The group traces its roots to a 1964 meeting of Kirkman (who can play 23 different instruments) and Alexander (a sailor who plays rhythm, bass, and lead guitars) in Honolulu. Kirkman had played with Frank Zappa for five years in California coffee houses, but was selling office supplies (business forms) when he and Alexander agreed to meet again after he was discharged from the US Navy.
In early 1965, Kirkman and Alexander formed a 13-man ensemble ("The Men") in LA and made their debut at the Troubadour; but during a rehearsal, disaster struck -- half the group left after a particularly heated argument, and the six remaining members of The Men met at Kirkman's house to ponder their future. The remaining members of The Men -- Kirkman, Alexander, Bluechtel, Cole, Russ Giguere, and Jim Page (no, not THAT Jimmy Page!) -- decided to change the group's name. When Kirkman's wife checked the meaning of their first choice, "The Aristocrats", she found another word that she thought would be more appropriate for the act -- "association."
Jim Page left The Association shortly after the name change; he was replaced on guitars by Jim Yester.
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