Evidently …
I am well aware of who Cotton is, and his background. It does not change the fact that he was a pain in the ass who conducted himself in a most unprofessional manner when I worked with him
That’s putting it mildly. I don’t even want his full name included in this reply. I can think of very few music acts who suck worse than he does. As the old saying goes: “If he’s “The Boss”, then I QUIT!!”
Randy - Last I heard Ernie was still living and working in N.J. Wally lives in Cabo, and his brother Kenny lives in Oceanside - I just got back from Costa Rica where I was surfing with Kenny. I remember you from Mission Beach, playing the Dillon albums in that upstairs apt while sampling da ganga, and that red mountain vino. HA!
Unfortunately Ernie Vohs passed away a few years ago, one hell of a sander, one hell of a guy.
He took one of my 10 footers, weighed 34 pounds after hotcoating, gave it back to me at 29 pounds
Here is a board I did for Tinker right after Katrina plowed New Orleans, he was there setting up the sound equipment for a fund raiser
Jim,
That Katrina era board looks really good.
I wanted to make a couple of comments to clear up some minor details of your post #6 to SammyA. Ernie Vohs was not the sander when Tinker first came to Challenger in Mission Beach. Grub was. I rode Challengers there well before Tinker ever came to Challenger. He came there while I was in Florida where I sold a few boards in the Cocoa / Indialantic area.
Only Steve Dorsey, Craig Bruha, Steve Gordon and I went to Florida in the winter of '65 before opening the factory in Neptune in the spring of '66. And only Dorsey and I worked at Bill Fineberg’s before we went to Jersey to build boards with Tinker who went straight there from Mission Beach. Dorsey went back to Mission Beach then on to Hawaii where he died about 10 years ago.
Sorry to hear about Ernie Vohs passing.
SammyA,
You worked with Cotton?
Did you know Stomach, the sax player in those years? He and his wife would visit Tinker and me when they were in the Belmar area. Stomach and I would go surfing.
I don’t know what happened to him or the road manager (for Cotton) dude he hung with.
Patrickfreen,
You lived in Mission Beach too?
Do you remember Steve Dorsey, Belinda Balaski, Beverly Balaski, or Brooke Ewbank?
Ever make it out to Jersey?
I lived with Belinda for 7 years (98 - '05) in Hollywood where she runs an acting school. Surfed at Malibu and spots near there.
Randy - Wally, Ernie and I drove out to California from Rockaway in (I believe) 1965 and eventually met Tinker. I went on to Hawaii and they got tight with Tinker. Eventually Tinker hit Neptune and Ernie sanded for him there. I didn’t spend much time in Mission Beach - but Wally and Ernie did. I just told Wally and Kenny about this thread and hopefully they will add info soon.
Jim - are you sure about Ernie passing? I think this is news (sad news) to Wally, me and Kenny. Wally had called his wife in N.J. a couple of years ago while I was at Kenny’s house, while we were swapping stories.
Sadly Grub has also moved on, I would see him around Cardiff on his bike, he took his own life.
Grub and I lived together in Del Mar while working for Bill Bahne and Channin/Diffenderfer, I always wondered what happened to Steve Dosey, at least he got to spend those precious years in paradise.
Patrick,
Look, I have to ask for some slack on exact dates from way back then and so I have to give some slack too.
I can say I have learned from being here. I had been off a year in my recollections until I came here.
Wally and Ernie and I lived in an apartment in Mission … almost South Mission towards the jetty …
I remember one morning there was a giant south swell and the lefts were big, thick, and lined up, with an offshore.
Ernie and I got a bit inside when a mega set came thru. I was to the right of Ernie on a 10 or 12 footer … his eyes were huge and when he went to roll his hand slipped off the rail and he went flat on his back with his board beside him. It sounded like 5 land mines went off when that wave came down on him. I made it over but pissed my pants laughing … he was a lifeguard and was in no danger … but I would not have faired as well.
Anyway … maybe he did sand some in Mission Beach … I can’t remember if that was before moving to the east coast or after …
Anyway it would be way cool to talk to Wally and Kenny.
Patrick,
“sampling da ganga” … it was $50 bucks a key then … $10 bucks a lid (6" long sausage size) …
We got a key (kilo) when Dorsey, Bruha, Gordon (folk musician), and I headed to Florida, then to meet Tinker in Jersey in the spring.
I had an old pontiac car so we stuffed the air ducts with the key or so, and filled a Wonder Bread plastic cover with clean for smoking, put our boards on the rack, and headed east.
I had no driver lisense nor registration for the car.
