Wheat - 1973 at The Red Flame

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Left to Right: Charlie Thomas, Mike Fones,

Jim Kmetzsch and Gary Bentley

Wheat was formed in December 1972/January 1973

to play at the newly opened Red Flame on Dyer. We were to

compete with the Jeff Lynn Group which was playing at the

Jet Set Club at the Rodeway Inn on Dyer just down the

street. I had been playing guitar with Jeff Lynn and

Jim Kmetzsch (bass player previously with Scarlet Ice).

Prior to that, I played with Dick Starnes at the Knights Club

and with the groups Leather and Act One before that. The

original Wheat wascomprised of myself and Jim Kmetzsch (bass)

along with Mike Fones (drums) and Gary (Dalton) Bentley on

guitar. Gary had been playing with Bill Welch in Dog Canyon in

1971 and then with Blackmoor in 1972 with Rick Armstrong,

Sherry Carnes, Ron Duncan and Mike Fones. Mike brought Gary

and I together at an apartment with our Martin guitars and

there was an immediate synergy which resulted in Gary joining

the new band. Gary played briefly with the original Wheat then

left early after the formation due to pressure by Red Flame owner

Skip to take the band in a different direction. (In March 1973,

Gary joined Gorilla (Doug Neal, Mike Ferguson, David Rutledge)

after Randy Russ left Gorilla.) Gary's spot in Wheat was filled early

1973 by John Anderson and we added a guy by the name of

Dave McDowell who played sax, flute and harmonica. Shortly

after that Wheat moved to the Black Garter with that line

up, playing there for several months. After we moved to the

Lariat Club (in the Loretto Center on Montana), John left and

Gary came back on guitar and John Allen joined us on keyboards.

The group disbanded in the early part of 1974, leaving packed

high energy crowds behind at the Lariat, more or less burnt out

under the intensity of the music. I moved to Eagle Nest, N.M.

for a short time, returning to El Paso to form Coyote (one of the

first country rock bands if not the first in El Paso), playing at the

Gold Rush with Gary, Mike Fones (who was eventually replaced

by Loren Chavez on drums) and Jim Kmetzsch and a peddle

steel player named Mark Tate. We left the Gold Rush (and Mark

left the band) returning to Rock & Roll andplayed other venues

including the Mineshaft and the Lariat and then to the Black

Garter where we were poised (tight) to head out on the road in 1975.

However, Gary was injured in a motorcycle accident and had

to leave the band. Gary was replaced by Jack Woodbury after it

became clear that Gary wasn't coming back. I guess that's enough

local musical history to put Wheat in perspective, but I would like to

say that Gary (Dalton) and I recently recaptured the collaborative

energy that had really sparked the original and subsequent

Wheat/Coyote bands and are recording covers of music we've

either played or wanted to play for years and are planning to begin

writing once we have studio resources in place.

Submitted by Charlie Thomas