Posted on Tue, Oct. 30, 2007 10:15 PM

It’s a small, small world for Olathe band member, Merriam club owner

No matter how the crow flies, it’s a long trip from the island of Kauai in Hawaii to Merriam, Kan.

But the distance is shorter now for Forrest “Tree” Cloud, a bass player for popular Sixties KU frat-rock band Eric and the Norsemen, and for Marty Cohen, a Merriam club owner.

The two didn’t meet in Kauai, despite being neighbors. But they did bump into each other thousands of miles away in Cohen’s place, Marty’s Blues Café, 5240 Merriam Drive. The result is they’ll both be at Marty’s on Saturday for a reunion performance by the Norsemen, a 2006 inductee to the Kansas Music Hall of Fame.

The Norsemen and a second group, The Blackouts, will alternate sets on Saturday between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m., with all proceeds going to KKFI-90.1, a non-profit community radio station. Admission will be $5 at the door.

The chance meeting between Cloud and Cohen set the stage for Saturday’s show, but it was a shirt worn by Leon Russell, the silver-haired rock-n’-roller from the ’60s, that opened the curtain.

Cloud was eating lunch at Marty’s when he noticed a Russell photo on the wall. The piano player’s shirt was the same one he’d worn at a concert Cloud attended in Kauai.

It turned out that Cohen, then a timeshare salesman in Kauai, lived on the island when Cloud did — “On the same beach,” Cohen says. He, too, attended the Russell concert.

“We probably crossed each others’ paths several times and didn’t know it,” said Cohen, who makes his home in Lenexa.

Cloud mentioned his association with Eric and the Norsemen, who reunited in 2005 — after a 37-year hiatus — to begin preparing to play at their Hall of Fame induction.

“We got into (talking about) the hall of fame and his eyes really got big,” said Cloud, who mentioned that the band was booked to play Friday at a fraternity reunion, but would be interested in playing the next night.

“I said we have one night open and that’s Nov. 3, and he said he’d make that work,” Cloud said.

The task of turning the night into a KKFI benefit fell to Connie “Crash” Humiston, a Shawnee resident who is host of a blues show on the station.

“KKFI is thrilled to have such talented bands, and I’ve personally gotten way into the spirit by watching the Norsemen’s home movies on their Web site ( www.ericandthenorsemen.com), listening to their fun version of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and also by hearing from a number of past fans.”

When Humiston mentions the benefit on the air, she said Norsemen fans inevitably call.

Although the band was only together from 1965-68, it toured almost every weekend and all summer, even when most of its members were KU students. Playing a blend of English Invasion songs, surf music, rhythm and blues and “frat rock” — the songs “Louie, Louie” and “Midnight Hour” come to mind — the group played nine Midwestern states with the benefit of just one 45-rpm record, “Get It On,” a cover of a Paul Revere and the Raiders song.

Mike Willman, who founded the band with guitarist Roger Johnson, drummer Jim Kocher and bassist Ken Kramer, said the Norsemen were known for their high-energy stage presence, a repertoire of popular dance tunes and medleys that kept people on the floor for 15 minutes.

“We danced our rears off,” said Willman. “We had a lot of energy on stage and just walked off the floor dripping wet.”

The band played armories and other large halls, relying on local contacts, posters and advertising on radio station KOMA in Oklahoma City to publicize shows.

“We were unique in that we did our own booking,” says Willman, a lead guitarist who’ll do double-duty Saturday with The Blackouts. “We’d fill those armories with hundreds of kids.”

After four intense years, the band’s run was over. Cloud joined the Navy to become a pilot and the others went their separate ways.

Then, in 2005, the Norsemen learned they’d be inducted into the Hall of Fame and had been asked to perform.

“I hadn’t played bass in (almost) 40 years when the guys called me and said we were being inducted,” said Cloud.

He flew back to Kansas City, bought bass equipment and started practicing, alone and with other band members.

“We practiced hard for several months, and it started coming back together,” Cloud said.

Although it had been almost four decades since the Norsemen last had people dancing to songs like “Hold On, I’m Coming,” their fans remembered the good times, Willman said.

“We were scared to death until we walked in the door (at Liberty Hall in Lawrence),” he said. “It was packed with fans and friends,” many sporting plastic Norsemen hats.

“That was really awesome, looking out there and seeing hundreds of people with those hats on,” said Cloud.

The fans will have a chance to haul out those hats on Saturday, but in a smaller venue.

In addition to Cloud — who joined the band a year after it was founded — Willman, Johnson and Kocher will be joined by Frank Berrier, a rhythm guitarist, and guest keyboard player/vocalist Dennis Frans.

Like Cloud, Willman lives in the Kansas City area. But Johnson will be coming from Dallas, Kocher from Eugene, Ore., Berrier from St. Louis.

The band will play Friday at a private Lambda Chi fraternity reception, then open the doors to the public Saturday at Marty’s Blues Café.

“More than the music, it’s just been kind of fun reuniting with the guys,” Cloud said. “Aside from being fraternity brothers, we were really, really close friends.”

I came in on a Tuesday night a while back, and the service was excellent, the family friendly atmosphere was great for dinner, and the food....WOW! I shared the mufaletta with my husband and really loved the shrimp stuffed peppers and toasted ravioli...the waiter was very accomodating and I can't wait to bring a crowd some evening for the bands!