History  |
| TSR was born in northern Wisconsin in the spring of 1970 when some Hayward HS students approached Pete Roller and asked if he would critique their group. Taking his comments seriously, they re-formed and the result was an 8 piece rock show band: 6 guys and two gals with four horns and four percussion. At best they were "so-so players" but they were very successful. Pete was their "behind the scenes director" and he provided most of the equipment, wrote their charts (sorta wrote them because of his meager musical understanding at that time), and advised them about their performance. They loved being on stage and pulled it off very well. They were called The Patriotic Brass and knew only 48 songs. “These kids looked good and played well enough to win a battle of the bands contest and then to open for The New Colony Six.” |
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When graduation broke up this band some fourteen months later, those who were still in high school asked Pete to be their bass player. |
| A new band was formed with Charlene France on keyboards, flute, and vocals, LuAnne Smith on baritone sax and vocals, Chuck France on trumpet and vocals, Rick Mondlock on drums and vocals, and Rob Mondlock on lead vocals, congas and trumpet. The name the students chose was “The Teacher-Student Relationship.” |
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They rehearsed through the autumn and winter of 71-72 at a little club just north of Hayward and played there every Friday and Saturday night. It was a lot of work, but the crowds loved them.
“I kept saying, just keep up with the rehearsals. It’ll pay off,” Pete says. It did and he opened TSR one weekend in April at the Playmate Lounge of the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva, WI. “Don Rickles was in the audience and he was real gentleman to us. The kids couldn’t believe the lounge. Neither could I,” Pete recalled.
That group traveled the Midwest that summer playing all of the SAC air bases plus a number of other supper clubs. “We weren’t a rock and roll band, but we played rock. We also played great tunes and ‘Mr. R’, that’s what we called Pete, was real clever in the way he put together medleys. We put on lots of miles and had some great experiences that summer,” remembers Rob.
But again in the autumn, graduation took away three of the members. Luckily, there was a young man who had vacationed in a cabin next to the club where TSR had rehearsed the previous year and to which it returned occasionally for performances. Tom Cawcutt of Superior, WI joined TSR in September of 1972 as the keyboardist/vocalist. “Tom stepped in and covered all the songs perfectly. We had one rehearsal and he was ready. And he never used music,” said Pete. |
| TSR was now an all-male quartet. Rick, Rob, Tom and Pete. “It just wasn’t right without a female in the band,” said Rob. “A female on stage changes the whole complexion of the group. She adds class to a nightclub band, and that’s what we wanted to be and were.” From Hayward, Kathi Poppie joined TSR in November of 1972. “We were now a really classy band. Check out these promo photos,” said Rob. “I love the plaid pants. Hey, it was the 70s.” |
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TSR played many places over the next two years. The band always worked around the kids’schedules. After all, they were still high school students. But they played supper clubs and nightclubs in WI, IL, MI, IA, and MN. The name was getting known and they always had work. |
| They even camped in two of Pete’s tipis for two weeks in IA. “My wife and two little daughters and Kathi were in one tipi, and us guys had the other one. It was fun,” said Pete. |
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In 1975 the group underwent yet another change. With most of the “kids” now enrolled in Northland College up in Ashland, WI, they wanted to keep the band going. Check out these great photos: Kathi on vocals and occasional keyboard |
| Chuck on vocals, trumpet and valve trombone |
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Rick on vocals and drums |
| Rob on vocals, congas, and trumpet |
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John Schlichting on keyboards and guitar joined the band in 1974 |
| And “Mr. R on Bass Guitar” |
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This version of TSR continued to perform throughout the mid-1970s. |
| A few new players joined for a season or two, and the older “originals” recycled themselves in and out of the group. Nonetheless, since 1971 TSR has performed continuously as a "name band" in northern WI and MN. Over three dozen people have been part of the TSR story over the years. In 1980 the group even became a disco band and featured Rhonda Stoddard. |
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That’s the year the group held its ten year anniversary and reunion. Here are some shots of that wonderful evening at Mt. Telemark near Cable, WI. |
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| Shortly after this event, Pete had to reorganize again as some of the members moved on to other pursuits. This group lasted until the spring of 1985. |
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Today, two of the originals remain in the band: Rob and Pete. And John and Steve are both educators so the name still has a somewhat accurate meaning.
So, let’s introduce the current TSR. Rob Mondlock is the lead vocalist of the group. He plays drums mainly, but also trumpet and flugelhorn. Steve Wells is TSR’s musical genius and writes all of the arrangements. Steve plays guitar, keyboards, and trombone. He can play bass guitar and other horns as well (and Steve’s first instrument is drums) and sings the second part of the harmonies, often the odd note. John Buchholz, “Dr. John,” is the group’s “go to” guy. He plays tenor sax and flute, and switches to drums and bass guitar often during the evening. He can sing, but so far his vocal ability has not been worked into the repertoire. Finally, Pete Roller generally plays bass guitar and occasionally switches to either guitar or keyboards. He sings lead occasionally, but normally the bass or third part of the harmonies. See the Bios section for more information about each of the guys.
“The best thing about TSR is that we have always played what I call real music,” says Pete. “That’s not about to change any time soon. In fact, we’re so proud of the variety we perform that we’ve put it in a Songlist section on this website.”
TSR is an entertaining, variety band that performs in the Chippewa Valley. Don’t miss them. For bookings call 715-834-0235. |
