TFirst - equipment amps specs here

First - Above a Harmony H-7 Roy Smeck Lap Steel with factory Gibson made P-13 pickup, to be hand adorned in artwork by super groupie Miss Pamela (see; HISTORY subsection THE GUESS WHO THE THEREMIN YEARS) aka Pamela Miller aka Pamela Des Barres of the Plaster Casters, also of Frank Zappa's all girl band the GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously) , nanny to Dweezil, Moon, Ahmed Zappa, noted authour of several books, ex-girl friend of Jim Morrison, Don Johnson, Waylon Jennings, Keith Moon, Jimmy Page and many others.

First - BB's mom's violin bow.

The following pics demonstrate handily that this is no exaggeration, Bobby is not only capable of emulating any guitarist in the world, but he can indeed project the personal and musical charisma and energy to make a crowd really leap out of their seats out of sheer joy/entertaiment/enlightenment or whatever you choose to call it, the physical contortions of the crowds and the pics speak for themselves.

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Journal entries show the lads played Cornell University late '79 and surrounding areas, where BB first used the theremin on select dates. It was at that first Cornell date that back stage visitor Wendy O. Williams (known to BB, no one else in the band followed the hard core punk or pre goth genres), was so entranced by BB's chainsaw routine and wanted to know everything about it. BB strongly advised against it because of the danger of snagging a string, the cable, the strap or internal wire harness, but suggested if she must, that since she wasn't a luthier designer or technician, she should only attempt this with a completely gutted prop guitar first and probably an electric saw with a smaller blade which would be lighter and easier to handle. The journal entry shows she was quite taken with BB but the lads had her thrown out, they didn't think she was anyone other than a groupie. Other journal entries show that the band was constantly keeping BB under guard, anyone perceived as being undesireable by their standards, was taken away. Later the next year (in 1980), dear old Wendy who was beginning to do quite well for herself, appeared on the Tom Schneider late night talk show, and surprise surprise, she did exactly what BB suggested, she sawed a very very cheap offshore Les Paul copy dummy unstrung gutted prop guitar in half with an electric small blade chainsaw, however it amounted to nothing more than cutting a piece of wood in two, no show - no sound, something she was not known to repeat, but it would serve her well as punk folklore for a time at least. Wendy's most known performances were done in semi nude outfits, a practice that would change the music performance world forever by setting a trend for female artists, even mainstream artists such as Cher would follow the example. Wendy sadly passed away 1998. Unbenounced to the rest of the Guess Who camp, BB was aware that a strong connection had developed in the punk music community and Winnipeg was becoming quite the hot spot for many Los Angeles, Seattle and New York bands. In fact, Larry Ragot who would become the second bassist for Thee Outpatients (see; HISTORY button link subsection THEE OUTPATIENTS) , was very in demand by the punk/goth music community and moved to play with Los Angeles bands which further strengthened the musical ties to Winnipeg in the early days of those genres. When off the road and back at home, BB would often finish his normal work day as a luthier, sessionman or producer, by lounging around at his fave record shop called "Records On Wheels" that specialized in imports of all genres from all over the world. Shop manager and friend Blair Short and BB would listen to everything new on the music scene, then often go to BB's studio or warehouse and write songs and compose music of all sorts. This was in fact how BB's next band project World Final (c) (r) would unwittingly begin (see; HISTORY button link subsection WORLD FINAL). BB's gal pal of those World Final band days, statuesque model Cara Heitmann was not only a huge punk goth fan, but Cara and her sis were likely the first to introduce piercings, tattoos and a very unique fashion sense to the once sleepy Canadian prairies.

Above - Jerry "Kraft" Prokipchuk with the mustache at the far left was responsible for handing off the chainsaw to BB and making sure that the never ending stream of on-lookers were clear and safe once the saw got handed back. Notice the cameraman on the far right sneaking some shots while standing between the sidewash monitors and the sound system. Journal entries show that he also had a great knack for adding just the right amount of extra oil to make it smoke perfectly for dramatic effect.

Down wind from the Mount St.Helen's pyroclastic fallout, the lads headlined an outdoor concert (the entire place was grey with fallout but the campers stayed anyway), BB would once again run into BB King who was warming up along with Bo Diddley to name but a few of the legendary acts at that weekend festival, but as the crowd grew weary and impatient for the main attraction, Iron Butterfly who was second on the billing, was unceremoniously pelted with debris as the crowd wanted chaos and started chanting "Chainsaw, Chainsaw!" The air was still quite thick with fallout as Wolfman Jack himself introduced our lads to a frenzy. A few quick numbers and into Clap for the Wolfman with the original wolf joining in. Before long the crowd began chanting "Chainsaw, Chainsaw" again, so apparently the lads cut the show a tad short and went straight into the new heavy material which went over big time. Soon after, they walked off the stage to leave BB do his thing for more than the usual 10-15 minutes of his very popular guitar wizardry display.

