Pickle Rocks Military; Military Pickle Rocks?

For anyone who remembers Miss Briscoe's Latin I class, you may recall that word order in Latin does not have the same importance as word order does in English.  The endings on Latin nouns determined whether a noun or pronoun was a subject, direct object, indirect, object of a preposition, or possessive, while the endings of Latin verbs determined the tense, person, and number.  For example, if my memory has not failed me,  the word habeo is I have; habes is you (singular) have; habet is he, she, or it has; habemus is we have; habetis is you (plural) have; and habent is they have.  In other words, word order is not important, but the word endings are.  The headline above conveys two different thoughts or ideas, but one of those phrases was part of the leading headline for today's (Feb. 29, 2016) edition of the Brookings Register.

A few years ago, the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association (commonly referred to the Hall of Fame--http://www.southdakotarockandrollmusicassociation.com/) was formed.  The first induction took place in 2009.  A number of groups with ties to the Brookings area have found their way into this prestigious organization.  In 2010, Marlys Roe and the Talismen were inducted.  In 2011, Don Robar and the Monarchs were voted in.  They were a group of SDSC students from the early 60s.  In 2013, Horatio's was chosen in the dance hall/ballroom category.   In 2014, Cheryl Ladd (she graduated from Huron in 1969) and The Ride were selected.  One of the bands chosen for this year's induction is the Military Pickle.  Today's Register proclaims "Military Pickle rocks on to hall of fame" (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=27924&page=76).  The ceremonies are scheduled for April 15 and 16 in Sioux Falls.


According to the paper, the band "began in 1967 when some Brookings High School boys-plus one South Dakota State University freshman-combined members of their two bands"  Does anyone recall who these boys were?  The drummer was Jim Wright, the keyboardist was John Behrend, the rhythm guitarist was Rob Dimit, and the lead vocalist was Dave Adamson.  The SDSU student was lead guitarist Rick Lagerstrom.

The picture in the paper shows the band playing in the Central Elementary gymnasium.  Drummer Jim Wright does not appear to be in the picture, so who is the third guitar player?  Dave Adamson is easily identifiable as the one with the tambourine, as is John Behrend on the keyboards.  Rob Dimit appears to be the guitar player in the white t-shirt.

The band's rather peculiar name is derived from an ad on the side of a London double-decker bus.  "Military pickle" was, as the name implies, a pickle-based condiment.  Jim Wright explains that, although they did not know the actual meaning of the phrase, "At that time, we were thinking with the Vietnam War going on we were already in a military pickle.  But we didn't know it was a condiment.  We found that out later.  After we said it, everybody decided that's it.  You have to remember, this is at the time where there were bands like Strawberry Alarm clock, a popular band at the time, so it didn't seem as strange of a name as it does now."

In June of 1967, they were hired as the house band at Horatio's.  They then began playing across the region.  Jim recalls a "Battle of the Bands" competition in Minneapolis, when their amp started smoking in the middle of a song.  "We had to go get our bass amp out our bus and bring it in and continue on in our set.  The band that was the headliner at the time, a regional band from Minneapolis called Crow, is also here at the induction ceremony in April.  They're the headliner for this thing that we're in," Jim recalls.

The band disbanded early in 1970.  Jim had a low draft number, so he enlisted in the Army in May of that year.  Dave Adamson moved with his family to Denver, so "...we folded the band," recalled Jim.

A week before the official ceremonies, the members will regroup at Jim's house in Sioux Falls for
a week to rehearse and practice.  They will perform some of their songs at their induction, so they want to be as well-prepared as possible.  As mentioned above, the band Crow is also being honored.  How many members of that band recall the blown-out amp in Minneapolis many years ago?  Should make for some good conversation  among the band members. 

This will be Jim's second trip in the spotlight.  He was also inducted two years with the Ride.  He anticipates that other members of Military Pickle will experience the same feelings he had had two years ago. Jim recalls "The week went by so fast and the rehearsal time and talking over old stories and coming up with old remembrances was a lot more fun actually than getting up and performing....The week of rehearsal is just fun getting back together and telling old stories.  Just the camaraderie of it."