The Swingin’, Surfin’ Dynamics at Terry’s Arena, July 4th, 1963

The Dynamics played one of their first big dances on July 4th, 1963 at Terry’s Arena in Terrytown, Nebraska.

The Dynamics in 1963:
Clockwise from top left: Randy, Bobby Soto, Paul Asmus, and Larry Soto.

Terry’s Arena was located in Terrytown, a small, incorporated area near Scottsbluff, named after local politician and entrepreneur, Terry Carpenter.

Hap Ellis was the promoter for Terry’s Arena. He had given the Dynamics their first big break in 1961, when he had them play intermission during a concert by The Checkers, Bobby Vee’s backup band. They played fifteen minutes of instrumentals.

_{Hap Ellis was also a disc jockey for the local KOLT radio}

Then on July 4th, 1963, Ellis gave the Dynamics their own gig at Terry’s Arena. “It was a real vote of confidence,” remembered Larry Soto.

The show was promoted for several days in the Scottsbluff Star-Herald. The ads included a photo of the band, with the tagline: “The Exciting, Swingin’ Surfin’ Dynamics”

_{Jennifer Meisner’s newspaper clipping from 1963:}

Larry Soto: “Playing Terry’s Arena was great…The crowd was huge. Hap charged $1.50 a head, which I thought was too much because he charged $2.00 a head for The Champs and Bobby Vee and most other artists. It was wonderful being on that big stage, with professional stage lights and a big P.A., which you needed in that big ballroom. The arena was designed for big shows and dances, the oak dance floor was about 75′ wide and 175′ long with tables and chairs all around. Kids came to dance from Guernsey, Wyoming to Bridgeport, Nebraska. Wow!”

Hap Ellis’ widow remembered that evening: “They were young and getting started, and he wanted to see them succeed.” Paul Asmus agreed: “We did it on our own, but Hap helped us. He talked about us on the radio. He liked kids and he liked music.”

Randy’s cut for that July 4th dance was $37.50. His mother recorded his pay in on the ledger page below (between July 13th & 19th):

Larry Soto remembered Randy as being a “pure showman”: “I was very shy, afraid of playing in front of a crowd. Randy, on the other hand, was a pure showman, playing in front of people made him perform better. He had the knack of feeding off the crowd. He was always on a different level than we were.” Randy was also popular with the girls: “He was the most noticeable of us four because of his stage presence and he had the good looks. The girls really liked Randy.”

Randy posing with his Fender Jazz bass, 1963.
Author’s personal collection. Please do not share without permission.

The Dynamics’ would play Terry’s Arena several more times over the next two years, including a huge New Year’s Eve dance in 1964 that was attended by 1,500 people.

Sources:
Larry Soto, The Drivin’ Dynamics: A Rock & Roll Retrospect Of The Early Years, 1996
Scottsbluff Star-Herald, July 5th, 1995