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Our Kind of Town
Meanwhile, Gail and I found ourselves renovating yet
another house, with a recording studio in the basement (my third studio)
and graphic design, photography and talent agency offices on the upper
floors. We truly had become a one-stop shop for bands. It wasn't unusual
for me to have a meeting with a corporate design client in the first floor
conference room while a reggae band was setting up downstairs for an
all-night recording session. Although we lived on the edge of what some
would call a bad neighborhood, we never worried about being robbed because
people were coming and going at all hours of the day and night and it
would have been impossible for any potential thieves to try to figure out
if and when we were home.
In addition to corporate clients, I continued to do
design work within the music business including album art for Ovation
Records and ads and promotion for Gerim Studios. An album I designed for
The Numa Band was nominated for a Grammy. Another client was the former
Chess Recording Studios. That place was so full of history--the back door
displayed a multitude of famous signatures including Chuck Berry and
members of the Rolling Stones.
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Fred takes a break
in the control room of his ATA
recording studio, Chicago, Ill., 1981. |
Excerpt from Goldmine
magazine/July, 1981
Freddie Tieken, Fourth Generation
Illinois Rocker
By Cary Baker
...star performer or a star manager, his story is worth
telling. Tieken was legendary in downstate Illinois through the '50s and
'60s--enough to sell thousands of records regionally--and never closed his
mind to musical advances. As long
as it rocked.
Today, he and Gail live on Chicago's far North Side in a
neighborhood that's variously Jamaican, Hispanic and collegiate. Many of
the city's new wave acts--the Swingers, the Marquis, Gary Jones and
Milwaukee's Lubricants--have come away from his studio with
unsubtle-sounding records. And as so many ex-rockers fade into
adult-contemporary-land, and accordingly sign off at sunset, a band can't
be rockin' enough for Freddie Tieken. His best days are yet to come.
Note: Music journalist and publicist Cary Baker is
founder of the Fiction Records label and LA's Conqueroo, a music publicity
firm.
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Anarchy in the Midwest
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John
Drum of Pistol
Whip with Gail at the
Sunrise Magazine
music awards,
Peoria, Ill., 1979.
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Shortly before our move to Chicago, Gail had received a
demo tape in the mail from a band in Erie, Pennsylvania called Pistol
Whip. She was really excited about it and I remember her rushing into the
studio to play it for me. I believe my comment after listening was "That
sucks." Gail paid little attention to my comments and proceeded to book
some area dates for Pistol Whip. After I witnessed them tearing apart
(yes, literally tearing it apart) a club in Peoria, Illinois at a Prairie
Sun party I was won over. The group was sheer pandemonium and the energy
kind of reminded me of early Rockers days. I enjoyed every minute of it. I
recorded a demo tape of several of their songs in my Quincy studio just
before we moved to Chicago.
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From
left: Brad Steakley, currently drummer with The Romantics, talent
agent Bill Carlton and Donna Doss from Armageddon Talent at the
Sunrise Magazine music awards.
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Shortly after that, Pistol Whip returned to Erie and
reformed without the group's original leader, John Drum. The new group,
The Swingers, moved to Chicago to work with us. This group seemed to go
through drummers faster than Spinal Tap did. My brother Dennis even helped
them out for a while before Steve Dubin finally became a lasting member of
the band.
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The
Swingers from
left: Dennis Tieken,
Rick DiBello, Willie
Cotter and Jim
DeMonte.
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The Swingers, comprised of Skillet Willie Cotter, vocals
& rhythm guitar; Rick DiBello, lead guitar; Jim DeMonte, bass; and Steve
Dubin, drums combined
their clever songwriting abilities with a high
energy show that quickly gained them a fan base in Chicago, Detroit,
Madison, and throughout
the.Midwest.
Their single "Leavin' on a Jet Plane b/w Foundry Joe" on
Rumble Records made the playlist on FM stations in Chicago and throughout
the U.S. They were also included on several anthology albums and gained
international attention.
