During the British influenced band explosion of the mid-'60s I played lead guitar with the Brandon-based band, The Dovermen. We emulated the popular British groups of the day and played the usual cover versions of the current hits, supplemented with many of my guitar instrumentals - complete with Shadows-inspired synchronized stage moves and dance steps. We started to use my reel-to-reel tape recorder to experiment with the writing of original material.

We played community centres, arenas and high schools in the area, but our home base was the Brandon Roller rink where we worked as house band and were excited to work with and rub shoulders with the many big name rock 'n' roll acts that were booked into that venue: Ventures, Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, Conway Twitty (during his R 'n' R days), Johnny Burnette, Dorsey Burnette, Southern blues acts, etc. There was also a Winnipeg connection there at this time since Chad Allan and the Reflections  made regular appearances. The owner of the Roller Rink was Fred Smith who served as our manager/booking agent for many of our gigs. He even lined up a tour of Saskatchewan for us. This later led to our being signed by Mrs. Martell to back Bobby Curtola on a Western Canada tour.

Through our Winnipeg agent, Muriel Eckess, we made frequent forays into Winnipeg to play at community clubs, university, the Winnipeg Auditorium and even the Winnipeg Beach pavilion. Eckess managed a number of Winnipeg bands and artists, including The Quid and Mickey Allen. We did a number of shows with these artists. The highlight of those Winnipeg incursions was our being picked to appear on the CKY Fall Festival of Stars featuring The Newbeats, Roger Miller, and the Everly Brothers. We opened the show, after which we backed The Newbeats and then settled in backstage to watch the headliners perform. . . they actually used a few of our amps on stage. 
 
 

The Dovermen backing Larry Henley and the Newbeats on stage
at the Winnipeg Auditorium at the CKY Fall Festival of Stars.

Unfortunately, The Dovermen seem to be a forgotten band as we were never asked to appear in any of the Winnipeg rock 'n' roll band reunions that have been organized over the years. . . hard to break through the great barrier of the Winnipeg perimetre highway : )   A few years ago, however, most of the band did regroup for the giant Bobby Curtola Sock Hop Reunion at the Brandon Keystone Centre.

On Stage in England
Soon after the Curtola tour the band dissolved. . . the guys pursued other lifetime careers, and I returned to University to earn degrees and to begin my career as a high school teacher and later a university professor. Sue-On and I married in 1966, formed our own group, with Sue-On on drums and myself on guitar - we shared the vocals.  We started recording, played gigs every weekend, and used our summer holidays to tour Western Canada, USA Grandstands, and to play clubs, military bases and studios in England. The best markets seemed to be eager for a more country flavour so we shifted to a country rock repertoire. Our overseas agents were Burrow-Hunter Enterprises of Middlesbrough, in the US we were represented by Bardine Productions of Portland, and in Canada we did our own promotion and bookings.

We had a great chat and shared memories about Canada's Mr. Personality. I mentioned that I had toured with Bobby back in the mid-'60s and in more recent times we had renewed our friendship during the time he lived in Brandon and we had the pleasure of playing with him again in numerous Manitoba gigs. Bobby and I even worked together in creating a Bobby Curtola Website.

Certainly a worthy addition to any Manitoba music showcase considering the enormous impact that Winnipeg's BTO had on the music scene. Although I've never played much bass I've followed with great interest the evolution of the instrument and bass musicianship since the '50s. It is with great pride that we feature son, Robin, on bass and drums in our stage shows. I have managed to add a few unusual basses to my collection:
A vintage '70s Hofner Beatles Bass and an
'80s Roland Synthesizer Bass complete with the multi-pedal floor synthesizer unit.

GAR GILLIES' GARNET AMPS

We made good use of Garnets since my dad had a dealership through his hardware store back in our hometown. I looked forward to dropping into his shop whenever we made it in to Winnipeg. I used a Session Man Quad for many years, and still use an original Herzog occasionally. I regret not having visited him in his later years during the time he spent in nearby Erickson.

In 2008 I was invited by Disney International and Phil Collins to attend the German Tarzan Musical Premiere in Hamburg (I'm Webmaster for all the Official Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. sites out of Tarzana, California.) I made a point of extending my stay in the Reeperbahn area to explore the early haunts of the Fab Four and I created the Web series: Tracking the Beatles in Hamburg.