two people showed up. They might have been some of the help at the club. Anyway, remarkably, we had a lot of fun playing a whole concert. We later went back to Cliff’s Ridge in Marquette, where there was still snow. |
| April ’76 |
Chicago, IL,
Skokie, IL,
DePere, WI,
Stevens Point, WI |
We played at least two gigs at Orphan’s, on the north side of Chicago, and several more gigs at Poor Richard’s. I also have another gig from St. Norbert listed. A deposit from Stevens Point was most likely from the University of Wisconsin there. |
| May ’76 |
Wisconsin |
There are deposits from the Kenwood Inn, and from Lawrence University. Later in the month there is a deposit from Cambridge, which I believe was from Cambridge (WI) High School. There is also a deposit from Northwestern. Did we play at Northwestern University in Evantson, IL? You’d think I could remember that since I went to school there for a year. |
| June ’76 |
Wisconsin |
More gigs at the Kenwood; a Harmon wedding, Lawrence (? – only a few dollars), The Dilemma (in Oshkosh), a mysterious Century, and a gig in Fond du Lac. It was during this time that we settled in and played most Friday and Saturday nights all summer at the Kenwood Inn. |
| 7/4/76 |
Highland Park, IL |
On our country’s bicentennial, we played outdoors at a park in Highland Park, IL. It was early enough that some of us got to see fireworks other places later in the evening. |
| July ’76 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Summerfest. I don’t have an exact date, or who might have played after us. Was this the time preceding Maynard Ferguson’s band?
We continued to play gigs at the Kenwood Inn. There is also a deposit from Highland Park later in the month. Another gig somewhere? And we also played (a day gig, I think) at Milwaukee’s Alewives Jazz Festival. |
| July-August ’76 |
Various |
I have a deposit from Kohler (WI, I’m sure). This wasn’t the party we played at Gordon Behne’s was it? We continued to play at the Kenwood in August, and there is a deposit from WBBM. I remember playing a gig in Chicago that had something to do with that television station. We played an awful gig at the Buffalo Nickel in Buffalo Grove, IL. In late August there is a deposit from Just Music – ? |
| 8/27-28/76 |
Oconomowoc, WI |
Spirits of ’76 |
| 9/2-4/76 |
Oconomowoc, WI |
Spirits of ’76 |
| 9/8/76 |
Brillion, WI |
Michiel’s Brillion Inn |
| 9/17/76 |
Santa Rosa, CA |
Santa Rosa Junior College |
| 9/19/76 |
Monterey, CA |
Monterey Jazz Festival |
| 9/20/76 |
Weed, CA |
College of the Siskiyous |
| 9/22/76 |
Reno, NV |
University of Nevada-Reno |
| 9/23/76 |
Los Banos, CA |
Los Banos High School |
| 9/26/76 |
Las Vegas, NV |
Las Vegas Jazz Society. The great gentleman and electric bass pioneer Monk Montgomery was our host. |
| 9/27/76 |
Las Vegas, NV |
University of Nevada-Las Vegas |
| 9/28-10/3/76 |
Redondo Beach, CA |
Concerts by the Sea |
| 10/9/76 |
Yuma, AZ |
The college here is now known as Arizona Western College. I’m not sure that was the name then. We played in a multipurpose room in which there were plenty of lizards roaming freely. |
| 10/14/76 |
Eagle River, WI |
Northland Pines High School |
| 10/15/76 |
Bloomington, MN |
I don’t remember this gig, and have not record of getting paid in my date book, but there is a small deposit in the band account from it. |
| 10/21/76 |
Wausau, WI |
Wausau High School with Count Basie. Afterwards, trombone legend Al Grey holds forth. |
| 10/22/76 |
Sturtevant, WI |
Vance’s Bar (Chimp sings “Color My World”) |
| 10/25/76 |
Madison, WI |
Madison Area Technical College |
| 10/26/76 |
Beaver Dam, WI |
Wayland Academy |
| 10/28/76 |
Kohler, WI |
Kohler Company |
| 10/29-30/76 |
Danville, IL |
Elks Lodge (Dietch - I learned Tommy Dorsey’s theme “I'm Getting Sentimental Over You” for this gig, and we had some kind of hassle over Gary Miller’s van) |
| 11/6/76 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 11/12-13/76 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 11/16/76 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 11/22/76 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 12/4-5/76 |
