[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: The following program is brought to you in living color on elliot gazette.com or wherever you get your podcast.
The Gazette News Group presents the Parting Shots Podcast. Now here's your host, Gazette News Group Sports Editor Ken Shot. Thank you. Scott Gazian. Welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me. From the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. We have another great show for you. We're going to talk some Union men's and women's hockey. The men are off this weekend, but they did have media availability.
I spoke with Nick Young and Parker Lindauer on Tuesday and got their thoughts about having a week off after a 4.01start to the season. Same kind of strange times to have a buy this early in the season, but they'll talk about that and the Their victory song Electric Avenue is now be they're all the rage for the Garner Chargers when they win hockey games. We'll probably be hearing that a lot this season at M and T Bank center, so we'll talk to Parker and Nick about that. The women conclude their 10 game homestand to start the season this weekend. They'll start ECAC hockey play and it's going to be a big test as Clarkson 10th ranked in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. They'll be here on Friday and and St. Lawrence ranked 15th in the USA Hockey poll and receiving votes in the USCHO poll. They'll be here on Saturday at 3 o'.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Clock.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: We'll speak with head coach Tony Macy and the players Stephanie Bourque and Matty Leaney.
We'll stay on the Union College athletic trail as we talk football with head coach John Drock. The Garner Chargers 3. 0 in Liberty League play in this season 4 and 2 overall.
They'll take on Ithaca in a battle of first place teams on Saturday in Ithaca. We'll talk to him about that and talk about how the team has been doing this year and I'm excited to have a very special guest to close out the podcast. Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad, drummer and singer of the band. He sat down with me on Tuesday in the telephone interview and it was a great interview and looking forward. I was looking forward to this interview for a long time was set up thanks to over at Rivers Casino. Grand Funk Railroad will be at the Rivers Casino Event center next Thursday for a 7 o' clock concert. That should be a lot of fun. I wish I could go but after work and maybe I'll call in sick. I don't know. Some kind of wonderful if I could do that. But I digress. So we'll, you know, talked about if how real an autobiographical was. We're an American band and we'll talk about the history of the band. And this was a great conversation with Don. I'm looking forward to sharing that with you in a few minutes. That'll be our wrapping up the podcast a little bit later, but we'll head into the break. We have Union Hockey Talk coming up next. And as we head into the break, we'll remember Ace Freely, the former guitarist of Kiss, who passed away last week at the age of 74. Here is the signature tune of Kiss. Rock and roll all night.
Rest in peace, Ace.
[00:03:23] Speaker C: You show us everything. You, you keep on dancing now the rhythm gets hot.
You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy?
You say you wanna go for a spin?
The party's just begun, we'll let you in?
You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy.
You keep on shouting. You keep on shouting.
I wanna rock and roll all night, I'm party every day? I wanna rock and roll all night, I'm party every day.
[00:04:10] Speaker D: I love playing sports, especially for my school. And that's because school sports are special. It's where it's safe to feel. It's where we're taught resilience, where our fear becomes confidence. It's where we learn to get back up after every fall. School Sports are where 7.8 million students go from I can't to I can.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: This message presented by NISFA and the New York State Athletic Administrators Association.
[00:04:40] Speaker E: Hi, this is Daily Gazette reporter Chad Arnold. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schotter.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. And I sort of buried the lead. This is the 481st edition of the Parting Shots podcast. We're 19 episodes away from the magical number of 500. So can't wait to hit that 500 mark and look back on the history of this podcast. So that'll be a lot of fun. Well, Union hockey talk, we'll start with that. We'll start with the men's team coming off big wins over Niagara, 3, 2 come from behind victory on Friday and a 6 nothing route on Saturday to improve to 4, 0 and 1. The best mark in the Josh Howgie era, the head coach of the Garner Chargers in his fourth season there. And we talked to Josh yesterday about that.
Union has this weekend off. There's no games for them to play, which is kind of unusual. Getting have by this early in the season. But Josh doesn't mind it. And in talking with Nick Young and Parker Lindauer on Tuesday at MNC bank center, they didn't mind it either. So let's hear from them then. Of course, as I mentioned in the Open, the Electric Avenue song, the Eddie grant classic from 1983 and the origins of that becoming the Garner Charger's goal, the winning song. So here are Nick Young and Parker Lindauer.
Nick, you guys are off to a great start.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: Four on one.
[00:06:06] Speaker B: But now you get to buy very early in the season. Is that a good thing?
[00:06:11] Speaker F: I mean, you know, it is what it is, but it just gives us a chance to work on ourselves and continue to get better every day.
[00:06:17] Speaker G: Parker?
[00:06:18] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, just like Nick said, I don't really think it's a matter of who we're playing. We gotta focus on ourselves. And these next two weeks are gonna be huge for us to not take a step back and be ready for rpi.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: How do you like the way you're playing right now?
[00:06:37] Speaker E: I mean, like, yeah, I had. I had a good weekend, I thought.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: But I mean, the team overall, not.
[00:06:42] Speaker E: Just, oh, sorry, sorry.
Yeah, I mean, same thing. Like, I thought. I thought the team itself had a good weekend, too. But honestly, like, there's areas of our game that we can always be working on. And I think this week is going to be kind of like how we're going to work on it and we're going to look at video and really dive into, like, our turnovers and our D zone and how we can get better that way.
[00:07:09] Speaker G: Nick?
[00:07:10] Speaker F: Yeah, no, I obviously love the way we're playing the weekend sweep. You can never be mad. I think Friday night we played better than a 3:2 game. So I think I'm happy with how we came out Saturday night and really, like, took it to him.
Just like Parker said, we have some things to clean up and that's what this week's for.
So I'm pretty happy we have a bye week. Obviously, I'd love to play, but now it's our time to really hone in on the things we need to get better and, you know, get us ready for rpi.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: I mean, is it too early to worry about RPI at this point because you have this week off.
[00:07:40] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, it's. It's something that we always live by is, you know, we play how we're going to play, and if we play our A game, I'm not worried about who's coming in our building or where we're going.
So I think the more we focus on ourselves right now is going to be the betterment for down the road.
[00:07:54] Speaker H: Yeah, I mean what are some of those things you guys are looking to improve upon now that you have this week off and don't really have to worry about scouting an opponent or making a trip or whatever it may be that comes with a game week?
[00:08:04] Speaker F: Yeah, I think something is like Parker said, turnovers are something that we need to, you know, kind of tighten up in certain areas, but also just being really dialed in our structure, trusting, you know, our partner to do their thing, our line mates to do their thing. So just really honing in those systematically things that we could really take to the next level.
[00:08:23] Speaker E: Yeah, kind of same with Nick. I.
I think passing is a huge thing for us too right now. Like you miss one pass, it kind of trickle down effect and it could be worse or end up in the back of your net. So right now like passes in practice are crucial. Finishing our chances at the net in practice even though it's just a two on one drill or something, learning how to score.
Just like the little details like that.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: Nick, we asked the fours about the offense you guys creating. What are you guys on the back line when you see your team posting over 40 shots a game, 55 in particular on Saturday night, what does the defense think of that?
[00:09:02] Speaker F: No, I mean it makes our life a lot easier. But you know, the quicker we get the puck out and the quicker we break out, the more we're going to play offense. So I think we've been working on trying to shut plays down early to keep that offensive live.
And obviously our offensive zone, you know, just play and organization has gotten a lot better. So we're super excited about it as a whole.
