THE IDES OF MARCH
GROUP MEMBERS: Jim Peterik (lead singer, guitar), Larry Millas (guitars, vocals), Scott May (Hammond organ, vocals), Dave Stahlberg (trombone), John Larson (horns), Chuck Soumar (horns, vocals), Bob Bergland (drums, vocals), Mike Borch (drums, vocals).
IDES OF MARCH ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY: "Vehicle" (Warner, 1970); "Common Bond" (1971); "World Woven" (RCA, 1972); "Midnight Oil" (1973); "Ideology: 1966 to Present" (IOM, 1992); "Age Before Beauty" (IOM, 1997); "Ideology 1965-1968" (Sundazed, 2000); "Ideology Version II.0" (IOM, 2000); "Beware! The Ides of March Live" (2002); "Friendly Strangers: The Warner Bros. Recordings" (Rhino Handmade, 2003).
WEB SITE: theidesofmarch.com
UPCOMING TOUR DATES: June 18, Naperville, Ill., Naper Days Fest; June 24, Chicago, private party; June 25, Chicago, Jefferson Park; July 4, Warrenville, Ill., Carny Park; July 8, Westchester, Ill., Westchester Funfest; July 15, Brookfield, Ill., Community Festival; July 16, Crystal Lake, Ill., Crystal Lake Fest; July 24, Countryside, Ill., Countryfest; July 30, Westbury, N.Y., North Fork Theatre, with Davy Jones, Paul Revere & The Raiders; Aug. 20, Bolingbrook, Ill., Bolingbrook Festival; March 18, 2006, Elgin, Ill., Hemmens Cultural Arts Center, with the Buckinghams.
PAUSE & PLAY: Did you see Bo Bice perform "Vehicle" on "American Idol"? If so, what did you think of it?
PETERIK: "I thought he did a great job! The tone of his voice is amazing, as well as his inflections and soul. His stage charisma and style also really helps sell a song. I was electrified the first time I heard him sing it."
P&P: Any chance Bice's version of "Vehicle" will be a single?
PETERIK: "I just found out that 'Vehicle' will be his first single - released on June 21st. It was produced by the legendary Desmond Child and includes lead work by Richie Sambora and backgrounds by Paul Stanley of KISS. I haven't heard it yet - but Desmond says that Bo delivered!"
P&P: Thirty five years ago, on May 23, 1970, "Vehicle" peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's pop chart. Do you remember it like it was yesterday?
PETERIK: "It does feel like yesterday that the Ides walked into Salerno's Pizza (our favorite hangout in Berwyn, Ill.) after a gig and heard someone say that our record was on WLS. We went 'Oh, yeah, sure.' On the way home in our van - the song hit again - 'New from The Ides of March, it's 'Vehicle,' ba da ba ba dah!' We went 70 miles per hour down Cermak Road - the main street of our hometown. Those are moments that will always live with me."
P&P: The Ides' bio says it all: No scandals, no rehab, long and happy marriages, bright kids, and no end in sight. What's the secret?
PETERIK: "Valuing the gifts we've been given and being careful not to squander those blessings. That's the way we were raised. It was the harder path - but the best in the long run."
P&P: However, All-Music Guide said of Ides: "Personnel problems and a label shift to RCA-Victor spelled the end of the band" in the mid-'70s. What personnel problems?
PETERIK: "RCA never seemed to support us as a band - and those two albums got totally lost in the shuffle. It was extremely bad for morale because we had put so much work and passion into those records. It made us all re-weigh our options. A solo career started to look better and better to me, and the other guys wanted to try new career paths as well."
P&P: What brought you all together 40 years ago?
PETERIK: "When we started 40 years ago, it was just friends wanting to get together to make music. We were fans, first and foremost - fans of the Ventures, the Beatles, Dave
Clark 5, Hollies, Zombies. And we were great friends going all the way back to Cub Scouts for some of us. We also found benefits in our popularity status with the Morton West High School girls. That never hurts your motivation. No grand design - no master plan - just the spirit of 'Hey, if we record this song we just wrote, maybe we can sell it after the sock hop after the basketball game.' One thing just led to another from there. And it's still evolving.
"As far as how we got back together in 1990, we got an offer from Berwyn Summerfaire to reunite for one show. We all jumped at it. The timing was right for all of us. I was on hiatus with Survivor at the time. We worked for three months rehearsing for that show and played for 25,000 people that night. It went so well and we worked so hard that we decided to keep on rocking - and every year since it has grown."
That reunion concert "was like brothers coming back together after years apart. There were tears in the audience and there were tears onstage when we looked around at each other and thought 'Wow, we are the luckiest guys on this planet to be doing this again!' "
P&P: Tell us about your upcoming "Idessentials" album.
PETERIK: "This is a latest and greatest - it's got all our hits, including 'Vehicle' and 'L.A. Goodbye' and 'You Wouldn't Listen' - and also some of the hits I wrote for Survivor and .38 Special. It also features three new songs - the single 'Come Dancing' and 'The Forgotten Oldie' and 'Pepperhead.' "
P&P: What was the first record you ever bought?
PETERIK: "The first LP I ever bought on my own was 'Meet the Beatles.' I bought many 45s prior to this, like 'Shortening Bread,' 'Walk Don't Run' and 'I've Had It.' But when the Beatles came along, they left everyone in the dust. I saved my money and went down to the Cermak Plaza Record Store (the big record store in our hometown) and plunked down my cash. Then all I did in my spare time was wear the grooves off that record!"
P&P: What was the first concert you ever went to?
PETERIK: "The first big concert was the Beatles at Comiskey Park. Not a bad place to start! I remember being overwhelmed by the spectacle of it - the screams, the teeming crowd ... and the Beatles. They were amazing. I remember tears welling up in my eyes when they hit that three-part harmony in 'Baby's in Black.' It was uncontrollable!"
P&P: What's the worst job you've ever had?
PETERIK: "I've never had a real job, only rock 'n' roll. But there were some really bad gigs, like the Illinois Home for the Mentally Insane. That one was 'one flew over' ... believe me!"
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