Original Members:
August Smith - Acoustic/Electric Guitars, Vocals
Jon Kukuk - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Jan Warwick - Bass, Vocals, 1994-1996
Various bass players over the years, and a lead singer in the summer of 1975, but names escape me for most of them.
Golden Wings was started in January 1975 by guitarist August Smith and Jon Kukuk on drums. We were originally from the college town of Macomb, Illinois, home of Western Illinois University. Today, our music would be classified Pyschedelic Indie/Alternative Rock, back then we were just a rock band. Our sound was ahead of our time, like combining Jimi Hendrix with Wishbone Ash.
To get our space sounds at a time when stomp boxes were limited, we used a 4 track Akai reel to reel tape deck. The tape deck took our sound to new dimensions, and we were unofficially labeled the black sheep of the local Macomb music scene. This was because we only did our own originals, and did our own thing while other local bands were doing covers. To us, playing cover songs showed a lack of imagination.
Fun Fact: Golden Wings was named to be similar to Led Zeppelin, Golden for metal, Wings for soft acoustic music. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Honda Gold Wing motorcycle.
Fun Fact: Golden Wings Gets To See Rush Very Close Up Back in 1975, and right after Neil Peart had joined the Canadian rock band Rush, they came to Macomb. It was "The Hay Days In May" concert with some local and national acts, and Rush was the headliner.
The following story is taken from my book (Author: Jon Kukuk) Uncharted Currents: My Life Growing Up On The Mississippi River, Copyright 2022 Lulu Press
"Macomb is a college town, being home to Western Illinois University, or WIU. All kinds of entertainment and concerts were held back then. Many big names came to town that year, but the one I remember most was the Canadian hard rock trio Rush. I saw them just a month before with Kiss being the major headlining band at Burlington Memorial Auditorium in Burlington, Iowa. I think ticket prices might have been five dollars for such an amazing show. Seeing them again on their first US concert tour with their new drummer, Neil Peart, was no less than amazing. I got to see them twice in one month that summer. Their second album, "Fly By Night," had just been released in February of that year, and the band was touring hard to promote it. On Sunday, May 18th,1975, the free Hay Days in May concert was held at WIU. Rush was headlining with four other bands that day. I remember seeing a moving truck with their small road crew pulling out a small plywood stage with drums already set up on it. Then several of them were carrying it up the back stairs to center stage. I thought that was very interesting, and it saved a lot of time. The one thing that stands out is how I managed to get up on stage and stay there without being noticed right away. In fact I was up there after the famous band walked out to start their set. I was maybe ten feet away from singer and bassist front man Geddy Lee for at least the first few minutes of the concert. Then a stage worker told me to get down. For just a few short minutes, I had shared the stage with Rush, who went on the be a major rock band for over forty years."