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Backstage at Mother's -- Bassist John Sauter, formerly of Mitch Ryder &
the Detroit Wheels, Buddy Guy, Smokehouse and Ted Nugent; Willie Dale
III, bass player with Smokehouse and the Finchley Boys and Mary Alice
Ramel of Gabba Gabba Gazzette fame.
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Gail was booking a lot of new wave and punk bands such
as Destroy all Monsters, the B52s and the Romantics into Chicago clubs and
the scene was really taking off. Mary Alice Ramel of Gabba Gabba
Gazette fame worked with Gail for a while and brought in a few groups
she knew to the agency. Mary Alice was good friends with the Ramones and
we had a lot of fun hanging out
with.them.
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From
left: Gail peeking out from behind Harvey Mandel, Rick DiBello, Jim
DeMonte, John Sauter, Willie Cotter and Dennis Tieken at a Swingers
Show, Mother's, 1980.
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Gail had the bookings on Monday nights at Mother's on
Division with as many as three or four bands playing on some nights. One
particular Monday, Gail had booked Fred Sonic Smith (of MC5 fame) in with
The Swingers. There had been rumors circulating that Patti Smith would be
coming along with Fred (this was shortly before they were married). I went
down that afternoon to help The Swingers with their sound check and there
was Patti fiddling around with a clarinet in the dressing room. That was
the day I gave Patti Smith a clarinet lesson! I showed her some fingering
techniques and she seemed to pick up on it pretty fast. It's a good thing
I caught her in the afternoon, because by that evening she and her beau
were totally blasted and hiding in a dark corner of
the dressing room between sets.
It didn't matter at Mother's on Monday night what was
going on outside. The place would be packed in the middle of a major
snowstorm and everyone always had a good time.
Nico Came to our House
Willie Cotter from The Swingers had an innate talent for
befriending celebrities. One evening he showed up late for rehearsal at
the studio. No one really thought much of it since Willie was always late
for rehearsal. When he finally arrived, he had Nico (Velvet Underground)
in tow. Time and abuse had not been kind to Nico. She wandered upstairs
and Willie suggested to Gail that some vodka would be nice. Nico was
fairly relaxed after the vodka, but Gail had to keep an eye on her because
she kept wandering out the front door, something you didn't want to do at
night in our neighborhood! It was kind of sad
to see this once beautiful
woman so wasted.
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Steve Dubin on drums with Skillet
Willie Cotter on stage at a Swingers
show, Haymakers in Palatine, Ill. |
Things like that were always happening with Willie. One
night at Huey's when the Swingers were between sets, Gail was guarding the
dressing room door. That sounds funny, but with the Swingers you had to
take those kind of measures. Willie was such a magnet that, left
unchecked, the entire club would soon be in the dressing room. Some guy
approached and opened the door and when Gail attempted to close the door,
he placed his arm in the open door. Here was Gail trying to shut the door
with his arm in it and explaining to this fellow that he could not come in
while Willie was over in the corner stuttering "that's, that's." Finally
he got it out, "That's Adrian Belew." So Gail made an exception and let
one of the world's great guitarists in the door. How embarrassing! I still
tease her about that. And she's so thankful the arm incident didn't
interfere with his guitar playing.abilities.
The Blues Brothers Bar
Headline acts in Chicago clubs would usually go on about
2:00 am with the club staying open until 4:00 am. If you weren't quite
ready to call it a night after that, those who knew the password or the
doorman could get into the Blues Brothers Bar. It was basically a small
house in an alley with a bar, a living room and over in one corner a small
drum kit where John Bilushi would jam with visiting musicians. Believe me,
the birds were chirping
when you left that place.
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I remember one night we were sitting at the Blues Brothers Bar with
Wizards' owner Ken Gaines and Jim Bilushi was sitting next to us. He
was talking about how tough things were and how he was having a hard
time making enough money to feed his family. He was just a young
comedian starting out in those days, but I don't think he has to worry
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Members of Ministry with friend Laurel and
Wizard's owner Ken Gaines. |
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Around about this same time, we signed a power pop
group, Kevin Lee & Heartbeat, and devoted ourselves to managing, booking,
producing and recording the group. Kevin is a very strong songwriter and
his material contains lots of pretty melodies with interesting hooks. We
booked them mostly in the Chicago area where they quickly gained a
following.