Appleton, WI |
The Fire Alarm |
| 12/7/76 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 12/9/76 |
Oconomowoc, WI |
Oconomowoc High School |
| 12/10-11/76 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 12/14/76 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 12/16/76 |
Oshkosh, WI |
The Dilemma |
| 12/17-18/76 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 12/21/76 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 12/27/76 |
Appleton, WI |
The Spinsters’ Spree (Dietch - the only Matrix gig I ever missed – was stuck at my parents’ in Michigan in bad weather) |
| 12/28/76 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 12/31/76 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 1/1/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 1/5/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 1/6/77 |
Oshkosh, WI |
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
| 1/7-8/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 1/9/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Leave for Sacramento, CA |
| 1/13-14/77 |
Sacramento, CA |
Sacramento City College Jazz Festival. Much of the band spent the night in the home of the College jazz guy – it had an indoor swimming pool and an extensive porn collection. At the Festival, Harmon, Murphy and Dietrich judged the first day, all of us the second day. Murph discovered Keith Farley’s lunch. Count Basie was the second night headliner. |
| 1/15/77 |
Santa Rosa, CA |
Santa Rosa Junior College |
| 1/21/77 |
Merced, CA |
Merced College (it might have been a junior college). Prior to this gig we spent a couple of days in a motel up in redwood country – Guerneville, CA. |
| 1/22/77 |
Ridgecrest, CA |
Cerro Coso College |
| 1/24-29/77 |
Century City, CA |
Playboy Club. Comedienne Lotus Weinstock opened for us. We met Artie Shaw (with Willard). No one came to hear us this week, because Roots was on television. |
| 2/2-2/6/77, 2/8-2/13/77 |
Miami, FL |
Joe Rico’s Bus Stop/Airliner Motel. This gig was preceded by the most famous non-stop road trip in Matrix history. My recollection is that Rico took one look at us and told us to open on our scheduled second night, rather than the first. |
| 2/14-20/77 |
Atlanta, GA |
Harlequin Dinner Theater. Here, we played late night after the Duke Ellington band had played a set, after the theater event. (Duke had died three years earlier). |
| 2/21/77 |
Birmingham, AL |
Morris House. That was a Monday. We spent Tuesday, Mardi Gras! In New Orleans. |
| 2/25/77 |
Kingsville, TX |
Texas A and I. We were as poor as we could be, but even we had more money than the students there, so we bought the Lone Star after the gig. The next morning, when I went to the bank to cash our check, a nice lady gave me (Dietch) a quick tour of the King ranch. |
| 2/26/77 |
|
We spent the night on Padre Island in the motor home. A famous percussion jam happened. Years later, the memory of this day spawned a new Harmon composition. |
| 2/27/77 |
Houston, TX |
Continental Showcase (CANCELLED) |
| 2/28/77 |
Houston, TX |
La Bastille. I don’t think this was when the TV was stolen out of the motor home. I think that was a later trip.
Afterward, I stayed a week with my brother in New Orleans. Others went home. Some took the vehicles on a long trip that included the border crossing at El Paso. We finally got back together at: |
| 3/12/77 |
Reno, NV |
Reno Jazz Festival. This is where we first met Bobby Shew. |
| 3/14/77 |
Monterey, CA |
Monterey Peninsula College |
| 3/15/77 |
Berkeley, CA |
University of California-Berkeley. Before or after this date we stayed with Ginger Bevis in Berkeley. There was water rationing at the time. As a band, we had our first listen to “Heavy Weather” at Ginger’s place. |
| 3/20/77 |
Los Angeles, CA |
Eagle Rock High School |
| 3/24/77 |
Costa Mesa, CA |
Orange Coast College. This was a jazz festival. I remember Louis Bellson being one of the names. |
| 3/26/77 |
?Los Angeles, CA |
Easter Seal Telethon (hosted by Michael Landon) |
