TIME FOR A CHANGE
Fast forward to 2008. Twenty three years in, we are still performing with the original five members. The only personnel change is the addition of Randy Lobeck (Saxophone) in 2001. Don Johnson, our original drummer was experiencing health problems; not the least of which were tendonitis in his hands and arthritis in his thumbs. Eventually, Don was no longer able to sustain the long sets; needing to take breaks more often than what had become the band’s style. There were several occasions where Don was unable to perform; making it necessary for the group to obtain a fill-in. It’s not that he didn’t want to play. But, the intense pain was taking all of the enjoyment out of it. So, in 2008 we bid Don farewell as a member of “Cactus Jack and the Cadillacs”. Don continued to be a great friend and music brother. He produced a large number of video compilations of the band’s history. These are available on the YouTube page of the band’s official website: https://cactusjackcadillacs.band.
Our saxophonist, Randy Lobeck, was long plugged into the Central Florida music scene. “He knew everybody”. One guy he brought in to fill in for Don was Joe Adcock. Joe was a true, on stage “presence”. This was one big guy with an amazing touch, an infectious grin, timing like an atomic clock, and a personality that seemed to jell with the band right away.
Just as the other band members have/had “Cool” nicknames: Jim “Cactus Jack” (Long story), Mike “Colonel” Parker (After Elvis’ manager), Randy “Cool Daddy” Hill (because he always had cool sunglasses), Don “Vice” Johnson (after Miami Vice actor Don Johnson), and myself Tom “The bopper” Oliver (had something to do with being a bit overweight with a white dinner jacket). With Joe’s size at 6’4″, the band decided to give him a nickname after Mighty Joe Young, the 15′ mountain gorilla raised by humans. At first, Joe wasn’t certain he wanted to be nicknamed after a huge primate. But, he warmed up to it. 2008 welcomed “Mighty Joe” Adcock to “Cactus Jack and the Cadillacs”.
Joe decided to take his new moniker to heart. He decided that an overgrown primate needed to have some overgrown drumsticks to play with. Add in a wood lathe plus about 8 feet of hardwood, and you get a pair of drumsticks worthy to be played by “Mighty Joe”, be it Mighty Joe Young or Mighty Joe Adcock
