| The Dizzy Ramblers was the name of my Mama and
Daddy's band back in the 1930's. Jesse and I started using variations
of the name for some of our musical endeavors during the mid-70's,
when our interests started to lean more toward country music. I continue
to use the Dizzy Rambler Band name even today when opportunities
arise.
During the 1990's, The Dizzy Rambler Band was
first -- our acoustic act that played primarily at Allen's Historical
Cafe in Auburndale. The acoustic act consisted of: Carl Chambers
- guitar and vocals; Nancy Chambers - bass; Joe Spann - banjo and
vocals; and Steve Durrwachter - fiddle and vocals. We did a large
variety of music including a lot of traditional fiddle and banjo
tunes, a healthy portion of western swinggrass, as well as some really
off the wall stuff, such as original arrangements of the theme from
the "Underdog" cartoon series
and
the old
rock
anthem
"Layla".
The
crowds at Allen's Cafe always seemed to appreciate the variety and
it was not uncommon for the DRB to receive a standing ovation. Of
course there were those occasional shows where no one actually noticed
we were performing -- but such is a band's life, when playing in
a restaurant. Allen's was a rare venue and there will never be another
place like it. We would have never had a place to vent our musical
frustrations if it had not been for the cafe.
One of high points of the '90's Dizzy Rambler
Band, was winning the 1993 "Pepsi-Cola Battle of the Bands" at
Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, FL. We only entered the contest
because
another
band had withdrawn from the competition and Steve Durrwachter thought
it would be a good idea for us to get the exposure that playing in
the Central Florida theme park could provide. We never dreamed that
our
4-piece,
sort-of-bluegrass, acoustic act would win the two-day competition.
All of the other bands were large electric country acts - some from
as far away as Tampa. I'll have to admit though, we did have a pretty
hot show.
As the decade progressed we often used the Dizzy
Rambler Band name for our more electric country shows, usually
because of the name
recognition factor. Examples were the
occasional Silver Springs concerts where we opened for some of the
biggest country artists
of the day. Our old friends, Len Walls and Glen Reeves were the talent
buyers for the theme park during the 90's and Len would throw us
an opening slot whenever possible. We had a very professional organization
that was well respected by the promoters, the park and sometimes
by the name acts (after all we were just the lowly opening act).
These shows were generally used as an outlet to perform my original
songs. The
Dizzy Rambler Band - 1990's Photo Gallery
Boardwalk & Baseball
Dec. 1991 |
91- B&B - 1 |
91- B&B - 2 |
91- B&B - 3 |
91- B&B - 4 |
91- B&B - 5 |
91- B&B - 6 |
Cypress
Gardens
Battle of the Bands
Sept. 1993 |
93 - CG - 1 |
93 - CG - 2
|
93 - CG - 3 |
93 - CG - 4 |
93 - CG - 5 |
93 - CG - 6 |
Cypress
Gardens
Apr. 1998 |
98 - CG - 1 |
98 - CG - 2 |
98 - CG - 3 |
98 - CG - 4 |
98 - CG - 5 |
98 - CG - 6 |
Silver
Springs
1998 |
98 - SS - 1 |
98 - SS - 2 |
98 - SS - 3 |
98 - SS - 4 |
98 - SS - 5 |
98 - SS - 6 |
Silver
Springs
1999 |
99 - SS - 1 |
99 - SS - 2 |
99 - SS - 3 |
99 - SS - 4 |
99 - SS - 5 |
99 - SS - 6 |
| 
Scrapbook
Main