1960s TEEN BEAT
Interview Site
THE PAWNS (Salem, MA)
The Pawns were Dave Les Thibault (b), George Girard (g), Louie Belanger (g), Ray LeBlanc (o), Peter Goutzas (d) and Ron Nowlan (g, voc).
Their record was released on Bay-State [1267] outta Salem, MA: "Summer" / "Impossible Dream", written by Lou Belanger and John Darian, respectively.
It's 1966. Ron had taken piano lessons all through grade school, so when the Beatles came out, he jumped on guitar and just started playing with his friends at the time. They all picked it up pretty quick. When the grownups heard them, they started assisting in getting gigs in the thriving mid-1960s teen group scene.
Ron: "I remember Teddy and the Pandas - They actually had songs that made the charts, one of them was "Once Upon a Time". Jerry Labreque was the drummer, and he built and ran a recording studio in Beverly afterward, probably still in business today."
The Pawns played Local high schools, K of C halls, other halls and theaters. They also played in NH at the Hampton casino, in Rockport ME, and the King's Rook in Ipswich. They went up for a few days to play the Expo '67, near the US pavilion. Rehearsing was done "at homes and halls when these were available."
They used "typical gear". Ron remembers that he owned "a '65 Fender strat. George played a Fender jazz master. Dave played a Fender P Bass. We also had a PA and some Fender and other amps."
Ron: "Our gigs were usually well attended. Our manager, Fred Thibault (Dave's dad), was a successful businessman who knew a lot of people and knew how to get things done."
Fred also made the record deal happen.
Ron: "Fred Thibault would advertise in the papers when a dance or other event approached. We had a full page group picture displayed in the Salem News with accompanying story - something the News was doing regularly at the time for popular groups. We also were interviewed on a radio station in Danvers or Beverly - don't remember the name or call letters".
Ron: "George and Louie were friends from before the Pawns. They just decided to write a song, then sat down and plowed through it. Recording was fun, probably more so than usual because we were friends going through a new experience that we imagined was where the stars spent their time".
The Pawns took place in a couple of Battles of the Bands. Ron remembers that "the first was at the Salem Armory. We were in the middle of the pack. Another was at the Hampton Beach Casino in NH. We were good, but I don't remember what the ranking was".
Ron recalls that playing at Expo '67 in Montreal was "the highlight of my experience with the Pawns". Another was playing at the King's Rook in Ipswich: "It was one of THE places to be at the time. There was so much pot smoke in the room, you could get high just for being there".
The group lasted for four years. Ron carried on as a solo musician, he did more schooling, worked with computers, but "never stopped writing and playing at small gatherings and events".
George Girard passed away from cancer about 15 yrs ago. Ron says that Facebook and occasional phone calls keep the rest of the Pawns loosely connected.
Ron summarizes his time with the group as 'fun': "The perspective from being on the stage uniquely colors my experience of the sixties."
PAWNS Set-List
Light My Fire
Captain Salty says:
"Solid pop beat encapsulating the exuberance that is youth."
(A) SUMMER
This harks back to the 1950s and doesn't try to hide that. The instrumentation is competent. I like the little pounding drum fills and the quite dominant organ. The little guitar line gives some more teen beat credibility but feels slightly out of place in a pop song like this. Ron's voice is very fitting, it neatly fills the song with all the emotion that is needed to make it a cool slice of summer pop.
(B) IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
Decent moody pop that could have been a smash for Herman back then. It's a tad bit too corny for me but it's solid and it's heartfelt. Nice, wimpy singing, cool organ backing, drums fit like a glove. Pure teen nostalgia!
RATING: A [9/15] B [4/15]
TALKING
Teen
Beat
TALKING
Teen