It was the ‘60s, hippies streamline destined for Haight-Ashbury, flashing peace signs along the way within earshot of Scott McKenzie’s song “San Francisco.” Just thumbs up away to another hot spot called Yellow Brick Road in the east bay town of Niles, California, we settled for nothing short of best, still the flower children of our then little town.

     The venue offered everything born in the big city – lead guitar, bass, drums, vocals, keys, harp. Though Wakefield Loop had a brief run on the music circuit, not uncommon in the day, they were one of those bands that gave a name to music in the Bay Area. From a garage in the suburbs, to playing the same local stage as The Incredible Fish (Country Joe and The Fish minus Country Joe McDonald), and sharing space with a relatively new kid on the block by the name of Carlos Santana.

     The following is a look at the good, a bit less, and the beautiful people of music. The author is Dan Garvey, former lead guitarist for Wakefield Loop. Denny "Magic" Mahdik started it all, setting up in his garage, hopeful and passionate. The band played gigs in and around the San Francisco Bay Area in 1967, up and down the peninsula, rubbing shoulders with equals who have since remained on the circuit, their names all too familiar and impressive. Garvey tells a story of how the trend back in the day was not just a hobby for band and their entourage; it was a way of life, short-lived for some, one reason or another. It’s the story of how the influx of The Beatles, the British Invasion on the whole, had power over an easy target populace who wore the “groupie” tag in high fashion. They were musicians and songwriters struggling to make choices within an ever-faithful committed world for fame and fortune – risky decisions, some opting out on taking chances with a bottom line that tells a story or two.

Introduction and cover design by Pamela Youngs

Editor and Contributing writer for Steel Ties

All photos and poster art (including the poster image used in the cover design) courtesy of Wakefield Loop on Facebook, and Dan Garvey

Loops and Circles
By Dan Garvey
Contributing writer for Steel Ties
Email Dan

     Well, here we are, 44 years down the road, and it feels 10 or 15 years at most. Until recently, the members of Wakefield Loop were all here on this mortal coil. Call it a fantasy if you will, it wasn’t uncommon for us to think the old band might get together one last time. Lord, what we wouldn’t give to hear Cheryl belt out “Chauffeur Blues” once again – but that won’t happen because Cheryl’s gone. She passed away in April of 2008, and no one could ever take her place.
     Wakefield Loop was born in the early part of 1967, Fremont, California, and survived the mid-‘60s San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Named after a street in north Fremont, the original working-band lineup was Cheryl Williams (Baxter), vocals; Dave Simpson, bass/vocals; Denny Mahdik, rhythm guitar/vocals; Chuck Hasbrook, vocals; Larry Payne, drums; and me, Dan Garvey, lead guitar/vocals.
     It was a time of extreme change and uncertainty, change that was often unpredictable, sometimes painful. The military draft, a growing war in Vietnam, dominated a feel for mass confusion amongst the majority of a male populace. Yet it was also a time of seemingly unlimited possibilities and dreams. Every kid who could play more than three chords on a guitar or hold down a steady beat on a drum set had a fair chance of gaining a small level of notoriety and popularity, at minimum within his own social group. And it really was “his”, as there were precious few “hers” involved in the rock music scene at the time. If the right combination of talent and circumstances presented themselves, fame might just be a signature away on a record contract.

