Silver (with the reorganized lineup listed below) was an American rock band from Fargo, North Dakota, that gained popularity throughout the Midwest from 1975-1977. The lineup was Danny "Skutch" Mangold (vocals, guitar), Gene "Mean Gene" aka "Jeem Peemp" Wilhelmi (guitar, vocals), Rick "Ricky" aka "Rink" aka "Sal" Hutchinson (bass guitar, vocals), and Mike "Wetz" Wetzstein (drums, percussion). Doug "Gester" Geston (front-of-house sound), Brad "Jac...
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Silver (with the reorganized lineup listed below) was an American rock band from Fargo, North Dakota, that gained popularity throughout the Midwest from 1975-1977. The lineup was Danny "Skutch" Mangold (vocals, guitar), Gene "Mean Gene" aka "Jeem Peemp" Wilhelmi (guitar, vocals), Rick "Ricky" aka "Rink" aka "Sal" Hutchinson (bass guitar, vocals), and Mike "Wetz" Wetzstein (drums, percussion). Doug "Gester" Geston (front-of-house sound), Brad "Jackson" Persinger and Mick "Mink" Wagner owned stage-lighting design and operations (back then we called it "running lights"). Silver created a substantial fan base through a hard-edged yet melodic pop sound that combined the tunefulness and sense of humor of Cheap Trick with the hard rock tradition of Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople). The band was leading-edge both musically and visually... merging unusual and unique sound and theatrical effects into their shows. The band dissolved in mid-1977 when percussionist Mike Wetzstein decided to get married and raise a family, so he left the music industry and went to work in the manufacturing sector. Danny, Gene, and Rick went on to form a new band "Fast Cat" which lasted until mid-1978, after which Danny and Gene exited to another band out of Fargo "The Uglies" and Rick and his family headed to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mike Wetzstein works for ConAgra Foods and resides with his wife in Omaha, NE.
Danny Mangold is Director of Retail, Buyer for Mills Music (millsmusic.com) and resides in Seattle on Lake Washington with his girlfriend, Janie Morris. After moving to Seattle, he ran into Mark Cardenas of the Time/Prince who hooked him up as live and session guitarist with Charles Neville/Neville Brothers, Chris Barron/Spin Doctors and finally one of Danny's idols, Ann Wilson from Heart.
Ricky: In early 2001 we almost lost our old friend in a serious car accident. Injuries were so severe he had to close down Danny's Music which was a huge loss to many who loved it. Thankfully, the bits of news I have indicate... "every now and then you know it's kinda hard to tell... but he's still alive and well!" Those of us who worked with Danny in Silver in the early years knew he was star-quality and had what seemed to be a photographic memory. A master joke and story teller... an extraordinary gift of gab. He would befriend and instantly converse with anyone, anytime, anywhere... many times we had to drag him away kicking and screaming. I learned so much from him. He has many years of strong background in rock and roll and has been a mover and shaker in the music world. He is known world-wide as a collector of and for his knowledge of vintage instruments. The Silver boys spent countless hours watching white lines on the road and talking music and guitars. I heard from Danny in Aug 2006 via email but believe the last time we talked was circa 1984 during The Metros heyday. Check that! He just called... it's Dec 20, 08... it had been 24 years!
Danny: "Every gig I did, I can remember like it was yesterday." Geston was really the start as we met in the 10th grade and he was a real musician. Then Mike... he hung with these guys that were pretty bad-ass in town and doled out ass-whoopins of Biblical proportions on a pretty regular basis... but he wanted to hang with us wanna-be rockers... we fell in love with his charm and grace immediately... I remember the first time Mike sat down behind a set of drums, Geston and I all looked at him like... what do you think you're doing?...and BAM... he was just this amazing drummer... 1/3 Bonham (Zep), 1/3 David Garibaldi (TOP), and 1/3 Richie Hayward (Little Feat)... who knew? Years later... Gene was next to join and was the consummate "go-to guy". He could build a PA, overhaul the engine in the band van, and learn Ritchie Blackmore licks... all in one morning. Gene started the Metro All Stars as well. Next was the mighty, mighty Rick Hutchinson who we had known for a while. He was in a pretty big band and had an awesome sweet biker jacket at the time. I think he drove a Ford Taunus too. He brought his Olympic White P-Bass down to Mike and Ginny's basement for a "let's see what happens" and, I mean, really, he was in the band before he even turned his amp on. Easily, one of God's true elect is Rick Hutchinson. He and Mike Wetzstein have more personality and talent and big hearts than anyone. Doug Geston returned to run sound and live on the road as well. (I think Mike and I used Sodium Pentathol to drug him into it.) Doug is awesome. IQ of about 300, great family, killin' bass player and the best ears anywhere.