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Kevin
Lee and
Heartbeat onstage at
ChicagoFest, from left:
Danny Schaeffer,
Fred's son Steve
Tieken and Kevin Lee.
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After several personnel changes early on, the final
lineup included Kevin Lee on bass & vocals, Danny Shaffer on guitar and
vocals and my son Steve
Tieken on drums.
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Kevin
Lee and Steve Tieken hang out with Joey Ramone on the Ramones tour
bus.
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Kevin Lee & Heartbeat was about as far from the Swingers
as you could get and booking this type of band did present a challenge on
some occasions. One of those times was a ChicagoFest gig with Iron Maiden.
The head bashing metal crowd just didn't understand these pretty boys with
their even prettier songs. I'm not sure what kept them from getting killed
that day.
I recorded a Kevin Lee & Heartbeat single at my studio
entitled "White Rolls Royce" and released it on my Rogers Park Records
label. We followed up the single with a video of the song and showcased it
at On Broadway, a large, prestigious Chicago club where groups such as the
Neville Brothers and Al Jorgenson's group, Ministry, appeared frequently.
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Band
members and cast take a break from filming the Kevin Lee and Heartbeat
video, White Rolls Royce.
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Kevin Lee & Heartbeat won Prairie Sun Magazine's Best
Midwest Rock Band Award, I think around 1981 or so. We were able to
generate a lot of press on the group, but never got much response from
major record labels. I think it was due mostly to timing -- no one seemed
to be looking for pretty melodies at that point. I've always been able to
appreciate just about any type of music so long as it's good, but the
industry as a whole seems to be driven by trends. Sometimes that works in
your favor, sometimes not.
For a short time, I also managed a Chicago
rocker/guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, Paul Suszynski. Paul is an
incredible talent and I feel fortunate to have worked with him.
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Singer/songwriter/guitarist Paul Suszynski, left, and backup singers
at an ATA
recording session. |
I recorded several demo tapes with Paul in my studio
that got the attention of a couple of major record labels. Unfortunately,
Paul's health problems made it impossible for him to hold things together
long enough to develop his potential. Paul had been the driving force of a
great Chicago rock band from the seventies, Conqueror Worm. Then one day
he went to Grant Park and gave his 1957 Gold Top Les Paul to the first
person who walked by. Paul was his own worst enemy and I couldn't save him
from that. In spite of all that, I don't regret for one minute working
with him.
In addition to The Swingers, Kevin Lee & Heartbeat and
Paul Suszynski, I had a lot of musicians and groups come through the doors
of my Chicago studio and many of them published their songs on my Rogers
Park label.
A reggae band, Ketchafaya, recorded several demos with
me. They would get into some terrible arguments and call each other
bloodclots. I remember on one occasion the guitar player stormed out of
the session and didn't come back for his amp until one year later. Luckily
I had put it away and saved it for him.
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Fred reviews an
arrangement at his ATA
studio's baby grand.
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Fred with Reggae band Ketchafaya, all smiles
before an all-night recording session.
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Many of the bands that Gail booked came through the
studio at one time or another, including the Lubricants who later changed
their name to Modern Physics. There were also the Marquees, Johnny III and
Gary Jones. Someone who ended up being a lifelong friend of ours, John
Borta, brought his band The Headaches in for a session.
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Inside
Fred's ATA Recording Studios, Chicago, Ill.
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A former member of Freddie Tieken & the Rockers, Rod
Hibbert had formed a country rock band and they came from Quincy to record
with me. I also did a session with Helen Cornelius and her band. Vanessa
Davis Blues Band and Fugue Systems also recorded there.
I can't remember his name, but Phil Donahue's son and
his band came in for a session. Paul Suzynski's father and sister who
played kind of laid back jazz brought their group in to record with me.
Rock Critic Cary Baker brought in a group, Drats, he was
working with to record a single for his Fiction Records label. Cary even
performed back up "vocals" on one track.