A merge of U.S. and British forces – 1964 to 1966

     The British Invasion by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and the likes in 1964, changed the lives of nearly everyone I knew one way or another. For me, and for my Wakefield Loop band mates, the next year’s big influential change came from a local Bay Area group by the generic-sounding, yet clever name of The We Five. They had a national hit in 1965 with the song “You Were on My Mind”. More to the point, they had a female lead singer with a golden voice by the name of Beverly Bivens. Out of the blue, the concept of how to construct a rock band took on a whole new meaning. Then in September of 1966, adding fuel to the flames of change, San Francisco’s own Jefferson Airplane, with lead singer Signe Toly Anderson, came through with their first album appropriately called Takes Off. That cinched the concept of the day and age – great rock music was still great rock music, even with a female singer.
     I started up a band in the latter part of 1965 called The Reasons Why, all north Fremont boys. I named the band after a book I read titled The Reason Why by Cecil Woodham-Smith published in the 1950s, about the British military’s famous cavalry incident “Charge of the Light Brigade”, as I thought it lent a British flair to it. I might have been the only one who knew of that connection. Our band name also became a reference to lyrics from the Byrd’s tune “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better", written by former Byrd’s vocalist, the late Gene Clark. We were a straight-forward local cover band, with no original material. The line-up was Steve Garillo, rhythm guitar and vocals; Rich Suggs, bass and vocals; Dave Cardoza, keyboards and vocals; and me on lead guitar.

Dan Garvey, far right, playing in his first electric band, The Reasons Why. Photo was taken by Garvey's dad in late 1965. Dave Cardoza is on keys, a very young Rod Rocha on drums, Rich Suggs on bass, Steve Garillio on rhythm guitar.

     Our drummer, 14-year-old Rod Rocha, was very good for his age. Unfortunately, his father Gene (with all good intentions no doubt) began taking more and more control of the band, declaring himself manager, eventually wanting to “help” determine our playlist. After a time, I could no longer abide. I had finally reached the point when playing cover songs “Little Red Riding Hood", “Louie Louie” and “Wipe Out” was simply intolerable, so I left the band in the fall of 1966. Bill Remington took over as lead guitar following my departure.
     In 1966, Denny Mahdik was with The Perspectives In Sound, a local band that later became known as The Collective Works, whose players hailed from the north side of Fremont. Disagreements concerning The Perspectives In Sound recording future eventually led to Denny moving on, and ultimately with his decision to build another band that was more in keeping with what he felt owned up to state-of-the-art style, and certainly a more flexible member lineup. It was to include a female singer, a new sound with original music, rather than just another British Invasion-style cover band, which was most common at the time. The search was on for its crew.


Founding member Denny Mahdik kicks back, tunes in (January 1967) amongst a wall of fame.

Fired up in ‘67

     After my split from The Reasons Why, I joined up with another local by the name of Ed Dorn, who eventually went on to his next band, Elderberry Hedge. Ed later became founding member of the glam-punk band Zolar-X, and finally on to San Francisco’s The Pushups, winners of a San Francisco BAMMIE award in the early 1980s. While I was with Ed in the early days, we specialized in The Beatles, The Byrds and The Rolling Stones, with a few odds and ends thrown in, but again, no original material. That lasted until I got a phone call from Denny one night early on in 1967, asking me if I would be interested in joining his new band project as lead guitarist.

The band Elderberry Hedge, 1967 - The guitar player second from left is Ed Dorn. Dan Garvey played with Dorn before joining up with Wakefield Loop. The core of this band went on to become the early 1970's LA glam band Zolar X.

     I was immediately attracted to the band concept Denny was focused on, as I very much liked The We Five, as well as another Bay Area band, The Vejtables. The Vejtables had the Top 40 hit “I Still Love You", and featured a female singer who also played drums. As I previously stated, Jefferson Airplane was amongst that same general lineup that included female leads, and they were definitely beginning to gather local attention with their first album. Sounded like a winning proposition to me, and though I felt badly about bailing on Ed, I signed up for the duration with Denny. I was the last piece of the puzzle, the last to join the original lineup for Wakefield Loop.
     My first impression of the band’s personnel was, of course, meeting Denny and getting a very strong sense of direction and energy from him – even more impressive that he wanted to do original material.
     Looking back and remembering Cheryl, she immediately impressed me as a very mature individual, and I recall being quite surprised to discover that she was actually only 16 at the time. She already had a children’s book under her belt called The Happening, published by Shakespeare Books in Berkeley, circa 1966. But most importantly, I absolutely loved her voice. Our first singer Chuck Hasbrook (who was also 16 when he joined Wakefield Loop) recently said her voice “came from deep within.”
     My first encounter with Chuck came along after seeing him perform with his band in 1965, to the tune of the 1964 single “Hi-Heel Sneakers”, and I was quite pleased to discover he was part of the band. I have always thought he and Cheryl worked very well together. It was a big disappointment when he was ultimately forced to leave the band after he and his folks relocated out of the area.

