Pickin’ up good vibrations

WAUPACA – The Beach Boys will return to the Indian Crossing Casino in the first time in over 60 years. They will perform on Wednesday, May 21. Doors will open at 6:30 pm. Only 900 tickets will be sold and it is standing room only. No chairs can be brought into the venue space. Tickets can be purchased through the vendor Eventbrite.
“It was such an honor to play the same venue that, since the 1930’s, they had hosted such a pantheon of talent: Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Herman’s Hermits, and the Beach Boys. The stage was unique, standing high above the dance floor with its velour curtains. The backstage dressing room was decorated with posters of previous acts. You could feel the ghosts of all the greats who preceded you. And when we played there, the view from the stage let you see the whole audience—from front to back—and know how much they were grooving to our show” said Mark T. Nelson.
Nelson was a member of the American Tea Company, a band formed in 1967 by high school friends in Marshfield. At the time of its formation, the members were all between 17 and 19 years old. A couple years later they won a number of battle-of-the-band competitions and were doing paid gigs. They decided they wanted to write their own songs and make a record.
The members of American Tea Company were Ken Rogers (guitar), Gary TeStrake (lead vocals), Jim Schuh (drums), Mark T. Nelson (keyboards) and Tim Haley (bass). They played everything from Santana to Steppenwolf.
In 1970, the band recorded “I Want You Now” at the Golden Voice Recording Company in central Illinois where Styx and REO Speedwagon recorded some of their work. The song became a number one hit on the Top 40 charts and can be found on YouTube.

They got a booking agent and worked a four-state area in a station wagon with a trailer. They played at dance halls, bars and high school dances in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Minnesota.
Nelson grew up going to the Chain O’Lakes. His family acquired their cottage on Columbia Lake in Camp Cleghorn in 1956 when he was four years old.
“From an early age, I recall hearing the music echoing across the lake on Friday and Saturday summer nights. The thump of the bass, beat of the drums and wail of guitars attracted me. When I was in junior high, I’d go stand on the bridge next to the Casino and look in the big windows to see the bands. Teenagers in hot rods would rev their engines as they traversed Cleghorn Road and County Q. My parents didn’t appreciate all the noise, but it was indeed a hoppin’ place for teens in those days,” said Nelson.
“We played only two times at Indian Crossing Casino, given that we played so often around central Wisconsin and the Appleton area. In fact, whenever we had weekend gigs in eastern Wisconsin, we’d stay at my family cottage in Camp Cleghorn to save on hotel bills. So the band was very familiar with Chain O’Lakes and aware of the amazing Indian Crossing Casino. We always asked our agent to book gigs there, but it wasn’t until July 1970 that we were booked there. Apparently, we drew such an enthusiastic crowd that the Casino owners cancelled the band scheduled for the big Labor Day weekend and booked us. That turned out to be our last gig together,” said Nelson.
Despite hopes of being discovered and reaching the national scene, it never happened. They disbanded just 17 weeks after hitting the Top 10 and they went off to attend different colleges.
Three members still perform. Mark Nelson plays in a Marshfield band called the The Pointless Brothers. In the Chippewa Valley area, Jim performs with the Mark Healey & Jim Schuh Duo and Ken Rogers still plays jazz, popular and folk music in the Eau Claire area and Arizona.