Just Us

Just Us
May 1970
Just Us @ The Toolshed, 1970

My military experience was short lived. When I returned home in May of 1970, Larry Lemelson, the leader and drummer with The Leaves of Grass called me. He was looking for a new situation and knew a guitarist, Sandy Lamont, who was subbing with Larry Rickard & The New Breed, and looking for a permanent band. Larry had also heard about a sax player, Rick Aguilar, and asked him to come around for an audition. We rehearsed a few times and landed a gig in a bar called The Toolshed. We hadn't named the band yet, so we played alternate sets with a group called Beethoven Soul, incognito.

Jim Brady Article

To it's credit, The Toolshed worked hard on promotion. They spent a lot of money on newspaper advertising and it wasn't long before we were being interviewed by the press. We finally named the band when a reporter asked us what we called ourselves and we responded with "we really don't have a name, we're just us." Just Us gained quite a following at the Toolshed, especially after Jim Brady joined us. He walked in one night, came up on the stage, played every instrument in site and brought down the house with his Tom Jones impression. The club owner hired him on the spot, and Just Us became his backup band. Beethoven Soul made a quick exit.

Just Us @ The Nite Life

Just Us stayed at The Toolshed through most of the summer of 1970. The word got around and we were offered a gig at The Nite Life, backing a lady singer named Shay Dennis. This was a definate step up, and a real musical challenge for us because Shay did an arranged Las Vegas style floor show. I enjoyed the Nite Life a lot. We would work with Shay again, but never with the enthusiasm and energy we did at The Nite Life.

Just Us @ The Toolshed

After The Nite Life, Larry booked the band into The Profile Room, a bar with a reputation and steady clientele. We were once again a quartet, with our breaks filled by a solo acoustic 12-string guitarist named Ken Lange. We remained at the Profile room building a following and tightening the act until December of 1970, when we were presented the opportunity to move "uptown" just before Christmas and jumped on it.

Just Us @ The Stien & Serloin

The Stein & Serlion Restaurant was a leap forward for Just Us. Stuart Wood, who had been the bassist in The Grapes of Wrath, joined the band on bass and trumpet allowing me to switch between bass and keyboards. Playing 6 nights a week really tightened us up. We began doing a floor show of our own, featuring Sandy and me in the pin spot. We also backed another Las Vegas style preformer Gary Clark and noted psychic Dr. Richard Ireland.

New Years Eve 1970 at The Stein & Serloin was great fun and a turning point for Just Us. The next day, we took an even bigger step by accepting a gig at Joe Hunt's in Scottsdale and renaming the band Atlantis.