Jim Dant / Charlie Day - Conception
Dant: I was born January 16th, 1950 in Louisville, KY and moved to Hardinsburg when I was 1 1/2. It was a great place to grow up, a small country town. We played a lot of sports and rode bikes. When I saw my first drummer… I was hooked! We would have to go to Louisville to see live bands. Some of the first bands I saw were Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Kingmen, The Byrds, Sam the Sham and The Rascals. Early on, The Beatles and Rascals were a huge influence on me. The First band I was in with an older brother and tow others, we called ourselves The Coachmen. We played gigs locally.
Day: I was Born in Norfolk VA, moved to Cuba in 56 where I started taking guitar lessons - learning Cuban folk songs, moved back to the states in 60, started taking classical guitar lessons from Basil Gural a Ukrainian transplant.
Dant: I moved to Louisville in 1967 and met Charlie Day, the guitar player in high school. We later hooked up with Mark Zurlage and Bill Tullis to form Conception. Bill, formally of The Oxfords, came up with the name. Our goal was to play heavy blues rock, record original material and try to make it big, every bands dream! We met Stuart Paine, formerly the keyboard player for The Gentry’s, they had a hit record in the 60’s called Keep On Dancin’. Stuart produced the single Babylon and played Wurlitzer piano on the B-side. We recorded it in Memphis at Ardent Studios.
Day: Started playing in bands about 64 - I played in a lot all over Louisville. Started Conception with Jim Dant and Mark Zurlage(mark came up with the name) and Bill Tullis saw us in a band opening for the Grateful Dead and asked if he could sit in - and he stayed.
Conception.
Charlie bought this guitar in 1964. He used it to play on the tracks Babylon and The Game.
Dant: I got drafted in May of 1970, the band stayed together for awhile with a couple of different drummers, but had disbanded by the time I was discharged, two years later. I worked with Bill Cox, Jimi Hendrix’s bass player from ‘73 to ‘74. We worked for, in concert, Steve Miller Band, James Cotton, Doobie Brothers and ZZ Top. We recorded for Jack Clement at this studio from 1985 to 1991. While there I recorded with him, Johnny Cash and Glen Campbell. I am currently recording with a band called Lot’s Wife. We have released a CD entitled Lot’s Wife and are currently recording material for a second release.
Day: I left Conception in the fall of 69 right after I got married - time to come up with a reliable way to pay the rent. I still write and play a bit.
Uncle Whiskers: a band Dant and the guitar player, that he worked with in Billy Cox’s Rainbows and Gypsies, started after they left Billy in 1975. Top row, left to right: B G Johnson (bass guitar), Dandy. Bottom, left to right: Bobby Richie (vocals) and Barry King (guitar).
Jim Dant.
Charlie Day.
Dakota Brown
