JIm Schwan - Bass, Vocals
The very first band I played in was in 1966 with the Kobilack brothers, Keith and Kevin, as a trio. In 1967, I joined up with Steve Hartsel, Charlie Piatt, Larry Miller, Dick Campbell, and Pete Harbour in Blues Condition.
After that, I knocked around for a while, jamming with musicians, and getting my chops together, and worked as a roadie/drum tech in the Fall of 1970 for Mary St. Morie, who was Kyle Robbins, Meredyth Carpenter, Tom Patterson, and Jimi Hammonds.
When Tom Patterson and Jimi Hammonds left in 1971, I joined on bass, and Tony LaSusa joined on lead vocals and guitar, and we called ourselves Ormon Wyte. We played all over the state, Columbus, Bowling Green, Hudson, as well as around the Ashland/Mansfield area.
About 1973, I quit playing for a while, moved to Avon Lake, and later Meredyth moved there, and we played in a coffeehouse band called Koinonia, playing Christian Rock and Folk music.
I got married, quit playing for about 5 years, and got back into it via recording sessions in 1978 with, Cal Roach and Audie Gates, some guys I knew when I was living in Indiana, doing all original stuff. We were called, in an original flash of inspiration, Cal and Audie & Friends. I also played sometimes in the church band where I was attending at the time.
I moved back to Ohio, and got involved in 1980 with a Christian band doing all originals called Fellowship Band, with Kris Kosa, Don Freeman, and Christine Freeman. We played one concert in Norwalk before breaking up.
In 1981, I joined up with Ken Williams, Meredyth Carpenter, and Mickey Robinson in Higher Power, a Christian Rock band, and when Meredyth left, Tom Getz joined as drummer. Kris Kosa also occasionally jammed with us. Ken, Tom, Mickey, and I, along with my first wife, Liz, also played in the church band.
In early 1982, I was asked to join a country band, The HiJackers, along with drummer Tom Getz, temporarily replacing Danny Barker, who was having a kidney transplant. Later, Danny rejoined the band, and Carl Adams came in on guitar and keyboard and the lineup was Roger and Bill Martin, Danny, Carl, and myself. When Carl left in 1988, we disbanded. So much for a band named after shock absorbers….
Tom Getz had gone on to play with Showman Country, and in late 1988, I was asked to fill in for their bass player Larry Fowler, while he recuperated from a heart attack. Larry eventually quit, and I replaced him. The lineup was Dick Starcher, Ronnie Lykins (steel guitar), Tom, and myself. During a break in the bands gigs, I sat in one night with Just Friends, who was Bill Hatheway (my predecessor in Back On Earth), and Ken Williams.
Ken approached me in the summer of 1989 about putting together the band which became Ivy League, with Ken, his wife Rhonda (formerly of Rumours, the band Mike played in), and Vic Restelli. Ivy League became quite the local legend, and we played a lot! 4 years as house band at Sweeney's Too, and 2 years doing one and two nighters around the area and in Columbus. We opened shows for Charlie Daniels, the Grass Roots, the Platters, the Drifters, Music Explosion, Ohio Express, We played the Woolly Bear Festival in Vermilion 3 years in a row, and our last appearance as a band was there, in October 1996, actually 9 months after we had broken up, so there was a bit of overlap with the next band.
After Ivy League, Jim Bush was approached by Vic about putting together a band, in early 1996. Vic recommended me, and Bush and I formed the band. Vic decided not to join us, and went with Justus, so Bush and I brought in Jerry Bandy on drums, and briefly Russ Hock sat in with us, before I brought Kris Kosa in on lead guitar. We called ourselves Nobody's Fool, and played as a quartet through most of 1996 at the Japanese Steakhouse in Mansfield, as the house band. Jerry and Jim left at the end of the year, and I brought Tom Getz in on drums. I fronted the band, did most of the booking, and we started playing out a lot. Tom got us our contacts in Cleveland, and we played there quite a bit in 1997 and 98, culminating in opening for Peter Green at Wilbert's, in 1998. Tom left due to some conflicts, and Rich Carmichael joined us. We had a 5 year run with the band, disbanding in mid-2001.
Then I got involved with a loose conglomeration of musicians collectively known as Say No More, with Russ Hock, Mike Hall, Steve Stone, Tim Gates, Danny Barker, Pat Waseman, A.J. Beck, and others. This morphed into Danny Barker, Jim Bush, Mike Brumm and myself forming The Rockets, which had a brief run before I left to join Get-A-Way in 2002, with Frank Medley and Scott McKinley (later replaced by Justin [don't think I ever knew his last name]), where I played for 16 months to utter exhaustion. I left at the end of August 2003, needing to take some time off, due to fatigue, lack of fun playing, and lack of a social life.
Eric called me in the late spring of 2004, and I joined Back On Earth in August of 2004.
Throughout the years, I have jammed with many musicians, including former members of the James Gang and Glass Harp (Bill Jirick and Phil Keaggy, respectively). Right now, I'm thrilled to be a member of Back On Earth, and plan to stay with them to the end. Perhaps I can end the curse of the ever-changing bass player….
After that, I knocked around for a while, jamming with musicians, and getting my chops together, and worked as a roadie/drum tech in the Fall of 1970 for Mary St. Morie, who was Kyle Robbins, Meredyth Carpenter, Tom Patterson, and Jimi Hammonds.
When Tom Patterson and Jimi Hammonds left in 1971, I joined on bass, and Tony LaSusa joined on lead vocals and guitar, and we called ourselves Ormon Wyte. We played all over the state, Columbus, Bowling Green, Hudson, as well as around the Ashland/Mansfield area.
