First Incarnation:
Ar Stevens - singer and lead guitarist Herb Hohnke - singer and bass guitarist
Jerry Wollenzien - singer and guitarist
Jon Jon Galobich - singer (?) and drummer
Second Incarnation:
Ar Stevens - singer and lead guitarist
Herb Hohnke - singer and bass guitarist and keyboards
Jerry Wollenzien - singer and guitarist
Mickey Milewski - singer and guitarist
Jim Milewski - singer and bass guitarist
Humpty Neuhoffer - drummer
Third Incarnation:
Ar Stevens - singer and lead guitarist
Mickey Milewski - singer and guitarist
Jim Milewski - singer and bass guitarist
Bruce Cole - drummer
Promo of The Serb Hall Concert
Influences
Mama dada
Oh and The Beatles, Everly Brothers. Hollies, Chairman Mao, Rick Nelson, Buddy Holly, The Legends, Millie Small, Dutch Windsor, and Mrs. Calabash.
Late into the 1960s four young lads lived in the Midwestern United States City of Milwaukee. Two planned to join the family business and pursue a life of grime. One dreamed of becoming an award winning alpine swimmer. The other was too short for most things. So he planned to devote his efforts to develop the perfect sneeze.
Then early in the sixties a phenomenon erupted across the big pond (not Lake Michigan, the Atlantic). Four totally different and therefore talented young lads recorded a notable record. A German record company, conveniently located in Germany, released the record and it came to the attention of our four lads in Milwaukee. Being of German descent they felt this indeed was their calling. They would follow in the footsteps of these other four German recording lads.
They immediately named themselves The Ricochettes (believed to be Bavarian for “bouncing off walls”). Herein lies the origin of the musical grouping comprised of Ar Stevens who was arguably the first 38th street resident to use the plastic guitar pick while playing the lead guitar. Not to be out done his neighbor Herb Hohnke, immediately across the street, began excavations to move his house to a position kitty corner, and here comes the rub, or Katy corner, from Mr. Stevens. Being a base player Mr. Hohnke knew this move would quickly forment controversy throughout Milwaukee where the debate between kitty corner and Katy corner had waged for years.
From his vantage point to the north and in the middle of 36th street drummer John Galobich refused to be suckered into this controversy. Afterall he was Catholic and strongly right-handed.
Elvis Presley would seem an odd addition to be drawn into this mess. Yet Jerry Wollenzien, soon to become a singer and even guitarist with The Ricochettes had in his possession several of the King’s best recordings. And he had them in both sizes. Some with small holes and others with that big hole in the center.
Soon British rock n rollers were invading the country . . . and even the city. A show biz impresario from a town south of Milwaukee, one She-ca-goo, named by Injuns after the stinking water there, decided to present several young British youths organized into lose groups of individuals, quite adept at growing their hair to lengths that for some reason caused elderly folk-with ties around their necks-to cry out in protest, as the youth stood on raised platforms flailing away at oddly configured plastic instruments, oddly invented by a fellow named Red from Waukesha (surely another town named by the red man) said instruments, when plugged into huge boxes containing loudspeakers and receiving power through electrical outlets, produced sharp, piercing, eardrum shattering notes that hit somewhere along a musical scale invented by Europeans and even Middle Easterners centuries ago.
The Ricochettes joined them.
Their guitars and drums could produce similar sounds. Their hairs could also grow to extraordinary lengths and they had matching suits. So for quite some time the boys were happy to join forces with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Herman’s Hermits, The Animals, Hollies, Hullabaloos and of course Wayne Fontana and his Mindbenders. It was a time of raging hormones, hero worship, and being hero-worshipped. All in all a good way to spend your teen years.
Soon dem boys grew older. And everybody’s Uncle Sam wanted to use ‘em. Not for music though for organized marching, and potato peeling. Changes in the line-up were inevitable. Jon-Jon wanted to promote round black vinyl discs. So when he hightailed it a whole gang of guys joined The Ricochettes; Mick and Jim two young Polish gents from Milwaukee’s sout side, and even a Neuhofer named Humpty.
Now I know what you’re thinkin’. Not the guy who fell off the wall. This was another Humpty who perched on a drummer’s throne.
So The Ricochettes were now, lets see, ah . . . six. Six longhaired jingly jangly musicians driving around in a big black hearse, pulling a huge trailer full of equipment.
Soon they met a King. One Zbornik of WRIT radio. Now this King knew folks, knew music, and recorded our boys along with a thunderstorm. This was in the day before sampling and looping so they had to coax a thunderstorm into a recording studio. And believe it or not using an old goat and two tubas as bait they lured that storm in. So today if you listen to “Come In My Love (out of the rain)” you’ll hear that thunderstorm at the beginning and end of the record.
These innovative sounds were the Sturm und Drang of The Ricochettes. It set them apart for years as sure musical geniuses or genii. Here were six young lads from the Midwest who could not claim Surf music as their own (no real surf in Lake Michigan) or folk rock as their own, or even the British Invasion as their own. These circumstances were not of their own making. It was purely a case of being in the right place not in the wrong time.
Also this being a biography (of sorts) we should heretofore mention some things, places and situations which were overlooked earlier. Here, in no particular order of importance, they are; Cheerios, Something Else, Custer High School, Paul Boche, Muskego Beach Ballroom, John Hall, The Eagles Ballroom, The Dixie Inn, The Ideals (Go Gorilla Go)Roger Smith and Ann Margaret, whoops that’s too important to skim over.
The Ricochette boys spent two weeks one summer at The Lelani nightclub backing 77 Sunset Strip TV star Roger Smith in his club act. One night he introduced his girlfriend, Ann Margaret, who had just flown in from Las Vegas. She was filming a movie there with Elvis Presley
Now on with the list of omissions; Crazy Jim’s Demolition Derby, Art Mackman at Johnnie Walkers, Paul Hornung and Max McGee, oh that’s another good un. One Saturday night in the late sixties The Ricochettes were playing a club in Sheboygan, The Alhambra. In walked Hornung and McGee. Max wanted to hear that new song by the Beatles, something about the night. So the boys kicked off Hard Day’s Night as the two Packer stars danced till late into the evening. They still managed to tear up the field the next day.
Here’s some more; The Knight in Appleton, Langdon St. Madison, Bob Barry and Barney Pip, St Norberts in DePere, our buddies The Robbs, Zeb Billings, Uncle Bob's, the immortal Bob Zenoni, Radio Doctors, Jeannie at Bethke’s, The Riverside Theatre, oh and it could go on forever.
It was another fun night at Kiko's last night with The Ricochettes. How do you guys come up with those harmonies? Nice variety of oldies. Thanks for the memories guys. Gary
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Mark your date book for another "open to the public show". Friday Feb 20th Kiko's 91st & Bluemound Rd. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ During a visit to the mental hospital, I asked the Director how do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized? 'Well,' said the Director, 'we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.'
'Oh, I understand,' I said. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.'
'No' said the Director, 'A normal person would pull the plug.
hey ric's thanks for adding my eye. i've got a few experimental songs on my site. if you have the time to listen let me know what you think. your music has always sounded groovy to me. i hope to be there when you start playing out again. jamski
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