‘We were makig real good money, but after a while, money doesn’t mean anything.’

Gary Withem’s high school students respect the band leader’s experience, but their mothers want his autograph. They remember the blond, pixie-faced sax player with Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. Withem, the grandson of a fiddler and reared on songs like “The Wabash Cannonball,” marched in a band at Mt. Miguel High, played in the San Diego Youth Orchestra and made money playing lodge meetings with a dance band called the Versatones. Uncomfortable with acid rock, he left the band Iron Butterfly and helped form the Union Gap in the mid-’60s. Nine units shy of a degree in music education at San Diego State University, he hit the road with the band, all them wearing blue Civil War garb. By 1967, the band’s wildly successful second tune, “Young Girl,” was No. 1 in countries around the world. Withem was more tourist than partygoer on the road, and tired of touring in 1971 after six years and five hits. He was 32 and writing songs for A&M; Records in Hollywood when he took a job as a church choir director and returned to music education. Now 43, and content with his wife and three children, he teaches music at Chula Vista High School and is writing a musical with a pal from the Union Gap. Times staff writer Nancy Reed interviewed him and Barbara Martin photographed him.

We signed a contract right there in the Clairemont Bowl in 1966, and we went on the road, writing and arranging as we went. “Woman, Woman” was out and wasn’t doing anything.

Then we found out the record was hot in Columbus, Ohio. It was blind luck. Disc jockeys get stacks of records and there was a publicity shot with our uniforms. We found out the disc jockey who built the record was a Civil War buff and from that chance meeting we got our break.

At that point everybody was after us. Our music played on all stations, easy listening, rock and country. In a normal concert you’d see teenyboppers and middle-aged people.

It was really enjoyable to see America and to meet all the people I did and to experience that star thing when the girls try to pull your hair out.

The first time it happened, we didn’t really understand. I know what it’s like to have your total privacy taken away--for a while we were recognized all the time. We were not able to finish a meal or shop. If you had to live your whole life like that, it would be awful. People feel that you owe them because they made you what you are.

The first time we really were amazed was when we took a flight to Mexico City and we were three hours late. When we got to the airport and looked out the window, it was wall-to-wall people. Our first instinct was to think, well the president of Mexico must be here or some famous bullfighter.

It looked like a riot or something. As we taxied over, we noticed they all had Union Gap shirts on. That was real strange--that must have been 15,000 people.

When we got off, the Mexican army was there, with tanks and armored vehicles. They took us through the streets of Mexico City, and it was lined with people. By the time we got to the stadium, there were 20,000 kids rushing us--the Mexican army ran--and our driver took off and tried to get us back to our hotel because it was uncontrollable.

They thought, those gringos have done it to us again. The next day in the Mexican newspaper, they thought we had jilted them and the American consulate had to soothe over feelings. We had to put on three benefit concerts.

We just sat back in our hotel rooms shaking our heads, because we didn’t know we were that powerful. We just went down to play a concert and we created an international incident.

We were making real good money, but after a while, money doesn’t mean anything. What really matters in life is that you are with the people you love and you are happy. Everybody says it, but it’s true.

It taught me to value things that I know now are very important in your life. And how important roots are--family and your beliefs. We saw so many of our friends kill themselves--Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison. They were all so powerful and had nothing to hold onto and turned to drugs and killed themselves. They were intelligent, talented and thoughtful people.

It was a chance for me to understand what some of these kids are going through with drugs today.