The rest of the Rogues Gallery... the one.. the only... Brad Persinger aka "Jackson". I'm speechless to describe how cool this guy was. Just an amazing cat. Made life on the road a 3-ring circus. Mick Wagner... once again... no words to describe Mick. From Jamestown, ND by way of Pluto. Not from this earth at all and constantly entertaining. Downside to Mick? This LED necklace that I found instantly irratating. Upside? Turned me on to the first 3 Springsteen records. Pat Stenerson ran sound as well. Another guy with an IQ of a bajillion. Cool guy too. But... (catch my breath here) there was the famous KIP KELLY KNOX... a kinda lightman... kinda roadie... kinda ??? I think we left him in a field one night near Nebraska. Really. I think Gene or Hutchinson actually drove him over. Anyway... I was a lucky guy to get to know these guys. Mike and I will be celebrating a 40-year anniversary of meeting and him talking his buddies into not kicking my ass. My email is dannymangold@gmail.com
Gene Wilhelmi is founder and president of All American Survey & Research (allamericansurveyco.com) and resides in Fargo, ND.
Rick Hutchinson is a Program Manager at Hewlett-Packard and resides in San Jose, CA.
Since moving to CA in 1978, Rick played bass for and was a founding member of the South Bay Area band "Hoosier Daddys" also known as "Hoo Daddy" (jaigroove.com) that recorded a well-received album (Into Something) in the mid-90s (recorded in 1995, original release 1996, second release 1997, it has a timeless feel and sound). Hoo Daddy started as a traditional stone cold blues band with a black cat bone and evolved to include elements of rock, R&B, and funk. Lineup was Michael Jai (drums), Ben Hunter (guitar, Dec 92-Aug 96) and Rich Healy (guitar, Sep 96-Jan 00), Ned Kraft (lead vocal, blues harp), Rick Hutchinson (bass), Ruth Butterfield-Winter (keyboards), and Chaz Gunter (sax). Occasionally friends would gig with us, including Kenny "Blue" Ray (guitar, http://home.earthlink.net/~blueray/), Futoshi Morioka (guitar, http://www.sfblues.net/FutoshiMorioka.html), Terry Hiatt (guitar, http://www.terryhiatt.com/), Dave "Rave" Sechrest (guitar, http://www.jokersandthieves.com), Curt Anderson (drums), Larry Cornelius (guitar, http://www.bigboyandthetoys.com), Joe Neipp (drums), and Vala Cupp (vocal, http://www.valacupp.net/). Hoo Daddy had a great run from Dec 1992 through Jan 2000 all over the Bay Area scene. Second album remains unfinished. As always, wish we would have recorded more... one of these days would like to transform the bits of live material to an album.
Rick also worked with the soul and funk band "Jokers & Thieves" (http://www.jokersandthieves.com) formerly known as "cHucklEheAD" when their bass player, Tom Buenz, suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. One of my favorite gigs that knocked me off the box was with J&T on a yacht cruising the SF Bay at night. At the break, looking out at the city skyline... I thought... this is it... doesn't get any better. Almost every friend I've ever had is a bandmate. Bands of brothers... no matter what stress there was... there's always still the love for each other, what we got to do, and how we did it. Love the sight of that old fibes bass drum... then and now... right in the pocket baby!
Doug Geston owns and runs Westmark Productions (http://www.westmarkproductions.com) and resides in Golden Valley, MN.
Mick Wagner is the founder and owner of Pro-Per Documents, a legal support services firm in Portland, OR. He works part-time as a radio personality at KMHD-FM, an NPR-affiliated Jazz radio station, and resides in an 80-year old log cabin on the banks of the Sandy River in Troutdale, OR. He remembers his days on the road with Silver with great fondness (especially the middle-of-the-night, middle-of-winter, middle-of-nowhere limo repairs) and is looking forward to their eventual middle-age reunion. He has managed to stay out of jail, only because he has not yet crossed paths with the S.O.B. who stole the great "Flying V" he bought from Skutchie back in 1978! His email address is mickproper@qwest.net, and he'd love to hear from anybody who remembers him. He also thinks the comment about being "by way of Pluto" is demeaning, seeing as how Pluto has recently been downgraded from planet status, and believes that being "by way of Neptune" is more in keeping with his delusional self-image.