About 1973, I quit playing for a while, moved to Avon Lake, and later Meredyth moved there, and we played in a coffeehouse band called Koinonia, playing Christian Rock and Folk music.
I got married, quit playing for about 5 years, and got back into it via recording sessions in 1978 with, Cal Roach and Audie Gates, some guys I knew when I was living in Indiana, doing all original stuff. We were called, in an original flash of inspiration, Cal and Audie & Friends. I also played sometimes in the church band where I was attending at the time.
I moved back to Ohio, and got involved in 1980 with a Christian band doing all originals called Fellowship Band, with Kris Kosa, Don Freeman, and Christine Freeman. We played one concert in Norwalk before breaking up.
In 1981, I joined up with Ken Williams, Meredyth Carpenter, and Mickey Robinson in Higher Power, a Christian Rock band, and when Meredyth left, Tom Getz joined as drummer. Kris Kosa also occasionally jammed with us. Ken, Tom, Mickey, and I, along with my first wife, Liz, also played in the church band.
In early 1982, I was asked to join a country band, The HiJackers, along with drummer Tom Getz, temporarily replacing Danny Barker, who was having a kidney transplant. Later, Danny rejoined the band, and Carl Adams came in on guitar and keyboard and the lineup was Roger and Bill Martin, Danny, Carl, and myself. When Carl left in 1988, we disbanded. So much for a band named after shock absorbers….
Tom Getz had gone on to play with Showman Country, and in late 1988, I was asked to fill in for their bass player Larry Fowler, while he recuperated from a heart attack. Larry eventually quit, and I replaced him. The lineup was Dick Starcher, Ronnie Lykins (steel guitar), Tom, and myself. During a break in the bands gigs, I sat in one night with Just Friends, who was Bill Hatheway (my predecessor in Back On Earth), and Ken Williams.
Ken approached me in the summer of 1989 about putting together the band which became Ivy League, with Ken, his wife Rhonda (formerly of Rumours, the band Mike played in), and Vic Restelli. Ivy League became quite the local legend, and we played a lot! 4 years as house band at Sweeney's Too, and 2 years doing one and two nighters around the area and in Columbus. We opened shows for Charlie Daniels, the Grass Roots, the Platters, the Drifters, Music Explosion, Ohio Express, We played the Woolly Bear Festival in Vermilion 3 years in a row, and our last appearance as a band was there, in October 1996, actually 9 months after we had broken up, so there was a bit of overlap with the next band.
After Ivy League, Jim Bush was approached by Vic about putting together a band, in early 1996. Vic recommended me, and Bush and I formed the band. Vic decided not to join us, and went with Justus, so Bush and I brought in Jerry Bandy on drums, and briefly Russ Hock sat in with us, before I brought Kris Kosa in on lead guitar. We called ourselves Nobody's Fool, and played as a quartet through most of 1996 at the Japanese Steakhouse in Mansfield, as the house band. Jerry and Jim left at the end of the year, and I brought Tom Getz in on drums. I fronted the band, did most of the booking, and we started playing out a lot. Tom got us our contacts in Cleveland, and we played there quite a bit in 1997 and 98, culminating in opening for Peter Green at Wilbert's, in 1998. Tom left due to some conflicts, and Rich Carmichael joined us. We had a 5 year run with the band, disbanding in mid-2001.
Then I got involved with a loose conglomeration of musicians collectively known as Say No More, with Russ Hock, Mike Hall, Steve Stone, Tim Gates, Danny Barker, Pat Waseman, A.J. Beck, and others. This morphed into Danny Barker, Jim Bush, Mike Brumm and myself forming The Rockets, which had a brief run before I left to join Get-A-Way in 2002, with Frank Medley and Scott McKinley (later replaced by Justin [don't think I ever knew his last name]), where I played for 16 months to utter exhaustion. I left at the end of August 2003, needing to take some time off, due to fatigue, lack of fun playing, and lack of a social life.
Eric called me in the late spring of 2004, and I joined Back On Earth in August of 2004.
Throughout the years, I have jammed with many musicians, including former members of the James Gang and Glass Harp (Bill Jirick and Phil Keaggy, respectively). Right now, I'm thrilled to be a member of Back On Earth, and plan to stay with them to the end. Perhaps I can end the curse of the ever-changing bass player….
Jim's Gear
I play a Tobias "Toby Deluxe" Bass (4 string), a Jay Turser Beatle Bass, and I have a Lightwave Saber SL4 bass (infrared pickups, no magnetics at all). My rig consists of a Markbass LM800 Tube bass head, powering a fEARful 15/6 cabinet. I used to use a Line 6 LD300 Pro Bass combo amp for smaller venues, but I have retired it in favor of the Markbass/fEARful setup. I have a Gallien-Kreuger 800RB as a backup amp, and at home I have an SWR LA-15. I use a direct-out off of the Markbass amp (and the LD300 when using it) to send the bass signal to the main PA board, for presence and fullness, and I have a BBE Sonic Stomp box (a Sonic Maximizer, also known as the Smitty-fier), which is being used less and less as time goes by. My microphone of choice is a Sennheiser 835S. My bass rig's power comes through a GFI box to a Furman AR-117 power conditioner, which gives my amp a constant 117 volts of clean power, no matter what the line voltage coming in is. Solves the ongoing issues with "line drop" with long extension cord runs, and protects me from ground faults and shocks. I'll admit to being a bit of a "gearhead", and since I've joined the band, I've updated and tweaked my gear, bought new stuff, sold old stuff, and probably will do so again...future plans include a fEARful 15sub to use with the 15/6 for outdoor and large venues. Thump city!