FREEDOM ROCK BAND "PURSUIT" FROM FLINT MICHIGAN

The following musicians were the final incarnation of the band. Tim Dillingham is on Bass Guitar..Rick Cussans is the Drummer..Mike Johns is Lead Guitar, even though Bill Strickler filled in at our recording sessions at Forrest Green Studios. Rex Pratt left the group suddenly and Bill graciously filled in because of time restraints trying to get our TV & Radio commercials on the air..Rick Delauter is the Lead Singer & Gerry Godin Is the Rhythm player & songwriter. Rex Pratt was also an accomplished songwriter. The background vocals were done by Tim & Gerry. I am still going through the old tapes looking for forgotten nuggets, long ago stored away in some box's. Even though I've kept them in a closet for going on over thirty years for some of them, there has been some deterioration. You will notice this on the practice tapes. I did do a remix of the original Pursuit tracks done at Forrest Green's when I was in another 8 track studio back in 1996 but have only included the original first mix here. Maybe someday I will get some time and work on some of the old stuff and see what happens. The only member to contact me so far about this site has been Rick Delauter. The band functioning under the name Pursuit actually began in 1975. It was an outcrop of the guys I played with since 1973. They did tryout for the band once more in 1976 after quitting. They saw our ad in the Flint Journal and decided they would give it another shot. I've included one song from their second rehearsal entitled "Grow" in the song section of this site. During this session you will hear me say "take over on the rhythm for awhile Jim". The reason I done this was because he had a week to practice with this song and come up with a lead track. It was evident that he never even tried. Jim was actually a good rhythm player in our folk years but I needed a lead player,and that's what he was auditioning for. His cousin Kevin who came up with the name for the band stayed with Jim. I would have done the same. David Harrell our bass player from 1975 through 1976 was probably the main reason this whole thing happened. He was the pivot point for Rick Cussans and myself. As Dorothy in OZ said "I'll miss you most scarecrow". The long search continued for members until the end in 1981. I always thought the best we had were the final members. Anyways I'll always believe that if a few things had been done just a little different we would have been something to be reckoned with in the music world. When we would "get in the groove" we sounded like a powerful machine. I hope you enjoy this bit of Michigan music history. I'll always believe that what I call the "Michigan sound" was the best Rock ever played back during the decades of the 60's and 70's. It speaks to me still.

Your influences?

Moody Blues, The Monkees, The Animals,America, The Beatles, Stones, Grand Funk, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons, King Crimson, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Jim Croce, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, Heart(Nancy Wilson), and any Michigan groups which they always had a better sound for the sixties generation in my opinion. These were influences but I like so many others like the southern rock sound the blues (STEVIE RAY - Gary Moore- Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson) you get the idea,the "Mamas & the Papas", Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Ricky Nelson, Patsy Cline, Hank Jr. so you see the list could go on & on & on &..........infinity

Favorite spot?

In the country.

Equipment used:

Gibson,Fender,Earth,Peavey,Crown,Akai,Sony,Rickenbacker,Shure,Kustom,Penco.