In 1974 the webmaster of this humble site, Randall Roberts, introduced his fraternity brother David Young to his high school friend Ed Snead. It was a seemingly innocuous gesture, but one that would change the course of Louisville music history.........for knowing an able and willing bass player in those days was in itself an amazing feat. After hanging out at Ed's house for a few months and watching him build a recording studio in his basement, Dave thought that the whole idea was pretty far-out.

And after a wasted two years trying to get his shit together in college, Dave came back home to start a rock and roll band, mainly because he didn’t like to work, and he figured this was his way out. After meeting guitar player Mike McCauley, who had recently been discharged from the Navy, he gathered some neighborhood musicians and then did the one sane thing he has done in his life to date: he sought out Ed to play bass.

Actually having someone in the band who actually knew how to play their instrument was half the battle won, and after a year of rehearsing the fellas were ready to play their first gig. R.D. Miller, Mike Molnar, Mike Doyle, Ed Snead, Mike McCauley and Dave Young made up the Silver Creek Band..........and though theirs is another story altogether, it created the nexus from which the Pranksters arose years later.

For those of you who don't remember the 70's or were too young, most bands worked for booking agencies, playing the "accepted" Top 40 formats that were popular at the time. This wasn’t the boys' cup of tea however, and over the years they would develop a penchant for non-conformity that would stand as an example for their peers. As agent Steve Cole was quoted as saying......."you boys either clean up your language, start playing all Top 40 hits, quit smoking and drinking and dressing like hobos on stage, or you will end up playing corner bars all your lives."

We owe you a debt of gratitude Steve.

Those of you who know the Pranksters today, and have seen them in every corner bar in the area, know that they did not sell out their ideals. Nor did they become the next big thing on the Top 40 circuit. They remain today a bastion of countercultural thinking, and perhaps, more importantly, they remain the laziest band in America. Not bowing to convention, the Pranksters have remained true to what they stand for................the music. It's always been about the music for them, the music that they wanted to create, interpret and play.

Which brings us to the Merry Pranksters of today................

In 1987 Miller, Young and gutarist/singer Chick McHenry (also a holdover from the Silver Creek Band) were playing out as an acoustic trio: McHenry, Miller & Young. Having achieved some local notoriety under this guise, they answered the call from some friends to play at their pizza parlor, which had recently opened and was trying to carve a niche' for itself. The Sunday Night Show began at Jockamo's Pizza Pub in January of 1987. As far as the band was concerned it was a month of gigs, surely not to last much longer...i mean, who would come out on Sunday night to see a band anyway?

After two years and 100 shows the guys were packing the joint every week, and that holiday season they ressurected the electric band they had left behind years earlier, bringing in drummer Kevin Helton, guitarist Tom Browning, and Snead on bass. Ed had just returned from living in Florida and was available again. When Helton retired from live performance soon after, Dave Young went back to his old job as drummer (he had been a guitarist in MM&Y).

In 1991 McHenry left the band and from that point the modern-day basic lineup of Browning, Snead, Young and Miller was left to carry on. In 1989 Young re-named the band The Merry Pranksters (after Ken Kesey's hippy brood of the 60's).

And  carry on they did..................

Over 3800 live shows later(over 1100 of them on Sundays) The Louisville Merry Pranksters remain one of the most consistently booked, entertaining acts in the Louisville area, and their Sunday Night Show (known to the loyal followers of the band as "church") is in its 22nd year with no signs of letup.

A number of gifted musicians have graced the band's roster over the years...Little Jimmy Wilson, Jon Pring the late great Bobby Lanz, Eric Nelson, et al. Mike O'Hara and Scott Kiper have taken time from their respective bands in the past to fill in for Tom. Current bassist (yes they have two) Rico Thomas joined the band in 1999. Keyboardist Bob Ramsey returned to the band in 2007 after a 16 year hiatus, replacing the fabulous Woody Woodmansee who lef to pursue other musical options. Bob's many achievements include a stint as keyboardist in the Leon Russell Band.

Also joining that year was Dave's longtime drumming apprentice, Rick Ennis who had been jamming with the band for several years. Gifted and well-traveled guitarist Barry King, formerly with the Charlie Daniels Band, joined in 2008, completing the lineup and helping put the crowning touch on the Pranksters' transformation from bar band to concert act.

So the show goes on.........and with the upcoming release of their second album "Another Night On Planet Earth" the guys are looking to the future......and beyond.

Grant McKinsie
Freelance journalist