The “Golden Hits Of The 70s” 

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IDES OF MARCH

“VEHICLE”

(Jim Peterik)

Warner Bros. 7378

No. 2   May 23, 1970

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Jim Peterik (lead vocals, guitar) was a mere 13 in the summer of 1964, when he and some buddies-stu­ dents at Piper Grade School in Berwyn, Illinois­ formed the Renegades. “Larry Millas was in the audi­ence when we played this 4th of July celebration;’ said Peterik, in an exclusive interview.”He came by and told me, ‘You know your band really stinks. But you’re real­ ly good, and I got this band, the Shy Lads …”‘ After Larry persisted, Jim checked out the band and within moments was a member, with Millas (rhythm guitar, vocals), Bob Bergland (guitar, sax), and Bob Erhart (drums); later replaced by Mike Borch.

‘”If I join,’ I told them, ‘that name has got to go;”As the Shondels-no reference to TROY SHONDELL, as alleged-they played Beatles tunes and recorded a one­ off single, “No Two Ways About It” b/w “Like It or Lump It;’ for the Epitome label.

Paul Sampson, the owner of The Cellar-a convert­ ed warehouse known for featuring the Shadows of Knight, Saturday’s Children, the Little Boy Blues, H. P. Lovecraft, and other area garage bands-liked the spunky Shondell sound enough to let the guys play there as regulars. The catch was, they had to appear as Batman & The Boy Wonders.

“We agreed;’ said Peterik, “but when we showed up to play, we took the stage dressed liked everybody else in the audience. Sampson had to make up some kind of excuse for us, saying that our capes and masks were at the cleaners! It was our first experience with rock and roll hype.”

Thoroughly displeased with the Batman concept, the Shondells-now high school students, studying Shakespeare-renamed themselves the Ides of March (for the first disk, misspelled ”I’des”) after the day of Julius Caesar’s assassination. Larry’s mom persisted and got the act signed with Parrot Records. Their debut, “You Wouldn’t Listen” (#42, 1966), became a major Midwestern hit; but because their labelmates were Tom Jones, Them, and the Zombies, listeners thought these infectious I’des were British. “Our man­ ager and the label said, ‘Hey, you got to go along with the charade.’ So, for awhile, we had to put on these Eng­ lish accents;’ said Jim, “and we had to wear these really strange wigs, not because of the English thing, but because our school had this rigid dress code.”

“Roller Coaster” (#92, 1966) charted modestly, but three other 45s for Parrot failed to connect nationally. Recast as a horn band-with Ray Herr (vocals/utility man, various instruments), John Larson (horns), andSteve Daniels (horns); soon replaced by Chuck Somar-the Ides switched to Kapp for a 45, then Warner Bros; “Vehicle” was their second single.

“The idea for the song;’ Peterik explained, “came from the stereotype [of the) dirty old man, cruising the streets in his black sedan and enticing little girls by offering them candy. Also, I had this lab partner, Bill, kind of a doper, and he showed me this anti-drug pam­ phlet that depicted the drug pusher as a ‘friendly stranger.’ So, I put those things together and came up with ‘Vehicle.”‘

“Roller Coaster” (#92, 1966) charted modestly, but three other 45s for Parrot failed to connect nationally. Recast as a horn band-with Ray Herr (vocals/utility man, various instruments), John Larson (horns), and Steve Daniels (horns); soon replaced by Chuck Somar -the Ides switched to Kapp for a 45, then Warner Bros; “Vehicle” was their second single.”The idea for the song;’ Peterik explained, “came from the stereotype [of the) dirty old man, cruising the streets in his black  sedan and enticing    little girls by offering them candy. Also, I had this lab partner, Bill, kind of a doper, and he showed me this anti-drug pam­phlet that depicted the drug pusher as a ‘friendly stranger.’ So, I put those things together and came up with ‘Vehicle.”‘

“Superman” {#64, 1970), basically a remodeled “Vehicle,” was a way to do a similar follow-up. Labe heads warned the Ides were being pegged as a horn band or jazz-rockers; something no longer cool and on the way  out. The following year, another sound change was made with the folk-flavored “L.A. Goodbye” (#73, 1971). When another 45 flopped, the group was let go. With the addition of the blind pianist Dave Arelano, the group moved to RCA for several not so financially successful albums and singles.

“Our major problem was we were recorded so young; caught, you could say, before we developed a style of our own,” said Jim. “Most artists hit it when they’re 25 or so. We were doing the British thing when I was 13. We became a blotter of everything that was out there. We went from British Invasion, to horn rock, to Crosby, Stills and Nash, to country rock. And, frankly, nobody knew where we were:’ They played their last set before screaming teens in the gymnasium of their alma mater, Morton West High, one November night in 1973.

Bergland became an accountant. Borch joined a group called M.S. Funk. Herr appeared in various local acts, such as the Orphanage, Scott & Stevens, and Showboat. Larry Millas and John Somar got together in 1974 with Tom Dooley of the Cryan’ Shames in order to form the Ides/Shames Reunion. Thereafter, Millas became an engineer and part-owner of Chicago’s Tan­ glewood Studios.

Dating back to 1971, Peterik had been writing tunes for CHASE. When the Ides split, Jim, who had been appearing with the band and appeared on their third and last LP, was considering joining Chase. Bill Chase and three other members were killed in a plane crash on August 9, 1974.

Peterik went on to do some solo sides for Epic; notably “Don’t Fight the Feeling.” For awhile he front­ ed the Chi-Rhythm. With Gary Smith, Frank Sullivan, Marc Roubay, and Stephan Ellis, Peterik charted repeat­ edly throughout the ’80s as Survivor-with sound­ track hits like “Eye of the Tiger” (#1, 1982) for Rocky III, “The Moment of Truth” (#63, 1984) for The Karate Kid, and “Burning Heart” (#2, 1986) for Rocky IV. When Survivor took a hiatus in the early ’90s, Peterik with original members-Bergland, Borch, Larson, Millas­ plus Scott May (keyboards) and Dave Stahlberg (trom­ bone) reformed the Ides of March. New packages con­ tinue to be issued, Ideology (1992), Age Before Beauty (1997).