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The original band was formed in 1960. Members were Bill Klein (Fender Strat); Bob Mingle (tenor sax); Dennis Messina (accordian); Chuck Stewart (rented 4pc Ludwig kit, 1 ride cymbal). All were students at Columbus high school. We played at weekend parties working on our chops and very soon we were in demand playing all the covers of the day. We didn't know it at the time but the group had this zydeco sound, but we didn't know what zydeco was. We eventually moved some personnel around and added a bass player, John Stankrauff, a 6' skinny guy from Palmetto high school. We put an ad in the herald to ad a vocalist and a rhythmn guitar player. 3 guys answered the ad and we met the guys at a party or dance gig at Tahiti Beach in Coral Gables, now Cocoplum. A vocalist named Donnie Owens auditioned. He had a regional single, "Need You" on the charts and was looking for a group to front him. Another vocalist, Carlos Diaz )Miami High) had another regional hit, "Sugaree" auditioned the same night. Finally a guitar player, Randy Hall ( Gables High School) sat in and was an immediate fit. He had the blonde hair "looks". We decided to go with Carlos because he had a voice, stage presence and a personality that charmed the girls. Donnie Owens just didn't seem a good fit at the time.

We quickly put a set list together at my parents garage in Coral Gables. All the neighborhood kids hung out while we practiced. We eventually were asked by Charlie Murdock (WQAM) to play at a gig at Ponce Jr. High school. There was a country singer, named Conway Twitty appearing there lip synching to "Make Believe".

The University of Miami had friday night dances with a live band and we were invited to play there by "Chink" Whitten who ran the student union. He told us that we were going to replace the regular band, Steve Alaimo and the Redcoats because they were going on the road with a regional hit, "I Want You to Love Me". We shared the stage with those guys and I gotta tell you they smoked. We were the house band for at least a year on Friday nights.
As we honed our chops and tightened the song list we were in demand. We played one Saturday afternoon at a grand opening of a Ford dealership on Bird Road near Tropical Park. A gentleman named Howard Shaw was there, introduced himself and told us he was starting up a Friday Night dance at Tropical Park. He invited us to play there with other bands that were in the area. Somehow, we became the "headliners". I remember the great bands we shared the stage with. The Rock'n Ramrods, an instrumental group headed by Dave McCafferty on lead guitar. This guy cooked. Other bands I recall were The Catalina's, The Mystics with Harry Hann on lead; The Aerovons and The Trespassers, with Russ Howard on lead. I heard that Al LaVoie, drummer for The Catalina's was a Metro-Dade Police officer and may be retired as of this date. The Vietnam war took so many young, talented musicians away and sadly some never returned.
I recall driving my car with Bill Klein to War Memorial auditorium to check out the WFUN scene there. What an eye opener. This was the line-up: The Ardells, The Bondsmen, The Bonnevilles, The Twilites. We found the guy who was running the gig and pleaded to let us play. He said yes. What a thrill. We were the opening act the following week dressed in matching red coats, black slacks, black tie, black patent leather shoes we bought at Flagg Bros. on Flagler St. in downtown Miami. Tony Vitucci owned a men's clothing store, "Tony's" in Coral Gables. He told us "you gotta look sharp", "you gotta wing 'em". He convinced us to have a change of coats for a second set, so we brought them to the War. Palmer liked our set and Carlos's contact with the audience, he asked us to play another set. We came out in the blue coats. Palmer was impressed and paid us accordingly. $5 a man!
As time went on, we became regulars and became friends with The Ardells and The Twilites and The Valiants. Dennis Potokar/drummer was my idol along with Freddy Scott. I took drum lessons from Freddy at his house near Jackson Memorial Hospital. He taught me how to play the funk and the shuffle. The shuffle became my signature beat.
Eventually, Palmer had a Sunday night gig at the North Miami Armory. We played there every week in 1963/64. We had a "high-powered" PA system we built and Palmer got it for free. I remember Leslie Gore and Paul Simon appeared there. Leslie sang "She's The One". Paul was known back then as Jerry Landis and sang "The Lone Teen Ranger".

Bill Ande of The Ardells told us we should contact Jim Kernan from the Hialeah Police Dept who was putting on a dance Wednesday Nights at the Hialeah municipal auditorium. Jim invited us to play. That first night sharing the stage were The Agendas with Ronnie Davis/lead; Bert DuBois/ lead; Joe Garcia, bass; and Shellie Resnick/drums. Shellie was a timekeeper and I learned a lot from him. Also appearing were The Twilites and The Birdwatchers.

Fast forward to November 1963. It was a Friday. JFK was shot dead and we were in shock. Howard Shaw called us and said the PAL dance was cancelled. Our age of innocence disappeared that horrible day.
Eventually, the crowds at Tropical got too big and Howard found an alternate location as previously mentioned, in the Bird Road warehouse section. The stage was large and high. He had a few lights and a decent sound system. We played there a few nights. I remember one Friday night we were supposed to headline the show but our VW microbus blew an engine in Broward county and had no way to contact Shaw to let him know. We eventually showed up late. He was pissed and I think he fired us on the spot. I recall another band up there, The Shaggs. They were a great harmony group doing Beatle covers. Our band members were me, Ron Davis/lead; Alan Yott/vocals, lead Joe Garcia/Bass; I think my playing days were numbered as I had to concentrate on college and a real career. I eventually found an entry level job at WLBW-TV, Channel 10 at 20 years old. I fell in love with the whole TV production process and found my place in the sun. 42 years later and a silver haired pate, I'm still at it. What a long, strange trip it's been. I may have jumped around with some dates, but I'm sure you'll understand.

I'm in the process of putting a web site together with a complete bio of The Avengers, its' changing personnel and my anecdotes of the "Savage Lost" period. I think we should produce a documentary on video. I have all the professional production/post production tools to get it done. It will take time, but we should at least start getting these stories saved to video.
There's so much more to tell. I'm digging way back in the memory bank for the stories. I'll post them soon. Thanks for reading. Hope this adds a historical perspective. Thanks to Jeff Lemlich for all the hard work and historical documents. I've got lots of pictures to share. Just let me know how to get 'em in here. Feel free to email me.

Chuck Stewart

Source: Limestone Lounge