tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11202383022518904692024-03-21T18:53:50.238-07:0019661966: Texas Music in the SixtiesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-47214550778662650042019-11-18T18:14:00.002-08:002019-11-19T19:04:20.660-08:00Neal Ford and the Fanatics' 1965 set list<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFELEmATSoGsLdEXPbAPejKR63nwss28HJRZJ3nRqx1HVPp7oNZkFMoQ5PgWFV9lDZmr4gw95nnxJNvoR7bcJCYmEDksSRMp08RnbSlPCDyfyi-KOzALgHC4dNLCKt9Ax3fkLCQzyIrSY/s1600/fanatics+set+list.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="977" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFELEmATSoGsLdEXPbAPejKR63nwss28HJRZJ3nRqx1HVPp7oNZkFMoQ5PgWFV9lDZmr4gw95nnxJNvoR7bcJCYmEDksSRMp08RnbSlPCDyfyi-KOzALgHC4dNLCKt9Ax3fkLCQzyIrSY/s320/fanatics+set+list.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>The set list of Neal Ford and the Fanatics, 1965. Click to enlarge. </b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>(Texas Music Collection, University of Houston)</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps the most elusive aspect of 1960s music research is determining what songs bands actually played live. The best one can hope for in most cases is the retrieval of the few songs that stuck in a musician's memory as being particularly resonant with crowds -- "When we did 'Shout,' that really killed 'em!" Few set lists from the era survive today. Indeed, for much of the time, bands did not even go through the formality of writing down a set list, much less keeping copies. Set lists were constantly in flux, mirroring the constantly changing state of popular music. After a week or two, the current set list would be as obsolete as yesterday's papers. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Only a few set lists from the Houston '60s scene survive. The one pictured above is housed in the Texas Music Collection at the University of Houston. No band is listed, but it was found among the papers of Richard Ames, the manager of Neal Ford and the Fanatics, and the inclusion of their original "I Will Not Be Lonely" guarantees the identification with that band. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If this was used as a set list, it was unusually short set that night. Thirty-nine songs at approximately three minutes each would consume only two hours, about two hours short of the average duration of a live gig in 1965. However, it wasn't that uncommon for bands to be hired to play for only two hours, depending on the event. Perhaps it was not a "set list" per se, but simply a list of the bedrock of their repertoire that month. The year is certain due to the lack of any 1966 songs appearing on the list. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The 39 songs and their genres can be broken down thus:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">1. Johnny B. Goode (standard)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">2. Glad All Over (British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">3. Medley (unknown)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">4. Round & Round (standard/British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">5. I'm Crying (British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">6. What'd I Say (Ray Charles/standard)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">7. Hang on Sloopy (McCoys/Top 40)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">8. Louie, Louie (standard)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">9. Mojo (?)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">10. You're My Sunshine (sic) (You Are My Sunshine) (standard)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">11. Get Out of This Place (sic) (British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">12. Twist & Shout (standard)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">13. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better (Byrds/Top 40)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">14. Tambourine Man (Byrds/Top 40)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">15. She's About a Mover (Sir Douglas Quintet/Top 40)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">16. Big Boy Pete (The Olympics/Paul Revere and the Raiders)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">17. Satisfaction (British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">18. Do You Love Me? (Contours/British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">19. I Will Not Be Lonely (original)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">20. The Turn On Song (British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">21. Wine, Wine, Wine (standard)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">22. Keep on Dancin' (Gentrys/Top 40)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">23. All I Really Want to Do (Byrds/Top 40) </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">24. Bells of Rimney (sic) (Byrds album cut) </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">25. Last Time (British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">26. Hard Day's Nite (sic) (British Invasion) </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">27. Dirt (?)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">28. Hide Your Love Away (sic) (British Invasion) </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">29. You Can't Do That (British Invasion) </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">30. The Dog (The Dog? Walking the Dog?) (both Rufus Thomas)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">31. House Othe Rising Sun (sic) (standard/British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">32. Are You Sincere? (standard)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">33. Sleep Walk (instrumental/standard)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">34. Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers/Top 40)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">35. Donna (Richie Valens? Dion?)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">36. Anna (Arthur Alexander/British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">37. Cry to Me (Solomon Burke/British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">38. How Strong My Love Is (sic) (O.V. Wright/Otis Redding/British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">39. Time is on My Side (British Invasion)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Not everything here is limited to one genre, but the Fanatics' set list can roughly be categorized the following way: 10 pop/rock standards (26% of the set), 16 British Invasion songs (41%), 7 current non-British Top 40 radio hits (18%), </span><span style="font-size: large;">1 instrumental (2.6%), and 1 original (2.6%). The remainder are either undetermined, R&B/soul, or somewhat familiar songs like "Anna" that were not quite standards. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Though incomplete, the list gives us a snapshot of how a typical night at a Fanatics dance would have sounded for about two hours during the autumn of 1965. </span><span style="font-size: large;">"Cry to Me" and "That's How Strong My Love Is" are most likely sourced from the recent Rolling Stones album, <i>Out of Our Heads</i>, rather than the originals (though this is possible). Of the three Beatles' originals present, "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" from the summer's <i>Help! </i>movie and soundtrack, is the most curious choice, since this moody ballad wouldn't seem to have been a crowd pleaser. The British Invasion song on the list most unfamiliar to listeners today, but not in 1965, is undoubtedly "The Turn On Song" by Ian Whitcomb and Bluesville. The title is actually "You Turn Me On (Turn On Song)," and it reached #8 on the <i>Billboard</i> charts in July of that year. Though a huge hit, the song has been excluded from oldies radio playlists in the ensuing decades, perhaps because Whitcomb's falsetto vocals veer too close to novelty record status for modern tastes. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It is somewhat surprising that the Fanatics included more Byrds songs than Beatles among these 39, especially the mournful "Bells of Rhymney" -- not a single, but the last track on side one of the <i>Mr. Tambourine Man</i> album (released June 21, 1965, so only about three months old when this set list was created). Perhaps they wanted to avoid being dismissed as mere Beatles imitators. The preponderance of Byrds songs suggests that lead guitarist Johnny Stringfellow was already using a 12-string guitar by this point, though plenty of groups transposed the Byrds to 6-string. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Donna" is a mystery, since two different hits had that title, first by Riche Valens in October, 1958, and Dion in 1963 (actually titled "Donna the Prima Donna"). One suspects that it was the latter, though both would have sounded outdated in the fall of 1965. When we recall that Ford's singing career had begun around 1963, we shouldn't be surprised to find several songs from this slightly earlier period present on the list. (Of course, this dictum excludes evergreen Chuck Berry songs from 1957-58.)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Mojo" points to either "Got My Mojo Working" (Muddy Waters) or a song derivative of it, "Mojo Workout" (Larry Bright, the Kingsmen, or Paul Revere and the Raiders). If it is the former, the Fanatics most likely learned it from the Zombies' first album (where they would also find "Woman," recorded the following year but not released until 1988). </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Totally written out of most sixties memories are the sentimental ballads that most bands included in their sets, here represented by "You Are My Sunshine" and "Are You Sincere?" Such material became casualties in the psychedelic revolution to come in 1967, and nobody seems to have lamented their passing very much. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"The Dog" is most likely Rufus Thomas' song of the same title (covered by Otis Redding), or perhaps Thomas's answer record, "Walking the Dog," or the Rolling Stones' cover of it. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The most intriguing title here is "Dirt." This could have been the instrumental by Tom King and the Starfires, "Stronger Than Dirt," or the better-known vocal by A. Jacks and the Cleansers with the same title. The latter appeared on a small label, but appears to have been widely dispersed, as many bands had this in their repertoire for a time. Perhaps it was a band original, with no relation to other variations on the Ajax cleanser television commercial theme. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The only verifiable original, "I Will Not Be Lonely," had been a local hit when released on the Gina label a few months earlier. It is the band's best-known song today, having been continually reissued since 1980. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The McCoys' "Hang on Sloopy" entered the charts on August 14, 1965, followed several weeks later by the Gentrys' "Keep on Dancing." The presence of these two massive Top 40 hits on the set list allow us to date it to no earlier than September, 1965. The lack of anything later equally suggests that the list cannot date from very far past that month. By December, many of these songs had probably been dropped from the repertoire, and the Fanatics' set list from early 1966 must have looked markedly different from this one. </span></div>
<div>
<h1 class="hide_mobile has_action_menu" id="profile_title" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Nimbus Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;">
</h1>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Below: The Fanatics' Johnny Stringfellow (Gretsch lead guitar) and Jon Pereles (Fender Jazzmaster rhythm guitar) in early 1965. (Facebook Photo)</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTijtran6zAj4i2K0ommiRttg0apvvRcKbZy3C-slLJgROe04SHie3UhzobPcYItbqrk6RMSNdgzWccZkpEWS5ZHJetFkrJKtuP_JoIQM9Bpx0VkxmL2Qzb3EJIjAK83YoWAq3Yp9C-rE/s1600/fanatics65.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="892" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTijtran6zAj4i2K0ommiRttg0apvvRcKbZy3C-slLJgROe04SHie3UhzobPcYItbqrk6RMSNdgzWccZkpEWS5ZHJetFkrJKtuP_JoIQM9Bpx0VkxmL2Qzb3EJIjAK83YoWAq3Yp9C-rE/s320/fanatics65.png" width="317" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-6299567024326203992019-04-25T19:17:00.002-07:002019-07-22T16:46:59.614-07:00Ann Boleyn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4TLQ37c_RqtBJwrIkIMbirRFOnZtC3n0qe1fCMbXWniHf_2Ry_MnvRhmWmAB6l3YCBwxOzB_xWyWwVoxPoWwOqHNte8Yx2qBUUPKWOXUB5s2S7JHzrZW6drBYUkLADXkgX3_5Q4sQgE/s1600/Mammoth+Ann+Boleyn+Illya.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4TLQ37c_RqtBJwrIkIMbirRFOnZtC3n0qe1fCMbXWniHf_2Ry_MnvRhmWmAB6l3YCBwxOzB_xWyWwVoxPoWwOqHNte8Yx2qBUUPKWOXUB5s2S7JHzrZW6drBYUkLADXkgX3_5Q4sQgE/s320/Mammoth+Ann+Boleyn+Illya.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Ann Boleyn - Illya b/w Do the Kuryakin (Mammoth 445)</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">1965</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The historical context -- and therefore, the rationale -- of most records is usually immediately apparent just by the song titles and the musical genre. The reasoning behind others, like this one, is far more elusive to modern listeners. Time has not recorded why Scott and Vivian Holtzman decided to write a serious love ballad to a fictional television character, but their composition "He's a Loser" had improbably been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rfU1sC5vK8">featured on an episode of <i>Gilligan's Island</i></a> around this time; so it may have seemed like a good commercial move to next write a song about Illya Kuryakin, a spy from the current hip television show <i>The Man From U.N.C.L.E. </i> Perhaps the husband-and-wife team hoped that a producer with that show would hear it and want to use it.<i> </i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">From our current perspective, however, everything about this record is mystifying, from the unfamiliar label with no address, to the odd instrumentation (including acoustic bass and bassoon); from the fact that both sides have the same lyrics, to the pseudonymous vocalist, named after one of Henry VIII's wives. The flipside, "Do the Kuryakin," veers into absurdity, but the listener cannot be sure if this was intentional. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The date would also be difficult to guess (</span><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Man From U.N.C.L.E.</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> ran for four years, 1964-68) but for a disc jockey scribbling "<b>9/19/65"</b> on this copy. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Although they are remembered solely for their songs today, Scott and Vivian Holtzman were better known during the 1960s for their involvement with the theater scene in Houston. Scott wrote, directed, or acted in many plays right up to his death in the 1990s, and Vivian acted as well. Their primary interest was theater, but many theater people crossed over into the music scene and vice versa. The Holtzmans were regulars at the Jester, a folk club that opened in the early '60s and stayed popular until the folk music craze faded, and both appear as vocalists on a promotional album the club put out circa 1963. Scott, of course, was a steady presence on the later rock scene as well, writing the "Now Sounds" column for the <i>Houston Post </i>and managing the Fever Tree. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZEfsFpKnt1q9r_RbAnruQ1wqL_vsqnTcYRm3fbXWWiDfbAcAJzEIhuQIhpRv2QLwrBrjcLczXfN3ZQi10NvZaMpC8nmnrw_TZvQS8a-Z85zrl-UNqL8GOiwYkJlafVIBgQC4R-kiuaWE/s1600/april+20%252C+66+-holtzman+kay+oslin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1021" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZEfsFpKnt1q9r_RbAnruQ1wqL_vsqnTcYRm3fbXWWiDfbAcAJzEIhuQIhpRv2QLwrBrjcLczXfN3ZQi10NvZaMpC8nmnrw_TZvQS8a-Z85zrl-UNqL8GOiwYkJlafVIBgQC4R-kiuaWE/s320/april+20%252C+66+-holtzman+kay+oslin.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Scott Holtzman and Kay Oslin performing in the play <i>110 in the Shade </i>at Theatre, Inc., Bellaire, 1966. (Clipping from <i>The Bellaire & Southwestern Texan</i>, April 20, 1966. Courtesy the Bellaire Friends Library & Historical Society.) Click to enlarge. </b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Another frequent guest at the Jester was <b>Kay Oslin</b>, and she, too, was better-known at the time as an actress. In 1966, Oslin co-starred with Scott Holtzman in the play <i>110 in the Shade</i> at Theatre, Inc., a playhouse in the Bellaire suburb. And it was Kay Oslin who was recruited by Scott in 1965 to sing "Illya" and "Do the Kuryakin." </span><span style="font-size: large;">Kay's magnificent voice is well-featured on the ballad A-side, and would have worked better with a regular lyric, not one about a television character. Kay overdubs a second vocal onto her own vocal track, something new in Houston recording. Instead of pressing it locally, Scott pitched the songs to a friend at the Mammoth label -- an obscure San Francisco concern -- ensuring that the record would remain outside the Texas canon for the next 50 years. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">What to make of the bizarre "Do the Kuryakin"? The title never appears in the song; the lyrics are the same as "Illya," but recast with a new arrangement that is apparently supposed to put one in mind of rock music. One suspects that Scott said something along the lines of: "OK, let's do something that sounds really bad and stupid so Top 40 radio might play it." Folk and classical musicians trying to make a rock and roll dance record is something doomed to failure from the outset. Retaining the bassoon for "Do the Kuryakin" was ridiculous, but charming in retrospect. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJFOQt6GBAkHqjrOeqlhA8wnmUaRYX42sbxDpjl9x_bhorzv8gefL-bJaDEBfXYZDl6fzMK8uTvW4m7pK2us02HCxGYPvPzEndeuZ9ZmEeR475nDbzI2LSFs1WECHkNgWQRQNTw-kVQU/s1600/Frank+Davis+Kay+Oslin+La+Maison+64.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="562" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJFOQt6GBAkHqjrOeqlhA8wnmUaRYX42sbxDpjl9x_bhorzv8gefL-bJaDEBfXYZDl6fzMK8uTvW4m7pK2us02HCxGYPvPzEndeuZ9ZmEeR475nDbzI2LSFs1WECHkNgWQRQNTw-kVQU/s320/Frank+Davis+Kay+Oslin+La+Maison+64.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kay Oslin and Frank Davis at La Maison (1964). </b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Scott and Kay returned to the studio in 1966, continuing in the novelty vein with two singles on International Artists (released as Frankie & Johnny). Kay was also involved with the Underground, a studio group who recorded at Andrus for Mainstream Records. As far as I know, she would not record again until the 1980s, when she altered her name to K.T. Oslin and recorded many country hits. Her early days as "Ann Boleyn" would have been completely forgotten but for a total fluke: in the 1980s, Scott Holtzman gave his friend Christopher Clements a cassette with some of his old recordings, and there was "Illya," credited properly to Oslin. Clements recently confirmed that this was indeed the same performance as the Mammoth 45, which neither Holtzman nor Oslin had mentioned to him back in the day. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Thanks to Christopher Clements for his help. </i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Illya"</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes when I'm all alone</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It seems inside of my dreams</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He's standing right over there</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Somewhere over there</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya, look at me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Only me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya, reach for me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And call my name</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was always Illya</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was always Illya for me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In back of every dream</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I ever dreamed was this:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That you should look at me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That I should know your kiss</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That I should hear your call</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was always Illya</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was always Illya for me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">(bassoon solo)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya, look at me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Only me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya, reach for me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And call my name</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Do the Kuryakin"</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya, look at me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Only me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya, reach for me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And call my name</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was always Illya</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was always Illya for me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In back of every dream </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I've ever dreamed w</span><span style="font-size: large;">as this: </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That you should look at me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That I should know your kiss</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was always Illya</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was always Illya for me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya, look at me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Only me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya, reach for me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Call my name</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">KAY OSLIN 1960s DISCOGRAPHY</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Kay Oslin</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Brave Young Sailor</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My Girl (with Frank Davis)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">From the album <i>Look, It's Us! </i>(Jester no #) 1963-64</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Ann Boleyn</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Illya/Do the Kuryakin (Mammoth 445) 1965</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Underground</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Satisfy'n Sunday/Easy (Mainstream 660) 1966</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Get Him Out of Your Mind/Take Me Back (Mainstream 667) 1967</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">NB: Studio group comprised of Larry O'Keefe, Johnny Wright, Kay Oslin, and Susan Giles on vocals. </span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Frankie & Johnny (Scott Holtzman and Kay Oslin)</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sweet Thing (International Artists 112) 1966</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Right String, Baby (But the Wrong Yo-Yo)/Present of the Past (International Artists 117) 1967</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Illya"
</span></b><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/605594202&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>"Do the Kuryakin"
</b></span><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/605594934&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-80326508079644200812019-03-02T19:30:00.001-08:002019-03-03T07:48:03.864-08:00The Passions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZUSkGX0s9tQi-AYmKFKSR8avi3xiyX7hw4k9ItrLlRrSV16GDN6pjI816lAESqb8LPNE4V_dRotkdgRkqOYXTWdiFcu3gdFPFBvGMjXTntMTgaJ7MUKwbyzfm-OeJpE8-gwrUOCwvYc/s1600/Passions---Lively-One+Pic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1201" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZUSkGX0s9tQi-AYmKFKSR8avi3xiyX7hw4k9ItrLlRrSV16GDN6pjI816lAESqb8LPNE4V_dRotkdgRkqOYXTWdiFcu3gdFPFBvGMjXTntMTgaJ7MUKwbyzfm-OeJpE8-gwrUOCwvYc/s320/Passions---Lively-One+Pic1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The appearance of an album entitled <i>Texas Punk From the Sixties</i> in record stores in 1985 would have presented a welter of confusion to any American who had lived through the 1960s and experienced its music first-hand. Music of that era had been largely defined by Top 40 radio. The songs played on the radio in Seattle were -- with a few regional exceptions -- the same songs played in the radio in Dallas, Miami, Cleveland, and Buffalo, forming a transcontinental tapestry of shared cultural experience and expectation in the minds of the young. Songs on local labels were, for the most part, not allowed to participate in this golden age, and were quite unwelcome when they began appearing out of nowhere in the 1980s and '90s. Their revival <i>en masse</i> gave notice to the Top 40 generation that what they had collectively experienced was actually a giant sham perpetrated on them by the music industry. The supposedly rebellious and questioning youth of the '60s had never questioned the logic of Top 40 radio, never questioned why or how major labels could dominate the market year after year. Rebellion had been packaged into a mass media consumer product, enriching the same corrupt, gray flannel suit establishment that the youth had imagined they were making irrelevant. Top 40 radio had actually <i>prevented</i> them from hearing most of the great songs of their generation.<br />
<br />
So albums like <i>Texas Punk From the Sixties </i>were greeted with indifference or hostility by anyone who actually lived through the 1960s. The first problem with this particular offender was "Texas," a state known mostly for country music, not rock, though it was granted that a few people from the Top 40 canon had come from there (Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison). The second problem was "punk." Why punk? The term had never been used in a musical context in the '60s. It was an association that only came much later, and only among bands in places like London and New York City. It was inconceivable to the Top 40 mentality that anyone would invent a term for a musical genre and retroactively apply it to that era, nor were they aware that its application to certain songs of the sixties pre-dated (and influenced) the emergence of that later trend.<br />
<br />
The third problem was the bands and songs actually featured on this album: there were no groups recognizable from the Top 40 era at all. Instead, it offered up groups like Kempy and the Guardians, Oedipus and the Mothers, and the Y'Alls. Surely bands with names like this did not actually exist in the 1960s, did they? Perhaps <i>Texas Punk From the Sixties, </i>which purported to originate in France, was an art school joke in which you collected songs nobody wanted, performed by groups no one had ever heard of, on an album no one could be expected to buy. At the very least, it was a product of the inscrutable European mind, like the eccentric Frenchmen who collected discarded, old neon signs in flea markets and displayed them in a Paris art gallery as if they were of great cultural import. More offensively, <i>Texas Punk From the Sixties </i>billed itself as "Volume Two" in a multi-volume series.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaM4jE57z5DAj8sXRJo8jj54-xd4rpIUWTJG3klfq_NNlORgDwHVeHkabLz6n8wMahen1zGIeCkVWyrqVGckAW9x6XHga9FLTC71ZrgiRpKD6CZWYOvZoRV6BxaUXG1NWs9wleHB40ii0/s1600/eva+LP.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaM4jE57z5DAj8sXRJo8jj54-xd4rpIUWTJG3klfq_NNlORgDwHVeHkabLz6n8wMahen1zGIeCkVWyrqVGckAW9x6XHga9FLTC71ZrgiRpKD6CZWYOvZoRV6BxaUXG1NWs9wleHB40ii0/s320/eva+LP.jpeg" width="318" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's taken over 30 years to unravel all the mysteries and challenges that reissues like <i>Texas Punk From the Sixties </i>presented to the curious listener since they first stealthily appeared, unannounced, in the Various Artists sections of record stores across the USA as well as England and Europe. The young people encountering these albums had a completely different reaction than those who had inculcated a Top 40 mentality. These albums were instead perceived by them to contain lost treasures, rare sounds that had been unfairly resigned to a critical Sheol by the cruelties of time and fate. Their obscurity was perceived to be their greatest asset. These songs were never part of somebody's nostalgia trip; once liberated from their rare environments, they could live and pulsate on their own oxygen.<br />