Original Wakefield Loop lineup, February 1967, just before Garvey joined in - LtoR: Dave Simpson, Denny Mahdik, Larry Payne, Larry Turner, Chuck Hasbrook, Cheryl Williams

     Dave Simpson was on bass in the beginning. Dave, then 19, was simply a very nice, generally quiet guy, as well as being very competent on bass. Dave took over lead vocals when Chuck left. This happened after we had played at a Battle of the Bands, with an early, and very incredible, Sons of Champlin as the guest band.
     At 17, Julio Staben, another gem of an individual, joined the band on bass guitar. Our drummer at the time was an 18-year-old by the name of Larry Payne, also very nice, but if I felt there was a weakness in the band, it would have been Larry. His original intent was to help Denny out until we found another drummer, a reason that may have had something to do with my opinion. Larry was without a doubt a good drummer, but he was also old school, with a style I felt did not suit the music we were playing. He also didn’t seem to hook up with the bass guitar as well as he should have, to give us a strong rhythm section to build upon.

The Playlist

     Below is the original Wakefield Loop playlist to the best of my recollection, with credits noted for each version of the song.

“Dancin’ In The Street” (Set opener) – 1964 hit single, first recorded by Martha and the Vandellas
“2120 South Michigan Ave.” (Set opener) – 1964 release by The Rolling Stones
“Chauffeur Blues” – 1966 release by Jefferson Airplane
“Blowin' in The Wind” – Bob Dylan release, 1963
“John Riley” – Recorded in 1960 by Joan Baez
“The Nazz Are Blue” – Yardbirds, 1966, Jeff Beck (vocals)
“And I Like It” – Jefferson Airplane from their album Takes Off
“My Back Pages” – Bob Dylan release, 1964, also made popular by The Byrds
“Sit Down I Think I Love You” - Recorded by The Vejtables (1967) and Buffalo Springfield (1966), written by Stephen Stills
“It’s No Secret” – 1966 Jefferson Airplane hit single from their album Takes Off
“Lets Get Together” – Jefferson Airplane, released in 1966, from their album Takes Off
“Cream Puff War” – Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead album, 1967
“Somebody To Love” – 1967 hit single release, recorded by Jefferson Airplane
“In the Midnight Hour” – Wilson Pickett, 1966 album The Exciting Wilson Pickett
“Down On Me” – 1967 release by Big Brother and the Holding Company, Janis Joplin (vocals)
“3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds” – Jefferson Airplane, released in 1967
“Light My Fire” – 1967 hit single by The Doors, Jim Morrison (vocals)
“White Rabbit” – Jefferson Airplane, 1967 release from their album Surrealistic Pillow
“Plastic Fantastic Lover” – Jefferson Airplane, single released in 1967, also from their album Surrealistic Pillow

     There had to be more, but that gives you an idea of what we were playing in the beginning. We did a number of Jefferson Airplane covers since that was the musical direction we were heading. There were also several original tunes, including “Magic Sky”, a catchy, uptempo folk-rock tune written by Denny and Cheryl, aimed at the Top 40 market and to be our first release if we ever reached that point. We still had to play tunes people recognized and requested in order to keep them interested. I also recall many folks, particularly in Fremont (which in many ways was still an East Bay cow town in 1967), had not yet been exposed to the music of the Jefferson Airplane. Even when we covered their material, to the audience it was strong “new” material in its own right. We were decidedly not the normal local garage band of the time.
     Brad Constantine, keyboardist with The New Grass Garden, another local band that also played at YBR in Niles, recently said, "I remember Wakefield Loop as the best band in Fremont and the band we all wanted to be like. They were pretty cool."
     Some folks appreciated it, and some did not, as in all things different and new.