| 3/30-31/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 4/5/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 4/14-15/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 4/18/77 |
Racine, WI |
Horlick High School (Tex’s alma mater) |
| 4/19/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 4/22/77 |
|
Leave for Louisville, KY |
| 4/23/77 |
Louisville, KY |
Thomas Jefferson High School |
| 4/25/77 |
Appleton, WI |
The Fire Alarm |
| 4/26/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s (CANCELLED) |
| 4/29/77 |
Oshkosh, WI |
University of Wisconsin Draft Board |
| 4/30/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 5/1/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Marquette University - Brooks Memorial Union |
| 5/6/77 |
Sault Ste. Marie, Canada |
White Pines College (our international gig) |
| 5/7/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Lawrence University Memorial Chapel |
| 5/9/77 |
Ada, OK |
East Central University |
| 5/10/77 |
? |
RCA Meeting (I’m not sure about this. Was it a phone meeting? Did a few of the guys go to NY to meet with Willard and RCA?) |
| 5/12-15/77 |
Houston, TX |
La Bastille – During this gig, TV was stolen from the motor home. |
| 5/17-22/77 |
Miami, FL |
Joe Rico’s Bus Stop/Airliner Motel |
| 5/23-27/77 |
New York, NY |
Remaster Ultra Nova Album at RCA |
| 5/28-29/77 |
Annapolis, MD |
St. John’s University - one night with Dizzy Gillespie, one with Soprano Summit |
| 5/30-6/3/77 |
Langhorne, PA |
The name of the club was Truffles, which sported a nifty disco floor. But after spending a night with his motorcycles, dogs, guns and “tix,” we played his club for free, as an audition. And he hated us and we didn't get the gig. |
| 6/7-12/77 |
Silver Springs, MD |
Showboat Lounge (with Joe Pass) |
| 6/22/77 |
Edinboro, PA |
Edinboro State College |
| 6/30/77 |
Pennsauken, NJ |
Cooper River Stadium |
| 7/1/77 |
New York, NY |
Newport Jazz Festival. We played at Avery Fischer Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic, opening for Gato Barbieri. |
| 7/4/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Summerfest (with Ramsey Lewis) |
| 7/5-8/77 |
Chicago, IL |
Jazz Showcase |
| 7/9/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Summerfest (with Les McCann) |
| 7/10/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Summerfest |
| 7/11-15/77 |
Cleveland, OH |
? I think this was the famous gig for which we left Summerfest immediately after playing, called en route to discover the gig had been cancelled. Reportedly, Tex, before crashing saw a sign saying it was so many miles to Chicago. He woke up the next morning and saw another sign (from the opposite direction) saying how many miles it was to Chicago. |
| 7/17/77 |
Kansas City, MO |
Brush Creek Park – We played the gig on a “showmobile” (a portable stage on the back of a semi trailer) |
| 7/18/77 |
|
Vacation starts! (In Matrix-speak, that usually meant that we had no gigs booked for a while.) |
| 8/6/77 |
|
Fred Sturm’s wedding (some of us played there) |
| 8/9-11/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Rehearsal at Josef’s |
| 8/12-13/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 8/16-18/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Rehearse at the Roadhouse? |
| 8/17/77 |
Appleton, WI |
New truck tires |
| 8/17-20/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Regency Room |
| 8/22/77 |
|
Leave for Telluride, CO |
| 8/26-28/77 |
Telluride, CO |
Telluride Jazz Festival (supply sound/crew) |
| 9/8/77 |
Thornton, CO |
Thornton High School (CANCELLED) |
| 9/9/77 |
Denver, CO |
Denver Public Schools (CANCELLED) |
| 9/10/77 |
Rock Springs, WY |
Western Wyoming College (afterwards, pickup trucks and hookers) |
| 9/12/77 |
Salt Lake City, UT |
University of Utah. After this gig, a very quiet (by Wisconsin standards) party at the apartment of two Wisconsin girls earns a visit from the police. |
| 9/15/77 |
Ridgecrest, CA |
Cerro Coso College |
| 9/16/77 |
Bakersfield, CA |
Bakersfield College |
| 9/18/77 |
Monterey, CA |