Mick: "I still think that Danny, Gene, Rick & Mike were one of the best damn bands - bar none - that I have ever seen! When I first moved to the Portland area back in 1980, I was amazed how poor the quality of the local musicianship was. Most of the bands that were hyped up locally ('Johnny and the Distractions', 'Sequel', 'Unreal Gods') wouldn't even have been allowed to play in the Midwest bar scene - even the big shots, 'Seafood Mama' (i.e.: 'Quarterflash') didn't have as good a stage show or group persona as Silver!"
Brad Persinger resides in Covington, VA (unconfirmed) and technically is the best looking of the Silver crew. Ricky tried to track him down but all leads were dead ends. less
Mike Wetzstein works for ConAgra Foods and resides with his wife in Omaha, NE.
Danny Mangold is Director of Retail, Buyer for Mills Music (millsmusic.com) and resides in Seattle on Lake Washington with his girlfriend, Janie Morris. After moving to Seattle, he ran into Mark Cardenas of the Time/Prince who hooked him up as live and session guitarist with Charles Neville/Neville Brothers, Chris Barron/Spin Doctors and finally one of Danny's idols, Ann Wilson from Heart.
Ricky: In early 2001 we almost lost our old friend in a serious car accident. Injuries were so severe he had to close down Danny's Music which was a huge loss to many who loved it. Thankfully, the bits of news I have indicate... "every now and then you know it's kinda hard to tell... but he's still alive and well!" Those of us who worked with Danny in Silver in the early years knew he was star-quality and had what seemed to be a photographic memory. A master joke and story teller... an extraordinary gift of gab. He would befriend and instantly converse with anyone, anytime, anywhere... many times we had to drag him away kicking and screaming. I learned so much from him. He has many years of strong background in rock and roll and has been a mover and shaker in the music world. He is known world-wide as a collector of and for his knowledge of vintage instruments. The Silver boys spent countless hours watching white lines on the road and talking music and guitars. I heard from Danny in Aug 2006 via email but believe the last time we talked was circa 1984 during The Metros heyday. Check that! He just called... it's Dec 20, 08... it had been 24 years!
Danny: "Every gig I did, I can remember like it was yesterday." Geston was really the start as we met in the 10th grade and he was a real musician. Then Mike... he hung with these guys that were pretty bad-ass in town and doled out ass-whoopins of Biblical proportions on a pretty regular basis... but he wanted to hang with us wanna-be rockers... we fell in love with his charm and grace immediately... I remember the first time Mike sat down behind a set of drums, Geston and I all looked at him like... what do you think you're doing?...and BAM... he was just this amazing drummer... 1/3 Bonham (Zep), 1/3 David Garibaldi (TOP), and 1/3 Richie Hayward (Little Feat)... who knew? Years later... Gene was next to join and was the consummate "go-to guy". He could build a PA, overhaul the engine in the band van, and learn Ritchie Blackmore licks... all in one morning. Gene started the Metro All Stars as well. Next was the mighty, mighty Rick Hutchinson who we had known for a while. He was in a pretty big band and had an awesome sweet biker jacket at the time. I think he drove a Ford Taunus too. He brought his Olympic White P-Bass down to Mike and Ginny's basement for a "let's see what happens" and, I mean, really, he was in the band before he even turned his amp on. Easily, one of God's true elect is Rick Hutchinson. He and Mike Wetzstein have more personality and talent and big hearts than anyone. Doug Geston returned to run sound and live on the road as well. (I think Mike and I used Sodium Pentathol to drug him into it.) Doug is awesome. IQ of about 300, great family, killin' bass player and the best ears anywhere.
The rest of the Rogues Gallery... the one.. the only... Brad Persinger aka "Jackson". I'm speechless to describe how cool this guy was. Just an amazing cat. Made life on the road a 3-ring circus. Mick Wagner... once again... no words to describe Mick. From Jamestown, ND by way of Pluto. Not from this earth at all and constantly entertaining. Downside to Mick? This LED necklace that I found instantly irratating. Upside? Turned me on to the first 3 Springsteen records. Pat Stenerson ran sound as well. Another guy with an IQ of a bajillion. Cool guy too. But... (catch my breath here) there was the famous KIP KELLY KNOX... a kinda lightman... kinda roadie... kinda ??? I think we left him in a field one night near Nebraska. Really. I think Gene or Hutchinson actually drove him over. Anyway... I was a lucky guy to get to know these guys. Mike and I will be celebrating a 40-year anniversary of meeting and him talking his buddies into not kicking my ass. My email is dannymangold@gmail.com
Gene Wilhelmi is founder and president of All American Survey & Research (allamericansurveyco.com) and resides in Fargo, ND.
