Roll Back to 1964
In Tucson, Arizona, in the summer of 1964, three teenage boys, no
older than 14 years, gathered on a back porch, and with the strum
of a guitar, a dream was born into reality. They named this new
creation the Breakers. Timothy Critchley (guitar), Mike Stearns
(guitar) and Mike Parrott (drums) were now officially a band. They
would soon be joined by Jim Staples (vocals) and Jim Jewell
(bass).
A garage band, the Breakers were first influenced by the surf sound
of the West Coast, but the arrival of the British Invasion to the
music scene brought a new flavor to their music. What resulted
was a nice mixture of both influences.
Soon, these young boys found themselves transported from
practicing in the hot, stuffy confines of a garage to playing local
venues, and then to touring and playing in New Mexico, Southern
California and throughout Arizona. Eventually, they would open
for such well known bands as Van Morrison & Them, Paul Revere
& the Raiders, Lovin' Spoonful, and the last Arizona performance
by Buffalo Springfield.
Peters, Gates & Moxie
At some point in time Dan Peters, band manager, and Dan
Gates, a disc jockey with the local KTKT radio station,
discovered the Breakers playing at a local venue. Peters
began booking the boys to play at more venues, and then
arranged for their immortality in vinyl... a recording session
at Copper State Recording Studio in Tucson, with the record
being produced by Moxie, Peters' own label.
The boys were between 14 & 16 years old. Not bad for a
bunch of kids who started out on a back porch under the
scorching Tucson sun!
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