About the Courtial Band

The band was originally formed to perform music for a play. Us, The Rest of Us folded opening night, leaving the band, already a tight-knit unit, free to open at a small club in Menlo Park, Butterfield’s. The restaurant had been featuring Vince Guaraldi, but when he passed away unexpectedly, the owners of the club, friends of Bill Courtial, asked for help finding a band, and the timing was perfect.

Word quickly spread, and every night, Butterfield’s became the melting pot for Menlo Park/Palo Alto/Mountain View cognoscenti to gather. Ferraris and Mercedes SELs parked next to Volkswagen hippie buses, everybody dancing and partying hard.

After a few months, club still filled to overflowing, the band began plans for this project. The rest, as they say, is hysterical…

For me as a musician, the experience was nothing short of amazing, true musical telepathy. The band members previously had only played with Ed, the bassist and founder. I had met Geoff in Big Sur, but we had never heard each other. Yet from the very first notes, there was a commonality of tone, direction and purpose. There was no “trying to make it fit.” You just played what you play, and it worked. And sounded uniquely like us. Every time. In no band before (or since) have I had that experience

Personnel:

• Bill Courtial: Guitar
• Errol Knowles: Vocals
• David ‘Dasher’ Kempton: Keyboards
• Bass: Ed Williams III
• Drums: Geoff Whyte
• Percussion: Jose Najera

Recorded at Wally Heider’s in San Francisco