Silver Laughter

Silver Laughter was born in the fall of 1969 in Davenport, Ia. The band would eventually play over 1,700 gigs over ten years throughout every corner of Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, as well as western Canada. The nine musicians that eventually played in Silver Laughter had all been teenage friends. The band would also record two albums of original material from which six singles were spawned. The band was originated by Jon Ludtke (guitar/lead singer) and Steve Elliott (bass/lead singer). John Carstensen (lead guitar) and Jon’s brother Kim (Slim) Ludtke (drums) were incorporated within months to complete the original band. With the strong lead singing of Jon and Steve, Silver Laughter had an instant following in the Quad Cities, as the band played covers of some of the 60’s most illustrious rock bands, including the Beatles, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. Some of the early gigs included the Hullabaloo in Moline, Ill - a left-over vintage teen club of the 1960’s complete with go-go cages, and the famous Col Ballroom in Davenport. From its inception Silver Laughter focused on vocals and harmony, matched with the power of a driving rhythm section and lead guitar. During these early years, the band wrote and performed a few originals which became favorites of their fans.