Sanhedrin Move
was
formed by Ric Queen in 1965 to play in a "battle of the bands" to
be held in the Franklin Heights High School gymnasium in southwest Franklin
County, Ohio. The band initially practiced in Queen's bedroom, but later moved
practices to an efficiency apartment on Butler Avenue.
The name Sanhedrin Move was found by leafing through a dictionary and randomly pointing to words until one sounded "hip." Sanhedrin, roughly meaning a court of wise men, was eventually chosen because it had a "60s sound." Move was added as short for movement. It was thought that the name Sanhedrin Move would "do" until a better one could be found.
Most bands at the
time painted their name on the front of their bass drum heads. Sanhedrin
Move was one of the first bands to remove the front bass drum head
to increase the bass drum volume. At the last minute, the closest thing that
could be found resembling a bass drum head was the white toilet seat from the
apartment where band practices were held. So, the name was painted on the underside
of the uplifted toilet seat lid.
Surprisingly, Sanhedrin Move won its first
battle and the bookings started rolling in. Now with name recognition, Sanhedrin
Move would have to remain the band's official name, and the toilet
seat instantly became the band's symbol. Wearing the toilet seat while dancing
or celebrating a birthday became a popular tradition.
The early Sanhedrin
Move was distinguished from most other local bands by:
1) playing unique songs with both more complicated instrumentation/arrangements
and vocal harmonies than most other bands attempted;
2) playing those songs "tighter and punchier," and;
3) arranging the song list into a series of short medleys.
Examples from an early Sanhedrin Move song list includes songs by the Yardbirds, Beau Brummels,Ray Charles, Beatles, The Love, Bobby Hebb, Young Rascals, Bob Dylan, The Byrds and Lovin' Spoonful.
Personnel Changes:
Although all the members except Charlie Clay were initially guitar players,
members were chosen to play different instruments based on their equipment.
For instance, Ralph Tagg became lead guitarist because he owned name brand equipment
(Fender Mustang guitar & Fender Super Reverb amp). Charlie Clay owned a
Shure microphone and mic stand, so he became lead vocalist. Jon Krause had taken
a piano lesson, so he became keyboardist. Steve Henry knew where he could borrow
a bass guitar, and Ric Queen knew where he could borrow a set of drums, so they
became bassist and drummer respectively.
Original members included Ric Queen (drums & leader), Jon Krause (rhythm guitar, keyboards), Ralph Tagg (lead guitar), Steve Henry (bass guitar) and Charley Clay (lead vocals). Henry soon left and was replaced by Terry Nitsch on bass.
In 1966, the late John Drake joined Sanhedrin Move as co-lead singer. In 1967 Charley Clay (vocals) left, and Rick Pendergast was added as rhythm guitarist. Up to this point, all members were Franklin Heights High School students. Rick Pendergast (rhythm) left for the Navy and was later replaced for a short time by Jim Wolfe from West High School on rhythm guitar.
The
year 1969 saw Jon Krause leave to attend college, being replaced by Jimi Leonardo
from the Orange Noise. Soon, Terry Nitsch
left and Phil Stokes, also of the Orange Noise,
took over the bass duties This lineup (Queen, Tagg, Drake, Stokes & Leonardo)
remained intact until the breakup late in 1973. Also during this time, Queen
and Stokes recorded with Craig Fuller of Pure Prairie
League.
Sanhedrin Move never lost a battle-of-the-bands during the eight years it performed, and some of its club attendance records still stand to this day.
Partial list of venues:
Sugar Shack, OSU campus
Castle, OSU campus
Sarene Lounge,
OSU campus
Travel Agency, OSU campus
Draught House, OSU campus
Pandora's Box, Reynoldsburg
Mother's Lounge
Diamond Jim's
Lincoln Lanes
Lincoln Lodge
Grove City High School
Bishop Ready High School
Franklin Heights High School
West High School
Pleasant View High School
Bexley High School
Numerous Ohio State fraternity and sorority parties
Numerous battles-of-the-band
Numerous private and block parties
Millersport Sweet Corn Festival
Buckeye Lake
Valley Dale, Sunbury
Numerous corporate parties
Club No Place, Newark
Orange Carpet, Lancaster
Factory Lounge
Richard Avenue School, Grove City
J.C. Sommers school, Grove City
Hickory Lakes
Indian Lake Amusement Park, Russell's Point, Ohio
Marriott North
Purple Onion, Gahanna
Lazabaloo, Lazarus, downtown Columbus
The Union department store, downtown Columbus
Alrosa Villa
Skateland
Ohio State Student Union
Sheraton North
Jim Otis' Time Out Restaurant
Villa East, Reynoldsburg
Holiday Inn
Buckeye Lake
Berwick Party House
Bistro
Party Barn, Powell
Ohio State Fairgrounds
Beef Cattle Battles
Rhodes Center