<br />
The Passions' "Lively One" was one such song liberated by <i>Texas Punk From the Sixties. </i>Raw, crude, sounding like an outtake from the first Rolling Stones album, "Lively One" oozed a certain quality that had been lost in the intervening 20 years. It was simple but somewhat dangerous sounding. The singer asks the listener in the first verse, "Don't I act crazy?" When he sings "dark-haired, dark-eyed," he pronounced "dark" in a way that no Texan has before or since. The point of the record was presumably to sound English, but they probably didn't fool many listeners.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
The most surprising thing about the Passions is that, unlike most garage bands of the era, they were not teenagers, but somewhat older men: lead singer and bassist Bill Galyon was 23 or 24 when he sang "Lively One," and the ages of the rest of the group at that time ranged from 20 to 25. They had been playing together as a band since around 1962, and it's likely that at least one member had played in '50s bands. The other members of the Passions were: Gordon Eatherly, Jr. (lead guitar), Bill Sheridan (rhythm guitar), Larry Jannasch (drums), and Jerry Mullins (harmonica). The group lived in the North Texas town of Sherman (population 24,988 in 1963), and played all over the area, as far away as Dallas (60 miles south of Sherman), and into Oklahoma. Photos of the group are known to exist, but none have surfaced. (High school yearbook photos of individual members will have to suffice.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pW0wS8USvCX6vFbFAKrzMJFGg7sg2OHvTIPIvlOIhOt8uzqwzh-6PikZJ07R-R2Q8okjvjpJvGyPs_O1Hjyan_HPaGV6ToqWBu9z6lGtvJLUlRKMVZ4Hd0g5xmq9GiK3Qk51b2o7kfw/s1600/Passions+Shayon+101.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="553" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pW0wS8USvCX6vFbFAKrzMJFGg7sg2OHvTIPIvlOIhOt8uzqwzh-6PikZJ07R-R2Q8okjvjpJvGyPs_O1Hjyan_HPaGV6ToqWBu9z6lGtvJLUlRKMVZ4Hd0g5xmq9GiK3Qk51b2o7kfw/s320/Passions+Shayon+101.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Passions' first single, "Mercy, Little Baby" (Shayon 101) from 1964. Lead vocals by Bill Galyon, who also wrote the song. (This copy autographed by Galyon and lead guitarist Gordon Eatherly, Jr.)</b></div>
<br />
<br />
The next surprising thing about the Passions is that they had another record besides "Lively One." Their first single, "Mercy, Little Baby" on the band's own Shayon label, is rare and has only recently been reissued. It can be accessed on You Tube (clip below). Recorded at Sellers Studio in Dallas, probably in early 1964, "Mercy, Little Baby" is a fine Chuck Berry-ish rocker with strong vocals by Bill and a guitar solo from Gordon. The only flaw is its brevity -- 1:31. It has been called "rockabilly," and if we were to agree with this designation, the Passions would perhaps be the only Texas group to record both a rockabilly and garage record (the appellation that replaced "punk"). The band themselves would have tagged their first record as rock and roll, and their second as rhythm and blues.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUxsgnnE2cPP-cbpjchKybx8isbJ79lMsnSSXKQt57sRAuU3H850jjfqDvyd9efGNwwNFtnVVzsVveL886y7P4T1cvLbmAjbLy5eOj74bZRxoXj6NKeeksGfY5lK3Q34NNlrEfb0ylFU/s1600/bill+galyon+59+sherman+high+school.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="562" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUxsgnnE2cPP-cbpjchKybx8isbJ79lMsnSSXKQt57sRAuU3H850jjfqDvyd9efGNwwNFtnVVzsVveL886y7P4T1cvLbmAjbLy5eOj74bZRxoXj6NKeeksGfY5lK3Q34NNlrEfb0ylFU/s320/bill+galyon+59+sherman+high+school.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Bill Galyon, lead vocalist of the Passions. From the 1959 Sherman High year book. </b></div>
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">"(In the 1950s) Gordon Eatherly and I, as young boys, used to go to the Sherman Municipal Ballroom," Bill Galyon explained to me. "About once every couple of months, a promoter would rent that out and have a big name black artist in: Ike and Tina Turner, Jimmy Reed, Ivory Joe Hunter, Gatemouth Brown…these guys. Gordon and I would go down there on our bikes and peek through the windows. Blacks from all over that part of the country would come. Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, Etta James … you name it." These shows were hugely inspirational and motivated the youngsters to gravitate toward being musicians themselves. </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Bill couldn't recall most of the places that the Passions had played. Too much time had passed, he said. "We played </span>North Texas, a little bit in Oklahoma. We would venture up in Oklahoma … little towns, podunk places. We began to kind of cook ‘em in Dallas. We did a couple of concerts with Jon and Robin and the In Crowd and the Five Americans. We played the Bronco Bowl in Dallas, a lot of clubs I couldn’t tell you the names of. And a lot of high school hops and things, pretty much like everybody else did back in those days.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwYoW3f5dY-Jo76EzttqP2pwuBMX_IDEbctI5F7MHIBiUWzKKzTd_VEEiE-9O8toOMVp6WUbSB30SUB5CXW8SZjcVRhC_R3gySbDEZu7HBNlWL9ME3-B1hd9vVOSkIocflHIHqMsOIEk/s1600/Gordon+Eatherly.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="249" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwYoW3f5dY-Jo76EzttqP2pwuBMX_IDEbctI5F7MHIBiUWzKKzTd_VEEiE-9O8toOMVp6WUbSB30SUB5CXW8SZjcVRhC_R3gySbDEZu7HBNlWL9ME3-B1hd9vVOSkIocflHIHqMsOIEk/s320/Gordon+Eatherly.png" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Gordon Eatherly, Jr. -- lead guitarist for the Passions c. 1964</b></div>
<br />
"We had a great response, had a great following. We did some concerts with Bruce Chanel when he was hot. He would travel around and pick up musicians (as a backup band). We were on a stage show with Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. We did a couple of dances with Trini Lopez. The Everly Brothers, we did a backup for them once. It was great fun."<br />
<br />
There were other Sherman groups, but according to Bill "we pretty much dominated the area there for the period of time that we were together."<br />
<div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
Most bands that had formed in the early 1960s looked askance at the British Invasion trend that started in 1964, but not the Passions. While they were intrigued by the Beatles, they were blown away by the Rolling Stones and soon began emulating their sound, repertoire, and style. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"We were big fans of the Rolling Stones," Bill said. "I liked them. I liked the Beatles’ music, but we liked the Stones because ... we liked their “outlaw” image. We liked the fact that they dressed differently. That was unprecedented. All the bands then had (matching) outfits, you know, like little red jackets, or what have you. And when the Stones came out, and just had anything thrown on, we thought that was the greatest thing in the world. So, we adopted that. We chucked the uniforms and began to wear whatever we wanted, and each one us would try to look more bizarre than the other one. That was fun. And we began to grow our hair longer, and the whole nine yards. All bands then were kind of feeding off that British influence. It was great."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This was probably when they added Jerry Mullins as a standalone harmonica player: "Jerry was great. He added a whole new dimension to the band. He was in it toward the last, but we were really cooking at that time. We got into the Stones and started doing the harmonica stuff, because initially, they had some harmonica. We’d do a lot of blues, Jimmy Reed. Jerry was terrific on harp."<br />
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Bill says, "We saw Jimmy Reed on more than one occasion (at the Sherman Municipal Ballroom). </span><span style="font-kerning: none;">One night, Jimmy Reed had to be helped out of the car, just so completely drunk. They took him in and set him up, got him set down in that chair, but the minute he started playing, it was incredible. It was like he was as straight as an arrow. His wife would sit next to him, or stand next to him, and whisper the lyrics. </span><span style="font-kerning: none;">I’ve seen them do that on more than one occasion. That was an absolute fact." </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcQTIAN9a_MW6myrzjX0K7ErRFTIELUiWuBk_RdZoVgQBfLLTfvaqgH2PdaX25_j3u07Q5eGAqadKWPUppj_8xuE5wEA7G0Yz8yzZlYG4tZ7NNcUGjn9VfE1SNr3aQuWjPeGSHiPU9eI/s1600/jerry+mullins+1962.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcQTIAN9a_MW6myrzjX0K7ErRFTIELUiWuBk_RdZoVgQBfLLTfvaqgH2PdaX25_j3u07Q5eGAqadKWPUppj_8xuE5wEA7G0Yz8yzZlYG4tZ7NNcUGjn9VfE1SNr3aQuWjPeGSHiPU9eI/s1600/jerry+mullins+1962.png" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b style="text-align: center;"> Jerry Mullins, harmonica player of the Passions. From the 1962 Sherman High year book.</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Prior to April, 1965, the Passions returned to Sellers Studio. A lot had changed in one year, and their new record would sound nothing like the first. They recorded four songs: one group original ("Lively One"), one song offered to them by local songwriter Donald Mask (the Bo Diddley-esque "You've Got Me Hurtin'"), and two standards ("Ooh Poo Pah Doo" and "You Really Got a Hold on Me"). Some acetates were cut and sent around to various Texas record men, including Huey P. Meaux in Pasadena (a suburb of Houston). Only Meaux expressed interest, and soon a contract was signed. The record was released on the Pic 1 label, one of the eight labels he operated, around June of 1965. The original label had no "A-Side" designation -- perhaps so the disc jockey could "pick one" of his own -- but Bill confirmed that the band intended "Lively One" to be the A-Side. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Gordon shows tremendous restraint on both sides, playing only a basic chord progression while allowing Mullins to take all the solos on harmonica. This is particularly striking since Bill remembered Gordon as "an exceptionally talented musician." Meaux faded both sides earlier than the band intended. "Lively One" has a second harmonica solo, and "You've Got Me Hurtin'" was not supposed to fade out. (The full 3:09 version of "Lively One" finally appeared in 2015.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Unbeknownst to the band, Huey's signing them had an ulterior motive: he needed original material for his new hit group, the Sir Douglas Quintet, and he wanted to secure the publishing on "You've Got Me Hurtin'" so they could record their own version of the song. They did so on April 12, 1965, at Gold Star Studios in Houston during the session for "The Rains Came," their third single. Meaux ended up rejecting the Sir Douglas version, and it would not be released until 33 years later on Edsel's <i>The Crazy Cajun Recordings of the Sir Douglas Quintet</i>. Meaux probably had little taste for "Lively One," as bluesy harmonica is a rarity in his catalog. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Donald Mask "had little to do with the band," Bill said. "We just kind of threw the (song) together. Donald wanted his name on the label, and he ponied up a few bucks for some outfits and instruments. We kind of went to the well with the guy. Kind of tapped him a little bit. And he was just enthralled that he could have his name on the label. Candidly speaking, we kind of used the guy. He was tickled shitless, so it was cool." Mask remained a dabbler in music. His composition "In the Alley" was recorded by area soul group the Fabulous Capris in 1971. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Lively One" received a good amount of airplay on local Sherman radio station KDSX (where Gordon also disc jockeyed), and was presumably sold at the local vinyl emporium, Atherton Music Company. Meaux would have sent the bulk of copies pressed to Big State Distributors in Dallas for sales in the area. The record's scarcity today probably reflects low sales. The record was too raw for most salesmen at the time, but not most teenagers, had they been able to hear it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It isn't known how long after the Pic 1 record that the Passions scattered to the winds, winding down after several years making music together. They were getting older and without a hit record, they were finding themselves overcome by eager, younger bands. Bill laments, "I got to feeling like there was no future in it, and I needed to pursue other things. Big mistake. I got interested in radio work. I went to school and got into radio and television. I disc jockeyed for many years, and that evolved into television work. I did some anchor work in Lubbock. But radio is very unstable. It’s a very transient life in small markets.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"We had the talent and capability to achieve greatness but, I don’t know, we didn’t have proper direction or guidance, and it all kind of fell apart. That’s a shame."</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lJ-X-Tv10mYv32WvGj0hfcHsGb1JhKS7kcoG7oagpsOIRzMJVhjQScDn3SglKLaH1g2DA9j-sSYvRbo-1y0JiLiNB2QNOjAL6zqWokUJx9etHRlnCldbB-MiZGdwco1d3weTwTHHCKM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-02+at+4.57.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="869" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lJ-X-Tv10mYv32WvGj0hfcHsGb1JhKS7kcoG7oagpsOIRzMJVhjQScDn3SglKLaH1g2DA9j-sSYvRbo-1y0JiLiNB2QNOjAL6zqWokUJx9etHRlnCldbB-MiZGdwco1d3weTwTHHCKM/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-03-02+at+4.57.27+PM.png" width="312" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sellers Company acetate of "Hurtin'," re-titled "You've Got Me Hurtin'". The acetate is longer than the released version, and doesn't fade. </b></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>THE PASSIONS DISCOGRAPHY</b><br />
<br />
<b>1964. Sellers Recording Company, 2102 Jackson, Dallas, Tx. </b><br />
Bill Galyon (vocal, bass), Gordon Eatherly, Jr. (lead guitar), Bill Sheridan (rhythm guitar), Larry Jannasch (drums).<br />
<br />
Mercy, Little Baby (Bill Galyon) <b>Shayon 101</b> (SoN 7871)<br />
I Want You (Bill Galyon)<br />
<br />
<b>Early 1965. Sellers Recording Company, 2102 Jackson, Dallas, Tx. </b><br />
Bill Galyon (vocal, bass), Gordon Eatherly, Jr. (lead guitar), Bill Sheridan (rhythm guitar), Larry Jannasch (drums), Jerry Mullins (harmonica).<br />
<br />
Lively One (The Passions) <b>Pic 1 117</b><br />
You've Got Me Hurtin' (Donald R. Mask)<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Ooh Poo Pah Doo (unissued)</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">You Really Got a Hold on Me (unissued)</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Note: Both stock and disc jockey copies were released of Pic 1 117. At least two Sellers label acetate copies exist containing the full, longer versions of "Lively One" and "You've Got Me Hurtin'". The full 3:09 version of "Lively One" was reissued from the master tape on the 2015 CD release <i>Don't Be Bad: '60s Punk Recorded in Texas </i>(Big Beat 327). </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Thanks to: Bill Galyon and Doug Hanners. Pic 1 label scan by Mark Taylor. High school yearbook photos taken from Classmates.com. Shayon label scan from Popsike.com. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">
</span></span></div>
"Mercy, Little Baby"
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6ZuQZfH3RWQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
"Lively One"
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F-ESiBdVKFE" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"You've Got Me Hurtin'"
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jzjVUu_B778" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Sir Douglas Quintet version of "You've Got Me Hurtin'"
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j7M90ZWAg7Y" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-17668434889038672662019-02-23T14:06:00.003-08:002019-02-24T19:59:04.769-08:00Lost in Tyme: the Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2NBQk5gS2gZEXSmf2zy05J7nuyk3VysaAdDukxK7VPsqpBnxI1Kq885RS7xE5x5QrSd0ltnJHDWbHNOcQnqxGVigHYBOSSfXj3fToPydsvAVBVQ4dvi7vOL0IeZRZXzil_-9iLnJQ9Xg/s1600/Catacombs+Six+Pents+4-7-66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1272" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2NBQk5gS2gZEXSmf2zy05J7nuyk3VysaAdDukxK7VPsqpBnxI1Kq885RS7xE5x5QrSd0ltnJHDWbHNOcQnqxGVigHYBOSSfXj3fToPydsvAVBVQ4dvi7vOL0IeZRZXzil_-9iLnJQ9Xg/s320/Catacombs+Six+Pents+4-7-66.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Catacombs flyer for a Six Pents and Shadows show, Thursday, April 7, 1966. Within a year, the Shadows would change their name to the Things. (This was one of several different "grand openings" of the Catacombs between December, 1965, and April, 1966.) </b><br />
<br />
<br />
Although it seems incredible today, only a small percentage of Houston-area rock bands of the 1960s were able to release a record. The stacks of vinyl that one could compile would, at first glance, seem to ridicule any notion that the music scene was somehow negligent in this department -- Neal Ford and the Fanatics alone released 12 singles and a LP, and all other popular groups had at least one single. But this image is deceptive. The Houston Post estimated that there were several <i>hundred</i> groups operating in the city's Metropolitan area, to which one musician added that "it seems like thousands." The mind races contemplating the hundreds of great '60s songs that could have been.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, we probably shouldn't make too big a deal out of this. We can safely assume that most groups that didn't produce a record were mediocre, had no original material, and viewed music-making as just another hobby, nothing so serious as to require the expense of studio time or getting real managers involved. Had they recorded, we would today probably have even more lame, unwanted versions of "Mister You're a Better Man Than I" than we already have.<br />
<br />
This is definitely <i>not</i> the case with <b>the</b> <b>Things</b>, a highly competent local group who recorded four songs of original material at Andrus Productions in 1967 that went unissued until the 1980s. The reason for their songs' non-release is not known, but it ensured their total eclipse from popular memories of the '60s scene. Nobody I ever talked to remembered a group called "The Things." With one exception, their name does not appear in flyers or posters from the period. Their gigs are not listed (as so many others were) in the Houston Post's weekly <i>Now Sounds</i> calendar. They were not part of the in crowd that hung with the Fanatics, Sidewalks, Coastliners, and Countdown 5.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjuMsIJAOAITLp65UF3IYIhSBoetmWN_6-rlExyNjmGUOu7ADsfeMw72VQ5b6k2t-hz4ZWc55vHsbYJKsuT8RPfFLr2ddE517f1DBDNdp16xjOsQORuPvKAqkhB0bZqbus8D8SkXzdt8/s1600/Shadows+business+card.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="550" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjuMsIJAOAITLp65UF3IYIhSBoetmWN_6-rlExyNjmGUOu7ADsfeMw72VQ5b6k2t-hz4ZWc55vHsbYJKsuT8RPfFLr2ddE517f1DBDNdp16xjOsQORuPvKAqkhB0bZqbus8D8SkXzdt8/s320/Shadows+business+card.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What little is known about the Things is that they were originally called the Shadows. A Houston booking agent still had one of their business cards in the 1990s (shown above). Most group business cards of this period list a variety of genres that the band could play ("rock - folk - rhythm and blues"), but the Shadows' card states simply that they play "rock & roll music." Their names are listed as Dave Turner, Greg Jones, Floyd Childers, Eddie Loudon, and Steve Owens. A sixth name, Joe Engle, has been marked out. As the Shadows, they were co-billed on a Catacombs flyer dated April 7, 1966, but this is the only time they are listed on any print ephemera for the best known of all Houston teen clubs. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-FyO3c2Vl7xbQl6Iuof24JYgQDuutpyu-24Z5yWjLvcF8BV5Oh_xYlegohfa5zAy9VNU2XDK5oFnzVxQ6FXJkwQLYzk2z6PNNpfxoArAgD24lVfA6LT9eQmiDSE0BEh_-mlK6KmaOUU/s1600/Andrus+bc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="645" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-FyO3c2Vl7xbQl6Iuof24JYgQDuutpyu-24Z5yWjLvcF8BV5Oh_xYlegohfa5zAy9VNU2XDK5oFnzVxQ6FXJkwQLYzk2z6PNNpfxoArAgD24lVfA6LT9eQmiDSE0BEh_-mlK6KmaOUU/s320/Andrus+bc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In July, 1967, the Shadows -- now known as the Things, with a new member David Huffman, replacing one of the others -- booked time at Andrus Productions to record their only known session. This was the same month the Golden Dawn recorded their <i>Power Plant </i>album at Andrus, and just shortly before the Elevators would begin laying down tracks for <i>Easter Everywhere</i> in the same room (there was no "Studio B" at Andrus). To the bands, it was a chaotic but propitious period. The Sidewalks' "99th Floor" (another Andrus production) had hit #1 locally and was moving nationally. The Clique's "Splash 1" would soon be released from recent sessions and become a local hit. Could it go national? Fever Tree and the Coastliners were also recording there. It seemed like things were finally happening in Houston. The Things had every reason to believe that they would be part of this excitement when their records were released. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The most memorable track that the Things recorded that day was undoubtedly "In Your Soul." The relentless, martial two-chord beat, combined with some outstanding keyboard wizardry overcame the cliched refrain ("I can't love nobody but you..."). It's simply a great track that never gets old. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A fuzztoned lead guitar -- barely evident on "In Your Soul" -- strongly kicks off their next song, "I Don't Believe It." A different lead vocalist is used. Five instruments are clearly heard -- lead guitar, rhythm guitar, organ, bass, and drums. This track makes it evident that everyone in the band can play their instrument well, as some aggressive drum fills really move the song along, though once again it's somewhat marred by a hackneyed chorus ("Why do I love you the way that I do..."). The agile keyboardist once again takes the solo. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The group's vocal harmonies threaten to overpower the lead on the mix of "Another Girl Like You," their most commercial and radio-friendly track. The same vocalist used on "I Don't Believe It" returns. There is no proper guitar solo here, only a repeat of the introduction, and the organist is only briefly heard at the end of each refrain. But aggressive, driving drums continue to bolster the song and retain the driving intensity of the previous two songs. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Finally there was "Loveless Lover," featuring the return of the same lead vocalist as "In Your Soul." The weakest of the four songs, and mixed badly for the reissue, it features no solos, and brings in the addition of what sounds vaguely like a reed instrument (alto sax?). The drumming is frantic as usual. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgow3IfiaU9Jci2nTqRdqLQTHRbbx916SPC62rrSGeS_Xx7_oojmy4igTFbPP4SNP2dueaKGb7QlDBGrUXuX003ONW5iKYs8s0Fe6Puqeumd4Z88X1twhyIEJcrohTiQR7UdHjy5veFFtw/s1600/roy+covey+Andrus+hou+post+Aug+9%252C+1970.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="411" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgow3IfiaU9Jci2nTqRdqLQTHRbbx916SPC62rrSGeS_Xx7_oojmy4igTFbPP4SNP2dueaKGb7QlDBGrUXuX003ONW5iKYs8s0Fe6Puqeumd4Z88X1twhyIEJcrohTiQR7UdHjy5veFFtw/s320/roy+covey+Andrus+hou+post+Aug+9%252C+1970.png" width="292" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Walt Andrus in his studio in 1970. (Photo by Roy Covey, printed in the Houston Post Tempo magazine, August 9, 1970.)</b></div>
<br />
<br />
Had "In Your Soul" b/w either "I Don't Believe It" or "Another Girl Like You" been released as a single in 1967, it may not have gone anywhere (Top 40 airplay having nothing to do with a song's intrinsic merit), but would have since been regarded as one of the greatest Houston singles of the '60s. But the hoped-for release never came. The producer is unknown, but it was most likely Roy Ames, not the most reliable person on the Houston music scene. In a similar fashion, an album by Lightnin' Hopkins recorded by Ames in 1968 would not be released until 1975. Perhaps-- assuming Ames was the producer -- the songs were pitched to several labels but were rejected by all of them, and Ames had no interest in releasing it on his own label of the time, Cascade. Ames was mostly into R&B, and these songs are uncharacteristic for him. It may seem remarkable to us today that record companies would reject such commercial material, but once we consider that such excellent songs as Neal Ford's "Good Men," the Chapparels' "I Try So Hard," and the Coastliners' "My Kind of Girl" -- to name but three local examples -- were also rejected, it becomes less surprising. The business revolved around the often inscrutable whims of producers and salesmen.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
There it stood until 1983. By this time, a small market had opened for what was confusingly called sixties "punk" as well as obscure psychedelic music, and into this fell the unlikely figure of Roy Ames. Ames had been an R&B producer (supervising albums by not only Hopkins but T-Bone Walker, Arnett Cobb, Clifton Chenier, and Juke-Boy Bonner), but had fallen on hard times and was in prison in the early 1980s. Ames' tapes were stored in the vault of ACA Studios, then located at its final commercial location on Westpark Drive in Houston. The exact sequence of events is now unclear, but Ames or his lawyer probably wrote to ACA president Bill Holford asking if he could find someone interested in reissuing his old tapes, as he would be released from prison soon and would need an income. One of Holford's employees, Andy Bradley, went through Ames's tapes and recognized a few things that may be of interest to Voxx Records' Greg Shaw (Bradley was familiar with Shaw's <i>Pebbles</i> reissues and <i>Bomp</i> magazine). The album that eventually resulted, given the highly misleading but salable title <i>Acid Visions, </i>was drawn from the few odds and ends Ames had (mostly Johnny Winter-related material, giving an overinflated impression of Winter's actual influence on the scene when included on the album), plus a few vinyl singles Ames had never heard of, missed by <i>Pebbles</i> and the <i>Flashback</i> series, such as the Stoics, Satori, and the Pandas -- loaned by Shaw, Peter Buesnel, Ronnie Bond, or David Shutt. Two Things songs ("In Your Soul" and "I Don't Believe It") appeared for the first time ever, in new rough stereo mixes, from the master tape (still a rarity in those days of needle-drops).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Transferring from the original master tape had obvious advantages, but there were also drawbacks. Most engineers in the 1980s working from '60s tapes could not help but hear them through contemporary tastes, and mixed them accordingly, with no thought whatsoever given to how the original engineer or band "would have" theoretically mixed them 20 years before (the underlying assumption being that any '60s mix -- since the technology was so old compared to the '80s -- was de facto "bad"). This resulted in many reissues sounding quite different from what '60s fans expected to hear, and this approach continues to persist among some labels to this day. The Things tape is a prime example of this tendency. Had the songs been mixed by Andrus in 1967, the drums would have been much lower, the backing vocals much higher; the inverse mixing reflects 1980s attitudes, not '60s ones. (The exception is "Another Girl Like You," where the backing vocals overpower the lead in parts.) They would have also been mixed down to mono for release. The ACA transfers use stereo mixes, which may not not have been too objectionable had the channel losses clearly audible in "Another Girl Like You" been fixed. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<i>Acid Visions</i> sold quite well, prompting a "Volume 2" in 1988. There had been no indication on the first volume that more unissued songs existed by the Things, but here they were: "Another Girl Like You" and "Loveless Lover." The songwriters' credit on both went to "Don King," an in-joke. ("Don King" was a pseudonym for Roy Ames, based on the infamous boxing promoter. The actual writers for all four songs are unknown.) This time, the album carried the crucial information -- omitted from the first volume -- that the entire Things session had been recorded at Andrus Productions in July, 1967, and the band members' names were listed, which allows us to connect them to the Shadows. This new data might suggest that Ames did indeed produce the session and had a contract with this information, but with Ames anything is possible. He might well have had nothing to do with it, acquiring the tape through some other means, as he would do with others to which he retroactively applied his producer credit. ("Volume 2" was also technically an ACA production, though by this time Bill Holford was the only employee and he was running it out of his Meyerland-area house. A lot had changed in the five years since Volume 1. This was probably the last rock-related project that Holford worked on in his long career.)<br />
