By William Hanson
Musician Randy Tessier’s feet are firmly planted on the ground in Ann Arbor. It wasn’t always so.
A military brat, Tessier was born in 1950 in Virginia. The family moved to French Morocco in 1954, before settling in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1958, when his father was sent to Sawyer Air Force Base. Young Randy attended Marquette High School, “and many others,” he recalls.
“I bounced around a lot, and I never graduated high school.” In 1972, he joined a band called the Walrus, and, like many of his peers at the time, got busted for smoking marijuana, and spent some time in the Marquette jail. “I knew I had to get out of Marquette, so I headed south. The dope capital of the Midwest was Ann Arbor, and it was a good place to be for a musician.”
Tessier is bass player and backup singer in George Bedard and the Kingpins. He also fronts the band F.U.B.A.R. The Joe Cocker Tribute Band – devised by studio musician and composer Chris Benjey – pays homage to British R&B belter Joe Cocker. The Cocker role is something Tessier believes he was destined to do. His band is set to play Thursday at the club, LIVE, in downtown Ann Arbor.
Magnet of Vegas
“Our ultimate goal is to play in Vegas, the capital of tribute bands,” Tessier says wishfully. “That would be the ultimate tribute to a tribute band. But if we get regular gigs that provide a better revenue stream than playing at the bar we’ll be satisfied. I love the music so I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
Tessier makes quick work of a cappuccino at a café in Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown. “I just came from the gym,” he says between gulps. “Being Joe Cocker takes a lot out of you. I’m working out more than usual.”
It’s been a good year for Tessier. Along with the Kingpins – the quintessential Ann Arbor roots outfit he’s played bass in for 25 years – Tessier joined acclaimed Detroit guitarist Jim McCarty and band last month for a blues summit in Auburn Hills.
“Just to be up on stage with McCarty was such a thrill,” Tessier says. “He plays like those old-school British rockers. He’s such a cool guy, and is revered by guitar players everywhere.”
Tessier is learning to appreciate those sorts of moments more. “Five years ago I had cancer,” he says matter-of-factly. “That got my attention.” After six rounds of chemotherapy for stage three non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at University Hospital, “which was kind of hellish,” he got a clean bill of health. “Chemotherapy is a drag. It gave me a little neuropathy. But it worked. I realized I don’t have forever to do what I want to do in this life, so I had better get going. It made me kinder and gentler, and a lot more tolerant of loved ones and strangers.”
From GED to Ph.d
His son Russ was born in 1982, “which is when I realized I had to get a life, and could no longer be a free spirit.” He earned a GED, and three-and-a-half years later had a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. “Then I applied to Michigan, and some how or other I got in.” Tessier studied English language and literature, earning a master’s degree in 1994, and a PhD in 1997. He’s worked as a lecturer in U-M’s English department for the past 20 years, teaching writing to undergrads.
He met Benjey while recording a solo CD. “Geoff Michael of Big Sky Recording brought Chris in, and we became fast friends.”
The Joe band has been rehearsing twice a week at Tessier’s modest brick ranch house on Ann Arbor’s west side, up the road from Michigan Stadium. “We’re working frantically, and I want it to be good.”
Between rehearsals, Tessier has been listening to Cocker’s live masterpiece “Mad Dogs and Englishmen.” He saw the opening night of the legendary tour at Detroit’s Eastown Theatre in 1970. Leon Russell was the bandleader. “Wow, that was a fantastic show,” Tessier says with a look of amazement. “I’ve been a huge fan ever since.” He’s been watching YouTube clips of John Belushi – who captured the essence of Cocker during his heyday – “hoping to pick something up by osmosis.” And he’s had to relearn lots of lyrics.
Channeling Ray Charles
“Ray Charles is Joe’s hero,” Tessier says. “I remember my mother once saw Cocker on TV, and worried about him. ‘Poor Joe,’ she lamented. But he moves in that contorted way because he’s trying to summon Ray Charles.
“Joe Cocker is a working-class guy, and I suppose I am too,” Tessier adds. “I’m the only person in my family with a college degree.”
Tessier says he’s having fun fronting a big band. “The music is so good. I hope people will come out and see the show. The guys on the horns are really tight. Chris Benjey, our leader, has worked at Muscle Shoals, been a rock promoter, written jingles. He’s done a lot of stuff. I was so happy when he asked me to do this.”
There are moments when the pressure of the approaching show flare up. But like the veteran performer he is, Tessier’s found a way to cope.
“I have to memorize all the words to so many great songs,” he says. “But then I remember it’s Joe Cocker, and nobody can understand what the hell he says anyway.”
William Hanson is director of communications at the Skillman Foundation, and covered local music at the Detroit Free Press in the 1990s.
