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Remembering Dr. Dave --- Dr.
Dave Eulogy --- Dr. Dave Pics
David Frisch;
Harmonica, vocals, Dobro and guitar... 1951-2003
'Dr. Dave' was a founding member in the original nucleus of what was ultimately
to become 'The Kootz'. But one has to go 'way back' in time, to discover the 'roots'
of this fine man, musician and local legend...
Dr. Dave's 'band-playing-days' began back in the early 60's, when as a member
of the 'gold-lame'-jacketed, black-velvet collared' group known as the PSY-KATS,
he performed at local birthday parties and functions, playing the music of The
Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys and Chuck Berry, to name a few.
From 1966 to '67 David joined a four piece band that played whatever it wanted;
(Butterfield, Blues Project... anything commercially UN-popular)... and suited
itself not only in repertoire, but in moniker as well... The band's title? "Pure
Shit"...
Turning to a more 'tame' title, "Powdered Milk" achieved a relative
degree of success between the years of 1967 and 1969. Ranging in membership from
5 to 7 pieces, the band worked frequently, as they were often booked by an agent.
Added touches, like a light show and extended 'jam' versions of tunes were a large
part of the "Powdered Milk" draw. The gigs ranged from college dances
to frat parties and ultimately an oppurtunity to record with Fantasy Records,
which the band, surprisingly turned down... due to (in their own words)... 'burnout'.
David learned to play bluegrass while attending The University of Maryland in
1973... and expanded upon that interest through the early eighties, joining forces
with a working bluegrass band, "Urban Swampgrass'. While with the band, David
honed his skills on Dobro, harmonica and slide guitar as well. Ultimately The
'Swampgrassers' disbanded, as members moved, got married and went 'on with their
lives'... However, until the very end, Dave, along with some of the former members...
got together to 're-live their musical magic'...
Between the early eighties and mid-nineties, David's audience was mostly his family...
as he and wife Paula were raising two sons. Music was a bit more limited in Dave's
schedule then... as he was also growing his chiropractic practice in Roseland,
N.J... Most of the 'musical-scene' in the Frisch household consisted of occasional
loose jams with David and his kids, Josh and Sam... The two boys now carry David's
'musical torch' into the future, as each of them is a highly accomplished musician;
Josh, a drummer / percussionist... while Sam is a versitile guitarist / bassist.
A little later down the 'timeline', in 1995, with a little help from childhood
'music-mate / fellow Passaic-ite' Glenn Taylor, David put together the OMJ (Old Man Jam) Band to play at the Caldwell Street Fair. After several years of playing
the fair (and improving annually), OMJ metamorphised into "The Kootz"...
with local members Chris Bolger and Ben Asher joining with David and Glenn...
We all maintain so many fond memories of 'Dr. Dave'... as a friend, as a 'Koot'...
and as a wonderful human being... When commenting on his 'band-status', he described
it in his own informal, inimitable and apt way... "I'll be sitting in with
the band on some gig-nights, grunting out a tune or two!"
The silence is now deafening...