Loops and hoops, starting fresh

     Wakefield Loop did eventually go into a studio somewhere on the San Francisco peninsula, possibly the San Mateo area, to record a demo of “Magic Sky”. Denny’s recollection is that the deal and terms offered to us were unacceptable, which is undoubtedly true. I do not recall who these guys were, but I remember one of them had something to do with The Count Five’s recording of “Psychotic Reaction”, released in July of 1966. At any rate, I had the distinct impression they wanted to somehow recreate that hit by changing our arrangement of “Magic Sky” to a more frantic tempo, suggesting my lead work be more like what is on “Psychotic Reaction”, which I simply refused to do. Personally, I was always glad nothing came of it, as I think it would have been a disaster. In my opinion, and Cheryl’s as well, these two, whoever the hell they were, were stuck in the early 1960s, with their matching suits and bleached-blonde Fabian-style hair-do’s. It was my thought they had no idea what they were trying to do, let alone have any understanding of us.

Wakefield Loop, 1967 - LtoR: Dan Garvey, Dave Simpson, Denny Mahdik, Julio Staben, Cheryl Williams

     Early on, we were booked to open for the British band The Dave Clark Five at Circle Star Theater in San Carlos. Denny set it up, and all appeared solid and good to go, until the agent, Harry Zevin, discovered that not one of us was old enough to sign a contract. Denny still has the telegram from Zevin squelching the deal. That loss truly stung. Another promising gig that never happened was opening for Donovan at the Cow Palace in South San Francisco. In this case, our new manager, Yuri Toropov, had lined up the booking but Donovan eventually cancelled out, for whatever reason. These were two lost opportunities that could have made a pivotal difference for us, which begins the story of Yuri. Our original connection to Yuri had been through Cheryl, who met him in Sausalito at a club called The Ark.



An early promotional sticker for the band, designed by Denny Mahdik.

To see more poster art for Wakefield Loop, click here

     Yuri, with hair down to his behind even back then, was the manager of San Francisco’s The Big Little Book Store, and one of the original members of The Diggers, a group of community activists based out of San Franciso’s Haight-Ashbury district from 1966 to 1968. He was soon to become the manager of the band Sopwith Camel, who had a top 40 hit called “Hello, Hello”. The first time I met Yuri was in May 1967 when our band went to San Francisco to discuss the possibility of him becoming our manager. We sat in an area of Golden Gate Park known as the Panhandle. Yuri lived in an old Victorian flat on the corner of Fell and Cole Streets. We sat drinking wine and smoking weed, trying to figure out who this guy was, what he could do for us and what would be expected of us. Yuri clearly was very much a dreamer, not at all a typical businessman, and, at the time, I think that attitude made us comfortable. His connections appeared to be almost legendary, at least within the Haight-Ashbury artistic and political community. We also found out later that he was involved in the talent coordination for the KFRC’s June 1967 Magic Mountain Festival on Mt. Tamalpias, where nearly anyone who was anyone played, including Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker of the band Cream.

“Hello” Yellow Brick Road

     That first time we saw Yuri as a group it was no romp in the park, so to speak. He later traveled down from San Francisco to Fremont for the opening night of Yellow Brick Road (YBR) in June 1967, a club with a short life on the music scene of the Niles district in Fremont. He came to hear us perform, where we were in the company of a young, relatively unknown guitar player by the name of Carlos Santana. I will never forget that night, I’m sure none of us will. We knew who Carlos was, and to this day, Dave (our bass guitarist) says he remembers having a hard time hitting the high notes while singing. I assume this was from being nervous, which we all were, of course. We all knew Yuri wanted Carlos’ opinion – apparently we did fine, as Yuri then agreed to take us on. I would have loved being a “fly on the wall” to hear the words that passed between the two of them privately regarding our performance.

Photo by Dan Garvey

Yellow Brick Road of the 21st century, located in the Niles district of Fremont, California. After many incarnations, it is still structurally much the same as it was in its hey day. This photo was taken in the summer of 2007.