Rick Hutchinson is a Program Manager at Hewlett-Packard and resides in San Jose, CA.
Since moving to CA in 1978, Rick played bass for and was a founding member of the South Bay Area band "Hoosier Daddys" also known as "Hoo Daddy" (jaigroove.com) that recorded a well-received album (Into Something) in the mid-90s (recorded in 1995, original release 1996, second release 1997, it has a timeless feel and sound). Hoo Daddy started as a traditional stone cold blues band with a black cat bone and evolved to include elements of rock, R&B, and funk. Lineup was Michael Jai (drums), Ben Hunter (guitar, Dec 92-Aug 96) and Rich Healy (guitar, Sep 96-Jan 00), Ned Kraft (lead vocal, blues harp), Rick Hutchinson (bass), Ruth Butterfield-Winter (keyboards), and Chaz Gunter (sax). Occasionally friends would gig with us, including Kenny "Blue" Ray (guitar, http://home.earthlink.net/~blueray/), Futoshi Morioka (guitar, http://www.sfblues.net/FutoshiMorioka.html), Terry Hiatt (guitar, http://www.terryhiatt.com/), Dave "Rave" Sechrest (guitar, http://www.jokersandthieves.com), Curt Anderson (drums), Larry Cornelius (guitar, http://www.bigboyandthetoys.com), Joe Neipp (drums), and Vala Cupp (vocal, http://www.valacupp.net/). Hoo Daddy had a great run from Dec 1992 through Jan 2000 all over the Bay Area scene. Second album remains unfinished. As always, wish we would have recorded more... one of these days would like to transform the bits of live material to an album.
Rick also worked with the soul and funk band "Jokers & Thieves" (http://www.jokersandthieves.com) formerly known as "cHucklEheAD" when their bass player, Tom Buenz, suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. One of my favorite gigs that knocked me off the box was with J&T on a yacht cruising the SF Bay at night. At the break, looking out at the city skyline... I thought... this is it... doesn't get any better. Almost every friend I've ever had is a bandmate. Bands of brothers... no matter what stress there was... there's always still the love for each other, what we got to do, and how we did it. Love the sight of that old fibes bass drum... then and now... right in the pocket baby!
Doug Geston owns and runs Westmark Productions (http://www.westmarkproductions.com) and resides in Golden Valley, MN.
Mick Wagner is the founder and owner of Pro-Per Documents, a legal support services firm in Portland, OR. He works part-time as a radio personality at KMHD-FM, an NPR-affiliated Jazz radio station, and resides in an 80-year old log cabin on the banks of the Sandy River in Troutdale, OR. He remembers his days on the road with Silver with great fondness (especially the middle-of-the-night, middle-of-winter, middle-of-nowhere limo repairs) and is looking forward to their eventual middle-age reunion. He has managed to stay out of jail, only because he has not yet crossed paths with the S.O.B. who stole the great "Flying V" he bought from Skutchie back in 1978! His email address is mickproper@qwest.net, and he'd love to hear from anybody who remembers him. He also thinks the comment about being "by way of Pluto" is demeaning, seeing as how Pluto has recently been downgraded from planet status, and believes that being "by way of Neptune" is more in keeping with his delusional self-image.
Mick: "I still think that Danny, Gene, Rick & Mike were one of the best damn bands - bar none - that I have ever seen! When I first moved to the Portland area back in 1980, I was amazed how poor the quality of the local musicianship was. Most of the bands that were hyped up locally ('Johnny and the Distractions', 'Sequel', 'Unreal Gods') wouldn't even have been allowed to play in the Midwest bar scene - even the big shots, 'Seafood Mama' (i.e.: 'Quarterflash') didn't have as good a stage show or group persona as Silver!"
Brad Persinger resides in Covington, VA (unconfirmed) and technically is the best looking of the Silver crew. Ricky tried to track him down but all leads were dead ends. less
Also known as:
- Silver Band
