A photographic history of myself, ArvEL Jr. Stricklin
CAPTIONS ARE ABOVE OR BESIDE THE REFERENCED PHOTO
In the Summer of 1957 I began with a Regal acoustic guitar loaned to me by an uncle.

1958, 13 years old, playing Duane Eddy and Link Wray songs. That's my first amp, a tweed TV-front Fender Deluxe, and my first microphone, an Astatic brand. The guitar may be the first-ever fender copy; I built it in 8th-grade wood shop class. That's Charlie Mitchell beside me.			1959, 14 years old and playing the blues.  I played guitar, piano and sax. That's me on sax. Sam Atchley (the bass player) is holding my guitar; Joe Schreiber on drums and that guy on the right, Johnny Deutsch, later changed his name to John Denver; you may have heard of him.
1960: My first business card			The "Knightbeats" were an award-winning blues band. The awards below were won in 1959
1960: The Knightbeats,  2nd edition. Floyd Bishop; Joe the Roadie; Bill Spradling; Mike Steele; myself on guitar and vocals with '58 Les Paul Special bought in the summer of 1959. My earliest recording experience was with this band.
1961: I played piano for several months with blues-soul singer Ron WIlliams. The photo below was taken during  a 3 month,  6-nights a week engagement at the Fortune Room, Birkley Hotel, downtown Ft. Worth. That's me on piano with Ron Williams at the mic.			Later I brought a newer version of the Knightbeats to the Birkley Hotel. The  photo below is from the Fortune Room on New Years Eve, Dec. 31st, 1961. Piano: Sam Scott, myself on guitar, Mike Steele, bass and Joe Schreiber on drums. We played the black-radio top 40; all blues dance music. This New Year's Eve gig was the beginning of a 3-month, 6-nights-a-week engagement.
Around 1959 I began frequenting a little-known Ft. Worth club called The Cellar, a club with no dance floor, only a listening audience and featuring folk, rockablly and jazz entertainment. I began working there in the Summer of 1962. The blues format I brought rounded out the Cellar's entertainment roster nicely. Playing almost every night, never moving equipment, with no dance couples to please and exposed to jazz  players from the NTU One O'clock Lab Band, I found an opportunity to perform only songs I really enjoyed. I began performing some higher-end blues songs. Consequently, my vocal and instrumental abilities improved, my musical parameters widened and I learned about relaxing and stretching out.
In 1965, still working Cellar gigs, I began to get calls for other club gigs so I became a freelance blues guitarist, working with other blues artists in the Fort Worth-Dallas area. Photo below is a live shot from Ft. Worth's 312 club in 1965. Billy Cole; Louie Terrazus; Ron Thayer; Arvel Jr. Stricklin			Another 312 club gig in 1965, with Poppa Frank on drums. I wore that same no-lapels black jacket on every gig I played for several years.
RIGHT - 1965: Chester Freeman, Garland Tiger and Johnny Nash, 3 of my blues band members, along with myself at the Ft. Worth Cellar in 1964-65. Previous members in this band were Coyote Williams on bass, Lon Price on sax and Doug Davis on piano. This was a standing-ovation blues band that broke up when the Cellar's format changed to rock. All the other Ft. Worth venues had already gone to rock so there was no place for this band of homeboys to play.
So, in 1966 I left the Cellar and got a job on the road with a blues band booking out of Memphis, Tennessee that was called  the Blues Quintet. Band members were: Scotty Gray on lead vocals, Jimmy Smith; organ, Curly Benton; bass, myself on guitar, Dahrell Norris on drums. This band played the North and South, from Duluth, Minnesota to Tampa, Florida, doing college parties, nightclubs and theatres.
By Christmas of 1966 the blues gigs had run out for the Quintet, so I called up the devil in Houston and asked if there was a job available in hell.			There was, of course, playing Rock music.
1967: The Houston Cellar - The Neurotic Sheep was the first rock band I played with. The Sheep hired me to take the place of their former guitarist, a guy named Joe Ely. The Sheep were a covers band, playing Stones, Beatles, Yardbirds, etc. Charlie Mitchell on bass, Mike Harrison; vocals, myself back on my '58 Les Paul and Mike McClain on the Vox organ. (Jas Stephens - Drums - NOT SHOWN) Photo taken in the Houston Cellar.			The Sheep, 2nd edition, with Paul Sevy on bass, myself and Charlie Mitchell on guitars, Jas Stephens on drums, Mike Harrison, vocals, performing at Love Sreet Light Circus on Allen's Landing in Houston.
