Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.
The Boyz had evolved from the Jaguars, and included guitarist and singer Bob Wilson from that group; Griparis also knew guitarist and keyboardist Kevin “Mack” McCann from another local band called the Knights. Griparis met with Wilson and McCann in his basement to discuss forming a Joliet “supergroup,” and they named themselves the Crystal Tower. The band became a five-piece, though Bernie Pershey (drums, tabla) and Jim Branshaw (bass) functioned more like sidemen. The Crystal Tower played originals alongside covers by heroes such as Buffalo Springfield, Cream, and the Association, and they gigged all over the midwest—they opened for the Byrds at Chicago’s International Amphitheatre, for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in Indiana, and for Buddy Rich at the Young Adults Club in Frankfort, Illinois.
The sole Trilogy album, I’m Beginning to Feel It, came out in 1970, and it’s an excellent mix of harmonious and heady folk rock (“Three Blind Minds,” “The Royal Shut”) and heavy countrified rock (“I’m Beginning to Feel It,” “Thought #2 / Removing Myself”). It sounds a little like west-coast bands such as Moby Grape and CSNY, which made it stand out in Chicago. Mercury chose the title track and “Red Wine” as the first two singles, but the latter was promptly pulled from radio thanks to a national crackdown on songs referencing drugs or alcohol. The LP and the singles sank without a trace.
In 1983 Griparis went solo, developing a musical comedy act that includes tons of impressions. He has a successful career to this day, and in one of his most popular shows he recounts the early history of rock by impersonating dozens of musicians from the 1940s through the ’60s—coming full circle back to the music he fell in love with as a kid. v