As we mention several times in various subsections, BB did not lay around at home when off the road, he was extremely active in many ways, including a full time position as a luthier. He would book off a leave of absence when he went on tour and go straight back when he returned home. All of which was a high profile P.R. feather in the cap of the store he worked for since it always served to increase business tremendously. In 1980, the Winnipeg store of Long & McQuade Music (the Canadian equivalent to the Guitar Centre retail music store chain in the USA), nearly burned to the ground, luckily BB was at home to help salvage the remains of the store and his luthier tools, but he and fellow worker/friend Stu Aikman (former I.A.T.S.E. president), lost many vintage items. The store was relocated to a temporary location for salvage cleanup with a huge dumpster in the back (see; LUTHERY button link for more info). Many dozen acoustics were water damaged and unplayable so they were dumped, but BB realized that they would make for excellent visual props so he took them on the road and experimented. He found that if you smashed them they would usually only make one good bop and then they were done and like Wendy's dummy guitar - no sound, or not enough to matter on a big concert stage, so road crew chief Jerry "Kraft" Prokipchuk suggested filling one with talc powder and boom - big cloud on impact - excellent visual! So BB and McDougall each took one and smashed them together centre stage while BB's electric was burning away, once the cloud settled, BB would continue with the chainsaw routine next. Well, they eventually ran out of acoustics on that tour but BB was indeed the first in the world to do that as well. The practice of walloping talc filled acoustics was later re-popularized by the likes of Garth Brooks and such.

The hard working lads were really looking forward to a scheduled meeting with Ricky Nelson in Dayton Ohio. At that time, the Guess Who lads were touring from east to west and Ricky the opposite way both sharing the same promoter, so as the band waited kind of mid-point in Dayton overnight hoping to wake up to a 'garden party' of their own, the sad news came in that Ricky's plane went down, crashed and tragically all were killed. The next night's show was difficult but BB did manage to get the crowd and the girls going, further down stage we see the lads are certainly not slouching around. For more pics on how energetic they all worked please see; HISTORY button link THE GUESS WHO THE CHAINSAW YEARS where we have many excellent examples of their collective hard work and Monty Python-esque sense of humour.

Above - Jerry "Kraft" Prokipchuk in the background clearing BB's molten smoldering heap of sawdust and speakers. Who could resist going to Mel Bay's Music in St. Louis and finding an old Fuzz Face, so that night BB retired the grey Vox Tonebender and pulled out his new (for personal use only) Fender Antigua Strat, took it on stage, turned up the Marshalls, and punched that blue Fuzz Face on full. Too bad these journals couldn't record sound bites.

Above - "You're from Scotland you say? Well Laddie, I'll have it ready for showtime no problem!" Since no one was more qualified to do the guitars and basses, BB spent much of his time between soundcheck and showtime backstage at his makeshift ever changing travelling workbench, getting all the instruments just perfect, as well as rebuilding whatever he could for the next performance. Indeed once BB went out and got a t-shirt made up with those very words, "no problem" which thereafter became some what of a band motto.

Above - We see BB having a good ole time in Denver assembling some bits 'n pieces and magically coming up with a playable Strat - no problem! Who's the gal? Who knows!

(see; LUTHERY button link for more guitar and equipment info)

Above - BB anxiously loads the limo. Journal entries show he just loved the tours and always looked forward to the next city and next show.

Above - More lost luggage! Being the svelt fashionista of the group would often cause attention in the airports across North America. Surprisingly frequent were the journal entries of the lads bumping into many other entertainers such as surf music legends Jan and Dean who particularly admired BB's fox trimmed tour jacket (with matching Cuban heels) shown above in this Michigan airport early one chilly morning. A journal entry shows a date at the Agora Ballroom with warmup Roy Buchanan, who was so impressed with the show that he offered to record the next Guess Who album for free as dual guitar with BB. Not too many folks new that BB was a huge fan of Roy's and it was only by sheer coincidence that BB had decided to take his '53 Telecaster along only on that one particular tour. It would also be one of many guitars to be lost in the horrific 1999 pre-Christmas fire that claimed BB's collection. (see; LUTHERY button link)

It was only be a matter of months before the commercial flights turned into a private jet, enter the then Rolling Stones attorney Bill Carter who would hear about this very spirited, controversial but immensely popular chainsaw show which was skyrocketing these humble Canadian lads to eminent superstar status in the US. Next to come on board was Bill's fellow Arkansas native Rich Calhoun & Associates of Little Rock, one of the southern US's biggest college and concert agent/promoters at the time.

