Summer 2003 Press Release

 Mission Mountain Wood Band Phenomenon Continues with September, 2003 Concert

At first it was a rumble, but in case you haven’t noticed, a roar of anticipation has been sweeping across the State.  The Legendary Mission Mountain Wood Band is dusting off their well-worn guitars, warming up their vocal cords and planning a party unlike any this State has seen since the last time they played a Reunion Tour in the Summer of 1992 – playing for over twenty thousand people in Polson, Missoula and Helena.  This time the Band is planning a benefit concert in Libby Montana, home of bassist Steve Riddle. 

 What is it about the Wood Band that continues to draw what is now two generations of unwavering support from all over the country??  The Band’s lone CD Release, In Without Knocking, continues to be the best selling CD ever carried by Rockin Rudy’s Music Store in Missoula and though the Band no longer tours or seeks dates, they continue to attract new fans every time they throw a Reunion Party .  In the words of Jim Casto, long time M2WB stage manager and bus driver, “Mission Mountain Wood Band was not just a Band – it was a way of living life, an attitude, and more than anything, in the deepest, most profound sense, the Band and their fans became a family.”  Mission Mountain first came to national prominence in the 70’s when they toured non-stop, playing over 250 dates a year around the country.  They played major clubs like Mr. Kelly’s in Chicago, CBGB’s in New York City, the Palomino in LA and the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.  Casto says, “we’d roll into The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on a Wednesday night and it would be standing room only. We’d rock the rafters and the owners would have to pull the power to get us to stop playing at closing time.”  Every time M2WB played LA the Palomino Club would be filled with Record Company Executives amazed at the drawing power of the Band.  The Band played an eclectic mixture of original Blue Grass, Rock and Roll and Good-time Montana Party music that would leave their audiences dancing on the tables. 

Record Companies told the band they wanted them to play music they could label and market – they wanted one genre and one lead singer but this was a band who refused to be pigeon holed, whose credo was found in the joy of the moment and they refused to let reality and the Record Industry get in the way of the music, the friendships and the audiences they drew their energy from.  They were a band’s band, playing every musical instrument with strings and every type of music.  They had three lead singers and specialized in flawless four-part harmonies. 

Band member Rob Quist remembers, “ there were no borders.  One night we could be playing with a great jazz legend like Buddy Rich and the next night playing with the (Grateful) Dead.  It was a perfect time in my life for that.  We were as free as could be.” The band toured in a 40 foot Scenic Cruiser Greyhound bus and could be anywhere in the country within two days.  “We saw America through a big vista dome window.  It’s a great way to travel,” Quist said.  “We’d hit the stage and take that energy from the crowd and send it right back and you just start sailing.  That’s the greatest feeling in the world.”  M2WB was made up of Band Members Terry Robinson, Rob Quist, Steve Riddle, Christian Johnson and Greg Reichenberg ; Road Manager, Tom Swan; Bus Driver, Jimmy Casto; Soundman, Will Lewis and Stage Manager, Eric Smith. 

 The group never quite fit the mold of the bands of the era.  They were musicians, free spirits and they were jocks.  They played basketball, golfed, hiked, mountain biked and skied around the country, arranging their band schedule to accommodate skiing in Taos, Sun Valley, Big Sky and Whitefish in the winter; folfing in the Swans at the yearly Wild Flower Folf tournament in the spring and cruising Going to the Sun Road under the Full Moon on ten speeds in the summer.  They even found a way to gather up all their friends for a yearly golf tournament and started the annual Fly Open Golf Tournament, a tradition that has continued to take place in Polson every August for the last 31 years.    Band member Steve Riddle remembers people from every walk in life from all over the country converging in Polson every August.  “We would have  a corporate attorney from Dallas, fly in with his entourage;  a Jewish banjo picker from New York; a former Governor of Montana (who never missed the party) and every other free spirit in the state, all converging in this conservative little community along with every friend we’d met along our tour.  We would take over the town, renting every available motel room and before long, the townspeople just loosened their ties and joined the party.  The Reta Mary became our private party barge on Saturday Night and our only problem was that we couldn’t get everyone on the boat who wanted to join the Concert Cruise so pretty soon we were a floating armada with private boats following the mother ship staying close enough to hear the music and share the evening’s fun. No one ever asked how everyone got the time off but every spring we gathered for the Aber Day Kegger in Missoula, every summer we met at the Fly Open in Polson and every January we brought in the New Year together at Buck’s T Four at Big Sky.  Those were our family traditions.” The Wood Band Family suffered a major loss in 1987 when lead singer, Terry Robinson was killed with the Montana Band in a plane crash on Flathead Lake on the Fourth of July.  His brother, Bruce Robinson, former lead singer of the band, Whiskey Jack, has stepped in to represent the Robinson vocals on subsequent band reunion concerts.   

The last time the band played at Big Mountain, the concert was covered by reporter and long time supporter, Steve Cripe.  He remembers, “Magic was in the air.  Everywhere you went you could feel it.  No conversation lasted long without the Wood Band coming up.  Tickets were gold – and impossible to come by – a last-minute 50 tickets sold almost started a riot on the hill.  It was a four-man attack – with the one-of-a-kind arrangements and sound, only this Band can produce! I laughed, I cried, I trembled and cheered.  Riddle ran a between-tune prattle that was historic and played patented bass – Quist was in heaven and it showed – Christian played world class guitar and fiddle. The encore was Ghost Riders in the Sky dedicated to the lost Band Members.  It was the best song I’ve ever heard! Two days later I’m still shakin' and trembling – it will take some time to recover!”

Mission Mountain Wood Band used to joke that there was a fictional place called Mondo, Montana.  It is a place we come back to with all our friends where the jokes are a little funnier, the music is hot and the dancing never stops.   Join the Mission Mountain Wood Band this September, 2003 for the party of the summer.

Log on to www.robquist.com for more information or call the Office of Rob Quist 406-257-8605.

 Note:  Mission Mountain Wood Band will not be performing during the Summer of 2004 due to Rob's National Touring Schedule with his Odyssey West Production.  Rob is currently booking M2WB dates for a special reunion tour in the Summer of 2005. 

      Contact the Office of Rob Quist at 1-406-257-8605 for information and availability.