The Nelsons formed when two Windsor punk bands merged together. Often called the first supergroup in Windsor, The Nelsons were made up of two parts of the band The Spy’s (guitarist Dale D’Amore and bassist “Coma Joe” Desrameaux) and two parts of the band The Hardtops (guitarist/vocalist Dom D’Amore and drummer Dave Garant). While the band had punk leanings, The Nelsons took a more rock based approach to their music drawing influences from the 50s and 60s having a sound once described as “heavy, but fast, rock and roll, easily danceable and very entertaining” in an article in The Lance in 1981. This band is often mentioned in articles about The Spy’s and other Windsor bands from the early 80s time period such as The Dry Heaves, but not too much is known about them.
The Nelsons played live in places in Windsor, Detroit and London, Ontario from about 1981 until about 1985-1986. They built up a following and had different lineup changes throughout their existence. Bassist Joe Desrameaux left the band before they made it into the studio to make any recordings. Dom D’Amore would switch to bass (his original instrument of choice in The Hardtops), guitarist Shawn McAiney would join on guitar and Dale would leave the band after a few years to move onto other musical pursuits. Following the split, various members of the band went on to be part of or form other bands. Dale has been playing with Guitar Army since the 90s. This band has featured members from this time period and others (Dave Garant currently plays drums in this group). The Nelsons never officially released any music, but their live shows are often talked about. It’s just one of those things. You had to be there.
Continue reading for an interview that Revolution Rock with Dale D’Amore (guitarist) and Dom D’Amore (vocalist/guitarist/bassist) of The Nelsons. They provide insights into The Nelsons band history, recording and playing live.
RR: How and when did The Nelsons form, who was in the band and how did you come up with the band name?
Dale: Well the Spy’s were about done and Coma Joe and I wanted to keep working together. The Hardtops were packing it in so it was perfect. Joe and I hooked up with my brother Dom and Dave Garant from the Hardtops to form The Nelsons. I always thought the first lineup could be like Sonics Rendezvous Band, playing hard, fast rock and roll.
The name I think came from Frank Carlone [singer/guitarist in The Spy’s]. I am not too sure on that.
Dom: I think it was 1981 when the Nelson’s formed… if not, it’s close. Seems like an eternity ago. I have no recollection of how we came up with the name. I’ve spent the last several decades believing it was my idea… but now I’m not sure. Lol! I had a punk band called The Hardtops and Dale of course had The Spy’s. Both bands began to wither from within and The Hardtops drummer Dave Garant and I merged with Dale and Joe Desrameaux from The Spy’s. I was playing bass but was happy to move to guitar in The Nelsons since Joe really wanted to stay on bass. Not sure if he played a six string back in the day?
Dom: There were several versions of The Nelsons over time, but I don’t think there was a studio recording with the original lineup. Joe left the band, I moved to the bass and a better guitar player, Shawn McAiney joined. Good guy, a friend. God, we all went to the same high school. This is what I remember anyway. Dale tends to hold this stuff closer to the heart than I do. He may remember it differently… and he’ll likely be correct.
Dale: No release of anything that I know of. I wanted to put out a record, but we had no money and the economy was a mess. Not too many people were buying records because no one had work. Recording was harder I think, you needed big tapes and so on, now it's all done on a computer, you can record anyplace it seems now. We were working on getting gigs, I mean nowadays you send out an electronic press kit and book shows somewhere. Back then you had to make long distance calls. We had a couple of managers who got us gigs in Detroit and London, Ontario. We were to tour with The Romantics but it all fell a part.
RR: The Nelsons did play live a lot. Do you have any particular memorable live moments from your years with this band that you’d be willing to share?
Dom: Well it’s probably no surprise, but I don’t think I was ever sober when we gigged. Not polluted drunk, but definitely altered so it’s hard to pick a particular moment. We were playing mostly originals, so we were often relegated to some pretty raunchy places that didn’t really understand us… like The Cedar Lounge in London ON. I suppose some of the highlights would be playing in Michigan at a couple of punk bars called Nunzio’s and the once famous Bookies Club 870.
Dale: Well we did play a lot. I liked the gigs out of town we were doing lots of originals and cool covers. I remember opening for Teenage Head at Dannys that was cool, and a weeklong gig at Sacs pub at the University of Windsor was real cool.
RR: You recently started a Facebook page for The Spy’s and an old newspaper article was posted not long ago about doing a video for two Nelsons songs. What do you remember about making that video and when was the last time you saw the video?
Dale: Well the bad thing is we never saw the fucking video! I don’t know what happened. The guy held the video up and we kind of forgot about it, that’s what I remember. We did not pay for it so we couldn`t push the guy too much. We did get the audio recording though.
RR: The article also mentions songs that were recorded for this video, “When’s It Gonna End?” and “Company Man”. What can you tell us about these songs that you recorded for this video and how do you feel the music that The Nelsons made differed from your earlier band The Spy’s/The Hardtops?