[00:09:23] Speaker B: I've been asking around, I asked Parker the Saturday night your victory song, Electric Avenue. I have to say first of all, being a 62 year old who played almost 62 years old who played that in college radio back 40 years ago, I'm happy to hear you guys are actually, you know getting have musical good musical taste because I don't music today but. Well how did that. Because Josh mentioned that, that you were part of it. I think you mentioned Coach Skelly, Coach Nellie mentioned. He met Parker mentioned. So what is the genesis of this?
[00:09:55] Speaker F: Yeah, well they, you know, they told us to kind of grab a goal song and a win song and we were looking to make the student section the electric Avenue. So we kind of just played into that and you know we're a Bunch of old heads. We got some good. We got some good music taste, but. And then we got whoop, there it is for our, our goal song. So, no, we were just kind of finding something that's going to relate us and the fans. So I think that's kind of where we settled on it.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: Do you like 80s music?
[00:10:19] Speaker F: Oh, I love it. Yeah.
[00:10:20] Speaker A: Parker.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Parker, you.
[00:10:21] Speaker E: Yeah, I do.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Favorite, favorite song for the 80s?
[00:10:24] Speaker E: Oh, gosh, I don't know. I like a lot, but I'd probably say I. I like Alan Jackson music. So like, I'm more country guy. Yeah.
[00:10:33] Speaker B: Nick, you.
[00:10:34] Speaker F: Yeah. I mean, right now if we keep hearing Electric Avenue, it's going to be my favorite favorite song. So. Hey, we'll take that.
[00:10:41] Speaker H: Which a couple weeks ago talked about wanting to find a little bit more of an offensive identity. Have you guys kind of seen that develop? And you guys. Do you guys feel like you guys are where you need to be on the offensive end?
[00:10:49] Speaker F: I mean, there's always room for improvement, but I'm super happy with.
[00:10:52] Speaker G: Because we've.
[00:10:53] Speaker F: We implemented it a little bit later than we would have liked, so would have liked to have it, you know, a little more secured during army. But obviously the way in which we've taken steps, the last four games have been super, super, you know, helpful to our wins. And I think that's something that we took a big step in from year in to year out. So I, I love it right now.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: How important will it be? I'm sorry, go ahead. How important will it be? I'll ask Parker. How important will it be to continue that when conference play starts and because, yeah, you know, conference play, things get tighter.
[00:11:23] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, it's huge right now. You look at like our shot charts, obviously we're averaging, I don't even know, like 50 shots a game or something like that.
That's not gonna be the case for every game. So we gotta learn that, like, it's okay to have less than that, but to bury the chances that you do get, you know, And I think it's a credit to our defense too, this year. Something our team has that we haven't had in the past is D that get pucks through and get them to the net. So it makes life for the forwards a lot easier.
[00:11:55] Speaker B: Now let's talk union women's hockey. The Garner Chargers, coming off a second place finish in the women's icebreaker tournament last weekend, they beat St. Anselm in a what turned out to be a wild game. They were. Garner charged up 6 nothing and seemingly too comfortable going to win that game that way. And Also on the third period, St. Anselm scored three goals at about a 31 second span, including two goals in eight seconds. They added a fourth one. So suddenly a six nothing game becomes a six, four game. But Union pulled it out seven, five. And it was one of those games that you take a lesson from, you can't let up the way they did. And it just snowballed to the point you got to wonder if they're going to blow that whole six goal lead. I had to rewrite my lead and my game story because I had everything just about set and then everything just broke loose there. So then of course they faced top rank and defending national champion Wisconsin on Saturday. And the Badgers, it's a class of women's hockey 4 nothing victory and they just dominated. And I think Union did hang with them. I give Union a lot of credit.
They worked hard, they just, they face a superior team. There's no two ways about that. But nothing to be ashamed of. Finishing second in the women's icebreaker and that was a lot of fun over the weekend. Covering six games, two days. I basically closed the plays down both nights, leaving after midnight. And so it's long days, but don't mind that at all. Covering hockey is a lot of fun. So as I said, while the women begin ECAC hockey play this weekend, they'll Host Clarkson, the 10th ranked team in the country in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. That'll be a 6 o' clock start on Friday and then Saturday at 3 o' clock St. Lawrence comes in ranked 15th in the USA Hockey poll and, and they are receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll. So this is a big test for the Garner Chargers as they begin ECA's yocky play. Of course they finished ninth last year in the standings, beat Brown in the tournament first round game, and then almost took Cornell to a third game in the best of three quarterfinals. So let's hear from the team. Let's start with head coach Tony Macy.
Tony, now the real fun begins for your team. ECAC accuplay starts Friday with Clif Clarkson here and in Saturday, St. Lawrence. How much you're looking forward to getting into conference play.
[00:14:24] Speaker G: Yeah, this is what we've been building for all here with our exhibition exhibition games. But with our audit conference games and the tournament, we just had, you know, building towards our ecac which we know is going to be tough every weekend. So hopefully we're going to be ready for it. And you Know, bringing in Clarkson and.
[00:14:44] Speaker B: SLU is always a good competition, especially nationally ranked teams. Both of them you just played the number one team in the country. So how much does that help going into these games this weekend?
[00:14:52] Speaker G: Well, I think it helps prepare us, you know, to play against those top ranked teams for sure and knowing that we're going to have to be, you know, at that same level again.
But it's also two different types of opponents. You know, Clarkson's probably a little bit more systematic with things and Sluice likes to open things up and kind of create a little bit of chaos. So, you know, we got to be prepared differently for each team and I think if we do that, then we'll at least give ourselves a chance of.
[00:15:23] Speaker H: What can you learn from playing a team like Wisconsin in terms of just having to face a top 10 team in Asia?
[00:15:29] Speaker G: Yeah, it's, you know, making sure that you're managing pucks. Top teams, they can bury chances when you give them, so you got to make sure that you're not given as many of those high quality chances.
You know, against Wisconsin we gave up 54 shots, but I say a lot of them were from outside the dots and Wags did a great job when they were inside the dots.
So I think that moving forward here, it's making sure again, we're managing pucks and not giving them those extra attempts.
[00:16:00] Speaker B: How good is it to open conference play at home?
[00:16:03] Speaker G: Oh, it's always good to be at home this, this season. I feel like I've been at home the whole year, so the family enjoys it, so that's also good. But you know, it's great for the building, it's great for the area, especially this first year here at MT Bank. Like we've been able to be here the whole time. So it's, it's been great. We got our first road trip the following week, but, you know, we've been able to kind of settle in, get used to the surroundings and really kick off the season here.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: How important will it be for this team when they have leads? If they have leads this weekend to protect. And we saw what happened against St. Anselm. Six nothing. Lead got six, four ended up being seven five game. And it looked like a laugher turning to a nail body. So how important it will be to protect Leeds?
[00:16:49] Speaker G: Well, I think that's. That's huge. I think that's what we always want to make sure that we're doing.
That's kind of been the message since the games. You know, we've had prior to the Wisconsin game given up, you know, two third periods where we didn't really come to play, as I would say, and then the players knew it and, you know, we're owning it and trying to fix it here moving forward. So for, for us, third periods have to be some of our better, more consistent periods. You got to build from throughout the game and when you have the lead, you want to make sure you're not just going into a shell, but you're still pushing the play.
So I think that's a big thing and I think that that's something that we learned early here in the season.
[00:17:31] Speaker H: Just in general, what are some things that you've liked from your team in non conference play? Obviously a good start to the year for the program.
