The Acrosonics – Off the Record with Frankfort’s Pioneering All-Girl Band

The four Frankfort teens that made up the Acrosonics were undoubtedly the first all-girl rock band in the central Kentucky area and possibly the entire state. This was no “girl group” of pretty faces singing sweetly in front of a group of other musicians, however. Okay, okay, they had pretty faces, but they also rocked and deserve far more than a footnote in local music history. Sadly, they were never able to make a record and, thus, become the first featured band in what will be my occasional Off the Record series celebrating local bands whose importance goes beyond 45 RPMs. Enjoy! [2020 Shawn Chambers / Lexingtunes]

Any first year chemistry student knows the atomic structure of the Acrosonics has a nucleus of Bonnie Reeves and Angela Wiley.

Angela Wiley was raised in a musical household and supported in her efforts from an early age. Her mother Virginia was a gifted singer and family holidays and gatherings were never complete without family sing-a-longs. At five years old, Virginia arranged piano lessons for the youngster at the local YMCA, but Angela was resistant to formal training and wanted to “play her songs”. It would be a few years more before formal lessons were successfully started.

For seven years from the third grade onwards, she was well-taught by Edith Carter and this training was so successful that the teenaged Angela was able to find work teaching other aspiring area pianists for fifty cents a lesson.

Despite being on both the giving and receiving ends of lessons, Wiley always found time to play piano and sing in her church. Her poise and confidence were boasted considerably behind these countless performances and, thankfully, her family had no objections to her pursuing secular music due to her obvious commitment to her faith.

Seeking to branch out musically, Angela joined the high school band with the intent to play trumpet, but was refused the chance by the band director and was ultimately tasked to learn French Horn and later the cymbals. Wiley was just as uncompromising then as at age five, because her dissatisfaction with the offerings made her quit band after one year. She continued in chorus and started a mental list of other female musicians who she might convince to start a band. One of the most obvious choices was drummer Bonnie Reeves.

Unlike Angela, Bonnie had a rougher time finding her musical footing. The only child of divorced parents, she did not enjoy the same musical influences found in the Wiley household. From a young age, Reeves was forever finger tapping and wanted to play the drums.  The chance to join the school band during the fifth grade felt like a door opening but the band director shot her down with the of-the-times classic: Girls Can’t Play Drums. Reluctantly she agreed to tackle the clarinet – and bide her time.

She persisted.

In high school band the unexpected departure of the bass drummer meant a chance to audition for the opening. She beat out two others – both boys – and dropped the licorice stick forever. Marching with a heavy bass drum was not ideal and she quickly formulated a plan forward.

She started by taking drumming lessons in the summer with the band director. She then made a casual offer to “clean” all the drums at home. Once home, she arranged the drums around her in rough approximation of a standard kit and used a tall metal ashtray stand as her cymbal. And practiced. And practiced some more. She was hooked. In short order, she convinced her stepfather to co-sign a loan, which she used to buy her first drum set. Her monthly installment payments of $15 were met from babysitting.

Bonnie had experience playing piano with a young gospel quartet of friends (The Debonettes), but she wanted to be a real drummer. One of the best places to see live music at the time was the Midland Tavern. The chance to play there only meant occasionally sneaking in at sixteen!

While not necessarily musical veterans by the time Wiley and Reeves joined forces, the two had certainly finished bootcamp. What they now needed was a new recruit. Enter Ann Mayes.

Ann (another Franklin High School student) was approached by her next-door neighbor Angela who clearly saw potential despite her lack of experience. The two were friends as well as neighbors and Mayes listened to Angela’s pitch and quickly agreed to play bass (something neither of them owned). Ann then had the tough task of convincing her parents, but with little to no hesitation her father went to a local music store and bought a new bass and Kalamazoo Bass 30 amp.

Calloused fingers and long practice sessions paid off. Ann played by ear and quickly developed a feel for the heavy strings and basic rock patterns. Despite being a year older than Angela, she had far less comfort with crowds. The bass proved to be a great instrument for the naturally shy Ann. She could choose to filter into the background at times or move to the forefront when she felt the urge. It was all coming together.

