Buckacre -- Country Rock from America's Heartland

While surfing the Internet and You Tube the other day, I stumbled across a video for the group Buckacre, a band from the Illinois Valley (an area 90 miles southwest of Chicago along The Illinois River) that was popular in the mid and late 1970s.

When I was a junior and senior at LaSalle-Peru Township High School 1974-1976 most of the kids hip to the local music scene were raving about this band called Buckacre.

A country rock band, Buckacre's music was a cross between Poco and Buffalo Springfield with a bit of the Eagles and maybe a hint of The James Gang thrown in for good measure. From the way a lot of people were talking and raving about this band, including my best friend Chris Vasquez, they were going places-literally, because in 1976 they went to London to record the first of two albums for MCA with legendary producer Glyn Johns (he worked with bands from The Beatles and The Who to the Eagles and The Steve Miller Band).

Touted as the next Eagles, following the release of Morning Comes, the band returned to the States and began to tour in the southeast opening for such acts as The Outlaws and Jimmy Buffet and for awhile was the back up band for Hee Haw's the Hager Brothers when the twin brothers performed concerts.

By the end of the 70s, the band like many bands had their differences about their musical direction and while on the road, the band split up.

In the fall of 1980, I met two former members of Buckacre-Dick Verucchi and Alan Thacker-who had formed The Jerks along with Dave Morgan (he had played bass for Buckacre right before the band broke up) and Al Schupp. A few months later I was roadying for the band and would continue to do so up until 1982. (Interestingly, their

equipment truck had once belonged to The Outlaws.)

Other members of Buckacre, Les Lockridge and Dick Hally also returned to the Illinois Valley and formed their band Longshot. I always found it interesting and perhaps a little ironic that on more than one occasion when both bands were playing on Water Street at Friday's Saloon and Murphy's Tap on the same night, some of the guys would walk to the other bar, when the band was on break, and listen to the other band play.

I have to confess that I never really gave Buckacre a listen to until years later, when one day, in 1988 while I was browsing in a used record store in Burlington, Iowa I came across their two albums. I was too busy listening to other music at the time and you know how that goes-sometimes you just don't listen to the music. I only have one track now "Love Never Lasts Forever" that gets a lot of playing time on my iPod. Sadly, it is the only track available on CD that can be found on Crossing Paths-music from the Illinois Valley. I highly recommend this CD.

In 1982, Dick Verucchi and I were sitting in his van outside Murphy's Bar on Water Street in Peru, Illinois (it is no longer there; now it is the Waterfront Saloon) listening to this new group called The Blasters-who's music could best be described as a blend of rockabilly, rock, punk rock and rhythm and blues.

"This could have been us Sparks," Dick said as we listened to one of the songs. "Had we stayed together as Buckacre this might have been the music we could have been playing."

Dick Verucchi is still "playing out" in the Illinois Valley in the band Wake The Sheep; Dick Hally and Al Schupp are also playing music with local bands.

Maybe it's only another rock and roll story about a band briefly tasting fame and so close to breaking out, but it's a little personal for me having known some of the band members and having worked for them.