Max Creek at The Iron Horse on Friday, February 21 2025
CAMP CREEK QUESTIONS
What's the brief history of Max Creek? How have you guys managed to hold it together for so many years?
Max Creek was formed in 1972 as quartet with, believe it or not, an accordian player, and went to a trio almost immediately - guitar - Dave Reed, fellow Hartt School student bass- John Rider, and drummer Bob Gosselin. Their first big show was at Arlo Guthrie’s Mapleview Ballroom in Washington, MA (later to become “Woody’s”) and they settled into a steady series of shows at the “Rocking Horse” in Hartford at a time when the social consciousness scene was taking hold pretty much everywhere, and Woodstock was fresh in everyone’s minds. They latched on to that idea, and stylistically adopted the Country/Folk/Rock genre as their own, both from a cover tune aspect as well as within their original tunes. They also discovered almost immediately that “jamming” - taking tunes into unplanned directions, was more fun than doing them the same way every night. A 15 year old trumpet student of Dave’s, Scott Murawski, who was also a guitar whiz, was asked to join, and lasted a few months, when he was kicked out of the Rocking Horse for drinking a beer onstage while underage. They went on as a trio, and over the following Christmas break Dave became ill with appendicitis. Coming from a family of Christian Scientists, he could not go to the hospital until it had burst and it was almost too late. To play an upcoming series of shows, John asked former roommate at Hartt (the first person he met at school) keyboardist Mark Mercier, on Christmas break at home in Maine with his family, to fill in. He came back early, and after a couple of very intense rehearsals, played the shows. Dave recovered, Mark stayed on, and shortly thereafter Scott rejoined (his age was never discussed with the clubowners). Dave then left to pursue a solo career, and the basic band as it is known today was formed. They discovered female singer Amy Fazzano as a waitress in Hartford (she was singing while cleaning the bathrooms after a gig), and later asked percussionist Rob Fried to join as well.
The band toured extensively, playing as many as 200 shows a year - and were known to play to as many as 1300 fans every week at two venues - the Living Room and Lupo’s - in Providence. When Max Creek went on tour, Phish would occasionally fill in at the Living Room until their return. On a couple of their forays down to Georgia they co-billed with, and were taught about the secrets of Jagermeister by, Widespread Panic.
In 1992, Scott, having recently been married and starting a family, decided to take a step back from touring, and the rest of the band did likewise. As time went on, the playing schedule picked up, and the band decided that 2 week long trips to places like the West Coast and Colorado were better than a steady regimen of touring. Bob left and was replaced by Boston drummer Greg DeGuglielmo, who was replaced by CT drummer Greg Vasso and subsequently by CT drummer Scott Allshouse, who, incidentally, was not born at the band’s inception. Amy left to get married, and Rob Fried, on hiatus from the Band, sadly passed away in 2007.
One of the highlights of every year from its inception is Cap Creek - a weekend-long camping festival that has happened, with interruptions, every year since 1983. The concept was new to the East Coast back then, and that year we did two of them - the first being August 6 and 7 (28 years to the day) in Granby CT, and the second was in Bowdoinham, ME in a field in back of a salt water farm right on the marshes of the bay. We have, since then, taken it to several places including the Arrowhead Ranch in New York, the Stepping Stone Ranch in Rhode Island, the Indian Lookout Country Club in Duanesburg NY, and, appropriately, back to Maine this year.
I think that the reason we are together is that we spared ourselves the rigors of the road later when it would be more physically taxing, and each show at that point became something to look forward to. We never lost musical freshness, gave ourselves the room to be individually creative with new ideas with as little judgment as we could muster, and, honestly, we sublimated like crazy. A policy of non-confrontation, a la Robert Hunter’s rules of Rock and Roll (to paraphrase: “don’t confront - talk about all absent parties when not there“) became the rule of the day, and it became understood that although this went on, it was temporary and we all still love(d) each other. It sure gave us an outlet, though. Dr. Phil would never approve.
The band has become like the home that we return to when we need to feel comfortable, creative, and can be ourselves - like going home for Thanksgiving or the holidays. I believe that one great attraction that our audience feels is this precise thing, and the band has become more than a musical entity - but a way of life for literally thousands. One of John Rider’s stated reasons for starting the band was to “give people that might not be accepted anywhere else (kind of like ourselves) a place to be. For any one of us to stop now would be like cutting off a needed limb - it’s unimaginable.
Are you guys full time performing musicians or do you have day jobs too?
We do have day jobs. I am a full-time Music Director and organist in a church, Scott is a computer programmer, John Rider is an event producer in the likes of the Hartford Convention Center and New York, Scott Allshouse is an independent sound technician for the likes of ESPN and various corporate events, and Greg Vasso is a senior sales rep and tech support for ADT. Scott Murawski also tours steadily with the Mike Gordon Band and with Bill Kreutzmann.
What are the origins of Camp Creek? Has the festival always been in Maine? Why makes it work well in Maine?
The idea for Camp Creek came not from Woodstock, but from a series parties we used to play on the oceanfront in Narragansett, RI - the “Narragansett Blowouts”. We would set up overlooking the ocean, play whatever we wanted for as long as we wanted for a relatively small group (150-200) all weekend. The camping was set up around the dance area by the stage, and pretty much anything went. We took that idea, with a bit more control, and formed Camp Creek. It has not always been in Maine, but the major developmental stages, as well as our fondest memories, are of our Camps in Bowdoinham. It works well in Maine because of the like-mindedness of people from Maine to our ideals - I am a native South-Portlander (temporarily stranded in Connecticut), and the genuine, common sense, conscious approach to life that Maine people have falls right in line with where we are coming from. No defensiveness, no ego, and no-nonsense. Another reason this Camp Creek is so special is that we feel like we are "Bringing it home" after a special 5 years in Bowdoinham and a 23 year absence. Even though the fact that it is on the same date as the original Camp Creek is accidental, it to us just adds to the serendipity that has been a major part of our existence for all these years.
What is Camp Creek designed to accomplish?
To get people together to experience all of the above, and to be part of the family.
In a festival-rich summer, why should a music lover choose Camp Creek?
It is more personable, more like a family than most festivals. We all know each other, are interested in each other, and the musicians are all approachable. This particular festival, in relation to the others, is geared as much to the artist/audience relationship as it is to the musical performance. The bands hopefully wouldn’t stand up there and just perform for the concertgoers. We have always emphasized the roots of where a band has come from - particularly our band - as being the ground on which a band stands today, and that includes a time when all the bands were closer to their fans. This will give the festival attendees the opportunity to not just hear the musicians "perform", but to experience the musicians on a more up-close and personal level, and be close to what the bands stand for. A little philosophical, but it gives you the flavor of where we are coming from. Besides, the music will be great -
How is Max Creek getting other bands fired up to perform?
We know a lot of the other bands and like to give them a real chance to be who they are. They are all as groups and as individuals musically great, and they deserve to be heard in as positive a light as possible. Besides, we like to listen to them, too.
What's new about this year's Camp Creek?
More stages, and more bands, with some from Maine. I am really looking forward to hearing and meeting Rustic Overtones, and know their music is great. Who knows - there might even be some inter-jamming interplay with a lot of these bands. That would be tremendous.
