About

Grethel

circa 70s
The forerunner of Cold Sweat was a band called (yuk) "Grethel" and it was Russ Godfrey, (me) drums/ vocals, Bill Kempster, bass/vocals and Dave Holloway, guitar/vocals. How that awful name came about is beyond me except as a heavier band, we were probably looking for a "Goth" kind of name and we may have gotten it from an old German Fairy tale book….I vaguely recall that. We were a power trio with pretty good vocals actually, considering all 3 of us sang leads. We were all from Sidney/Royal Oak area. We played Sancha Hall, school gigs around the peninsula area and I think we actually opened for Moxie a few times. I left for reasons I can't recall and the next thing I knew I was seeing them at the Oak Bay Tea Party with a newer, much improved name (Dave told me it came from Bill after seeing Black Saabath in Seattle and his reaction to them) and Don Sheppard on vocals and Keith Baker on drums. That band blew me away with their sheer power - awesome! They covered bands like Wild Turkey, Saabath, Bull Durham and the like. Don stalked the stage with his piercing blues eyes, just glaring out at you, very menacing. They definitely had an attitude and the chops, to boot. And I never ... more...
Broken Up

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Past Members

Russ Godfrey
Drums/Vocals
70s
Bill Kempster
Bass/Vocals
70s
Dave Holloway
Guitar/Vocals
70s