My Uncle's Garage Bands 1964-69

The Crestmen

Frank (?), Larry Strathman, Fred Hilligardt, Tom Connelly, Doyne Hubbard

I knew my uncle, Fred Hilligardt, played in bands back in the mid to late 1960's and I was always intrigued by it. It wouldn't be until later, once I discovered the garage genre, that I needed to know more about my uncle's bands. When the Beatles hit the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 bands like these would pop up in garages all over the country, hence the term "garage band". I'd asked him about it a few times and while he did answer some questions, he was a bit reluctant to speak on it. Like me, he is very passionate about his interests and when he is no longer interested, he's quite done. He's done with music.

At the end of March, 2010, Tom Connelly, the bassist of the Crestmen put together a reunion of sorts. He is currently battling cancer and he wanted everyone to get together for what could possibly be the last time. I just happened to be visiting my grandmother that weekend where she had gathered a stack of old band photos. Obviously, I was more than thrilled to take that stack of old pictures and scan them. And so, here are some of those for your viewing pleasure.

The Crestmen

Frank ?, Tom Connelly, Doyne Hubbard, Fred Hilligardt, Larry Strathman

The Crestmen

Tom Connelly, Fred Hilligardt, Jim Mollison, Barry ?, ?

When the Crestmen had finally called it quits, some of the remaining members formed the Cheshire Fountain. Here is a scan of their promotional photo.

The Cheshire Fountain

T: Don Lash, Larry Strathman
B: Lacey Haug, Terry Roy, Fred Hilligardt

That band would later drop the "Cheshire" and become known as The Fountain. They would release one 45 on the Cinema label which was run by Ron Lipe, a rather interesting man in his own right. In the 50's, Ron Lipe cut some rockabilly records as Uncle Bud Lite. In the 60's he ran the Cinema label and was also a widely respected DJ for KSHE 95, known then as Prince Knight.

The Fountain - Renaissance Fair (Birds cover)


If you have any interest in viewing the rest of the photos I scanned, they are all up on my flikr account and you need only click RIGHT HERE to see them. There are photos of other bands from the St. Louis region and otherwise. Enjoy!