The Empty Vessels
The Empty Vessels
That was the name of the band my brother and I formed circa 1964. I played drums, my brother Keith played rhythm guitar, Paul Taylor played lead guitar, Andrew Highley sang (with backup from Keith and Paul), and we had revolving bass players. We rehearsed in spaces around town, arranged by my father (he was in the building business). We performed covers of recent hits with no original material included. We used to kick off with Satisfaction. My favorite was Shake by the Small Faces (lots of drumming). We also did My Generation, When a Man Loves a Woman, and In the Midnight Hour. We performed in local halls for cash money. We were little local celebrities. In our mature years (when I was sixteen) we moved on to Blues at my direction (we idolized Steve Winwood). I was the de facto leader of the band, especially where repertoire was concerned. There were no creative differences that I can recall, though some performance differences. We disbanded when I went to university and Andy emigrated to Australia with his family. The Empty Vessels were no more. No recording of them survives. But they live on in human memory.
That’s interesting. I remember reading *somewhere* that your brother was a musician and in a band, but I don’t think it mentioned you helped form it and played drums in it. Now Fogelberg’s “Leader of the Band” is tapping on my brain.
Keith was a semi-professional musician in several bands, but that was later. I ceased all that when I went to university and became a philosopher.
Rockstar…
In a tiny pond in Blackpool.
So what kind of music do you listen to these days? Did you follow Traffic? (I would be in favour of more music-related posts, if I may put in the suggestion.)