"You had to be there" could sum it up for many bands - lots of good ones whose "break" did not come soon enough, though there's always the feeling a break wouldn't have made any difference (you had to be there). It was the heyday of "country rock" so we covered Jackson Brown, The Eagles, et al and had an excellent selection of original material from Derrick Procell (keys & harmonica) & Kenn Anderson (rhythm guitar) who fronted the band with superior vocal work. I'll call heyday the period with Jason Klagstad due to his excellent lead guitar work, yet the 2nd iteration of the band included Howie Epstein - his added vocals + ensemble-oriented guitar work were fine in different ways. Everyone was pleased Howie later made the jump, especially his 20yr period as Tom Petty's bassist.

Todd & I used to say we "held up the band" since we did in a music sense as bass & drums, yet we always covered enough grunt work to add further credence; i.e. accounting work, load-outs, etc. It helped that we didn't live far apart on Milwaukee's east side, but back to ACB: 1) I can't recall any time we didn't entertain the audience. 2) On a good night of which there were many, we were truly kick-ass in musical tightness & energy. 3) Like many bands, the best times were not recorded - you had to be there.

And a very fine recollection from many...when we played the Church Key in Madison WI, the party was so intense people came close to revolt when the lights came up at the end of the night. One of the covers was "You Can't Get There From Here" (arrangement by Larry Raspberry & the High Steppers?)...had an intro where Todd and I had to wait to join in...imagine surfers who can really ride it at the top of a wave, the spirit of Hunter Thompson before his ashes were shot out of a cannon, etc. We COULDN'T WAIT to get in on that song and the Church Key roof would lift off when we did...perfect in the spirit of the Austin Carter Band. You had to be there.

Keith M. Collis