Memories of James Wayner

 

The Tombstones - 1 by Dave Fearnal

My memories of Jim span some 40 odd years, from the early 60's travelling to and from various places in Ontario in the back of a hearse to recently this year when we lost him to complications resulting from a stragulated bowel.

As you can well imagine, there are far too many memories that accumulate in that period of time to be presented here, but i will touch on a few beginning with my first introduction to the man.

In the early 60's, our recently formed band, The Tombstones, auditioned Dennis Scott as a potential drummer for the group. He brought his friend Jim (who also had aspirations of becoming a drummer) along with him for moral support and as we ran through a few tunes with Dennis, we could hear Jim singing along without benefit of a microphone. Even so, his powerful voice could be heard clearly above the band and it wasn't long before we had a new drummer and two singers fronting the group. Up to that point, our repertoire had consisted of mostly "British Invasion" music but Jim now gave us the potential to add R&B tunes to the agenda.

We travelled to may places in Ontario, including Bracebridge where we found monks from an Anglican monastery running the local teen dances in a place called "The Place". It was at one of these dances where Jim jumped off of a four foot high stage landing in the splits, not realizing that he had ripped the crotch out of his pants. Being one who preferred to dress without benefit of underwear, one can easliy understand the embarrassment that ensued. As it turned out, the band returned frequently to Bracebridge, playing the dance Saturday night, sleeping at the monastery, and doing a folk mass on Sunday in their chapel.

The Tombstones - 2 by Dave Fearnal

Another humorous memory (and believe me, there were many) occured when we played a gig in Brockville. After unloading and setting up in the afternoon, a meeting was set up for 8:00 that evening before the performance. Ted, our sax player failed to show up for the meeting and when he finally made an appearance (half-cut) just minutes before showtime, Jim and him exchanged a few unkind words. Our first number (Midnight Hour) went as follows:

Opening Chord (Ted: "Fuck Off Wayner"), Second Chord (Ted: "Fuck Off Wayner"), Third Chord (Ted: "Fuck Off Wayner"), Final Chord (and incidently, right in time) Jim's fist connected with Ted's jaw sending him ass-over-teakettle across the stage and into the bass amp. At the end of the set, some members of the audience commented on the great show, actually believing it was all part of the act. Needless to say, Ted played the rest of the night with his cheek ballooned out like Dizzy Gillespie.

 

Kelso Beach by Dan Jeffares

One of my fondest memories of Jim was when we played at Kelso Beach in Owen Sound, Ontario. At this time The Bearcats have only been together for a couple years. Kelso Beach was packed, it was Canada Day and tonnes of people came to Kelso Beach to celebrate. Unknown to us, Jim had prepared a special treat for all the kids at the show. Jim had all the kids, about 300 of them, gather around the front of the stage. He had them recite a phrase stating that they wIll "Uphold the Blues" . He then presented them all with Honorary Bearcat Diplomas.

When we played Summer Folk this year (Summer 2007) I was talking to some of the Bearcats fans. One guy (about 15 years now) told me, he was one of those kids and he still had his honorary Bearcats Diploma....WOW! That's the kind of impact that James Wayner had on peoples lives, including my own. The picture below is one taken at that great show at Kelso Beach. You can see all the kids having a great time....and us too.

 

Dear Bearcats - by Jamie McMillan

If you will permit me I will tell you a tale of how, funny enough, The Bearcats have effected my life. You see my father, Terry McMillan, was a huge fan of the blues, and rightly so, a huge fan of Jim Wayner. You see my father attended the old "OSCVI" in it's prime and actually met his bride to be at a OSCVI dance. He was sixteen then, however when he and my mom told the story it seemed like yesterday. He spoke of the "Tombstones" playing gigs at both the OSCVI and the Sauble beach grandstand. I was told tales of Jim Wayner jumping off the grandstand into the splits, dancing like not unlike James Brown, and was often told that he was one of the last real "Blues man" around. Funny enough the Bearcats played an integral role in his life right into the last century. Whether it was traveling to Collingwood, Kelso beach, The Downtowner, or the fishing derby it seemed 100% worth it to see The Bearcats, and the blues music my father loved so dearly. I was told of exciting stories of the Bearcats, then the "Tombstones" rolling to the gigs in the black hearse, and playing at the Sauble bandstand. My parents both spoke of the tombstones and how talented both Jim Wayner was and the entire Tombstone band. It's funny you see, even decades later my father and mother both craved the blues and made it a point to pass the torch to me explaining that "there are not many bands playing the blues anymore". Anyway's time has passed and unfortunately Mr Jim Wayner has passed, and my father has passed along, within 3 months of Mr Jim Wayner dying. And I have never lost my love for the blues, perhaps a forgotten art. So allow me to say that Mr Jim Wayner will always be remembered in the hearts of the McMillan family, And every time I'm home, if there's a Bearcats concert, "I'm there" ...because I feel like my dad is too. Let me wrap up by telling you simply that music does matter, and the blues are important, Mr Jim Wayner will always be remembered in our families heart. And my father always loved the music of the Bearcats. And I like to think my kids will come to enjoy the music of the bearcats....years after I'm gone:}

Jamie McMillan

Bearcats: " Thanks Jamie, your story touch our hearts dearly. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it. Our hearts go out to you and your family....we have lost a great fan"

Rod Remembers by Rod Ramsay

Jim had a great love of fun. He was also quite generous with his time for good causes. The first time we played as Ramsay's Rangers, Jim directed the entire crowd at the Roxy Theater in Owen Sound to take the Ranger Vow "To enforce the Blues", close to 400 people stood up, played along, and are now Rangers forever.

Another favorite memory was when we played at the Dard in Wessaga Beach. We opened for Colin James that night. There were so many people packed up at the front of the stage. The sound and lights were incredible. The sweat was flying, it was simply Jim Wayner at his best....As good as it gets.

I remember the night Cookie (Orial Wayner - Jim's wife) came into the Harbour Inn in Owen Sound. Jim dropped everything, the band stopped playing. He said "Hi honey" and let her know (as well as everyone else) that she was something special. The next moment we were back charging down the Rockin' Highway a breakneck speed.