The Frost kicked off their 30th Anniversary tour at the Saginaw Civic Center on Saturday March 27th, 1999. The event was the braichild of local residents Scott Seeburger and Bo White, longstanding music aficianados and supporters of the arts. Between them, Bo and Scott had up to 20 years each in developing special community events. The story of the Frost concert actually begins 6 years ago.....

Scott and Bo met in 1994 during the planning and development of Dick Wagner's "Remember the Child" project(based on a Wagner composition). Scott became the Project Director-a role well suited to talents he developed as the Community Relations Director for Dow Corning. Bo developed "grass roots" fundraising actvities including concerts, raffles, business tie-ins, and sponsorships. The Project elicited tremendous community response that evolved into a large coordinated staff. The "Remember the Child" project culminated in an outdoor concert hosted by SVSU on August 23,1995. Dick Wagner collaborated with Leo Najar and the Saginaw Symphony to present orchestrated renditions of Wagner's illustrious catalog of music. The event generated over $16,000 that was distributed to agencies that address issues of child abuse and neglect.

Following "Remember the Child", Bo and Scott became friends, sharing a mutual interest in music and the arts. On occasion, they would meet socially and discuss the possibility of establishing a more formal business alliance. By the fall of 1998, serious discussions began around Scott's idea to promote a concert featuring The Frost-a band that lived in Saginaw during their heyday as recording and performing artists(1969-1971). By January 1999, Bo/Scott Productions became a legal entity and the Frost and spg Cub Koda were signed to contracts.

The concert proved to be an artistic and musical triumph with approximately 1000 fans in attendance. Cub Koda, formerly of Brownsville Station, opened the show with an energy-charged set that featured his hit, "Smokin' in the Boy's Room" and a Brownsville Station Medley that brought the crowd to it's feet.

The Frost's Performance offered a stunning retrospective of their career. They captivated the audience with such timeless songs as "Rock and Roll Music","Mystery Man", "Who Are You", "Donny's Blues", and their new single, "This Band Can Rock and Roll Forever". During the concert the Frost were presented the "Key to the City" and honored for their musical and cultural contributions to the State of Michigan.

The show was a trip down memory lane for many of the concert-goers who remember the Frost as one of Michigan's most popular bands. And in the great tradition of Michigan Rock, the Frost performed a high-energy blues-influnced rock 'n' roll that kept the crowd on their feet, dancin' and screamin' for more - an historic cultural retrospective: a defining moment for the Saginaw community in 1999.

What the hell was I thinking when I wrote that!!!
Defining moment?
Hmmm...well, I'm not so sure it defined anything. Perhaps it was a measure of how much we've lost, an absence of something palpable yet hard to define... youthful enthusiasm, cultural relevance, and the sheer excitement of live music. We can grasp at the straw but never truly hold it. Anyway, I've finally wanted to tell it like it is...was
Call this a labor of love

Enjoy

The Frost Concert Revisited

Well, that’s what I wrote 4 years ago. Never did like the way I wrote it…too stiff and uptight. I suppose I was still reeling from the effects of devoting every free moment of my life to the Frost concert. Three months of persuading, cajoling, meeting with sponsors or potential sponsors, looking for a good response, and feeling my spirit sag when it was lukewarm or dismissive. After we decided to take the leap, and in a fit of inspiration, we named our company Bo/Scott Productions, WMBC. The end tag was an acronym for “we must be crazy”.
If we had only known…

It was back in December of 1998 when Scott and I chanced to meet at one of Elmar Paeva’s record shows. A few years later, Elmar opened Retro Rocks, destined to become one of old-town Saginaw’s hottest hot spots. Anyway, I bought several hundred dollars worth of vinyl, mostly Beatles and some DC5. Scott also made a few purchases. And as we wandered from table to table, scouring each and every bin for unexpected treasures, we started to toss around the idea of administrating a concert. Scott had more than a little experience producing big events through his job as Community Relations Director for Dow Corning. He’s the guy behind the World Tennis Tournaments that Midland hosted in the 90’s. Scott was an international man with international contacts. He even met Henry Kissinger...and beat the snot out of poor schmuck in a vicious round of music trivia. Nobody could beat Scott. He was a music fan and a record collector since he was a kid. He and his brother and two other friend developed Midland’s first (and only) underground radio station, right in their parents’ basement. Pretty indulgent folks, doncha think. Anyway, Scott became a quasi-celebrity and was asked to host any number of dances and shows for Midland teens. In 1970, Scott hosted the Badfinger/3rd Power show at Midland High School…and I was fortunate enough to be in the audience.