With a name borrowed from the popular line of Baldwin Pianos – The Acrosonics were born. They had instruments. They had songs. They needed an audience.

A contemporary account has the Acrosonics debuting at a charity event at Franklin High School in support of the Fresh Air Fund. Dubbed the Caravan of Music, the show was headlined by Fraternity and King recording artist Cecil Mack (Cecil McNabb Jr, the pianist for Boyd Bennett) and boasted a handful of other bands on the prime Friday night gig. Despite nerves the show was a success for the nascent trio and only inspired them to get better and play more.

The hunt had been on for a female guitarist with little luck. Ann had made great strides on the bass and Angela was hoping that musical lightning would strike twice. If the band couldn’t find a guitarist she would make one out of her younger sister Teresa.

At only thirteen Teresa was well accustomed to music around the Wiley household, but like Mayes had no experience on guitar. Nevertheless, the family purchased her a $75 guitar (most likely a Sears Silvertone) that came complete with built-in amplification in the case. The younger Wiley dove headfirst into learning and soon was playing rhythm competently with the trio.

The now four-piece Acrosonics spent long hours practicing in the Wiley family’s garage and were not dissuaded by the occasional noise complaint from the neighbors. The addition of the guitar opened up new song opportunities, which in turn would allow the girls more flexibility to tailor their set to a variety of gigs.

And the gigs did come. There were school dances at Thornhill Elementary, an Oddfellows Christmas Party, Masonic Lodge dances, a Halloween party and sometimes a much more unconventional show.

The since demolished Frankfort State Hospital and School may seem an odd venue to anyone familiar with the facility and its controversial past, but Bonnie’s volunteer work there gave them an “in” and the Acrosonics happily performed for the staff and residents. The quartet was well-received and would occasionally hold rehearsals at the facility.

Set lists were covers and usually big radio hits of the day and varied from show to show. Bonnie wowed with “Wipeout” and Teresa would put three chords to great use while taking the vocal lead crying out “G-L-O-R-I-A.” Angela, of course, handled the majority of vocals with Bonnie contributing lead and backing vocals as needed. On some shows the repertoire was expanded further by the presence of talented saxophonist and friend Polly Webb.

As the calendar flipped to 1967 the Acrosonics continued to improve and pursue a more “grown up” appearance. The early days of matching tops with khakis and penny loafers gave way to white sequined dresses for Teresa, Angela, and Ann and dress slacks with a sequined top for Bonnie. Color wheels were replaced by a DIY light box for greater effect. It was during this time that the band changed their name to the Majestiques.

Band business was typically Angela and Bonnie’s domain, but Ann took initiative and wrote to Louisville’s WAVE TV with the hopes of landing the Majestiques on the popular Teen Beat program. Just a couple of years prior an area band (The Slightly Fabulous Shadows) earned a stint on the show and the fresh-faced Majestiques stood a great chance at selection as well. For reasons now unclear, the rest of the band was only lukewarm about preparing an audition packet and the chance was sadly lost.

The dissolution of the band happened for no great reason other than the usual complications of teenagers and young adults growing up. Bonnie had graduated high school in the spring of 1967 and was facing a future beyond school. Ann Mayes moved across town to a different school. The ability to rehearse and gather with her bandmates was not something easily overcome. One day it was just quietly no more.

Of the Acrosonics/Majestiques only Angela and Bonnie remained active in area music.

Bonnie Reeves wasted little time before joining the Nashville Syndicate (a large ensemble that toured in a repurposed school bus) and afterwards with Closet Door (not the later Owensboro band with the same name) that traveled stylishly in a Cadillac hearse.

Reeves then joined the Jim Boggess Trio for a longstanding engagement at the Jettown Lounge. It was during this time that Bonnie began experimenting further with her drumming and also began playing keyboard with her left hand while continuing to drum with her right. The trio was popular with the crowd and impressed owner WD Parker enough that he agreed to fund a trip to Lexington to record a 45 for Lemco. This would be Bonnie’s first taste of a studio and her drumming and backing vocals can be heard on the 1975 single release of “American Trilogy” backed by a cover of the Carpenters “Top of the World.”

