SENIORS
In this glimpse into the past, we see as a young man, Lloyd Frank, who once served aboard the USS Ticonderoga (CVS-14) in the U.S. Navy.
The Vibe AZ, is a cover band that entertains local audiences in the Province community and beyond.
Banding together Passion to play unites The Vibe BY TOM SCHUMAN
“Then I loaded my musical gear and went to California,” he details. “I toured four or five years straight, living out of a suitcase. In Alaska, we played six nights a week from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. for all the fishermen who came in. We were eating good with all the crab and salmon that they brought in.” The rock band cut a record that received some radio play in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-1980s before the group broke up. “I moved back east and gave up music for 30 years,” Turney reveals. Grandy, who plays acoustic and electric guitar as well as serving as one of The Vibe’s vocalists, recalls playing frat and beach parties in Chicago during his later teen years. At age 22, he became a policeman and advanced through the ranks to detective in a career that spanned nearly 30 years. “The police department came along and then everything else was on the backburner,” he says. “When the kids got older, I did play with a few other cops in a band called The Self- Righteous Brothers. It’s always been fun and enjoyment playing music.” Briand, who spent his high school and college years not far from Turney in Oswego, N.Y., made an early connection with his
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connection not everyone can fully comprehend. “The majority of my long-term friends and acquaintances I met through playing music,” Schrimpf confesses. “There’s kind of a bonding that goes on. It’s almost like a brotherhood.” Lame, who says he has never stopped playing since age 13, adds, “Music has always been an outlet. It got me through a lot of crap in my life. I connect to something spiritually, and a band is a meeting of souls and minds. I love music — it drives me to this day.” Early days Each band member’s story begins with an early start to a musical career. For Turney, who grew up near Syracuse, N.Y., it all began with organ lessons at age 7. The keyboardist recalls experiences with a jazz band that played American Legion halls, New Year’s Eve parties and the like.
N THE SURFACE, THESE FIVE men have little in common. They range in age from 59 to 72.
They hail from the Midwest beacons of Chicago and Milwaukee to the East Coast stalwarts of upper New York and New Jersey. Their work careers — law enforcement, banking, auto restoration, architecture and cybersecurity — were just as varied. But there is one major similarity. It touched them all — to varying degrees — in their younger days and it brought them all together in Maricopa in recent years. It is a love of music, and they are The Vibe AZ, a cover band that entertains local audiences in the Province community and beyond. Ken Grandy, Bob Lame, David Briand, Jim Schrimpf and Scott Turney have only known each other a short time. But they share a strong
InMaricopa.com | December 2023
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