Liberty, the former award-winning rock band, comprised of five Forest Lake High School graduates, will be featured in a new book by British author Trevor James. The book, entitled ìAmerican Bands,î will profile 120 Midwestern U.S. bands from the 20th century, and should be released later in 2004.
Libertyís members were:
ïBrian Tolzmann, guitar/ vocals/trombone
ïScott Anderson, sax/guitar
ïMark Black, percussion
ïTracy Tolzmann, vocals/ keyboards/bass guitar
ïDavid Smith, bass guitar/ keyboards
On the evening of July 14, 1972, Liberty performed a concert at Forest Lakeís Lakeside Park, which was attended by Trevor James, who at that time was attending school in Minneapolis. James later became one of Europeís premiere music journalists.
Also in the crowd that night (unbeknownst to the band members) were three judges from the Summer of Sound, a summer-long ìbattle of the bands,îwhich took place throughout the Midwest.
More than 250 bands from 11 states were evaluated during the summer, and Liberty was chosen as the best original music band in the competition. That was quite a feat, considering the judges also heard such bands as Kansas and Reo Speedwagon, both of which would become world famous by the mid-1970ís.
Liberty, a band known for its original music, composed by the groupís members, featured rock, blues, folk and jazz in their repertoire, and is today remembered as one of the originators of the ìNorthern Sound.î The ìNorthern Soundî is a term coined by European music fans to describe a unique American regional sound.
Liberty later achieved quite a following in both Great Britain and the West Coast of the U.S., thanks in part to a bootleg recording made of that Lakeside Park concert.
Brian Tolzmann even received a fan letter from Doug Ingle, the leader of the famed rock band Iron Butterfly, best-known for their legendary hit song, ìIn-A-Gadda-Da-Vidaî. Ingle told Tolzmann that he was a fan of Libertyís music.
Liberty once served as ìhouse bandî for Faith Lutheran Churchís folk/rock services in Forest Lake, which were held weekly in 1972, and the group was active until giving their final performance on March 9, 1973. A recording of that final performance exists today on CD.
In 1978, an original song, based on Libertyís music and composed by Brian Tolzmann, won the American Song Festival in the folk/rock category. That competition was judged by such American music legends as John Denver and Stan Kenton.
In 1981 Scott Anderson, Mark Black, Tracy Tolzmann and Brian Tolzmann all became charter members of the Forest Lake City Marching Band, and all were active with the group throughout the decade.
Mark Black, Libertyís percussionist, has remained in the music business, and today performs with the popular Minneapolis group Savage Aural Hotbed, which has appeared throughout the United States.
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