 Music was an obsession. We played 6 nights a week for nearly three years until I got a vocal cord nodule and that forced me to cool it for a while. – Bonnie Reeves

The time off meant a straight job with the county clerk’s office. Given time her vocal cords improved and Reeves teamed up with David Fallis for a series of engagements.

Back on the scene, she appeared on David Bryan’s 1982 record as a backing vocalist and the same year found Bonnie and Angela Wiley in a mini-reunion doing the backing vocals at Track 16 for Jerry Cole’s waxing of “Too Many Memories / Rockin’ Robin”.

A big break came for Bonnie when she then teamed up with Willie Thompson for a long-standing engagement at a lounge inside the Pizza Inn on Hwy 127. This odd sounding venue was perfect for the duo and their success led them to submit an audition tape to the popular Jim Ed Brown hosted “You Can Be a Star” country television program. A request for an in-person audition led to them ultimately appearing on the show in May 1984. Their treatment of the Shelley West / David Frizzell “I Just Came Here to Dance” was not enough to win, but it was a quality performance and earned praise from the judges. Bonnie and Willie would play together for over three years and recorded one 45, which was released on the Tennessee-based Society label.

Bonnie Reeves found steady employment at the county jail, but never stopped performing as time allowed. In the late 1980s she was playing in the northern Kentucky / Cincinnati area with Nightlite before moving on to the band Rewind. In the late 2000s in a case of “everything old is new again”, a 40^th class reunion led to Reeves reuniting with the original Debonettes to form a new gospel quartet: The Golden Girls of Gospel.

Today, Bonnie can be found playing keyboards regularly in the Frankfort area with Ronnie Martin (a duo that started in 2014). They have recorded several CDs. She also continues to drum at her church and has no plans of slowing down.

Angela Wiley Woods has remained musically very active through the years as well. Except for the occasional foray into secular music (like the backing vocal stint mentioned prior) she has devoted the vast majority of her talent to the gospel music field. She never stopped performing at her church as a vocalist and organist and has countless solo performances around the central Kentucky area. Any Sunday she can be found at Alton Baptist Church spreading the gospel as a worship and praise leader.

She ultimately relocated to the Lawrenceburg area and in the early 2000s joined with Leigh Lilly and Kaye Etherington to form a Southern gospel act – the Hilltop Trio. The Trio has played as far as Tennessee and routinely plays churches and venues around Lawrenceburg, Frankfort, Alton, and Lexington. They have recorded several gospel CDs.

Ann Mayes Faesy has remained in Frankfort and works as a staff accountant. She is happily married and enjoys spending time with her family. Despite never pursuing music further she gained quite a bit from her time on stage. She credits the Acrosonics with helping her come out of her shell and learning to try new experiences. Fortunately, she was also the most careful archivist of the group and despite not making a record, her supplied photos of the girls practically sing.

The youngest member, Teresa Wiley, graduated from Danville’s School of Practical Nursing in 1972 and enjoyed a long career as an RN before retiring. She has also remained in the Frankfort area, but was unable to be contacted at the time of this writing.

Honorary Acrosonic (sax player Polly Webb) was known to be involved in an equestrian program in Lexington in the early 1970s, but then the trail fades. She possibly resides in Finchville, KY.

Tantalizingly, there may exist reel-to-reel tape of the group (per Ann).

Someday the world may hear again from the Acrosonics.
[2020 Shawn Chambers / Lexingtunes]

Related vinyl recordings:

LEMCO  741206      Jim Boggess Trio    “American Trilogy / Top of the World”    1974
(Bonnie on drums and backing vocals)

 

KRENN  TR16-0484      David Bryan & Co   “Kentucky Days / I’ll Change My Ways”  1982
(Bonnie on vocal harmony)

 

LEE 820408      Jerry Cole   “Too Many Memories / Rockin’ Robin” 1982
(Bonnie and Angela on backing vocals)

 

SOCIETY S84-108      Bonnie & Willie   “One More Day / Southern Fried Country” 1984