David and the Happenings
David and the Happenings was a band out of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale that had strong ties to Chicago and was associated with the alternate music scene in Illinois from 1980 to 1982. The band incorporated elements of punk, new wave, 60's garage rock, Motown, soul, rockabilly, R&B, ska, funk, free jazz and even gospel. The lead singer and frontman was David "Tremor", real name David Siegfried, who is orignally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and happens to be James Chance's brother.
History of the Band
Formed in January 1980, the initial lineup included Scott Nelson on bass, Joel Wells on lead guitar, Scott Morrow on rhythm guitar, and J.J. Jackson (aka Jonathan X) on drums. Most of the band members were already friends as part of a burgeoning punk/new wave scene at SIU that was coming together in 1978 - 1979. The impetus to form a band was sparked by a fateful visit by Jackson in late 1979 when he met Siegfried and the others and was immediately inspired to relocate from Wichita State University in Kansas in order to join the Carbondale music scene. All five original band members were involved in either the photography or film departments at SIU.
Wells and Jackson were the only band members with previous band experience. David and the Happenings initially covered The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Clash, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Jackie Wilson, Motown, James Brown, and other more obscure bands like The Sonics and Black Randy and the MetroSquad. They briefly had two female singers billed as The Velveteens: Lynn Vavra and Jeri Lee Sparks (who is the sister of Donita Sparks of the LA girl punk band L7). The band performed in Carbondale on The Strip at places like Hangar 9 and at several infamous parties known as The Deca-Dances. They had a number of notable original songs, including an Archie Bell and the Drells influenced dance tune called The Scream; Microbes In Action, which predicted biological threats like AIDS, SARS, and anthrax scares years before they occurred; (I Want to Be) Technology, which predicted the domination of computers; Leap From Nealy, the true-life story of a college girl's suicide; Wasted On Your Love, which could have come from the Stooges Raw Power songbook; and their most blatently punk diatribe, I'd Rather Be Queer (Than Fuck a Girl Like You). Their sometimes offensive lyrics and raw style combined with Siegfried's performance antics such as stage diving and flashing the audience didn't exactly endear them to the sleepy Carbondale crowd weaned on Waylan Jennings, The Grateful Dead and The Charlie Daniels Band, but they definately got noticed. The first version of the band lasted just five months, ending in May 1980 when Wells quit the band over creative differences and Jackson joined the ska group Riff Raff. Scott Nelson briefly joined Jason Ringenberg (later of Jason and the Scorchers) to form the rockabilly group The Catalinas and it looked like David and the Happenings was history. They played their "last ever" show at Hangar 9 May 22, 1980 and the show was recorded on casssette tape.
Regrouping in the summer of 1980, the band suddenly reformed with Steve Lamberson on drums and a female guitarist: four-foot-ten pistol Ronnie "Rocket" Cetner. With Well's Robert Quine inspired leads missing from their sound, Scott Morrow stepped up to play lead with his blistering James Williamson style front and center. Songs like First TV Generation, Man's Place is in the Gutter, and Punishment and Reward were more sophisticated new wave than punk; the Morrow-penned tunes Calculator and Is it Love or Is it Memorex took the group firmly into the funk genre; and Danger Daddy was pure rockabilly. Saxophone player Frank Trompeter aka "Frankie Axwell" was discovered by Morrow one day playing on the campus steps and was asked to join, adding a jazzy dimension to the group. As they refined their sound they began to be taken more seriously by the music community and started to tour outside of Carbondale. They played numerous venues in Chicago including Space Place, Tuts, Gaspars, (now Schuba's), Misfits, and The University of Chicago (Ida Noyes Gymnasium). They also perfomed in Milwaukee at The Starship and in Rockford at Charlotte's Web. (Nelson, Morrow, and Cetner were all originally from Rockford).
