Part 2 -Prime Time  ( Early 80's )

From a financial standpoint, Witness had it's greatest success in the years of 1980 to 1984. It was not uncommon for the band to have a $10,000 week. (Read as $24,000 in current dollars.) It was also not uncommon for the band to have almost as many people waiting in line as there were in the club. This was particularly true in New Jersey, which had a lower drinking age in those years. (NJ was 18, PA was 21.) When Witness left the Ale House at the end of 79, it was still an unproven entity. It wasn't long before club owners and event promoters figured out that booking the band meant that their cashboxes would be full. Freddy Baker & Apollo Artists did a great job keeping the band booked almost seven nights a week. Ted Scandlin / Morgan Management did what they could to keep the band members happy. Still, there were bound to be problems.

1980 saw the changing of two members. Billy B our bass player and Ken "Snake" Graupner our soundman left. Roy Altemus rejoined the band to fill Billy's position, and John Higgins came on board to do sound. Higgins was known for his rock solid mix which not only filled your ears, but was felt with your whole body. He also had a much larger system. Pictured (left) Roy "LRoy" Altemus,  (right) John Higgens of Sounds OK

Witness was a full business partnership between the band members, lighting director, sound engineer, and manager. All operated under the business name of Ted's company, Morgan Management, with Ted handling management and administration. The band quickly learned that being successful meant being sued! 

The old logo (pictured left) had to be changed as the person who drew it, decided they wanted a cut. Club owners sued the band if the band played down the street as compared to their own club! We quickly learned what the letters CYA stood for!  From that point on, everything we did was either Registered, Trade Marked, or Copyrighted. In addition to Apollo Artists, several other companies where hired to handle advertising and promotion for the band. All these added expenses left the members scratching their heads when looking at their paychecks. Another source of frustration.

With thirty original songs in the repertoire, the band decided it was time to head for the studio resulting in a 45, and later an Album. Meanwhile, the club show had grown to monstrous proportions! 

On the recording front, the first album was in the can and was followed by no less then twelve appearances on local and national television. Perhaps, the largest TV production was USA Hot Spots, for the USA network. Other appearances included Telethons, Collage projects, and local shows in the towns we preformed in. The larger of the local shows included three appearances on ABC's Philadelphia affiliate WPVI channel 6, including coverage of the recording session at Kajem Studios by NBC's Evening Magazine series.   Left, a YouTube clip from an appearance on AM Philadelphia (6 ABC)

Summers also changed. After several years of doing the Ale House, the Witness show moved to a club called the Playpen in Diamond Beach. (At the south end of Wildwood.) The club was actually a large forum style theater turned nightclub. There were several semicircular floors surrounding the stage. The bottom floor was the dance floor, and the upper most floor contained a built in delicatessen as well as a dance club within a club. Witness would play four or five nights, then hit the road on the off nights for shows booked as one-nighters in Philadelphia, Lancaster, or the New Jersey region, only to return to the Playpen the following week. At times, we would stay and share our equipment with national acts at the Playpen, such as Cheap Trick, Patty Smyth & Scandal, Dave Mason, and Meatloaf.

In 1983, Michael Disston decided to retire. Our following had changed. We were no longer the "band with the great Tull show" but were now "That hot original band, that also does a great Tull show!"  There was no decision made that we should no longer do Tull, no infighting as some would believe. It was simply that Michael made a personal choice to retire. The thought of doing a Tull show without him never crossed our minds. (He was just too good!)

1983 also saw the retirement of Tim Rooney. Tim had been one of the founding members of the band. His leaving was a sad event. None the less, life had to move on. Mitch Schecter had been playing with a band called Pegasus, which was also playing in Wildwood. Often, Higgins, Pur and I would stop by other clubs to hear bands during our breaks. Many times other members of Witness would be in tow. Although open auditions were held to replace Tim, many of us knew that if Mitch were to say yes, we would take him in a heartbeat!  Mitch said yes. Left, a YouTube clip, Mitch shows what he is made of in this short but great solo!

1984 was a season of change. The band was still at the top of their game, but there was a growing frustration with the fact that we were in some form of plateau. The original songs kept coming and were received with fantastic response when played, but something wasn't clicking in the political end. Many people pointed fingers in many directions, (including me) but the truth is we may never know for sure. There was a sense that Philly had just given birth to another great band (The Hooters) and that company execs were not looking in this region for now. My company, DAE, was doing a lot of work for national acts. I can remember sitting back stage at many huge venues, having dinner with the bands, and thinking to myself: "These guys are not as good as Witness, so what did they do that we did not...." Something else was also happening in the club industry. New Jersey raised their drinking age to 21. Although the band members applauded the move, suddenly, a large part of our following was no longer allowed to see the band. That was sad. 

The 84/85 season saw a progression  of Bass players after LRoy left. Pictured left, Kent Warner in a promo shot. Pictured right, Eric Rudy from Witness's return to the London Ale House in 1985

1985 saw the club environment continue to change. Jersey club owners were getting used to doing a lot less business then they had before. Clubs started to close, and those that remained open were less likely to spend the big bucks. Witness was still a saturation act. Booking the band was not a problem, but even our bottom line was being affected by what was going on. With the heavy expenses load, the change was amplified at the bottom line. We had never been afraid to spend money on a new project, but even that began to change. In some respects Witness was at a critical fork in the road. The band either had to make it through the wall that was stopping us, or end up entombed behind it as a club act. We were also growing older. Most of us were now married, had homes to support, or had children. It was an agonizing choice, but I decided to retire at the end of 1985.

I don't think the band ever gave up hope. After all, Witness continued to play all the way into 1994. Somewhere there is a record company executive who is several million dollars poorer for deciding not to make money with the goldmine known as Witness.   Part 3 .......... "1986 and Beyond !"

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