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Sanctum .. Sanctum ” on big echo and everything .” [ Laughter ]
Alexxis : [ Laughter ] I love it !
Steel Notes Magazine
there and they would play on the stage at the other end of the room and then when they were done playing then The Spiders Sanctum , the lights would start flashing and everybody would turn around , so we were quite popular at the time .
Dennis : And we ’ re like Jack what ’ s the “ The Spider Sanctum ?” ( Jack Curtis was his name ). He would say , “ I don ’ t know . I have no idea but you guys are going to build it by this weekend .” [ Laughter ]
Alexxis : Oh geez . [ Laughter ]
Dennis : So here you had The Three Stooges , you had The Five Stooges with lumber and all kinds of stuff and swiping curtains out of the back room at the club . Then Alice and I decided ok well then we ’ ll be called “ The Spiders ,” we ’ ll wear black turtlenecks . I painted a big tarantula on the drumhead and the paint was still wet when we played our first gig and we got clothesline and we made a big spider web and we made a big spider web on the front of the stage . So people had to look inside the spider web and then we were inside there and the guy had search lights , Jack Curtis had search lights out in the parking lot , going across the sky of Phoenix and the parking lot was the turnaround point from the main drag and it was very much like “ American Graffiti .” The movie where all the hot rods would come cruising through the parking lot of the V . I . P . club and heading back up the strip to the A & W Root Beer place and then turn around and come back down . And there would be surfers , there would be pickups with Cowboys and there would be hot rods and all kinds of things . It was really happening , it was the place to be and and because we were the house band .
Alexxis : That was at the V . I . P . Lounge right ?
Alice and Dennis photo booth Phoenix , Arizona 1964 courtesy of Dennis Dunaway
Dennis : Yes , at the V . I . P . Lounge . Exactly . It was actually The Jaycees . “ The Phoenix Jaycees ,” they put on rodeos and stuff . It was their place that Jack rented out for weekends and , it was supposed to hold 900 kids but we would pack 1,000 in there every weekend for two nights every weekend . The Spiders would do at least two sets and then other bands that were up and coming like The Birds or even British bands , The Yardbirds and Bobby Fuller Four . All kinds of great bands would come through
Alexxis : I bet ! [ Laughter ] So what did the other bands think of it that were performing ?
Dennis : Well , you know we opened for The Yardbirds in 1966 . I have a photograph of the marquee out by the VIP Lounge that say The Spiders up on the top of the marquee and below us it says The Yardbirds . [ Laughter ] Most people didn ’ t know who they were yet .
Alexxis : Yeah , I actually just saw The Yardbirds a couple months ago .
Dennis : Ah , great .
Alexxis : I was there covering the show courtesy of Bongo Boy Records that I ’ m associated with and they were playing at Musikfest Cafe here in Bethlehem . But of course that ’ s not the original line up anymore .
Dennis : Well it ’ s original Drummer Jim McCarthy .
Alexxis : Original drummer , yes
Dennis : Yeah . And I have a picture of him reading my book . [ Laughter ]
Alexxis : Oh ! Do you ?
Dennis : Yes , Cindy has been friends with him since the early early days . Cindy would go , and has posters he gave her from the Fillmore and she was actually with him at a hotel the night Jeff Beck quit the group . [ Laughter ]
Alexxis : Wow , that is awesome !
Dennis : Yes , so she ’ s known Jim for a lot of years . We went to a club with him , Keith Relf , his wife , and Jim McCarthy and his wife in London . We went to a Blues club with them and after the show it was the wee hours of the morning and we came outside and of course it was London so there was drizzling rain and everything and there were no cabs coming by . So they came out of the club and saw us standing out there and Cindy was shivering and so Keith Relf ’ s wife took off her fur coat and gave it to Cindy .
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