[00:17:36] Speaker G: Yeah, I think the depth scoring has been a huge touch for us. That was something that we didn't have as much last year and right now we're getting some of our depth players producing, so we got to make sure we continue that.
And then, you know, I think our power play has been okay, but I think that that's definitely something that we're going to keep working on and really hone in because special teams are a huge thing for us and in conference. And then, you know, the big thing is competing.
Now. I thought that we built up to our Wisconsin game. I thought we competed hard. You know, did we get the outcome we wanted? No. But you know, I think that going into the game, you know, we were probably heavy favored underdog, but I think that we, we showed a compete factor and effort factor that even to the drop of, from the drop of the puck to the end, you know, we're, we're sitting there with losing four nothing and we're still blocking shots and putting ourselves in the way even down to the last buzzer. So that's great to see.
[00:18:41] Speaker H: On the flip side, what are things that need to be better now that you're in conference play?
[00:18:44] Speaker B: That.
[00:18:45] Speaker G: Yeah, like I said, I think our power play can, can click a little bit better. I think our penalty kill as well can be a little bit more dialed in.
You know, I think our transition game's been pretty good. I think that can also improve. That's where you're going to be able to catch teams and create those extra chances.
And then I think we can do a better job of even getting more puck stars than that. Thought we did an okay job this past weekend, but I think getting more traffic towards the net is going to be definitely something we got to try to keep working on now.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: Let's hear from players, defenseman Stephanie Bourque and forward Matty Leaney.
Guys, now the real fun begins. ECU play starts this weekend. Two tough teams coming in here to MT Bank center in Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Stephanie, what do you have to do to get going in league play?
[00:19:34] Speaker I: I think definitely a big part of our game is going to be our D zone. I think if, if we have a good D zone, obviously you can't.
In order to get the puck on offense, you have to have a good D zone. So I think that's really what we're focusing on this week and we've practiced it a bunch and we're going to keep practicing it. So I really think that's going to be the key for us, for our success.
[00:19:52] Speaker B: Matty?
[00:19:53] Speaker J: Yeah, I mean I agree with everything Steph said. I think, you know, we've talked about since last weekend as well. D zone is really our key focus. Not only just for plain Wisconsin on Saturday, but going into league play. That's kind of what we're really pushing for. Our identity this year is good defensively and the offense will come with that.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: What did you like about the eight non league games that you played and what didn't you like?
[00:20:18] Speaker J: Yeah, I think it's always fun playing people new.
I love playing in our conference. I think it's some of the best hockey in the league. So we're super grateful to be able to play in the ecac.
I think it challenges us to be playing teams we normally don't face to in a different style of hockey. Some more physical, some more speed. So I think it sets us up nicely for going into ecac.
[00:20:39] Speaker I: Yeah, I think Matty said a lot of covered all the bases but I definitely do think that it gives us a chance to kind of measure against other leagues as well, but also just to prepare us for ecac just because it's a tough league and every game starting now is going to be a challenge and nothing's going to come easy. So I just think it's a good preparation for us.
[00:20:58] Speaker H: You know you guys took got some tests in non conference play. What did you learn from some of those tough battles that you can take into conference play now?
[00:21:05] Speaker I: Yeah, I definitely do think that playing a full 60 minute is going to be really important for us. I think we learned that a little bit the hard way, especially Friday. So just playing a full 60 and I think when we do well defensively we saw that we like we can hold good teams there. So I definitely do think that our D zone and just playing a full 60.
[00:21:26] Speaker J: Yeah, I think obviously what Steph said and then with the D zone, I think also transitioning fast, I think that's going to be huge for us this year. I think we have a really strong group and we have a lot of speed and skill with us. So I think being able to transition from defense to offense quickly is going to be huge for us.
[00:21:42] Speaker B: Being able to open up ecs yocky play at home. Stephanie, what does that mean?
[00:21:46] Speaker I: I mean, yeah, it means a lot. I mean it's a new rink and the fans have been crazy so far and the atmosphere has been really good. But I think just to be able to open our conference play here, I think that's good for us.
[00:21:58] Speaker B: Matti?
[00:21:59] Speaker J: Yeah, it's always special. I think we've really created a home here at the new rink and I think we just want to start off ECAC with two big wins.
[00:22:10] Speaker H: You guys get a top 10 test on Friday. What do you guys have to do on Friday night to start off with a win?
[00:22:15] Speaker J: Yeah, I think kind of going off of what we said after Saturday's game is learning from our mistakes and learning that we just competed with the number one team in the nation.
So having a strong defensive mindset and just learning what we did wrong and just keep working all this week.
[00:22:31] Speaker I: Yeah, I think obviously going stick on puck is going to be huge. Trying to take away their time and space, obviously to give them that respect that they are a top 10 team, but also just to take to give respect to ourselves as well that we can play with the top 10 team and we put proved that in the past. So I definitely think it's just taking away their time and space and not being scared.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Coming up, we'll talk Union College football with head coach John Drock. The Garner Chargers getting set for a big Liberty League showdown at Ithaca on Saturday.
You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:23:15] Speaker I: Speed, Skill, Physicality.
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[00:23:45] Speaker A: Hi, this is Matt Dubre, the play by play voice of Union College Hockey. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Sh.
[00:23:57] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. The Union College football team is on a roll, having won four in a row and are 3, 0 in Liberty play and have a big game this Saturday at Ithaca. To talk about that is the head coach of the Garner Chargers, John Drock. John, welcome back to the podcast. How are things going?
[00:24:12] Speaker A: I'm good, I'm good. How are you?
[00:24:13] Speaker B: Not too bad, can't complain. But let's. Let's talk about your football team.
4 and 2, 30 in Liberty League play. How do you like the way things are going right now?
[00:24:22] Speaker A: I think we've been playing pretty well, you know what I mean? I think we've gotten a little bit better every week. We've corrected some things with some of the penalties and some of the turnover things that were kind of affecting us early in the year and definitely just need to continue down that path as we move forward. I mean, it's all about focusing on us and hopefully continuing to correct those things as we move forward and continuing our build on execution. And I think that's still our goal now is to execute it 100% of every play we possibly can.
We've been close a few times, but still have a little bit to go there.
[00:24:50] Speaker B: Yeah, the season started off tough. Two tough games against nationally ranked teams in Susquehanna and Suny Cortland.
You lose 33, 14 to Susquehanna and 30 to 6 to Suny Cortland.
[00:25:01] Speaker A: We.
[00:25:01] Speaker B: What did you take out of those games as far as lessons?
[00:25:05] Speaker A: I mean, I think the.
The ability to play at a high level continuously. There were points in all those games where we had opportunities to be in the football game and some of the turnover pieces kind of took us away. And out of those games it was seven to six going into the fourth quarter at Cortland, you know what I mean, in a hostile environment, hostile crowd. And I think the guys figured out and learned that they can compete and play at that level, but then also to be able to win at that level, you have to execute continuously. You can't have a lapse one play. You can't have a missed assignment. And some of those things just get elaborated on when you play really good opponents. And we've been able to correct a lot of those things and I think that's given us a lot of confidence as we moved into conference play. Now is that, you know, as we continue to improve and we focus on us, we've seen the residual rewards of that. And hopefully as we move forward in the next few weeks here against really three or four tough opponents, we need to continue to build that.
[00:26:04] Speaker B: Of course, the one year home opener against Marsville State 31, 7 and then the game I Think it was really, I think, maybe important for the psyche of the program.
The Liberty league open against St. Lawrence. You have the way you lost last year up there in Canton, you came out and just made a statement in that game and just rolled to a 4412 victory. I mean, how important do you think was that first for the team's confidence and to. To erase the memory? What happened last year?
