The Bouys were a rock band that played in the Detroit area from 1965-1969. They began in early 1965 as The Captives, formed by Tom Cantalini & Ron Bretz, two 8th grade guitar players armed with their fist electric guitars. The band was augmented by two of their St. Monica Elementary School classmates, Tony Turnbull on drums and Mike Gage on bass (after he learned that the ukulele he brought to the first rehearsal was not a bass). 

The 60’s were an exciting time for local Motor City music groups with the MC5, The Rationals, The Woolies, Bob Seger, and Nugent’s Lourdes.

 

The young bandmates played at a few parties the summer of ’65, including one at drummer Tony’s house. There, the band met future drummer, Scott Satterlund. Even though he had a cast on his forearm, Scott played some drums with the band that night and impressed the band enough to eventually make him a member. 

 

Mike Gage left the band when his family moved, and Ron took over the bass. Ron’s older brother, Bob, joined by playing a Farfisa organ. The band next went looking for a rhythm guitarist. First up was Bob’s high school classmate, Mike Colon. The band soon parted company with Mike over a concern that he was not placing priority on the music. It is worth noting that Mike has spent his life since as a professional musician, including as lead guitarist in Ann Arbor’s Prismatic Band and as singer-songwriter Michael on Fire. 

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After Mike, Rick Roberts played rhythm guitar. No one in the band remembers much about him.

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Finally, the band added Scott’s classmate, Bruce Govan, on lead vocals, and Ron’s classmate, the late Paul LaRose, on rhythm guitar. They completed the sound of the band with Bruce’s vocal chops and Paul’s spirit and rapidly-developing guitar skills. These six: Tom, Ron, Scott, Bob, Bruce, and Paul became the band, (now known as The Bouys), for most of the band’s existence. 

 

By the end of 1966, The Bouys began playing regularly around Detroit. They got their start at some of the many Catholic schools in Detroit at the time. This was no surprise as all six attended Catholic school. But their success outside of the Catholic school circuit came about mostly because of their new manager, and a man who has become their life-long friend, Carnel “C.V.” Mickey. Carnel got the band booked at many of the new teenage night clubs, like Club Hullabaloo, the Chatterbox, The Mump, Tabatha Coffee House, and the Birmingham Teen Center where they opened for Bob Seger. And, of course, there were three gigs at the famed Grande Ballroom, one of those opening for the MC5 (who borrowed one of The Bouys’ amplifiers for their Theremin). The Bouys also performed their records on Robin Seymour Swinging Time Teen TV show on Windsor CKLW-Channel 9.

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Beyond the many gigs and the actual money they earned, The Bouys career highlight has to be winning the 1967 Teenage Fair “Battle of the Bands” at (formerly named) Cobo Hall. The competition was serious and The Bouys won out over a number of very good bands. The prizes included $400 in musical equipment, three hours of time in a recording studio, a gig at the Silverbell Hideout, and the opportunity to appear in the national battle in Chicago. Despite the passage of time, the band wants everyone to know that the Hideout stiffed them on the gig. The band did enjoy their trip to Chicago even though they did not succeed in the national battle. 

 

In the fall of 1968, Bob left for college. Sometime after Bob’s exit, Tom left, and the remaining Bouys morphed into Siddarthe. Paul took over on lead guitar and helped steer the band in a new direction. The band began to feature Paul, who had grown tremendously as a guitar player. Paul’s  musical curiosity got the band playing more progressive rock and even a little jazz (gasp!). After Bruce left, Ron, Scott, and Paul, now an aspiring power trio, continued on as Siddharthe until they went off to college. 

 

A key part of The Bouys history is friendship, not only with each other and Carnel, but also with the late Jeff Floyd and the late Buster Paterni. Jeff and Buster came to most of the gigs and toted equipment. Jeff was also the equipment troubleshooter. On one occasion, Ron’s amplifier stopped working in the middle of the gig. While the crowd got restless, Jeff took the amp apart, found the problem (and somehow a soldering iron), and got the band going again.