HOTEL
Beverly Raspberry Owen (vocals)
Alice Catanzano Bargeron (vocals)
Van Neff (drums)
Joe Breckenridge (bass)
Jim Pollard (drums)
Mark Smith (bass)
Tim Townley (guitar and vocals
John Nuckols (drums)
Eddie Usher (bass)
The members on the MCA Albums 'Hotel' and "Half Moon Silver" were:
Michael Cadenhead (drums)
Lee Bargeron (keyboard, guitars and vocals)
George Creasman (bass guitar)
Marc Phillips (keyboards, lead vocals)
Michael Reid (guitar and vocals)
Tommy Calton (guitar and vocals)
Crew members for the The Little River Tour included:
Gary Weinberger (Road Manager)
Mark Andrews (Crew Chief, lights)
Tim Gibbs (monitors and sound)
Bruce Jones (sound)
Jim Chapman (lights)
Dave Mcdowell (Crew Chief)
Barry Michaels (sound)
Terry Lee (lights)
In 1972 Marc Phillips and Tommy Calton went to their agency (Southeastern Attractions) & asked to be considered for one of the nightclubs they booked. The agency called back about a brand new club "Knights of the Round Table" in Homewood. Marc and Tommy asked Beverly (Raspberry) Owen to join them for an audition with hopes of becoming the house band for the new club.
The audition was a success - the owners suggested they add a drummer and bass player, so Van Neff (drums) and Joe Breckenridge (bass) were added to the fold. By early February 1973, the new band was rehearsed and ready to go. All they needed was a name. Once again they asked their friend Bo Crowe. Bo suggested the name Tumbrel", and at the same time Marc Phillips suggested the name Hotel. So, in the beginning they were called Tumbrell Hotel. The Band played The Round Table for about a year. They also did a "Yellow Pages" Tour for South Central Bell in the southeast. The first person to leave the band was Beverly. She and her husband, Larry Owen, moved to Auburn. Alice Catanzano replaced her for a short while and then moved to New Orleans. The next person to leave the band was Van Neff, who was replaced with Jim Pollard on drums. Marc, Joe, Jim, and Tommy kept the band at four pieces for a while - still playing the Round Table and having musician friends come by and sit in - and also playing a new club "Joe Namaths" in downtown Birmingham backing up vocalist Vickie Hallman.
In early 1973 Marc auditioned at Boutwell recording studios for producer Don Mosley. Don was impressed with Marc's talent and started using him for some jingles andletting him record some original material. Marc introduced Tommy to Don and he (Don) started using Tommy for jingles also.It was around this time that Dennis Yost of The Classics 4 decided to record the Marc Phillips song - "Losing my Mind".
In Spring of 1974 Joe Breckenridge received an offer to play bass for a popular group in Alabama called Cross. Joe accepted and was replaced with Mark Smith. Also, Marc Phillips' good friend from The Brass Button Tim Townley was added on guitar and vocals. With the new lineup, Hotel began to hit the road and returned to Birmingham to record. They were making a living off mostly 'copy' material but the original material was beginning to take shape. Don Mosley had purchased Sound of Birmingham studios from Neal Hemphill and Hotel began to do demos there.
In 1975 the band was invited to play a new club in Birmingham called The Cobblestone. The Cobblestone was located on Morris Avenue, downtown Birmingham's oldest street, which had been refurbished with several nightclubs and restaurants. The Cobblestone and Hotel began to draw sizeable crowds. In 1976 Tim Townley and Jim Pollard left the band, and were replaced with Michael Reid on guitar and vocals, and John Nuckols on drums.
