In the fall of 1964 I started college at Sacramento State. In November I met a group of musicians (Jim Driver, Warren Scollen, Spencer Stout, and Andy Riley) and we started practicing in a West Sacramento restaurant (Kellys Drive-In) that was closed one day a week. Jim was the rhythm guitarist, Warren the bass player, Spencer the lead vocalist and sax player, Andy the drummer, and myself the lead guitarist. Based on some strong suggestions on my part (based on my band experience the previous year at Occidental College), we adopted the name The Plague Ltd. "Ltd." was added to "The Plague" to give the band more of a british-sounding name.At the time, the 'British Invasion' was underway. The popularity of british groups (Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc.) was unprecedented, and we chose to copy the british sound and appearance. So we dressed in black, wore iron crosses, and tried to talk with a british accent. As phoney as we sounded, some of the girls believed we were actually from across 'the pond'!
Sometime in early 1965 Andy Riley left the group and wa
s replaced by Darrold Vierra on drums. In 1966, we changed our name to "The Heard".
s replaced by Darrold Vierra on drums. In 1966, we changed our name to "The Heard".