TempesT

The beginnings of TempesT began in the small town of New York Mills, Mn., where Randy Lohner lived with his wife & 2 kids. Randy had just gotten back into music with the help of the Johnson bros., Randy & Rick. Lohner was looking to get a band going but each was in his own group and not interested in starting something new. So as time goes on, Randy starts jamming with a guitar player named Jeff Oakland who wanted to put a band together. It was during this time that the idea for 'Can't Say No' emerged. So taking him up on his word, Randy put an ad in the local paper for a drummer. Only one person answered the ad, but one person was all it took. That person was Chris Bjorke, a 17 year old drummer extrodinaire from Perham. But for the tryout Oakland was unable to attend, so Randy called in an old college named Randy Johnson. RJ played bass guitar in a local band, but could also play a wicked guitar. He's the co-writer on the songs 'Can't Live Without You' & 'I Need You'. It was RJ who told Randy to stick with Chris.

After hooking up, Randy & Chris had a practice with Jeff Oakland. Apparently too unstructured, Oakland never had time to jam after that. So Randy called in fellow guitarist Kraig Paul, a killer blues guitarist and inspiration for 'Metal Motel'. But Kraig wasn't interested in a steady gig. By this time the group had no guitar player, but they had a name... TempesT. Chris thought of it & it's only fitting since he became the heart of the band. At this time the band had written 'Baby Be Mine' & 'Lady Rocker'. So the duo puts out ads and came up with a player named Jeremy Guilespo, a good raw guitarist who helped bring out the songs ' All The Way' & 'Critical Condition', as well as his songs 'I Am The Thunder' & 'What's Your Line'. But Jeremy couldn't handle the load and opted out. Right after this they worked with a young gun out of Perham who could play any lead in the book. But that's all he could play. The guys were able to work in the songs 'Let The Good Times Roll' & 'Rock-n-Roll'. The guys also tried with a cousin of Randy's wife named Mark Peterson. But he was too unreliable.

So the duo puts out more ads, hoping to find the right person. About this time Randy is contacted by a fellow named Mark Erickson from the band Flashback. He's tired of doing top 40/country and wants to branch out into harder R & R. Apparently the timing wasn't right as he took a gig with a travelin' country band. However the two would hook up at a later date with Mark helping to update Out Of The Past into Something At Last.

About this time the boys come across Troy Janke, the local guitar god. Troy was interested but was obligated to another band. But he gave the boys the name of a guitarist that he had taught. That guy's name was Barry Tumberg. And the first jam was, as many are, forgetable. But Barry was willing to stick it out & work at it. And Barry became the sound of TempesT. What set the three apart from the rest was their desire to create TempesT music. The desire to be different. And the desire to be #1.

Barry's participation was the shot in the arm the group needed. Barry was always prepared & always creating. Barry was the co-writter of the songs 'Closer To The Truth', 'Officer Bob' & the hit single 'Mystery'.

For the first time in his career Randy had musicians that could go the distance, and spurned Randy into one of his most creative periods. 'Out Of The Past' became a band staple as did 'Your Eyes' & Run Like Hell. 'Stairway To The Stars' & ' Dreams' also made their way onto the list as did 'Endless Energy'. 'I Wanna Rock' became the band's anthem. Suddenly the band was no longer just talk. After convincing Troy to join, no longer was the band a joke. TempesT was a band to be reconded with because now TempesT was a band that could blow anyone away.

Fear the TempesT

But with all good things, the end must come. Troy wasn't interested in doing original music & Barry had a girlfriend that was taking up his time. So Randy & Chris packed their bags & rode off into the sunset with the guitar players from the Rusty Strat Band, and this is where the tale of TempesT ends. The duo had a parting of the ways over the direction of that group & haven't spoken since.

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