Three years ago, KBSG FM midday deejay Mark Christopher received a complimentary Christmas album from the Ventures, the seminal '60s instrumental rock band whose twangy surf classics include "Walk, Don't Run" and the theme to "Hawaii 5-O."
Christopher, 35, decided to send a Christmas card to The Ventures, little suspecting that he was opening the door on an adventure that would include truckloads of beach sand, an ongoing petition to Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an appearance before the Washington State Legislature and a crowning show by the Ventures on Saturday, March 12, at the Premiere Club Showroom in Downtown Seattle.
It was, as they say, the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Christopher and the band are prepared to ride the wave all the way to a glorious landing in the annals of music history - if all goes according to plan.
But let's take a few steps back.
Upon receiving Christopher's season's-greeting, Ventures guitarist (and Tacoma native) Don Wilson phoned the deejay back and struck up what must have been a very interesting conversation. Over the course of the call, the subject of The Ventures' place in rock history came up, and Wilson informed Christopher that the band had never been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Although the museum has a wing dedicated to the legacy of Northwest music, no performer or group has been nominated or inducted save Jimi Hendrix.
Wilson told Christopher that when he visited the Hall's gift shop, The Ventures had somewhere around 20 CDs for sale. And yet in the only mention of the band, Wilson was misidentified as Don Smith, guitar player.
Something was wrong, Christopher thought to himself.
He began doing research. What Christopher discovered was that in order to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, a band must be nominated by an outside party. So there was that, easy enough to remedy.
Also, 25 years must elapse between the band's first record and the moment of induction. Were these the only requirements, The Ventures would be shoo-ins. They've been playing nonstop as a band since they first formed in Seattle 38 years ago.
In the meantime, The Ventures have recorded approximately 3,000 songs, written more than 1,000 original compositions and recorded upwards of 240 albums, 37 of which have appeared in the Billboard Top 100.
Christopher argues that The Ventures are responsible for popularizing the electric guitar in Japan. And indeed, between 1964 and '67 - "right in the heart of Beatlemania," according to Christopher - The Ventures outsold the Beatles two-to-one in the Japanese market.
The Ventures were formed in the mid-'50s when Bob Bogle, then working for a Seattle construction company, struck up a friendship with Don Wilson, who was doing time as a car salesman. The two had a mutual interest in guitars and soon began to play together on weekends.
Other members include Gerry McGee and Leon Taylor, son of The Ventures' original drummer Mel Taylor, who died of cancer in 1996. Apart from this one all-in-the-family lineup change, the original band has remained intact for going on four decades. They have never taken a year off from recording or touring.
Another requirement for Hall of Fame induction is that the nominating party must submit notable documentation of the band's influences and contribution to rock and roll. It is in talking about this aspect of The Ventures' chances for induction - their lasting mark on the landscape of music - that Christopher really lights up.
He calls the band "the Kevin Bacon of rock and roll" - a reference to the cult pop-culture game known as Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, in which a participant names any actor from Hollywood history and the person challenged must trace a six-remove lineage to Bacon through actors he's appeared with.
"There are so many groups and artists over the years that needed help," Christopher says, referring to the number of times The Ventures, as a band or individually, have played with other artists. For two instances, the band backed up the Monkees, and original drummer Mel Taylor beat the skins on the hit single "Monster Mash."
As for influences, the shortlist of musicians who have publicly acknowledged a musical debt to The Ventures includes John Fogarty, Jimmy Page, Stanley Clarke, Steve Miller, George Harrison, the Ramones, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Larry Carleton, Dire Straits, Davie Allan, Aerosmith and Marshall Crenshaw.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Christopher, for his part, is making sure he and KBSG drum up as much local support as possible for The Ventures caper. Since he announced the campaign and the March 12 show almost a month ago on the radio, he says he's received an incredible amount of support. There have been calls from the drummer for Yes, members of the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan and the Cars, as well as Roger Fisher from local '70s rock legend Heart - all of whom say they are going to try to make the show. Christopher says the Saturday show should be "a veritable who's who of rock and roll."
In fact, he says, "I've grabbed attention all the way to the state capital."
On the morning of Friday, March 11, Christopher and The Ventures will travel to Olympia to stand before the Washington State Legislature while Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen reads a resolution of support for The Ventures' gambit to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That's heavy stuff, and could cut a lot of ice with the 1,000 rock experts who eventually will vote on whether The Ventures should be enshrined in Cleveland.
As for the Saturday show, Christopher said he's expecting a big turnout from musicians, politicians and tons of oldies fans. A truckload of sand will be dumped at the club to enhance the "beach party" atmosphere, and there are rumors that national networks are interested in covering the event.
It won't stop there. "We plan on various events for the coming year to just educate folks and get the support of people for The Ventures and their nomination," says Christopher, who has always considered himself among the "second string" of fans - the generation responsible for carrying on the oldies tradition.
He says he wants to travel to Cleveland to deliver the nomination in person, prior to the November announcement of finalists. (The final vote is in December, and the induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in Cleveland is in March.)
In other words, it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, but Christopher appears ready to make the journey. "There's no guarantee," he says of sending The Ventures to the vaunted halls of rock immortality. "But we're going to do our best to get some awareness here."
Surf's up.
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