In late 1967 I was reprieved from hell for a few months by an old friend, Bruce Channel (Hey! Baby), who called saying he needed a bassman for some record promo gigs. Bruce was riding a minor hit record at the time called "Mr Bus Driver." Along with his own records, Bruce did blues and motown songs. I always enjoyed my gigs with Bruce.
	I had a bass, so I played with Bruce for awhile. Bugs Henderson was also in that band, and after a few months Bruce decided to take a vacation, and Bugs and I both had rent due! I took Bugs to the Ft. Worth Cellar and got us a job as a trio that we called the "Ball Point Carrot" At right are Bugs and myself at a Cellar reunion in February, 2006t right
March, 1968: Back in hell with a new edition of the Sheep Randy Panda on drums, Charlie Mitchell on bass, Mike Harrison on vocals and myself on guitar. Photo is from the Houston Chronicle.			The Sheep in May, 1968 at Love Street Light Circus in Houston, Tx. Mike Harrison, Randy Panda, myself on guitar, Charlie Mitchell on bass
1968: Fort Worth Cellar, the Sheep, edition 4, a hard-rock trio. Charlie Mitchell on bass, Randy Panda on drums, myself on guitar. That's a Gibson SG bodied, triple-pickup Les Paul Custom I'm playing.			In the Spring of 1968 the Sheep, with Mike Harrison back on vocals, went to Los Angeles. There was a manager involved, but gigs were 'way too scarce and the band wound up working in Denver, Colorado before returning to Ft. Worth in Sept of '68.
IN 1968 OR '69 THE SHEEP PLAYED SEVERAL DOUBLE BILLINGS AT A DALLAS CLUB CALLED THE PHANTASMAGORIA, SHARING EQUAL BILLING WITH, AMONG OTHERS, THE CHESSMEN AND JOHNNY WINTER. DURING A BREAK ON ONE OF THESE GIGS, I WAS OFFERED A BLUES FRONTMAN JOB WITH A GREAT RHYTHM SECTION. THINKING THE BLUES WAS A DEAD END ISSUE, I TURNED THAT JOB DOWN.  A REGRETTABLE BUSINESS DECISION, AS IT TURNED OUT.
1969:   I created the "MOSQUITO BAND", playing old  rock & roll songs and a few originals. Myself and Doyle Bresheres on guitars with  Mark Stricklin on bass. Carleton Tanner was original drummer with this band.
In September of 1970 I made a live recording with a Cellar band called the "Naked Letus", with Mike Hickman, Stick Pierce and Don Ivey, A strong rock band with some good original material. Those recordings, which I still have, are a testament to the fact that Naked Letus should have been a success. Right Time, Wrong Place. In 71-72 I recorded live with another Cellar band, "Texas Wildlife" with my brother Mark Stricklin on Bass, Charlie Mitchell and myself on guitars and Darrel 'Hatchet' Welch on drums. See "The Cellar Tapes, Vol.1"  for Wildlife and Naked Letus along with Texas legends Arthur "Tudy" Taddi and Johnny Carroll. When the Cellars in Fort Worth and Dallas closed, in late '72, My brother Mark and I moved to Los Angeles to get  famous. After a few months we left our phone numbers and split up. Hollywood has not yet called.
1973: I was still in Los Angeles when Johnny Carroll called me and said he now OWNED hell and he wanted me to put together a rock band to play there. Needing money, I flew to Houston but only stayed a couple of months. I had become too angelic for hell. The band I formed there in Houston consisted originally of  myself, drummer Bob Mott, bassman Guy Schwartz, and a guitar player named Lindy. Mickey Burton also played drums with this band.
		1974 - The Texas progressive Country Scare. I learned a dozen Willie and Waylon songs, filled out  the sets with old blues songs and called it Progressive Country! I figured since Progressive Country was mostly bullshit, it wouldn't matter. Turned out I was right, though I did enjoy those Willie songs. Bass, Gerald 'Stick' Pierce; Drums, Randy Panda; myself on guitar and Cal Freeman on Pedal Steel Guitar. In this band I played my Gibson LGO acoustic through a 1958 Fender Tweed Vibrolux amp.
Also during the Progressive Country Scare of the mid-70's, a band called the COWTOWN PLAYERS consisted of ArvEL, Charlie Mitchell, James Pennebaker and Mike Bartula. Pix taken at Jody's club, Ft. Worth. James Pennebaker played everything, as I recall and Charlie and I just waved our guitars around.
PENNEBAKER PLAYING EVERYTHING, ME WAVING MY '63 EPIPHONE AND MIKE BARTULA ON DRUMS
Starting in 1974 I worked  as a recording technician and I had gotten hold of an Ampex 8-track recorder and that's it behind my brother Mark (sax), Randy Panda on drums and Charlie Mitchell on bass. When this photo was taken I was doing a live, multi-track recording at a Ft. Worth club called the 13th Nat'l Bank.