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Cary
Baker of Fiction Records (in Fiction tee shirt) brought Drats into ATA
Studios to record a single for his label.
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It was
funky fun when Shay from
Parliament & Funkadelic and Shawn
from Lovecraft came to lay down
tracks at Fred's studio. |
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Fred had
more than one way to persuade an artist to sign. Here Gary Levine of
d'Thumbs and Ruby Starr & Grey Ghost feels the pressure. |
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I didn't think about it at the time, but I recorded an
incredibly diverse array of music in that studio. It seems I always had
sessions booked and promoted only by word of mouth. Chicago has always had
such a wealth of talent and diversity. I'm glad I had the opportunity to
tap into that.
Business (not) as Usual
By the early half of the 1980s, I had started devoting
more time to the design side of my business and expanded my client base to
include more corporate clients. The timing was right and my business
really took off, so much so that I had to enlist Gail's help in managing
the business. We had both gotten a little burnt out on the music business
at this point. It seemed like every time we would get a group to the point
that they were starting to make a name for themselves, someone would leave
the band and then we would start all over. It was getting frustrating and
the relative stability of our design clients was a welcome change.
We visited Phoenix, Arizona in the early part of 1986
and fell in love with the desert. The mild weather was alluring after the
brutal Chicago winters we had been experiencing and we saw Phoenix as a
place of great opportunity for our young business. By July of that year,
we had sold our house and moved along with our cat, Honey, to Phoenix.
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Fred and
Gail's award-winning Tieken Design & Creative Services studio on
Central Avenue in Phoenix, Ariz. |
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Fortunately, we were able to keep several of our Chicago
area clients while we were building a client base in the Southwest. We
developed a diverse clientele and, somewhat like the music business, there
was never a dull moment. We designed our high tech offices on Central
Avenue and traded 2:00 am sound checks for 2:00 am press checks.
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Fred and Gail review
production schedules at the design studio.
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In
2000, the Tiekens were featured in Graphic Design: USA magazine's "Top 100
People to Watch." |
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We designed and produced three newsstand publications
and the Ritz Carlton worldwide magazine. Our clients included The Dial
Corp, Hunter Douglas, Motorola, Subway, Arizona State University, Bank
One, GES Exposition Services and many more. Our work was frequently
featured in design, advertising and marketing annuals.
A sampling of logos and
identity systems designed by the Tieken firm.
Time Out for Good Behavior
We had built a very rewarding business, but it literally
took all of our time and attention so in 2002 I decided I needed a break.
Several large projects had taken their toll on my health, and I felt the
need to slow down. We had recently purchased a Frank Lloyd Wright style
contemporary home in Paradise Valley and the sale of our business gave me
the time I wanted for home renovation design projects.
We converted one wing of the house into a
state-of-the-art home theatre and listening room, complete with a 10'
screen and a separate control room. I finally got my theatre I dreamed
about when I was a little guy! It's really a comfortable room and,
needless to say, we spend a lot of time watching movies and listening to
all kinds of music. In recent years, I've gone back to my roots and listen
to a lot of jazz -- mainly older stuff from the 50s.
We travel to Manhattan once a year to hear some of the
older jazz guys. Most of them don't tour, so you have to hang out on their
turf if you want to hear them. The Village Vanguard and the Blue Note are
two of our favorite clubs. We also enjoy the art galleries and museums in
New York. We saw the most unbelievable Basquiat exhibition several years
ago at the Brooklyn Museum. Our trips to New York always leave me feeling
inspired.
I stay involved in art through personal projects these
days. I paint, mainly using acrylics, and do some three-dimensional
projects as well. My preferences lean toward abstract contemporary but
lately I've created some primitive art pieces. I look forward to designing
our holiday cards every year and I still work as though I'm driven by a
deadline, even
when I'm.not.
Gail and I are sports car enthusiasts and we both drive
Porsches and BMWs. We recently attended the American Le Mans Sports Car
Championships in Monterey. It was quite a thrill to see such great driving
and to get behind the scenes looks at the cars in the paddock. I like to
keep our cars detailed and most of our friends claim they would eat off
our garage floor without a second thought.
