Chapter Eight

“ENTER THE CALHOUN SURFER”

The surviving Raybeats didn’t spend much time debating whether or not to continue — they figured Scott would want them to keep the band alive, so they decided initially to soldier on as a trio and hire a bass player. However, when Peter Holsapple (of the dB’s) got word to Danny Amis about Scott’s death, thoughts of trading six strings for four started searing through the young Midwesterner’s mind.

“At the time,” Amis remembered, “the Overtones were about to break up and everyone I knew told me I should try to join the Raybeats, something I had thought about anyway.  So, I called Don Christensen and offered to join. He talked it over with Pat and Jody, then called me back a few days later and said to come on out.”

The Raybeats, Mark II: Don Christensen, Jody Harris, Pat Irwin and new bassist Danny Amis

“It seemed right,” Irwin said. “When Don, Jody and I decided to continue the Raybeats after George died, it meant something to all of us that Danny and George had known each other. I remember that Danny showed up with a Fender bass with a racing stripe on it and he was ready to go.”

Still reeling from the passing of their friend and founding member, Christensen, Harris and Irwin, with Amis in tow, were able to set some of their grief aside and throw themselves back into the music they had forged together.

“In a way,” Irwin added, “Danny saved the band.”

<- Chapter 7     Chapter 9 ->