Bill Carter had apparently played James Burton (guitarist for Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley) some new tracks featuring Bobby on Telecaster, to which Mr. Burton declared, "That boy sure knows how to handle a Teley!" Suffice to say, when Bill Carter told Bobby the reaction, well, there were big smiles all 'round.

BB journal entries show him at record store signings noticing the Guess Who albums that had once sat in the delete bins for a few years now were sold and being restocked with re-released new inventory, all the deleted copies were being bought up and fans were special ordering new copies with as many requests for new material, so the new blood the lads had injected into the music and the show not only won the approval of the fans, but the attention of the record company as well. The first journal reference was from Laramie Wyoming. One must understand at that time, the word "nostalgia" had not yet been used with "rock" music, once an act was in the delete bin, your career was over, so this was a huge accomplishment indeed. Second and most recognized Guess Who vocalist Burton Cummings himself said that this was the only version of the band that he felt was capable and worthy to continue the legacy. He gave his much appreciated stamp of approval, but that really wasn't too surprising. Old Burt had quite closely watched BB's career since high school then BB went on to play sessions with the Guess Who and on Burt's first solo demos (see; History link subsections FAT RAT BLUES BAND and PETER DOBO and BOBBY BILAN BAND page 1), Vance was always held in the highest regard who toured with Burt's solo band and co-wrote many songs that became Guess Who hits taken from the Brother (band) song catalogue, and Donnie having the same tonal character, vibrato and an even higher vocal range- was the only person who could pull off Burt's vocal stylings with ease.

Above - from left to right, Clint Allen in white, BB with the shades, Brian just above BB's head, the pilot who by all accounts was a great guy and brilliant war hero pilot, Rick Calhoun waving from the tandem pilot seat, Vance in his fave AGORA Ballroom t-shirt with a smoke and his favourite pleasure, and Donnie with his morning "juice".

Above - Clint, his boss man Rick and BB (the consumate practical joker) ready to "get 'em both"!

Above - BB at 6:00 AM the next morning suddenly began singing his new composition "I Really Like America", they landed, hopped in a limo and BB sang it all the way to Roanoke. Journal entry shows by the time they arrived at the venue, the whole band was singing it much to the amusement and applauses of the crew and stage hands.

Above - This became one of the official black & white 8 x 10 promos with Toronto based The Agency logo quickly replaced by Rick Calhoun & Assoc. Little Rock, Arkansas. BB with his fave Kalimba, Marshall Super-Sound t-shirt and once again, Spencer jackets became all the rage for rock stars.

Above - Peter Tork of the Monkees, one of the many warmup acts. Ironically enough, Canadian born Jimi Hendrix smashed his guitar as a warmup act for the famed Monkees, now one of the Monkees was a warmup act for Canadian born BB who was now famous for smashing/burning and chainsawing his guitar. Interesting juxaposition! Jimmy Michaels cautiously hangs on to his lense cap as BB snaps Peter with WAY too much lipstick, eye makeup, and powder puff in hand, while Brian (Mr.Hockey on the right) looks like he's fed up enough to give Peter a smack for punching out the much smaller Davey Jones back in the day. Just kidding - everyone had a great laugh backstage in Chicago. Speaking of the short one, some cities and several journal entries later, found BB himself in a hotel elevator with a very frantic Davey Jones, and that's all we're gonna say about that except that BB got off on the very next available floor!

Above - Mr. Way Cool - Ray Stevens "Guitarzan" his self ! Does he have someone on staff to iron his jeans? Journal entry shows that BB paid tribute to Ray by going to the centre stage microphone and doing the yodelling part from "Guitarzan" after BB chainsawed the guitar that night. Many laughs all 'round backstage for that one.

Above - BB and his Playboy Playmate, either he was getting dressed or undressed before he was interrupted. Although this is from an Oklahoma City concert, judging by their choice of shirts it appears that Donnie and Brian lost their luggage again. The crowd loved them anyway and second surprise backstage visitor who went largely un-noticed was none other than the one and only Oral Roberts Junior, lofty company indeed.

Another side note - Journals show that out of a scoring system for the colleges, 5 being highest and zero being lowest, in the history of these lads, they only scored one 4, all the rest were straight 5 all across the board. That's something no other band achieved between 1979-1981. They scored a 4 on their first college date in 1979 but never again. As far as concert halls go, recordings show they tore the roof off every place they performed, crowds literally going berserk. One particularly insane crowd went completely ballistic in Macon Georgia where you can almost feel the crowd following BB's every note. Concert promoter Rick Calhoun was real pleased to say the least.

