Carl's Scrapbook: The 90s: The Dizzy Rambler Band

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During the 1990's, The Dizzy Rambler Band was usually an acoustic act that played primarily at Allen's Historical Cafe in Auburndale. The acoustic act consisted of: Carl Chambers - guitar and vocals; Joe Spann - banjo and vocals; Steve Durrwachter - fiddle and vocals and Nancy Chambers - bass; . We did a large variety of music including a lot of traditional fiddle and banjo tunes, a healthy portion of western swinggrass, as well as some really off the wall stuff, such as original arrangements of the theme from the "Underdog" cartoon series and the old rock anthem "Layla". The crowds at Allen's Cafe always seemed to appreciate the variety and it was not uncommon for the DRB to receive a standing ovation. Of course there were those occasional shows where no one actually noticed we were performing -- but such is a band's life, when playing in a restaurant. Allen's was a rare venue and there will never be another place like it. We would have never had a place to vent our musical frustrations if it had not been for the cafe.

One of high points of the '90's Dizzy Rambler Band, was winning the 1993 "Pepsi-Cola Battle of the Bands" at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, FL. We only entered the contest because another band had withdrawn from the competition and Steve Durrwachter thought it would be a good idea for us to get the exposure that playing in the Central Florida theme park could provide. We never dreamed that our 4-piece, sort-of-bluegrass, acoustic act would win the two-day competition. All of the other bands were large electric country acts - some from as far away as Tampa. I'll have to admit though, we did have a pretty hot show.

As the decade progressed we often used the Dizzy Rambler Band name for our more electric country shows, usually because of the name recognition factor. Examples were the occasional Silver Springs concerts where we opened for some of the biggest country artists of the day. Our old friends, Len Walls and Glen Reeves were the talent buyers for the theme park during the 90's and Len would throw us an opening slot whenever possible. We had a very professional organization that was well respected by the promoters, the park and sometimes by the name acts (after all we were just the lowly opening act). These shows were generally used as an outlet to perform my original songs.

 The Dizzy Rambler Band - 1990's Photo Gallery

 

Boardwalk & Baseball Dec. 1991	91- B&B - 1	91- B&B - 2	91- B&B - 3	91- B&B - 4	91- B&B - 5	91- B&B - 6
Cypress Gardens Battle of the Bands Sept. 1993	93 - CG - 1	93 - CG - 2	93 - CG - 3	93 - CG - 4	93 - CG - 5	93 - CG - 6
Cypress Gardens Apr. 1998	98 - CG - 1	98 - CG - 2	98 - CG - 3	98 - CG - 4	98 - CG - 5	98 - CG - 6
Silver Springs 1998	98 - SS - 1	98 - SS - 2	98 - SS - 3	98 - SS - 4	98 - SS - 5	98 - SS - 6
Silver Springs 1999	99 - SS - 1	99 - SS - 2	99 - SS - 3	99 - SS - 4	99 - SS - 5	99 - SS - 6

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