[00:26:31] Speaker A: I don't know if it's just about that. I think it was more about us playing up to our potential, and I think we were able to do that that week, and I think it did give our guys a little bit of confidence as we moved into Liberty League play. And like I said, we've been able to build off that every week. And every week there's been certain things that we've tweaked and improved on, which has led to a better outcome.
And I think from. From that standpoint, getting that big win at home and really being explosive, especially on the offense and defensive side of the ball. We created a lot of turnovers and we limited them pretty much the entire game in that St. Lawrence game, and then gave our guys a lot of confidence. And to see that, hey, what we're doing is working.
The work that we're putting in is actually to show results, and that gets them just to buy into that process that much more. And so I think that's been a real positive aspect to where our growth has been over the course of the last five weeks.
[00:27:23] Speaker B: And of course, the next two weeks, you beat Buffalo State in an efficient game, 28 to 6. And then two Saturdays ago against Hobart at 3316 victory. You always wish he didn't have the buy last week. I mean, the way you're rolling me. But how happy were you going into the buy with. With that winning streak?
[00:27:41] Speaker A: I think the team is in a good spot. We had some areas we still needed to get healthy.
I think the bye week came at a really good time as far as that goes. So excited to have some of those guys back on the field and available to be able to play this week. Had we played last weekend, don't know if they would have been available.
So I think it helped in that capacity. And then it gave us an extra week to focus on what we've been building on. You know what I mean? The focus has been on us the entire year, and there's still some things that we need to correct coming out of that Hobart game, and we really were able to focus on those this week and then also invest in some of our young players and give some of those young players some time and had a great scrimmage with a bunch of our twos, threes and fours this past week and really kind of led some momentum into this week of practice.
[00:28:26] Speaker B: Talk about Patch flang and I'll just let you go. And just what he has done, both rushing and passing.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, he's a dynamic, dynamic athlete that continues to improve every week and his knowledge of the system has grown so much over the course of the last year and a half and this is the first time for him he's had one consistent coach from back to back years. And so from that standpoint, he just continues to get better and better and puts the time in in the film room, puts the time in in the practice field and really is a technician. And what he does, he's really, really cerebral and he puts us in good situations. I mean, some of those things he's checking to and some of those things he's solving that puzzle before the ball is ever even snapped. And when you have a veteran player like that that can control the offense and put us in good situations so we're not in bad plays, I think that is a huge advantage to be able to have. And he's just taken some real steps forward over the course of the last four weeks and he his crap too. There's still things that he needs to improve on. We continue to work on some of the footwork things, continue to work on some of the accuracy things. But as a whole, his drive to continue to improve really has been infectious to the rest of the team.
And all those guys push and really enjoy playing with him and playing for him, you know what I mean? The guys up front do a great job and, you know, we kind of lead the way with the offense and the defensive lines. It makes things pretty easy for Patch when he had those big running lanes and those big throwing lanes too. So I know he would say that he dish off all the compliments to our receiver group, our offensive line group or running back room. But from that standpoint, it is the whole. It's the unity of the group. I think that's really led to a lot of success. And having Patch kind of be the trigger guy of that is. Has been a lot of fun to watch.
[00:30:11] Speaker B: Was there any concern early in the season he was running too much? I mean, worried about that at all or was that not a concern?
[00:30:18] Speaker A: That's not a concern.
[00:30:22] Speaker B: Fair enough.
[00:30:23] Speaker A: Pat is a really tough player and his numbers of attempts per game were actually not Drastically different than they've been all year. Last week was the. The one week there was a slight bit of an uptick, but he's been averaging around anywhere from 13 to 16 attempts a week as far as rushing, and probably about half of those are called actually true quarterback runs and the other half are improvisation.
So we give him a lot of freedom to do those things. And when he sees rain, that's one of the strengths of his game, is that he can go create something and create a positive play and it just has a really knack for it.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: Talk about your defense and how much they've improved over the season.
[00:31:01] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, the guys up front have really set the tone and they've done a great job under Coach Smith and then Coach Vaughn and Coach Quinn and all those guys on that side of the ball have done a great job of getting them on the same page. I think early on we allowed some lanes and some opportunities for some guys to be able to make some big plays, but some of those large explosive plays are things that we put a cap on.
We've limited teams to those and we've been able to make teams one dimensional by stopping and hopefully focusing on their strength. I think from a defensive standpoint, a lot of young players are playing there. I mean, John Dergatis is sophomore, Nico Savini is a sophomore, Logan Miller is a sophomore.
So there are just a significant amount of young players playing on that side of the ball.
And for those guys to get a lot of great game rep opportunities has allowed them to improve throughout the course of the season. And now there's a whole lot less thinking going on, a whole lot more playing going on. And continuing to see those guys grow over the course of the next four weeks is going to be another key point of emphasis for us. I mean, they now know and understand all the schemes that we're trying to be able to accomplish.
And they're really doing a great job of playing together and helping each other on the defensive side of the ball.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Do you think the team has done a better job with the penalties from the start of the season?
[00:32:19] Speaker A: I believe so. I mean, the numbers say yes. You know, two weeks ago we only had three penalties. This past week I think we had five penalties. So some of those numbers are down and we've done a much better job of controlling some of the personal files. But then also some of this, the lapses in focus of false starts or offsides or pass interference or holding, all those types of things have been significantly less over the course of the last three weeks. And you can see that in the production on the field. You don't beat a good team like Hobart unless you're able to control a lot of those things. We've won that battle over the course of the last three weeks, and those are things we have to continue to focus on as we move forward into the next four weeks.
[00:32:59] Speaker B: Of course, this Saturday you have to go to Ithaca. They're 40 in conference play, 5 and 1 overall. Always a tough team. What is going to be the key factors for you to pull off the victory out there?
[00:33:11] Speaker A: I think we have to win both sides of the ball and the up front, you know what I mean? I think winning the line of scrimmage is always a key point of emphasis.
And they are the number one rush defense in the league. We're the number one rush offensive league, you know what I mean? And on the flip side, they really want to be able to run the ball with their big offensive line. They're big, strong and physical on their front. They have good, big, strong tight ends and some explosive players in the wing, and they're trying to get you sucked in on the run and then take the shot over the top of some of their play action pieces and that kind of thing. So still limiting a lot of the big plays and then hopefully making them one dimensional where we can stop the run and make them a passing football team, which I don't know that they would like to be.
They have about 85% of their passes are under 5 yards.
So from that standpoint of making them have to push the football down the field and letting our corners and our safeties go play that football in the air is going to be a key point of emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. But we got to stop the run and we have to be able to run the football. And I think if we win that battle, that's going to put us in a really good situation to win the football game.
[00:34:12] Speaker B: Last year was a tough year. Your first year as the Union head coach. What did you learn about yourself and how have you made yourself better this season?
[00:34:21] Speaker A: I mean, from. From my standpoint, I mean, every one of these teams is different and you have to kind of find what's going to work best for that team.
It's not round peg, circle hole, you know what I mean?
And you have to find what works best for the kids. And I think that's one thing that our entire staff has done a great job of, is really catering things to fit what works best for our kids. And we've changed a couple things as far as our practices go. We've changed a couple things just so we're getting the maximum efficiency out of what we're doing. And that works best for this football team, you know what I mean? And that could be slightly different next year and the year after that. But I think we've definitely been able to get to know the guys a little bit better and know what works best for them and what their best strengths are, you know what I mean? You come in, you learn a program and you learn a place.
