1965-67: We got our musical start as students at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA.
1967: We went on a photo shoot for our album at Cape Cod
. . . and our album "Calm Before . . ." was released to an appreciative audience of classmates, friends, and family about a month before we graduated from Andover.
1967-81: Then, we all went off to college, graduate schools, and jobs. We got married, started having kids, and became lawyers, doctors, teachers, and businessmen. And the Rising Storm slipped silently from sight - until one day in 1981, when Bob's sister stumbled across an article in the Boston Phoenix. It said that our album had become a highly sought-after collector's item.
. . . and that was the only excuse we needed to get back together for a three-performance reunion in Boston. The irrespressible Andy Paley joined us and played bass.
1981: The Rising Storm at the wild and wooly Inn Square Men's Bar, Cambridge, MA.
1981: The Rising Storm at the infamous Rat in Kenmore Square, Boston.
1981: The Rising Storm at the trendy Flowermarket Cafe, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston.
1982: Our friend and Andover classmate Joey Kahn, a reporter and freelance writer, followed our exploits and wrote an article for Boston Magazine entitled "The Storm Will Rise Again."
1982: In June the band gathered again, this time to perform for our 15th Class Reunion at Andover. Our pal Erik Lindgren showed up -- unexpectedly with recording equipment in hand -- and our second album, Alive Again at Andover, resulted.
1982: Without our knowledge, Psycho Records put three of our songs on their Endless Journey compilation.
1982: Eva Records of Paris, France issued an unauthorized re-release of Calm Before....
1983-1991: During the next nine-year stretch, we didn't play together. Too much was going on with careers and family. But we were the subject of some nice publicity (see "Press" section of website), and the value of our Calm Before album continued to rise.
1992: Erik Lindgren and Aram Heller, by now like members of the band to us, issued a 2-album CD and a 2-EP 45 tribute showcasing our music.
1992: Our 25th Reunion at Andover provided the pretext for us to get together again -- for our "Ain't Dead Yet" Tour. Before it kicked off, we had a rollicking time being interviewed by Liann Hansen on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition (to listen, click on the icon).
1992: Henry Ferrini of Ferrini Productions, Gloucester, MA followed the Ain't Dead Yet Tour with his camera, and he made a short documentary about the band.
1992: On stage at TT the Bear's in Central Square, Cambridge, MA.
1992: On stage at Andover for our 25th Class reunion.
1992: On stage at Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ, the climax of the Ain't Dead Yet Tour.
Throughout the Ain't Dead Yet Tour, the band was followed closely by Washington Post reporter Peter Carlson, who wrote a feature article for the Washington Post Sunday Magazine entitled, "Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture."
1992: We spent a Sunday at Synchro Sound Studios, Boston, MA, recording five original cuts for Second Wind, our new CD that we ultimately finished in 1998 and released in 2000.
1992-95: As if on cue, we were gently pursued by Hollywood and, after much internal debate, agreed to sign away our life stories -- for a few years -- to Warner Bros.
. . . but the movie never happened, and so we got our life stories back.
1998: Richie Unterberger, a respected rock historian and critic, devoted a chapter to the Rising Storm in his book, "Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll."
1999: This year we had the ultimate thrill of opening for Barry and the Remains and The Lost at the Paradise Ballroom in Boston, MA.
2000: Second Wind is released.
2002: We again returned to Andover to play for our original audience at our 35th Class Reunion.
Over the years, the Rising Storm bandmembers have lived and worked in different locations -- from Vermont to Boston to Washington, DC to North Carolina. We prepared for performances by circulating practice tapes and CD's. The dawn of the 21st century saw us exchanging e-mails and MP3 files, and getting together annually for one occasion or another.
2001-2005: Steadfast Farm, the pastoral setting for the recording studio of Erik Lindgren, became the favorite location for Rising Storm summer retreats.
August 2001 at Steadfast Farm
August 2003 at Steadfast Farm
August 2005 at Steadfast Farm
2004: We performed at a house party in Washington, DC. The dancing continued well into the night.
2005: In December, we played for the book opening of a novel by Tom's brother, Bill Scheft, entitled Time Won't Let Me. The story is loosely based on the trials and tribulations, successes and frustrations, of the Rising Storm.
2007: The Rising Storm traveled to Europe to play to enthusiastic record collectors at the Dirty Water Club in London, and garage rock fans at the Primtive Festival in Rotterdam, where we opened for the Yardbirds.
Now we're ready for our next adventure. Forty-five years and counting ...
