I graduated from JHHS in 1967. I became the drummer for a band called the "Konsols" who lived in the Camp Hill area but their singers all were from Harrisburg. Later, we changed our name to the "Simplifics" when some of the band members were changed, but the singers remained the same. At that time, the band was only a three-piece rhythm section solely to back up the singers. There were four singers who all attended John Harris. They were:
Scotty Wattson
Jimmie Dale Waters
Mike Hester
Kenny Duffin
Shortly after the band change Mike Hester left the group and was replaced by Eddie Hinton. We played at the Raven, The Malibalu, The Masonic Hall, and we were one of the first bands to play at HACC shortly after it opened. We did the local college circuit of course. I was with the band from 1967 to 1969. At the time we were one of the most exciting local groups. We featured a "tree mike" that was modeled after the Temptations and we were known for our colorful outfits and precision choreography. We played for the students of John Harris at an assembly in the spring of 1968
There were a lot of good bands coming from Harrisburg at that time. Dan Hartman (from the Legends) went to John Harris during that period as well. There was a big show at the forum around 19689/69 that featured many of the diverse musical acts from Harrisburg at that time. I remember there were a couple of gospel acts as well as Dan Hartman and we were the last group to perform. Unfortunately, I lost a portfolio of our pictures some years ago and audio tapes of some our shows are long gone. Although the class of '67 had some outstanding experiences we haven't maintained the connections of other classes close to us.
Tyrone S. Johnson
Class of 1967