This past month we hosted a reunion of sorts. A group of once young talented musicians (probably 18-20 years old in 1969), looking for a place to jam, settled in on a home in Creve Coeur, MO to exercise their right to play rock n’ roll. That place was the home of Harriet Harris, and her young family Howard, Arlene and Marci. Howard was the young budding bass player and his friends filled the basement with all kinds of guitars, amps and mics. Their repertoire at that time—Badge and Crossroads by Cream, Hendrix and just about anything they could figure out from listening to the radio and albums.
Moving the dial forward, February 2026, that same group (not all, but many) all reunited at Studio58 to string up, amp up and proceed to pick up where they left off almost 60 years ago. It was Brad Ginsberg on electric guitar, Steve Levin on electric guitar, Howard Harris on bass guitar, and Eric Salus on drums. It was exciting to see the boys get together and jam, just like I am told they did in the old days. Billy Engel, our friend and co-conspirator of Studio58, grabbed a guitar and joined in. Billy has been hanging with these guys since the late 60’s as well and was certainly part of the overall scene and influence during those early years. Not much has changed, the music- maybe a little louder (I am told) than in Harriet’s basement, and the vocals a bit thinner than the early days, but the spirit and desire were still apparent and the musical talent was too!
The boys came together to rehearse for an appearance that Saturday night at a local pub called Tuner’s, along the main street in old St. Charles. Steve’s regular gig band (yes, approaching mid 70’s and still banging out the tunes) was playing and the boys would entertain during breaks. So, no breaks for the ear drums of patrons at Tuner’s that night.
But wait, there’s more! Who shows up at Friday practice but none other than legendary rock vocalist David Surkamp of Pavlov’s Dog fame to blend in and offer support. David frequently jammed with the boys in the basement. His career got on path and soon he would be recording (with recording contracts) and touring the world. 50+ years later David and Pavlov’s Dog are still producing new work and doing live performances. More on David in my next blog.
The evening was fun as a capacity crowd jammed into the jam session at Tuner’s. Steve Levin’s band Silver Rain, headlined the evening at Tuner’s. Steve’s show is excellent, so if you are in the area, look for Silver Rain, and check them out. Pretty good tunes and of course, Steve is a fantastic guitarist. The reunion took over at breaks, and they did a couple of sets. David joined in with a Bob Dylan’s- Knockin’ on Heavens Door, and everyone had a great time. A few more covers and the boys were done, and out of there before the clock struck midnight. We hope to see them together soon another time.
All in all, I had a great opportunity to meet some of Howard’s old friends (that I have heard stories about for nearly 50 years) and shared old and new times, made new friends, Brad, Steve, Eric and David, and a few more that weekend. This is why we built Studio58, to bring people and music together.
Keep on Rockin’ – Harriet’s Basement Boys
