The JuJus
| The JuJus | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1964-1967 |
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| Past members | Max Colley Jr. Bill Gorski Rod Shepard Ray Hummel III Brett Wells Bruce Essex Ron Homrich Ronn Burke Rick Stevens |
The JuJus were an American garage rock band formed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and active between 1964 and 1967. Though the group was never able to record an album they are considered one of the more polished acts to originate from the Michigan rock scene. Amid several line-up changes, The JuJus managed to blend influences of folk rock and The British Invasion into their raw musical style, before experimenting in the psychedelic rock genre. Their most acclaimed piece was the regional hit, "You Treat Me Bad", which is now deemed a garage rock classic.
The nucleus of the band originated from Godwin High School, in which all the members were a part of the institute's jazz band. Initially, they formed to parody the act of the Beatles in a school assembly. Their original line-up consisted of saxophone player Max Colley Jr., tuba player turned drummer Bill Gorski, and lead guitarist Rod Shepard. For the performance, Colley, along with classmate, Larry Jansen, penned the original instrumental, "Flake Out", which was heavily influenced by The Surfaris's hit, "Wipe Out". The concert was a success, which resulted in another concert the following night, and hastily arranged compositions by the band. Thereafter, the group received gigs, fashioned themselves in resemblance to the Dave Clark Five, and went under the name, The JuJus.
Realizing saxophone-driven arrangements were not on the forefront of popular music, The JuJus recruited guitarist and vocalist, Ray Hummel III, who originally worked as a folk singer. Shepard shifted to bass guitar thereafter, began rehearsing as a group, and attracted the attention of bondsman, Jim Geeting. Hired as The JuJus' manager, Geeting insisted on the group dressing uniformly, similar as The Beatles did, and it remained the band's trademark for the earlier portion of their career. However, it was the band's high school band instructor, Bob Traitz, who booked The JuJus' gigs, the first of which was in a hospital for the criminally insane. The band performed in a wide variety of venues in Michigan, including "The Ponytail", "The Place", and "The Note", as well as being featured as the house band at "The Elbow Room" in Grand Rapids.
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