In 1976, Dain Eric (an A&R man with Capitol Records) was introduced to the band by Buddy Causey - a great singer and friend of the band. Dain (who was looking for a band to produce) booked some recording sessions in Nashville at Creative Workshop. When not playing engagements, the band would use what spare days they had to commute from Birmingham to Nashville and record tracks. After a few of the recordings had been made, John Nuckols (with marriage on the way) decided to leave the band. He was replaced with Michael Cadenhead (of Cross) on drums. Because of all the multi-track overdubs Hotel was doing in the studio (popular at the time) another band member would have to be added in order to perform the songs live.The band drafted the multi talented Lee Bargeron. Marc and Tommy knew Lee from Sound Of Birmingham studios where he had engineered some of their early demos. Lee was already soundman for the band when the opportunity to perform with the band came. He added keyboards, guitar,and background vocals to the mix and also co-wrote several songs with Marc.
By 1977, Hotel signed their first recording contract with Mercury Records for a 45 single called "You'll Love Again". Thanks mostly to Dain Eric's efforts, the song charted. Even though the band showed promise, Mercury was noncommittal when it came a possible LP release. Hotel asked out of their contract and Mercury accepted.Once again the band was free to shop for a record company. In 1978, Dain Eric secured a deal for Hotel with the Scotti Brothers in Los Angeles. The Scotti Brothers were best known for their promotions of records within the industry. They could also secure a record deal for Hotel with a major label - which they did - with MCA. Hotel's debut album "Hotel" was released in the summer of 1979 with the first single "You've Got Another Thing Coming" followed by the Marc Phillips/Barry Mann song "Hold on to the Night."
Hotel hit the road to promote the album in September of that year with the help of Dain Eric and their manager Tony Ruffino (Tony was, and still is, responsible for any of the arena concerts in Birmingham and was the co-owner of Brothers Music Hall with Dan Nolen). They secured the Southeast leg of The Little River Bands tour, also opening for The Atlanta Rhythm Section & Louisiana's Leroux. By October of 1979 they were writing material for their next LP. They began recording early 1980 (the new album was produced by Dain Eric, Debbie Towsley and Hotel). By late spring the album was finished, and by the summer of 1980 "Half Moon Silver" was released. The first single was "Cold Blooded Red Hot Love" a song by Tom Kimmel and Eddie Setser, followed by "Half Moon Silver".
The follow-up LP didn't sell as well as the first, and as a result, MCA dropped the band. The band was released from The Scotti Brothers and they parted ways with Dain Eric .They spent the next the next two years playing around the southeast, writing material and doing demo recordings but no more records. George Creasman was the first to give notice in the spring of 1982. He was replaced for a short time with Eddie Usher (bass). Lee Bargeron gave notice next and the writing was on the wall. In the summer of 1982, Hotel, with the aid of Manager and attorney Michael Trucks, disbanded.
George Creasman played with various bands in Birmingham and still resides there. Michael Cadenhead went on a short tour with Pam Tillis and joined The Extras. He now resides in Atlanta. Michael (Mikal) Reid went on the Pam Tillis tour, moved to LA and joined Wang Chung. He has a long list of achievements as guitarist, writer, engineer and producer in the Los Angeles area. He still resides there.
Lee Bargeron joined The Extras and over the past 25 years has established himself as one of Birmingham's best engineers. Lee has his own studio at home and still resides in Birmingham. Eddie Usher joined Marc and Tommy in the Calton Phillips Group - which became Split The Dark. He later joined the recording group Witness with guitarist Damon Johnson and subsequently joined Lovebang with Eric Dover. He resides in Gainsville, GA.
Marc Phillips went to LA to co-write some songs with Tom Snow and Jay Gruska and returned to join forces with Tommy in the Calton Phillips Band/Split The Dark. In 1988, he formed a group with Lee Bargeron and Randy Hunter called Boardgames. In 1989, he co-founded Airwave Productions/Studios. From then to the present he has played on, sang on and produced numerous recordings and jingles and has proven himself to be a music treasure for the state of Alabama. As of 2003 he has launched his own website (www.marcphillips.com) and released his first solo CD - "Color Me His". Marc still resides in Birmingham.