Monterey Jazz Festival – Our 2nd appearance in as many years; perhaps one of the only groups to appear two consecutive years. |
| 9/19-20/77 |
San Fransisco, CA |
Great American Music Hall |
| 9/20/77 |
Paradise, CA |
Paradise High School (CANCELLED) |
| 9/24/77 |
Santa Barbara, CA |
Santa Barbara Bowl (audition Randy Tico, bass) |
| 9/25/77 |
Guerneville, CA |
I thought this was called the Russian River Jazz Festival, but in my book I’ve got it listed as Johnson’s Beach Jazz Festival. |
| 9/26/77 |
Los Angeles, CA |
Improvisation West (CANCELLED) |
| 9/27-29/77 |
Redondo Beach, CA |
Concerts by the Sea |
| 9/30/77 |
San Luis Obispo, CA |
Cuesta College |
| 10/1/77 |
Redlands, CA |
University of Redlands |
| 10/2/77 |
Laguna Beach, CA |
Laguna Music Festival |
| 10/4/77 |
Mesa, AZ |
Mesa College (met Bud Brisbois) |
| 10/5/77 |
Scottsdale, AZ |
Saguaro High School |
| 10/6/77 |
Logan, UT |
Utah State (CANCELLED) |
| 10/9/77 |
Taos, NM |
Community Auditorium |
| 10/11/77 |
Seguin, TX |
Seguin High School |
| 10/13/77 |
Fort Worth, TX |
We opened for Buddy Rich at the Tarrant County Convention Center. |
| 10/14/77 |
Tulsa, OK |
Mayo Hotel. We opened again for Buddy Rich, who went off on the audience for not paying proper respect for Bing Crosby, who had just died. |
| 10/15/77 |
Winfield, KS |
Southwestern College |
| 10/18/77 |
Tahlequah, OK |
Northeastern State College (CANCELLED) |
| 10/21/77 |
Oshkosh, WI |
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
| 10/22/77 |
Kenosha, WI |
University of Wisconsin-Parkside |
| 10/23/77 |
Green Bay, WI |
Duck Duck Goose |
| 10/24/77 |
Green Bay, WI |
Riverside Ballroom |
| 10/28-29/77 |
Miami, FL |
The Airliner Hotel (Joe Rico’s) |
| 10/30/77 |
Coral Gables, FL |
University of Miami |
| 11/1-3/77 |
New Orleans, LA |
Rosie’s |
| 11/5/77 |
New Harmony, IN |
This was at some nice little theater in this historic old town. |
| 11/8/77 |
Houghton, MI |
Michigan Tech (clinic and concert) |
| 11/11/77 |
Baldwin, KS |
Baker University |
| 11/12/77 |
North Newton, KS |
Bethel College |
| 11/15/77 |
Cedar Rapids, IA |
Paramount Theater, opening for Buddy Rich. |
| 11/16/77 |
Creston, IA |
Southwestern Iowa Community College |
| 11/20/77 |
Topeka, KS |
Washburn University (Jazz Workshop) |
| 11/22/77 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 11/23/77 |
Chicago, IL |
The Ivanhoe |
| 11/30/77 |
Winneconne, WI |
The Village Pub |
| 12/2,3/77 |
Appleton, WI |
Josef’s |
| 12/6-17/77 |
Miami, FL |
Joe Rico’s Checkmate Lounge...another insane drive! |
| 1/2/78 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Giorgi’s |
| 1/7/78 |
Dallas, TX |
National Association of Jazz Educators Convention. |
| 1/11/78 |
Laredo, TX |
Laredo Junior College |
| 1/12-15/78 |
Houston, TX |
La Bastille - I think this must have been the week with Dave Liebman and Richie Beirach. |
| 1/16/78 |
Thibodaux, LA |
Nicholls State University |
| 1/19-21/78 |
Tulsa, OK |
Magician’s Theatre. Remember the “Seed Chick”? |
| 1/23/78 |
Rolling Meadows, IL |
Rolling Meadows High School |
| 1/27-28/78 |
Appleton, WI |
Dave’s. Dave’s? Where the heck was Dave’s? |
| 1/29-30/78 |
Madison, WI |
Bunky’s |
| 2/3/78 |
Aberdeen, SD |
Northern State College. Our only gig in the Dakotas. |
| 2/9/78 |
Bloomington, MN |
Met Sports Complex (opened for Maynard Ferguson’s band). |
| 2/11/78 |
Des Moines, IA |
Drake University (also on the bill, Frank Rosolino) |
| 2/18/78 |
Morrisville, NY |
Morrisville College (Intercollegiate Jazz Festival) |
| 2/21/78 |
White Plains, NY |
Pace College (the Pub) |
| 2/23/78 |
Selden, NY |
Suffolk County Community College |
| 2/25/78 |
Memphis, TN |
Memphis State University |
| 3/1/78 |
Dallas, TX |
Richland Community College |
| 3/2/78 |
Tahlequah, OK |
Northeastern Oklahoma State University. I believe Frank Rosolino was again on this bill, although I have no real recollection of the date. |
| 3/9/78 |
Riverside, IL |
Riverside-Brookfield High School |
| 3/11/78 |
DePere, WI |
St. Norbert College |
| 3/16/78 |
Oskaloosa, IA |
William Penn College. Another Willard Alexander band, the Tommy Dorsey band, played in the Elks Club or Legion Hall in downtown Oskaloosa on this same date. |