<br />
News of the release of the long-dormant tape apparently did not filter to the members of the Things themselves, as reissues and compilations often did. In the 36 years since <i>Acid Visions</i> was first released, no member of the Things is known to have come forward, and for all I know, the members are <i>still</i> unaware that their '67 session has been publicly known and loved by '60s fans for over a generation now. Someone named Floyd Mason Childers, born in Houston in 1949, died at age 31 in 1980. Is it possible that this person was the same Floyd Childers who played with the Things?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
In the 1990s, Roy Ames sold or leased the <i>Acid Visions</i> tapes to the Collectables label, who began a series of wretched compact disc reissues. Highly "digitally enhanced" versions of the Things' songs appear on these discs, and these versions -- still further ruined by computer remixing and speeding up -- are the basis of the versions heard today by thousands on YouTube. This is a shame. Below we have included the original vinyl pressings of all four songs, with no digital enhancement at all, only channel loss restoration on "Another Girl Like You."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>"In Your Soul"</b><br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/580144974&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>"I Don't Believe It"</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/580145223&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Another Girl Like You"(Channel losses in original 1988 transfer partially corrected by making the new digital transfer in mono and leveling. Some slight loss may still be audible in places.)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/580145640&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Loveless Lover"</b><br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/580145442&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-2072451921166881932018-08-03T17:16:00.001-07:002019-07-22T17:17:25.251-07:00"No One Else Sounded Like Us": The Brother L Congregation<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUV7Q_R5P5ZysV43ZJI351lOGRdEu8DyCKUig8fYV5yV3A1SpGH72G1Kt41F0nMf5DTIexIFuWchRTN6CB85XCQqgrrCLv_YjMbmVlWWsPxb6OX4I8K6goUYJvZuR9nhuhSLnGHZOSIPs/s1600/brother+l+congregation+re.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="833" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUV7Q_R5P5ZysV43ZJI351lOGRdEu8DyCKUig8fYV5yV3A1SpGH72G1Kt41F0nMf5DTIexIFuWchRTN6CB85XCQqgrrCLv_YjMbmVlWWsPxb6OX4I8K6goUYJvZuR9nhuhSLnGHZOSIPs/s400/brother+l+congregation+re.png" width="400" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Brother L Congregation at the Paisley Frog Studio, Houston, TX, circa 1969-1970. From left: Randy Vaughan (bass), Baren Hyphenfinkle (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Brother L (manager), Mike Cupid (drums, vocals), Rick Vaughan (lead guitar, vocals). </i></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Texas Sixties rock scene has, by now, been fairly well documented. The major groups have been interviewed; reissues have poured forth; books and articles have been published. Studio tapes have been excavated and restored. Films have been made. Groups like the Moving Sidewalks and 13th Floor Elevators have had high-profile reunions, attended mostly by people who weren't even born when those groups last hit the stage. And the original vinyl singles have long since passed into totemic status, traded like Oxyrhynchus papyri by private specialists in Stockholm, Tokyo, London, New South Wales, and even Texas itself. The whole thing has been demystified, if not quite satisfactorily explained. Perhaps another hundred years will need to pass before sociologists can put this period in a logical-sounding context, one devoid of the nostalgia or cheap sensationalism it is usually viewed with today. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">One Texas Sixties group that has heretofore received little of this renown is the </span><span style="font-size: large;">Brother L Congregation. For a long time, their records were known only to the few who had original copies; reissues appeared in the late 1980s, but did little to raise their profile. People who attempted to track them down in the 1990s were met with frustrating dead ends. They were presumed to be from Houston only because their singles were pressed in that city -- a deceptive clue, since groups from New Mexico, Louisiana, and Missouri also had their records pressed there. Their name did not appear on any known posters or advertisements, in Houston or anywhere else. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">It was a name that had a somewhat forbidding ring to it. Even by the wildly imaginative standards of the times, "the Brother L Congregation" sounded weird. It darkly suggested a Christian rock group that got caught up with the hysteria of the Sixties, and scattered to the winds after their charismatic prophet overdosed on drugs, or tried to move his "congregation" to some exotic locale outside the continental United States one day in a frenzy of paranoia and bizarre visions. Groups like this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ya_Ho_Wha_13">did actually exist</a> in the period, so such imaginative speculation did not seem as far off base as it would for any other time. Nobody knew. No one on the Houston scene seemed to remember them. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">But the </span><span style="font-size: large;">Brother L Congregation were no underground cult, nor were they trying to be mysterious, though pseudonyms were used in both the band name and within the band itself (as a joke). They were, one is somewhat relieved to learn, a normal teenage rock group of the late Sixties, one of the hundreds that were active in the Houston area during the latter half of that decade. The city's size had swallowed them up. Had they existed in a smaller town, they may have left a large imprint in local memory, but cities of one million or more create little space for cultural impact. The hyper-accelerated pace of pop song trends in the Sixties further ensured rapid obsolescence for any band not wedded to traditional music. And within a few years, young people would look confused when someone mentioned "local" record labels and "local" records. The radio by then only played major labels, creating the false impression that these were the only labels in existence -- or had ever existed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Second Wave</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The </span><span style="font-size: large;">Brother L Congregation were among what could be called the "second wave" of post-British Invasion bands to form locally in the Sixties. The first wave came in 1965 with groups like Neal Ford and the Fanatics, the Rogues, the Misfits (later Lost and Found), Thursday's Children, the Six Pents, the Baroque Brothers, the Dave Starky V (later Just Us), the Coachmen (later the Moving Sidewalks), Bostwick Vines (later fever tree) and many more. (This is not meant to imply that these groups solely played British songs, just that their overall approach and image was strongly influenced by British groups.) The second wave were groups formed in 1967 or '68: Matchbox, the Starvation Army, Saturnalia, United Gas, Josefus, Blackwell, Jerimiah. Fewer in number, and less remembered today, this second wave had mostly evolved out of the first, but they were now older, more experienced, bored with Top 40 songs, and ready to move on to hard rock and adult audiences. But there were not as many opportunities by that time as there had been in '65. Bands no longer played in the fading teen clubs; Milby Park, where you could smoke a joint and not get arrested, and Love Street, where you could score acid, were the new hip places frequented by bands and music fans. "Battles of the Bands" had given way to rock festivals. People were not starting as many labels as before. The Congregation is atypical in part because while they belonged chronologically to this second wave, they were still teenagers, and they still played with the frantic, youthful intensity that characterizes the first wave. This is what gives the records their lost-in-time atmosphere. Their music is heavy, but not too heavy. It's psychedelic, but not too psychedelic. Their songs are both conventional and unusual. Their influences ranged from Top 40 bubblegummers to heavier groups like Iron Butterfly and regionalists like Shiva's Headband. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The group was a quartet comprised of brothers Randy Vaughan (bass) and Rick Vaughan (lead guitar, vocals), plus Baren S. Hyphenfinkle (not his real name -- lead vocals, rhythm guitar), and Mike Cupid (drums, vocals). "Brother L" was manager Lynn Anderson (1938-2003), who did not perform with the group. </span><span style="font-size: large;">They mostly performed at places like Buddy's Roller Rink on the North Side of Houston, away from the trendy hotspots in Montrose, Allen's Landing, and Memorial, and this relative isolation further distanced them from their peers in the music scene. They were too young to fit in with the hippie crowd, who probably would not have liked the raw attack of their music anyway. Despite this seemingly unpromising situation, Anderson strongly encouraged the group, and managed them ably. He believed in their potential enough to invest in the best equipment, and in 1970 brought out two singles by them on his Kumquat label. They were even working on an album when they broke up in 1971. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The only misstep Anderson made was recording at country music studios instead of rock-friendly ones like Andrus Productions or International Artists. The fidelity suffers from using engineers deaf to rock music. Even with this handicap, both records are great, and just as good is the unissued "Tomorrow May Be the End," a Hyphenfinkle nuclear war lyric adapted by the band's friends Jerimiah for the only other single released on Kumquat (under the title "Forever Never Comes"). Fortunately, this and other unissued songs survived and have been linked below. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">I recently interviewed both Randy and Baren and gathered their recollections of the band. Understandably, their memories don't harmonize at every point, and the dates remain hazy, because no contemporary documentation survives except an undated gig poster. Perhaps at some future date we can collect Rick Vaughan and Mike Cupid's memories, as well. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2u7X-jZuT5pIMpdArnODZDfD95IeV8icyPveuz7cd2G0GyCk8ui4I1yC4Wur5XY_acKls8F28kxCLpVyPMrIp3ugkQQn4d3DZ_xRVuiwqmZjzb_DQUdF6KwK5RpwHTfVBXFSQmxL0gNc/s1600/brother+L+congregation+kumquat+1A+sgltb.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="600" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2u7X-jZuT5pIMpdArnODZDfD95IeV8icyPveuz7cd2G0GyCk8ui4I1yC4Wur5XY_acKls8F28kxCLpVyPMrIp3ugkQQn4d3DZ_xRVuiwqmZjzb_DQUdF6KwK5RpwHTfVBXFSQmxL0gNc/s320/brother+L+congregation+kumquat+1A+sgltb.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Randy Vaughan (bass): </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: large;">At first, it was just me, Rick, and Mike. We were in search for another guitar player. We searched around the neighborhood, and we knew of several guys. Baren Hyphenfinkle was one of them, so we asked Baren if he wanted to come try out with us — which he did. He and my brother Rick hit it off pretty good, as far as writing songs. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: large;">Both Rick and Baren played lead and rhythm guitar. And actually, I was on guitar, too, but then we decided we needed a bass player. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: large;">(Music) </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: large;">was real popular in the neighborhood where we grew up. A lot of people wanted to play guitar, play drums … the Beatles were going really big. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We were practicing in Mike’s garage …we said, “We need a bass player.” None of us wanted to play bass. So, Mike pulled a broom out and broke three straws, and said, “Y’all will have to draw straws.” That’s how we found out who the bass player was. (Laughter) I drew the short straw. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">We were very young, didn’t have hardly any money — very poor. Mowing lawns and selling watermelons was all we had for money. I tried to play on the top four strings of my guitar, but it just wasn’t working. We needed that deep, low bass. </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I didn’t have an amp at that point. Baren, he was really into electronics. He said, “I’ll build you an amp.” I was playing through my guitar amp, and the bass didn’t sound right. He built and amp with a speaker. I tried it with my bass, and it sounded perfect. It sounded good. He built it out of old TV and radio parts. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, now we were in business. I had a bass amp, Mike’d dad helped him improve on his drum set. Baren and Rick started working on (original) songs. One day, we were all playing at my mother’s house, and we were all standing outside, and Brother L — he lived a couple of streets over. He was a lot older than us. He’d heard us play. He drove by and saw us all sitting on the driveway. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />He walked up and said, “Do y’all have a manager?” </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">We said, “No.” </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">He said, “Do y’all want a manager?” </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">We said, “No.” (Laughter) We thought managers just take all the money. It wasn’t the money, we just enjoyed playing. We didn’t even think about money. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">He said, “You know, with a manager, you can get a lot more jobs — get well-known.” We went over to his house, and he told us there was no obligation, no nothing. He said, “Y’all are too young to sign a binding contract, anyway. I just want to help you guys out, because I like the way you sound.” Baren starting talking to him, and he became the lead man of the band. He was a little older than us. We decided, “All right, let’s go for it.” Then we got that job at Buddy’s Roller Rink. Then we got a job at the North Houston Theater on Jenson Drive. We played the Conroe Ballroom — things started picking up. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brother L had a place we could rehearse. He said, “I’m going to take this den, and this will be your rehearsal room.” We brought all our equipment over there and we just left it there, and that’s the way it stayed from that point on. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brother L's real name was Lynn Anderson. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">Hardly anybody called him Lynn. Everybody called him “Brother L.” He liked the ring of that. </span><span style="font-size: large;">What happened was — we started to get a little bit of a following. It got up to about 50 people hanging out at Brother L’s. It grew even more after that. </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">This guy who used to hang out there called Tipatoe (Thibodeaux). He had a pretty nice Chevrolet Impala — everybody back then was into muscle cars. He drove up one night while everybody was out front. Brother L may have been barbequing or something. He had a table out there, and we were all sitting at the table. Tipatoe drove up and looked at everybody and said, “Hey, what is this — the Brother L Congregation?” (Laughter) He was just kidding around. (But) Brother L liked it! He said, “I like that name. I think that’s what we’re going to call the band.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We went over to his house to rehearse on day, and as we walked up, we saw a brand new van. We went back to the rehearsal hall, and he said, “Did y’all see the van? That’s the band’s van. That’s what we’re going to use to haul the band’s equipment.”</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I said, “What equipment?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">He said, “We’re fixing to go get some.” We went down to H&H Music on Caroline Street (in downtown Houston). He told Baren, “You and Rick get a PA system.” Baren, being into electronics, he knew exactly what to look for. He picked out the best one they had. Brother L said, “Randy, pick out a bass and amp. Rick, Baren, y’all go get you guitars.” We were shocked. It was like Christmas day. He said, “Money’s no object — get what you need.” I picked out a beautiful Fender Jazz bass and Bassman amp. Rick and Baren picked out two Rickenbacker guitars — the most expensive guitars they had. Twelve-strings. And Fender Twin Reverb amps. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">Rick and Baren each bought Echoplexes. They got all the sound effects stuff that they had at H&H Music. Mike’s dad had just bought him a new drum kit. So we were set. We were ready to go. We started getting really serious. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUDcl6lk8z05eoFDU71r_taTquz8W6CT1YoF3XUGBBS0ijQkSVyJ10Ak0PQYkPUuP2s2inzqgN442fBZovh-_mlHjYFEF1HaEZ3tjpwx1v0jEAZIe6Vfe6-QG5F7II-jAtvzZhVWm2s8/s1600/brother+L+congregation+kumquat+1B+bmd.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="600" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUDcl6lk8z05eoFDU71r_taTquz8W6CT1YoF3XUGBBS0ijQkSVyJ10Ak0PQYkPUuP2s2inzqgN442fBZovh-_mlHjYFEF1HaEZ3tjpwx1v0jEAZIe6Vfe6-QG5F7II-jAtvzZhVWm2s8/s320/brother+L+congregation+kumquat+1B+bmd.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I was thinking that both of our records were made at Nashville Sounds on Jensen Drive. But my brother corrected me — we did “She’s Gonna Lose That Boy” at (Ray) Doggett’s Studio out in the Heights. We did that and “Bringing Me Down” at Doggett’s Studio in 1969. </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">“What Can You Do When You’re Lonely” was done at Nashville Sounds, (owned by) A.V. Middlestedt. A.V. and Brother L were real good friends. Brother L and Ray Doggett were real good friends, too. He knew a lot of people. I was really surprised at all the people he knew. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">He’d go all over the place. He did country, rock, he did all kind of stuff. He had a lot of experience in the entertainment business, but he was actually an architect. He worked for an architect firm in Houston.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Brother L was just the manager. He did play the piano, but he never played with us. In the picture of us, Brother L is sitting on a piano bench. He had a piano in his den. On the wall behind the piano is a painting Brother L did. I asked him, “What is that?” He said, “It’s a paisley frog.” Paisley Frog Studios is on the record (labels). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rick sings lead on “She’s Gonna Lose That Boy.” “Bringing Me Down” is Baren. He also did “What Can You Do When You’re Lonely” and “I Don’t Wanna Go.” Mike the drummer does the back-up singing on “She’s Gonna Lose That Boy.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DgQicsHIyvQ" style="font-family: -webkit-standard;" width="560"></iframe></span></span></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">We did this song called “Transplant.” I asked Rick why we didn’t press that. He said it was because we hadn’t finished it yet. Him and Baren were still working on it. They would stay up for 30 hours in row playing that song — out walking the streets, playing that song. The radio station was thinking about putting them on top of the Astrodome (while they played “Transplant”). (Laughter) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The actual name of “Transplant” was “Baby, You Broke My Heart, But I Just Don’t Have Time for a Transplant.” Brother L hit the ceiling when he heard that name. He said, “How are we going to put that on a record label?” It was a long song, like “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” It was probably going to take both sides of the record. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before they ever came out with the cordless microphone, Baren had invented that. He said, “We’re going to walk to the bayou. Let us know if you can still hear us playing over the amp.” </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;">They started walking off down the street and we could hear them. I said, “How did you do that without a cord?” He said, “Radio waves.”</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Baren and Rick did most of the songwriting. Mike and I mostly did the percussion. Mike sang back-up vocals. He was a good singer. But Baren and Rick did all of the lead vocals. Brother L told me I wasn’t allowed to sing. (Laughter) </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most of the local bands knew each other. We knew the Moving Sidewalks. I jammed with them a couple times. I remember when we auditioned for the Catacombs. They put out an ad on the radio — they were looking for a house band. We said, “Let’s go for it.” We went out and talked to the guy, and he said, “I’m having an audition Saturday.” They were fixing to have their grand opening (at the new location in University Village in 1969). Only three bands showed up that day — us, the Moving Sidewalks, and Ten Years After. We asked Billy Gibbons if he’d heard of Ten Years After. He said, “No, but I’ve heard of them. They play at the Sportsmen’s Lounge on Almeda-Genoa.” </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">We got up and did our audition. And then the Moving Sidewalks did theirs. And we all sat down. And Alvin Lee gets up there, and guess what he plays? “I’m Going Home.” Billy Gibbons and my brother Rick, both of their mouths drop. Alvin Lee tore that guitar up. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The manager called us in office and said, “I’m glad you came out, but we chose Ten Years After.” I was heartbroken. I wanted that job so bad. They had their grand opening the following weekend. I went to it. They had a big marquee sign that said, “Welcome to the Catacombs, home of Ten Years After.” (Note: Ten Years After played at the new Catacombs on August 30, 1969.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUEZzhOWaNSU7jD4-wBpBkshdPpJhV82fcWK95my1AehBJn2akcXvmmkS-znUi4OaAZEf5W7UXo8ieRNs2-KWkvKMQNsR5QEFPPt-Q5xsDSudWxqySnBjy-7ydRR2qRV2PDktoPyn5h4/s1600/BLC+Kumquat+3A+lonely.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="494" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUEZzhOWaNSU7jD4-wBpBkshdPpJhV82fcWK95my1AehBJn2akcXvmmkS-znUi4OaAZEf5W7UXo8ieRNs2-KWkvKMQNsR5QEFPPt-Q5xsDSudWxqySnBjy-7ydRR2qRV2PDktoPyn5h4/s320/BLC+Kumquat+3A+lonely.jpeg" width="316" /></a></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">“What Can You Do When You’re Lonely" was the A-side of our second single. We recorded the song, but it was a while before they pressed it. I’d say (it was pressed) maybe a year later. I don’t think any of them went past 1970. They were either ’69 or ’70. It seems like they were maybe a year apart. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I think they (AM radio stations) did play “What Can You Do When You’re Lonely.” It may have been (played on) KILT.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDhTtAMy8B8JG3xRrom0xW0vWd1YUvnaAE0b4fl6KpgcF5oofQ6fMPadM6KRbOtS5YoJM-Ko1PxzneVPG3spM0gz6hWOpG_3LCvQlSIj2udNnYykCx_hCzkiwEXv-4JmrewkPIrBmJzY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-22+at+7.14.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="828" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDhTtAMy8B8JG3xRrom0xW0vWd1YUvnaAE0b4fl6KpgcF5oofQ6fMPadM6KRbOtS5YoJM-Ko1PxzneVPG3spM0gz6hWOpG_3LCvQlSIj2udNnYykCx_hCzkiwEXv-4JmrewkPIrBmJzY/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-07-22+at+7.14.44+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span>The North Houston Theater, 8720 Jensen Drive, in its later incarnation as a dry cleaners. The Brother L Congregation played here in 1969. Photo by Roy Bonario/Earl Blair Collection (Retro Houston)</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brother L did keep us pretty busy. We played a lot at North Houston Theater on Jensen Drive. We would play at Intermission time. Everywhere we went, he knew these people.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brother L’s architect firm backed us. They were the ones who bought all that equipment, and the band (i.e., they trademarked the name under their ownership). They were putting a lot of money into us. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">John Tyler was the guitar player for Jerimiah. He lived two blocks over from us. Like I said, the neighborhood was full of people who played guitar. John was born with polio. We’d known him all our life. He would be inside playing guitar while the rest of us were playing football. John somehow got to know Brother L. I don’t know if we introduced him. John got a band together, and so Brother L decided to manage them, as well. There was no competition — we all got along, like a big family. Brother L also had three other bands. He had a band called Daybreak. We really didn’t compete with each other. We were all different types of music. </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rick’s wife said, “It’s either me or the music.” Baren, the same thing happened with him. The same thing was happening to Brother L and his wife — we called her “Miss L” (laughter) — because he had so much going on music-wise. I think it got to be too much for her. His architect firm moved to Malibu, California. So, he moved to California. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Brother L treated us fair, he really did. He really did try to do something with us. He had his life problems, and the band had theirs. From that point on, it kind of went downhill.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSMXZrjm4EJ4cYd8pJ841_T4R1EUchkxawJ2VCbL25ZpuXeQ_qIXKNolfF5nSduHZ9NC_arMfgKQXGDqbLQOB-o7XMnJNkQxfjyCW_2-VRVyeFA4KIhlaQkqy6sbCNMD3WrzZJXuI7ws/s1600/brother+L+congregation+bayou.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="1280" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSMXZrjm4EJ4cYd8pJ841_T4R1EUchkxawJ2VCbL25ZpuXeQ_qIXKNolfF5nSduHZ9NC_arMfgKQXGDqbLQOB-o7XMnJNkQxfjyCW_2-VRVyeFA4KIhlaQkqy6sbCNMD3WrzZJXuI7ws/s400/brother+L+congregation+bayou.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Circa 1970. from left: Rick Vaughan, Baren Hyphenfinkle, Randy Vaughan, Mike Cupid. Sitting in front: Brother L (Lynn Anderson). </span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Baren Hyphenfinkle (lead vocals, rhythm guitar):</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I go by Baren Singleton Hyphenfinkle as a stage name. I actually went downtown and applied for an assumed name of business under that name. