Skip Spoonts – guitar, Mike Rushing – bass, Larry Drennan – vocals, Gene Gilstrap – drums, Dennis Fehler – keys, Allan Jansen – guitar – Spring of 1968
The Bad Seeds Band historical images were taken from 1965 to 2008
![Dewey Don Watson - Guitar, Skip Spoonts - Guitar, Dennis Fehler - Keyboard, Allan Jansen - Guitar, Joe Diaz - Drums [not pictured]](https://thebadseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/winter_festival_1965_MHS_w-names.jpg "winter_festival_1965_MHS_w-names")
The Bad Seeds 1965 – [Way, Way, Way back] – a few of The Bad Seeds – [Before we were Bad Seeds].
Dewey Don Watson – Guitar, Skip Spoonts – Guitar, Dennis Fehler – Keyboard, Allan Jansen – Guitar, Joe Diaz – Drums [not pictured]
Performing at the McGregor High School, Winter Festival, [the old] HG Isbill Auditorium, December 1965.
TheBadSeeds are an original rock/garage band formed by guitarist Allan Jansen in the fall of 1966 at Kilgore College, in Kilgore, Texas. Allan and college roommate and keyboardist Dennis Fehler immediately began the search for band members. Soon, Kilgore classmate and vocalist Larry Drennan joined Allan and Dennis and the beginning of the band formed quickly. During most of the fall of 1966 other Kilgore musicians auditioned but the band didn’t jell until McGregor, Texas High School classmates Skip Spoonts and Mike Rushing joined to play guitar and bass. The last need was for a good drummer. In the early years, theBadSeeds performed with numerous drummers and the band still jokes about having to always find a drummer on “short notice.”
At Kilgore [their freshman year] the band was quite popular at the college and especially with the Kilgore Rangerettes, who arranged for theBadSeeds to play at several football pep rallies, a few fraternity and sorority parties, and private parties as well.
The Bad Seeds – 1967 – [Way, Way back]
Johnny Swanson – Drums, Allan Jansen – Guitar, Dennis Fehler – Keyboard, Tommy Coleman – Bass, Larry Drennan – Vocals
Kilgore College – Kilgore, Texas
We played at Fat City in 1967 and had more in attendance that John Fred and the Playboys and Roy Orbison.
The band established their claim to fame and actually made their best money by throwing private parties and selling tickets to their performances in the Central Texas region. In Ennis, Texas theBadSeeds performed at Sokol Hall and in McGregor, Texas at the Hermann Sons Hall (to name a few).
TheBadSeeds most memorable gig in the spring of 1967 was the Kilgore nightclub, Fat City. The band performed the weekend between “John Fred and the Playboys” and “Roy Orbison.“ The band still tells the story about having a larger audience than either of the two headliner acts primarily because of theBadSeeds local appeal, and the local fire marshal not being present that night to restrict the audience. It was a genuine musical night to remember.
The Bad Seeds stopped performing for a while in 1968, shortly after the Vietnam “Tet Offensive,” when three of the band members were called to serve their country.
The Bad Seeds Concert – Easter 2001
Hermann Sons Hall – McGregor, Texas
Rufus Mooney – guitar, Skip Spoonts – guitar, Allan Jansen – guitar, Larry Drennan vocals, Curtis – drums, Dennis Fehler – keys, Mike Rushing – bass, Barry Byford – keys
After military service and college none of the band members lived in the same area, so there was never an opportunity to “get back together.” At high school class reunions classmates encouraged theBadSeeds to perform one more time, but it never materialized. TheBadSeeds did not resume performing as a band until the spring of 2000 when Mike Rushing suggested the band should throw a big bash “live” at McGregor Hall [the old Hermann Sons Hall]. The first band reunion was so successful there were two more to follow. The three band reunions were titled Bad Seed Bash’s [2000-2002] and featured a few of the musicians in the Waco area to sit in and share the enjoyment of playing together one more time. Most recently, the band has performed the past few years for Founder’s Day in McGregor, and they continue to play for a few private parties.
The Bad Seeds Visit – Easter 2004
Mikey’s Place in Montgomery, Texas.
Mike Rushing – Bass, Skip Spoonts – guitar, Larry Drennan – vocals, Allan Jansen – guitar, Dennis Fehler – keys
Currently, theBadSeeds play cover music by The Kinks, The Doors, The Animals, Wilson Pickett, The Rolling Stones, The Kingsmen, ZZ Top, Jonny Lang, Jimi Hendrix and many more.
The Bad Seeds Rehearsal – 2008
The Parlor in McGregor Texas
Ronnie Mahan – vocals, Allan Jansen – guitar, Mike Rushing – bass, Dennis Fehler – keys, David Toms – drums, Skip Spoonts – guitar
