Chuck Maultsby had all good intentions of reuniting his popular 1970s-'80s country band Chuck Wagon and the Wheels last Dec. 23.
But then it occurred to him: Christmas was two days off and maybe the timing was all wrong.
The timing couldn't be more perfect this Saturday for the "20 Year No Class Reunion," a benefit concert and party at El Casino Ballroom, 437 E. 26th St.
Truth be told, it's been only 18 years since Maultsby — aka Chuck Wagon — and his bandmates last performed, "but 20 sounds better. So we rounded it off to 20," he said.
Saturday's concert will feature the original lineup from the 1970s: vocalist Maultsby, bassist Scott Bish, Rollah Aston on keyboards, guitarist Eric Mellen, Mike Holloway on drums and Neil Harry on pedal steel guitar.
Maultsby and Bish founded the band in 1976 as a "country rock and Western roll" outfit. They played Monday nights at the old Stumble Inn, cashing in on the "Urban Cowboy" craze sweeping the nation.
People are also reading…
Stumble Inn agreed to give them the door, meaning they could walk away with the money collected as a cover charge.
"A good night starting out back then was 10 bucks a person," Maultsby recalled, with nary a hint of disappointment. Chuck Wagon and the Wheels quickly became one of Tucson's most popular country rock bands, and they found an eager audience throughout the region, from Colorado to San Francisco. They played as far away as New England and New York, and even had gigs in Cleveland and Chicago.
The band was together for six years and recorded six independent albums in Maultsby's bedroom studio before parting company to pursue life. Four of the six members still live here, one moved to New Mexico and another lives in Colorado.
In the late 1990s, Maultsby sold the band's name to another outfit, a country comedy group that landed a major label deal with Disney's Lyric Street Records. They paid him $2,000, just enough for a fishing trip Maultsby wanted to take.
Maultsby harbors no illusions or desires that Saturday's reunion concert will lead to an all-out reunion. "The only thing this could lead to is occasional gigs in markets where we were kind of strong," he said, including Denver and Phoenix.
Doors open at 8 p.m. Saturday, and Maultsby anticipates the band will go onstage between 9 and 9:30. Tickets are $20 at Dark Star Leather at Plaza Palomino, Hear's Music, and Metro Tattoo on Speedway. Part of the proceeds will benefit a couple of the group's handpicked charities.
For details, call 404-3447.
