Musician reminisces of Hot Springs gig

You never know who is going to walk through your door.

At The Ledger earlier this month, a gentleman walked in wanting to review the newspapers from 1980. The newspaper has volumes of past editions. The man, Jon Rose, grew up in Missoula and was a member of the band Just Ducky. He was looking for an article about his band playing in Hot Springs.

Just Ducky was booked to play the Hot Springs prom on April 29, 1980. Rose said the band was a punk rock band, but he said their agent booked them for the prom. According to a May 1, 1980, Ledger article, the band's agent "had been told what type of music the Hot Springs students wanted played. In addition, the band's agent had been given a list of the songs, 'but they played them the way they wanted to,' said Principal (Lorraine) Sharp." Rose said Just Ducky did a lot of song parodies.

"People usually came to our shows knowing what the bad was like," Rose said. Just Ducky was busy in 1980, as was the Missoula music scene. Rose said there were a lot of local bands in the Missoula area at the time.

The gig at the Hot Springs prom did not go as planned, and instead of becoming famous for their music, Just Ducky became famous in Sanders County for what The Ledger described as a "music debacle."

Hot Springs High School was not impressed with Just Ducky, and the band ended up being escorted out of the prom during their second set, Rose said. According to the Ledger article, complaints by students attending the prom were:

"-Asking the students to throw things at them (the musicians).

-Using balloons for breasts.

-Had splits in the back of their pants so that when they bent over their rear ends were visible.

-Use of foul language.

-Said Hot Springs "is sh-."

-Played tunes labeled "I Eat Dog Food" and "I Murder My Friends".

-Closed the evening by breaking a guitar and throwing it away."

Another complaint was that the musicians hung a dead duck on the American flag. According to Rose, he was just getting into taxidermy at the time. During the trip from Missoula to Hot Springs, Rose had a duck he had stuffed in the vehicle. Since their name was Just Ducky, he decided to hang the mounted duck on the stage.

According to the Ledger article, the school stopped payment on the $200 check paid to the band and asked then County Attorney Ted Cowan to investigate the matter. The band had already cashed the check back in Missoula, Rose said.

Rose said at one point during the evening, an administrator at the school ran up to the band waving a check and yelling "stop. Just stop. Please just leave."

The incident resulted in the school adopting a new policy for future dances, requiring bands and students to agree on the type of music to be played before a contract is signed.

Rose said that Just Ducky didn't stay together very long, breaking up after they all graduated from Hellgate High School at the end of the year. He went on to Seattle to play with other bands, helped form the Missoula Community Chorus in 2001, and worked at Sun Mountain Sports in Missoula for more than 20 years. He said the Hot Springs event didn't discourage him from his music career. And Steve Albini, the bass player for Just Ducky, went on to be a music producer and performer.

Just Ducky and other Montana artists are being featured in a documentary by filmmaker Kirk LeClaire.