Northwest legendary band Jr. Cadillac performs Saturday at the Historic Everett Theatre.

Northwest legendary band Jr. Cadillac performs Saturday at the Historic Everett Theatre.

Jr. Cadillac, local rock pioneers, return to Everett

  • By Gale Fiege Herald Writer
  • Thursday, June 23, 2016 8:10am
  • LifeGo-See-Do

EVERETT — Ned “Lalo” Neltner lives in Barra de Navidad in Mexico’s state of Jalisco.

But he’s returning to his home state of Washington for a summer tour with his longtime band, Jr. Cadillac, and he’ll make his first stop Saturday evening at the Historic Everett Theatre.

“I am excited to play in Everwett,” he said.

The pronunciation is intentional because it is sunny right now in the Barra, and one never knows when it might rain here in Everett.

Actually, Neltner doesn’t mind a trip away from paradise and he looks forward to his annual treks home. He grew up in Eastern Washington and was a pioneer in the live music scene in the Puget Sound region more than 4 decades ago.

“Seattle was our music mecca in the late 1960s,” Neltner said. “A bunch of us were playing for teen dances around the region and we formed a group of five. That was 46 years ago. It never occurred to us that this would be a serious band. Our name, Jr. Cadillac, came from a song on Norman Greenbaum’s album ‘Spirit in the Sky,’ which we adored.”

After awhile, the boys in Jr. Cadillac decided they had what it took to make a splash in Seattle.

“We set up a showcase at the Wintonia Tavern for club owners to attend,” Neltner remembered. “A few came, but through the grapevine we started to get jobs through outfits such as Concerts West. Suddenly we were hip. The live-music-in-bars scene in Seattle was a not a regular thing until we started doing it. We played the Grapevine, the Rainbow, Parker’s, the G-Note, the Buffalo, Goldies, and far and wide. We had no idea what we were doing, we just wanted to work, and so we spawned this wonderful period of time in Seattle when people enjoyed all sorts of music and it wasn’t cliquey.

“There was a time when we opened for just about every big show that came through the Northwest, including the Kinks, Beach Boys, ELO, Ten Years After, Yes, Fleetwood Mac and Jethro Tull. We backed Chuck Berry a dozen times. And I wrote a song — on stage, during a concert — with Bo Diddley,” Neltner said. “And we were still playing dances, conventions, parties and bars. Good-time rock ‘n’ roll became our thing, and our motto was ‘Nothin’ could be lackin’ when you’re out there Cadillacin’.”

A highlight of the Jr. Cadillac history is the band’s cultural exchange trip in 1989 to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a Seattle sister city.

“That was a huge deal for us,” Neltner said.

The current tour will include a few local festivals and celebrations, a show for Seattle Children’s Hospital summer camp and the band’s annual birthday party show Aug. 20 at the Triple Door in Seattle.

“We’re old now and everyone has lives,” Neltner said. “And there’s no money in playing bars anymore, but we still like our summer tour around the region. We have a lot of good memories.”

What will Jr. Cadillac perform in Everett?

“As Bo Diddley would say, ‘we gonna do some new stuff and some old stuff and some other stuff,’” Neltner said with a laugh. “Original material, some covers from the ’70s and what ever we want.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. The band Jr. Cadillac played at Fiege’s school, Mountlake Terrace High, in the early 1970s and that’s when she fell in love with the boys.

If you go

Jr. Cadillac in concert

8 p.m. June 25

Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave.

Tickets are $18 to $30. Call 425-258-6766.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.