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">We used to have a TV show every Saturday night called “Weird.” They always had these horror flicks. That’s where I came up with “Hyphenfinkle.” Baren came from a CB license I got when I was 13. I was “Blue Baren.” Singleton — all these famous people had middle names, and I was single, so: “single-ton.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My best friend Wayne Bettis and myself would sneak into Love Street at Allen's Landing and listen to the bands before I even thought about singing in front of anyone. I was around 16 back then. My favorites were Shiva's Headband,the 13th Floor Elevators and the Moving Sidewalks. Wayne drove a taxi at 17 years old. We would sneak out on the weekend to Allen's Landing. I remember writing on toilet paper at the park there and would tear it off and kids would grab and read it.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I didn’t even want to be in the band. I used to walk to my girlfriend’s house — I lived on Bentley Road (in North Houston) — and I walked down Sagebrush to Foy Lane. I passed this house and heard this band playing. I walked up there, and there was Ricky, Randy, and Mike in the garage trying to learn some songs. I gave them a few pointers. Every once in a while, when I heard them play, I’d stop and talk to them. This was probably in ’66, ’67. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My girlfriend, Carol Brown, lived like four doors down from Brother L’s house. There was a commotion out front — not really a commotion, but a bunch of people gathered around Brother L’s — so we walked down there, and they said he was having auditions for a band. Ricky or Randy, or one of them said, “Hey, you ought to try out.” I said, “I’m not interested in being in no band.” However, they talked me into singing. And Brother L <i>insisted</i> that I be the singer. He talked me into it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAt0m1ZbNU1ZQ53Ho0dCrjj0VYw-aLUcpnt7vMoSBQqmIUytgI3yAQkMcdPwBhlvkThhItCmRcwl7yGlenWw1HqzAhjUQdZu2p6SXb_n2AfbZGIUVv7_dq4gu19w9pCv0LCJBeAMa9iiI/s1600/Brother+L+Congregation+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1209" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAt0m1ZbNU1ZQ53Ho0dCrjj0VYw-aLUcpnt7vMoSBQqmIUytgI3yAQkMcdPwBhlvkThhItCmRcwl7yGlenWw1HqzAhjUQdZu2p6SXb_n2AfbZGIUVv7_dq4gu19w9pCv0LCJBeAMa9iiI/s320/Brother+L+Congregation+poster.jpg" width="241" /></a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We ended up having to sign contracts. Our parents had to sign, I think, a three year contract. Anything we wrote belonged to him, our recordings belonged to him — I guess the standard recording contract for a manager. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This may be late ’66. See, I didn’t graduate (high school) until 1970. I think in ’68, I moved into Brother L’s house. I lived in his garage, (which he) turned into a room, like a den. in ’70, I graduated, and in ’71, I got married. I was sick as a child, and they held me back two years. I had double pneumonia, double bronchitis — I was in the hospital during elementary school for several years. I should have graduated in ’68, I guess, but didn’t until ’70. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Ricky and Randy were playing bubblegum when I met them. I changed all of that for the most part. I had a vision of having a different sound from all other bands so our music couldn't be copied by others. I did not want to sound generic like so many garage bands did at the time. It was our differences in music that made us unique.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Brother L bowled at Little York Bowling Alley with my parents — the Wednesday Night League. I think he was in the same league as them. They knew him and trusted him. That’s why they let me move into his garage while I was still going to school. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mrpm9FfdHTI" style="font-family: -webkit-standard;" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I remember us practicing five hours a day, at least five days a week. We had a couple of days off, but we’d usually end up practicing on those days (as well). </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Brother L had a record. I heard his 45. I said, “Brother L, that’s pretty good.” He said, “No, that’s crap.” He wouldn’t let me listen to it again. Five or ten years before we did it, he had his own record. He was going to college (at the time he made the record) and had his own band. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">One of the local FM stations played our song one time. They called on the phone and I answered it in the room I was staying in at Brother L’s. The deejay put me on the air live. Ricky, Randy, and Mike walked in the door, and I said, “Be quiet, I’m on the phone with a deejay,” and they said, “yeah, right.” But somebody turned on the radio and they heard it. It might have been “She’s Gonna Lose That Boy.” But then, they wanted payola. Brother L went and met with the station manager, (but) he didn’t want to put that kind of money up every time they play one of our songs. I think this was KRBE. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We went and slid our record under the front door. The deejay told us, “Yeah, if you bring it own here, we’ll play it.” They were on Kirby Drive. I brought it down late at night — it was 10:30 at night. He said, “Just slide it underneath the front door.” I shoved it right under there and he got it. He called me back a couple of hours later to interview us. He played it that one time. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I thought (the first recording session) was ’68. Randy thought we recorded at some studio somewhere else, but actually we went to Gilley’s (Night Club) in Pasadena. Back then, it was all open fields — nothing was built on Spencer Highway. It seems like you had to drive forever to get there. But behind Gilley’s place there was a little recording studio. This guy (Ray Doggett) was an old country recording guy. He didn’t know nothing about rock and roll. We had to teach him a little bit. (Laughs) </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We did a couple of singles, and I don’t even know what happened to this one song called “Julianna.” We recorded it there and overdubbed some harmonies. I think it was just a tape that we made. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I sang 99 percent of all the songs. I think “She’s Gonna Lose That Boy” was the only song that somebody else sang. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">(On "Bringing Me Down") we had a tape-fed Echoplex, and that’s what Ricky used to run his guitar through. The fuzz was overdrive. I don’t know if I built it for them. I’ve been doing electronics all my life. But I think I build a three-transistor overdrive. He plugged that in and put a loop through the Echoplex and into his amplifier. The engineer said, “We can’t have that! You’re going to blow my microphones!” We kept half of it out — what I was going to use (i.e., Baren’s guitar part), but he let us keep Ricky’s stuff. I always liked to experiment with the sound. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My parents were pissed off at me. They wanted me to go to this college in Dallas to be an electronics engineer. I told them, “I know all there is to know about electronics.” Typical teenager. (Laughter) So I proved it to them later. In the mid-1980s, I went to NASA out here at JSC (Johnson Space Center), and I said, “I want a job working in your video display.” They said, “What kind of degree?” I said, “I ain’t got none. I don’t need any. Give me six months. If I don’t work circles out of these guys just coming out of college, you can fire me. I won’t ask for unemployment or nothing.” I worked there for two-and-a-half-years, and I worked circles around everybody. Because they go to college and they learn the theory. Well, the theory don’t fix nothing. I had all this experience. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Brother L started out real good, and then he started drinking a lot. To me, that was our downfall. I think he had other problems — like his work or something. The band was taking too much time away from his work. Maybe family problems or something. I don’t know what the deal was, but I noticed a drop-off there. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He bought this building on Aldine-Westfield (Road) called Plastic Grandmother. We started playing there all the time. Friday and Saturday nights. Here’s the funny part: they charged $1.50 to get in, but it was all Ricky, Randy, and Mike’s friends and girlfriends. I’d bring my girlfriend. And they all got in for nothing. So he never made no money. (Laughter) </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I remember the North Houston Theater. Every Saturday before a show (movie) started we’d get up there (laughter) and play. They’d call it a “contest.” </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Buddy’s Roller Rink was right down the street from our house, on Bentley, close to Little York. We played there every Saturday night. </span><span style="font-size: large;">We’d play music and they’d dance to it on skates. We did it at least ten times — that’s probably ten weeks, maybe more. I think it was a quarter to get in. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Ricky, Randy, and Mike were kind of jokesters to me. I don’t know if they resented me being older, or what. I broke up with my girlfriend, so I told them, “I need you to go find me a blonde with blue eyes.” So they did, but all her teeth were rotten. (Laughter) I broke that girl’s heart. I said, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand to look at you.” She lived right behind Buddy’s Roller Rink. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Brother L worked for Timmerman Engineering downtown close to Hermann Park (on) Sunset Boulevard. He took me to his office several times. </span><span style="font-size: large;">His boss came out to hear us play. We needed some instruments — we were using old, junky stuff. We went to H&H (Music). They (Timmerman) got a loan and financed all our equipment. And then something happened, and I think Brother L had to buy them out. I think that’s when his financial problems started. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We had two Rickenbacker guitars — back then, they were at least $1,200 apiece. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“What Can You Do When You’re Lonely” I wrote in my mother’s garage when me and my girlfriend had a spat. I said, “I’m going to write a song about this.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3xyE7p4S6Es2BgiYeQBQsYSbUc3_9MV6la9lEDZS_FKe5RNQRRBVeeFEspKnh0OBUUtdM-5-zhEk8rUqHOUTnQahxgfAdt7yIR__9IVqKed8tGr5CdZKzCkg6LIswL4t_OgNgN-JA04/s1600/Kumquat+3B+BLC+idwg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="492" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3xyE7p4S6Es2BgiYeQBQsYSbUc3_9MV6la9lEDZS_FKe5RNQRRBVeeFEspKnh0OBUUtdM-5-zhEk8rUqHOUTnQahxgfAdt7yIR__9IVqKed8tGr5CdZKzCkg6LIswL4t_OgNgN-JA04/s320/Kumquat+3B+BLC+idwg.jpeg" width="314" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I Don’t Wanna Go” — I was depressed after me and my girlfriend broke up. They sent me to this doctor — Dr. Gottlieb. He gave me some anti-depressant pills, and I’d gotten into Brother L’s refrigerator and was drinking beer. They did not go together. That’s when I wrote “I Don’t Wanna Go.” I don’t know what it’s about. I tell people it’s about the Vietnam War. (Laughter)</span><span style="font-size: large;"> It’s just a bunch of crap that I wrote on anti-depressant pills and drinking beer. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That was done on Jenson Drive at Nashville Sounds Recording Studios. That guy (engineer A.V. Middlestedt) told me not to blow up his mic. He wouldn’t let me use some of my equipment. I remember that Brother L wanted each one of us to do one song. He was trying to make an album. It went from about 6 o’clock to 12 at night. I think he (Brother L) went for the economical recording time. It was like after hours. </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">(On vocals) Brother L told me, “You need to make it louder.” I guess I sang too soft. So I started screaming basically. (Laughter) It became my trademark. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">No one else sounded like us. Before I sang every time I would scream into a pillow for a few minutes to make my voice more raspy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1_k_J9GcHqA" style="font-family: -webkit-standard;" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My name is on one of Jerimiah’s records. That’s because John Tyler and I wrote that (“Forever Never Comes”) in Brother L’s den one night. I wrote the words, and we both kind of wrote the music. Jerimiah then said, “Can we do our own version of that song?” I said, “I don’t have no problem with it. It’s as much John Tyler’s as it is mine.” </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Sunday sand ..." In a nuclear war, the sand turns to glass. There, again, I was taking anti-depressants. (Laughter) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I never did LSD. I smoked a joint every once in a while, (but) it really wasn’t my thing — it didn’t do nothing one way or another. I had more fun with the prescription drugs. In fact, they gave me chemical shock treatments for awhile. That didn’t work. They broke out the big guns, giving me some drugs that had just been approved by the government. That worked. It brought me out of depression. My girlfriend left me, and I didn’t like it one bit. (Laughter)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ricky and Randy and Mike had their group and had their songs, and I didn’t want to tell them that they couldn’t play them. So I learned them with them. People want to hear something they’ve heard before. They don’t want to hear all original music in a band. So we’d use that (Top 40 covers) to entrap the people to listen to us. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8xT4mtRdK1c" style="font-family: -webkit-standard;" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Michael DeBakey just did a heart transplant (in 1967) and my brother called me up and said, “I’ve got a great idea for a song: ‘Baby, You Broke My Heart But I Just Don’t Have Time for a Transplant.” (Iron Butterfly’s) “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” was out at that time (released June, 1968). That intrigued me. That was so good to me. So that’s what inspired “Transplant” to be so long. I said, “If they can do it, I can do it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Brother L gave each of us a couple of boxes of the two singles he had pressed. I gave at least 30 away and my brother-in-law had some put into a few jukeboxes of restaurants he frequented on Jensen Drive. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We probably broke up in late ’70 or early ’71. </span><span style="font-size: large;">They — Ricky and Randy — were fighting all the time. Randy would say, “I can’t hear my bass.” Ricky would say, “Oh, you’re too loud.” One time, they had a physical, knock-down, drag-out fight at the Plastic Grandmother. Ricky’s girlfriend wanted him to quit the band. And my soon-to-be wife said, “You know, this is getting ridiculous.” I said, “Let’s go.” I put my guitar down, turned my amplifier off, and we left. And I never returned. </span><span style="font-size: large;">I got married in March of ’71, and there was no more band. I walked out and left my equipment there.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">------</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sessionography</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1969. Ray Doggett Recording Studio, Houston, Tx.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Producer: Lynn Anderson. Engineer: Ray Doggett</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Rick Vaughan (lead vocal*, lead guitar), </span><span style="font-size: large;">Baren Hyphenfinkle (lead vocal**, rhythm guitar),</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Randy Vaughan (bass), Mike Cupid (drums, backing vocal). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Kumquat 1</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span>She's Gonna Lose That Boy* (Rick Vaughan-Lynn Anderson) JH-59</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Bringing Me Down** (Baren Hyphenfinkle-Lynn Anderson) JH-58</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Probably released in early 1970. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1970. Nashville Sounds Recording Studio, 9717 Jensen Drive, Houston, Tx. Producer: Lynn Anderson. Engineer: A.V. Middlestedt</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Baren Hyphenfinkle (lead vocal, rhythm guitar),</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Rick Vaughan (lead guitar), </span><span style="font-size: large;">Randy Vaughan (bass), Mike Cupid (drums). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Kumquat 3 (as B L C)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">What Can You Do When You're Lonely (Baren Hyphenfinkle-Lynn Anderson) JH-344</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I Don't Wanna Go (Baren Hyphenfinkle-Rick Vaughan-Lynn Anderson) JH-343</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Note: Rick Vaughan's name is spelled "Vaughn" incorrectly on the labels. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Released in late 1970. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Unissued songs</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow May Be the End/Sunday Sand</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's a Lonely World</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Baby, You Broke My Heart But I Just Don't Have Time for a Transplant</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Someday I'll Be a Star</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Randy's Song (instrumental - title unknown)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sherry</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sylvia, You're a Bitch</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Meet Me by the River</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Julianna</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<div style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span>Related record:</b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Jerimiah</b> - Jerimiah (D. Kibodeaux-Lynn Anderson-Et Al.) JH-341/Forever Never Comes (John Tyler-Baren Hyphenfinkle-D. Kibodeaux-Lynn Anderson) JH-342 (Kumquat 2) 1970</span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">
<span style="font-size: large;">NOTE: No documentation has survived from Houston Records, so outside sources must be sought to establish possible release dates. The Brothers Seven's cover version of Santana's "Evil Ways" was given the master number JH-96, a number close to the first Brother L Congregation record. Santana's "Evil Ways" peaked at #9 on the Billboard chart on March 21, 1970, suggesting that the Brothers Seven's record was pressed around that time. If so, this would probably put the release date of "She's Gonna Lose That Boy" b/w "Bringing Me Down" in early 1970. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Bobby Made and the Outcasts' "I'm Lonely" on RoTab (JH-367) was advertised as a new release in the Galveston Daily News on December 25, 1970. Since the master numbers on the second BLC record are very close to JH-367, it was probably released around the same time. This means that the second single was released just shortly before the band broke up in late 1970 or early 1971. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Unfortunately, all reissues of the Kumquat singles have been sourced from inferior vinyl transfers. There has yet to be a proper, high quality reissue of the Brother L Congregation. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Lynn Anderson did not contribute to the writing of any of the songs. He added his name to the writer's credits as part of his managerial agreement with the band in publishing the songs, not out of any dubious claim to have been the actual songwriter. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: large;">The record made by Lynn Anderson alluded to by Baren has not been identified. It is </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: large;">not the "L. Anderson" single "Neck Bones and Hot Sauce" on Cindy; that is by the black saxophonist Leonard Anderson, and it's an instrumental. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u1kJOljm7nI" style="font-family: -webkit-standard;" width="560"></iframe></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><b>"Tomorrow May Be the End" / "Sunday Sand"</b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><b>(Hyphenfinkle-Tyler)</b></span></span></span></h2>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sunday sand remains </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">and the Sun came out and they played games</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">and some broke out in tomorrow's name</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Take my brain through the wind</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where charts have never been</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">and in the sea you see they do see me </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">tomorrow</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tomorrow may be the end </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tomorrow never comes</span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We'll never see the sun</span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For your dream </span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I scream</span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tomorrow may be the end</span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tomorrow may be the end</span></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tomorrow may be the end</span></span><br />
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/44cuxWyBRZw" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard;" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"></span></span><br />
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">"I Don't Wanna Go"</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">(Hyphenfinkle-Vaughan)</span></b><br />
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Standing all alone on the road</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">when the rain came down</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I was on my own had no home </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">yea going to town</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hey there son you're the one</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> for my gun</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">But I don't wanna go</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">It's a shame </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm the blame </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">for what is there</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Call my name </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> I'm the blame </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">no I don't care</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Cats and dogs on the smog</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">well way over there</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">but I don't wanna go</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">No I don't wanna go</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yeah I don't wanna go</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">We went away</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">wasn't the same</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">but things cooled down</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the park</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">by the air </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">or on the ground</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">People were there</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">everywhere</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">but they couldn't be found</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">No I don't wanna go <span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">No I don't wanna go </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">No I don't wanna go</span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
"It's a Lonely World" <iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S_TD7UpBBaw" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
"Meet Me By the River" <iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/13UHwUX9xbs" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-86688509731810272862018-05-24T17:58:00.001-07:002018-06-22T04:07:44.622-07:00Hangin' Out with the Blox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n0DNgS_yo4o" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br />
The Blox are well-known among sixties fans today for their 1967 single "Hangin' Out" on the Solar label. The single did not make any impression at the time of its release, but it was rescued from oblivion by inclusion as the lead-off track on <i>Flashback</i> (later known as "Texas Flashbacks") Volume 3 in 1980. Yet the group themselves have not factored into too many memories of the Houston '60s scene.<br />
<br />
The core trio of the Blox (Robert Turner - lead guitar; Tim Oliver - lead vocals, organ, rhythm guitar; and Jared Satterwhite - bass) played together in several bands with different names over the second half of the '60s, and these frequent name changes probably contributed to their later obscurity. They recorded as early as July, 1965, but did not see a vinyl release until they hooked up with Fred Carroll at Andrus Productions in 1967. A McCoys' album track, "Say Those Magic Words," was immediately recognized for its commercial potential, and their cover version was rushed out on Carroll's new label, Solar, in June, 1967. This was indeed a hit, but only locally. Nevertheless, it probably inspired the McCoys' to release their own version a couple of weeks later as a single just in case, thereby "covering" a cover. As a nice bonus, the Blox were invited on <i>The Larry Kane Show</i> to mime their record.<br />
<br />
Released in November, 1967, Robert Turner's original "Hangin' Out," sung by Tim Oliver, had a much tougher sound and attitude, with punk lyrics ("my whole world is out of place"), fuzz bass, and a psychedelic tape-phased instrumental break. Though listed among radio station KFMK's "most requested" in the <i>Houston Post</i> on November 26, 1967, this second single didn't make much impact, and today it is far rarer than copies of "Say Those Magic Words."<br />
<br />
When Lelan Rogers left International Artists in February, 1968, IA President Bill Dillard hired Fred Carroll to return to the label that he started. Fred brought the Blox with him, and work on a third single commenced in the early spring of 1968. But Carroll, who had a combative personality, didn't last with IA very long, and when he left, the band's hoped-for release went into deep-freeze. While a lot of "lost" and unissued IA tapes and acetates have been excavated in the decades since, no one has ever found the Blox tapes.<br />
<br />
The group soldiered on, but had run out of steam by 1969. <br />
<br />
