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In Music

By Bobby Tanzilo Managing Editor Photography by Geoff Grohowski E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Bobby Tanzilo

Published Dec. 29, 2005 at 5:29 a.m.

Tags: velvet whip, avant garde, baroques, ruppenthal, dan ball, steinfort, the richard, bussian, negative movement, dennis kitchen, chuck reitzner

Most music fans know about the Milwaukee bands of our day. We may have even heard a few stories about the bands that were around a bit before our time. But how many of us know about the great Milwaukee bands of days long since passed (sorry, guys!)?

Gather 'round, young ones, and we'll tell you the story of a most unusual Milwaukee band. The Velvet Whip grew out of a desire to fuse classical instrumentation and contemporary music and quickly became one of the hottest acts on the counterculture scene, playing at the Avant Garde Coffee House and other venues in the second half of the 1960s.

"The genesis of The Velvet Whip goes back to my high school days and my involvement with the Milwaukee Music for Youth," remembers violinist Dan Ball. "I was playing the violin and hooked up with a cello player named Henry Steinfort. We hit it off and proceeded to try to learn the Brahms 'Double Concerto.' We didn't succeed but threw around the idea of starting a Young Composers Society dedicated to performing our own music. We rehearsed and performed at a grade school in Milwaukee and that lasted for about two years. It was a thrill to hear our music performed somewhat professionally."

By 1967, Ball and Steinfort -- having flirted unsuccessfully with making a go of an avant garde ensemble ("Unfortunately, our cutting edge group was not in demand," Ball admits) -- turned their gaze to the music they heard all around them. And for the same reasons most young guys pickup guitars.

"Henry and I then had the bright idea of starting a rock band. Since I played violin, I could obviously play guitar and Henry could transfer from the cello to electric bass. Little did we know how inadequate those ideas were. We were clueless about the rock band scene and had no experience, just desire. It looked like fun and a great way to meet girls."

So, the duo set about assembling The Velvet Whip.

"Since we had no idea about how to get people who could play to join us, we looked for all the long haired guys in town to join our band," says Ball. "Long hair was a novelty and it seemed like all the 'cool' guys were starting to grow their hair and beards. There were three candidates with long hair. Two could play guitars and the other was just an experience all unto himself."

Ken Blochowiak, an engineer at WUWM -- where Ball also worked as a DJ and engineer -- was hired as the guitarist. Tom Ruppenthal joined as bassist after first denying any musical inclinations.

"When I first encountered Tom it was on a stairway at 'Uncle Bob's' apartment on Warren Street," recounts Ball. "Uncle Bob's was a gathering place for all the young hipsters and always had a number of people just hanging out. We found out he played guitar and bass and we persisted and recruited him for our seminal journey into psychedelia."

Completing this unorthodox quintet was -- no, not a drummer -- but rather "The Richard." Ball explains:

"Richard Bussian danced, introduced the music and hit a pie tin with a drumstick. His spasmodic dancing was called 'doing the Richard' and he became 'The Richard.' He was unique; sort of like the Laughing Buddha with the private chuckle. His vision and offbeat ideas would become one of the hallmarks and quirkiness of the Whip."

Steinfort concurs. "A legend in his own time, 'The Richard' was 'THE RICHARD'! The Tambourine Man, top 10 list designer, skit/monologue writer, with flair, wit, sarcasm, flamboyance and a bit of the bizarre thrown in for good measure! He was the band's 'Standard Bearer' -- a vital aspect of the band's creative uniqueness!"

In a 1975 article in the now-defunct Bugle-American, Carol Frinzi recalled the band and its antics.

"I seem to remember them having a real whip in the act, too. It was during a song called, 'Little Girl's Dream (19?? Early Whip Trip),' I think. Richard (Bussian) would yell and scream into the mike and lash the whip all over the stage and then the strobe light would go on and the band would all run back and forth, going crazy. It was nuts."

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28 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by truppenthal on July 28, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. (report)

I stumbled upon this interesting site and article and talkback. I was a member of the Velvet Whip and I possess the recordings made at the Avant Garde and even listen to the old tunes at times. The recording quality is not great but it does capture the essence of the Whip at the Garde. I know that Dan who love to tinker with the old recordings and even rerecord the songs, but I think the music, as is, is worth a brief listen. So if anyone else stumbles upon this site and would be interested in a cd of the Whip Live, please contact me at truppenthal@earthlink.net and I'll send you one. It certainly would bring back memories for anyone who experienced that time and place.