Dale: Yeah, I wrote “When’s It Going To End?”, it was a funky kind of blues song. I later used the riff for a song called “Rock and Roll Bitch” that I wrote with Jamie Greer for the 2011 Magnificent Bastards album. And “Company Man” was a cool rockabilly type song Dom wrote. I really liked that song. I thought it would have sold lots of records.
For me The Nelsons songs I wrote were a little less punk, more good old rock and roll stuff. Dom wrote some great stuff during that time.
Dom: I wrote “Company Man”. It wasn’t a punk-type song, but more influenced by a couple of English bands that I loved, T-Rex and Status Quo… still love em! The theme was loosely based on a story a journalism prof told me. He worked in PR for Massey Ferguson and other huge companies and talked about how the company wanted you to immerse your entire life and family into the organization.
RR: What do you remember about the Nelsons song "Never Hated Fun" whether recording or otherwise? What was the song writing process like in The Nelsons?
Dom: I remember that Dale wrote it and it was a regular set opener in our live shows. I vaguely remember recording it, but never liked the way I sung it. I think it was about Dale’s angst with the evolution of the punk scene, as it became fashionable.
I wrote songs and Dale wrote songs... I can’t remember if Joe ever wrote any in the band, he wasn’t in it long… and I can’t recall Shawn McAiney writing any either. Dale or I would bring the basic song to practice, show the rest of the band and just build it from there. There was no e-files to send back in those days.
Dale: “Never Hated Fun” was the first song that I wrote for The Nelsons. Coma Joe and I wrote a couple together, one called “Traveling”, kind of a 1960`s tune and another called “Paying Bills” or “Them Bills”, I can't remember, lol. I think Joe played “Them Bills” when he was in Toast with Jamie Greer. It was a kick ass punky tune. “Never Hated Fun” was about the same old faces and places we played and hung out at. There was a big change coming for us as a band and for the whole Windsor Punk scene. Pat Sprague (Hardtops/Guitar Army) always said that that song should be our single. R.I.P. Pat.
The recording was funny it was at Aldon studio and I had a Orange amp 100 watts with a Marshall cabinet that needed to be cranked, but we could not turn up at the studio so the sound is a bit lame.
So when Coma Joe left it was just Dom and I writing songs. I would bring one in and he would bring one and have the boys come up with their parts, but yeah just the two of us writing. Near the end of my time with The Nelsons some of my songs were too punky as I remember hearing, lol. We were playing lots of different places and the band was heading to a new direction. The band did real well after I left I must say, but the focus was not really on original music as much.
Dale: The songs are a bit weak at times but really it was a good time for me I was learning so much.
The songs are on tape and I had them put to CD. I don’t have all the recordings. I think we had 8 or 10 songs studio recordings, I hope one of the guys have it. Actually all these recordings are after Coma Joe left (he went on to start a family) and Dom is on bass and Shawn McAiney is on second guitar. I have some live recordings with Coma Joe live at the Cedar Lounge in London Ontario. We do “Machine Shop”,” Underground” and a couple powerhouse tunes we wrote together plus covers of Canned Heat and The MC5.
The songs were recorded at Aldon Studio in West Windsor, same place the video was shot. It was a four-track studio and Don the owner would wear a red sport jacket and be real uptight lol. I don’t think he cared for me much, sneaking in alcohol to the sessions lol. The same studio Contradance did their E.P.
Dom: I can’t find the old tapes I have, though I believe they are in my home somewhere. I remember packing them up when my kids were young and hiding them in a safe place so the kids didn’t get at them. I hid them really good… or my wife chucked them and doesn’t want to admit it. Ha!
RR: How long were The Nelsons a band for and what was the next band you were a part of?
Dale: Well I left in 1982 or 83 not too sure, and Pat Sprague of The Hardtops and later Guitar Army replaced me. They went on to be a very popular band until late 1980`s. I don’t know why they broke up. I went to California and played with a blues band and a punk rock band for a month or two. I came back to Windsor and had a short-lived band with Karen Marrero called Killing Time. Karen went on to front Lost Patrol and I went to Toronto and formed Too Much Too Soon. We had some success in the tough Toronto band market.
Dom: The Nelson’s went on until about 1985 or 86… I think. Dale moved to Toronto at some point to try and make it in the music biz. In the end I was the only original member and I actually had the most fun in that last lineup. We played all the bars and played events around Windsor and Chatham. We still played originals but mostly covers that were danceable rock. We mixed in new stuff, old stuff and originals. We actually had a huge following for a year or two and the members all became good friends. Jerry Raniwsky, drums, Mike Obradovich, guitar and keys, Pat Sprague, lead guitar and me on bass. I played in several bands with Pat and Jerry afterwards.
RR: Dale, the last couple of years you’ve been playing with a few bands. You were in a band with South River Slim briefly and are still playing with Guitar Army. What are your plans next musically?