Robert Turner and Jared Satterwhite shared their memories of the Blox with me, and Jared kindly provided photographs of the group.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjt7sejxham4CaMV7CUO2sEvmaW5AK1uasc1JfAhfaCkMMcfEy2TTbXnAUEGWh_NlCEBd4a9H9SMs8ArIiaAgAoJIXqMw3tPu_TscMQbicIRM0jG_H4OGepjPr6Bv2UWGfliV8xbUR30/s1600/blox+stage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1221" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjt7sejxham4CaMV7CUO2sEvmaW5AK1uasc1JfAhfaCkMMcfEy2TTbXnAUEGWh_NlCEBd4a9H9SMs8ArIiaAgAoJIXqMw3tPu_TscMQbicIRM0jG_H4OGepjPr6Bv2UWGfliV8xbUR30/s320/blox+stage.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Houston teen club, 1966. From left: Jared Satterwhite, Robert Turner, Tom Cramer, Tim Oliver. (All photos courtesy Jared Satterwhite Collection.)</b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<b>Robert Turner / lead guitar, songwriter </b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We had a group that was a little radical at the time [1966] called the Third Institutional Commitments. We played the Catacombs, La Maison … we went into the studio to record a couple of tunes and met Fred Carroll, who managed the Coastliners at that time. That’s when we changed our name to the Blox. We were about 18 or 19. Fred was a really talented guy who seemed sort of like a frustrated musician himself. He could play keyboards and he wrote a lot of songs. He locked into the music business through Andrus Studios. He was real close to being the best record producer down here, and he had the best ear for music. He’d tell everybody he was 25 when he was really only about 21. </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5A-zwHOy-Sj0qGopzWOSXshhcjnTsv2eV2Bx9M2Mw3A6yfostjlPkNNPIFxNXbkuJ_PVqF55M89wJ9GeBDTp6pC4jwNJu7jcMRFttoZpdSpd6FPaVFf2GxWFksH7B6SYg4yV6075i0lo/s1600/blox+shamrock+pool.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1254" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5A-zwHOy-Sj0qGopzWOSXshhcjnTsv2eV2Bx9M2Mw3A6yfostjlPkNNPIFxNXbkuJ_PVqF55M89wJ9GeBDTp6pC4jwNJu7jcMRFttoZpdSpd6FPaVFf2GxWFksH7B6SYg4yV6075i0lo/s320/blox+shamrock+pool.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br />
<b>The Third Institutional Commitments at the Shamrock Hotel swimming pool, 1966. Mike Kahn (drums), Robert Turner (lead guitar, left on diving board), Jared Satterwhite (bass, center), Tom Cramer (rhythm guitar, right), Tim Oliver (lead vocals, organ, in pool). Click to enlarge. </b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">He wanted to expand his horizons when we met him, because he had the Coastliners, who were very bookable. So if somebody couldn’t afford, or didn’t want to pay the money the Coastliners were asking – which was like $2500 – Fred could offer them the Blox for $750-1000. So we could kind of ride on their coattails without doing surfer music. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We made the Top 30 on KILT and KNUZ with “Say Those Magic Words.” We had to keep ordering copies from United Distributing. Mercury was fixing to pick it up, but the McCoys released their version on a 45. </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNrMV4_lhoMeZnElVsII9GQwb62i7lbwz1ES24t7QlXycTIhiObbmPMbbrEfVrF28f5Gq5edvcGyzThs4CNca2FXHF_zrJKggZVO2Mfxu0zUSwiQxe8erE5_e7nAiMhWRzw9K1_JYMIE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-24+at+9.10.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="983" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNrMV4_lhoMeZnElVsII9GQwb62i7lbwz1ES24t7QlXycTIhiObbmPMbbrEfVrF28f5Gq5edvcGyzThs4CNca2FXHF_zrJKggZVO2Mfxu0zUSwiQxe8erE5_e7nAiMhWRzw9K1_JYMIE/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-05-24+at+9.10.50+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Nowsounds Calendar in the <i>Houston Post</i>, July 23, 1967. Click to enlarge. The Blox are playing at the University of Houston Student Center the following Friday, and Mount Carmel High School the next night. </b></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">La Maison was started by a guy named Jerry Clark. It was the first avant-garge, counterculture dance hall in Houston. La Maison was on Richmond and had been a grocery store before being converted into a teen dance club. After it closed down, the Hullaballoo Club moved into the same location.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Fred Carroll and I started Solar Records. We later signed with International Artists, but it all fell apart because Fred left, and we were stuck without a record producer, and the guys over there didn’t know what they were doing. There was nobody at IA that knew anything about producing records. We went into the studio and had started recording when all this was taking place. We eventually hired a lawyer to release us from our contract. It was all kind of falling apart at that point (1969). Fred had started IA, but sold it to the two lawyers (Bill Dillard and Noble Ginther, Jr.). In the meantime, we had started Solar. He had a falling out with Don Robey, and the Coastliners didn’t make him a millionaire. That’s when he signed a new producer’s contract with IA. </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXyGtl6MvwvjIB6zWrRum6b5M8GxHo_ej5lHQtiXzKsnhWVsCYdQMNDTZ4F1rMG8AOHh8Mii4BGcm16JXR4EoTlFnkodfD118oGUMgx6wuiE_jJ5YGu4p9H-7_pnI2JOFB-cPsI6lL9A/s1600/blox+bc.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="1558" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXyGtl6MvwvjIB6zWrRum6b5M8GxHo_ej5lHQtiXzKsnhWVsCYdQMNDTZ4F1rMG8AOHh8Mii4BGcm16JXR4EoTlFnkodfD118oGUMgx6wuiE_jJ5YGu4p9H-7_pnI2JOFB-cPsI6lL9A/s320/blox+bc.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">“Say Those Magic Words” was released at the same time that the Who came to town for the first time. We opened for them in Beaumont. About 500 came and probably 300 were there to see us. When they played in Houston, they did real well, but the day before they played at the Beaumont Auditorium which holds 3,000 people. The Who sounded great. There were two shows … we opened both of them and still played a night club that night. Keith Moon and the bass player came down to see us that night at the club we were playing. After the show we sat down and drank beer. Keith and John were very refreshing, the other two (Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry) were more standoffish. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We tried every trick in the book on “Hangin’ Out” and we got a little airplay. We sold about ten thousand copies of our first record, but I bet we didn’t sell more than a thousand of “Hangin’ Out.” </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We’d all play this little circle of clubs. Everybody played Mount Carmel High School, then they’d go up to Bay City, then down to the Golden Triangle (Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange).</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlP26T83oxe4qFx2PP6ht3utkRkd8DrCsMGcHTp10uv_ac3_prSxkfX1mivlZZykla1t1pjETPTY17rhOg2-aBWR3xB0gUlJGh4guv7qKHpaOqHD2TS_EbPSXmZrkhfThr-fCPNGGORw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-24+at+9.14.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="287" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlP26T83oxe4qFx2PP6ht3utkRkd8DrCsMGcHTp10uv_ac3_prSxkfX1mivlZZykla1t1pjETPTY17rhOg2-aBWR3xB0gUlJGh4guv7qKHpaOqHD2TS_EbPSXmZrkhfThr-fCPNGGORw/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-05-24+at+9.14.20+PM.png" width="268" /></a></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Houston Post, November 26, 1967. "Hangin' Out" mentioned as KFMK's "most requested."</b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LAA1oTtSFGo" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlWSkQcUE_zfPZc7OSJh1n_KjApjtrfg9UyD-X-rFdvR6F5r_9MBRumOMc-Bm7TBzw7hB7Y72D3K8QNhdYdDq_K-nXxGcVtuRSBt_TbYpkrVZkVzTEhcXTKS51E81fIw0LQHdujaAyII/s1600/blox+jared+satterwhite+68.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="875" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlWSkQcUE_zfPZc7OSJh1n_KjApjtrfg9UyD-X-rFdvR6F5r_9MBRumOMc-Bm7TBzw7hB7Y72D3K8QNhdYdDq_K-nXxGcVtuRSBt_TbYpkrVZkVzTEhcXTKS51E81fIw0LQHdujaAyII/s320/blox+jared+satterwhite+68.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Jared Satterwhite on stage, possibly at the Cellar Club, Houston, 1968 or '69. </b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times";"><br /></span>
<br />
<b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times";">Jared Satterwhite / </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times";">bass</span></b><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Robert Turner, Tim Oliver, and I started the Falcons V. We played for private parties. I trained a falcon to sit on my bass. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Then we became the Outsiders (in late 1965/early 66). We did a lot of Beach Boys stuff. We had madras tuxedos we wore with knee-shorts and long black socks for formal occasions. We played a lot in Lake Charles, Louisiana at the Puppy Pen, owned by Eddie Arceneaux. It was an old, abandoned air force base. It was kind of a low-rent Catacombs. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIIQ9kjTMK07zRO_xTcMVlNNwdd4WGwyGA-Vp8M7ipBkS-qoD67YKc0nLC3xAYbdwzlOWyNDkiQTyyT9_J5BiN9Sd81GUqS27lUGaatv-XKuFeQIiyuakiwB24Aq4ddVe5GE4FxI2KXQ/s1600/outsiders+BC.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIIQ9kjTMK07zRO_xTcMVlNNwdd4WGwyGA-Vp8M7ipBkS-qoD67YKc0nLC3xAYbdwzlOWyNDkiQTyyT9_J5BiN9Sd81GUqS27lUGaatv-XKuFeQIiyuakiwB24Aq4ddVe5GE4FxI2KXQ/s1600/outsiders+BC.png" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We played with Sam the Sham in Galveston at the Moody Center. He had a sentry posted in front of his room – I don’t know if it was to keep us out or them in. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We played one week-long gig at a place called the Plantation on West Gray, across from the River Oaks Theater. It was a gay private club. You talk about a weird gig, man. We’d never been exposed to that before. Girls dancing with girls, guys dancing with guys, and some unidentified. We didn’t go back. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We played at UH (University of Houston) at the Cougar Den. We played a lot of stuff at UT (University of Texas). Rice University used to have what we called a “Gross-Out” party. God, they just backed up the beer trucks to this place. Man, when they left and the lights came on, there would be beer bottles, vomit, parts of bodies all over the place. It was horrible!</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFQIMiJiOH2OQj9csTHsJFyEKT66dFaT8Sy1NWA2Ocwtd7ZuZTL8Cl2mJcverQkkDTJvH22ge04rsF2Z97MhNhuO0PZLNF52oNEvbjXj9fxnfdDYtT1EtiujCFaoOqeHucgJQl3wvGo8/s1600/blox+stage+68+bassdrums.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFQIMiJiOH2OQj9csTHsJFyEKT66dFaT8Sy1NWA2Ocwtd7ZuZTL8Cl2mJcverQkkDTJvH22ge04rsF2Z97MhNhuO0PZLNF52oNEvbjXj9fxnfdDYtT1EtiujCFaoOqeHucgJQl3wvGo8/s320/blox+stage+68+bassdrums.png" width="271" /></a></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br />
<b>The Blox on stage, 1968 or '69. Jared Satterwhite (bass) and Don Stott (drums). </b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We played for (wealthy society matron) Candace Mossler. She had a coming out party for her daughter and hired us. We played at her house, outside. She’d send down notes that, at first, said, “Turn your instruments down.” But then she sent down requests. None of which we knew, songs like “Old Smokey.” That was a freaky gig. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We played Love Street quite a bit. Even played the Cellar. That was the real “hard” place. Girls would just get up and start dancing – some would take off all their clothes. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The music business is a dream world. It’s like, you always want it to happen, but you don’t think it ever will. So I don’t think there was ever any disappointment. </span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj10nLxiCj5lT6Ma7mYG79Xd0PintWLczuelPDd0V1iByvFL_ZAyxpbLVeji4HcNhkuKNfJtVioLJU2cxvtx30E6qR-N5Y3Ajm4rx0DoSA7ombdkY9IFbX-c3GCUJ1JT2OSXuOHCfTic4/s1600/blox+stage+turner+68.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="868" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj10nLxiCj5lT6Ma7mYG79Xd0PintWLczuelPDd0V1iByvFL_ZAyxpbLVeji4HcNhkuKNfJtVioLJU2cxvtx30E6qR-N5Y3Ajm4rx0DoSA7ombdkY9IFbX-c3GCUJ1JT2OSXuOHCfTic4/s320/blox+stage+turner+68.png" width="310" /></a></div>
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>The Blox on stage, 1968 or '69. Tim Oliver (organ, vocals) and Robert Turner (guitar, vocals). </b></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<b>Postscript and Discography</b><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">I believe Robert is mistaken about the sales figures of "Hangin' Out." Only an estimated dozen or so copies of this record exist today, so the possibility that it originally sold 1,000 copies is extremely unlikely. </span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
The Stumbling Blox who recorded the unissued "It's Gonna be Alright" (<i>Texas Punk 1966</i> on Cicadelic Records, 1984) are a different group.<br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Solar 235 - Say Those Magic Words/The Way I'm Gonna Be [KILT chart: #37 6/23/67]</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Solar 237 - Hangin’ Out/Everyday’s Gonna Be Fun [Houston Post mention: 11/26/67]</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">(Solar 237 also exists as a one-sided DJ copy with only "Hangin' Out.")</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Solar singles were recorded at Andrus Productions in 1967. A version of “Every Day’s Gonna Be Fun” was recorded at ACA-Gold Star Studios [as the Falcons V] July 3, 1965, and may be the master used for the B-side of Solar 237.</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Below: International Artists ad from Mother magazine, 1968, showing the Blox among bands whose "singles (were) in progress." This was a chaotic time for the label, and none of these were released except for Beauregard. Click to enlarge. </b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6d1C40Tm5EHym9abTnbEtMW0UkPH1OReLKeBxUd5MGBug3u3UNZO7p28kSoZ9Ki0__LgXNy79CvPdd1tcLsXcrBsWmweSLmWzkieJGzKFjvaXsx9j5v_jyO6kjS1x8oJB0dmIQ6iaE4/s1600/IA+blox+mother+magazine.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="909" data-original-width="717" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6d1C40Tm5EHym9abTnbEtMW0UkPH1OReLKeBxUd5MGBug3u3UNZO7p28kSoZ9Ki0__LgXNy79CvPdd1tcLsXcrBsWmweSLmWzkieJGzKFjvaXsx9j5v_jyO6kjS1x8oJB0dmIQ6iaE4/s320/IA+blox+mother+magazine.png" width="252" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-29826066147304555422018-04-29T19:21:00.002-07:002020-05-08T05:28:49.723-07:00Throbbing Heart, Go-Go Girls Featured at Living Eye Club<span style="font-weight: bold;">Throbbing Heart, Go-Go Girls Featured at Living Eye Club</span><br />
by Jerri Largent, Post Youth Editor<br />
<br />
Houston Post Youth Beat * 19 January 1967<br />
<br />
As the heart beats and blood rushes through neon veins, teens of Spring Branch and other parts of Houston dance to the music of the Living Eye.<br />
<br />
This new dance hall for teens, which was recently opened, was constructed in the shape of an android.<br />
<br />
The roof supports are molded "ribs." A huge heart in the center of the ceiling throbs as its beats are heard in every part of the dance floor. Electrical "blood" flows through neon "veins" on each beat and theatrical fog spreads the bright red color through the air.<br />
<br />
The teens come in every mode of dress from pants to skirts, some bell-bottom, some backless. Some come in western attire and some come in costumes. They come with and without shoes.<br />
<br />
Three girls from the area work at the Living Eye as go-go dancers. Karen King and Sherry Martin, students at Spring Branch High, and Cindy Seixas, a student at South Texas Junior College, dance individually on a platform in front of the band. The girls are paid for dancing and have their parents' consent.<br />
<br />
When asked why she worked as a go-go dancer, one of the girls commented, "'Cause I love to dance."<br />
<br />
They have no set routines. Another of the girls commented, "You just dance what you feel."<br />
<br />
The girls have little to fear from rowdy customers, for at all times there are two uniformed police officers, T.H. Graham and J.G. Brock, on duty. There is also a woman officer, Miss Pat Fawlkes, watching out for the good of the patrons.<br />
<br />
The Living Eye also has its own "bouncer" who walks the floor with the adult supervisors. He is Thomas Carlson, a student at Sam Houston State College.<br />
<br />
The age limit for the club is the same as for all teen dance halls in the city. The patrons must be over 15 and under 21. Each person entering the club must present proof of age before he is admitted to the club.<br />
<br />
Every Friday and Saturday night, teens come with dates or stag to hear bands such as the Moving Sidewalks, the Deuces Wild, the Coastliners, Neal Ford and the Fanatics, or the Sixpence (sic).<br />
<br />
Operator Bill Eisenhower extended an invitation for any parents to tour the club at any time to see where the teenagers like to spend their time. (end)<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQeBBBIduBcStTc7CfAFfPL1ElnCJZ3Fxl7d_UV_lhHHBT27dw7QqCCpshB_Sd7oxkCa3_OCXLnGzLXOlBoAoaqFmEP5CUCfyTmg4C7FXz20ufQ-98AfnS-Km1yOQXZgBXB7Spy4ZESI/s1600/Six-Pents-%2540-Living-Eye-4lor.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597876044242093138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQeBBBIduBcStTc7CfAFfPL1ElnCJZ3Fxl7d_UV_lhHHBT27dw7QqCCpshB_Sd7oxkCa3_OCXLnGzLXOlBoAoaqFmEP5CUCfyTmg4C7FXz20ufQ-98AfnS-Km1yOQXZgBXB7Spy4ZESI/s400/Six-Pents-%2540-Living-Eye-4lor.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 265px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Six Pents at the Living Eye (1966).</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirybI3bqsUeIw92JcrQwCZ12JZpmDcfdn-tcPCl6ETNvJyBS8vBDQ7kk-k4cnM53wgzVLCArdkMYTzbDqtsfd7ma6ZfBFd3nzxP1SZdOkAg6rMjvVzhCeIZM0oYrf1d2hNVz4RWMBr0kY/s1600/Six-Pents-%2540-Living-Eye-3-lo.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597875914676137218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirybI3bqsUeIw92JcrQwCZ12JZpmDcfdn-tcPCl6ETNvJyBS8vBDQ7kk-k4cnM53wgzVLCArdkMYTzbDqtsfd7ma6ZfBFd3nzxP1SZdOkAg6rMjvVzhCeIZM0oYrf1d2hNVz4RWMBr0kY/s400/Six-Pents-%2540-Living-Eye-3-lo.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 265px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b>
<b style="text-align: center;">The Six Pents at the Living Eye (1966).</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQo23dtfNeJ7VZXsD54HhoDN19RqSJMskA_aMoM1eZP6fyodu730MvNrcpUUrCYSjOvGRJABb_H5e7_fRUfct7haGrN2VmvXrXxe_lysPXwfl2RAZqPuPesneBIyKw_sS8xsmN7k8YkuA/s1600/Six-Pents-%2540-Living-Eye-1lor.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597875765436517058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQo23dtfNeJ7VZXsD54HhoDN19RqSJMskA_aMoM1eZP6fyodu730MvNrcpUUrCYSjOvGRJABb_H5e7_fRUfct7haGrN2VmvXrXxe_lysPXwfl2RAZqPuPesneBIyKw_sS8xsmN7k8YkuA/s400/Six-Pents-%2540-Living-Eye-1lor.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<b style="text-align: center;">The Six Pents at the Living Eye (1966).</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnm0C14XyHGLcYeJjVTEVquwUMQK2FktwhW8F9gAAKqzednJrsbB4jC6EaGbv8O3yrok-T0-XJK8QU7fspuqTpCZXa9zwJdGLeIgJ_gqjnlVzzNFOptxmhoBtPRKeI3nNlg4nvGt31iY/s1600/13th+Floor+Elevators+WWarner+photo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597875631024323442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnm0C14XyHGLcYeJjVTEVquwUMQK2FktwhW8F9gAAKqzednJrsbB4jC6EaGbv8O3yrok-T0-XJK8QU7fspuqTpCZXa9zwJdGLeIgJ_gqjnlVzzNFOptxmhoBtPRKeI3nNlg4nvGt31iY/s400/13th+Floor+Elevators+WWarner+photo.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 249px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<b style="text-align: center;">The 13th Floor Elevators at the Living Eye (1967).</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1_2_Owfa9AcLhco1VQukKjRqx6XxP4wLNHLTIfNhbf51vX4Nj_vYQTKPMhsUqZKom9h9F7XAp33b2J8puCh13zkP9OkT1eTjf0-QU538OyobZmpQ02QyAzMw__XoS2eP-WGzHVjeLOc/s1600/LostandFoundLivingEye.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597871938988472418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1_2_Owfa9AcLhco1VQukKjRqx6XxP4wLNHLTIfNhbf51vX4Nj_vYQTKPMhsUqZKom9h9F7XAp33b2J8puCh13zkP9OkT1eTjf0-QU538OyobZmpQ02QyAzMw__XoS2eP-WGzHVjeLOc/s400/LostandFoundLivingEye.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 273px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b><br />
<b style="text-align: center;">The Lost and Found at the Living Eye (1966-67).</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1Ms0_iTK3CPzaC4A_kKGx5AU0EIhwCu1S04DHS1bRqcMydVqaKkRoQNWNiNvz3r85fhJSDM9m02HeRshRKLh0QfYrs75h-nLasr7gRc9F9VWu6prx9UZBKH6MsBrH9mN69FDEZjM6EE/s1600/LivingEyeAd.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597871833756465666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1Ms0_iTK3CPzaC4A_kKGx5AU0EIhwCu1S04DHS1bRqcMydVqaKkRoQNWNiNvz3r85fhJSDM9m02HeRshRKLh0QfYrs75h-nLasr7gRc9F9VWu6prx9UZBKH6MsBrH9mN69FDEZjM6EE/s400/LivingEyeAd.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 314px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">Newspaper ad for the opening of the Living Eye (November 11, 1966).</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZKlkgD_zQc51XichGrNX_sqkW0hjERgl0aAarbcabZIg0FKiL3HLavRpFBn1fT4CRtWnXcuqzm-lHL98QGIw8b12ia6jxZaBICa74JREYlTh99T7co8dMyGjs3X5DFVHJdP57H77zQA/s1600/Living-Eye.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597870337698045410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZKlkgD_zQc51XichGrNX_sqkW0hjERgl0aAarbcabZIg0FKiL3HLavRpFBn1fT4CRtWnXcuqzm-lHL98QGIw8b12ia6jxZaBICa74JREYlTh99T7co8dMyGjs3X5DFVHJdP57H77zQA/s400/Living-Eye.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 388px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Inside the Living Eye.</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dEoJlbvWiHyIz2z3a5wQR5cNnb7u3tFOxypA_hoshsYfkwOIJ9k27S9jFVIPb76q0wjWVitB4K2Nj0j1F8MgCbO2QujazrnrkTf-0DmszvqLK2WQYq9CzHpAQVsrFCfCe533ua-FMHU/s1600/Living-Eye-opening-flyer-11.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597870112686981682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dEoJlbvWiHyIz2z3a5wQR5cNnb7u3tFOxypA_hoshsYfkwOIJ9k27S9jFVIPb76q0wjWVitB4K2Nj0j1F8MgCbO2QujazrnrkTf-0DmszvqLK2WQYq9CzHpAQVsrFCfCe533ua-FMHU/s400/Living-Eye-opening-flyer-11.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 303px;" /></a><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Flyer for the opening of the Living Eye, November 11-12, 1966. </b></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6AAnrOMZv5IeGERQ4dEqHJ3GHXFlszgOI5AI1hcj_YGhcpc0evXkejteq9UFNE-P5M2-DKBvzkYpQx6PVfZMBTkp1zsn1GN76qFqSOWtqCaF9B45bGybE7AeRnR9RkwkJH5CD1L9sDg/s1600/Living-Eye-Mysterians-2-25-.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597869794039432882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6AAnrOMZv5IeGERQ4dEqHJ3GHXFlszgOI5AI1hcj_YGhcpc0evXkejteq9UFNE-P5M2-DKBvzkYpQx6PVfZMBTkp1zsn1GN76qFqSOWtqCaF9B45bGybE7AeRnR9RkwkJH5CD1L9sDg/s400/Living-Eye-Mysterians-2-25-.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 224px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Flyer for the "number one group in the world," ? and the Mysterians, appearing at the Living Eye, February 25, 1967. </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXco_blNY49UDAHHBEqIRGEO546P5pzvdBm-U5eCpngTIzF5OuHgoLBQCqCFftTj0uPn9mCvKzlq_tMdCf61NXKZ8u0jTo-q1RDbksQbF6Pi_U28Et8if4ZopBPUuK1CP1Xh-D68g600/s1600/FeverTree-Knust-LivingEye.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597869628401575570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXco_blNY49UDAHHBEqIRGEO546P5pzvdBm-U5eCpngTIzF5OuHgoLBQCqCFftTj0uPn9mCvKzlq_tMdCf61NXKZ8u0jTo-q1RDbksQbF6Pi_U28Et8if4ZopBPUuK1CP1Xh-D68g600/s400/FeverTree-Knust-LivingEye.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 277px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Fever Tree and crowd at the Living Eye (1967). </b></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-58452221436172403242018-04-08T18:51:00.001-07:002018-04-08T19:10:05.928-07:00Yesterday's Obsession<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o8dRDqt2dKg" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Yesterday's Obsession only made one record, which barely registered at the time, but has cast a long, haunting shadow since the sixties. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Yesterday's Obsession consisted of:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Greig Gabourel (lead vocal)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Leo Oliver III (lead guitar)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Kenneth Lee (bass)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Frank Jeffers (rhythm guitar)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Stephen Fowler (drums)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
An unknown member also played the organ, and someone provides maracas on one side of their record. Although they sound like they could be peers of the Elevators or Fever Tree, the group actually consisted of teenagers from the Port Arthur and Nederland, Texas, area (near the Louisiana border), several of whom attended Stephen F. Austin High School in Port Acres. In January, 1968, they trekked to Gold Star Studios in Houston and recorded "The Phycle" and "Complicated Mind." Jim Duff did the engineering. In a wildly improbable turn of events, the record was released on Huey Meaux's Pacemaker label on January 12. Meaux, of course, had no taste for psychedelia at all, and "The Phycle" is the black sheep of the Crazy Cajun catalogue. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7_g2diEU7XRHECvDuvqvvS9AXkqlttfSHThBptlm4QDXYcxHVTYPcNMlGWLjjB3RkjRWIyv0CMxh4ZI6Nevs_GRpAPBYLyX-vWScNgDG7Bt5pgAmnv0XCE3-n-5fNsK6ovmCD9BzjG4/s1600/leo+oliver+III.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7_g2diEU7XRHECvDuvqvvS9AXkqlttfSHThBptlm4QDXYcxHVTYPcNMlGWLjjB3RkjRWIyv0CMxh4ZI6Nevs_GRpAPBYLyX-vWScNgDG7Bt5pgAmnv0XCE3-n-5fNsK6ovmCD9BzjG4/s1600/leo+oliver+III.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Leo Oliver III, lead guitarist, in 1969.</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
All band members were minors, so their contract with Music Enterprises had to be signed for by their parents. A copy of this contract has survived and is reproduced below. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Boxes of unsold copies of "The Phycle" sat in the back room of Gold Star Studio for the next decade until Doug Hanners and David Shutt began picking through Meaux's old stock and discovered it. This resulted in the first of several reissues of "The Phycle" to a wider public, via <i>Texas Flashbacks</i> <i>Volume 6 </i>in 1982. Less attention has been paid "Complicated Mind," which is odd since many people believe it's the stronger side. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
No photographs of the band are known to exist, but portraits of three of the band members appear in Port Arthur area high school yearbooks between 1965 and 1969. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EZdog8-y-rtzj-qvHxXtlVvMiI8zPH0DPSAN1K-TSx9tapBtWp06qYOvZ962NopbMco1-9-EWMeaouwjBTmLV4QN7p5F_UMa0izJFVv_t2NkBPR2DY1Xqr_GAEvHkS4TC-AZvruRCvI/s1600/greig+gabourel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="457" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EZdog8-y-rtzj-qvHxXtlVvMiI8zPH0DPSAN1K-TSx9tapBtWp06qYOvZ962NopbMco1-9-EWMeaouwjBTmLV4QN7p5F_UMa0izJFVv_t2NkBPR2DY1Xqr_GAEvHkS4TC-AZvruRCvI/s320/greig+gabourel.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Lead vocalist Greig Gabourel in 1966. </b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Both songs have a menacing vibe and a downbeat atmosphere. "I'm on the brink of madness," moans Gabourel in "Complicated Mind." It's probable that a Jim Morrison influence is present in both the monotone vocal approach and the surreal lyrics, but to their credit, the band doesn't come across as mere Doors imitators. I've tried to decipher the lyrics as best I can below, but I'm not even going to attempt to figure out the chorus to "The Phycle." </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>"The Phycle" (Frank Jeffers-Greig Gabourel)</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I had this peace inside of me</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
That's lasted for a thousand years</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
It has survived</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
A million lives</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
And weathered through</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
A thousand tears</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
chorus -- ?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I had a love</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
And she had me</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
But now it's late for her</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
The time has come</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
The others watch me</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
As I clear</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
The webs away</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
And give them some</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Collecting all their eyes</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
