View The Studs performing "It's A Rock Thing" at the reunion show.

It’s been forty years since The Studs have shared a stage together. But on Thursday, August 14, from 7-8 p.m. at Peanuts in New Smyrna Beach, they are going to try to recapture the magic they created in the mid-60’s. New Smyrna artist, John Hostetter, teamed up with his bandmates at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C.. It was during the heyday of the British invasion bands and the blossoming of young blues artists like Paul Butterfield. They had a rich tapestry of sounds to feed their imaginations and musical talents. They gigged regularly at local haunts with classic names like The Twilight Lounge and The Keg, where college kids and factory workers came together to dance and fight. Performing songs from The Beatles to The Hollies to The Who, plus originals, blues covers, and, of course, the essential Louie Louie, The Studs played a summer at Turk’s Rat Hole in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and stole the show while opening for Mitch Ryder in Richmond in ’68. And then they went their separate ways.

Lead guitarist, Skip Henry, did a tour in Vietnam before settling in as a C.P.A. Bass player, Jeff Manz, has owned a printing company, done real estate sales, and calls himself a “recovering lawyer”. Guitarist, Ken Kambis, is the chairman of the Kinesiology department at William & Mary College. Vocalist, David ‘cockroach’ Young, has been a healthcare management consultant for over thirty years. Drummer, Robert Hudson, works for an EPA human studies facility as an engineering technician. And after many years as an actor in L.A., John Hostetter, settled in New Smyrna Beach to become a painter and start up a new band called The Pirates.

Now all grown up with families and mortgages and gray hair, they are coming to the land of Ponce De Leon fame to find the fountain of youth that lives in the spirit of rock and roll. They’ll be singing ‘Do You Believe In Magic’ just like they did in the 60’s, although John has traded in his electric autoharp for a twelve string guitar. Several of the lads have stayed active playing music, others perhaps not so much. But everyone is getting their chops back for this once in a lifetime moment.

Be a part of history. It’s happening during the First Annual Shrimp and Seafood Festival on Flagler Avenue, which starts at 5 p.m.. The Pirates will be covering Thursday at Peanuts as usual from 5-7 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. But live on stage from 7-8 p.m. The Studs will relive the joy of making music together and make forty years disappear in a song.

The Studs @ Peanuts, 419 Flagler Avenue, New Smyrna Beach
Thursday, August 14, 2008, 7-8 p.m.

View slideshow of photos (with original audio) from this historic show!  Note: Click on the "One Night Only" sign to begin show.

The following is an article that appeared in the UNC-Charlotte newspaper in February 1966.

Hostetter, Studs Mesmerize Students

    The Studs, a rather new combo on the rock 'n roll scene, will entertain students here this Friday night, February 24, in the Union cafeteria.  Student admission is free.
    John Hostetter, the group's lead singer, is a junior here.  He plays guitar, harmonica, autoharp, melodica, tambourine, and maracas.
    Other members of the four-man group include Skip Henry on lead guitar and vocals, Jeff Manz on bass guitar and vocals, and Robert Hudson on percussion and vocals.  Both Henry and Manz are students at Catawba College while Hudson attends Davidson County Community College.
    "The present members of the group, having been together for approximately one year, we are quite tight," said Hostetter.  "We know what each of us is thinking on stage.  Unfortunately, no one else know what we are thinking or if we are thinking at all."
    Describing the type of performance for which students are in store Hostetter said, "Orpheus' feat of charming the rocks from the fields is overshadowed as the audience is mesmerized by the inexplicable sights and sounds of the Studs."
    Audiences mesmerized by the Studs in the past have included those attending the Catawba College Junior Class talent show.  The combo captured third place in that event in 1965 and a year later copped first place honors.
    "With a heavy reliance on the British sound," said Hostetter, "we are usually booked as a novelty act in the South.  Our repertoire is quite variable so that if a person stays for the whole dance, we will eventually play something he likes."

This band formed at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC in the mid-sixties for a campus talent show (which we won).  Later, we changed our name to The Minority when the manager of the Pavilion at Myrtle Beach, SC refused to book us under that name. We performed on the "Campus Talent 1966" TV show where we met The Virginians who were, oddly enough, from the University of North Carolina.  With their help, we were able to 'open' for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels on several occasions.  The Virginian's lead singer was William Oliver Swofford who later recorded the hit single "Good Morning Starshine" under the name Oliver.

 

John Hostetter - Lead Singer, Harmonica, Guitar, Melodica, Autoharp
Skip Henry - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Jeff Manz - Bass Guitar, Vocals
Robert Hudson - Drums, Vocals
Claude Darling - Piano

Ken Kambis - Rhythm Guitar (not pictured)
David Young - Vocals (not picutred)

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Where Are They Now?

John Hostetter has been a very successful actor.  He was in at least 10 movies and played the stage manager in the TV series, "Murphy Brown".  He has also been in numerous other television shows.  While living in Los Angeles, John was also in the the cappella doo-wop group "The Mighty Echo's."  John has retired from acting and now lives with his wife in Florida.  He still plays music and is pursuing a new career as an 'artiste'.
Click here to visit John's webpage.

Jeff Manz was a lawyer in Naples, FL for many years and is now in real estate.

Skip Henry is an accountant in Wingate, NC.  He also plays guitar and mandolin in a Gospel bluegrass band.

Ken Kambis teaches at William & Mary and lives in Williamsburg, VA.

David Young lives and works in Southern Pines, NC.

Claude Darling passed away several years ago.

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