The history of Molkie Cole involved 10 guys, the 5 musicians and the 5 crew members.  If you remember a Molkie Cole show, it involved lights, smoke, timing of everything, and lots of intricate sound moves.  So it was much more than just the musicians on a stage.  One of the crew members, the headman, was Steve Zegaric.  He was Molkie Cole’s soundman for every one of the 961 shows Molkie Cole pulled off.  He was the overseer of all that went on.  Steve was the person who would get in the musicians face and tell ‘em “You could have done better tonight,” or “You were awesome.”  Steve passed away a few years ago.

When the musicians got back together to discuss a reunion “gig,” the absence of Steve was a major concern.  Steve is not a person that can, or could be replaced.  Plus, we knew years ago, that we were safe and protected with Steve in charge.

When a Molkie Cole fan enjoyed one of our shows, they never knew… “Steve pulled it off.”

How did we make the adjustments to Steve’s absence for the Reunion gig?....

To be continued.. -Tim Cole

Putting together the Molkie Cole reunion show requires the right people controlling the sounds and lights.  Paul’s connection with various sound companies produced the right person for sound.  Lights and light design is being handled by "BING". "BING" is the McGyver in this project.  We know that we want to deliver something that an audience has never seen before.  "BING" took care of creating that. He designed a new way of backlighting, and manufactured every one of the 58 “pin spots” and their control panel.  The rest of the lighting and effects that  "BING" designed are a secret until Showtime.

Even though some of the key crew members from the original MC are gone, sound and lights are well represented.  So, it’s time to rehearse for the Molkie Cole reunion show.  Details on song selection, band member input, and how musical magic is made.............NEXT

-Tim Cole

The original musicians are Phil James, Pat Cole, Bob Steinmetz, Paul Pope and Tim Cole.  When this group of guys gets together the ideas flow fast. In discussing the reunion "gig" we reviewed about 80 songs.   Songs of discussion were a combination of Molkie Cole originals and cover tunes Molkie Cole adopted over the years; Bowie, Stones, Beatles, ELO, James Gang, on and on and on.  Of the Molkie Cole originals, we discussed songs that were recorded and those not recorded.  The final decision on the song list was not "put in stone" until a few weeks ago. We needed to consider tempo and flow. The final "gig sheet" is top secret, but guaranteed to be the best we've ever done.

-Tim Cole

Paul and Tim met on Easter Sunday 36 years ago.  Here's how that came about.  A guy Tim knew, that was a singer, called Paul to jam.  He knew Paul, but Tim did not. The singer, Dave, called Paul on Easter Sunday and said "Paul want to jam today at my house, we can turn it up real loud?"  Dave told Paul that a drummer will be there and his name is Tim.  Paul had to bum a ride because he was 15 and too young to drive.  For a couple dozen gigs after that it was a three man, turn it up, band.  The "power bands" were doing well then.  Bands like Grand Funk, James Gang, and Glass Harp.  Then we made connections with Pat, Phil, Bob, and our sound man Steve and the creative juices flowed.  For 961 gigs it was Phil, Pat, Bob, Tim, Paul and Steve.  961 shows; From Atlanta to Chicago......More to come.

-Tim Cole

In the mid 70's Molkie Cole became a true road band.  For example: Mid Ohio for a one nighter on Wednesday, Northern Ohio on Thursday, and a jaunt to Chicago for a gig or two on the weekend. The band was playing about 4 or 5 one nighters per week. It was during that period of time that we signed a recording contract with a California record company called Janus records. This meant we needed to be even more organized.  We needed to coordinate the travel and shows, rehearsals, and studio time. During this period of time, Molkie Cole became a full blown company. In fact we were listed as the “Molkie Cole Corporation.”  We became more and more dependant on a sharp crew. We needed to stay healthy, professional and aggressive. There was little time for vacations or get-a-ways. The crew and band members traveled together day after day, to Buffalo, Erie, Chicago, Atlanta, and Southern Indiana, when gas was under a buck and during a major recession.

If we had a problem with a truck or van it just had to be fixed. Many times we only had a few hours between gig teardown and set up, with 200 miles in between.  If the wind chill was -20 or the pavement was 130, weather didn't matter.  Shower, Shave, Soundcheck, Play, Teardown, Load up, Sleep, Travel and do it all again.

One of the coordination "things" we always needed was dry ice for each show. The dry ice was used to produce the "English fog", as I like to call it.  The promoter of the "gig" was responsible for supplying 200 pounds of dry ice.  Here's how it worked.  Behind the backdrop were two 50 gallon metal drums of heated water. The dry ice was in a basket above the heated water. When the dry ice was dropped into the water a lid was immediately put on the barrel and the fog shot out the long hose to the stage. Great Effect…10 guys…On the Rock-N-Roll Road. More to come.....

-Tim Cole

Here is some MC Trivia History:

• MC played 961 gigs in less than 7yrs.
• Steve Zegaric was MC’s Sound Man for all these gigs.
• The Band performed in nine different states.
• Double Billed with, Kansas, Ted Nuggent, Meatloaf and Cheap Trick.
• Recorded more than one album.
• The Band began rehearsals in Tim and Pat’s parents’ garage.
• Paul was 15 years old when he started.
• Lost all musical instruments in a barn fire.
• Equipment truck was named Julie.
• MC’s favorite food is pizza.