Dale: Well Guitar Army is still playing and recording, it will be 27 years come November 2020. I play once a month at Phog with Guitar Army or Dale D`Amore and the Home Rockers and all over the Windsor. Lol
We were working on another Show in Las Vegas for May 2020, but this pandemic killed everything for that. I recorded some tracks of songs that I had and was planning to release it at the end of May, but with this shit going on it’s all on hold. Strangely enough I have a song that I recorded a year or so ago titled "I Am The Last One Standing" that was due out and on the album, but it is too close to this lock up we are in to put out. May be real strange.
Here are some additional questions where Dom discusses his time with The Hardtops and The Ronald Reagan Story:
RR: The Hardtops are often mentioned in articles about bands from this time period in Windsor's history. How/when did The Hardtops form and what do you remember of your time with this band? Was there ever any documentation made of the band (through photos or demos/recordings)?
Dom: I had played in a couple of cover rock bands as lead singer prior to The Hardtops. The band immediately prior to The Hardtops was called Legacy. We were playing Van Halen and such. Dale was a budding guitar player and I brought him into the band as the rhythm player. He was really into the punk thing… which I didn’t quite have my head around yet. He left Legacy to start what ended up being The Spy’s. They practiced in the basement of our family home and I went to see a gig or two. I remember thinking it was kind of cool and figured I’d start a band. I was learning to play the guitar as well and found that it was more fun making up my own songs than it was to learn other people’s tunes. Plus you certainly didn’t need to play your instrument well to be accepted in the punk scene and the general simplicity and energy of the music made it a good fit. It was also a time when bands like Toto and Journey were all over the radio, and I couldn’t relate to that stuff. I always liked music that was harder, faster and more on the edge, like Kiss, Rush (early days), Sabbath, Slade… though I did have a couple of guilty pleasures like, Dire Straits and Roxy Music. It seemed like I could get a band on the scene pretty easily. I contacted my high school buds Pat Sprague and Dave Garant. Pat was a great guitar player, and Dave is an awesome drummer. They were both interested so I picked up a bass guitar. I found it much easier to master than the 6-string. I started making up new songs… though I did the writing on the 6-string. We practiced on the abandoned top floor of a place on the corner of Pelissier and Chatham, which at the time was called Fiddler’s (we played there too)… later it was Cadillac Jack's and most recently the Beer Market I think? That was 1978 or 79. Soon we started playing the local punk shows. Lots of fun. We also did a studio recording of about 10 songs… which I can’t locate at the moment.
RR: You played bass on some recordings with one of Frank Carlone’s post Spy’s bands, The Ronald Reagan Story. What do you remember of your brief time being a part of that band, recording with them and playing live shows with them (or being on the same bill with them)?
Dom: OMG. The Ronald Reagan Story was so much fun. Frank wrote the tunes. He was brilliant, particularly his lyrics. Brian Chick (drummer) also wrote one that was on the recording. Oh yeah, we did a studio recording. Again…. wish I could find it.
I can’t remember which band (Hardtops, Nelsons) I was in at the time, but I remember thinking it was weird to be in 2 bands on the same scene… not sure why? So I decided that I would wear a mask and create a character. I had a goalie mask at home… like the one Jason of Friday The 13th fame wore. I utilized that, along with wrestling training gear and called myself Dr. Death. The character was also supposed to be a former pro-wrestler. I had the wrestling gear because I was actually on the U of W wrestling team at the time. Goofy, but great times.
*Listen to this week's episode of Revolution Rock to hear several unreleased songs by The Nelsons*
Show # 828 Playlist (Originally Aired On May 9th, 2020)(The Nelsons, Daniel Romano, METZ, Tony Allen, Kraftwerk and The Stranglers):
1. METZ - Acid
2. Blessed - Thought
3. No Aloha - Work Shirt
4. Dumb - Party Whip
5. The Stranglers - Goodbye Toulouse
6. The Stranglers - No More Heroes
7. The Victims - T.V. Freak
8. The Outcasts - Self Conscious Over You
9. Psychic Void - Small Talk
10. The Tearjerkers - Bus Stop
11. The Quivers - Nice To Meet You
12. The Nelsons - Cub's Boogie
13. The Nelsons - Never Hated Fun
14. The Nelsons - Company Man (Live)
15. The Nelsons - Machine Shop (Live at The Cedar Lounge - London, ON)
16. Don't Bother - Your Head
16. Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin - High School
17. Ty Segall - Cents
18. Kraftwerk - The Robots
19. Kraftwerk - Showroom Dummies
20. Wares - Tether
21. The Clean - Change Your Head
22. Bloodshot Bill - Switch' Gears
23. Daniel Romano - They Haven't Got A Word For That Yet
24. Fela Kuti & Africa 70 - Zombie
25. Torsade - Naïve
26. Fontaines D.C. - Winter In The Sun
27. Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death
Download/listen to this show here!
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