And sometimes it takes a little bit of time to build some of those relationships and to build that level of trust.
And those are all things that we've really worked on over the course of the last year and a half. And our leadership has been spectacular. Our senior group and even our younger players are also bought into that same goal and that same positive motivation of moving in all one direction.
That it's been a pleasure to work with those guys. And they've done a great job of, you know, kind of turn the tide a little bit from what it was last year to what it is right now.
[00:35:40] Speaker B: Well, John, appreciate a few minutes. Good luck on Saturday and Ithaca, and we'll catch up with you later.
[00:35:45] Speaker A: Thanks so much.
[00:35:46] Speaker B: All right, that's John Drock. Coming up, we're leaving the sports world. We're going to talk music. Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad joins me next here on the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:36:06] Speaker D: How can you measure the value of education based athletics? Well, the value is in what makes it invaluable. That's because school sports aren't just about winning. They're about learning and growing. School sports aren't just about gaining trophies and accolades. They're about learning life lessons, bringing a whole community together, developing character and integrity, having coaches who mentor you and teammates who become lifelong friends. And you can't put a price on any of that. That's what makes education based athletics invaluable.
Of course, when you participate in school sports, you want to win and become a better athlete, but the purpose is so much becoming a better person.
Support your local school sports programs, and if you have a student, encourage them to get involved.
[00:36:57] Speaker B: This message presented by NISFA and the New York State Athletic Administrators Association.
[00:37:07] Speaker C: Hi, this is union men's hockey alum Tyler Hines. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shop.
[00:37:36] Speaker B: That's where American Band, the 1973 autobiographical song by Grand Funk Railroad about life on the road. Grand Funk Railroad will be Playing at Rivers Casino Event center on Thursday, October 30th at 7:00pm I am honored to have on the podcast the man who wrote that song and many others and who had one of the best hairstyles back in the day, Don Brewer. Don, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing?
[00:38:01] Speaker C: Good, Ken. How are you?
[00:38:02] Speaker B: I'm great. I'm wonderful.
[00:38:04] Speaker C: I did have. I did have one of the. One of the best white man Afros out there.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: Well, let me tell you something. I grew up in the 1970s in Philadelphia, and for the longest time, my hairstyle was awful.
My 8th grade graduation picture, I looked. My hairstyle looked like Mo Howard. Middle of my. Middle. Middle of my sophomore year, I got a perm. And tell you what, that changed my life around because I was like a shot.
I was a shy kid and all that stuff. And then next thing you know, I'm proactive, outgoing, and yeah, it was, it's. It was the best hairstyle I ever. You got some long sideburns, too, back in the day.
[00:38:41] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had some mutton chops, you know, and I, and I also, you know, I mean, it was funny coming. Coming up with the Beatles and all of that stuff. Every. Everybody had long hair, but it was, it was, it was straight, you know, and I had this curly hair, so I was always putting dippity do in my hair and trying to slick it out, you know, and all. And then when Jimi Hendrix came along, it was like, oh, man, there it is, I'm free. You know, I could just let my hair go and. And I'll be in. And so that was. That was a. That was a nice change.
[00:39:12] Speaker B: Yeah. So. Well, you got to probably wonder, wondering why a sports writer and sports podcast. I always asked you to interview.
Interview. I love music.
I was in College Radio for four years back in. At York College of Pennsylvania. WVYC 1981 85. And as I said, I grew up in Philadelphia. We had, you know, the Philadelphia soul sound back then, and it was just. It was a lot of great music and just. It was a lot of fun. And you guys were part of that legacy in the 1970s. And I thank you for that. And like I said, great songs and we.
[00:39:44] Speaker C: We always were kind of an R and B. R B band that was pumped up on steroids, you know, that's the way I like to describe it, you know, I mean.
[00:39:52] Speaker B: Yeah. So let me ask you, Don, how true was we're American band?
[00:40:00] Speaker C: Oh, well, you know, I mean, it was, it was fabricated to us to an Extent. But, you know, were there four young chiquitas in Omaha? Yeah. Was there a sweet, sweet county in Little Rock? Yeah. Was. Did we stay up all night playing poker with Freddie King? Yeah.
[00:40:14] Speaker B: Well, here's just how dumb I am. When I first heard the song, when he, when you sang the Hotel Detective, he was out of sight. My first thought, oh, out of sight. He's cool, man.
Took me a while to realize that Dot was not around.
[00:40:29] Speaker C: He was not around. He was leaving us alone.
[00:40:31] Speaker B: That's funny.
How wild was it back in the 70s? I mean, not only. We hear a lot of stuff. Bands, you know, tearing hotels down, you know, the parties and, you know, just, you know, sex, drugs and rock and roll. I mean, how crazy was it back then?
[00:40:46] Speaker C: You know, I mean, I think a lot of other bands were a lot crazier than we were. I mean, we had our time, we, we had, we had fun, but we, we didn't go over the edge. And, and, you know, I mean, I think, you know, the biggest, the biggest real mess that we ever made was the celebration, I think, for American band was at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California. And they were going to give us the gold albums and stuff. And one of the promotion guys for, for Capitol and we used to call him Grand Funk. Rumple. His name was Mark. Mark Rumple. But. But he was like, he was like, he was like such a great Grand Funk fan. To get all, get all the radio stations to play all the Grand Funk stuff. So he's there and they bring in this 10 tiered cake, you know, into the Beverly Hills Hotel ballroom. And here all these executives and all these people are all got dressed up all really nice and stuff. And we are, we're all dressed up in our suits and stuff, you know, north beach leather suits and stuff. And he starts, he brings in this cake and they go, you know, and somebody yelled, throw the cake.
[00:41:50] Speaker B: Oh geez. Oh my.
[00:41:52] Speaker C: So we started here in the cake all over every. And we just did. That was probably the most destructive thing we ever did.
[00:42:00] Speaker B: That's good for it.
[00:42:02] Speaker C: Yeah, we paid to recarpet the, you know, recarpet the room and to put new drapes up and stuff.
[00:42:09] Speaker B: So. So Don, tell me, what were the pressures like in the 1970s? I imagine the record company wanted albums every year. Then there was the touring to promote the album. I mean, how was it coping with those pressures?
[00:42:20] Speaker C: It was tough, you know, and which really kind of, you know, it kind of led to the demise of Grand Funk, I think. You know, when we, when we signed with capital, we signed for two albums and two tours per year. So that's what we had to do every year. You know, we had to do two albums. So. So we would go out and do 40 shows, get off the road, go into the studio, start rehearsing the next record, record the next record, and then get ready to go out on the road for another 40 shows. You know, I mean, that's. Those were our six years, you know, and it really took its toll.
So, you know, to come up with that, that much material and to be on the road, you know, you know, constantly, you know, twice a year, it was tough.
[00:43:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:43:01] Speaker C: And you know, it. But, you know, but we got through it and you know, now, now bands, you know, I mean, they, they take years to recover.
[00:43:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I know.
[00:43:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:43:10] Speaker B: You know, that just, it just amazes me what the Beatles and the Stones did back in the 60s. I mean, how many albums the Beatles produce and they're touring until they stopped in. Sure, 1966. The fact that they produce that many album quality albums over that span just. It still amazes me to this day.
[00:43:26] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Well, that. But that was, that was the way the business was. The business was the, the executives and the lawyers had all of the power.
[00:43:35] Speaker G: Right.