It was a fantastic show featuring one of the best yet most seriously doomed bands in rock ‘n’ roll history. Both leader Pete Ham and Tom Evans, the creative forces behind Badfinger committed suicide after their fortunes plummeted. But in 1970, Badfinger was still fresh, hopeful, and unspoiled by the exploitation of their manager Stan Polley. They performed Crimson Ship, Midnight Sun, and Rock of Ages from their 1st Lp on Apple entitled Magic Christian Music. But most of the show was devoted to songs from their magnificent second lp, No Dice. They opened with I Can’t Take It and then proceeded to fire off one rock ‘n’ roll gem after another...No Matter What, We’re For The Dark, Love Me Do, Waterford John, Blodwyn and an early version of Suitcase. Badfinger was a gifted band, but were forever wallowing in the shadow of the Beatles. It was a mentorship that ultimately robbed them of their identity and cost them their lives. But despite the great music and energy, the concert remains with me even more vividly as it was the first time Scott and I crossed path - though we wouldn’t know it till almost 30 years later.

The Remember the Child project was my first collaboration with Scott, who organized and oversaw the effort. Though attendance was far from a sellout, we were still able to donate approximately $5,000 apiece to four specified agencies in Midland, Bay, Saginaw, and Genesee counties.

Wagner’s performance that night was triumphant and when he collaborated with Leo Najar and the Saginaw Symphony Orchestra the music was simply breathtaking. And once and for all and in a most optimal concert setting, fans were able to experience the depth and complexity of Wagner’s original compositions. The music was simply stunning and, in retrospect, the Remember The Child Concert may have been his shining moment, in a long career characterized by notable successes and a precipitous fall from grace that was ultimately redeemed by Wagner’s courageous recovery - and his partially successful comeback. But the story doesn’t end here. In fact, to really tell the story well, I have to go back to the where I started, back to the beginning…

The Frost formed in 1967 from the ashes of the fabulous Bossmen and Daniel Den’s house band, Bobby Rigg & the Chevelles. Dick Wagner had a solid reputation from his three years with the Bossmen. He seemed to be everywhere at once, performing almost nightly writing and producing songs for the Bossmen, the Cherry Slush, the Pack and several others. Indeed Wagner seemed to be a self-contained musical powerhouse, capable of mastering every aspect of the industry

The Bossmen had developed a regional following and had a well functioning fan club that sent out newsletters and helped establish the Bossmen as the premier group in Mid-Michigan.

In 1994, The Bossmen legacy was finally codified by Dick Wagner with much help from his bandmates, Lanny Roenicke and Pete Woodman and financial backing by this writer and others. He simply gathered together the old 45’s , blew the dust off, and dubbed them onto tape and then transferred the songs to disc.

The titles may not mean much to anyone too young to appreciate the astonishing craft represented by these original compositions.
And for anyone unfamiliar with the Bossmen or mid-sixties recording technology, the muffled low-tech sonics of the recordings may be a disappointment. But if you can cast you’re your pre-conceptions aside, you may hear something pure and joyous. That’s what I hear.

