Published in the Frisco Cricket Spring 1998
After World War I, Sid never had a regular full-time musical job. The
original band kind of broke up. The
band had a chance to go East and Gerald Wells wanted to go but Sid
wouldn't go. Gerald left the band over it
and it kind of broke up. Gerald didn't go East and finally went back to
Seattle. Sid opened a shoe-shine
parlor and cigar store right after World War I. They had a piano in
there and, when the band had a job, they
used to rehearse in there. It was on University Avenue and Grove in
Berkeley. The people who lived in North
Berkeley who had their shoes cleaned there would go by at night to hear
them rehearsing.
About this time the membership of the band changed. . . . They started
going to all the country towns
like Fort Bragg, Williams, and all up in there. They played for house
parties, dances, and other occasions.
They played for dances quite a bit.
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