    
     Wakefield Loop continued playing at YBR in Niles and various local venues. We played numerous school dances, the Fremont UAW Hall, park gigs, in fact we provided the music for a local fashion show held at the Fremont Hub shopping center, an event that Cheryl had a hand in and lined up for us. We also played at the San Jose Be-in (May 1967), an event that some, until recently, doubted had even occurred. Trust me, it did. However, one of the best gig memories I have is playing at Fremont’s Central Park in June 1967, at a benefit that was the brainstorm of Denny. It was called Banana at Noon and was intended as a benefit for a local private school, The Dawn School for the Handicapped.

Wakefield Loop at the April '67 UAW Hall gig in Fremont, California. LtoR: Denny Mahdik, Julio Staben, Larry Payne, Cheryl Williams, Dan Garvey, Dave Simpson

    
     Denny, just 18 at the time, demonstrated a very strong talent for marketing and advertising, a talent that serves him exceedingly well to this day. He had come up with the event idea, and was the one who put it together and made it happen, although it was touch and go whether it would be allowed to happen, right up to the last moment. There had already been several large, notorious “Be-in” events around the country, and the City of Fremont was clearly not comfortable having one on its own doorstep. As it was, the Dawn School eventually refused the collected donations, as it did not wish to be publicly associated with “a bunch of hippies”.
     Coincidentally, Banana at Noon ran parallel to the Monterey Pop Festival, so the turnout for our event, though certainly in the many hundreds, was hardly destined to be the mass influx to the thousands of “out-of-town undesirables” the city apparently feared – they were all in Monterey that weekend. The bands that played at our event were local, with the exception of The New Delhi River Band. Of course, the big name bands were also on the bill in Monterey, so in hindsight, it was never likely that we were going to have anything except local bands in Fremont. The only reason New Delhi agreed to play was because we were on the same bill with them the night before at YBR.
     Worth noting, it was at this event that I really got to know two musicians from one of the local bands on the bill known as Of An Ugly Nature. Members Don DeAugustine, whose Ludwig drums were literally covered with various types of fur, and Steve Lind, an outstanding bass player (both just 17), would eventually end up replacing exiting members of Wakefield Loop. Although Ugly Nature was also primarily a cover band, they had a particularly gritty Rhythm and Blues sound that impressed many, including myself. Their singer, Mike Hana, was a very strong vocalist, and, more so, was a damned fine blues harp player! Chuck Tedford, keyboard player for the Fremont’s 1960's band Peter Wheat and The Breadmen, and myself were recently talking about Mike. Chuck, not surprisingly, expressed great praise for Mike’s harp playing back then. Mike was indeed very talented.

Steve Lind and Don DeAugustine with the band Of An Ugly Nature, prior to joining Wakefield Loop. LtoR: Don DeAugustine, Phil Talero, Danny Nelson (laying down), Steve Lind, Mike Hana.

“Goodbye” Summer of Love

     On into midsummer of 1967, we played regularly, with gigs in Santa Cruz, Lake Berryessa, San Francisco, Sausalito, San Jose. As I recall, drummer Larry Payne left the band in early July, not long after we did the studio demo of “Magic Sky”, and was immediately replaced with my friend Don DeAugustine. Sadly, I now recall late summer to be a period of growing divisions within the band. Cheryl, Don, and I, spent a lot of time in San Francisco, usually staying at Yuri’s flat in the Haight – his neighbors were Jack Casady and Marty Balin of the Jefferson Airplane, both living upstairs, and Jack’s brother Chick, who lived downstairs. We were getting to know and hang with the S.F. crowd. This served to physically and geographically divide the band, as there are a good many miles between Fremont and San Francisco, and unfortunately, the philosophical divisions were not far behind.