This version of the group lasted until May 1981 when Morrow graduated from the film department and moved to Los Angeles to form his three-piece punk band The Fiends. Cetner also disappeared from SIU and this left the group temporarily disbanded. In the summer of 1981 Jackson quit Riff Raff and rejoined David and the Happenings; Dave Schultz, who had been around since the early punk days, joined on guitar (his short-lived band D Minus was offically the first Carbondale punk band). With this incarnation the band moved more into 60's rhythm and blues roots; they kept their punk edge but gained a wider audience. They had success touring all over the midwest, both as headliners and as opening act for Siegfried's brother James Chance (billed as James White and the Blacks). They opened for acts such as Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, Martha Reeves, and Sam & Dave, and played venues from St. Louis to Chicago, Milwaukee, Rockford, The Quad Cities, Indianapolis, Columbus, Detroit, Philadelphia, and finally the Big Apple, opening for Joe Bowie and Defunct at Trax in New York in December 1981. In Chicago they played The Holiday Ballroom, On Broadway and the other venues mentioned previously. Their punk/soul/R&B originals included Pay the Wolf, The Scream ver. 2, Nuclear Function, Hips So Wide, I’m Gonna, I Ain’t Got Nothin’, Funk ‘n’ Rock Party, Do Unto Others, Selfish, and others. They often ended their shows with a gospel/punk rendition of Cleophus Robinson's There's Only One Bridge, with the "Wrong Reverend David Tremor" and the band imploring the crowd to "release yourself".
During the spring of 1982 Craig Ryterski replaced Frank Trompter on sax. They played their final show in Milwaukee at The Starship on May 16, 1982. In their three years together, the band had emassed an impressive repertoire of 112 songs, 24 of which were originals.
Origin of Name
There is some dispute as to who coined the name David and the Happenings but what is known is that the name was invented well in advance of the forming of the group. It was originally bandied about somewhat as the name of a fictitious group that might be formed "some day". There had been a 60's band called The Happenings. After it actually "happened", and they acheived a following they utilized the services of booking agent Peter Katsis who today is well-known in the undustry in LA. The band is also closely assocated with Metro owner Joe Shanahan due to the fact that Shanahan attended SIU during this time period and is friends with Siegfried.
Post-Happenings Careers
Scott Morrow went on to form The Fiends in LA, releasing two albums in association with L7 and John Doe of X. He wrote music reviews for the LA Weekly but moved back to Rockford in the mid-1990s due to drug-related health and financial problems; he died in 2005. Joel Wells died in 1998 from complications due to diabetes and hepatitis. J.J. Jackson became a successful technical director in the television industry and today directs the Tavis Smiley show (as Jonathan X). Frank Trompeter has maintained a healthy music career fronting the Frank Trompter Jazz Quartet and other music projects in Springfield, IL where he works for the State of Illinois. Dave Schultz continued to play and write music in numerous bands over the years such as Bucktown and YardSale, and currently fronts the alt-country band Purple Hank. Scott Nelson lives with his family in Elgin and is a professional electrician. David Siegfried formed the punk-soul band David Tremor and the DTs in 1985, playing briefly at the West End, The Smart Bar, and Metro, both with and without his brother James Chance. He formed a classic R&B band The Signifiers in 1999, toured and produced a James Chance DVD in 2004, and performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in England in 2005. Once a microbiologist, he is now self-employed.
The Reunion
On April 16, 2010, David and the Happenings got back together after 28 years to perform a single reunion show at The Smart Bar for SIU alumni, family and friends. Original members David Siegfried, Scott Nelson, Frank Trompeter and Dave Schultz were joined by members of Purple Hank and a full horn section. By all accounts the band played as well (or better) than ever.
Lineups
Original Lineup (Jan 1980 - May 1980)
- David Siegfried (as David Tremor)- Lead Vocals
- Joel Wells - Guitar, vocals
- Scott Morrow - Guitar, vocals
- Scott Nelson - Bass
- J.J. Jackson - Drums
- Lynn Vavra, Jeri Lee Sparks (as The Velveteens) - Vocals
Version 2 (Aug 1980 – May 1981)
- David Siegfried (as David Tremor)- Lead Vocals, Bongos
- Scott Morrow - Guitar, Vocals
- Ronnie Cetner (as Ronnie Rocket) - Guitar, Vocals
- Scott Nelson - Bass
- Steve Lamberson - Drums
- Frank Trompter (as Frankie Axwell) - alto sax
Final Version 3 (July 1981 – May 1982)
- David Siegfried (as David Tremor)- Lead Vocals, Bongos
- Dave Schultz - Guitar, Vocals
- Scott Nelson - Bass
- J.J. Jackson (AKA Jonathan X AKA Bussie James) - Drums, Vocals
- Frank Trompter (as Frankie Axwell) - alto and tenor sax, Vocals
(later replaced by Craig Ryterski - tenor sax