But normal things</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Have gone somehow</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
and call "life is dead"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I rest in peace</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Along shores</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
For I return</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Another day</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
To see myself again</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
And the moonlight</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Greets and dies in me ...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBNbie_GRjfhH4jVSV6MWqs3jBoE_Ftmabyomfcb0pucHDgwK7zIGBQ9bPNfofiSvrQokTE_lBTJ49ZtC8kPB69dyxVsaZQU03NapkpVSkcowNAnU9560RTfL6To6QfKw95KDQs5SDfo/s1600/FrankJeffers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBNbie_GRjfhH4jVSV6MWqs3jBoE_Ftmabyomfcb0pucHDgwK7zIGBQ9bPNfofiSvrQokTE_lBTJ49ZtC8kPB69dyxVsaZQU03NapkpVSkcowNAnU9560RTfL6To6QfKw95KDQs5SDfo/s1600/FrankJeffers.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Frank Jeffers, rhythm guitarist and co-writer.</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>"Complicated Mind" (Frank Jeffers-Greig Gabourel)</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Look who's gonna break</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
A lot's at stake</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I'm on the brink of madness</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Complicated mind enraged</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Must be saved</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Brain's enslaved</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Nerves full of holes </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Complicated mind estranged</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
(chorus)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Unnecessary illness</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Dominates the will</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
-- of loneliness and time</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Insert in head</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Shake well</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
in two weeks</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Comes complicated mind</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Look who's gonna break</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
A lot's at stake</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I'm on the brink of madness</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Complicated mind enraged</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Circles in my head</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Cannot look ahead</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
What a groovy feeling</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Complicated mind estranged</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Unnecessary illness</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Dominates the will</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
-- of loneliness and time</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Insert in head</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Shake well</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
In two weeks</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Comes complicated mind</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cOHN3jkmVAE" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Below: Yesterday's Obsession contract with Music Enterprises, dated January 2, 1968. </b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0K_Z8yAkvkNtDrDe5W0Y1QdmSNx_J4ZCwflHRkYX4igflrI7-jYhEMbFKqY09okGqgs0d-F2uDG0h9BintQhN6afC2OnwflmSAAgjNhRqZgbTmZpAYXDQa8iIR6r_aRa75DoGBX78g4/s1600/Yesterdays+Obsession+contract.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1452" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0K_Z8yAkvkNtDrDe5W0Y1QdmSNx_J4ZCwflHRkYX4igflrI7-jYhEMbFKqY09okGqgs0d-F2uDG0h9BintQhN6afC2OnwflmSAAgjNhRqZgbTmZpAYXDQa8iIR6r_aRa75DoGBX78g4/s320/Yesterdays+Obsession+contract.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Below: Dance at the gymnasium of Stephen F. Austin High School in Port Acres during the 1967-68 school year. Music by Yesterday's Obsession???</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARrudmcFM1WNg8x1xY2_Plflo2utr7IyjBYrLAsrgpc23HBx74VMjyYjzl5kMcyiwbNnnhxeUM9a1qR54czDrv7Bmsts83Zv5l8mbjxDr6HueSucacmr5ghrHscrubC6QIr7yNc7sdWg/s1600/sfa+port+acres+high+school+dance.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="803" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARrudmcFM1WNg8x1xY2_Plflo2utr7IyjBYrLAsrgpc23HBx74VMjyYjzl5kMcyiwbNnnhxeUM9a1qR54czDrv7Bmsts83Zv5l8mbjxDr6HueSucacmr5ghrHscrubC6QIr7yNc7sdWg/s320/sfa+port+acres+high+school+dance.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-60681300729333360632011-12-28T20:34:00.000-08:002018-04-08T19:35:05.821-07:00Chaz and the Classics<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPhOqd8PwQKCbDb4kAy1vxXzRN1RTd4aVpk48fZCnP7jteFQ01ezSB_3IK-1ys11C6i56EztdfuqJtDUKYXfxWQCWdWcBAyJNdnumvx5he2HqO434wJMRQ6AsaRtztQ3czbrKxXc51xA/s1600/Chaz+Picture+6999.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691360710813954274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPhOqd8PwQKCbDb4kAy1vxXzRN1RTd4aVpk48fZCnP7jteFQ01ezSB_3IK-1ys11C6i56EztdfuqJtDUKYXfxWQCWdWcBAyJNdnumvx5he2HqO434wJMRQ6AsaRtztQ3czbrKxXc51xA/s400/Chaz+Picture+6999.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Chaz (And The Classics) - "Girl of the 13th Hour" <br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ggimbvFcy7s" width="560"></iframe>
One of the most unusual live gigs I ever attended was the Chaz Shinn/Coye Wilcox show at the Galena Park Recreation Center on Houston's East Side on October 12, 1992. There was nothing unusual about the performers or music. Chaz played country standards, Elvis's "That's All Right," and closed with "Jesus on the Mainline," to which the appreciative crowd clapped along with as if it were known by heart. (I'd never heard it before.) Coye Wilcox also played a solid set of C&W and bluegrass. What was unusual about it, then? When you only know performers by their old records, they fossilize in your mind -- I therefore was not surprised to hear Coye play country, because that's what his '50s records are, but I was taken aback by Chaz Shinn doing the same thing, since I only knew him from his late '60s garage-psych singles. To have them on the same bill therefore was a bit jarring at first glance, like advertising Sonny Burns and the Bubble Puppy together. Of course, I should've known better -- everybody in Texas eventually comes back to country music.<br />
<br />
Chaz and the Classics are not one of the better remembered '60s rock bands from Houston. In fact, had it not been for this 2:31 whirlwind of mayhem from 1967, they probably would not be known at all. That's a shame. "Girl of the 13th Hour" somehow missed "canonical" '60s status among collectors by being excluded from the early Texas comps (<span style="font-style: italic;">Flashback Vol. 1-6</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Acid Visions</span>), only making it to a wider public in 1984 via <span style="font-style: italic;">Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Vol. 11</span>. Original copies are rare and expensive today, but the song can now be accessed in a variety of formats including a YouTube video. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcFhCqecDKD8MlbL9ehcuH235blw_ulVkonRPt2Z4CB7f2Al20vtoZtTTjDazILYwQpqhXjDbwZtk1cCVWqVewqvZpTChYMoEBvLFU7L705E4_tRI_kjsl2k_CmNWeqIxqgP4M3wAvVk/s1600/Chaz+and+Classics+BC.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691360481576525666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcFhCqecDKD8MlbL9ehcuH235blw_ulVkonRPt2Z4CB7f2Al20vtoZtTTjDazILYwQpqhXjDbwZtk1cCVWqVewqvZpTChYMoEBvLFU7L705E4_tRI_kjsl2k_CmNWeqIxqgP4M3wAvVk/s400/Chaz+and+Classics+BC.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 243px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
If you think that "Chaz and the Classics" has a flashy but unmistakably early '60s ring to it (like "Kenny and the Kasuals"), you would be correct. The Classics were formed in 1964 and, as their early business card shows, they played not only rock 'n' roll but western and hootenanny (folk). The band clearly tried to cover all the bases for the working-class East Side greasers who didn't think it the least bit odd to have George Jones' "She Thinks I Still Care" and the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" played back-to-back in the same set. They were simply popular songs and in East/South Houston at least "pop music" included country. These were, after all, the same teenagers who had turned Frankie Miller's "Blackland Farmer" into a dance craze via Garner State Park and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Larry Kane Show. </span> <br />
<br />
"When I was a kid, I would write songs and use a small broom as my guitar," Charles "Chaz" Shinn (b. 1946) explained to me in 1992. "I fell in love with the thought of being a guitar player. I guess you can stem it back to Buddy Holly, Elvis, Chuck Berry … one of my favorites was Little Richard. When I was coming up in Junior High School, rock and roll was just getting started."<br />
<br />
The reigning bands on the East Side at the time were C.L. and the Pictures, the Jokers, and the Champagne Brothers. While these groups considered their music rock and roll (and even R&B), their records rely heavily on ballads, and even the uptempo sides were not very rocking. Fifties-style rock was passe, and the new models were Roy Orbison, Bobby Vee, Del Shannon, and the like. If they wanted to get really wild, they would throw in some current R&B from groups like the Olympics or the Miracles. <br />
<br />
Like many teenagers as well as all adults, Chaz was bewildered by the British Invasion. Winning a songwriting contest earned him a free ticket to perform at the 1964 Teen Fair of Texas, a huge two-week event at the Joe Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio (June 5-14), now only remembered for being the Rolling Stones' second appearance in the US. (Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas were also at the fair, but no one seems to remember them.) So the parents would have something to do, the promoters booked George Jones on the same gig. A "teen rodeo" and as well as chimpanzees and the "Fire Twirling Lounsbury Sisters" also appeared. This is the kind of booking that made sense in Texas at the time, but would later serve as surreal comedy in both Bill Wyman's and Keith Richards' autobiographies. (They assumed that this was just how live music always was in Texas.) Chaz witnessed the whole debacle. "They had George Jones up there singing country music for the old folks, and then they said, 'We have this brand new British group that’s never played in Texas.' And out comes these guys with real greasy-looking hair and raggedy clothes – terrible, terrible rags – and they played Beatle music. George Jones looked at them like they were dirt! Everybody out in the audience were all country music lovers. I thought to myself, 'How could anybody get anywhere in music looking like they did and singing Beatle music?' They didn’t even have original stuff at the time." The audience was confused. They didn't want to be impolite, but they hated the Rolling Stones' music. Being typical white people, they had no clue that what the Stones played wasn't "Beatle music," but merely covers of songs made by "negroes" in the United States. So they booed. <br />
<br />
Chaz's memory is telling. Photographs of the Rolling Stones exist from this date, and they are wearing vests and pressed slacks, not "terrible rags." He surely wasn't the only attendee who had projected his opinion of the Stones' music on their clothing as well. <br />
<br />
Not surprisingly, the Classics' first single displays zero English influence, as the titles give away immediately: "You Are the Answer to a Dream" and "Dreamboat Overseas." We would call these "teeners" in collector's parlance -- safe, light songs <span style="font-style: italic;">a la</span> Bobby Vee or somebody like that. Fitting for 1962, they were way out of date when they were recorded at ACA-Gold Star in July, 1965, and released on their own BCS label. (BCS = Boyd C. Shinn, Chaz's dad.)<br />
<br />
This was followed in late '66 by "Cindy (I’m A Soldier Now)" on Picture. This is another awkwardly outdated single, perhaps inspired by Sgt. Barry Sadler or similar major label pop muzak. The East Side greasers appreciated stuff like this, but increasingly fewer Houston teenagers did. Chaz blamed it on corrupt DJs. "This was at the time of payola," he said. "We were trying to keep it clean. We were doing it Presley style, where you’d just go into a radio station and say, 'Would you please play my record?' 'Cindy' was played for two weeks."<br />
<br />
Picture Records was a label that totally glommed onto the East Side aesthetic, releasing belated rockabilly by Sleepy LaBeef and blue-eyed soul from Gene Thomas and Richard Moreland. Chaz fit in perfectly. There were over 20 singles, but no hits, from Picture in the '60s and '70s. It was ran by a man named Marlon Machart.<br />
<br />
"Marlon Machart heard us recording at Gold Star," Chaz said. "He was a store manager at Grant’s 5 and 10 (department store). And he aspired to have a rock and roll group, but he didn’t want to be involved with the drugs. If he could come up with $500, he was going to cut a record. He was a gambler, musically. The Picture label was owned by a number of people. There was an Italian guy who had a lot of influence on Picture. Some people in the recording studio had an influence on Picture." But mostly it was Machart's baby. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTKnAI1GPAz2-V7advmtcprD9WkGnEFpaHc_GiKi_T-jXEtRpw4BXNK2WOUTueLMI1fNfNQ3CIpf6OX35SASX3lNDnDQtLIOBybzQ_X-rPNQ8aYnDsjayYXGjpkZqEl0fCadY-gLxevw/s1600/Chaz+Charles+Shinn+article+combined.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691362199545648594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTKnAI1GPAz2-V7advmtcprD9WkGnEFpaHc_GiKi_T-jXEtRpw4BXNK2WOUTueLMI1fNfNQ3CIpf6OX35SASX3lNDnDQtLIOBybzQ_X-rPNQ8aYnDsjayYXGjpkZqEl0fCadY-gLxevw/s400/Chaz+Charles+Shinn+article+combined.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 96px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Chaz in the Houston Chronicle, late 1966. Click to enlarge. Courtesy Glenn Pitts collection. </span><br />
<br />
Chaz was on the verge of becoming a casualty of the greaser resistance to the British Invasion when somebody gave him an album that forcefully yanked him into the present: <span style="font-style: italic;">The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators</span>. He was floored. Suddenly, he was trying to write lyrics like Tommy Hall and sing like Roky. Over time, he befriended Stacy Sutherland. <br />
<br />
"With Roky, you could know him, but he wouldn’t recognize you the next day," he remembered. "Roky didn’t want to talk a lot, but Stacy Sutherland did. We were friends. A friend of mine, John Guess, kind of milled around with all of the bands that were going into the IA Studio. He brought Stacy over and we talked at length one time. Man, I loved Tommy Hall’s lyrics." <br />
<br />
Thus, Chaz largely skipped the British Invasion but went directly into psychedelia, and "Girl of the 13th Hour" was born. Time was booked at Jones Sound Studio on January 6, 1967. This was around the same time that Neal Ford and the Fanatics did "Gonna Be My Girl" and the Outcasts laid down "1523 Blair" in the same room. The time was right: "I called up Marlon and said, 'I got a song that sounds like the13th Floor Elevators.'"<br />
<br />
Many garage and soul bands were attracted to Jones Sound in the late sixties, perhaps because of Jones himself. "Doyle Jones was a real honest engineer," Chaz said. "If you talked to him and said, 'Doyle, what do you think of this song?,' he’d rate it right on the spot. 'A' or 'B' or 'It’s not going to fly.' He’d tell you, even after you’d spent all of your money on it, and you were so happy about it, he’d just look at you and go, 'Chaz, you know, it ain’t gonna go.'"<br />
<br />
The weird noise overdubbed on the record? "I was trying to get a sound that had that same kind of electric jug. The jug that Tommy used sounded almost human. I wanted a 'human' sound that wasn’t his sound (i.e., a special effect on the record that wasn’t obviously electronic), but just as weird. And this guy who played organ with us for a short period got this comb and put a piece of tissue paper over it, and when he blew into the comb, it’d make this noise. He said, 'If I laid down and I started making this sound, and you started pounding me in the stomach real hard, how would that sound?' So we did it, and I said, 'That’s the sound I’m looking for.'" The X factor was this instrument, which Chaz jokingly dubbed the “psychecomb.” Tommy Hall would have appreciated it, I'm sure. The crashing sound at the beginning is the reverb unit of a Farfisa organ.<br />
<br />
"Doyle Jones just broke down laughing. I said, 'Doyle, how do you rate this song?' He said, 'Chaz, I don’t even know what I’d rate it. It leaves me completely dumbfounded. It might fly, and it might not.' And it didn’t fly." Though it received little or no airplay on KILT and KNUZ, "Girl of the 13th Hour" rates alongside similar efforts like the Heard's "Exit 9" and the Iguanas' "I Can Only Give You Everything" in the mini-genre of Elevators-inspired singles. <br />
<br />
Hey you! Girl of the 13th hour<br />
Once you reigned in vain<br />
Mention of your name<br />
In wealth and power<br />
<br />
Hey you! Girl of the 13th hour<br />
You kept on the run<br />
You kept having fun<br />
With the bad things you have done<br />
You've earned the name of the 13th hour<br />
<br />
Hey you! Girl of the 13th hour<br />
No longer lives in vain<br />
Only lives in shame<br />
And answers to the name:<br />
"The naughty girl of the 13th hour"<br />
<br />
Not exactly "Slip Inside This House," but fun nonetheless. <br />
<br />
Chaz still did not want to completely alienate his parents and the greasers, so the flipside "Stardust and You" is pure Bobby Vee. This time, a string section, rather than the psychecomb, was overdubbed. Just as the Rolling Stones/George Jones gig had made sense in the context of its time and place, so did pairing the 13th Floor Elevators with Bobby Vee here. <br />
<br />
So, too, did it seem perfectly normal to acquire a Catholic priest, Father Coffey, as a manager. The Classics were made up of kids who had attended Mount Carmel Catholic High (Chaz himself had gone to Lutheran High), and Mount Carmel's gymnasium had been a major spot for weekend teen dances for local bands since the '50s. Fever Tree recorded a live album there. <br />
<br />
Pie in the sky idealism wasn't the sole purview of hippies in the late sixties; religious authorities were also dreaming big. "Father Coffey's idea was for us to play at the Vatican," Chaz said, shaking his head at this memory. "To play rock and roll music at the Vatican. He was sending letters out to all these priests. He got to messing around with all these bands and everything, and he was a heavy drinker – he had strong religious convictions, but at the same time he was liberated. He was always being ostracized by the Catholics because of his association with psychedelic rock musicians. He was trying to get these religious leaders to accept this, and they wouldn’t accept it. Eventually, the man lost his mind. He was put into a mental hospital."<br />
<br />
By this time, Chaz and the Classics had succumbed to hipness and changed their name, first to the Syndromes, then to the Captr (combining the first letters of their names). As the Syndromes, they re-recorded "Girl of the 13th Hour" at Gold Star, something I only discovered 10 years after my interview with Chaz. It is a strong version, <span style="font-style: italic;">sans</span> the psychecomb, and may be reissued one of these days. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-j7PDlN4fPwU9mdhXgjlvgE75DM_H5oX9QTQ4-Z6Wuzq0GR1-VQwtT6DuHMbd-7cMq0Vo3_75J11ZerZk8TyR9a5GmygWqBFQXHIBfy0ChabELCDqxb_iCFCVebWYviCoZZ-h6gqINM/s1600/Chaz+and+Classics+Ballistics+lowres.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691360478964895874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-j7PDlN4fPwU9mdhXgjlvgE75DM_H5oX9QTQ4-Z6Wuzq0GR1-VQwtT6DuHMbd-7cMq0Vo3_75J11ZerZk8TyR9a5GmygWqBFQXHIBfy0ChabELCDqxb_iCFCVebWYviCoZZ-h6gqINM/s400/Chaz+and+Classics+Ballistics+lowres.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 276px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Chaz and the Classics as the Ballistics, Pasadena, Tx., c. 1968. Chaz standing in middle. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
One of the bands Father Coffey managed was the Ballistics. They had recorded a single but broke up before it came out. Chaz and the boys then became the Ballistics for awhile, not letting on that they weren't the group who made the record. (This was presumably "Please Come Home" on Jamie, the only single I can find credited to a group by that name. "Please Come Home" is the Sixpentz song.) It isn't known how long they maintained this ruse. <br />
<br />
The group had graduated to better gigs by 1968, though they were still remote from mainstream rock clubs like the Catacombs, and most Houston rock fans probably never saw them play. They played strange events like the "Youth For Decency" Rally at the Coliseum, and sometimes appeared with the Buddy Brock Orchestra. "We were playing places like the River Oaks Country Club," said Chaz. "Buddy and his orchestra would play, and while they took a break, Buddy would put us on. The first set would be mediocre stuff like the Turtles, slow stuff, but as it gradually went on it would get wilder and wilder. Towards the end of the night, we were doing full-fledged rock and roll, and there would be gray-haired people out there kicking ass (dancing)." <br />
<br />
Once again ... it made sense within the time and place. You just have to keep saying this when writing about Texas in the sixties. <br />
<br />
As the Captr, the band made two more singles, "Gentle Thursday" (not the Music Emporium song), a good garage/Farfisa mover, and "Forthcoming," a hard rock effort recorded at Jones Sound in late 1969. This was their final effort on vinyl I think, though there was one more session in 1971. By that time, the teen garage band era was most definitely dead and buried forever. <br />
<br />
I was sorry to learn recently that Chaz had died at age 60 on March 24, 2007. I regret not keeping in touch with him in his later years. He was an interesting guy. He apparently spent the intervening decades as a political cartoonist for the Pasadena newspaper, and playing the odd gig like the one I witnessed at the Galena Park Recreation Center. He had an Elvis-like persona. When I met him on a warm Sunday afternoon for our interview, he was wearing a leather jacket. I think he remained a serious Elvis fan not only through the late sixties, but well into the '80s and '90s. The East Side aesthetic had never left him, even right up to the end. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Below: The Captr at the "Youth For Decency Rally," front page of the Houston Chronicle, April 28, 1969. Click to enlarge.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNfM8eHA156G00VmmLMWqt17KiXk6gvoRGol8Ztxpt0RGlDrmiWT2x6kubrsE5smmunS1weYJaUJBpKxDnlpna2VzuGvl5YgXCIz3q4lEPzsHq9shJAXgE4vl-ly-juBfqqCMHFrrXKQ/s1600/Chaz+and+Classics+Chron+4-28-69+lores.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691360481517733602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNfM8eHA156G00VmmLMWqt17KiXk6gvoRGol8Ztxpt0RGlDrmiWT2x6kubrsE5smmunS1weYJaUJBpKxDnlpna2VzuGvl5YgXCIz3q4lEPzsHq9shJAXgE4vl-ly-juBfqqCMHFrrXKQ/s400/Chaz+and+Classics+Chron+4-28-69+lores.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 207px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Chaz and the Classics discography</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">July, 1965. ACA-Gold Star Studio.</span>Dreamboat Overseas/You Are the Answer to a Dream (BCS AG 6002/6003)<br />
(as The Classics – Vocal Solo: Chas.)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">October 15, 1966. Jones Sound Studio. </span>Cindy (I’m A Soldier Now)/Dream Boat Overseas (Picture 6995) 1966<br />
(as Chaz)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">January 6, 1967. Jones Sound Studio.</span>Girl Of The 13[th] Hour/Stardust And You (Picture 6999) released April, 1967<br />
(as Chaz and the Classics)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1967. Gold Star Studio.</span><br />
Girl of the 13th Hour/Gentle Thursday (unissued). <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">April 21, 1968. Jones Sound Studio. </span>Alice (In Wonderland) /Gentle Thursday (Picture 6981) <br />
(as Chaz – Music by: Captr)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">November 18, 1969. Jones Sound Studio. </span><br />
Forthcoming/Little Girl (Zac 1001)<br />
(as Chaz and the Captr)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-83493013199240496672011-09-18T15:03:00.002-07:002020-08-02T12:30:27.334-07:00Leo and the Prophets: From the Ozone Forest to the Cackle Factory<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nPJDLrGlUhoFFgJpFkixMrjmJsYBoSPae6jWGUWTcGNKwjOymJXGcaSMPGnOQfRKuMzcuXBWlLYlbL-YPLwUeWjIcqXDIRtAlLWB4aTtbyTq7doz_22n7IwOhl-AOr-wrc3wg-TjPYk/s1600/LeoProphets+lores.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302050147022434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nPJDLrGlUhoFFgJpFkixMrjmJsYBoSPae6jWGUWTcGNKwjOymJXGcaSMPGnOQfRKuMzcuXBWlLYlbL-YPLwUeWjIcqXDIRtAlLWB4aTtbyTq7doz_22n7IwOhl-AOr-wrc3wg-TjPYk/s400/LeoProphets+lores.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 364px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Leo and the Prophets at the Ozone Forest Club in Austin, July, 1967. Back L to R: Rod Haywood (bass), Bill Powell (drums), Dan Hickman (rhythm guitar). Front L to R: Travis Ellis (tambourine), Leo Ellis (vocals, lead guitar). Courtesy Doug Hanners Collection. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YPlhN62SWfM" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Leo and the Prophets were active on the Austin scene for little more than a year, but are well-known today for the supremely fun and quirky single "Tilt-A-Whirl" b/w "The Parking Meter," on the local Totem label. Recorded in less than three hours at Gold Star in Houston on April 9, 1967, the original 45 is now rare and expensive, but it has been reissued many times. A follow-up for Sonobeat never materialized. <br />
<br />
Leo Ellis was an older jazz guitarist/Svengali who decided to get in on the psychedelic action by recruiting a teenage group, J.C. and the Boys, to form the Prophets in about May of 1966. They played at the Lake Austin Inn, Swinger's Club, the Jade Room, and the usual places (including the State School for the Mentally Retarded) before starting their own club, the Ozone Forest, located at 3045 Guadalupe. The band had potential, but for reasons that remain obscure, Leo had a complete breakdown on stage during an important gig at the New Orleans Club one night, cussing out the band and audience in a drug and alcohol fueled rage, thus ending the brief life of the Prophets. <br />
<br />
I interviewed Dan Hickman (rhythm guitar), Rod Haywood (bass), and Bill Powell (drums) to get their memory of this extraordinary time in Austin music history. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">DAN HICKMAN</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">AB: How exactly did J.C. and the Boys come together?</span><br />
DH: Rod Haywood sat right behind me in class. The first day I went to Reagan High School, he asked me to come over to his house. He had the new Them album. He introduced me to “Gloria” and “Mystic Eyes.” I had been taking guitar lessons, and had been playing Ventures, and that sort of introductory guitar crap…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Was this late ’64, or…</span><br />
