Teen soul band based in Northwest Baltimore. The band was comprised of guys from Pimlico Junior High School (5), Northwestern High School (1), City College (1), and Milford Mill High School (1). The three singers, the Whereabouts, all went to Lemmel Junior High.
The band, originally called The Tarpins, was started in 1967 by David Selenko. David was the lead guitarist, Dell Cohen was on drums, Paul Golumb and Craig Rosin on trumpets, Andy Snyder and David Samuels on saxophones, and Mark Meister on keyboards. The bass guitarist and the names of the three singers who comprised the Where Abouts are forgotten at this time. The original singers, before the Where Abouts, were Jack Lieberman and Fred Cain.
Mark Meister recalls “The band had the Tarpins name when I joined, and I don’t know its origin. As you will see from the photo of the card below, we dropped the Tarpins name in favor of the Where Abouts. This is the only item that I have from the band, and it may be the only thing left that proves we existed!”
“The only time I played with Jack and Fred was at a bar mitzvah party at the Suburban Country Club in Pikesville. Jack and Fred left the band, and we then added the Where Abouts and played a teen dance at Wellwood Elementary in Pikesville, a party for resident doctors at Johns Hopkins, the Pimlico Junior High Talent a Show, and the Lemmel Junior High Senior Dance.”
“Our most significant performance was at the reopening of the Crystal Ballroom on North Avenue after the 1968 riots. A very prominent soul singing group called us and asked us to back them, as their band refused to play. After backing them for a few songs, they then turned it over to our singers and we played the rest of the night. It was a big celebration with dignitaries in attendance.”
“It was a pretty amazing experience, and considering that our parents had to drive us to our gigs, they deserve a lot of credit. Only Dell was 16 with a license and car. Paul and the bass player were 15 and David Samuels was 13. I believe the 3 singers, who attended Lemmel were 15, and the rest of us were 14. The band only lasted for the 1967-68 school year.”