| 3/18/78 |
Springfield, MO |
Drury College |
| 3/21-23/78 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Shade Tree Studio - I assume working on the Wizard album. It says on the album that we recorded it in August, but I have these three days marked as studio days. I also have the single day March 4 as a studio day, but that seems highly questionable. |
| 3/24-25/78 |
Appleton, WI |
Rainbow Room |
| 3/26-27/78 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Shade Tree Studio - I also have these as studio days. Again, this is questionable, as the 27th, Sunday, was Easter. But maybe! |
| 3/30-4/1/78 |
Madison, WI |
Bunky’s |
| 4/3/78 |
DeKalb, IL |
Northern Illinois University |
| 4/6-8/78 |
Chicago, IL |
The Quiet Knight |
| 4/14-16/78 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Shade Tree Studio |
| 4/19/78 |
Milton, WI |
Milton College |
| 4/22-23/78 |
Wichita, KS |
Wichita State University Jazz Fest (held in downtown convention hall) |
| 4/24/78 |
Santa Fe, NM |
Casa Blanca |
| 4/26/78 |
Scottsdale, AZ |
Double Tree Inn. Booked by Bud Brisbois. |
| 4/28-29/78 |
Santa Barbara, CA |
Baudelaire’s |
| 5/3/78 |
Creston, IA |
Southwestern Iowa Community College (our second gig there) |
| 5/5/78 |
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario |
White Pines College (Matrix goes international for a second night. Did we do this?) |
| 5/12/78 |
Eau Claire, WI |
Civic Center (with Woody Herman) |
| 5/13/78 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Playboy Club |
| 5/18/78 |
Madison, WI |
Bunky’s |
| 5/19-20/78 |
Rockford, IL |
Charlotte’s Web |
| 5/26/78 |
Appleton, WI |
Rainbow Room |
| 5/28/78 |
Appleton, WI |
Lawrence University. This was the orchestra gig with Michael Gibbs and Bud Brisbois. We spent the previous day rehearsing. We all know about what happened the next week with Bud. Incidentally, I read a long, long bit about this on some website recently. Was it a site for Bud, or did I get there from the Stan Kenton website? There were extensive quotes from Chief (Harmon) and Fred. |
| 6/3/78 |
Fort Wayne, IN |
Northside High School |
| 6/24/78 |
Rochester, NY |
Paper Moon |
| 6/25/78 |
Erie, PA |
Perry Square. A downtown, outdoor jazz fest, or some sort of civic fest that happened to have jazz. I (Dietch) remember having a fantastic piece of sweet potato pie here. |
| 6/30-7/1/78 |
Fish Creek, WI |
We did some sort of thing for the Birch Creek camp, but I have that we played concerts at Gibraltar High School both nights. I remember being at Birch Creek, but not the concerts. |
| 7/7/78 |
Appleton, WI |
Rainbow Room |
| 7/8-9/78 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Summerfest. I'm not sure who we opened for this particular time, but I’m almost sure one of these was for Sonny Rollins. |
| 7/10/78 |
Stevens Point, WI |
Pfiffner Pioneer Park |
| 7/11/78 |
Madison, WI |
Bunky’s |
| 7/13-14/78 |
Lafayette, IN |
Madman’s Moustache |
| 7/15/78 |
Champaign, IL |
University of Illinois - We drove over to Champaign, IL, played at the University of Illinois in the afternoon, then drove back to Lafayette, reset up and played at Madman’s again. Then packed up – and maybe even drove home. |
| 7/19-21/78 |
Chicago, IL |
Jazz Showcase. We may have also played on the 22nd, but I think we only did three nights. |
| 7/24-25/78 |
Tulsa, OK |
Magicians’ Theatre |
| 7/26/78 |
Carbondale, IL |
Southern Illinois University |
| 7/28/78 |
Cable, WI |
Telemark Ski Lodge. I have down that we were supposed to play two nights here, were cancelled, but were paid for one night. |
| 8/2/78 |
Winneconne, WI |
Village Pub |
| 8/3-5/78 |
Fish Creek, WI |
The Omnibus (Whitefish boil!) |
| 8/12-13/78 |
Chicago, IL |
Chicagofest (Navy Pier) |
| 8/21-25/78 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Shade Tree Studios. We flew to Telluride and played either Friday or Saturday (8/26 or 27), then flew back to work more in the studio, 8/28-30. |
| 8/26/78 |
Telluride, CO |
Telluride Jazz Festival - we also provided sound and crew for the whole festival. We came back and went into the studio again to finish up. |