I also have two Vespa scooters,
one new and one a vintage 1962 Grand Sport, that get a lot of my
attention. |
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Gail
and Fred at home in Paradise
Valley, Ariz. with JoJo and Violet.
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Fred
puts the finishing touches to his
mural in their home's atrium.
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Fred and JoJo with some of Fred's
recent projects.
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Fred
enjoys keeping the family wheels clean and sparkling.
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Arie Luyendyk, two-time Indy 500 winner, and Fred talk cars at the start of the Brighton Motorsports annual car rally. In the background is Fred’s 997 TT Porsche, which has taken top honors at the Porsche Club of America’s Arizona Region Concours d’Elegance two years in a row.
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We live in a beautiful area -- people joke about it but
it's easy to see how Paradise Valley got its name. I enjoy long walks with
Gail and our Italian Greyhound Violet who's seven years old now and full
of energy. We also have an adopted stray cat JoJo to round out our
"family." I swim a lot in our lap pool and enjoy finally having the time
to do these things.
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Fred
contemplates his next project while relaxing on the patio.
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Dennis
Tieken (right), visits Fred at home in Paradise Valley, Ariz. in
January 2008, while Italian Greyhound Violet enjoys the winter sun.
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Retirement also has given us a chance to do some
traveling. We've recently traveled to England, France, Hong Kong, Cambodia
and Thailand. While we were in Thailand, I got to see my old friend Terry
Hawkins who teaches at the American University in Bangkok. Terry is a
published poet and wrote the poem in the sidebar. In Cambodia we toured
the amazing ruins of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. We also attended a
sunrise ceremony with the Buddhist monks at a local mountaintop temple. It
was very peaceful there and the Cambodian people are a great inspiration.
Most of them have very little in the way of material possessions, yet they
are extremely content with their lives. There's a great lesson to be
learned from that.
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Fred
and long-time friend Terry Hawkins at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok,
Thailand, January 2006.
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| A Second Chance |
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| Pass The Mayo: Acrylic & stone on illustration board w/wood frame. 32 1/2” x 40” |
In the summer of 2010 my doctor told me my chronic kidney disease had progressed to the point that I needed to prepare for dialysis. I felt like he had handed me a death sentence. I came home and told Gail the news and the first words out of her mouth were “What about a transplant instead?” We made another appointment with my doctor and he said that, yes, transplant was an option but the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney was about five years and I couldn’t wait that long.
Gail then asked to be tested as a donor. The first round of tests came back as a match. After that both of us went through a two-month testing period at Mayo Clinic where they performed a more intensive round of matching tests and gave us both the best physical exams we have ever had. We passed everything with flying colors and on January 11, 2011 (1/11/11 to those of you into numerology) Gail gave me one of her kidneys.
We are both doing really well and a recent ultrasound revealed that my new kidney is perfectly functioning. This experience has inspired me to spend more of my time painting and I now have gallery representation. I’ve posted much of my work on this site and I hope you enjoy it.
I’ve never been a particularly spiritual person but when you think about the odds of your wife of 40 years being a perfect kidney donor match at a time when your life literally depends on it, well, it really makes you think about the amazing order of our universe. 
Mendon, Ill., 1953. Unity High School
Mustang football team Co-Captains Gene Inman (left) and Fred Tieken
(right) with Homecoming Queen Marlene Henerhoff.
Anyway, it’s been quite a journey. Thanks for visiting. I hope you were entertained and maybe even inspired.
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This site is dedicated to my courageous and beautiful
daughter, Lemon Groves, who was attacked and murdered in her home in
Nicaragua in May
of.2007.
Lemon loved life and lived life more than anyone I've
ever known.
These photos were taken in September of 2004 when Lemon
came to visit us in Arizona. Just a few weeks later she moved to Central
America. Of course we didn't know then that it was the last time we would
ever see her.
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Lemon, we love you
and we
carry you
with us in
our hearts.
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Copyright ©
2008-2012 Fred Tieken. All Rights Reserved.
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