Albert Flasher was founded in 1982 with Larry Benson on drums and vocals, Danny Cobb on lead guitar and vocals, Ron Lake on rhythm guitar, congas and vocals, and Chris Hulett on keyboards. This publicity photo may be the last time either Chris and Ron (left and right) were ever photographed (or even seen by humans) without hats! Larry is in the center, and Danny is seated.
Although the story told by band members has changed a lot over the years - often depending on who was buying the drinks - there has never actually been anyone named "Albert Flasher" (or even just "Albert") in the band. The name of the group was actually taken from a very strange Guess Who song that was the B side of the hit single American Woman. (More recently, the song appeared in the film Almost Famous. It is heard in the background during the Phoenix hotel room scenes.) A quarter century ago, we might have had a reason for picking this particular song title... but it has long since been forgotten.
In the beginning, the band had no bass player - in true 80s fashion, Chris was playing "key bass." So when Chris left to join another band in 1983, the band decided it was time to have one. Bassist Jeff Myers joined the group, and would complete the lineup up through his tragic death in an automobile accident in 1989.
In this publicity photo from the mid 80s, Ron is on the left, then Jeff, Danny and Larry. Also note Skip Voyles' original Albert Flasher logo, which eventually became a familiar sight behind Larry's drums in clubs all over the area. (Larry recently found the banner, and it once more hangs behind his drums) There is, by the way, an explanation for the odd crouching pose: the photographer said, "Stand like this!" Just as in Marty Feldman's famous gag in Young Frankenstein, it was impossible not to take the instructions literally!
For the next part of the tale, let's skip back to Us - or as it is known by its intimates, "the Us Band." This quartet featured Chris and Tony Stevens, and toured from 1975 to 1981. In this ad from a 1978 St. Joseph newspaper, Chris is third from left, and Tony (with the 'fro and the satin shirt... complete with sash) is in the foreground. You've just gotta love the outfits these guys are wearing! We're happy to report that the 'fro, the shirt, the sash - not to mention the club - no longer exist.
From then until 1986, Tony played with Hangfire, the house band at a pretty notorious 18/21 club in Shawnee called the Merry Go Round. This, then, is the band Chris joined a year after the founding of Albert Flasher - and is also the source of some truly amazing bar band stories. if you really want to know more, you'll have to buy Chris and Tony some drinks.
And that brings us to 1990. Jeff's death had stopped the band in its tracks for a year. But then phone calls started going back and forth among the remaining members - and it was only natural that when Chris got a call asking if he'd be interested in rejoining the group, the name of his old band mate Tony would come up as a good man to play bass! This photo shows the lineup for the next six years... wearing their best Foster Grants: Chris, Tony, Danny, Ron and Larry.
During this period, the band's popularity expanded rapidly. Previously the band had played a fairly small number of clubs on the east side of the metropolitan area, but now it found itself in demand in other suburbs, too - with regular bookings at clubs like the Roxy and Beamer's in Johnson County, and the Landing in Liberty. Towards the end of this period, several members of the band operated an ill-fated Blue Springs club called (what else?) Little Albert's, where the band played regularly... and eventually discovered that they didn't want to be in the bar business!
Our story could never be complete without mentioning the contributions of our good friend and band mate Gary Holley - shown here with Larry during one of our Olathe Side Pockets performances in 2008. Known by everyone - perhaps even his parents and the local draft board - as "Ox," for many years he served us faithfully and well as our roadie and driver - and when necessary, our bouncer, too. Although his appearance could be intimidating at first, everyone knew him as a teddy bear at heart, and he demonstrated it every day of his life. He did both the easy jobs and the hard jobs loyally and without complaint, and never allowed a woman who was alone in a bar to go through the night without an opportunity to dance. He died in February 2010 after a long illness, but will forever be a part of the Albert Flasher family.
In 1996, both Chris and Danny decided it was time to hang it up. The band held auditions and quickly settled on keyboardist Greg Hale to take Chris' place, but finding another guitarist proved more difficult. Finally sound engineer John Dixon suggested Steve Myers, who had just returned to Kansas City from Los Angeles, and with whom John had worked in a couple of bands in the 80s. Shortly thereafter, the band parted ways with Ron, too. This photo shows the 1996-1998 lineup in a performance at the Roxy in Overland Park: Greg, Larry, Tony and Steve.
Unfortunately, Steve's tenure in the band would prove to be short. In late 1997, he got an offer he couldn't refuse: a dream job with Gibson Guitars in Nashville, so he reluctantly gave his notice - but not before putting a call in to Kevin Davis, one of the area's best known players, asking if he'd consider joining Albert Flasher.
Kevin had no previous connections to anyone in the band, but his reputation had preceded him. He'd been a member of several well-known local groups - including Nation, JT Cooke, The Secrets* and the Janet Jameson Band. This publicity photo from the mid 70s shows Kevin (with the hair, rock'n'roll 'tude and the extraordinarily cool pink satin jacket) while he was touring with Glory Road. (Special thanks to GR drummer John Holmes - on the left - who sent us this fabulous photo!) With this background, Kevin was an instant fit. But be sure that you save a little money to buy Kevin a round or two, too... he's also got some pretty amazing bar band stories in his repertoire!
Kevin played with the band until 2000, when Greg decided to leave. At the same time, various business and personal pressures were mounting for other members of the band, and there simply wasn't time to find a replacement. So there... the story ends. Or does it?
By 2005, the remaining members of the band found themselves with the time - and more importantly, the desire - to play again. So just like fifteen years before, a series of telephone calls started. (This was much easier than the first time, because now everybody had cell phones and voice mail!) But the problem of the keyboard player remained - that is, until Tony talked to Chris, who said he was ready to play again, too!
So that spring, a new lineup of Albert Flasher veterans - Chris, Tony, Kevin and Larry - dusted off their instruments and began working on their return. Much to everyone's frustration, a succession of health and family problems (things that somehow never seemed to be an issue when everybody was under 30!) forced suspension of rehearsals for long periods of time. By the fall of 2007, everything was in place for the rest of the Albert Flasher story!
