Remembering Student Bands at Frostburg State

LeRoy and I recruited Tom Klisuric on bass, Rich Frush and Jake Mauldin were both in ADX, and Eric Kitchen was a music major and piano prodigy. I was a sophomore and LeRoy was a junior.

We were Jethro Tull fans, and I was enamored by Mick Abrahams, their original guitarist. The name came from a song from the “This Was” album – “A Song for Jeffrey.”

We played mostly at Gunter Hall. The cafeteria was the main venue for dances and bands. I was recruited into ADX from my friendship with LeRoy and was exposed to 60 brothers and their dates/girlfriends. It really expanded my world at Frostburg.

Michael, Jeffrey and Me was founded in 1970 by LeRoy Creswell and Mark Mandel. LeRoy was a straight A biology major and a leader in the ADX fraternity. He had been in a great band the previous year led by Jack Yanake on a Hammond B3.

Mark Mandel

The band consisted of LeRoy Creswell - drum/vocals; Mark Mandel – guitar; Tom Klisuric – bass; Richard Frush – sax; Jake Mauldin – trumpet; and Eric Kitchen - piano/vocals. (LeRoy, Tom and Jake have all passed.)

Michael, Jeffrey and Me played together for one school year, 1970-71. We played a mix of popular songs of the day, with a slant towards blues. Jethro Tull, Steve Winwood, James Taylor, Manfred Mann, Blodwyn Pig and Cream were some of our favorites.

LeRoy, Tom and I formed a trio the next year called Wang Dang Doodle after the Willie Dixon song. I remember playing at Harper’s, an off-campus chicken place.

Eric, Rich and I played in the Jazz Ensemble as well.

Mark Mandel and wife, Laura

After I graduated from Frostburg, I remained in the area for three years, playing full-time in a band called Main Street. We were the most popular band in the area at the time -- playing weekends at the Midland Legion, Tuesdays at the Democrat Club in Cresaptown, and Wednesdays at the Knights of Columbus.

Disco and a recession killed the live music business in the area, so I moved back to the D.C. suburbs. I went to Computer Learning Center and was immediately hired by Sperry Univac.

Two years later, I was working in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, helping automate the parts tracking for the solid rocket boosters on the Space Shuttle. I worked there for the first six shuttle launches before moving on to contracts in Philly, Harrisburg, Huntsville and San Jose before moving back to the D.C. area.

I had a 40-year career in IT and am now retired. I play a bit but mostly virtually on YouTube. You can find me at Mark Mandel Music on YouTube.

We’ve all kept in touch through ADX and our semiannual Frostburg Brewery Picnic organized by Jim Tegethoff and Carol Smith.

I live in Vienna, Virginia, with my wife, Laura. 🐾

“Electric Piano Sound”

 By Eric Kitchen '74

With Leroy, Tom, Rich and Jake (and Mark, of course), we had a good music group started. To my memory, I was mainly interested in seeing how much use I could get out of the Dunkle Hall electric piano that I used for dances.

At the time, there were two major songs of interest on the radio that used that electric piano sound --  The Doors' “Riders on the Storm” and Cannonball Adderley's “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ written by Joe Zawinul. I only played three or four gigs and probably wanted to play those two songs all night. We did record a good take of another song, but didn’t get proper permission. During that time, I did get to meet Joe Zawinul when the Cannonball Adderly played at FSC. 

I earned a degree in classical music composition in 1980 from WVU, and in 1991 became a follower of Christ. Since then, I have been writing classical and sacred music. Retirement several years ago did not have much effect on my writing -- other than to actually allow more time for it! What a great country!  🐾

Eric Kitchen

Richard Frush '73 and wife, Diane

My memories are of the rocking performances at the campus parties, frat and sorority dances and at the “Barn” (I believe it was called). The band members were all really good musicians. It was so much fun making music with them.

Since Frostburg 1972, I was band director at Keyser High School until retiring in 2005. In the 70s and 80s, I was the drummer with Thunderhill. We were all teachers at KHS and played at the Pizza Pub and Honi Honi bar at Deep Creek Lake. Now that was really fun! 

Currently, I play with the Potomac State College Jazz and Concert Bands, as well as the drummer for Pan Jammin' steel drum studio in Keyser. I’m also privileged to perform on the FSU campus with Dr. Brent Weber and the Saxophone Ensemble. 

Michael, Jeffrey and Me was an awesome band. Those were some great times and memories at Frostburg State.   🐾

Leroy Creswell, Tom Klisuric, and Jake Muldin are deceased members of the band.

Editor’s Note:  If you were in a band during your time at Frostburg State and want to share your memories (those that can be published) and photos, send your stories to   mrcross@frostburg.edu .