I've known about the Vars for some time, altho I was never able to land a decent copy of the 45. But we in the 60's Indiana Band Szene headquarters have corrected that oversight. Presenting today, for your entertainment, a band that remains unknown, with a fleeting glimpse caught on an aging aural storage device commonly called a 45, the VARS!
Here is what we know from the 45:
The "Commercial Features" label out of Indianapolis, generally did gospel, but released one other teen 45 that we know of. The credit to the VARS has no songwriting info, no publishing, or dates. Not much there.
I did find an ad in Ft. Wayne, at the Hullabaloo Club, that proclaimed "The Vars" - four boys and a girl from Warsaw. Warsaw is about midway between Ft. Wayne and South Bend. Definitely a girl singing on the 45. Mostly about losing the boy, downer songs.
Well that said, let's hear some music!
Never Wanted to Let You Go
Gary
The Vars released a 45, more than many, many bands ever did. So lets find these guys and gal and give them the thumbs up for being there and giving it a go!
Here's a YouTube post of "Gary" which shows a promo photo of the band, including names: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4azcgSUyFs.
ReplyDeleteThe band members are listed as Tom Dzuba, Sid Sanderson, George Cornelius, Kathy Bibler, and Brent Wildman.
Kathy Bibler was my older sister and I can get you some history and dates about the band.
ReplyDeleteShe wrote the song "Gary" after a boy she met. It was recorded around 1967 or so.
Kathy was killed in a car accident in 1969.
Shari Bibler Skaggs
You can find me on fb for more info.
To the author:
ReplyDeleteMy sister, Kathy Bibler, was the female vocalist for The Vars. She wrote the song "Gary". She was tragically killed in a car accident in December 1969. I've got more history about the band in my
parents things.
Shari Skaggs
cmcshari@comcast.net
December 29, 2021
ReplyDeleteMy Musical Inspiration-
The Vars – from Warsaw, IN
In 1967 The Vars was a band out of Warsaw Indiana. They were a 5 piece band with 4 guys and a girl singer. They played cover hits popular to the era that was heard on AM radio. In 1967 they played a few times in Montpelier Ohio at the Teen Center located at the Presbyterian Church. The teen center was called Ophelia’s Alley. At 14 years old I would go to the teen center to listen to live bands. The keyboard player played a Farfisa Organ through a Leslie Speaker box. The Leslie speaker box was a fine looking piece of wooden furniture that gave the organ sound echo, reverb and tremolo that was unmatched by anything I’d ever heard before. The drummer played a drum set brand I had never seen before called Trixon. The base drum had an unusual tear drop shape which was really cool. It looked like it had been set upon and squashed. Since I was playing drums in the high school band, it didn’t seem practical as I needed to swap out heads when one breaks during performing. The Vars was a major influence on my life and my decision to eventually play in a rock band. I was hooked on their sound. Live music was rarely played locally in the late 60’s but I knew I wanted to be part of that experience.
My new band beginnings-
Influenced by the Vars, I soon started a band with a classmate. We played regularly and often from 1967 through 1980. As life would have it we started a band, played dozens of gigs and eventually the band members would leave to pursue other interests. Through it all my classmate and lead guitarist and I would audition new members and start a new band under a different name. Over the years we hired band members from the local communities of Montpelier, Bryan, Edon and Edgerton Ohio. Some of the band names we formed over 13 years was Canterbury Green, Beowulf, General Assembly, Ligtale Road and Faux Pass.
We played in bars, fraternity parties, Weddings, High school dances, proms, community festivals, yacht clubs and anywhere live music was requested. We played within a 60 mile radius of Montpelier Ohio which we called the Tri-state area of Northwest Ohio. This included Southern Michigan and Northeast Indiana. Our base of operation was an old store front in downtown Edon Ohio where we practiced and stored our equipment.
We all had full time day jobs. Some of us had families. Our third requirement is that we were fully committed to the band and no conflicts of interest were allowed to interfere with these three requirements. After family and jobs, loyalty to the band’s performances and practices were expected. In December of 1980 I took an Engineering job in Tennessee which ended the band. I'm retired now and nearly 70 years old. If any of the members are still living please let them know they have had a fan for well over 50 years.
Dear Unknown,
ReplyDeleteI took a photo of your comments above and will share them with the guys as they are all still living. The lead singer, Kathy, was my older sister.
Shari