The Chevelles had a huge following but their sound was rougher than the Bossmen’s Beatlesque pop and country-western leanings. The Chevelles rocked and in 1965, they turned me onto the Rolling Stones with Bobby Rigg singin’ lead on Get Off Of My Cloud…loved it. At one point, Frank Patrick, the co- owner of Daniel’s Den (with Bob Parsons and Alan Schmid) was on the verge of closing a deal with the owners of the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England and asked the Chevelles to be the house band of his new club. But The deal fell through. The Chevelles were gaining notoriety based on their dynamic, high energy shows. But being the house band at the Den was not so lucrative. Frustrated and broke, the Chevelles were ready to pack it in when Dick Wagner approached them on this new project he was spearheading. So, in 1967, Bobby Rigg, along with bandmates Donny Hartman and Jack Smolinski joined forces with Dick Wagner and toured briefly as the Bossmen. Before long the new band was rechristened Dick Wagner & the Frosts and then finally, The Frost. The early Frost recordings yielded two regional hits the Eleanor Rigby inspired, A Rainy Day, and a psychedelic masterpiece, Sunhine. The Frost at this point were still performing Beatlesque-pop and covered several Beatles’ songs. And because he was a gifted arranger, Wagner could do amazing things with sound. Once he worked-up, in the span of an afternoon, a Frost version of A Day In The Life from an advanced copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band and performed it that night, before the public ever heard the Beatles masterpiece! Wagner knew the Frost needed greater exposure if they were to achieve anything more than local or regional success. So he would book them in venues across Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The strategy seemed to work as their popularity was mounting. Because Wagner logged so much time producing other bands in this little recording studio in Cleveland, he was awarded several hours of studio time and in 1968, the Frost recorded their first pre-Gordy Garris album. It was never released and the only known copy to exist rests in the hands of the Frost’s un-official archivist, Bobby Rigg. Wagner says it was a bluesy, non-commercial lp that featured, among other obscurities, a cover of St. Louis Blues and a few original Wagner songs. Wagner claims he re-wrote the entire lp when Gordy Garris joined the Frost to reflect a more dynamic sound and richer vocal harmonies. Frost Music, the official first album contained the magnificent Mystery Man. It should have been a massive hit but it failed to gain anything more than regional airplay. But it was hit in Michigan. We loved it. The Frost’s next project was a live lp at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. Vanguard’s top gun Sam Charters, renown for his work with blues and folk artists, was not entirely appreciative of modern rock, but he did understand that the Frost was a dynamic live band and that his studio productions failed to capture the essence of that energy.

The Frost had just returned from a disappointing gig opening for BB King at the Fillmore West in San Francisco and we’re more than happy to be back in Michigan. Charters recorded the show in 1969, but he was unhappy with the results and unwilling to release it. Instead, the second lp,Rock ‘N’ Roll Music, was a combination of studio and live cuts and failed to deliver the promised goods and left fans scratching their heads. In an essay entitled, On Pop and Pies and Fun, Lester Bangs wrote about the relative merits of Iggy & the Stooges music and it’s unusual juxtaposition to other metallic Michigan bands. He wrote about Grand Funk’s “noxious sludge” and characterized Frost music as “clanging along like a brassy fire engine, appealing but just a shade inhuman”. Hmm…Bangs certainly was onto something but I think it had more to do with Wagner’s elusive perfectionism and his tendency to isolate himself from others. Donny and Gordy would party with the rock ‘n’ roll elite but Dick preferred more solitary pursuits, always and forever the mystery man.

By 1970 it was just about over and their final release. The underappreciated Through the Eyes of Love became their swan song. Donny and Bobby continued to gig as the Frost for awhile but magic was gone and the Frost name was retired for good…with occasional reunions in the eighties and a hastily arranged outdoor show produced by the Bay Area Arts Council in 1996. It was a successful show that included other Michigan rockers such as the Rationals, Count & the Colony, and the Bossmen. Scott Seeburger was involved in the production of that show and I served as a roadie for Wagner’s bands. Great time. And it set the stage for The Frost 30th Anniversary Concert at the Saginaw Civic Center.

I gotta admit administrating the Frost show was very gratifying and more than a little stressful. It was made much easier by the Wagner camp and their ability to compromise. Some of our ideas clashed like having Scott Ebright introduce the Frost. I thought he was a blowhard. Jim Feahr, the production manager for the show, a seasoned veteran of the concert scene, had produced over 300 shows from Count Basie to Alice Cooper and Black Oak Arkansas. But he was not allowing Scott or I full access to the backstage area. After all the work we did to promote the show, we were not prepared to be shut out like this. We relayed our anger and disappointment to the Frost camp and Feahr relented. Everything was set...we even agreed to rent a grand piano for “one song” and provide extra goodies- several cases of beer - backstage, not listed on the rider and not purchased from Civic Center vendor.

Scott personally distributed over 1000 of these flyers across the state. I took a few to Ann Arbor and East Lansing. We had a modest ad campaign that included print ads in the Saginaw News, Bay City Times, Bay Area Review, and the Flint Journal

Modest
. We even sent out postcards to hundreds of fans who were on Dick Wagner’s mailing list.