Dan Garvey, early '70s

    
     Beginning in late summer, we shared rehearsal space with Sopwith Camel in Sausalito. I remember Denny coming up fairly regularly, but I recall seeing less and less of Julio and Dave, both of whom I deeply missed. And, of course, it meant we didn’t have a complete band all of the time. It seemed someone was always missing. Finally, our entire sound system was stolen from the Sausalito warehouse where we rehearsed, and I remember that being the end of the line for Dave.
     Shortly after that, Yuri booked us for what should have been one our most important gigs – The Tavern at Muir Beach, located on the Marin coast, north of San Francisco. Many of the big San Francisco bands played there that weekend, and so did we, but unfortunately Wakefield Loop went on stage without Dave and Julio. Yuri hooked us up at the last minute with a fill-in bass player named Bob, who was from Berkeley, and a marginal-but-passable bass player. He also didn’t know the material very well, but even so, Quicksilver’s Dino Valenti came over after our set and complimented us on our version of his tune “Lets Get Together”, (Cheryl, Denny and I switched verses throughout the song) suggesting it should be recorded. We played almost through to the end of the event, sandwiched in between Sopwith Camel and the Electric Flag.
     Hank Clark, who was there that late summer night at Marin's Muir Beach, recalls, "Actually as it went down, I was standing outside with some people I met talking while you guys were inside playing. They said to me 'I didn't know the Airplane was here!' You sounded so much like the Jefferson Airplane that they stopped everything to run inside.'" Hank continued, "That's how good you all were, those were the days."
     All in all, I guess we came through all right. After the gig a guy and his girlfriend were raving about us, continuously playing a live recording he had made of us. I remember watching Denny driving off into the night, myself not feeling at all confident that we were going to survive as a band. Don and I took off to hang out for the night on the beach. I was greatly impressed by the Electric Flag, and was dealing with the stark realization that the music was changing, becoming more sophisticated by the day, it seemed. Basically having spent a sleepless night, we talked about it, and I recall Don feeling much the same as I did. He had serious doubts about our band’s survival. Cold, tired and hungry, Don and I then hitchhiked back to San Francisco the next morning. All I remember about the drive back was hearing Otis Redding’s "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" on the radio, and thinking how appropriate for the moment.


Don DeAugustine (circa 1972) eventually joined Wakefield Loop, replacing a member of the band.

     
     As it turned out, that was the last time Denny played with the band. Wakefield Loop had now lost half its members. The loss of Denny was devastating to the future of the band, as he was a veritable force of nature within it. Even though Yuri was our manager, it was Denny, through thick and thin, who continued to schedule gigs in the Fremont area, which was still our home turf when it came down to it.
     I was now beginning to think about hanging it up as well. Anyone who has been involved in a band breakup knows how deeply discouraging it can be. Anyway, I don’t recall at what point I decided to attempt to keep the band going, but I remember Cheryl called me a couple of weeks later, wondering what I wanted to do. She wasn’t sure about her own involvement, long term, but said if I wanted to give it another go, she was willing. She also gave me a pep talk that lives in my heart to this day, refusing to let me stop playing, regardless. What a sweetheart.


Steve Lind, who later became the second bassist for Wakefield Loop, onstage in the late 1970s with The Rocky Sullivan Band. LtoR: Mike Varney, Steve Lind, Rocky Sullivan, and John Cippolina of San Francisco's Quicksilver Messenger Service. At back on drums is Greg Anton (behind Sullivan and Cippolina).



     Shortly after that phone conversation with Cheryl, I asked my friend Steve Lind to join us on bass, and then the two of us asked Mike Swindell to fill in on rhythm guitar. In 1966, Steve and Julio had played together with Mike in the local band Opel Sedan. They were very much into The Lovin’ Spoonful at the time, and covered quite a few of The Spoonful’s tunes. Truthfully, I wasn’t at all convinced we needed a rhythm guitarist, as Don and Steve were such a strong rhythm section by themselves. What we really needed was another male vocalist and a keyboard player.

Dan Garvey, left, and his friend Steve Lind got together recently to reflect on times past, plugged in for a private hometown jam.

