PORT ANGELES — “Windy” provides an antidote to earworms, those persistent musical triggers that create a continuous loop of an annoying tune you can’t get out of your head.
Recorded by The Association in 1967, “Windy” is an exuberant hit record released during the Summer of Love that, with a little concentration, can exorcise everything from advertising jingles to an overplayed song on the radio from years past.
The Association appears at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center, 304 E. Park Ave.
Tickets to Friday’s show, sponsored by the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts Foundation, range from $15 to $35, with youths 14 and younger admitted for $10.
Advance tickets are available at Port Book and News in Port Angeles and Joyful Music Center in Sequim, as well as at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Windy. Tickets also will be sold at the door.
This isn’t the same group of long ago; none of the era’s bands that are still performing has all — some lack any — original members.
The Association fares better than most. Of the seven members from its heyday, two are still in the lineup.
Two original members
While neither has served an uninterrupted stretch in the band, current members Jules Alexander, 71, and Jim Yester, 75, were both on the debut album, 1966’s “And Then . . . Along Comes the Association.”
Yester was the original lead voice for their polysyllabic first hit, “Along Comes Mary,” which he still sings every night.
“I could sing that in my sleep,” Yester said of the song. “Sometimes, I do.”
The Association came together from several Southern California folk groups.
When it came time to choose a name, they went to the dictionary and started from the beginning.
Yester explained this in a 1966 clip from Dick Clark’s “Where the Action Is.”
“Very early, we found something that said what we really were: a group of individuals united toward a common goal,” he said.
Two current band members have familial connections with the past generation.
Multi-instrumentalist Jordan Cole is the son of founding bassist Brian Cole, who died in 1972.
Current bassist Del Ramos, who has been in the band since the 1980s, is the brother of Larry Ramos, who joined the band in 1967 and died in 2014.
Renews original vibe
This configuration, according to Alexander, renews the original vibe.
“To me, it’s the most like the old band than it’s been for a while,” he said. “It has the same energy and spirit as when we began.
“We are back on top.”
Yester agreed, saying, “Everyone’s having fun, the harmonies are good, there’s no drama and everyone’s having a good time.”
There aren’t a lot of surprises. They play “Windy,” of course, which on the most recent tour has both opened and closed the show.
There is more, including “Cherish,” Never My Love” and “Along Comes Mary,” as well as the majestic “Everything That Touches You.”
Two-way street
“The audience responds to the songs, and this feeds us,” Alexander said.
“All of the songs are fun to do, and we have our own wonderful memories about them; they are a part of our past and our present.
“When we start things like ‘Never My Love,’ ‘Cherish’ or ‘Windy,’ we feel the audience, and sometimes I get so choked up, I can barely sing. It’s visceral.”
Alexander said that though the group plays old favorites, it always does it a little differently.
“You can always find something new if you look for it,” he said.
Alexander plans to bring newly written material into future shows.
Asked if the audience will accept new songs, his answer was to the point: “Who cares?”
“There will be new stuff,” he said. “Absolutely.”
Until then, cover songs dominate the set. The group plays a version of “California Dreamin’,” one of The Mamas & the Papas’ biggest hits.
“The original group played only 60 or 70 shows. We were on three-fourths of those,” Yester said.
“We do this as a tribute to them.”
The band also performs a medley of 1960s songs, some fitting within the expected Association framework and others not so much.
“Walk Away Renee” or “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” fit the pattern, while it’s hard to imagine “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Joy to the World.”
Old and new
“There’s a lot of great stuff out now, but you have to look for it,” Yester said.
“But I prefer the older sounds. There were a lot of doors that were broken down and new things being tried.
“It was exciting. There was a lot going on, and I was blessed to be a part of it.”
Best known for soft rock, The Association had an experimental edge.
One example is “Requiem for the Masses,” an anti-Vietnam War message wrapped in a Gregorian chant written by former founding member Terry Kirkman.
Yester promises to restore it to the set list, although perhaps not in Port Angeles.
“We are looking to get that back in,” he said of the song.
“We have been going through it, and it sounds really good.”
As survivors, Yester and Alexander are close.
“We stand together, we support each other, and sometimes when I listen to the background vocals, I can’t tell if it’s me or if it’s him,” Alexander said.
Added Yester: “Jules and I have always been like brothers.”
As for authenticity, Alexander believes the group produces great music, and if people think less of it because it isn’t performed by the originals, “it’s their problem,” he said.
On Feb. 21, a fan posted on Kirkman’s Facebook page, “What is The Association without Terry Kirkman?”
Alexander responded immediately: “The Association,” he wrote.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant, who also is an author of books that compile his interviews of rock artists throughout his career, can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