Above - Crew chief Ralph Benelli does the long walk to the main board. Many journal entries point out how both Ralph and Jerry "Kraft" Prokipchuk were particularly excellent crew members. From the moment they would enter a venue, their charm whit and easy going good nature and solid work ethic immediately put everyone at easy so by the time the band showed for soundcheck, everyone was smiles and chuckles, but ready to get the serious work done to build a great show. BB has many such entries on how he valued these two great individuals and all the help they were during the many very dangerous chainsaw performances. BB also insisted that every warmup act get a fair shot at the sound, unlike his early experiences with Nazareth and such.

Above and below we pay tribute to the guys from J.C.Sound who faithfully travelled with the lads for some time, thereafter being replaced by ShowCo for the bigger venues. A bitter sweet change after you develop a comradeship with some hard working guys, but who could argue with Led Zeppelin's favourite U.S. sound company.

As a side note for you gearheads - when BB took Thee Outpatients to L.A. a few years later (see; HISTORY button link subsection THEE OUTPATIENTS), a very young monitor guy at the Coach House venue in Orange County California had one of the last ShowCo's Neve 16 channel Zep main board in his garage complete with the Zep show's original track labels, so it of course had to be used at least one last time.

Above - The venues quickly got bigger and it became ever increasingly more important to keep fingerprints off those beautiful chrome drums, right Vance? And why not? We did find an interview where Vance admits that BB's influence had made the band a better show group worthy of serious ticket prices. They not only began dispensing with the old drunk/stoned dirty jeans and month old smelly t-shirt - let's stand around and drool while we play - image, to concentrating on putting on a good show and looking the part of performers who had some regard for their audience. It paid off indeed, but then again when you get BB in a good work environment, "It never seems to take long before everyone around him wants in on the fun, imagination and creativity that he puts out", said John Fox an old friend and associate from Corona, California.

BB behind McDougall with seldom photographed former CIA/Kennedy family bodyguard and immigration attorney Bill Carter, (Rolling Stones attorney who got Keith Richards off his heroin bust in Toronto), in Greenville Mississippi, approx 40,000 converged for the concert on the levee. The city was so congested that Bill had to arrange a police escort, so each band member was individually picked up at the hotel by their own private police car. Normally a short ride, the black and white caravan took nearly an hour to reach the gangplanks that led the lads to the yachts which were connected to the stage. BB of course did his now legendary chainsaw show, threw the guitar pieces into the Mississippi and the fans dove in like piranhas amazingly coming up with every piece according to roadcrew manager Jerry "Kraft" Prokipchuk. R&B artist Eddie Floyd wanted BB to come back and record his next album, but Bill advised against it. Both Bill Carter and his legal partner Kathy Woods loved the show and chainsaw routine, travelled with the band on several dates eventually urging the lads to change the name, get a fresh start/fresh deal and warm up for the Stones in Europe, Australia and elsewhere. Apparently Mick and Keith had discussed it with Bill and plans began to formulate. Kathy and Bill had offered the guys a new record deal, meetings were set with people already advising BB and the lads on what investment property to buy in and around Little Rock Arkansas, promoter Rick Calhoun's home base, but McDougall and Masters just couldn't let go of (nor simply set aside) the Guess Who name that they had worked for so hard especially now that they had claimed to the band members that they completely bought Kale out earlier that year. Smelling serious big money, the former partner initiated a very hostile take over that ensued in late 1980 and by Feb 1981, BB played his last live date and left among ridiculous death threats and other nonsense within the ranks. (we found BB's original work contract for these particular recordings and live tours which was between Donnie and Vance from the beginning, BB was primarily called in this time for recording sessions to replace Winter, Inglis and Kale who were all fired for excesses, although recently a groggy Kale was quoted in local press as saying that BB worked for him. That would be completely incorrect as the contract shows. The contract was drawn up by Jeff Schnoor who according to a journal entry, told BB he was on his way to hopefully be head of the law reform commission). ( also see HISTORY button link subcategory BOBBY BILAN BANDS page1, for letter from producer Jack Richardson). Being a consummate professional and gentleman, BB quickly trained a replacement, then went on to resume his solo career, went back to work as a luthier/designer, record producer, composer and session musician. Bill and Kathy lost interest once Kale reared his head, and the Mick and Keith pressed the dynamic legal duo back to service for the next Stones world tour. Although there have been attempts at copying some of the now legendary guitar routines, no one in the history of the Guess Who would ever come close to thrilling and raising a crowd with showmanship and guitar mastery as Bobby. To find more on the very hostile take over (or more appropriately it should be called a rather questionable take back), see www.vancemasters.com. Bill Carter and Kathy Woods' relation at the Pentagon State Dept. would later be of great service a few years later to BB and his group Thee Outpatients. (see: HISTORY button link subsection THEE OUTPATIENTS)

(please see; HISTORY button link subsection THE GUESS WHO THE CHAINSAW YEARS for more pics and info from this time period)