A popular band in Jacksonville during the late 60s was THE OPEN BOOK. They played all of the regional military base clubs, teen clubs, proms, cotillions, private parties, civic centers, Lions Clubs, Women's Clubs, and participated in several Battles of the Bands. The band consisted of Paul "Skip" Veahman on guitar (he eventually joined Sceptre, a popular Jax band in the 80s-90s); Phyllis Roberson (vocals); Larry Lafferty (lead guitar and one who penned 'Let Me Down Easy'); Nicholas Reeger (Bass and a New Yorker who introduced a smooth bass inspired by his associations with monster groups there); Jerry Satterwhite (drums and who played with the Robert James Gang earlier); and Stuart Johnston on keyboards (he also played with the Robert James Gang and the Coronados, a Jax band listed on this webpage, but which includes Mark Mori keyboardist.

With the exception of Nicholas Reeger, all members of the band grew-up on the Westside or at least met there. They attended school with many of the musicians in Jacksonville's finest bands and jammed with almost all of them, including: the One Percent (later Lynyrd Skynyrd), Mouse the Boys and Brass, the Camelots, the Daybreakers (Orange Park), the NuSounds (Orange Park), 38 Special (I jammed with Don Barnes, one of their founding musicians, Standard Productions (Donny VanZandt's group prior to 38 Special), the Emotions, and others. 

Johnston's claim to fame is that he played with the Second Coming at Jacksonville's The Forum, for one week. Playing keyboards with Barry Oakley, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, and the rest of that gang was perhaps the highlight of his short rock career. Interestingly, and for a while, the Open Book enjoyed the guitar and vocal services of one Dave Hlubeck who founded Molly Hatchett. Today, only two of the original members of the band have survived: Nicholas Reeger and Stuart Johnston. Nicholas continues to entertain with a band at the Pour House in Bayside, New York. Jerry Satterwhite was playing in a band in Boston, MA when he died of unexpected internal organ issues. Phyliss Roberson owned an antique dealership in Rome, GA prior to her untimely death (natural) and Skip Veahman died recently in Jacksonville and due to cardiac arrest.

Stuart Johnston is urrently a broker of niche products for law enforcement and sell mostly out of the country. He does manage to spend time whenever possible at his home in Fleming Island, Florida near Jax.

The Jax scene was special and the band benefitted by living in a venue between New York City and Miami, a touring destination for every monster band in the nation during the 60s. They also benefitted by having four Navy bases in the immediate vicinity: NAS Jax, Mayport NS, NAS Cecil Field (Jets), and the NAS Glynco station in Brunswick, GA (blimps). Every base had three clubs -- officer, chief petty officer and enlisted clubs. So, getting a gig at one usually resulted in having a solid base of money to generate enough pay for improved equipment. The Sailors and Marines were a tough bunch to satisfy. But, the rewards were absolutely wonderful. The Classics Four (a famous band from Jax) and Lynyrd Skynyrd (who played every base club as the One Percent and with the inspiration of keyboard extraordinaire, David Knight) both benefitted by playing base clubs.