--------------------Feature • Commander Cody------------------ Survivor of the Sixties By Mark Hunter Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (the name refers to a movie from the 1950s) were George Frayne was more than a little nervous last one of the first bands, along with the Flying Burrito year when he showed up with his band, Commander Brothers and The Byrds, to mix country and rock. The Cody and the Modern Day Airmen, to play at C2G Airmen took the blender concept a little further and Music Hall. But his trepidation did not arise out of threw in some boogie woogie and whatever else they performance jitters, No, no, no. He was afraid he was found appealing. Bands such as the Eagles and Poco going to offend people. He thought he was going to be later found commercial success playing the country playing in a church. rock the Airmen helped create. Their high-energy live “We don’t do anything that is politically correct,” shows drew large audiences, and soon record compa- Frayne told me in a recent phone interview. “I thought nies were angling for a piece of the action. The prob- people were going to be throwing bottles at me.” lem was that the Lost Planet Airmen were basically a Much to his relief he quickly discovered his fears bar band that played great live but couldn’t seem to were unfounded. muster the same enthusi- “That gig was a lot asm in the studio. more pleasant than I Their first record, thought it was going to be 1971’s, Lost in the Ozone, when I got there. It’s actu- contained some good ally a great place to play. songs but nothing that The people were great. broke the charts. Nothing, They’ve got a great sound that is, until some deejay system and lights. It was a in Gilroy, California, start- lot of fun.” ed playing the Lost Planet Commander Cody and Airmen’s version of the the Modern Day Airmen Charlie Ryan song, “Hot bring their exciting boo- Rod Lincoln.” It was “Hot gie woogie show back to Rod Lincoln” that turned C2G Music Hall Saturday, George Frayne into Com- March 2 at 8 p.m. mander Cody. The band Frayne has real con- had four or five singers, cerns about being as- but Frayne wasn’t one of saulted at venues, no them. When they decided matter how imaginary COMMANDER CODY to record the song, their or actual the threat Saturday, March 2 • 8 p.m. only single to break the may be. As long-hairs C2G Music Hall, Top 10, the rest of the band touring the South in picked him because he was the late 1960s and ear- 323 W. Baker St., Fort Wayne a fast talker. The band had ly 1970s, Frayne said Tix: $20 adv., $25 d.o.s. been using the name with- he and his band, then out having anyone in particular in called Commander 260-426-6434. mind to be Commander Cody. Cody and His Lost www.c2gmusichall.com The band released several more Planet Airmen, were albums though the early 70s but by greeted less than enthusiastically on more than one the middle of the decade had split. occasion. Commander Cody released a solo record. then “We had some real Easy Rider incidents,” he said. one as the Commander Cody Band, but by the late 80s “Bill Kirchen almost got killed when we drove through Frayne decided to take a break. Arkansas. We got to Nashville and they booed us off Old boogie woogie rockers (if there are such crea- the stage. Me and Andy Stein were just too much like tures, Frayne is one) don’t die, they just keep on keep- hippies for them. I almost got killed by some guys ing on. So in the late 90s Frayne put together a new who looked like Larry the Cable Guy, only bigger and band to play the old tunes. With drummer Steve Barb- fatter.” uto, guitarist Mark Emerick, bassist Randy Bramwell The negative reception in Nashville was especial- and pedal steel player Chris “Tiny” Olson, dubbed the ly hard for Frayne to take. As one of the first bands Modern Day Airmen, Commander Cody and crew are to blend country and western and rock n’ roll, Com- back at it, having as much fun as they can. mander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen thought A new live recording, Live from the Island, is set they had found nirvana when they discovered Bob to be released on Woodstock Records any day now. “I Wills. won’t have any with me in Fort Wayne,” Frayne said, “We found country and western. We found Bob “but it’s available on iTunes.” Wills. We bought cowboy boots and hats, the whole And Frayne is still doing artwork, this time around deal. Then we toured the South. We sold the cowboy in the form of music videos. “I’m trying to bring art boots and hats after we toured the South. The whole back to music videos. I’m also trying to get people thing was so incredibly hostile.” interested in boogie woogie music. Go to Youtube and Southerners weren’t the only ones who had a check out Hazel Scott Black and White. She’s playing hard time figuring out what to do with Commander two pianos at once. It’s the most amazing thing you’ll Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. Record companies ever see.” couldn’t figure the band out either. The group formed Commander Cody and the Modern Day Airmen in 1967 in Ann Arbor. Frayne had been playing piano don’t really tour anymore. They’re too old for that, in a few bands in Michigan and Wisconsin, including Frayne said. “There’s nothing more boring than see- one made up entirely of lifeguards. When, a year later, ing a band live. What’s gonna be different? The gui- some of the original lineup decided to make the leap to tar player is going to leap in a different direction or the San Francisco scene, Frayne went along. By 1969 what? So when we do go out, we try to make it worth- they were opening for The Grateful Dead. while.” February 21, 2013 ------------------------------------------------------------- www.whatzup.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------5.