I was impressed by the quality of the postcard and how it seemed to effortlessly balance art with information.

Our radio sponsor, The Eagle 97.3, did a phenomenal promotional spot…$1000 bucks worth.

At the start of negotiations there was some talk about Gordy Garris rejoining the band but unfortunately it just never materialized. The Wagner people said Gordy wasn’t feeling well but otherwise kept pretty mum about it. But as I continued to actively promote the show, talkin’ it up, and placing postcards and flyers” everywhere”, I happened to bump into Gordy…literally. We were introduced and Gordy was friendly and open. He asked me to tell Dick and Donny that he wasn’t angry about not playing, and that he was too busy with his new baby son and all…Gordy proved o be a sweet man and I felt lucky to have met him.

Tom Randall from the Dick Wagner Band was recruited on bass and the lineup was set. The 1999 version of the Frost - from left to right - Donny Hartman, Dick Wagner, and Bobby Rigg. Tom Randall is top left. Scott and I were privileged to attend a couple of rehearsals at Wagner’s Downtown Studios in Saginaw. The band sounded HOT. I was impressed with the musicianship but I was even more impressed by the good humor and camaraderie the existed between the musicians. Donny and Bobby seemed like nice everyday kinda guys and proved to be more accessible than their leader. I saw the set list and I felt the choice of songs was uniformly thoughtful, even inspired, except for the “solo” part of the show. Dick was going to do Linda - a great choice. But he was also set to perform Remember the Child. Great song. But out of place at a Frost concert. Donny was gonna do a Bob Dylan cover. I almost SHIT. I (and Scott) never said a word of complaint but I tried – unsuccessfully - to encourage the inclusion of Sweet Lady Love and Sunshine…oh well.

The final list, pt. 1

The final list pt. 2

In the meantime, I attempted to hire and opening act or two that would be a good fit. Wagner suggested his son’s band and a another and that recorded for his label, WMG Records. He accepted our rejection. Once the word got out, I was solicited by several agents. And I was offered some doozies, like a 7-piece version of the MC5 with one original member and a reformed Frigid Pink with two original members. Finally, with the help of Dean Rusch(of Rusch Productions and the band Ceyx), I contacted Cub Koda who directed me to Doc Cavalier, his agent/manager.

We worked out a deal
And Cub sent me his song list

Notice that Cub did not intend to play too long…33 minutes. Nothing wrong with the set. The songs were either Cub’s hits or just good old rock ‘n’ roll. And he had a great band that featured Ray Goodman from SRC and Johnny “Bee” Badanjek from Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels.

Cub put on a fine show – humorous and energetic – and left the crowd screamin’ for more. At the time I was unaware that Cub was seriously ill with diabetes and that his health had been in a steady decline in the past few years. Sadly, this proved to be one of Cub’s last performances. Cub was easy for me to deal with – no nonsense, no unreasonable demands, and was a true believer in music. I felt lucky to have met him.

We needed sponsors for the show...badly, as we simply did not possess the disposable cash to fund the event. Our sponsors included, Five Star Amusement, Riffel Distributing, Bresnan Communications, Tuffy Auto Centers, Richie Riches, and Martin Chevrolet.
Without them we would have lost our ass

The Frost were pumped for the show, especially Dick, and especially in the beginning...before we realized that sales were slow, painfully slow. To commemorate the Frost reunion Wagner and Hartman wrote and recorded a great little rocker, entitled This Band Can Rock 'N' Roll Forever, and backed it with In The Middle Of The Night , a Wagner/Hartman song dating back from 1985.

They did a limited release for the Reunion tour. "Night" was hands down a superior song and the EP actually contained two versions of the it, the original take from '85 with Wagner singing lead and an updated version with Hartman on lead vocals. Hartman's version was inncredibly strong and I felt (as did Scott) that it could have been a hit in the MOR market. We encouraged Dick to include it in the set list
He didn't

Now close to five years later, I'm watching my videotape of the show...for the first time. And as my ambient memories fill me with a mix of images and emotions, I'm astounded at how GOOD the Frost are.
But now let's take a good look at the concert itself...