At the time I was driving in Gila Bend, New Mexico at about 5 in the morning, all of a sudden I noticed smokey’s red lights a flashing in the rear view mirror. Everyone else was asleep. Gordon was in the front. I said “I have boxer shorts on, so you stash the clean in your shorts” … he did.
As the smokeys were coming up behind I heard one of them say “I thought they wus girls” … we had long hair in those days … he must have seen beards and mustaches. He asked for driver lisense and registration. I said I don’t have them with me. Where you from. California.
He immediately called for back up.
We followed them to the police station at their command, one car in front of us, one behind. We could not ditch the clean.
When they got us to the station they put us all in seperate rooms. Gordon was put in the police chief’s office. Then they came and talked to me first. When they left Gordon alone he put the clean (several ozs) in the chiefs desk.
They locked us up. The jail was a round cell, like a bird cage. Two days passed and Bruha began to freak out. He was losing it … we didn’t know it they searched the car or the chief’s desk … and he was getting scared.
Meanwhile the FBI talked with me because there was no registration and if it had been stolen it would be their jurisdiction since we went across state lines.
It so happened that the guy who sold me the car had been in Korea with the FBI agent. He said where did you get the car. I told him the name. LUCK!!! I said call him … he did … they had run a 105 howitzer together in Korea. I was close to the guy who sold me the car and he put in a pitch for us to his fellow soldier the FBI agent. LUCK!!!
I paid a trustee inmate of the jail a pack of cigarettes to find out what they were going to do with us.
He said “they are going to let you go tomorrow”. YES!!!
We left with the key in the air ducts but of course left the clean for the chief … always wondered what happend when he found it.
We made it to Florida. Gordon and Bruha went back. Dorsey and I worked at Feingolds making boards … Artie Styres (pal of mine) drove up to New Jersey to coordinate with Tinker. When I got back to Florida Dorsey and I headed for Jersey.
The penalty for having a key in those days was about a thousand years. WHEW!!!
Wally has a house on Gringo Hill in Cabo and has recently built a house in Todos Santos, next to Channin, Kenny has gotten some property in either Costa or Nica and is going to build there.
I’ll get some contact info for you
Jim,
Thanks. Wish I knew where you were when I was out there a few years back … coulda done some waves and stuff.
Brooke lives in that town now. Hot babe!
Waldo,
Other than missing an ID in the picture you are very accurate in your description
What town is it that little Brookie- Cookie lives in and are you in touch with her? Please reply to my private communication to you via this site.
W.
Randy - I believe you’re right about Ernie starting to sand in n.j.- Elcurado would know more.
Hey all,
Just talked with Wally and he is not the guy on the left in the photo like I thought. It is another rockaway dude.
Now we have it straight.
Man, it was so cool talking to Wally! He was always a very good dude … and sometimes we got on his nerves but you won’t find a better guy to hang with.
He is going to try to find out more about Ernie.
Reen!!! Wally explained that you lived in Mission Beach. I remember you now. Very good to hear from you again.
Artie Styers is in Chatahoochee State Mental hosspital in north Florida, in the very late 60’s or early 70’s, he dropped acid and showed up on the steps of the Indialantic police station saying he had done something really bad, he was covered in blood.
When further questioned he said he had done something to his mother, the police went to her house and there she was, dead from multiple hatchet blows.
Is it pure luck, devine intervention, that any of us children of the summer of love survived ?
Perrin, my chic in Joisey, the first person to turn me on, after getting busted at Swami’s, her parents blamed it all on me, said they would not help out if she stayed with me. As soon as she got back to Joisey, pals of Joey Roher knew she had a lot money, turned her onto Meth, that progressed into Smack, one of the other factory guys saw her in NYC, said she weighed 75 pounds by then. ( this woman was 5’7, weighed maybe 135 )
This was a pivotal decision for me, a giant ego mixed with no desire to be addicted and have people talk about me this way steered me away from narcotics, they could not do me any good, weed got me in enough trouble anyway.
The path from that point on was littered with dead good friends who apparently didn’t have the sense to leave blow and smack alone, God watch over them.
Jim,
Sorry to hear that about Artie Styres … would never have expected it.
I was told Dale Dobson is having some problems of late.
All my kids and grandchildren have a level head and deal with problems maturely.
I don’t hold it against them 
Yeah, I remember Perrin. That happened to my gal from Mission Beach too … she recovered and is ok for about 10 years now.
Do you know what Fletcher Sharpe is up to these days … or Brendan McClocklan (sp?) … I hear Propper from Cocoa became a manager for Galager the comic …
later …