| 9/3/78 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Playboy Club |
| 9/8-10/78 |
Dayton, OH |
Gilly’s |
| 9/13/78 |
Toledo, OH |
Bozo’s. The perfect name for a club that Matrix played in. |
| 9/15/78 |
Valparaiso, IN |
Valparaiso University |
| 9/22/78 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Performing Arts Center with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. I’d almost forgotten about this one. |
| 9/29-30/78 |
Cable, WI |
Telemark Ski Lodge |
| 10/2/78 |
Bruce, WI |
MTS (?). As I recall, it was something Technical School. But I don’t know what the M is for. |
| 10/5-6/78 |
Madison, WI |
Bunky’s |
| 10/7/78 |
Racine, WI |
The Terrace Room |
| 10/9/78 |
Green Bay, WI |
Duck Duck Goose |
| 10/10/78 |
Barrington, IL |
Barrington High School |
| 10/11/78 |
Big Rapids, MI |
Ferris State College |
| 10/12/78 |
Mt. Pleasant, MI |
Central Michigan University. We ate massive quantities of veggie lasagna and garlic bread at my (Dietch’s) parents’ house. |
| 10/15/78 |
Mt. Vernon, IA |
Cornell College |
| 10/16/78 |
Washington, IA |
Washington High School |
| 10/17/78 |
Omaha, NE |
Joslyn Art Center. Our only gig in Nebraska. |
| 10/18/78 |
Boulder, CO |
The Blue Note |
| 10/21/78 |
Fort Collins, CO |
Colorado State University |
| 10/24/78 |
Missoula, MT |
University of Montana. Our only gig in Montana. |
| 10/27/78 |
Provo, UT |
Brigham Young University. At $3500, I believe that this was our biggest payday ever for a single engagement (we made more at Telluride, but that was for sound for several days in addition to performance). |
| 10/28/78 |
Elko, NV |
Elko High School. Chimp won $50 at slots. |
| 10/29/78 |
Reno, NV |
University of Nevada-Reno |
| 10/30/78 |
Yerington, NV |
Yerington High School |
| 10/31/78 |
Moraga, CA |
Campolindo High School |
| 11/2/78 |
McMinnville, OR |
McMinnville High School |
| 11/3/78 |
The Dalles, OR |
The Dalles High School |
| 11/5/78 |
Salem, OR |
South Salem High School |
| 11/6/78 |
Pascoe, WA |
Columbia Basin College |
| 11/7/78 |
Boise, ID |
Idaho State University. Our only Idaho gig. |
| 11/9/78 |
San Francisco, CA |
Great American Music Hall |
| 11/12/78 |
Fresno, CA |
Fresno High School |
| 11/13-14/78 |
Los Angeles, CA |
My book is a mess here, but I think on the 13th we played at noon at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA). And I believe we didn’t play at the Roxy until the next night, although we had originally been scheduled to play there on the 12th. |
| 11/15/78 |
San Bernadino, CA |
San Bernadino High School |
| 11/16/78 |
Northridge, CA |
California State University-Northridge |
| 11/17/78 |
Lake Arrowhead, CA |
Rim o’ the World High School. We were supposed to play this gig a week earlier, but got snowed out. |
| 11/18/78 |
Garden Grove, CA |
Chapman College |
| 11/19/78 |
Santa Barbara, CA |
Baudelaire’s
The next night we had dinner at Joel DiBartolo’s home in Los Angeles. |
| 11/24-26/78 |
Galveston, TX |
Then we made one of our famous cross-country drives. We ended up in Galveston. We had a nice Thanksgiving buffet dinner with Nick (I can't remember his last name, which was Greek; I bet Harmon would remember) from Telluride. He had a big old smoked fish for those of us who were not eating meat. Then we played for him, supplied sound for him, got screwed by him, when the rains came and washed out the last part of the Galveston Jazz Festival. We played on 11/25. Others on the bill: Eddie Harris, Ron Carter, Flora and Airto and Pat Metheny. |
| 11/27/78 |
Thibodaux, LA |
Nicholls State University (again). We continued our cross country travel, landing at: |
| 12/1/78 |
Mendham, NJ |
Mendham High School |
| 12/2/78 |
East Islip, NY |
East Islip Terrace High School |
| 12/3/78 |
Salem, MA |
New Salem High School |
| 12/4/78 |
Framingham, MA |
Bose factory! We also had pictures taken of us and our sound system in Boston at the Berklee School of Music. |
| 12/5/78 |
Gloversville, NY |
Gloversville HS |
| 12/7-9/78 |
New York, NY |
The Other End. (formerly The Bitter End) Uncle Dirty, the hilarious old New York comedian, opened for us. |
