Former Rapid City music teacher, service member celebrates induction into South Dakota Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame
The spotlight caught the beads of sweat trickling down Fred Ellwein's brow as his fingers danced across the keyboard, each note a testament to decades of friendship and shared dreams.
A grin stretched across his face, radiating the pure joy of a man reunited with his musical brothers, the Flat Cat crew back together again and jamming at South Dakota's Roll-n-Roll Hall of Fame's center stage at The Alliance in Sioux Falls on Oct. 19.
Ellwein's eyes, alight with the energy of the music and the warmth of camaraderie, sparkled like the disco ball scattering fractured light across the pulsating crowd. There was nothing holding him back from living in the moment.
"It's almost impossible to put into words... It was one of the pinnacle moments in my life to just play with those guys for one last time," Ellwein said.
After the performance and the band exits the stage, Ellwein recalls the road that led him here — the road to music.
A boy with his bugle
Ellwein's first taste with music started when he was a kid within the Cub Scouts. His parents had just gotten him a small bugle, a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore, to play with his fellow scouts.
"I wanted to be a bugler in the Cub Scouts, so my mom and dad bought me a bugle. Well, they got tired of it really soon after that," Ellwein said with a sly smile as he recalled the days and nights he spent playing in his family's home in Sioux Falls.
Though supportive of Ellwein's dream, his family soon restricted his daily practices to the detached garage. There, Ellwein found himself getting lost in the notes. As he got older, Ellwein could tell he was outgrowing the small instrument and began to crave something more.
From bugle to the baritone, Ellwein searched for the instrument that could spark the same flame he felt when he began playing. It wasn't until he got into high school did he find the answer he was looking for.
"I got really interested in high school band and my band director kind of took me under his wing. The thing that really resonated with me was the opportunity to play tuba in Europe," Ellwein said.
At the time Ellwein said he had no previous experience playing tuba, but with some guidance and practice, it soon became the instrument he was meant to play. He and his classmates continued on to win state championships.
Despite having a strong connection with music and aspiring to be a band director himself, Ellwein enrolled in South Dakota State University as a journalism major.
But his longing to play couldn't be silenced, and he later switched to be a music major, despite concerns from his family. Ellwein said he couldn't break away from the piece of him who spent countless hours playing. Once telling his family it was his calling, they soon supported him once more.
After Ellwein graduated with a degree in music education, he took a teaching job at a junior high school in Mitchell. It was there Ellwein found lifelong friends and formed a group called Flat Cat.
The rock and roll band consisted of Ellwein on the keyboard, Steve Samuelson and Jimmy Weber on guitar, Ben Dee on bass guitar, Chuck Mauszycki on drums and Michael Jenson as the sound man.
Samuelson had formed Flat Cat with another group, but later hired Ellwein and the others for their talent in 1984.
Playing the tuba most of his life, Ellwein said he didn't have much experience playing the keyboard. However, Ellwein was never known to shy away from a challenge, so he rolled up his sleeves and began to play.
"We made a lot of great memories playing together. Each one of those guys are amazing musicians, and I'm truly honored that I got to play by their side," Ellwein said.
As years passed, Ellwein knew his path was slowly shifting away from the band. Ellwein said the band broke up around 1987, due to each player finding their own calling.
Despite the breakup, Ellwein said their bond was unbreakable and some part of him always knew they would one day play together again.
A lifetime career serving one's country
Between graduating with his bachelor's degree and playing for Flat Cat, Ellwein said he always felt his music could serve a bigger purpose than himself. Inspired by his father's years of service in World War II, Ellwein had a natural calling to serve in the military.
Ellwein joined the National Guard's 147th Army Band in 1979. He later joined in active duty with the Army in 2003.
Ellwein's career began to rapidly grow, as he would later be the band commander of the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, a unique unit that recreates the music and appearance of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Dressed in distinctive red coats and tricorn hats, they perform with fifes, drums and bugles at more than 500 events each year, including presidential inaugurations, sporting events, and international goodwill tours. Their performances serve as a reminder of America's historical military heritage.
"Looking back, I can't even believe the things I was afforded to do. It was all God's hand, I realized that nothing I did led me to those things, it was Him," Ellwein said.
Though he had the opportunity to perform in four presidential inaugurations and got to travel to 33 different countries, Ellwein said there was one performance he would never forget for the rest of his life.
Ellwein, along with two rock bands, traveled to Iraq to perform for the soldiers fighting on the front lines. Within only a few minutes after setting up instruments, Ellwein could see the tension on the crowd's face.
"They'd all just come back from a mission and looked rough. They had just lost someone the day prior and were huddled in this small bunker to hear us play," Ellwein said.
It was at that moment, Ellwein knew this was what he was meant for. This was the moment his passion could really help others.
For the next 75 minutes Ellwein and the rest of the band began to play like it was their last day on earth. Ellwein said he could see the tension in the bunker gradually beginning to melt. Looks of dread and grief slowly transitioned to cheers and laughter.
Soldiers were eager to sing along with the band, clapping between each performance and making their own dance floor. The room that was once so quiet you could hear a pin drop was now reverberating with life.
"To see them transform and just light up like Christmas trees was probably one of those most important moments in my life. It really showed me what the power of music can really do," Ellwein said.
A punctuation mark
From the White House lawn to the battlefields of Iraq, Ellwein spent 33 years in the military, 24 of those years as the Army's Bandmaster. However, his world of music began to shift once he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system.
Though a bittersweet ending to a long cherished career within the military, Ellwein refused to let his passion end there.
He continued not as a performer, but as a teacher for future musicians. Ellwein was employed by the Rapid City Area Schools for Rapid City Central and South Middle School, and by South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Ellwein said watching his students flourish within the world of music was one of the most rewarding things in his life. He spent a total of 22 years as an educator.
When Ellwein heard the news of being inducted for the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, a part of him felt nervous. Still battling with the tremors in his hands and not having played the keyboard since Flat Cat broke up, Ellwein said he feared he couldn't play like he used to.
But that all changed after their first practice together in September.
"It was quite amazing, after 40 years of not playing together, it was like no time had passed at all. It was magical," Ellwein said.
After the show on Oct. 19, Ellwein placed his award over his piano at his Rapid City home. Ellwein said it was after the performance that he knew his love for music would never truly come to end — this was just a start to a new chapter.
"Getting to play again was life changing. It's like putting a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. It completed me, it was a full circle of 40 years of all kinds of incredible musical experiences in my life," Ellwein said.
Our best Rapid City staff photos and video of October 2024A collection of some of our best photos from October of 2024.
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