I was a BeachBum, and proud of it ...

(Top to bottom: Bryan, me, Malcom, Rich)

I've written before about my time in America, working at 'Camp Kuratli at Trestle Glen', a summer camp in Oregon. I made a lot of good friends whilst there, and kept in touch with a couple over the years and reacquainted myself with some more via Facebook (Hi Holly! Hi Becky!).

I was 20 when I first went to camp, and in all honesty had no idea what to expect. I had spoken to someone who had been there a couple of years before me, and looked through his photo album of his time there, but it was a totally new experience. I was a shy person, and didn't put myself to the front for anything, but something happened at camp ... One of those road to Damascus moments, when I realised that no-one in America knew me, or more importantly knew of my background. In England I was 'Edward, son of Major and Mrs Partridge, played drums in the YP band', but in America? None of that ...

I can still remember the moment the new 'outspoken' me surfaced, during the first get-together during orientation when Quinton (The programme director for the camp) introduced me to everyone and made a joke about the Partridge Family, and I answered back ... The England me would never have done that, but I wasn't in England anymore, I wasn't the 7 year old drummer in the Ilford YP Band, I was a 20 year old male with a cute English accent ...!

During orientation I got talking to Malcom, a Nebraskan, deaf in his left ear (With floppy hair to cover the hearing aid), wearer of bowling shoes, and owner of a bass guitar. I borrowed Quinton's acoustic guitar, and Malc and I spent some time trying to find common musical ground (The Cure's 'Just Like Heaven' proved to be it!). People started to drift over, and soon we were taking requests and the US version of me was well and truly born.

Bryan, the lifeguard made a big impact on me by breaking my collarbone during a game of 'Steal the bacon' (but that's a story for another day), and through a day of profuse apologies and the desire to make it up to me, Bryan and The BeachBums was born. Malc and I wanted a band, but neither of us wanted to sing. Bryan wasn't the greatest singer in the world, but he had enthusiasm and was a showman - we had our front man.

Rich was one of the youngest members of the Camp staff, but could drum and not only that, he could keep time (The original BeachBum drummer being dumped as he was all over the shop with his timing). Problem was, the original BeachBum drummer owned the drum kit, so we scavenged a kit for Rich to play. No-one can play coffee tins and metal fold-up chairs like Rich.

Then there was Holly ...

I first met Holly when she collected me from the airport when I first went to camp. Bearing in mind I had never been to America before, being picked up by an all-American blonde driving a Mustang started the trip off quite nicely! Holly was appointed BeachBum manager, for no other reason than she thought of the band's name. When Bryan came back from the pool shop with an inflatable BeachBum, it was taken as a sign that we were meant to be BeachBums. (I still have the inflatable BeachBum, and am waiting for the moment BeachBum memorabilia is worth something).

One of the girl counsellors presented me with an electric guitar and amp that had been left in her apartment, so with almost 2 hours of practice under their belts, Bryan and the BeachBums made their first appearance at the evening campfire show for the campers. We played 'Sunshine of Your Love', which in hindsight probably wasn't the best choice of songs with its questionable lyrics, but it was easy to play and Bryan knew the tune (Which was always a bonus). I'd be stage-left, Bryan in the centre, and Malcom stage-right - it wasn't until the next year that Malc and I swapped places as it suddenly occurred to us I was shouting chord changes in his deaf ear ... We became a fixture at campfires over the weeks to follow, building the legend of the Bryan and the BeachBums as we went. Our questionable set continued with 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' being played at the Divisional Music School, which culminated with the older campers invading the stage, so requiring a security presence for the next time the BeachBums played.

The final Bryan and the BeachBums gig, we went to town ... All the Camp staff members were issued stage passes (And a lot of thought went into their job titles), Bryan was driven to the stage in a golf cart and ushered on stage by Stan, his security man. Malc and I had roadies to pass us our instruments, and at the end of the performance Bryan was driven off in the golf cart with "Bryan and the BeachBums have left the building" being announced over and over again. I still feel sorry for whomever had to follow us!

There was numerous requests from staff members (Mainly Malc and me ..) for a Bryan and the BeachBums tape, so before the summer ended we gathered in the Lower Dining Hall (Or as it was known on the tape, LDH Studios) and blitzed our way through the BeachBum set. Quinton was in charge of recording (He had a flashlight with a flashing red light which he'd put on during a take), pressing the play/record button with style. We also did a couple of 'live at the Campfire' recordings after Bryan had left, with Malc's brother Bart filling in on vocals for 'Twist and Shout', and tagged them onto the tape.

Malc and I wrote a couple of songs during the summer (Under the name 'Miles Partridge', Miles being Malc's surname), and with the assistance of Malc's sister (She was in charge of the play/record button) recorded them for prosperity's sake. One day, I'll re-record them and stick them up on here. I then spent the rest of the summer copying the tape, and depending on the size of tape given (C15, C60, C90, remember them?!) re-recording the acoustic guitar filler I wrote for the end of the tape ('The final curtain call' - Miles Partridge (c) 1993!) Wish I still had a copy of that tape.

Malcom and I did try again the following year, but the 1994 program staff that year weren't as accommodating as 1993's, and banned us from playing at the campfire! We did manage to play one of our compositions 'Magic World' (Also known as the cliche song, as it had every musical cliche going) at campfire, but sadly, that was it ...

Bit of a self-indulgant post, and I apologise - but camp affected me in a huge way, and Bryan and the BeachBums gave me some much needed confidence. I have told Mia that when I hit 40 in 2013, I want to go back to Camp K for a 20th anniversary reunion gig. Malc? Bryan? Rich? Up for it?

I miss those days ...

And a quick update from Malcom:

I have to correct a couple things -

1) hard of hearing would be the correct label - deaf means complete loss of hearing

2) i'm actually hard of hearing in both ears but could only afford one hearing aid back in those days - i'm not sure i would hear those chord changes no matter which side i stood on.C, D, E, G often sound the same to me under the racket of any band that has meA & F i can usually get - maybe in 2013 we just stick to those two? or i could learn the song in advance.

Happy to set the record straight, and I now have 4 years to find songs that consist purely of A and F!