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 Oct. 13, 2004

KRAZY KATS HAVE THRIVED ON  LIFETIME OF OLDIES
Area trio started performing in 1957 and still is today
By BRANDON BABCOCK

The Kansas City Star

The Krazy Kats have a simple answer to how a band that formed in 1957 is still playing in 2004.

They ride in separate cars.

Front man and guitarist Lee Dresser, keyboardist Willie Craig and drummer Fred Fletcher have found being in business together is easier than being best friends. And it has kept the trio of Johnson County residents entertaining crowds with the oldies for parts of five decades.

“I'd like to think we do one thing, but we do it well,” said Craig, whose sister's new reel-to-reel tape recorder eventually led him and Dresser to form the group in their early teens.

The Krazy Kats, after surviving first dates, college, families, war and a 15-year hiatus, now find themselves at 63 years old playing many of the same tunes they started learning by ear 47 years ago, and they're doing it nearly 150 nights a year, enough to be the guys' only jobs. They're one of the few exclusively Oldies bands in the Kansas City area.

All three of the men grew up in Moberly, Mo. Craig's mother taught piano, and he and Fletcher, both living in Overland Park now, played in the school band together. Dresser, who lives in Olathe, grew up a block from Craig, and they were buddies.

“I lived on the other side of town, about two miles away,” Fletcher said. Fletcher was part of the class leadership, Dresser said, but he only knew of him. Craig did the recruiting and brought them together. Details of the band's first show are recorded in the first of scores of handwritten spiral notebooks Dresser used to record every performance. The latest gig, as of the last week of September, was No. 3,559.

Early on, a newspaper report called them Lee Dresser and the Dresserettes. The band didn't yet have a name.

“Willie and I knew right away that we didn't want to be referred to as the Dresserettes,” Fletcher said. “We knew right then and there we needed to come up with something.”

The Krazy Kats, they finally realized just a few years ago, came from Craig's sister. After a great performance, she said they were some crazy cats, using the lingo of the day. Lingo and popular music aside, they've stayed the Krazy Kats.

“In fact now, we don't do one single Beatles song,” Craig said. The “hippy music” never sounded like something worth playing, he said. Nothing beyond the 1955 to 1965 sounds ever intrigued them.

Dresser's musical aspirations were cemented after watching Elvis Presley on television.

“I saw Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show, and I went and ordered my Sears and Roebuck guitar the next day,” he said. “I didn't like any of that other stuff after I heard rock 'n' roll. The oldies are the oldies. But we played them when they were new, right out of the box.”

The trio moved to the University of Missouri in Columbia and played frequently for the college crowd through 1965. Craig was drafted, then Dresser followed a year later, and the band split up.

When Dresser came home, he took his musical career to Los Angeles, where he was a recording artist and songwriter, contributing tunes to national acts like Pat Boone, Bobby Sherman and The Osmonds. He toured the world and even lent his voice to some of the characters in the Country Bear Jamboree for Disney's theme parks.

In 1980, with Craig in Kansas City, Fletcher in Wichita and Dresser still in the business in Los Angeles, Craig proposed a reunion. The name stuck then, too.

“We were worried they wouldn't know who we were,” Craig said.

They remembered, and they showed up.

Dresser said 532 people were at the Lexington gig, the same place they had played a weekly dance when they were first together. In Moberly, on the next night, 300 people packed a place that could hold just more than 100.

It was then they knew getting back together would be a worthy endeavor. Those 3,500-plus shows in communities around the metropolitan area built a strong fan base in Kansas City.

A few shows a year for the next couple of years led to a full-time commitment and brought the guys back to the area for good.

Dresser said the high point in income, number and quality of shows came in 1992, but the best performances ever were in the late '80s at the Crown Center concert series. They opened for Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Kingsmen and Don McLean, among others.

Dresser estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people were there, and many were fans. One performance even earned a call for an encore.

“We're high energy,” Dresser said. “We work the crowd.”

The band has come a long way since the three young men crammed into Dresser's car, drums in the backseat, amps and a guitar in the trunk, a mystery piano awaiting them at each stop. Craig also carried a stack of books so he could prop the piano up high enough to stand and play.

They rode together back then, but some things haven't changed.

“It's good to be asked back,” Dresser said.

People still show up to see those Krazy Kats that so impressed Craig's sister. Even at 63, with the band in its 48th year in action, they're willing to play anywhere for anyone who would like to have them.

“We're not limiting ourselves,” Dresser said. “We'll work all we can get.”

 

 

 

 

December 1, 2004
KRAZY KATS ROCKING AFTER 47 YEARS
By JANET GORDON
The Index, Hermitage, MO

Many teenagers entertain the idea of performing in a band one day, but few actually get the opportunity to live out that fantasy.  However, once in a while, these dreams of youth do come true, as was the case for three 15-year-old young men from Moberly, Mo., over 47 years ago, who performed recently in Hickory County.