[00:43:36] Speaker C: And the bands were just, the bands were just, you know, kind of, you know, secondary thought. And as we got into the 80s, the bands got the lawyers on their side and then they made the record companies, you know, kind of, you know, kowtow.
[00:43:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:43:49] Speaker C: So. Yeah, well, we're not gonna be, we're not gonna give you an album. We're not gonna give you two tours and two, two albums. We'll give you an album when we're ready. And you know, it's just, just the business changed, that's all.
[00:44:00] Speaker B: Yep. Well, when you guys first started, is it fair to say that you guys had more of a progressive sound than a pop sound? And I go back to I'm your captain, which I heard for the first time in the late 1970s when my music listening taste was moving toward album oriented rock.
[00:44:16] Speaker C: Yeah, that. Well, that's what we came up with with 1969, 70 71, that those are all FM underground days.
So you could make, you know, seven minute, eight minute songs without being concerned about a time constraint.
And you could make virtually any kind of music you wanted to. You didn't have to, you know, pigeonhole it into making it sound like a hit record. It could just, it could just be, you know, whatever, and the FM stations would play it and, and kind of the the more off the wall it was, the better it was.
And. And that. That changed in 1972, which is why we changed to making hit singles like American Band and Locomotion and Some Kind of Wonderful. Because. Because we had to. To stay on the radio.
[00:44:57] Speaker B: Yeah, we.
[00:44:57] Speaker C: We wouldn't. We wouldn't have stayed on the radio had we not made that change.
[00:45:00] Speaker B: Yeah, that was my next. That was my next question. When did the band decide to move toward.
[00:45:06] Speaker C: Oh, we had. Yeah, we had to.
1972. Now, when we, you know, that's when I actually. I started doing a little writing and a little more singing, and I came up with American Band.
You know, we were being sued by our former manager, Terry Knight, who was suing every city we were playing in, and we were broke because he had taken all of the money.
And so we had to, you know, it was sink or swim time. We had to make a drastic change. And we did. And luckily it worked.
[00:45:33] Speaker B: Yeah, well, Todd Rundgren produced two Grand Funk Railroad albums. We're American man in 1973 and Shining on in 1974. What was it like working with Todd Rundgren?
[00:45:45] Speaker C: I loved working with Todd. I. You know, he actually stayed at my apartment when we did the first record, and I really got it all, got along with him very well.
And I loved the way he would in the studio. You didn't, you know, you didn't have to record everything dry. No echo. You didn't have to record anything. No eq. You know, Todd would make everything sound the way it was going to sound on the record.
[00:46:12] Speaker A: He.
[00:46:13] Speaker C: You'd hear that in the headphones as you were playing along, you know, so it was like, whoa, this sounds great. You know, it wasn't like you had to sit there and imagine, oh, this. They'll. They'll fix this later. They'll make it sound good later. No, I mean, that. That's. That's what the early recording was like. It was. It was very dry and very.
You had to be. He had to have faith in the engineer and the producer that that was going to sound okay later.
[00:46:37] Speaker B: Wasn't one of the. One of those. One of those albums. Wasn't that completed in like, seven, eight days?
[00:46:42] Speaker C: Oh, we did the first album. Time was done in probably three days.
You know, we went in, did. Did the tracks one day, did the overdubs the next day and mixed it the next day, and that was it.
[00:46:53] Speaker B: Wow, that's crazy. Well, the Shining on album featured a cover of the. Of Little Eva's the Locomotion. The Song hit number one on the charts. I think I read somewhere and Tell me if I'm wrong, but were you guys just jamming and someone decided to record it?
[00:47:09] Speaker A: We were.
[00:47:10] Speaker C: We were actually coming off of the American Band big hit, you know, and. And the American Band album, and we had a couple of singles. We had American Band and Walk Like a Man off that. And we were going into. To do the follow up album, Shine. And on, I had co written a song with, with Mark called Shining on. And we just. And we finished all of the rest of the songs that we had and we just went, you know, we need one more song. We want one more. One more song. So we were taking a dinner break and, you know, I think we sent out for McDonald's or something like that. Mark, Mark Farner lived right across the road and he. He went home for dinner and came back and we all, you know, were like going, well, you know, you know, anybody got any ideas? You know, And Mark had the idea, you know, everybody's doing a brand new day. And we all like, you know, we all cracked up. We said, that's. It's so silly, you know, Grand Funk Railroad doing the Locomotion, it might work, you know, and Todd loved the idea. And so we went into the studio and we came up with this idea to make it kind of sound like a party going on. You remember the. The Beach Boys?
Oh, God. What was the song that they did sound like a big party going on?
[00:48:21] Speaker B: Oh, Barbara.
[00:48:22] Speaker C: Barbara, yeah, Barbara. So, I mean, and so we were. We were going after that, like a party going on in the studio, you know, and Todd, you know, loved the idea. So, you know, that, you know, and he was the perfect guy to come up with that. That whole sound, you know, the hand claps at the beginning, you know, everybody's.
[00:48:40] Speaker B: Doing a brand new dance. I can start singing.
[00:48:44] Speaker C: Yeah. You know, and so, you know, it worked. It definitely worked.
[00:48:47] Speaker B: Yeah. I think.
[00:48:49] Speaker C: I think people know that version of Locomotion better than any other version.
[00:48:53] Speaker B: Yeah, they do. Yeah.
Podcast listener John Acevedo, you know, he basically answered part of his question, what inspired you to cover the Locomotion? And he also asked, did you ever think you make history a number one hit by two different artists? Because obviously Little Eva did the original.
[00:49:09] Speaker C: Right? Right?
No, no.
[00:49:15] Speaker B: That'S crazy. Now, Garv is the song was written by the legendary Carol King. Did you ever hear from her about your version?
[00:49:22] Speaker C: No, I never did, you know, but we did find out an interesting fact, you know, that Little Eva was Carole King's Maid.
[00:49:28] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:49:29] Speaker C: And, and, and, and Carole King came up with a song and Little Evil was there working for Carol. And she said, little Eva, come over here, I got a song for you.
[00:49:39] Speaker B: Saying.
[00:49:39] Speaker C: So that's, you know, that's how they put that together.
[00:49:42] Speaker B: Yeah, that's great. I mean, I mean anytime I hear, I just crank it up and if, if I'm at a party somewhere, I don't go too much anymore. But if it's playing, you'll start doing Locomotion around. That's, that's, that's, that's classic, man. I. That's a, that's a great version. The best version of them all. But the band also added album produced by Frank. Frank Zappa. How is he to work with.
[00:50:06] Speaker C: Again? I loved working with Frank. You know, he stayed at my house and, you know, I went out to visit him out in la and when he was mixing the record and he came to, he came to Michigan to record at our studio and in Michigan and record. And Frank, you know, was, he wasn't, you know, the, you know, the, the intimidating wizard kind of genius kind of guy, you know, he was just a down to earth guy.
And he loved working with Grand Funk. He loved playing. He named that album for us. Good singing, Good Playing. He said, that's what, that's what you guys are.
You sing good, you play good. That's what, that's what we're going to call the album.
And we were, we couldn't, couldn't have been more flattered to have a musician and a music icon like Frank Zappa, you know, pay us that kind of compliment. Yeah, and you know, I love to work with Frank too.
[00:50:56] Speaker B: Yeah, well, the music critics back in that day, they weren't too kind to you guys. Did you care what they said?
[00:51:02] Speaker C: You know, it hurt at first, you know, but, you know, as long as the fans were there, I mean that, that, that helped us a lot. It helped us get through that, that whole, you know, and the critics back then were really snobs, you know, Rolling Stan, Rolling Stone magazine and, and I don't know, the Village Voice and all. I mean, they went out of their way, way to, to try to have some kind of influence on, on the music industry.
