PRESS RELEASE
March 6, 2008

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Joseph Beaulieu, SVP Marketing
(360) 412-2119

Ventures Honored March 10 in Puyallup; Inducted Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 

DUPONT, WA - Exactly 50 years, 450 LPs and CDs, and 110+ million copies later, the Ventures are finally getting the recognition they so richly deserve. They are going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

On Monday, March 10, doors will open at 7 p.m. at the Liberty Theater at 116 West Main Street in Puyallup, WA, for a FREE large-screen viewing of the official Hall of Fame induction ceremony as it takes place live at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The event is being cablecast on VH-1 Classic, with John Fogerty, founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival, personally inducting the band.

 

The Ventures are one of two bands scheduled to perform at the New York ceremony that evening. The other is John Mellencamp, who is also being inducted.

 

Venture Bank and B97.3 Radio are sponsoring the Liberty Theatre all-ages live cablecast, with Mark Christopher hosting. An autographed Ventures guitar will be raffled at the event, with surprise guest appearances and other prizes to be given away.

 

Formed in 1958 by current members Bob Bogle and Don Wilson, the Ventures are credited with practically inventing the genre of instrumental rock n’ roll. Their breakaway hit “Walk, Don’t Run,” peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts in 1960, and has gone on to be ranked as one of the Top 500 Rock and Roll Singles of All Time by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

The Ventures helped shape another genre of rock, surf rock, with their rapid lead guitar and drumming style. They wrote and performed the theme song to TV’s “Hawaii Five-O.” Years later, film director Quentin Tarrantino, a rock historian himself, honored the band’s influence by inviting them to score a track for his blockbuster movie, “Pulp Fiction.”

 

Ranked Number 6 on the all-time list of instrumental rock bands, the Ventures are credited by music legends George Harrison, Jimmy Page, Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills and Stevie Ray Vaughn for influencing their styles.

 

“Venture Bank has been behind the petition effort to induct the Ventures for nearly five years,” says Joseph Beaulieu, Senior Vice President of Marketing for the bank. “People who’ve lived in this community know they deserve it, and now we can all be proud,” Beaulieu says.

 

The Ventures are: Don Wilson (Rhythm Guitar & co-founder); Bob Bogle (Lead/Bass Guitar & co-founder); Nokie Edwards (Lead Guitar); Gerry McGee (Lead Guitar); Bob Spalding (Lead/Bass Guitar); and Leon Taylor (Percussion).

 

The band will join Leonard Cohen, Madonna, John Mellencamp and the Dave Clark Five for induction honors on Monday. To date, Jimi Hendrix is the only other Northwest artist to be enshrined at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

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