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Posted by druizyco on April 30, 2007 at 11:37 a.m. (report)

Oh, my God!!! I was researching both The Velvet Whip and Baroques on the Internet today because I recently wrote a poem about my 1960s experiences for a poetry class I am taking a the local state university. I wanted to credit them for how I they are commemorated in the poem, and found this site. Seeing their photos and reading words from Dan Ball, Henry Steinfort, and "The Richard"'s daughter have brought many tears of joy to me today. I never missed the "Whip"'s performances at the Avante Garde on Thursday nights. I am the one who loaned "The Richard" his second tamborine after he broke his. I still have it. I am also the one who arranged for a concert to be held by the Velvet Whip at the the UWM Kenwood Concert Center. I really hope that Dan Ball and Henry do write a history of the Velvet Whip and those times, and that they create a CD. If they have already, then I would like to know how to get copies. I will try to reach Dan at his email he provided in one of his responses. Thank you sooooo much for this article. This has really brightened my day.

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Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 16, 2006 at 12:43 p.m. (report)

Dan Ball said: Thanks to Bobby T for the heads up about the last three posts. I remember Kristen and Arlene. I'm glad that we had some impact on their lives. The name of the group originally came from our first lead singer of all of three weeks who also happened to be gay. He suggested the Lavender Whip. We all thought that it was a great name but I kept forgetting it and referred to the new group as the Velvet Whip. The singer dropped out, probably sensing the non-commercial appeal of the band and wanting to make some money. All that was left were Henry and I. At least we had the name and the search was on for the remaining future band members. As for the Velvet Underground connection, there wasn't one. I bought the first album and Henry hung out with Warhol a few years later. As for the legendary Whip recordings, they will remain unheard and unseen. The sound is just not good enough. Thanks for the warm fuzzies from Kristin and Arlene. I'm writing a band history with Henry and would appreciate any input/stories from back then. I can be reached at dimondan@sbcglobal.net

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Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 13, 2006 at 11:56 a.m. (report)

Tim Noble said: Does anyone have recordings of the Velvet Whip? I'd like to play their music on my radio show on WMSE.

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Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 12, 2006 at 6:32 p.m. (report)

Arlene Maass said: Wowie zowie. Where to start? Perhaps I should speak for myself, but I was one of about 4 ugly groupies that got absolutely nowhere with the band, except to occasionally get a laugh out of the Kid and Rup (the corner of the Garde where we usually sat). We weren't necessarily bonged or anything. We just had a raw, gross energy all our own, but it was agitated and stimulated by your original music! Think I was 16 at the time. In those days, you could walk up to the Clark station on Prospect and buy a pack of smokes for 35-cents, and then head back to the Garde, get in line, and pay the dollar or whatever cover to Jim? I remember hitch-hiking a few times to Chicago when the Whip played at LIKE YOUNG on Wells Street in Old Town. Then after high school several of us moved into a commune behind the FQS house (on Maryland near Park)...we lived on Frederick Street a few doors down from where you lived, Dan Ball. Actually there was a band living in your house at the time: Trapped in Amber. A little about my strange trip: At 19, I became a Jesus Freak, moved around a lot, living communally for another 4 years in such outposts as London, (with short stints in Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, "West Berlin," Den Haag (NL), and eventually Jerusalem, then Chicago, married a Jewish hippy Jesus freak from Montreal, then headed for Dallas, and since 1987, FIB-land. After all these years and places, I'll never forget the Velvet Whip (I used to wonder if the name was some sort of nod to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground). Back in 1968, I saw Hendrix at the Scene, and the Mothers. My claim to fame is that I gave a match to Frank Zappa. Can you believe that the night Cream played at the Scene I decided to go to the Garde instead to hear the Whip? Either I was a dedicated fan, or just an idiot (probably both). My 17-year old son Aaron loves piano, and writes his own pieces. I think he would appreciate listening to that CD you're trying to put together. I know: at our age, "go for it" takes awhile. Well. Shalom and many blessings on your heads! Arlene

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