In 1957, Lee Dresser, Willie Craig, and Fred Fletcher were attending Moberly High School together. enjoying their teenage years and the music of the era.  Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis were topping the charts with their own special style of music, and these youngsters wanted to join them in the music business.

The trio began practicing at Willie's home.  Fred, with his snare drum in the basket, rode his bike to Willie's home to practice.  Their first opportunity to perform came February 14, 1957, at a Sweetheart Dance in the Moberly High School cafeteria.

"My dad had to drive us to our first gigs," laughs Craig.  "None of us were old enough to drive yet."

The band knew a total of eight songs, and those songs, along with a drum solo from Fletcher, were a hit with the crowd.  No one seemed to mind the repetition.  With that positive reaction to their music, the band members began their entertainment career journey that has kept the three school friends together for almost half a century.

Because the band was originally dubbed Lee Dresser and the Dresserettes, band menbers Craig and Fletcher were definitely interested in a new band name.  Fletcher says he was not too keen on the idea of being known as a "Dresserette."  So Craig's sister Lyla came to the rescue with references to the music of the time and the craziness of the band's members, and the name "Krazy Kats" became the official band name.

The Krazy Kats have performed thousands of time together for audiences who enjoy their classic 50's and 60's music.  Dresser is the front man and plays guitar.  Craig plays keyboard, and Fletcher completes the trio on drums.  All three provide vocals.  They have appeared as an opening act for many artists, including Bill Cosby, Bo Diddley, The Platters, and more.

"We backed Chuck Berry at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia one year," added Craig.

Craig recalls those early days with fondness.  "I carried a box of books to raise the piano up so I could play standing up," he recalled. "It takes 12 books."  Equipment has improved for the entire band over the past few decades, and today's compact keyboards no longer require Craig to take along a personal library for props.

"We played some gigs in Kansas City at the Ararat Shrine," states Dresser. "That's where we met Conrad Pitz."  Conrad "Connie" Pitz remembers that well.  "The Krazy Kats used to come to Lexington every Saturday night at a big auditorium.  That's how I became acquainted with them."

When Pitz became entertainment chairman for the Oriental Band, a unit of the Ararat Shrine that performs at parades and central states competitions, he invited the Kats to perform at their Spring Fling fundraiser at the Ararat Shrine.

"We booked them seven years in a row," added Pitz.  The auditorium at the Ararat Shrine will hold approximately 800 people.

Even in those days, Pitz and his family visited Hickory County on a regular basis.  "We camped here 26 years and eventually bought a weekend place," Pitz explained.  "I retired March 1, 2001, and live near Pittsburg.  We've been here ever since and don't plan on leaving.  We love it here."

"Mary Ping initially approached me about trying to get the Krazy Kats here, so I contacted them and they agreed," Pitz says.

The band performed at the Pomme de Terre Shrine Club near Hermitage in November 2003, April 2004, and most recently on November 12.

"We had 200 people here for their first performance, and it was great," commented Pitz.

Ping still remembers hearing the Krazy Kats from before she moved here.

"I lived in Brunswick and had listened to them for years." she said.  "In fact, I've listened to them for over 40 years," Ping added.  "They used to perform at the skating rink in town."

The Krazy Kats have performed for small and large audiences.  Both Dresser and Craig remember performing at the Crown Center in Kansas City in the early 1990's.  "When your typical performance is for 200 people, 15,000 was awesome," said Craig.  "We opened for Paul Revere and the Raiders," noted Dresser.  "It was a lot of fun; they had a huge sound system," added Craig.  "It was quite a privilege to perform there."

The Krazy Kats perform mostly in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa.

All performances by the Krazy Kats are geared for audience enjoyment, but one special performance has become a real crowd pleaser. "Elvis" (aka Dresser) arrives during the evening dressed in full costume, and sings a few selections to the delight of the audience.

Being able to make their living doing what they love is what Dresser, Craig, and Fletcher appreciate most.  Their focus has always been on performing and perfecting their music to provide a high-energy, fast paced, and entertaining experience for their audiences, no matter how large or small the venue.  For the Krazy Kats, the performance is all about the quality.

The band's dedication to the music is just one reason why the Krazy Kats' fans are so loyal.  Buster Childs, a fan since 1986, is perhaps one of the most devoted fans.  Childs jokingly says, "I'm the president of their fan club."  If the Kats did have an official fan club, Childs would probably be first choice as president.

Childs, who lives in Texas, made the trip to Hickory County's Pomme de Terre Shrine Club November 12 to listen and dance to the tunes of his favorite band of all times.  Childs is quick to point out that he's not the only one who feels that way.  "They were voted Best Band in Kansas City in 1991," Childs stated.

The Krazy Kats were also inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1999.  Childs has traveled thousands of miles over the years to enjoy an evening with the Krazy Kats.  He says he just checks their website to see where performances are scheduled.

Fans can see where the Krazy Kats will perform next or can learn more about them by visiting their website at krazykats.net.  And there's always the chance that the Kats could show up again in Hickory County soon to entertain fans with a nusical blast from the past.