Lee VerSchure and Mike Clark sing Jimmy Buffet and John Prine songs acapella on the way home from an EmmyLou Harris concert. This is the first recorded incident of Mike singing in public since his 5th grade teacher told him to "move his mouth but not sing" during the school's Christmas concert.
Kay VerSchure invites Mike and Jim Vrieling to her brother's surprise birthday party and tells him to bring his
guitar. Lee, Mike & Jim pick-and-grin a bit and decide to get together again. About the same time, the
Allegan Woods Folk Arts Cooperative is formed and Mark Schrock, famous Allegan County Music Guy, offers
to give guitar lessons. Lee, Mike and Jim start lessons with Mark, working towards being
a "band". It turns out that Lee and Mike have been hanging out at many of the same Cabbage Crik
gigs without ever meeting each other. On a side note, (this whole webpage is one big side note) Jim's brother
John was the drummer and sometimes bass player for Cabbage Crik, and it's that stand-up bass that Rick now has, Last Call having
bought it from Cabbage Crik, and Rick having bought it from Last Call.
Lee, Mike and Jim start running into Roger DeKuiper who keeps showing up at Mark's house for mandolin
lessons as they're leaving. Mark suggests that they all get together while he's away on vacation. The
four of them start playing together and the resulting cacophony inspires The Last Call Band moniker, as
in: "Maybe we could get a gig playing at last call, so the customers would all leave and the staff could
go home."
Despite its name, Last Call's first gig wasn't at a bar, it was at an Ice Cream Social for the residents
and staff of a local nursing home. The sound system consisted of one microphone run through a little guitar
amp that Lee just recently replaced (some 20 years later). Jim's brother John sang with us and the photos show
that Mike was the only one without a leather vest on. More gigs playing for Roger's "clients" follow, most
with a disproportionate number of stories.
Jim announces that he's moving to Texas, leaving the band with only two rhythm guitarists and one rhythm
mandolinist. Roger's co-worker "Slow" Joe Savage is drafted, giving us two lousy banjo players and a 12-string
guitar. Still no bass and virtually no lead-guitar playing. We play two gigs or so with Jim and Joe, one with
Mark Schrock on bass, still mostly for "clients".
Band buys Crik's old stand-up bass from Mark, and Crik's decrepit 6-channel mixer and cobbles together a
"sound system". Jim's gone, Mike and Joe are trying to figure out the bass, joined by Lee after Mike gets
an electric bass from an employee. Song list is mostly Prine, bluegrass "standards", straight country, etc.
Gigs at Crazy Horse Saloon, Grand Rapids Summer Festival and the occasional wedding reception. (For years,
every reception we played was for a marriage that didn't work.) Slow Joe goes to Texas to be one more horse's
ass for leaving us. After trying some dude that Roger knew (who was way too good for us), Mike VanBragt
joined to be bass player, despite the fact that he didn't play bass. (Nice guy, though.) The band made a
15-minute appearance on a local cable TV show that actually got played on-air quite a bit.
The band is still at it, adding VanBragt's clarinet and branching out with some swing tunes. Classical violinist
Amy Hertel joins as "fiddler". The Last Call Band cuts an eight song cassette called "Goin' Nowhere Fast" at
Al Weener's studio in Glenn, MI with Roger's brother-in-law Jack on pedal steel, Mike's bud Bret on drums and
Al Weener himself on harp and piano. Tunes include "Route 66", "Drive South", "Can't Buy me Love", and "Tennessee
Waltz". The tapes actually all sold. Gigs included downtown Holland Concerts in the Park, Grand Rapids Summer
Festival, Saugatuck Gazebo Concerts and Taste of Saugatuck.
The same day that Amy Hertel quits, Mary Katherine Parks follows through on her threat to "come to practice and
try and sing with you guys." (She came up to Mike after a lunchtime gig and asked if she could. He said sure,
but was only being nice.) She quickly becomes a full-on Last Call band member and starts taking accordion lessons
at Mike's request. The band's song list starts to look a little more "cosmopolitan" with Duke Ellington and Tom
Waits joining Lucinda Williams and Maura O'Connor from Mary's repertoire. VanBragt breaks his wrist, putting the
band on hiatus, during which Mike, Lee and Mary play open mic nights in Holland. Gigs all over West Michigan,
including the Hatch and Butch's, semi-regularly. VanBragt leaves the band at his wife's request as it gets both
too busy and too "un-Godly". Dave Raffenaud (formerly of Iowa Rose) and Rick Slachta fill in until Rick
officially throws in with the band.
Still going strong. Lots of gigs. The song list continues to expand, the band acquires a decent sound system,
and the band starts to gather regular jobs that they play every year (like the Fenn Valley Winery Open House,
Douglas' Oktoberfest, Centennial Park Concerts, Holland's Celebration. Lots more "concert" gigs and even a few
bar jobs which help justify The Last Call Band name.
Mary leaves over "artistic differences". Mike asks Patty Seiter to "come over and
sing a few" and she soon joins as the new "girl singer". Tunes are re-arranged to fill in the accordion-sized
holes and the search for a drummer is officially begun. Rick brings in Christoph Sisson, Roger hands his beloved
telecaster to Mike and Mary's worst fears are instantly realized as, in her absence, the band gets louder and
rowdier right away.Patty gets married and leaves the band, and The Last Call Band returns to a 5 piece (all boy) band. The boys are left to fill in gaps in the harmonies and get louder and rowdier still.
The rest?
We'll just have to see ...