Dale Taylor - Bear Mountain Band

When and where were you born? Are you originally from Prescott, AZ? When did you first begin to have a fascination with music? When we returned from Libya in 1964 my cousins were fascinated by a band called The Beatles and that started my love of music. What was growing up like for you?

1955 in a small suburb of Detroit. No. My family travelled a lot when I was young and we moved to Tripoli, Libya, Phoenix, AZ, Tucson, AZ, Bullhead City, AZ and Prescott in 1971. Was music something that was relevant around your household? Do you have any siblings? Growing up I always had an interest in fast cars, electronics and music. No siblings but living in Tucson we had large open areas for mini bikes and motorcycles. Moving to Bullhead City we were right on the Colorado River so lots of hanging out with friends on the river and listening to music. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath & CCR came out then and that really shaped my music preferences.

What was a typical weekend like for you prior to playing in bands? What would you and your friends do for fun? Did you have any other fascinations and interests outside of music? When and where did you attend your first live concert? When did it dawn on you that you wanted to pursue music as something rather serious?

Fast cars, Vans and building electronics. Prior to getting into the band I was into street racing my 67 Camaro. We also got into custom vans and would go to van meets around AZ. We also had 3 wheel Honda ATVs so we did a lot on those. Bill Richardson and I became friends in high school as we were 2 of the few “long haired hippies” in a very redneck town. With my interest in electronics Bill thought I might be interested in running sound for his band. I really can’t remember my first live concert as we went to a ton of them. We bought all our equipment from Bill Fry Music Center in Phoenix and he would hook us up with lots of concert tickets.

Where would you go to see shows in your community/scene? What group(s) left a heavy impression on you in those early days and made you think, ‘Hey we can do this!’? What were those experiences like? How did you guys initially meet your bandmates and form Bear Mountain Band? What were your first impressions of everyone? What initially led to the decision to start the group? What was the band’s process and approach for writing music? Did you guys start out playing covers, or did you immediately begin writing your own original material?

Prescott was a very small town back then so there really wasn’t a community scene. As I think back I think some of our influence were groups like Bachman Turner, ZZ Top & CCR although we liked all types of music. We all met in high school. The band was formed and playing before I got involved. Since most of Prescott was  redneck in high school the non rednecks tended to migrate together. They started writing their own material early on. For shows we would mix covers and originals. We had a large warehouse we would hang out in and jam. Most of the songs were a corroboration of these jams. Frank our drummer was originally a blues drummer so that had a big influence. We had a rattlesnake in the front lobby for security so we were well known with the police also. We eventually added a recording studio.

What were those early shows like and what was the band’s set up gear wise? What was the chemistry like between everyone when first starting out? What were some venues/clubs you guys would play at around town? Tell me about the band’s rehearsal space, or where you would practice.

We had a pretty large Kustom system. We would add as we went along with effects and improved equipment. The biggest pain was moving the Leslie that Cam used for his keys. We had a large box truck we moved everything in. It was painted with the Bear Mountain logo and on the back door had “Don’t Laugh Your Daughter Might Be In Here. I remember that getting us in trouble in a bar in Cottonwood when a large redneck came in and told us he better not find his daughter in there. The chemistry in the band was really good. We were pretty well known in the area and would do a lot of high schools, outdoor music fests, Fair Grounds shows and the local bar scene.  We added lighting and Pyro for the larger shows. We opened for Steppenwolf in Kingman for one show that was fun but got us banned based on how we left the hotel room.

In 1971 you guys released the band’s lone LP “One More Day” Can you tell me about writing as well as recording that record? How did the deal with Predator Records come about? When and where did recording take place and what was that experience like for you? How long did it take to record that record from start to finish?

Actually we released the album in 1975. We recorded it at Capital Records in LA. I remember it was the summer of 75 as Jaws had just come out and we went and saw it. After that Bill R wouldn’t go in the ocean the entire time we were there. I believe we finished the album in a week. It was a great experience for all of us not only recording in a professional studio but the CA experience. The hookup with Predator records came as the owner lived near Prescott and approached Cam and Bill R to be our manager.

What did you guys want to explore and/or express with this album? What inspired the title of the album and what was the first order of business once you guys had that record under your belt? Did you guys play any shows, or tour in order to support those releases? Did that record manage to get any air time/radio play?

We just all loved music and the adrenalin rush you get when the crowd is getting into your music is addicting. One More Day was the most requested song so we named the album after that.  The record got some local airplay and was sold at record stores in Prescott. Prescott was the kind of town where the streets rolled up at 6pm so most of the songs were just about girls and living in small town America. We were more of a local sensation but did get bookings at various venues around Arizona. Bagdad Boogie was one of those locations as the kids there loved us.

What eventually happened to the band after 1971? Did you continue to pursue music after BMB? If so, what were some of the bands and/or projects you may have participated in during that time? What are you most proud of when you reflect back on your careers in music? What have you been up to in recent years? Are you still currently playing music?

In the summer of 77 I took a vacation to Orange County, CA and fell in love with it. I came back to Prescott, packed my bags, and moved to CA. The band was still going strong then, but a few years later tensions started rising between the members and they broke up. I was out of music for a long time raising a family and building a career. I moved north of Chicago in 1990. About 2000 a Christian rock band named 38 Acres asked me to run sound for them and I travelled with them for the next 10 years. Built up a large following and was the opening band for a lot of shows but never made it to the main attraction. I loved all the years in the music industry but it is a tough business to break into. You really have to do it for the love of music and not to make a living.

Dakota Brown