Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Herd - Ft. Wayne

OK, it's a cold night and I'm listening to a prog LP from Indiana. Ethos is the band on the turntable, and I turn to the credits.....Wil Sharpe, Mike Ponczek.....sounds familiar, hmmmmmm. Ponczek shouldn't be hard to find in my notes. Bingo, the Herd - Ft. Wayne 1967.
Pictured from left:
Chuck Fay - bass
Bill (Wil) Sharpe - lead guitar
Dan Howell - drums
Mike Ponczek - keyboards

The Herd were primarily a top 40 band with an aim of becoming a big name local band. Dan expressed hopes of becoming a professional drummer, and all hoped to continue with music after college. At some point they became Atlantis, and later became Ethos with Sharpe and Ponczek on guitar and keys. Ethos released two LP's that I know of, 1976 and '77, then fell off the radar.

Still wondering if this "the Herd" had any connection with the Spencer / Voyles 45 that I posted a while back. Luckily I'm a patient man........

And thanks for all the help, kindness, comments and leads that you have given over the years. We started this journey in February 2007!

3 comments:

Wowiwowowiwo said...

I work with Mike Ponczec and yes it's same the Herd.

Wowiwowowiwo said...

I work with Mike Ponczec. He confirms it's the same The Herd.

Chuck Fay said...

Thanks for your page on The Herd ("For the thundering sound"). Great memories from my time playing a Fender J and Gibson EB2 bass (pictured) with these three talented guys! Took a long break from the bass but picked it up again almost 20 years ago and now play in two Orange County (California) cover bands, Duane and the Deuces and the Rockin Neptunes, plus a worship band. I think both Ponczek and Sharpe are in Southern California now. The Herd didn't record anything before I left them in '66 or '67, so don't know if they later backed up Spencer and Voyles on a 45.