The Load -

The Load was an American symphonic-rock trio that released the 1976 album Praise the Load on Columbus small-press Owl. In 1977, they recorded a second album that appeared in 1995 as Load Have Mercy through archivists Laser’s Edge.

Members: Dave Hessler (guitar, bass), Sterling Smith (keyboards), Tom Smith (drums, percussion)

Background

The Load formed in March 1973 in Columbus when keyboardist Sterling Smith and guitarist/bassist Dave Hessler continued their partnership from Osiris with drummer Tom Smith, formerly of the Bob Paas Blues Band. Sterling previously played with the Lowbrows and Grayps, while Hessler also came from the Esquires. Elektra considered an early Musicol demo but declined a contract.

When Tom Murphy established Owl Recording Studio in a converted stagecoach station northeast of Columbus, Sterling and Hessler joined the company as partners and stockholders. The trio helped build the studio, then used the facility to record original material. Initially, Hessler played bass while Sterling covered Hammond organ, Clavinet and Minimoog. Hessler later built a double-neck guitar/bass, and Sterling added a second Minimoog for left-hand bass. This configuration let both players exchange bass duties within performances.

Ohio dates included support slots for Bob Seger and Brian Auger. The trio also opened for Michael Stanley Band and Rick Derringer. Owl issued “Now We’ll Say We Tried” in May 1974 (b/w “She Calls My Name”) as catalog 2551. This first in-house single led into sessions for the debut album.

Praise the Load

The Load released their debut album, Praise the Load, in November 1976 on Owl Intermedia.

Across six LP tracks, the group combines four originals with arrangements by Sterling of the third movement from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture. Sterling writes “Fandango” and “The Betrayal,” while Hessler supplies “Flyaway” and “Dave’s ‘A’ Song.”

“Fandango” surges from a Spanish-tinged entrance, where doubleneck guitar figures cross a harpsichord-like keyboard line before extended instrumental turns. “Brandenburg #3” scampers through Bach’s third-movement theme in compact ensemble unisons. “Dave’s ‘A’ Song” boogies on a two-chord figure, then pivots through a composed middle break and nimble solo runs. “The William Tell Overture” drives Rossini’s theme through a direct trio arrangement.

A1. “Fandango” (11:01) – Sterling Smith
A2. “Flyaway” (4:30) – Dave Hessler
A3. “Brandenburg #3 (Third Movement)” (5:00) – Johann Sebastian Bach (arr. Sterling Smith)

B1. “Dave’s ‘A’ Song” (7:20) – Dave Hessler
B2. “The Betrayal” (11:50) – Sterling Smith
B3. “The William Tell Overture” (4:00) – Gioachino Rossini (arr. Sterling Smith)

The band recorded Praise the Load at Owl Recording Studio in Columbus, where Sterling and Hessler held stock in the musician-owned facility. Owl founder Tom Murphy built the studio console after the company acquired a 16-channel MCI recorder. House engineer Alex Vertikoff later worked on projects by British singer Terry Reid and the Rolling Stones following the Owl relocation to Los Angeles.

The sleeve uses an outlined drawing of an upturned hand beneath a cloud-shaped form and the stylized band name. In 1991, The Laser’s Edge reissued the album as LE 1008 with “Sit Down” and “She Calls My Name” as bonus tracks.

Los Angeles

The Load and several Owl principals relocated to Los Angeles in February 1977 and established a West Coast base. In summer 1977, a New York audition paired the trio with Meat Loaf for a proposed Bat Out of Hell tour. Meat Loaf and songwriter Jim Steinman approved the group arrangements and proposed rerecording three songs, but Bearsville placed the album in turnaround before the parties completed a tour contract.

In Los Angeles, the group recorded with Dennis Wilson on material later included with Bambu in the 2008 expanded edition of Pacific Ocean Blue. Sterling joined the Beach Boys touring unit, while Hessler accompanied Wilson as an opening-act musician. Subsequent Troubadour showcases brought meetings with label representatives but no recording contract.

Load Have Mercy

The Laser’s Edge released the trio’s second album, Load Have Mercy, on August 4, 1995, as an LE 1023 compact disc.

Eight selections come from the 1977 Owl sessions; the reunited trio re-recorded “Eitel’s Lament” in 1994 from an earlier rough mix. Sterling supplies most of the program. Hessler contributes “Mobilized” and co-writes three additional titles.

“Mobilized” unfurls from soft organ and acoustic fills into a harder guitar lead, with clavinet figures at section changes. “One Is Gone” bounds through buoyant lead singing and close replies before a brief piano turn. “Something Suite” quickens from a shared theme into successive solos and a drum feature.

“Richter Scale” accumulates classical fragments and improvisatory turns toward another solo break. “The Narrows” pivots from a bass solo into a syncopated interlude with agile solo lines. “Choices” intones a brief ecclesial prelude with a lone sung line and sparse accompaniment. “Too Much to Believe” ascends from a gentle prelude through sustained escalation, then folds paired keyboard lines into a classically inflected solo passage.

1. “Mobilized” (6:24) – Dave Hessler
2. “One Is Gone” (1:41) – Sterling Smith
3. “Something Suite” (8:25) – Sterling Smith
4. “Richter Scale” (5:54) – Sterling Smith
5. “Interstellar Debris” (3:20) – Sterling Smith, Dave Hessler
6. “The Narrows” (6:11) – Sterling Smith, Dave Hessler
7. “Choices” (1:19) – Sterling Smith
8. “Too Much to Believe” (13:12) – Sterling Smith
9. “Eitel’s Lament” (11:51) – Sterling Smith, Dave Hessler

The core album derives from 1977 sessions at Owl Recording Studio in Columbus. Mastering engineer Bob Katz remastered the tapes for The Laser’s Edge. Katz also engineered Badi Assad’s Rhythms and Oregon’s Beyond Words among his concurrent projects.

The compact-disc sleeve places yellow title lettering over a blue-gray relief image.

Postlude

In 1982, the trio backed singer-songwriter Baron Stewart on his MCA second album Temperature’s Rising. Sterling stayed in Los Angeles and toured with former Eagles bassist Randy Meisner. He also served as musical director and onstage pianist for the 1992–93 dance tour by Twyla Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Hessler and Tom Smith returned to Columbus and formed the Danger Brothers, who continued for more than three decades. In 2008, the expanded edition of Pacific Ocean Blue included the Dennis Wilson recordings within the unfinished Bambu sequence. Ohio State University restored and posted footage from a 1976 appearance on the PBS television program Mandella in 2020 through digital platforms.

Discography: