The drummer is Mark Rogers. He's the one in the middle behind the blue sparkly things. He also sings most of the songs. He also talks to the fans (that's you). He also books the band and deals with club owners and stuff. He also makes a lot more money than anybody else in the band. If you just HAVE to hear Brown Eyed Girl again, because it's your friend's bachelorette party, and it's her favorite song, and you just got here, and c'mON ... don't waste your time talking to Rich or Dan. Talk to Mark. He drinks whiskey.
The bass player is Rich Amsinger (the bass is the guitar with four strings). He's on Mark's right, your left. The tall guy. Rich sings a few songs. You can always tell when Rich is about to sing because he digs around in his guitar case looking for the words. Rich drinks whiskey. And vodka. And tequila, in season.
The remaining Heater is Dan Gibbons. The not-so-tall guy. People say Dan looks too serious. Dan insists he's just concentrating. Don't bother trying to talk to Dan. He'll either pretend that he can't speak English, or he'll bore you to death. Best to just leave him alone. Dan drinks water.
Mark and Rich come from Walnut Park, an area of north St. Louis which is known as, well, a challenging environment. They played together in a succession of bands throughout the 70's, culminating in the acclaimed Streetcorner Symphony. Temperamentally unable to handle popular success, they left that band to form the Walnut Park Athletic Club with guitarist (and future Heater) Dan Gibbons and keyboardist Bob Werner. WPAC blew up in the summer of 1983 after two and a half pretty strong years, featuring memorable Sunday nights at the midtown Caleco's, wild weekends at the Mule Lip Saloon in Cape Girardeau, and stays at the Roach Motel in Carbondale, IL.
In the fall of 1984 Mark and Rich got together with guitarist Jeff Breihan to form The Heaters. Jeff was a remarkable blues player, and this version of the band was all about blues and R&B. After about nine months Jeff left the group and Dan was rescued from some wedding band to fill the guitar slot. The Heaters as we know them today debuted at 20 North on Monday, July 2, 1984. The schedule for that year already featured many of the clubs that would be home to the band for a long time: The Stagger Inn, 20 North, 1860 Saloon, the Broadway Oyster Bar. In fact the Wednesdays at the Oyster Bar would continue for about seven years.
In the spring of 1985 The Heaters began moonlighting as the backup band for local rock'n'roll legend Jules Blattner. Jules had been the toast of the town in the Gaslight Square era, but he'd been out of the biz for some years. He carried his beat-up Stratocaster in the splintered remnants of a case which had barely survived his '68 tour of Nam. He said, "I could buy a new one, but would it make me more money?" Thus was born the Heater philosophy of musical equipment. After a year or so, the band parted amicably with Uncle Jules, who continues to perform his gonzo 50's act at select venues in the area.
In January of 1989, the band added boogie-woogie piano player extraordinaire Randy Albert, who had been playing with Streetcorner Symphony ever since Mark and Rich had bailed out of that band. Randy added a whole new dimension to the group - a dimension of, well ... piano. Not to mention suave, debonaire, Cajun attitude. About this time the quarter-beer Mondays at 20 North began to assume legendary proportions. Ask anybody who was there.
Okay, it didn't really make sense to add a sax player. Things were purring along just fine. Plenty of work. Lots of fans. Why rock the boat? Well, it wasn't just any sax player. Ty Perry became available, and if you've heard Ty play, you'll understand why The Heaters became a five-piece band. Problem was, suddenly they could play all this cool, complicated jazz. So they did. But, unfortunately, not everybody wanted to hear cool, complicated jazz. Which brings us to...
Crowds thinned. Work dried up. With five mouths to feed, the band relied more and more on weddings and private parties to pay the bills. The boys got cranky. This wasn't so much fun anymore. After a couple of years, Ty bailed out for greener pastures. Attitudes got worse, and rehearsal became a thing of the past. Work was getting really hard to find. Rich left the band in August of l995. Semi-professional gambler Cliff Featherstone filled in on bass, but the handwriting was on the brick wall. At the end of '95, The Heaters rolled up the banner and called it quits.
Rich had been taking chef classes for years, so he got a job cooking. Dan took a gig at Special School District, and then signed on with the Postal Service as a mailman. Randy hooked up with the RX Blues Band. Mark played with various bands before settling in as the drummer for Fluid Drive. But it just wasn't right. Something was missing. The world was a cold and lonely place without The Heaters.
Rich and Dan were unhappy with the real world. They had to work for EIGHT HOURS almost EVERY DAY! And nobody bought them drinks. And even when they did a good job, NOBODY APPLAUDED! It was terrible. Meanwhile, Mark was having existential difficulties in Fluid Drive. Phone calls were placed. Notice was given. Keyboardist Bob Werner (see "Mists of Heater Prehistory", above) was working with Mark in Fluid Drive, and he decided to come along for the ride. In February, 1998, The Heaters were back in the biz.
It was just great being The Heaters again. Music was fun. Life was good. A brief crisis occurred when Bob unexpectedly left the band - he was a wonderful player, but he had this funny idea that professional musicians should play music that people want to hear. Wrong band. But the boys recovered - after all, the group was founded on the principle that a trio could play Steely Dan if it wanted to. Thus The Heaters found themselves in their original format. Funny how things always seem to go back to where they started. And now that you know the score, its time for you to go back to the Fabulous Heater Home Page to see where The Heaters are playing next.
We may need to clear out of here in a hurry. You know how it is. Things happen.
Wherever we go, you can always find the FABULOUS HEATER HOME PAGE at:
www.bigfoot.com/~theheaters
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