| 12/11/78 |
Chicago, IL |
Rick’s Café American. This was at one of the downtown Holiday Inns. We each got a separate room, and I remember Chimp calling me in my room. He was obviously lonely, not used to being alone in a room, instead of stuffed in with three other freaks. |
| 12/12/78 |
Chicago, IL |
The Cove (University of Chicago) |
| 12/13/78 |
Madison, WI |
Bunky’s |
| |
|
Thus ended another insane tour and year. That last tour – to the Northwest, West, South and East, had a lot of gigs, but believe me, the pay wasn't good. Murph and Donna got married on 12/16. |
| 1/9-11/79 |
Fond du Lac, WI |
We played at Arbuckle’s on the 9th. Then we rehearsed at the hunting lodge. |
| 1/12-13/79 |
Cary, IL |
Harry Hope’s |
| 1/19-20/79 |
Appleton, WI |
Horn sectional |
| 1/22-24/79 |
Minneapolis, MN |
The Longhorn |
| 1/25/79 |
Stevens Point, WI |
University of Wisconsin (Dave Scott’s first day as bus driver) |
| 1/26/79 |
Chicago, IL |
Park West. The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra also played. (was Thad already gone?) |
| 1/27/79 |
Glen Ellyn, IL |
College of DuPage |
| 1/30/79 |
Chicago, IL |
Loyola University |
| 1/31/79 |
Elkhart, ID |
Bach factory (trying horns) |
| 2/2/79 |
Rochester, NY |
University of Rochester |
| 2/3/79 |
Bethesda, MD |
Walt Whitman High School. This was a gig we were supposed to play, but MURPH CANCELLED IT. |
| 2/5/79 |
North Carolina |
Pembroke State University |
| 2/7/79 |
Amityville,
Long Island, NY |
The Pastime Pub (noon lunch with Willard Alexander) |
| 2/9/79 |
State College, PA |
Pennsylvania State University |
| 2/10/79 |
Elmhurst, IL |
Pick up Mini Moog at O’Hare (replaced oscillator board, new pitch ribbon) |
| 2/14/79 |
St. Louis, MO |
Mississippi Nights |
| 2/15/79 |
Kansas City, MO |
NEC. A big convention for selling acts to colleges. |
| 2/26/79 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Playboy Club |
| 2/17/79 |
Murray, KY |
Murray State College |
| 2/18/79 |
Clarksville, TN? |
Austin Peay State College Student Union |
| 2/19/79 |
Memphis, TN |
Memphis State Jazz Fest. |
| 2/20/79 |
Memphis, TN |
Shelby County Prison
(met some nice guys who wanted to “roadie” for us!) |
| 2/21/79 |
Denton, TX |
North Texas State University |
| 2/22/79 |
Seguin, TX |
Seguin High School |
| 2/23/79 |
Waco, TX |
Baylor University - Concert |
| 2/24/79 |
Waco, TX |
Baylor University - Clinic |
| 2/25-26/79 |
Tulsa, OK |
Magician’s Theater |
| 2/27/79 |
Desloge, MO |
North County High School |
| 2/28/79 |
Mt. Vernon, IL |
Rend Lake College |
| 3/2/79 |
Kankakee, IL |
Westview High School |
| 3/3/79 |
Grand Rapids, MI |
Aquinas College |
| 3/5/79 |
Flint, MI |
Mott Community College |
| 3/6/79 |
Saginaw, MI |
Saginaw Valley State College |
| 3/8/79 |
Manitowoc, WI |
Roncalli High School (clinic and concert) |
| 3/9/79 |
Green Bay, WI |
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay |
| 3/10/79 |
Appleton, WI |
Lawrence University Memorial Chapel |
| 3/19/79 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Performing Arts Center. With Woody Herman. It was a fundraiser for the Sister Fabian scholarship. She was Woody’s teacher back in his youth. |
| 3/20/79 |
St. Paul, MN |
Prom Center |
| 3/21/79 |
Fond du Lac, WI |
Arbuckle’s |
| 3/23/79 |
Superior, WI |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
| 3/24/79 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Shade Tree Studios - record |
| 4/9/79 |
Lake Geneva, WI |
Shade Tree Studios - mix |
| 4/18/79 |
Boulder, CO |
The Blue Note |
| 4/20/79 |
Pasco, WA |
Columbia Basin College |
| 4/21/79 |
Bellingham, WA |
Western Washington University |
| 4/22/79 |
Seattle, WA |
Edmonds Community College |
| 4/23/79 |
Seattle, WA |
The Rainbow Room |
| 4/24/79 |
Bremerton, WA |
Olympic College |
| 4/25/79 |
Corvallis, OR |
Oregon State University |
| 4/26/79 |
Portland, OR |
Euphoria |
| 4/27/79 |
Portland, OR |
Lewis and Clark College |
| 4/28/79 |
Eugene, OR |
University of Oregon |
| 4/29/79 |
Bend, OR |
Central Oregon College |
| 4/30/79 |
Weed, CA |
