The 31st of February
The 31st of February was an American rock band formed by Jacksonville, Florida natives Scott Boyer, David Brown, and Butch Trucks.
The trio were alumni of Englewood High School in Jacksonville, although they did not come together musically until Brown and Trucks were living on the same floor of a dormitory at Florida State University in the fall of 1965.[1] Brown played saxophone and listened to folk rock music from groups like The Byrds and The Lovin' Spoonful; he bought an electric bass and started to jam with drummer Trucks who had played with The Vikings, The Echoes, and the Jacksonville Symphonette. Boyer, a guitarist and vocalist, making his living as a folk singer, was contacted by Brown who offered his and Trucks' services if Boyer would trade his acoustic guitar for an electric guitar. Boyer agreed and the three formed a group, The Bitter Ind. (short for Independents).[1]
Playing fraternity parties, growing their hair long, and ceasing to attend their classes (in Brown's and Trucks' cases), the group left
Shortly after returning to Jacksonville, however, Trucks received a call from Duane Allman, saying that the Allman Joys were playing at the Beachcomber, a club in Jacksonville and they needed a drummer. Trucks agreed to sit in for the night. After the show, Duane suggested to Trucks that he ask the club manager to let the Bitter Ind. audition. The manager agreed, loved the group's sound, and let them perform through mid-1967.[3] After their engagement ended, the group, possibly fearing legal action from the New York nightclub The Bitter End, decided to change their name. After briefly using the moniker "The Tiffany System", the group went to Miami and signed to folk giant Vanguard Records as The 31st of February. Their eponymous debut album was released in early 1968, a mix of folk rock and psychedelic pop. After failing to get noticed, the group added a lead guitarist and began to rework their sound.[4]
Almost immediately, the group again ran into Duane and Gregg Allman, who had just broken up their post-Allman Joys group
Scott Boyer ended up forming the group Cowboy with Tommy Talton, eventually signing to the Allman Brothers Band's label, Capricorn Records. He had artery replacement surgery and organizations raised money for him in benefit gigs in 2007.[7]
David Brown ended up being a studio bassist, eventually joining Boz Scaggs's band and later, Cowboy with Boyer. He remains a member of Norton Buffalo and the Knockouts despite Norton Buffalo's untimely death on 30 October 2009.[8][9]
After joining the Allman Brothers Band, Butch Trucks has stayed in the band since 1969, except for the group's first (1976–1979) and second (1982–1989) hiatuses.
Discography
- The 31st of February (Vanguard, 1968)
- Duane & Greg Allman (Bold, 1972)
References
- ^ a b Poe, Randy Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, pp. 26-27
- ^ Poe, Randy Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, p. 27
- ^ Poe, Randy Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, pp. 27-28
- ^ Poe, Randy Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, p. 65
- ^ Poe, Randy Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, pp. 66-67
- ^ Poe, Randy Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, p. 68
- ^ CD Baby: SCOTT BOYER: All My Friends
- ^ "The Official Norton Buffalo Home Page". www.norton-buffalo.com. Archived from the original on 1999-11-24.
- ^ Norton Buffalo and the Knockouts Archived 2006-01-05 at the Wayback Machine