And, and it didn't work, you know, and, and so they would just take all these deep digs at all of these bands that had any commercial value at all.
And you know, if it had, if it had commercial value, they hated you.
[00:51:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
I mean, it's fun music. What, what's, what's Wrong. Party music.
[00:51:46] Speaker C: It's music, you know.
[00:51:47] Speaker B: Right, yeah.
When you were growing up in Michigan, who were your musical influences?
[00:51:53] Speaker C: No, Motown, obviously, you know, and R B and. Which is where Some Kind of Wonderful came from. We used to listen to the. To the black station WAMM in. In Flint Wham. And they played the Soul Brother six all the time, you know. And so when we were looking for an extra song to do, you know, actually we.
I used to sing this. As we were going from the hotel to the venue. We'd sing an acapella version of. Of Some Kind of Wonderful. You know, I just. Singing. I'd start singing. Everybody's doing a brand new dance now Come on, baby. And we just did this, you know, acapella thing, you know. And our manager Andy Cavalieri at the time said, you guys should record that. So. Okay, you know. Yeah, we'll. We'll record it.
[00:52:36] Speaker B: It's a great song.
[00:52:37] Speaker C: So we. We really kind of copped the whole feel of the way they did it. It was a very. It was very done. Done very gospel music. It was just drums, bass and vocals, you know. And then. Then the Hammond B3 comes in at the end. That's all the instrumentation there was on the song. Other than that, it was all vocals. And so we, you know, we just copped that whole feel and it did it our way.
[00:53:00] Speaker B: Great. It's great. Like I said, it's a classic. You hear it, you crank it up and you have a good day. So.
Yeah. Yeah. In the 1980s, you toured with fellow Michigan Bob Seeger. How much fun was that?
[00:53:13] Speaker C: Yeah, I did the 87, 85 and 87 tour in. In the 80s. And then again in the 2000s, I. I went out 2005, 6, 7, 8, 9. I was, you know, I was doing both bands in the 2000s with. Doing both Grand Funk and Bob Seger in the Silver Bullet. Man. It was a great experience for me. I.
You know, because playing with Grand Funk, I was doing all. Don Brewer drumming.
And so playing with Bob, I was doing about a dozen other drummers, you know, that came before me.
And I was, you know, I had to learn a lot of. A lot of stuff that I wasn't that familiar with. And it was. It was a great experience for me to do it. And I, you know, I loved those guys that was, you know, alto and Chris and Craig and Bob were my kind of. My second family. Yeah. So, yeah, great, great time. Great experience.
[00:54:07] Speaker B: Well, let's talk about your bandmates, starting with the original member. And I hope I pronounce. His last name correctly. Mel Shacker.
[00:54:13] Speaker C: Mel Shocker. Yeah. Like. Like sticking your finger in an electric socket.
[00:54:19] Speaker B: He had a great mustache back in the day.
[00:54:22] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:54:23] Speaker B: Talk about him a little bit.
[00:54:25] Speaker C: And Mel is, you know, Mel's my brother, you know, I mean, you know, I grew up in, you know, in Flint. I grew up in Swartz Creek, outside of Flint. Mel grew up on the east side of Flint. And he was a little younger than, than Mark and I. But when Mark and I had a band called the Pack and the Fabulous Pack and Mel used to be a fan, you know, he'd show up, you know, every, you know, sock hop or every teen dance we were playing at, you know, he'd be there, you know, and he just, he just loved our stuff. And then he eventually got a job with playing bass with Question Mark and the Mysterious.
[00:54:58] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:54:59] Speaker C: And so when Mark and I decided to put together a trio, this was in 1969, we wanted to put together a new rock trio, kind of like Cream and Hendrix and, you know, all of the bands of that. Of that time. And we were looking for a bass player and. And, you know, Mark said, oh, you know, what about that kid Mel?
I went to school with him for a while, you know, he said, I can, I can call him. So we called Mel and brought him in. You know, he loved the idea of, you know, God, I can work with these guys that, you know, he was a fan, you know, he was a fan of ours. So, you know, he came in and started working with us. And, you know, Mel had his own sound and his own, you know, he just, he just fit that. The whole three person thing, you know, it was Mel and I filling up all those empty spaces with just Mark on guitar, you know, because there was no keyboard, you know, no, no, no extra guitar. It was just three guys, you know. And so we just cranked up the volume and played with random abandon.
And that was Grand Funk.
[00:56:02] Speaker B: How about singer Max Carl?
[00:56:05] Speaker C: You know, Max came into the band and when, when mark left in 98, I think it was Mel and I, you know, were kind of hesitant to put together another version of Grand Funk. And. And I ran into Max through a friend and, you know, he introduced me to some of Max Carl's music. And I, I wasn't. I hadn't been that familiar with it. And Max had done an album called Max Carl and the Big Dance. And so I checked that album out and I went, man, this guy is probably the. One of the last of the blue eyed soul singers on the Planet. And he would just be great for Grand Funk. So I contacted him and Mel and I flew him up to Traverse City in Michigan and we jammed for about a week. And we, you know, we just said, hey, you. You want to do this? And. Yeah, yeah, I want to do this. And we put. Put together a new band. We got Bruce Kulik from KISS to play guitar for us and Tim Cashin from Bob Seeger's band to play keyboards and sing backup with us. Put together a new version of Grand Funk, Hit the road in 2000, and we've been going ever since. This is our 25th year.
[00:57:11] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:57:12] Speaker C: With this band.
[00:57:12] Speaker G: Yeah.
[00:57:13] Speaker B: How about the lead guitars? Mark Chatfield.
[00:57:16] Speaker C: We just brought in Mark last year.
Bruce decided to retire. And, you know, I. I had known Mark from. I produced the Gods. That was his first band from Ohio.
I produced their first album back in 1977, I think it was.
And, you know, he was always one of my favorite guitar players. And when I was doing my work with Seeger in the. I think it was in the 80s, yeah, in the mid-80s.
Seeger was looking for a rock and roll guitar player. And I said, you know, I know one.
And I. I threw Mark's hat in.
In the hat and, you know, and. And he drove. He drove up to Detroit from Columbus, Ohio, and he became Seeger's guitar player, you know, and he was. He's with. He was with the. Seeger for about 40 years.
[00:58:06] Speaker B: Wow. Great. And keyboardist Tim Cashin.
[00:58:10] Speaker C: Tim came from, you know, a couple of bands.
[00:58:13] Speaker J: He.
[00:58:13] Speaker C: He's from Bob.
Not only Bob Seeger, but Robert Palmer. He played with Robert Palmer. He played with several other bands.
Great guy. He's got. He's the only guy that's got a music degree. He got a music degree from the University of Miami. So we call him Dr. Tim. He's not really a doctor, but we call him Dr. Tim. But he's just age great, great singer, great songwriter. He writes a bunch of great stuff. They don't. He does. He does a lot of this stuff for.
In north, north and South Carolina, they have this thing called beach music where you go. Go down to.
And it's really kind of throwback R B stuff. And so he does these contests every year where he enters a new song or a new bunch of songs for beach music contests. And he j. Generally wins because he's. He's just got that kind of a thing going on, you know, Great singer, great guy.
[00:59:08] Speaker B: Let me ask you this. Have you ever. Did you ever play in the Albany Schenectady Troy area before Saratoga Springs, up at Spack.