College of the Siskyous |
| 5/2/79 |
Santa Rosa, CA |
Santa Rosa Junior College |
| 5/3/79 |
Berkeley, CA |
The Keystone |
| 5/4/79 |
Davis, CA |
University of California, Davis. An event called the Whole Earth Festival. Hubert Laws and Freddie Hubbard were also on the bill. |
| 5/5/79 |
Palo Alto, CA |
Stanford University. Dinkelspiel Auditorium. We opened for Hubert Laws. |
| 5/6/79 |
Santa Barbara, CA |
Baudelaire’s |
| 5/7/79 |
San Luis Obispo, CA |
? |
| 5/8-9/79 |
Los Angeles, CA |
The Starwood |
| 5/9, 10/79 |
Malibu, CA |
Pasquale’s. We were booked to play the 9th; it was moved to the 10th; and that was cancelled. |
| 5/11/79 |
Concord, CA |
The Concord Pavilion |
| 5/15/79 |
Mesa, AZ |
Mesa Community College. This was the Bud Brisbois Memorial concert. |
| 5/19/79 |
|
Home! |
| 5/24/79 |
Eau Claire, WI |
The Joynt. On 5/26, Dietch and Maria were married. The Matrix Brass Quartet (with Fred Sturm substituting on bone) supplied the music. |
| 6/5/79 |
Detroit, MI |
Plaza Theatre. I think this was the Plaza Hotel, where we played on a terrace that was about six floors up. Gap Mangione also played. |
| 6/8/79 |
Chicago, IL |
1st National Bank |
| 6/10/79 |
Kansas City, MO |
Brush Creek Park |
| 6/29/79 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Summerfest |
| 6/30/79 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Group meeting |
| 7/19/79 |
Winneconne, WI |
Horn Sectional |
| 7/20/79 |
Winneconne, WI |
Sectional/rehearsal - pick up truck at Stumpf Ford (new engine $794.00) |
| 7/22/79 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Alewive’s Festival/Performing Arts Center |
| 7/31/79 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Meeting |
| 8/1/79 |
Winneconne, WI |
Sectional/rehearsal |
| 8/3-4/79 |
Door County, WI |
Omnibus (gig and rehearsal) |
| 8/9/79 |
Chicago, IL |
Chicagofest |
| 8/10/79 |
Edinboro, PA |
Could we possibly have played Edinboro between Chicago and Green Bay? Stranger things happened. |
| 8/12-13/79 |
Green Bay, WI |
Duck Duck Goose |
| 8/14/79 |
Minneapolis, MN |
The Longhorn |
| 8/15/79 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Crew departs for Telluride, CO |
| 8/17-19/79 |
Telluride, CO |
Telluride Jazz Festival (met Flora Purim) |
| 8/18/79 |
Telluride, CO |
Discussed having manager Dennis Justice come on the road and drive our bus! |
| 8/21/79 |
? |
Casa Blanca |
| 9/28/79 |
Cary, IL |
Harry Hope’s |
| 9/29/79 |
Neenah, WI |
Pickard Auditorium with Flora Purim |
| 10/5-6/79 |
Rockford, IL |
Charlotte’s Web |
| 10/13/79 |
Cary, IL |
Harry Hope’s. Did we play this place twice in two weeks? |
| 10/20/79 |
Eureka, CA |
Humboldt State University. This and the next bunch of “western” gigs were the tour we did with Flora Purim. |
| 10/21/79 |
Eugene, OR |
University of Oregon |
| 10/22-23/79 |
Seattle, WA |
Goldy’s |
| 10/25-26/79 |
San Francisco, CA |
Great American Music Hall |
| 10/27/79 |
Los Angeles, CA |
UCLA |
| 10/28-29/79 |
Hollywood, CA |
The Roxy |
| 10/30/79 |
San Diego, CA |
The Catamaran |
| 11/1/79 |
Tucson, AZ |
Dooley’s |
| 11/4/79 |
Boulder, CO |
We were supposed to play this date, but it was cancelled. |
| 11/16/79 |
Grand Rapids, MI |
Calvin College. The school of our dear old friend and mentor, Derald DeYoung. |
| 11/17/79 |
Rockford, IL |
Charlotte’s Web. It was here that we had the “fatal” band meeting at which it was decided that we would give it up – at least for a while. |
| 7/92 |
Oshkosh, WI,
Milwaukee, WI |
Our famous ’92 World tour. We played a noon gig outdoors by the Performing Art Center in Milwaukee. We played a concert at Oshkosh West High School for the Green Lake Music Festival. We returned to Milwaukee and played at the Pabst Theater. |
| 9/2/2000 |
Neenah, WI |
Neenah Jazz Festival |
| 6/29/2002 |
Lake Arrowhead, WI |
Northern Aire Jazz Festival. Also on the bill, the Count Basie Orchestra and Nicholas Payton’s Quintet. |
| 9/4/2009 |
Green Lake, WI |
Thrasher Opera House. Another long awaited reunion, and one of our most fun gigs ever. |
| 9/5/2009 |
Menasha, WI |
Fox Jazz Fest. More good fun for a lot of old friends. |
|
