48 years later, “Phaze” gets the band back together as suburban Chicago students share record-making memories
By Noel Brennan
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — If you attended Niles East High School in the 1970s, you might have heard of the band Phaze.
But this story will resonate even if that name doesn’t ring a bell.
A basement jam session is equal parts rehearsal – and reunion.
Gerald Ford was still president the last time Scott Samuels played with Chuck, Ed, and Jerry. Their band was ‘Phaze’ and their school was Niles East.
“Yeah, it’s been 48 years,” said Samuels. “I was the leader of the band and I would run the practices with an iron fist kind of thing.”
A high school in Skokie that was slated for closure.
“The school board had decided to close the high school, and we saw an opportunity,” Samuels said.
Phaze convinced the student council to cover the cost of producing a record called “Save Niles East.”
The first time anyone actually heard the song was over the high school PA system.
“The speakers could not handle the sound in the record. It sounded horrible,” Samuels said.
They hoped record sales would help.
“It didn’t sell all that well,” Samuels said.
Niles East closed in 1980, and the band broke up.
“You never forget. It’s like riding a bicycle,” Samuels said.
Now, Scott Samuels, a longtime singer/songwriter based in San Diego, is back in Chicago for a new gig: The International Pop Overthrow Festival.
“I wanted to have a band behind me, and I thought, who better to get back together than my high school band, Phaze,” said Samuels.
They added bassist Paul Cox to play Scott Samuel’s original songs and the one they wrote together in 1976.
“There’s something about that shared high school experience that makes you friends forever,” said drummer Chuck Heftman.
“I don’t know if these guys ever realized how much this band meant to me when I was a kid, and it means a lot to me now all these guys,” said guitarist Ed Yep.
“Now, we’re playing the song 48 years later, and it did absolutely no good for the school, but it did wonders for us, you know,” said guitarist Jerry Minetos.
Music didn’t save the school, but it got the band back together.
Phaze will perform on Saturday, April 27, starting at 3:30, at Chicago’s Montrose Saloon.
They’ll also sell copies of their record, “Save Niles East.”
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