     I had really wanted to bring Chuck Hasbrook back on board, but he simply lived too far away for it to ever work out. And the keyboard player I had in mind was originally suggested by Cheryl – a then very young Dale Ockerman, who years later played with The Doobie Brothers, was the keyboardist in question. Don DeAugustine also knew him, and introduced us. Although the three of us later spent time jamming together, the current band morale had deteriorated to the point where I never even wanted to bring it up with him. So, in that personnel configuration, we played through the fall, just local gigs as I recall, at least once at YBR with The Incredible Fish (Country Joe and The Fish without Country Joe McDonald) We still did a couple of Jefferson Airplane tunes, but were adding more of our own compositions into the band’s repertoire, experimenting as we moved along.

     Cheryl always had a problem becoming hoarse when singing. Yuri tried to get her to take voice control lessons but she didn’t stick with it. I remember at the end of what I think was a late October, maybe even during an early November gig, she left for a few minutes, then returning. She took me aside and told me the inside of her throat was bleeding. I think it really scared her, as her doctor had already told her to stop singing for awhile. Cheryl had developed throat polyps. I have always believed this was the turning point for her.
     We had a few more band rehearsals, but no more gigs that I can remember. Cheryl kept trying to get me to do more lead singing, but I did not have much experience or practice at singing lead and playing lead guitar at the same time. Without a doubt I was far more interested in playing guitar than I was into singing, so I tended to resist the suggestion. Now looking back, I wish that I had helped her out, as she might have been able to continue with less vocal stress. But I don’t think I really understood the seriousness of her problem until it was too late. To my knowledge, she never performed in a band again. Wakefield Loop’s Summer of Love was officially over.
     I distinctly remember having to be the one to call Yuri and tell him we were done. To my absolute shock and surprise, he was fairly upset about it. His demeanor truly caught me off guard simply because we all felt that he had lost interest in us. Yuri had not booked us any gigs for quite awhile, the last one being in early September. That was admittedly very disappointing for us. He tried his best in convincing me to keep it going, but I just couldn’t see it. Without Cheryl, in my mind, there was no unique sound or personality to the band. I was not interested in replacing her, and I most assuredly was not interested in going back to a standard all-male cover band again.
     After 1967, Yuri didn’t have it easy. His marriage ended, and by the late 1980s his family had to rescue him from the street. He lived with his daughter in Oregon until he passed away in 2007. Before that, I had tracked Yuri down in 2002 and spoke with him twice, via phone – the years had not been kind to him. Although his long-term memory still seemed reasonably functional, his short-term memory was shot ... he could not remember, from one minute to the next, what we had been talking about. He did, however, bring tears to my eyes when he warmly suggested several times that the old music was becoming popular again, that I should put the old band back together, and that he would love to hear us once again.
     Nearly a year later, in late 1968, I spoke again with Cheryl. I suggested we give it another go, but she dismissed the idea out of hand, saying she could not do it anymore, that it hurt too much. Even then, and almost a year gone since Cheryl sang with the band, it was beginning to feel as if we were simply going in endless circles, so I let it rest.
     Wakefield Loop had lived a short season of near-misses and was no more. The band was not destined to ever arise from the ashes.

*****
The article Loops and Circles, along with cover art and photos, is the property of Steel Ties, and may not be republished without expressed consent of the publisher. Contact us.

Former members of Wakefield Loop, shown here in recent photos, clockwise from top left: Dan Garvey at right, his wife Roberta, shown here with their friend Tom after a flight trip to Ruth Glacier on Mt. McKinley last summer; Denny "Magic" Mahdik, founding member of Wakefield Loop, rhythm guitar/vocals, steps into line for a shot with old friends, rockers in their own right. LtoR: Frank DeStefano, long-time friend from San Francisco; Cyril Jordan, another friend from Mahdik's childhood days and one of the founding members of the San Francisco '60's/'70's rock band Flamin' Groovies; Jon Sauer, world reknowned wood turner and friend from the old neighborhood; Denny "Magic" Mahdik; Paul Kopf, lead singer for Jordan's latest band The Magic Christian; Julio Staben, left, and his son Zachary; Dave Simpson and his wife Janis, doing what comes naturally at a wedding last year; Wakefield Loop's lead singer, Cheryl Williams Baxter, center, about 10 or 11 years ago, with daughter Lauren at left, and Cheryl's friend, at right.

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