No, this was ’65. So, I had some experience with a guitar. Rod had none. So that was where it all came from. I essentially taught him how to play guitar chords over the phone. From there, we knew some other people at school who had musical equipment. Bill was one of those people. He lived just a few blocks away and had a drum kit. And then Mike McClary, who was a very rich kid, we met somehow or another. He had his shit together. He was a pretty good guitar player, and could sing, but more importantly, he looked exactly like Paul McCartney. That really helped us get gigs. He had two amps - a Fender Twin Reverb and a DeLuxe Reverb - and a couple of guitars. In those days, that was just amazing! And his dad, somehow or another, had a connection to the Jets, who were a real good R&B group that had been playing in East Austin for, I don’t know, 20 years. So, a couple of times, Mike took Rod and I to a guitar lesson he’d have with one of their guitar players. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven, ‘cause this was like the coolest thing ever. All of a sudden we were learning, you know, seventh chords, and minor seventh flat fives, and all this blues stuff. Up until then, we’d just been playing bar chords. <br />
<br />
So, that’s how J.C. and the Boys kind of…McClary had a garage, he had the equipment, so we’d show up at his garage and do our thing. It was that way for a long time. {Note: Late ’65 through Summer ’66.} We played a lot of private parties and what not. No live gigs…and there were times when we couldn’t play at McClary’s house, so we’d play at Bill Powell’s house. And that’s the first time I ever saw Leo. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Before we get into that, I wanted to ask you about the name -- J.C. and the Boys.</span><br />
Isn’t that weird? McClary seized upon religious bigotry. Just the whole religious scene he thought was ridiculous, hypocritical. So, the name was just a play on Jesus Christ and his disciples: “J.C. and the Boys.” Really, pretty risky. It was crazy. But nobody ever put it together. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">You wrote that you got kicked out of the house for what appears to be a rather frivolous reason…</span><br />
I was adopted by my grandparents. They were very strict, and were not going to put up with this nonsense. It may have seemed frivolous at the time, but I think they were making some sort of “tough love” stand…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Yes, but it resulted in you being homeless for the next few years of your life.</span><br />
They didn’t believe that I would do it. They felt like I would give in and come home with my tail twixt my legs, so to speak, and play by the rules. But I think they totally underestimated the mindset that was sweeping through America in those times. That whole thing was unbelievably powerful. I was taken by the whole rock and roll thing, and I knew that I would go to the wall to live it. And I did. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Even if it meant being homeless.</span><br />
Yeah. And when I say homeless - no permanent home for more than a month or two. Really, from some time in ’66 or ’67 up until sometime in ’71, I maybe lived in two dozen different places. The little college loan I had, it paid the tuition, it bought the books, but it wouldn’t allow me to live in a dorm on campus like most kids. I’d have to be in some dive off campus…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So how long did J.C. and the Boys play before Leo entered the picture?</span><br />
I think it was late summer ’66 that we hooked up with Leo. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Was it before school started?</span><br />
Yeah, I believe so. I don’t know how long Leo had been married to Marilyn. I didn’t even know Marilyn. She’d never been there when we’d practice at Bill’s house. But this one time, McClary was not there. He didn’t show, but his equipment was left there. We walked in and, all of a sudden, here’s all of this other equipment. And that was Leo’s. So we started playing some of the usual crap that we’d been playing. And he, really, had no originals. He just played his jazz stuff. And it was great, no question about it. He was ten times the musician we were. That’s kind of how it happened. We were desperate…<br />
<br />
There was a music store in town called J.R. Reed. It was the only music store in town. You could essentially take home an amplifier - not rent - as long as someone over 21 signed for it. You could take it home as though you were going to try it out to buy. We’d check ‘em out on Friday, go play somewhere, then take ‘em back on Saturday at lunchtime. We did that over and over again. It got more difficult as time went on to convince them that we were seriously interested. But they knew there was money in the bands, so they would cater to you as much as they could. All of a sudden, here’s Leo with equipment that doesn’t have to be checked in or out. It was just too good.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">You said that Leo had a career as a draftsman?</span><br />
Yeah. He was good, too. I actually went to his work a few times. They would bend over backwards to appease him, because not only was he good, he was real fast. He could do a day’s work in a half day. He did that by taking white crosses and smoking weed. But he absolutely hated it. All he did was bitch about work. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So, as you mention in your story, you believe Leo took over J.C. and the Boys “out of fear of losing his youth”?</span><br />
Oh, sure. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it seems pretty clear now. Maybe I’m wrong, but it sure seems that way. I think, first of all, he really wanted a break from playing jazz. And maybe he saw this as a chance to accomplish two things at once: to be with his wife, and play with a band, and not have her upset because the drummer in the band was her brother. <br />
<br />
And Darlette and Marilyn traveled with the band everywhere. They went to every gig. They wore white go-go boots and danced at the side of the stage at almost every performance. We were coming from that mod era. We were coming from that to a more hardline, I guess you could say psychedelic, era - (where there was) less dressing in go-go boots and matching outfits to more of a do your own thing with leather and all that.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeh9Jptd71bzR2mYrW4jsY6RnzQZQvposfLYy5TZTnRd_nd2Du76e43yqyUwNZT4i3AvtdNgvIolA6ToUI5fDXiDredXQhcePtg1ypSGBkWGoMKuu4UuWpGYUBfGFZCJYT37YGewBwbg/s1600/LeoProphetsZilker.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304808769371106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeh9Jptd71bzR2mYrW4jsY6RnzQZQvposfLYy5TZTnRd_nd2Du76e43yqyUwNZT4i3AvtdNgvIolA6ToUI5fDXiDredXQhcePtg1ypSGBkWGoMKuu4UuWpGYUBfGFZCJYT37YGewBwbg/s400/LeoProphetsZilker.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 146px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So Marilyn was very much involved, and yet Leo was still hitting on other girls…</span><br />
Constantly. It was so goddamn embarrassing. You’d be ready to go on for the next set and, invariably, Leo’s out back either getting high or screwing the club owner’s wife…and, I don’t know, we might have thought that if he ever got caught, that’d be the end of the band. But yes, he was a leaper and a bounder. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Yes, according to Rod, the sole reason Leo wanted to join the band was just for the girls.</span><br />
Oh, absolutely! Take it from me, it wasn’t because of our musicianship. Plus he had this real insatiable appetite for drugs. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Tell me about playing at the Living Eye club in Houston. </span><br />
Man, that place was packed. It was literally wall-to-wall people. I think we had dropped acid a day or so before we played, and by the time we took the stage, I was having unbelievable flashbacks. I’d just phase out in the middle of a song. And it was unusual in ’67 - other than Hendrix - for musicians to fall to the floor with their guitars. I ended up doing it that day, not to imitate Hendrix or anything, (but) because I was having such a flashback that I literally could not stand. I was in the middle of a solo when it hit, and I had to go to my knees to keep from passing out.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">And the crowd loved it…</span><br />
They did…that’s when I kind of snapped back out of it. The first thing I looked at was the crowd, and they were cheering and applauding. There was a dance that was real popular back then called the Gator…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Oh yes, the Alligator.</span><br />
People would actually get down like gators. So, maybe that was the motivation for some of the crowd dropping on the floor just like I did. I looked over real quick to Leo, and sure enough, he was down there on the stage, like a dog on it’s back, playing his guitar. It was just so crazy. It was probably some sort of soul song, like “Mustang Sally,” ‘cause that would tie in with that dance. And I remember Rod, as always, just laughing his as off while he was playing - looking at all of these fools on the ground, including the audience. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgFb2GNBubT0t0h-lMnkpC-aHXli7LLx57NtDNObgU4wRIqUBL1UzdpvN1NYVaW5foOrhB2v3f2_sPIcf746B1i83n3jxceuFzcc9egBzk1Z1GzaUiwxZmDW1jdofe1nm-uQeIoU4GkU/s1600/May19%252C67.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="376" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgFb2GNBubT0t0h-lMnkpC-aHXli7LLx57NtDNObgU4wRIqUBL1UzdpvN1NYVaW5foOrhB2v3f2_sPIcf746B1i83n3jxceuFzcc9egBzk1Z1GzaUiwxZmDW1jdofe1nm-uQeIoU4GkU/s320/May19%252C67.png" width="253" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>May 19, 1967 (Austin American-Statesman).</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">What were your first impressions of the Elevators?</span><br />
I was totally taken with their lyrics. To this day, I have yet to hear another band with as much metaphysical influence as them. I think the first time I saw the Elevators was at the New Orleans club. The thing that blew me away the most is that, we were all trying to acquire the equipment that resembled all the stuff that you would see on television, that all the big bands would have. Walls and stacks of amps, and all that - as well as the really chic, trendy clothes. The Elevators were a complete 180 (from that). It was the first time I’d seen anything like that. We’re talking Alamo amps…we’re talking an old PA system like you’d see at a school auditorium. Maybe the whole cabinet had been taken off, and they’d just nailed it down to some plywood. That would sit on top of this old, beat-to-hell Alamo amp. And, instead of the cords being routed to the back of the stage where you couldn’t see them, they might just have a bird’s nest of cords laying there on the stage.<br />
<br />
They played some of the shittiest looking equipment. None of it matched. It looked like it had come out of a pawn shop - and I guess it did. And yet, they were able to get such a mesmerizing, hypnotic tone, and such a drive - almost a primitive drone - coming out of that rag-tag junk. <br />
<br />
Plus their decorum. They were wearing these boots - not cowboy boots, but a kind of workman’s boots, the kind that you’d stick your jeans in as opposed to pulling your jeans over to look very polished. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Well, the very notion of wearing jeans on stage in 1966 was unheard of…</span><br />
Exactly. It became evident, at least in my mind, that the message was much more important than the visuals. So, it was a total rejection of everything we had seen and aspired to, and the music got me, the image got me, that equipment just totally blew my mind. <br />
<br />
Plus, we’d seen Roky play with his group the Spades a couple of times, at the Jade Room, or maybe Club Saracen on San Jacinto - which was nowhere near the Elevators. They were really very “pop” and similar to most of the bands that were playing in those days. Roky was really a different player then. Very pure. <br />
<br />
But those bastards, let me tell you, they were hounded to absolute death by the Austin Police Department. I mean, they could not get a moment anywhere, period. It was sad. It did ‘em in. But I love all that metaphysical claptrap from Tommy Hall. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Did you ever meet them, or hang out with them?</span><br />
They were totally unapproachable. I don’t think you could’ve gotten a straight answer from any of ‘em if you’d tried. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Did the Prophets play frat parties at all?</span><br />
A few. There were not many. We tended to play more psychedelic tunes and less soul tunes, and soul music was what they wanted to hear at frats. They wanted to drink and listen to Sam and Dave. But I do remember that when you played a frat gig, you could make $500 a night. That’s pretty amazing. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNcLnki2CSngSzXKNs3caRuyCNbYwreRZVy6x85LcJePVEHF0vTf2e6g00KJnOXboGEk9SjRXSqoxWZJqsabUKEDRHcbgXBcL5fyuSaXtaZdEK10WL2mBHVftjvybxaRgDVjzcuAa55Hs/s1600/LeoProphets+Ozone+Forest+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302062407375282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNcLnki2CSngSzXKNs3caRuyCNbYwreRZVy6x85LcJePVEHF0vTf2e6g00KJnOXboGEk9SjRXSqoxWZJqsabUKEDRHcbgXBcL5fyuSaXtaZdEK10WL2mBHVftjvybxaRgDVjzcuAa55Hs/s400/LeoProphets+Ozone+Forest+2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 328px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Travis Ellis, Bill Powell, and Leo Ellis at the Ozone Forest, 1967. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">What other local bands did you like?</span><br />
The Baby Cakes were huge, because they imitated the Byrds. They did the Byrds’ things, with the Rickenbackers and Vox amps and all that. The Wig had this wonderful guitar player who, in my opinion, was easily the best guitarist of that whole time, Johnny Richardson. He was so good, it was scary. But he was the kind of person that did not want fame. He just walked away from it. <br />
<br />
Jim Mings was another sensational guitar player and writer. Jim Mings and the Six Pack was a really good soul and funk band. They reformed several times, and several names went with that band. {Mings later had a band w/Danny Galindo called New Atlantis, and also played with the South Canadian Overflow.} Tim Lively and the Profits got lots of frat gigs. Why, I’m not really sure, but I think that’s how the name “Profits” came about.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">And they only adopted that name after you guys had started playing?</span><br />
I don’t know that for a fact, but isn’t it an incredible coincidence? Whether Leo did it afterwards, or they did it first…I do know that Leo was constantly carrying The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. He would quote from it; read from it to anyone who would listen. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Rod seems to think that Leo’s jazz trio was called the Prophets.</span><br />
It may be…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">…and that he, Leo, got Rod to play in that band for a gig or two before taking over J.C. and the Boys.</span><br />
It could have played out that way, for sure. I do remember Rod, when we were getting this info together for Hans, telling me that he was playing with the Walter Hutchinson Trio. Whether or not Walter left, say, and Leo called it Leo and the Prophets, and Walter then went to Tim Lively and the Profits, I don’t know. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">How did you get the gig at the home for the mentally retarded? Was that a circuit for bands, or just a one-time deal?</span><br />
I couldn’t tell you. Leo booked everything. He hated Charlie Hatchett, but everyone had to use Hatchett, he was the only agent in town. As a band, you tried to play anything and everything. There was the Austin Parks Dept., that would pay you for various events you would play at Zilker Park, or other parks. This was something that came up routinely for a lot of different bands, to play events at those state and city (functions), where they had money allocated for entertainment. Leo never discussed any of that (booking). I just showed up, got stoned, and did my thing. At the time, it seemed okay. <br />
<br />
This place was like a gymnasium, but a very large gymnasium. There were more than those particular (mentally retarded) people. There were all of the attendants that had to watch them, as well as the administration. And I guess to get more bang for their buck, they had bused in some kids from the home for the hearing and blind, which was less than a mile away. This was right around Bull Creek, where all of those state schools are located. <br />
<br />
I don’t think we had thought much about it until we had taken the stage and actually looked out there and saw what we saw. And it was quite unnerving. (Laughs) You know, you’ve got guys that are trying to undress, guys with their tongues hanging out…it shook you up, especially if you were stoned, and looked at all of this. Initially. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">But then you “got into it”…</span><br />
We got into it, and they really got into it. It was scary to start with, but then it actually became fun. I don’t believe, other than a few of those auditorium gigs, that we ever played to a larger crowd. And I don’t think we ever played to a more appreciative crowd. (Laughs) On what level they appreciated it, I’m not sure. Probably some primitive level, like most people. I think we were only there for an hour or so. You can only keep that much craziness under control for a short period of time. <br />
<br />
That was probably early on, because at that time Leo had us dressing very modish. And then Marilyn and Darlette with the go-go boots…so it might have appeared, from a distance, that this was a very English, mod group. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtos2m0Je_78yx7EBTuHgs9AQOnWC6NSWzWvyuSCLptrSm3IzP1R_wXvW3pEoVlbeP4ly-dJZ_MEBx0x4XQqPMbvfVOBtvRJZGWsSimMfNdeimlJphSrl5axNtXbcmpnuJ8N7U7L2ohgI/s1600/LeoProphetsMatamoros193.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304613220390178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtos2m0Je_78yx7EBTuHgs9AQOnWC6NSWzWvyuSCLptrSm3IzP1R_wXvW3pEoVlbeP4ly-dJZ_MEBx0x4XQqPMbvfVOBtvRJZGWsSimMfNdeimlJphSrl5axNtXbcmpnuJ8N7U7L2ohgI/s400/LeoProphetsMatamoros193.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 362px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Leo and the Prophets with girlfriends in Matamoros, Mexico. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">You played the Aqua Festival Battle of the Bands, didn't you?</span><br />
I believe the Austin Aqua Festival’s first year was 1966. I know I played two of ‘em. I remember that I played one of ‘em with Leo, maybe two. I don’t know if they finally cancelled the Aqua Festival or not. I know it’s been going on for 30 or 40 years. You showed up and played…if you were lucky, you won. They did a first, second, and third place. It was probably a trophy or something. The crazy thing about it was, the Doris Miller Auditorium was touted as being the most acoustically perfect building in the Southwest. And it was exactly the opposite of that. The basement, where we actually played one time, was infinitely better. The auditorium itself was this huge, rambling sea of unusual shapes and concrete that could somehow suck your tone up and spit it back to you a good second-and-a-half later.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJD6GqkZHbiwqgtQjlF5WctTly9_z1z06rLfYVmYpXGQHqrbUBj8gHFnENvMsOg1V897AF6tfYG9kY0zFuAKL9923F5NQR2WD4eX30ksfxdfI85hSY5kbaaXoqmuKVRAimOXopJZYfvsQ/s1600/LeoProphets+BandBattle.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625301440816172050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJD6GqkZHbiwqgtQjlF5WctTly9_z1z06rLfYVmYpXGQHqrbUBj8gHFnENvMsOg1V897AF6tfYG9kY0zFuAKL9923F5NQR2WD4eX30ksfxdfI85hSY5kbaaXoqmuKVRAimOXopJZYfvsQ/s400/LeoProphets+BandBattle.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 184px;" /></a><br />
<br />
In those days, I don’t recall ever seeing anybody with a monitor…ever. Without monitors, it was a tough gig to play. You couldn’t hear yourself until after the fact, so you’d have to play by memory. <br />
<br />
We were up against some tough competition. John Stahaley, who played with a group called Shepherd’s Bush, was a very hot guitar player. They were easily one of the better bands because of him. Todd Potter was just a spectacular musician. He was the first player I ever knew that played a Gretsch White Falcon. He played in a variety of different groups…I want to say the Strawberry Statement? {The Strawberry Shoemaker.} They were another group that would regularly finish high at the Battle of Bands, if not win it. I also remember being on stage in Leo and the Prophets with Eric Johnson opposite us. And he just totally destroyed us. He was doing some Jeff Beck stuff…I believe he was playing “Jeff’s Boogie,” and it was almost note-for-note. It made us look foolish!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwD8AM1ifsGZk5RHo4ZIxGWCWRCLcHn81igKI_ziQaKxzu_en4pwLPceIpEVJRcoqMYh25vb9kR3CPZ0ukxbImI5VwZtrI7xa5u7Z9EThKJOFwXPzxpwkMpANqHoKvQymYbdAnBj4JBM/s1600/LeoProphets+Jade.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302049485417554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwD8AM1ifsGZk5RHo4ZIxGWCWRCLcHn81igKI_ziQaKxzu_en4pwLPceIpEVJRcoqMYh25vb9kR3CPZ0ukxbImI5VwZtrI7xa5u7Z9EThKJOFwXPzxpwkMpANqHoKvQymYbdAnBj4JBM/s400/LeoProphets+Jade.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 325px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>The In Place for the In Crowd -- the Jade Room. May 23, 1967 (Austin American-Statesman).</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">What did Travis Ellis do?</span><br />
Travis was the guy who showed up in the little Renault Dauphine. Leo painted that thing psychedelic, just like the club. And he wrote - we were getting a lot of hassle about drugs, like the Elevators - he wrote, “Leo and the Prophets - Psychedelic Music Without The Use Of Drugs.” Travis or I would drive that little Renault to a lot of the gigs, and park it right out front as advertising. <br />
<br />
Travis died in the late sixties or early seventies. He was a diabetic. He was a nice guy…no musical ability, but he could at least play tambourine in time. He had a good leveling attitude, and he could calm Leo down. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqWYoLxbsuHiU05gdagOYiNyNyl9nu9X2kzsye89lHPeI6wbGMLM4aOi1O9XtowlTRwGiKR1QvTBFMdJXdulx_abElQOXJyjXtRu0TASqWByyaM8fgf5HUx6B2w1GXphE5uxQxObcyUg/s1600/LeoProphets+Ozone+Opening.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302705342518130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqWYoLxbsuHiU05gdagOYiNyNyl9nu9X2kzsye89lHPeI6wbGMLM4aOi1O9XtowlTRwGiKR1QvTBFMdJXdulx_abElQOXJyjXtRu0TASqWByyaM8fgf5HUx6B2w1GXphE5uxQxObcyUg/s400/LeoProphets+Ozone+Opening.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 342px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Grand opening of the Ozone Forest Club, July 21, 1967 (Austin American-Statesman).</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">How did the record come about? </span><br />
Leo said, “We’re going to write a couple of psychedelic tunes.” We went to his home on a Sunday, ate steaks, and wrote the two songs that Sunday. And shortly after that, we were on our way to Gold Star to record.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So you hadn’t been performing those songs very long prior to recording them?</span><br />
Not very long…I would guess a dozen performances, maybe more. By the time we got to Gold Star, we knew ‘em backwards and forwards.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">What was the inspiration behind “The Parking Meter”?</span><br />
In those times, I was living hand-to-mouth. With my long hair, I got called “animal” a lot of times. Getting rejected by the common man…I didn’t have a regular place, I didn’t dress all that well, had long hair, no car, and walked everywhere. I was kind of viewing society as though I were taken for granted. Something that everybody passed by and no one paid any attention to. And yet, once I had something to offer, i.e. playing in a band, all of a sudden people are paying money to watch me. I play my three-and-a-half, four hours, then I’m done, and I go back to my “world of solitude.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmhDC0spIKnph_GI0K2_r4jnjsihWc7g1FyQLgf3DipQEkTDRJpbMIf5f2wLR-jqWSyXbbeeCDNujNkoxmuuo6tc8IVPPxVyOdg8VBbjcWNZry0qA-VjLMhrYMkV3pcQbyh64TcRA91s/s1600/LeoProphetsTotem105a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304676592744514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmhDC0spIKnph_GI0K2_r4jnjsihWc7g1FyQLgf3DipQEkTDRJpbMIf5f2wLR-jqWSyXbbeeCDNujNkoxmuuo6tc8IVPPxVyOdg8VBbjcWNZry0qA-VjLMhrYMkV3pcQbyh64TcRA91s/s400/LeoProphetsTotem105a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 395px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDLJY2eF5eynq-ECvWk3DJo3rmokabJFkTl_mh1jCdIz0uNrEFtbd1SjA-8Mzg9_L8jcGYkZyAj7kSHK7UKWTRHnsSImq_NqWLc99NJwI27vn7nwsPjJxDZN1rzhrs9fjFDlkksMmV0o/s1600/LeoProphetsTotem+105b.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304672504378370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDLJY2eF5eynq-ECvWk3DJo3rmokabJFkTl_mh1jCdIz0uNrEFtbd1SjA-8Mzg9_L8jcGYkZyAj7kSHK7UKWTRHnsSImq_NqWLc99NJwI27vn7nwsPjJxDZN1rzhrs9fjFDlkksMmV0o/s400/LeoProphetsTotem+105b.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 386px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So it was analogous to your life, then?</span><br />
Yeah…or anyone’s life, really. The most prolific writing in my life was from ’65 to ’70. I literally had dozens of songs I wrote with J.C. and the Boys, and another little spin-off group Rod, Bill and I had called Bluefield Dairy. <br />
<br />
We’d heard Leo sing it (“The Parking Meter”), and he couldn’t sing it straight-faced. So, I got the nod. In performance, we did trade off vocals a lot. <br />
<br />
Leo, frankly, just did not have a handle for rock and roll. And it wasn’t like I was Jeff Beck. But at least I knew what to try to do, or the tone to go for. Because in those days, as (sarcastically) “rebellious as we were,” and our audiences were, they really wanted to hear people play songs that kind of sounded like the records - as opposed to taking long flights of fancy, which really didn’t happen until, really, about the time Leo and the Prophets folded up. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So, the record never received any airplay?</span><br />
No, unfortunately. It was crazy because the Spades had gotten their record on there (KNOW), and the Wig had “Drivin’” (i.e., “Drive It Home”), the Baby Cakes had a single…so the fact that we couldn’t get on there absolutely crushed me. Because I wanted all my school friends to say, “Wow, look at them, they’re on the radio.”<br />
<br />
KNOW was the only pop station in Austin. KAZZ, the jazz thing, really didn’t come about until later, and then that part of their format (pop music) was only on late at night. Hell, a lot of people didn’t even have an FM radio. Only mom and dad could afford one. <br />
<br />
The fact that it got banned actually did more for the record probably than if it had been played. Word of mouth spread. So where we’d been playing gigs where maybe 50 people showed up, all of a sudden, there were twice as many people. Just to see. Just to hear the song for themselves. <br />
<br />
The attitudes of Texans in those years were some of the only moments in my life that I’d been proud to be an American. I’m serious. Because I saw cowboys who had nothing better to do than beat people up totally transformed to become kind and gentle creatures. And I knew that there was hope for those people. And yet, after awhile, even that went away.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixU14BWY_yHrcycQmcEuUAHdQ6e7_y166Ku77GDXLwYpw5VeK9AfbbNIU3M8zYrJzLUrK4tQVVTEB_VJj4s_Lor5NXdnTpQcDPytS6U916w1tHDEHGnbhq0L1rCZXQuiZq6EcbOS75OaE/s1600/LeoProphetsDunesPtAransas.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304032381494674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixU14BWY_yHrcycQmcEuUAHdQ6e7_y166Ku77GDXLwYpw5VeK9AfbbNIU3M8zYrJzLUrK4tQVVTEB_VJj4s_Lor5NXdnTpQcDPytS6U916w1tHDEHGnbhq0L1rCZXQuiZq6EcbOS75OaE/s400/LeoProphetsDunesPtAransas.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Leo and the Prophets at the Dunes Club, Port Aransas, 1967. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">What was the story of the Prophets’ confrontation with rednecks in some small town…</span><br />
