Amulet -

Amulet was an American Midwest hard-rock band that made a 1980 self-titled album on regional-press Shadow Records.

Members: Clif Hill (vocals), Bob Becker (guitar), Paul Skelton (bass), John Becker (drums)

Background

Amulet formed in autumn 1978 in Evansville, Indiana, when guitarist Bob Becker assembled singer Clif Hill, bassist Paul Skelton, and drummer John Becker around a plan to perform original hard rock.

Becker began school music in third grade on song flute and later moved to clarinet. He also sang in choir from fourth through seventh grade. An aunt gave Becker an acoustic guitar for his fourteenth birthday. He learned basic chords from charts and musician friends, then spent several months on bass in a group with another guitarist. Becker returned to guitar and taught himself through daily practice. John Becker learned drums informally around musician friends and eventually acquired a kit. The Becker brothers later shared one unnamed band prior to Amulet.

Hill grew up in Princeton, Indiana, roughly twenty-five miles north of Evansville, where an aunt and uncle operated a music store. His uncle taught guitar and his aunt played drums. Hill first performed at a school dance in junior high, then formed a Southern Indiana band at fourteen as singer and rhythm guitarist. The group played sock hops, proms, and youth centers. Hill also played trombone in school band and learned basic arrangement in that ensemble. He left the school group in later high school to concentrate on his rock band.

Amulet spent the first months on frequent rehearsals and cover sets that could finance the original project. The repertoire drew from Robin Trower, Pat Travers, UFO, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and Van Halen.

In early 1979, Amulet auditioned for summer dates at Kramer’s Lake, an Evansville-area recreation complex with a live-music stage. Management favored Top 40 dance bands and declined a summer booking. Amulet continued through local clubs and concert bills with Destiny, Taylor Bay Band, and T.F. Much. They built an originals repertoire with Hill’s lyrics set to Becker’s riffs.

Amulet circulated demos to record companies and received preliminary interest from MCA and Warner Bros. The group also cut a one-day demo with engineer George Cumbee Jr. at Audio Creations in Paducah, Kentucky. In spring 1980, Amulet returned to Audio Creations with a completed set of original songs and roughly $3,000 raised for a self-financed album.

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