Forming a rock band today, finding gigs and producing your own sound has become easier than ever; faster too! It doesn’t mean the recipe for success is more secure today than in the past; but in todays connected and technological world, young people who want to record a demo, find producers and advertise themselves have a variety of choices that smooth the way to the stage… there’s even a wiki on how to form an awesome band! Things looked quite differently back in the 60’s. Back then, you needed talent, connections and counting with the the luck factor of being at the right time in the right place.

The Centaurs were a popular Rock & Roll band in the mid 1960’s home based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The original group consisted of John Gedak on the drums; Hugh Reilly lead guitar & vocals; Louis Pitre, keyboards & vocals, Ron Williams as the lead vocalist and Al West at the bass.  After recording a demo, they took a trip to Europe with and landed with their bus, full of instruments in Rotterdam. No plan was the plan. They didn’t know anybody, had nothing lined up, what they had was just their love for rock’n roll, a demo record and a heart full of dreams!

The luck factor was meeting one evening in a bar the manager of a local band who helped them settle and soon they had signed a contract with a dutch agency. Shortly after that they were touring Holland with “The Troggs”, a very famous english rock band of the 60’s.
The band’s success was huge after touring in Europe and they ended up staying a whole year in Holland, after which their visa expired. Even though the fans would have loved them to stay longer, they had to leave and moved to Germany.  The Centaurs came to prominence after releasing their single “Be happy” on the widely known Polydor label in 1967. They also toured Germany and were known as “The Beatles of Canada”.

John Gedak, the original drummer of the Centaurs lived in Germany with the band and enjoyed his “Rock star” status, so when it came to shopping, he aimed only for the best! At some point, he asked himself which watch would match his white 365 Porsche? So he literally walked in a shop, asking for a watch that would suite a rockstar like himself! He walked out with a Marvin around his wrist! Soon after, the Centaurs, returned to Canada and pursued individually different path.

In 2010, the Centaurs reunited, with two original Centaurs members, John & Hugh. So when John and his other 60’s professional musicians got together to bring back the good ol’ days and boogied to some awesome Rock‘n Roll, he suddenly remembered he was missing his Marvin watch. While leafing through a magazine on a cruise, he saw a Marvin Watches advertising; he almost fell off his chair! His 40 year old watch was still produced, he almost couldn’t believe it. Back home, he went through his drawers and found his Marvin Watch waiting for him. After a quick trip to the repair shop, the Marvin ticks perfectly to the rhythm of the drums!