Little Caesar & the Consuls

Websites:  No
Origin: Toronto, Ontario
Biography:

Not only did CHUM lend a helping hand during The Toronto Sound era from 1955 -1975.
CKEY was also a part of that era

Here is Little Caesar and The Consuls at the CNE on top of the CKEY radio booth. Along with DJ Duff Roman.

For those that can remember, this was no day at the beach. As a matter of fact, this was a scorching hot summer day downwind from the horse building.

So how did the equipment get up on the roof without the help of roadies? You guessed it. Sheer bull work.

Also no PA system or technicians like today. You just played and sang as hard as you could to project the music into thin air. At least this might have been the only time you were on top of the charts.

Big time. Big time. But hey! Your making the scene. Making a name for yourself. Nobody promised rockers a rose garden.

Thank goodness I was just a teenager. Anything goes at that age.

Oh to be young again.

Speaking of short pant poo boys. Here is a photo that was taken in High Park when Little Caesar and The Consuls were at their best.
Aside from the usual nonsense.
It seems that uniforms were a big part of a bands identity during the 1960's. Some groups had the typical black mohair suits. Very classy indeed.
Other units had more colourful attire.
Though dresses were not common in boy bands.
One of this bands numerous attire was this black and yellow splits. The bumblebee effect. Talk about getting stung.
However LC&TC had more changes of outfits than runway models.
Of course having an outfit that is skin tight like our famous bright Red Bolero suits could be pretty deadly. I mean trying to play drums to an upbeat song is not easy while wearing a straight jacket.
Which reminds me now of what had happened to me by 1968 -1969.
Early in my career with LC&TC I had my front tooth chipped, (accidentally?) broken by our leader. My car was also stolen out of his driveway, while away on a gig. Then my cymbals got lifted while packing up after a gig. Then I was in an auto accident on an icy road.
Threatened with termination from the band by Bruce the leader, if I didn't go back and finish high school. At least something good came out of that I guess.
After that I had my jewellery stolen at The Friars Tavern, by a band members low life girlfriend.
Told by the Manager Hank Josie this aka Hugh Hefner character. That when it came to his female staff of waitresses, dancers and cigarette babes,
"his girls" as he liked to call them. It was strictly like in Vegas. Eyes on but hands off. What a joke. Luckily for us boys, "his girls" didn't see it that way.
While a few years later, I was run down by a drunk driver on the way home from another bacchanal. I survived, but someone that tried to help me didn't.
Then many, many years later, in 1992, someone very dear to me became a victim of my
involvement with this band.
Another travesty of the worse kind.
Best left to explaining on my Facebook page.
This was all part of my pursuing fame and fortune. All of which there never was much of ever. But I was contributing to the Toronto Sound movement.
Frankly, you've got to be a masochist or just nuts to be in the entertainment. Aka the music business. Ya! It's a business too.
Know what I'm sayin'?
"Beat me baby I love it."
Anyway on another summer occasion, we decided to wear our red bull fighters outfit.
This was not the uniform shown in the CKEY photo.
It was a hot as hade's day in High Park down by the pond.
The change room was a glamorous port-o-potty, that felt like a sauna room. Thus do to the size of those outhouses, we had to change one-by-one.
So when we emerged the crowd would go into hysterics and applauded us as we got on to the stage for another go at recognition.
I mean really. Try playing drums in a skin tight bull fighters style top in the heat of the afternoon sun.
My idea of a uniform back then, when I had a body of an eighteen year old, was a basic t-shirt and jeans.
No way.
Nevertheless, by the time the one hour show was over, I couldn't get the jacket and pants off and we still had to pack up the equipment and make
our way up a very steep hill to get to our cars. No use going back into the out house by then to change. As you can well imagine.
Just one more of the indignities and embarrassments of life while being a rock and roll star I guess.