1978: Back to the blues; the New Bluebird Night Club in Ft. Worth Myself and James Pennebaker on guitars, Jay Webster on bass, Mike Bartula on drums
Also 1978 at the New Bluebird: that's Tudy Taddi at the mic, Mark Stricklin on sax and James Pennebaker on guitar and, at extreme left, an unknown sit-in playing my 1963 Epiphone Riviera guitar
My brother Mark and myself in 1978
1979: My vintage amplifier collection and me and my antique Aztec flute.  Amps, left to right: '59 Fender Bassman, Mike Mathews Freedom Amp, '58 Fender Tweed Vibrolux (LGO guitar on top) 2 tweed Fender Champ amps on top of a 60's Fender 210 Super Amp,  a '58 Fender Twin Amp under my arm and an Ampeg 112 amp. Of these, all I have left is the LGO and one of the tweed Champ amps. The rest were sold over the years. Currently (2007) along with the old tweed Fender Champ,I have 3 Music Man amps, a GK 250ML, a Fender Champ 15 and a couple of  Peaveys: a special 112 and a Studio Pro 40.
In 1980 I bought some rural lake property in Comanche County, Texas and lived there for 13 years. Tried to retire but the blues got hold of me again, and in 1986 I  created a blues band that I called "THE ALL NIGHT WORKERS". I wanted to play some original blues but gigging enough to hold a band together was always tough, after 1966, in Ft. Worth, so I was always breaking in a new drummer or something plus playing with other bands to make ends meet.  Between 1986 and 1993 I traveled from Comanche County to Ft. Worth when The All Night Workers had a gig.  In '93, a divorce took my lake property so I packed up my trotline and returned to Ft. Worth.
Sometime in the mid-80's Johnny Carroll had called. He had broken his left arm and needed me to play guitar for his "Judy and Johnny" band so they could fulfill contracted bookings. L. to R.: Mike Early; ArvEL; Joe Gilley; Johnny Carroll. Photo taken at Pat O'Bryan's, New Orleans.
In 1989 a rockabilly rock band I worked with was "The Hank Hankshaw Show".
It was only in 1993, when the All Night Workers finally stabilzed, that I was able to write and record a few original blues songs. I released a cassette album, "Hard Luck Soul", in '93 and a CD, "All Night Worker" in 1995. I think I only sold about 37 CD's, but even now, 2007, songs from the All Night Worker CD may be heard occasionally on Texas Blues Radio KNON 89.3FM.
1993: The ALL Night Workers at J&J Blues Bar in Fort Worth. Ron Green, bass; myself, Ron Thayer, drums; Frank Hailey, piano.   Right: Promo pic with drummer Gerry Gibson.
The All Night Workers ended in 1995 between drummer Gerry Gibson's move to Nashville and my catching my right hand on fire with hot grease, resulting in 2nd and 3rd degree burns. After my hand healed I continued working with Frank Hailey on piano.
k1995: The most fun I've ever had has been when I was fortunate enough to have Frank Hailey playing beside me. I made a CD of some of our live performances, for sale here, and more of our performances. both live and studio, may be heard on my downloadable audio  page. Frank Hailey's playing illustrates the piano played the way I like it. Frank currently leads his own jazz trio and has an abum on the SEABREEZE Jazz label.  Check it out, here's the link: Frank Hailey Trio - Passing It Around
In 1996/97, after my Epiphone guitar was stolen, I worked for a while with a blues/soul dance band called the "Heavy Hitters", with an old friend, Eddie Miller. A very nice, handmade, solid-body guitar had been presented to me by a North Dallas luthier, Bryan Paul Prokop, who had heard of my loss on Texas Blues Radio, KNON. L to R: Rockin' Ron Thompson, drums; Bobby Counts, bass; Johnny Guaderrama, sax, ArvEL and bandleader-pianist Eddie Miller. Drummer Billy English also played with this band when Ron Thompson had other obligations.
2007: What does the future hold? I'm 63 and not planning on dying; I came to this blue planet to play! However, after 50 years of guitar playing, my super powers are somewhat diluted due to mating with earth women, so my wrinkled hands occasionally say NO! to my guitar mind. My alternative is writing, which I always do in private, being careful to wash my hands afterward. Fall, 2007:  I've been playing in Galveston since June in a trio called Sneak Preview   and THIS JUST IN! my wrinkled hands have stopped saying "no". I can't shake the blues, I can't stop the flow and if I don't do these songs, who will?

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