www.evanjonesmusic.com
Dave Horan
Dave, born and raised in Rapid City, was the newest member of Wakefield. Jeff, Geoff, and I had formed Wakefield in the 1970's, and had taken the show on the road in the early 80's. Wakefield had gone through many bass player changes throughout the years, and around 1982, Wakefield was at the verge of demise. In a way, Dave saved the band.
We had been touring when Chuck Salisbury had announced that he would be leaving the band. Over several months and several states, we had auditioned new bass players. We had just decided on Dave, when the band essentially decided to break up. We called Dave to tell him that after winning the job, there might not be a band to play in anymore. He said something like, "I have nothing better to do, how about I move to Sioux Falls and we give it a go". It was his attitude that got us motivated to start again, and with a new approach.
We decided at this time to concentrate on writing and playing original music as part of a show where the cover tunes would be popular songs played on the radio. So, the songs the audience heard were instantly recognizable, and with the routine insertion of catchy originals, the audiences started requesting Wakefield songs! It was at this time that we decided to make an album.
Somewhere around 1983, we entered the studio and recorded the Wakefield album (see the Wakefied Music Tab for more info). Once recorded, we had added some legitimacy to our name as we now had a product to market, and songs being played on the airwaves across the Midwest. We would be traveling across the country somewhere listening to the radio and one of our songs would come on. It was quite a thrill for us.
All of these things came about because Dave motivated us to begin again. So, you see, in a way we owe these year's of success to Dave!
Today, Dave lives in Rapid City with his family where he teaches art (he is a terrific artist, often doing airbrushing at the Sturgis Rally). He is still scratching his rock and roll itch by playing rock and roll with his band on weekends.