[00:59:14] Speaker C: We've been up in Albany a bunch of times.
Schenectady. I, you know, I'm sure we've been through there, but I don't really recall, you know.
[00:59:22] Speaker B: Yeah, well, how much?
[00:59:24] Speaker C: Albany a bunch of times.
[00:59:25] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it stays. There's actually a nice arena there now and obviously you're going to be playing at the casino. That's a pretty nice venue there too. So that'll be a lot of fun for you guys.
[00:59:34] Speaker C: Yeah. So yeah, looking forward to it.
[00:59:37] Speaker B: How much you do you think has the music industry industry changed.
[00:59:42] Speaker C: So much that I don't recognize it at all? Yeah, I, I wouldn't have a clue what to do today, you know. And you know, radio is, is non existent. Everything is, is downloads and streams and all of this kind of stuff and everything's Internet based and I would have not a clue on how to, to get a band going today.
You know, it wouldn't make any sense to me. So it's, everything's changed and the recording has changed. I mean everybody, I don't think. Does anybody record in a studio anymore? Everybody just records at home.
[01:00:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:00:16] Speaker C: And, and, and then they call somebody on the phone and say hey, could you put a guitar part on this? And they send it to him by email and then the guy, the guy flies in a guitar on it and then he sends it back and you know, I mean that's. Yeah, it's odd. It's very odd.
[01:00:32] Speaker B: How happy does it make you that a younger generation, you know, comes to your shows and loves your music?
[01:00:38] Speaker C: It's pretty cool.
You know, I'll, I'll get up there and start singing some kind of wonderful some nights. And I can see four generations of people that are also, also singing along to the, to, to. To the songs. Closer to home as well, you know, Locomotion. And you know, we, we constantly get comments. You know, I'll see kids, I say, I call them kids, but they're probably 20, 20 something, you know, 25 years old maybe, you know, and they'll, they'll come back and talk to us afterwards and they say God, I, I didn't know you guys could rock like that. What they're meaning, what they mean is I didn't know you old guys could rock like that, you know, but that's pretty, that's cool.
[01:01:16] Speaker B: I think closer to your. Closer to your home is to my home is being used in the TV commercial. Maybe a Chevy commercial.
[01:01:23] Speaker C: Yeah, Chevy Silverado I think is using it Background music? Yeah, that's.
[01:01:28] Speaker B: That's. Could you have ever imagined that when you first recorded the song?
[01:01:32] Speaker C: No.
No, never did.
[01:01:35] Speaker B: How long. How long you want to keep going?
[01:01:39] Speaker C: Well, you know, I think I just told somebody the other day, you know, they said, well, you know, when you. When you stop drums, you know, you can take care of this and take care of that. I said, well, I said, when I stop drums, I'll be dead.
[01:01:53] Speaker B: Well, Don, I'll ask you the obligatory sports questions. This is mainly a sports podcast. Do you keep up with the Michigan sports teams?
[01:02:01] Speaker C: I don't that much. You know, I mean, I. But I am. But I am watching the Lions this year because they look pretty good.
[01:02:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:02:08] Speaker B: Yes, they do.
[01:02:09] Speaker C: Pretty good. They looked really good the other night.
You know, I was. I was impressed. Yeah.
[01:02:13] Speaker B: Yeah. So. Well, the October 30th concert starts at 7:00pm Go to the Rivers Casinos Schenectady website for ticket information. Don, this has been a blast. I'm honored to have you on this podcast. Thank you for doing this. And have fun when you play with Rivers Casino. I wish I could go over and see you guys, but I had to work on next Thursday night, so.
[01:02:31] Speaker C: I don't mean. So thank you very much. I had. I had fun. That was. That was a good, good interview.
[01:02:36] Speaker B: Thank you. Thanks. Don't. I'll be back up to wrap up the podcast. I have the latest winners in The Daily Gazette 2 Pick' Em football contest and the auto racing contest in just a moment.
[01:02:45] Speaker C: I got everything that a man could want. I got more than I could ask for.
I don't have to run around. I don't have to stay out all night. Cause I got me a sweet. A sweet.
[01:03:11] Speaker B: The Daily Gazette has some great subscription deals happening. Sign up today at www.dailygazette.com. and as always, when credibility matters, trust the Daily Gazette.
[01:03:22] Speaker A: Hi, this is Graham Townsend of RPI's Men's Hockey and New York State Hockey hall of Famer.
[01:03:28] Speaker G: You're listening to the Departing Shots podcast.
[01:03:30] Speaker B: With Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
Back to wrap up the podcast. The Week 7 winner in the Daily Gazette's U Pick' Em football contest was Fred Fettstein of Mechanicville. With a15.0 record, Fred wins a $100 price chopper marker 32 gift card. Congratulations, Fred. The VIP winner was, for the second straight week, Jim DeMarco of Morris Ford with a 132 record.
I went 12 and 3. Of course, I picked against my Eagles and it worked. They won. They beat Minnesota. I improved to 7136 and 1. My Gazette colleague associate sports editor Will Springstead went 10 5. He is 65, 42 and 1. Looking at the VIP standings, Jen DeMarco leads the way with 74 wins along with John Keller of Katie O', Burns, my pal down there. He also has 74. Matt Margiotta, Paul Little each have 73. Duane Leach has 72, I have 71, Scott Lucher also has 71, Andrew Krauntz of Glenville Beverage has 70, Nick Platel, Grand Premier Tire has 68 and Will Springstead with 65 wins. I'll announce the U pick a football contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Thursday's Daily Gazette.
To play go to dailygazette.com and click on the you pick em football banner.
The Week 35 winner in the Daily Gazettes auto racing contest was Jim Newman of Rotterdam with 30 points. Jim wins a $50 gift card. Congratulations Jim. The VIP winner was. Well, nobody. All six VIP members got zero points. That is crazy. Let's look at the VIP standings. Scott Lucher of CapitaLand GMC leads the way with 650 points. Jerry Peel of Frankenstein's has six hundred and five. Duane Leech of All Season Equipment has four hundred and ninety five. Nick Platel of Grand Premier Tire is three hundred and ninety. I have 385 and Matt Margiotta of SG Roofing has 160 points.
I'll announce the auto racing contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Saturday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the Auto Racing contest banner.
Just because COVID 19 mandates are easing, that does not mean you should relax. Be vigilant. If you have not gotten vaccinated or received a booster shot, please do so. Do it for yourself, do it for your family and do it for your friends. And remember, vaccines do not cause autism.
Don't forget to download the Daily Gazette app and sign up for our E Edition so you never miss a headline. Subscribe today at www.dailygazette.com. we have a lot of great specials going on when credibility matters. Trust the Daily Gazette this week on the Tell Me youe Story podcast with Stan Houdy, Stan invited in co worker Chad Arnold to talk about his new position as an exclusively healthcare focused reporter as part of the Community Journalism Fund, a not for profit arm created by the Daily Gazette. Subscribe to the Tell Me youe Story podcast on all your podcast listening platforms.
That wraps up another edition of The Parting Shots Podcast. I want to thank Nick Young, Parker Lindauer, Tony Macy, Stephanie Bourque, Matty Leaney, John Drock, and special guest Don Brewer for being a part of the show.
If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email to me at shot. That's s c h o t
[email protected] follow me on X threads and bluesky at Slap Shots.
The views expressed on the Parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Gazette News Group. The Parting Shots podcast is a production of the Gazette News Group. I'm Gazette News Group Sports Editor Ken Schott. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good sports RA.
