May 29, 1971: Rufus

 

The enduring talent here is guitarist Tom Makar. See footnote at the end:

May 29, 1971

They're Finally Paying Attention to Rufus

    We're in the Cheektowaga living room of Rufus guitarist Don Eckel, jets roaring overhead, with all five members of Rufus plus guitarist Tom Makar's wife Chris and organist Russ Costello's girl Sue. The conversation naturally falls into the ups and downs of the rock 'n roll business around Buffalo. 

"The guy who REALLY used to look like Clark Kent," Don says, "was J ... (the group's former booking agent). He used to come around with his briefcase and all to collect his 15 percent." 

"Another band told me about their agent and he sounded just like J ... except he had a different name. So I was over there with them one night when he came around. They all said, Hi, R ..., and I look at him and say Hi-i-i, J ... Then he tried to tell me it was for tax purposes." 

* * *

"BEFORE WE started with him," Tom says, "he gives us this questionnaire to fill out. Color of eyes. Color of hair. I hate  answering those things anyway.

"And then he started asking like how long have you lived at this address. Have you ever been arrested. What have you done for the past two years. I said: 'Vegetate.'"

"He almost didn't take us because of your answers," Don puts in. "Anyway, we're better off without him. He was getting us two jobs a week. Weekends. Now we're playing four, five nights."

* * *

WEDNESDAYS AND Saturdays (except tonight) find them at the Poorhouse West in South Shore Plaza, Hamburg. Tonight, next Thursday and Friday, it's the Edgewater on Grand Island. 

They're also at the Poorhouse West this Monday night and Poorhouse East, Main near Transit, June 6. And June 11 they return to North Tonawanda High School, home of their most rabid fans. 

"It's incredible," Don exclaims. "It seems like they haven't had a dance at Salem United, the high school or Ascension CYO this year without having us. It's always the same kids. We get fan mail. They even call and wake my father up."

"Two guys from Tonawanda chased me all around the Grand Funk concert," Russ says, "trying to take a picture of me for their sister."

"One of J ...'s other bands played there once and the kids booed them and started yelling, 'We want Rufus.' They called up J ... afterwards and told him never to book them after us again." 

At the new-looking Poorhouse West, the management praised them for rousing the crowd. 

"All they did was dance and clap," drummer Rich Vanni says, "but the guy said it was the most they'd ever responded." 

* * *

RUFUS FAVORS the more popular progressive songs. Most of the arrangements are well-played but rather direct cops from records, and their vocal system is plagued with a touch of treble distortion ("We'd like a new one, but ..." Don holds up his hands, "... money." 

There are a couple of Tom's originals -- "Kings Road" and "Runaway Blues" -- and a wide variety of material reflecting individual tastes. 

Tom like blues and sings Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me" with a harmonica solo in the middle. Don, who digs the Byrds, is the one behind "Jesus Is Just All Right." Russ and Rich feel a night is incomplete without Grand Funk's "Inside Looking Out." 

They alternate solo vocals, throw in a few harmonies and stretch a heavy number instrumentally if the situation is right. Like one night, when a club owner insisted on a final set to his empty bar. They gave him "Midnight Rambler" for better than 30 minutes. 

* * *

HASSLES THESE days are over taste or finding a time and place to practice. Bass guitarist Ted Seremak's job frees him late except on weekends or when it rains, and who feels like rehearsals on Sundays? Neighbors complain when they practice in Don's basement. And besides that, nobody's quite sure where it's all going. 

Still, it's better than last summer. A personality clash was driving Don from his old group by night, and by day he fell asleep in directionless practices with a new group. 

"We had three horns originally," Rich says. "One of them was a trombone player that went to Jennifer's Family until they broke up. And we had an organ player from the Magic Ring and a lead guitarist who used to play with the New Colony Six.

"The horn players were saying we don't wanna do Chicago, we don't wanna do Blood, Sweat and Tears. They get to practice and what do they ask for? 'Beginnings.' '25 or 6 to 4.' 'Make Me Smile.' And we had guys not showing up, getting married ..."

* * *

BY FALL, things had stabilized. By December, they were ready to go. The day of the Super Bowl they were auditioning in a bar on Broadway. 

"They told us to play and then the game came on," Tom says. "So these guys were all sitting around the bar watching the game on the TV set and the owner comes over and pulls a partition across in front of us. As if that was going to drown us out." 

* * *

EVEN NOW there's things like the outdoor festival where the host band wouldn't adjust sound levels for the other groups or let Rufus use their organ. 

Or the rival group that badmouthed Rufus to the Poorhouse West management so that their band would get the job (it didn't work). But there are a few rewards now, too.

"I'm having more fun playing now than I used to," Tom remarks. "With other bands, we had nobody watching. You could hear glasses clinking and people talking. But more people listen and dance and clap now. They're finally paying attention out there." 

The box/sidebar:

From Two Groups

Pertinent and impertinent information about Rufus: 

        Don Eckel, 20, rhythm guitar and vocals, Maryvale High School, attended Villa Maria College, now a UB junior, single.

        Tom Makar, 21, lead guitar and vocals, Calisanctus High, attending Niagara University and Buffalo State, substitute teacher for Association for Retarded Children, married.

        Russ Costello, 19, organ and vocals, South Park High, attended Hilbert College, works for paving contractor, single.

        Rich Vanni, 18, drums and vocals, senior at East Seneca High, dry cleaning delivery driver, single.

        Ted Seremak, 21, bass guitar, Bishop Turner High, Canisius College senior (accounting), works for landscaping contractor, single.

* * *

RUFUS WAS formed late last summer from two groups which were having problems getting together on their own. Don had practiced with both of them. Ted and Tom were in one, Russ and Rich in the other.

        Don at that time was pulling out of Burned and had previously played with Russ in a band called The Allens. Russ was a veteran of The Revolvers. Ted and Tom were in the Sunday Morning Wonderland Band and Rich played last summer with Talon down at The Lake.

        The name came one day when the band was sitting around the basement. The paperboy inspired them to think of cartoon characters and they came up with Rufus Henry Henry Rufus which, naturally, was shortened.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: Tom Makar – we run into him everywhere. Or at least see his name. As his bio on the Shakespeare in Delaware Park website tells us, “Since 1991, as sound designer/composer, Tom has been involved with well over 300 productions for various Western New York theaters.” Sometimes we see him on stage, too, as an Artie Award-winning actor and musician.

These days he performs as a solo rocker called Wild One. And he hasn’t lost his love of questionnaires. He filled one out for The Daily Public in 2015. Sample question: What character from fiction do you identify with most? Answer: Randy “The Ram” Robinson.