The Maroons |

The idea that became the Maroons was planted when I received an unexpected telephone call from my friend and former bandmate Curtis Bachman, asking me if I might be interested in playing some fities and sixties music. Since the only music I’d been playing since the demise of Cahoots consisted of a few weeks subbing for a friend at the Double R Ranch (playing until 4:00 in the morning while the regular band – The Sundowners – were on break), and hosting open mic nights at the various incarnations of bars named “Whiskey RIver”, I told him I definitely would be interested. Curt set up a meeting with Rick Barr, a veteran drummer on both the Rock and Country scenes in Chicago, and we had a conversation that would open an entirely new set of avenues in my musical journey.

Rick had most recently worked with Chicago country rock band, Ouray, who had released an album of original songs and played a lot of the same clubs Curt and I had played with Cactus Jack and Cahoots. As these venues became either Comedy Clubs or Sports Bars, we had all become aware that we needed something new if we were to find paying gigs in Chicago. Rick, who had a wealth of experience with heavy-weight rock bands including the New Colony Six, had the idea of starting a band which would revive the songs that most of us had grown up listening to – fifties and sixties pop songs. The idea of a stripped-down rock-and-roll band consisting of strong singers and players made a great deal of sense. It was only a mater of finding the players.

Our initial effort to start this band fizzled out when Curtis got an offer he couldn’t refuse from a top-flight Fifties and Sixties show band, Mickey and the Memories. He seized on what was a great opportunity (three fabulous bee-hived girl singers, keys and horns? Come On!) and it seemed like that was that. Rick and I promised to stay in touch. While I went home and started to woodshed the songs that I wanted to do Rick went to work looking for like-minded musicians.

Litttle did we know that the musicians we needed were in the neighborhood, looking to build an original music band. John Burns was an outstanding guitarist with a strong reputation as a singer and songwriter and an impressive pedigree in the music business. The son of mandolin virtuoso, Jethro Burns and nephew of Chet Atkins, John had recently ended a long stint as lead guitarist for John Prine with his band, the Famous Potatoes. John Burns had begun auditioning players for his next project and had enlisted Ray Lester, who had been playing Bass with Harvey Mandel while touring Europe with Canned Heat.

When Rick was brought in as a possible option on drums, Rick suggested that they alter their plans slightly and form a band that would play both original music and updated sixties songs. Although Jphn and Ray were initially skeptical, an opportunity to try out the new format with an audience arose from an unlikely source. Jim Friedman, who owned and operated Minstrels Pub on Sheridan Road, had worked with John and I, and jumped at the idea of having us play together in his room on Sunday nights. We began working as an acoustic trio (with Ray Lester) and, with the more than occasional visits from Jethro Burns on mandolin, Minstrels on a Sunday night became the place to be in Rogers Park. Jim Friedman booked us along with Rick Barr for a number of successful weekends and the Maroons were a band.

Rick, John, Ray and I played in this format from 1983 – 1985. In those two years we played every place we could find, primarily in local bars in every corner of Chicago and the suburbs, often in the area around Devon and Western Avenues. The Mark II was a regular rave up and flame out (noted for its 4:00 AM license, gut-bomb pizzas, and rowdy revelers), but the high-level of instrumental and vocal prowess opened the doors for us at some of the better-known venues in town, such as Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn, as an opening act for nationally touring artists.

I left the band to return to school in 1985, but the Maroons played on. Joining the band was a great rock and roll pianist and singer, Steve Wozny, and the bands momentum continued. Soon after, Jim Nelson replaced Ray Lester on Bass guitar and became a fixture with the band. Jim and Ray always formed a mutual admiration society and we all continued to be great friends up until Ray’s passing in 2022.

When I finished school in 1988, I got a call from Rick Barr asking me if I would join them for a date at the Mark II. When I found out the band was making more changes, it only took me a minute to decide that I wanted back in. Both John Burns and Steve Wozny had decided to move on, which left a spot open in the lead instrument department. That spot was filled temporarily by Rudy Lobo, a great guitar stylist and singer who agreed to take some time out from his regular gig to play with us until we found someone permanent. Rudy was a true talent with an interesting and original approach to song arranging and guitar playing. He fit in with the unconventional approach that we had always used when picking and playing material. Unfortunately, he was already part of a working band and after a few amazing months, we found a “permanent” replacement in Mark Eskin on guitar and vocals.

Mark was a wonderful, gentle man and a joy to play with who had a deep knowledge of sixties music. Although he passed away in 2010, “Beatle” Mark, as he became known through his many appearances at Beatlefest in Chicago, is still a well-respected and fondly remembered fixture of the Chicago music scene. His stint with the Maroons was relatively short, though. After killing it with the band (most notably in an opening slot the band played at the Clearwater Saloon for the Flying Burrito Brothers), Rudy Lobo became available and we asked him to return to the fold. With Rudy aboard, the Maroons continued to be a popular bar band, a feature of the Old Town Art Fair, and a regular part of Chicago’s Summer Concert Series at Navy Pier where we also got to welcome the Tall Ships to Chicago during the annual Mackinaw Island regatta.

The Maroons technically has never ended. We just haven’t had a gig in a very long time. For a number of years we would get together at least once a year to have pizza and talk about how great the gigs used to be and how rotten “the bizness” has gotten. With the passing of Ray Lester and Rudy Lobo, and the semi-retirement of John Burns in New Mexico, it is unlikely there will be anymore official Maroons gigs. I do get to play with Rick Barr in the Original Rockin’ Fenderskirts upon occasion. And I have recently, once again, gotten to join Jim Nelson in a revived version of the MojoSkillet. So the spirit lives on. I will always be proud to hear someone say (in the voice of Bugs Bunny): “Jim Bartholomew? What a Maroon!”

The Maroons

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