The Frost opened in a burst of fog and a crescendo of dueling guitars...it was a suitably energetic opening that segued into This Band Can Rock, a gritty, soulful rocker led by Wagner's wailing guitar and Hartman's powerful vocal. Perhaps my favorite Frost song, Who Are You, is performed with enough attitude 30 years later that it made me wonder if Wagner was more of a punk than I ever imagined. A song with a social conscious.

Just like it was 1969, the Frost combine Take My Hand and Mystery Man and pull it off without a hitch. A review back in '99 mentioned that all them great high harmonies were still intact. Not true. Dick's voice had already lost some of its luster and though Donny and Bobby Rigg filled in admirably, they just couldn't sing it like Gordy Garris.

Next, Wagner pieced three songs together, the mediocre Black as Night with the underrated Fifteen Hundred Miles followed by an extensive jam - with Dick and Donny trading off leads - that led to Wagner's underappreciated anti-war masterpiece, Through The Eyes Of Love. At this point, Dick did a solo turn, starting with acoustic versions of A Long Way Down To Mobile and Linda. He sang well enough but forgot lyrics or missed cues at least six times during this segment. An embarrassing lapse. He recovered some ground with his Alice Cooper anthem, Only Women Bleed. It's just a plain out great song.
Bobby Rigg then took the microphone to introduce Remember the Child, with Dick on grand piano. The song was delayed by several screaming fans who seemed to be still rockin'. But Dick gamely resumed playing... and it turned out just fine. It's a powerful song that provided one of the more poignant moments in the show. A good Wagner vocal too!

Scott Seeburger addressed the crowd with news of a House of Representatives resolution, introduced by Mike Hanley, honoring the Frost's contribution to the arts in Michigan. He then gave the plaque to a very grateful Dick Wagner

It was my turn next...I introduced city council member - and my friend - Carol Cottrell who awarded the Frost the key to the city.
Cool, huh...I thought so, in fact I was behind all of that formal recognition and Scott supported the idea. We thought that this was more than a concert...it was an event. Afterall, the members of the Frost lived right here in Saginaw during their heyday. But not everyone agreed and we were roundly criticized for disrupting the momentum of the show.
Oh well
Donny took a solo turn next with covers by Elvis and Dylan. It was excruciating...somnambulant and joyless. Donny is just too good, too talented to stumble this badly. It's like he doesn't know just how good he is...plus he had any number of self-penned songs he could have performed. I blamed it on poor management. Donny's solo spot thankfully segued to a full band, 12-bar gem, Donny's Blues that prompts Wagner to jump into the crowd for some heavenly riffing. The tempo picks up with Hartman's rockin' Big Time Spender. Wagner really shines with some of the tastiest series of solos of the show, each lightning fast note played pure and full and with just that right touch of vibrato. Wagner is a phenomenal guitarist. Help Me Baby, the Frost version of the old Bossmen chestnut, with Donny singing lead. The show ends with a powerful triumvirate featuring We Gotta Get Out of this Place, Rock And Roll Music, and a reprise of This Band Can Rock. It was a hard rockin' coda that lifted the energy of the show. We didn't know it at the time but this marvelous ending became a fitting climax to one of Michigan's best rock bands. It was to be the Frost's last sweet spotlight.

Well...for me it was a painfully satisfying experience - and I don't regret a moment of it. I met some wonderful people. And I had a ball the night of the concert...maybe too much ball. My nephew Steve White did backstage security for me. His job - guard the beer...didn't do much of a job.
He went home illin' for sure and me... I was doin' the Blatz Beer two -step

We sold a total of 489 tickets with another 374 fans came through the doors with freebies for a total attendance of 863. Sales were $8,283.00. Costs were $13,295.89 and with $4250 in sponsorship monies, we lost only a few hundred dollars after incidental expenses were covered. So, we did well enough, especially considering that MSU was in the NCAA semi-finals that night
It never pays to go up against one of the biggest sporting events of the year
WHAT WAS I THINKIN'

The afterglow was at White's Bar where Dick joined my daughter Kristy and Chris Pool and a host of other rabid Frost fans for champagne and pizza
yummy

Ahh yes...I remember

Peace,
Bo White
January 2nd, 2005