What a hoot…we stopped, I believe, in Lampasas {Sinton according to Bill}…we were tired, it was hot, we looked bad, we smelled bad, we were hungry. We couldn’t make it to Austin, so we go in this little roadside restaurant. You could’ve heard a pin drop when we walked in. All of the regular patrons just kind of stopped in mid-fork to look at what’s walking in. This place had two large tables that would seat 12 people in the middle, and the usual booths and tables around that. One table had all these good ol’ boys in their country shirts and hats having a good ol’ time. We walk in, and there’s really no way we can all get into two or three booths. (We had the five members of the band, plus all the girlfriends, plus a few roadies and their girlfriends.) So, it was a crowd. So, we take the table next to the good ol’ boys. On the walls there were literally dozens of mounted heads of all kinds. It was amazing. The food, it seemed like, was taking forever. I don’t know if they were trying to tell us we’re not going to serve you, or whatever. So, we started making noises like the various animals on the wall…which did not help our situation at all. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the guys next to us are getting more and more upset with our attitude, and the way we look. The last thing I wanted to do was fight. I just wanted to eat and get the hell out of there. I think everyone else felt the same way. <br />
<br />
We finally get food, we eat, and it comes time to leave. Leo always paid the check. So, as we get up to go, what does Leo do? Well, he’s had enough of these old boys putting us down. He walks right over to the biggest, meanest, baddest, ugliest one of all, plucks the hat off his head, puts it on his head, slams both of his hands down the table - tableware and glassware all go flying - and says, (loudly) “I’m Leo Ellis, these are the Prophets…now, who the hell are you?”<br />
<br />
I’m telling you…our eyes got as big as their eyes. We were in shock. We just knew that things were going to explode, so we got the hell out of there. We were in the station wagon, locking the doors…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">You weren’t about to rally to Leo’s aid…</span><br />
Oh, hell, no! Are you crazy? But, sure enough, he comes out of there a few minutes later with a toothpick, laughing, not a bruise on him. He said, “Oh, you just gotta explain it to ‘em, they just didn’t understand.” It was a typical Leo situation. Always confrontational. The only thing you could be sure of was that he would be confrontational and unpredictable. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYkUKwqW8A30toFrlVH4ZRs924HSFoeemA3Oxi7M54fewOO5HFP1Y9HLyNsG2mX3xCJ061Qck1I4pWZmAgi-Y0B9bKfo__c8-WMB2qap6xDhEu6VrIktGmmcTbciTS8Ggbe4rb97JRc98/s1600/July13%252C66.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYkUKwqW8A30toFrlVH4ZRs924HSFoeemA3Oxi7M54fewOO5HFP1Y9HLyNsG2mX3xCJ061Qck1I4pWZmAgi-Y0B9bKfo__c8-WMB2qap6xDhEu6VrIktGmmcTbciTS8Ggbe4rb97JRc98/s320/July13%252C66.png" width="220" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>A typical week in Austin in 1966: Roky and the Elevators at the Jade Room, Lightnin' Hopkins at the 11th Door, and Leo and the Prophets at Swinger's (Austin American-Statesman, July 13, 1966). </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Were there many other times when you had run-ins with rednecks?</span><br />
Oh, absolutely. At the Ozone Forest, it happened all the time. They’d come in from these little country towns outside of Austin. They’d get all liquored up and come into town. Of course, Ozone Forest, right there on the drag, was real convenient. <br />
<br />
It was a fairly small club, I’m guessing about 40 feet wide by 80 feet long. There were always a lot of people outside the club, on the sidewalk. That’s where a lot of the hassle would happen. It almost seemed like it was orchestrated at times. It seemed like the cops would never get there until after the situation had already happened. People got tired of it. Many times, innocent people would get involved in situations.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNrxHMo86JM4gVcnNKQl-AfbpZdDCREa5XY3YCLJd8G6_P4dNBEPG_kx-Qx25vKawX4vTTM29teacvReF5h-rMUlNE1Gr5_MjzGEy_kF_X1Io_v413fXANRAIfHwCYAPsOyXaApAd5uA/s1600/LeoProphetsDannyHickman.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304023270452658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNrxHMo86JM4gVcnNKQl-AfbpZdDCREa5XY3YCLJd8G6_P4dNBEPG_kx-Qx25vKawX4vTTM29teacvReF5h-rMUlNE1Gr5_MjzGEy_kF_X1Io_v413fXANRAIfHwCYAPsOyXaApAd5uA/s400/LeoProphetsDannyHickman.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 393px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Dan Hickman at the Ozone Forest, 1967.</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">How long was the club open, approximately?</span><br />
It wasn’t long, maybe three or four months. It was packed. We had good crowds on the weekends, and average crowds during the week. We carried bands there as often as we could. That’s when we had these really forgettable…(Laughs) We had this one group that I’d talked Leo into booking. In this group, everybody wore a black glove on one hand.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The Music Machine?</span><br />
Well…they were imitating the Music Machine. (Laughs) You know, when you get around to imitating the Music Machine, you’re definitely a Tuesday night act. So that’s what we’d have during the week, and then we’d have the better Austin bands on the weekend. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm3mUbZDqvZYoTXnNW8hrfcttkbQ6tSQqUFMQ5x9bSgIYdRZgp5bYM2FU9eZp0xsY2C6-UPnBFxGQpMqB9E3JJ8YYKMbHuhBy-8s1auexz-uNs-TExWelpCJgVXN2AQpaO2MJhEOAvE4/s1600/LeoProphets+ReasonsWhy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625303222249568354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm3mUbZDqvZYoTXnNW8hrfcttkbQ6tSQqUFMQ5x9bSgIYdRZgp5bYM2FU9eZp0xsY2C6-UPnBFxGQpMqB9E3JJ8YYKMbHuhBy-8s1auexz-uNs-TExWelpCJgVXN2AQpaO2MJhEOAvE4/s400/LeoProphets+ReasonsWhy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 312px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The Reasons Why of "Don't Be That Way" fame appearing at the Ozone Forest, 1967.</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">How did the Sonobeat single come about?</span><br />
Somebody Leo knew also knew Rim Kelley. I know that Kelley played “Tilt-A-Whirl” and “The Parking Meter.”<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Oh, he played the record?</span><br />
He played it late at night on KAZZ. At the same time, I think Kelley must have realized that there were a lot of bands out there that he could record with his little label. He was recording anybody and everybody. I went to his dad’s (Bill Josey’s) house in Balcones. The basement was loaded with state of the art recording equipment, as well as a variety of old Fender amps. They knew what to record with. It was real tiny. But we went down there and recorded. And then, supposedly, they recorded us at LAI. I do remember the time they recorded us at Swinger’s. There were no PAs or boards or any of that crap. They recorded a lot of bands that day. We recorded onto a two track, possibly four track. The Elevators were there; I don’t know if they recorded ‘em. Todd Potter’s band was there…we had our time there. Leo was out in the parking lot with whoever (female) was available. <br />
<br />
I know that we had written “Ozone Forest” and were playing it on a regular basis. They recorded it three times. And I think they did retakes of “Tilt-A-Whirl” and “Parking Meter,” as well as a couple of originals Rod and I had written…when they recorded, they would do a whole set. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-uq8FW-LQSU1nEwwvKOakJXa1Uzk6aE-WxIHBRfvxTD5qqo4DLO7ZcoE9C_-zzcNiOUnio2fyIdSRKlgoSLKdJ6EN0Q1wy9hEX-1iuIJh2XM7I-Qz3pTpjMX3jBWxpjkMK2R_Root0A/s1600/LeoProphets+Hickman+LAI.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625301451781646706" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-uq8FW-LQSU1nEwwvKOakJXa1Uzk6aE-WxIHBRfvxTD5qqo4DLO7ZcoE9C_-zzcNiOUnio2fyIdSRKlgoSLKdJ6EN0Q1wy9hEX-1iuIJh2XM7I-Qz3pTpjMX3jBWxpjkMK2R_Root0A/s400/LeoProphets+Hickman+LAI.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 392px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Dan Hickman at the Lake Austin Inn.</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">So, it was your understanding that the Sonobeat recordings were going to be released as a single?</span><br />
Yep…going to be released as a single. We had a B-side that wasn’t good enough, so we were trying to come up with the B-side, but could never find the time. We played constantly. There was no time to rehearse or write. So maybe that was the reason it fell by the wayside: we could never come up with a B-side. I tend not to think so. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Tell me about that last gig at the New Orleans Club…you guys had never played there?</span><br />
No, and we’d always wanted to, probably because of the Elevators’ influence, and for the fact that the better Austin bands tended to get booked there on Friday and Saturday nights. That was really before the Vulcan Gas Company. The New Orleans was a much bigger club. <br />
<br />
The crazy thing about it is, I don’t remember Leo ever doing a lot of drinking. I know he always had a bottle of Schlitz, but I don’t recall him drinking beer after beer…with Leo, it was always weed and speed. That night, he started the insults rights away. It was (directed at) nobody in particular. He would just change a song, whatever it would be, and sing, “You fucking asshole.” And be singing it in a pretty voice, y’know. A lot of people wouldn’t realize it. Then he’d sing it a little louder the next pass through, and eventually, people began to take notice. And in those days, those were fighting words. So that’s what it escalated to. I believe that particular night, he’d had too much of everything. Who the hell knows. It could’ve been any number of things, and probably would’ve happened eventually anyway…but what a place for it to start. Because we had worked so hard, it seemed like, to get to that point. <br />
<br />
(During the first break) Leo just came walking down the steps with his amp and guitar, put it in the trunk, and left. That was it. I don’t even remember him saying, “I quit.” I believe he did, but I don’t even remember that. He just left! And we were looking at each other like, “Oh, that’s great. Now what are we gonna do?”<br />
<br />
So, we had to throw out the Leo and the Prophets repertoire, and went back to J.C. and the Boys. We finished the next three sets, and that was it. I think we all thought that he would come back during the last set or something…<br />
<br />
I think that we all had been pretty much beaten down by Leo so much…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">…that you just didn’t want to play anymore?</span><br />
Exactly right. It was such a psychological beating…we were all burned out. Rod and I continued to noodle here and there, but everyone kind of went their separate ways. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Were you guys still in high school at this point? </span><br />
They (Bill and Rod) graduated in ’68. I was a year ahead of them. I ended up getting a GED. I left midway through the 11th grade.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">And two years later, Leo suddenly reappears.</span><br />
Yeah. I had blocked that out, or forgotten about it. I didn’t have a guitar; I didn’t have anything. I had just started college. Leo shows up with this Kay upright bass. He traded a Kustom amp head at J.R. Reed’s, even, for the bass. He shows up at this little room I had rented -- it actually had an old record player - he shows up with half-a-dozen jazz records and this bass and says, “Learn this.” I tried. It made my fingers bleed.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Did you ask him where he’d been or what he’d been doing the preceding two years?</span><br />
No. I didn’t want to know. About a week later, he shows up and says, “We’ve gotta go play here tonight, so let’s get loaded and go.” For some reason, I remember Bill being the drummer at that gig. It didn’t happen long…one or two, maybe three nights at the most.<br />
<br />
He was doing exactly the same thing. I just couldn’t believe it. I remember somehow or another getting the bass and records into his car, and I disappeared from the planet as far as he was concerned. I’d had enough. He cleaned me out of what little weed I had. To Leo, anyone and everyone was fair game. I couldn’t see myself going down that same road again. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOdOwMzJuxmqYXGyPavN_doEW8WAjeWTwAy5arIqMulB6BTt4MSfQ4RWW0gDBpUZqqMhycGq4yCob3mKPCQUb1Kpzm9qI9TYUnZXAAVk-h2pTKsAXfF7nJ5X1lezyqLmrCfxaWfSt8q0/s1600/Nov8%252C1969.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOdOwMzJuxmqYXGyPavN_doEW8WAjeWTwAy5arIqMulB6BTt4MSfQ4RWW0gDBpUZqqMhycGq4yCob3mKPCQUb1Kpzm9qI9TYUnZXAAVk-h2pTKsAXfF7nJ5X1lezyqLmrCfxaWfSt8q0/s320/Nov8%252C1969.png" width="181" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i>Ad for "the new" Leo and the Prophets from November 8, 1969. This may or may not be the gig that Dan Hickman remembered as his final one with Leo -- or perhaps Leo just re-used the name with a different band. (Austin American-Statesman)</i><br />
<br />
-------<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Mj4FSuHJ3W8aJ3sfywzFVCeOuXdOpfT8pfMYQn8zVMsQrmfzAySKn_k4-gJS8yLsTWnp5uE3GlVpsNiOIRLoA6jIqnC_FeGOVQsQNBZFeGtD1rAm3nCGydovLT8L8IAyFeG6sGhX48o/s1600/LeoProphets+Ozone.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302721052240450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Mj4FSuHJ3W8aJ3sfywzFVCeOuXdOpfT8pfMYQn8zVMsQrmfzAySKn_k4-gJS8yLsTWnp5uE3GlVpsNiOIRLoA6jIqnC_FeGOVQsQNBZFeGtD1rAm3nCGydovLT8L8IAyFeG6sGhX48o/s400/LeoProphets+Ozone.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 305px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnER6nFYQ1W93p8hsns0KOetpnB81ikHzD4Jnx2Yw7GZVB_zdZB5DaJRaI1pKrX4Ue5lY4KNH8S7wT1-79lqGvErCBgplZf5ihJ3FGmjidyAPBglyk6QcOsGJ1iQ1CbSnMlQYtZROmSSk/s1600/LeoProphets+Ozone+stage.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302708993804770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnER6nFYQ1W93p8hsns0KOetpnB81ikHzD4Jnx2Yw7GZVB_zdZB5DaJRaI1pKrX4Ue5lY4KNH8S7wT1-79lqGvErCBgplZf5ihJ3FGmjidyAPBglyk6QcOsGJ1iQ1CbSnMlQYtZROmSSk/s400/LeoProphets+Ozone+stage.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 343px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Leo and the Prophets at the Ozone Forest, 1967. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ROD HAYWOOD </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Rod, your version of how Leo and the Prophets came together is at slight variance with Dan’s, and Dan seems to think yours is the more reliable memory.</span><br />
<br />
The drummer Billy’s sister was dating Leo at the time. He was this 30 year old jazz beatnik, and we were a bunch of teenagers. As I recall, he was just hanging around, listening to us play, seeing all these younger girls around, and decided that’s what he wanted to do: get in a rock and roll band. At the time he was in a three-piece jazz band. He decided to dump that and organize a rock and roll band with us. That’s basically how Leo and the Prophets started.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Now, were you involved with this group with Dan called J.C. and the Boys?</span><br />
No. Actually I think there were (in that band) three or four guitar players. There were no bass players at the time; nobody knew how to play bass. I didn’t have a bass, but I hung around these guys and was a part of the scene. I later got a bass, and it was the next incarnation of a band that I became a part of.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">What band was this?</span><br />
The One Way Streets – the lead singer/guitar player was Allen Dressen, who I believe still plays around Austin. I played with them for awhile and then quit. Then Dan and I and Billy started to put this band together, which was a no name band. Actually…I think I moved to Colorado, then moved back, started playing with the One Way Streets…we broke up, and then Billy, Dan and I started just rehearsing.<br />
<br />
Did Dan ever tell you about the time he sat in with the One Way Streets at the Municipal Auditorium? Classic story. Our guitar player got sick, so I said, hey, Dan, come on and sit in with us, this’ll be great. There were several bands. Then, the headliner I believe was Jerry Vale. And we were supposed to be his back-up band. Mike Lucas, a deejay from KNOW, was the emcee. <br />
<br />
Dan had a new Gibson. At that time, he didn’t really understand when you play lead and when you don’t. So, we’re playing behind Jerry Vale, and we’re doing “Hang on Sloopy.” Right in the middle of it, Dan turns up his amp and starts playing these licks…this absolutely horrendous freak sound. (Laughs) This went on for about 10 bars, because every time Dan would do it, Vale would turn and look at him. Well, Dan thought he was encouraging him. So, he did it more! Finally Vale flips out right onstage and walks off. And as he’s walking off, I hear him scream at Mike Lucas, “Who the fuck hired this band?” <br />
<br />
Now, I told Dan this story and he has a completely different version of it. That was the way I perceived it. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Yeah, Dan remembers it being a “radio personality turned singer,” not Vale, and that it was Leo and the Prophets backing him up.</span><br />
No, it was the One Way Streets. Vale was this Elvis lookalike from Las Vegas. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">How did you know Billy and Dan?</span><br />
I moved from Colorado to Texas in ’64. The very first person I met was Bill Powell. Dan Hickman I met in high school, the very first year Reagan HS opened. He and I were in the same advisory. We sat next to each other. He’s actually the one who turned me on to guitar – showed me how to play. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So this band began to rehearse probably in the summer of ’66?</span><br />
Yeah – summer, fall, sometime in that area.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Didn’t you tell me that you’d played bass in Leo’s jazz trio for a little while?</span><br />
It wasn’t a little while, it was one night. I felt like, later on, that he’d used me to break the band up, so he could start the rock and roll band. Because here’s this kid that doesn’t know a 1-4-5 progression from yin and yang…and I’m supposed to know how to play “Shadow of Your Smile”? We played “Day Tripper” in F sharp – <span style="font-style: italic;">hello?</span> (Laughs) I think about the second set, the drummer lost his mind. (Laughs)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Was this at the Lake Austin Inn?</span><br />
Yeah. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So, the next thing you know, you guys are forming this band and starting to play out…for a long time you played at the LAI, correct?</span><br />
<br />
Yeah. We were the house band out there every weekend. It went real well. We developed a real nice little following. It allowed us to become a tight little band.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPD7a9R7-4-5lZOkow4xVBYnLOQmntzTK9tnF7Qr0cTSh7_Cc0PiDrRlJ_KX-fyO4QtQ7I921RXMuMOQIrAXSUVi7O8aW7zSpRplzog3-aE1coU_KwhChCcGEUXGN9QQa39-_DoMk1aQ/s1600/LeoProphets+PowerPlant.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625303209679439890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPD7a9R7-4-5lZOkow4xVBYnLOQmntzTK9tnF7Qr0cTSh7_Cc0PiDrRlJ_KX-fyO4QtQ7I921RXMuMOQIrAXSUVi7O8aW7zSpRplzog3-aE1coU_KwhChCcGEUXGN9QQa39-_DoMk1aQ/s400/LeoProphets+PowerPlant.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 305px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The Power Plant (Golden Dawn) appearing at the Ozone Forest, 1967. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">Either you or Dan told me that Leo would just count off the intros to songs, not make up a set list or anything, and just expect you guys to fall in and know what he was playing, just like a jazz group…</span><br />
<br />
He would do that. He would just start playing. Wouldn’t tell you what it was – you were just supposed to know. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">There were no set lists…</span><br />
Nah. Never, ever a set list. I didn’t know what a “set list” was, to tell you the truth. (Laughs)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJscRFFsOJAUl7vy95K-I8w0ZFHDEgt-oprFiC8T4uKdGT99hpBRNT0ZbinxH4-p2GRWx8mbOGP6TAN-qWlEt52ju3HNY8nr2ZJgC7LX76m3x8SzUzKdOd7pC3A13fWaCGq89eISbdOTk/s1600/June13%252C66.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="229" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJscRFFsOJAUl7vy95K-I8w0ZFHDEgt-oprFiC8T4uKdGT99hpBRNT0ZbinxH4-p2GRWx8mbOGP6TAN-qWlEt52ju3HNY8nr2ZJgC7LX76m3x8SzUzKdOd7pC3A13fWaCGq89eISbdOTk/s320/June13%252C66.png" width="96" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>The earliest mention of Leo and the Prophets in the Austin American-Statesman, June 13, 1966. The Prophets are "a new Austin group headed by Leo Ellis, a recent arrival from Hollywood." </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Dan thinks you guys were treated very condescendingly by Leo – did you have any thoughts on that?</span><br />
Leo was just this incredible force that got things done. Musically, he knew so much more than we did. But I’m not going to say it was a learning experience, because he would never take the time to explain to you what the cycle of fifths was, or anything of that nature. He just expected you to get it. He was a nice guy for the most part, but he always took care of himself. It was always Leo first. <br />
<br />
And Leo either got bored, or…I’m not sure what happened, why it broke up that night at the New Orleans Club.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Yeah, tell me your recollection of that night.</span><br />
My recollection is, Leo got drunk as can be, and after the first set, he started insulting the crowd. Then (during a break) he went out front on the sidewalk and started hollering at us and so forth. And then finally he just said, “Fuck you,” got up, and drove off. Just drove off! (Laughs) We’re sitting there…I’m almost positive this was after the first set. We were standing there with our mouths open going, “Now what are we gonna do?” There were 200 to 300 people there. It was a big gig. The New Orleans Club was the big time. That’s where the Elevators would draw in these humongous crowds. We were just beginning to get established as a real, viable band. Where we could draw people. This night was a big deal. And he gets up and drives off. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">And that was the last show?</span><br />
That was it.<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">Couldn’t you have recruited another lead guitarist and continued as just ‘The Prophets’ or something? </span><br />
We more or less tried that, but again, Leo was the driving force behind everything. He got it done. He was the glue. And even though we could have played as a trio, and even tried to, it quickly fell apart. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">You’re credited as co-writer of ‘Tilt-A-Whirl’ – what was your contribution to the song?</span><br />
My contribution to that was, “I’ve got a feeling/banana peeling/and the monkey’s showing through.” (Laughs) That was my contribution. And that came about because it was the beginning of the drug scene and all that, and Donovan had come out with “Mellow Yellow” which was supposed to be, if you burned banana peels…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">…you’d get high. What does “the monkey” have to do with it?</span><br />
(Laughs) When you go through heroin withdraws…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Oh, “monkey on your back.” </span><br />
Exactly. I tried to sneak in this rather vague, gray reference. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">I’d never even made that connection. </span><br />
The whole idea for “Tilt-A-Whirl” came about (because) Leo said that he had a friend in Los Angeles who said that if he, Leo, could ever come up with some new dance, then this guy would produce it. Just like “The Twist” was such a big thing. Well, this was Leo’s answer to that. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So, Leo envisioned the ‘Tilt-A-Whirl’ as being a big dance sensation?</span><br />
Exactly. He would do this dance…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Really? Dan and Bill have apparently forgotten this.</span><br />
No, I still remember seeing him doing this. (Laughs)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Well, how would it go?</span><br />
As I recall, he would bend at the hips and lean forward; kind of do this body rotation thing with his hands on his hips. (Laughs) Of course, Leo was this wiry guy who had these moves. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4KtP47OqsVjaicx8s1cS0NjDE0xvxIz4KnS2Zb9SOIcXtuho19bjpZBM_IdTbZBE0Ojw2NMwbRE5OffQlvLhN4zZT5KJ8t0XePGTNb9cUr-xiWOj-1kFiqXzRNhZxuRa0T0wEmG5tjs/s1600/LeoProphets+May19+Party+ad+lores.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302057954752594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4KtP47OqsVjaicx8s1cS0NjDE0xvxIz4KnS2Zb9SOIcXtuho19bjpZBM_IdTbZBE0Ojw2NMwbRE5OffQlvLhN4zZT5KJ8t0XePGTNb9cUr-xiWOj-1kFiqXzRNhZxuRa0T0wEmG5tjs/s400/LeoProphets+May19+Party+ad+lores.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 227px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>May 19, 1967 (Austin American-Statesman).</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">And then the record was “banned.” Tell me about that.</span><br />
It was banned because of that banana peeling line. (Laughs) The only place you could hear it was on the University station, KUT. The radio stations said, “We’re not going to play it or talk about it. We just hope you guys go away.”<br />
<br />
Leading up to that recording (session), we would play “Tilt-A-Whirl” four or five times a night. Leo would say, “We’ve got to get tight on it.” I always thought “Parking Meter” was a much better song than “Tilt-A-Whirl,” personally. Dan was a very talented songwriter. He would come over to my house every day with two or three songs. Some of 'em were absolutely jewels…as good or better than anything that was out there at the time. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Dan said that I’m supposed to ask you about Leo’s wife and the tambourine at the session.</span><br />
As I recall, they gave her a tambourine. And a tambourine is the worst instrument you can give anybody. They cut right through everything. There was a little stress over that decision, but of course Leo got his way. And, as you can hear, all that noise in the background? That’s Marilyn.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Background? Hell, it’s in the foreground. Tambourine is the lead instrument on that record. </span><br />
Oh, man. (Laughs) Well, that was my introduction to the tambourine and what it could do. I still, to this day, remember: don’t give anybody a tambourine. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_lwNDVj485pF4lx_ix3f6SHltGCsVTz2Y_YVnnUiB0CNCeYeJt5S04nmTP6Fms-DB2tLhWOuhQQXP9IUwqiAtJ_BbR56Ubczdc8uffj8SPwOe4fuxTA0Ru4qFo2ylo10y04ypNg5N7M/s1600/LeoProphetsGoldStar.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304608681432402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_lwNDVj485pF4lx_ix3f6SHltGCsVTz2Y_YVnnUiB0CNCeYeJt5S04nmTP6Fms-DB2tLhWOuhQQXP9IUwqiAtJ_BbR56Ubczdc8uffj8SPwOe4fuxTA0Ru4qFo2ylo10y04ypNg5N7M/s400/LeoProphetsGoldStar.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 330px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Gold Star Studio receipt for Leo and the Prophets' session (April 9, 1967).</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">Do you remember anything about the second session, for Sonobeat Records?</span><br />
As I recall, Rim Kelley did “Ozone Forest.” We recorded it live, remotely, at Swinger’s-A-Go-Go. That’s all I remember. It wasn’t long after we did that that the band broke up. Rim used us to develop his own skills in recording, how he was going to do it and so forth…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">By the way, Dan says your brother has a live tape of you guys.</span><br />
We think he does. It might exist. He recorded us sitting in the living room.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Now, something we must get straightened out are the shows that Dan and Bill remember playing at the State Home for the Mentally Retarded…</span><br />
Oh, yeah. (Laughter) The reason we did that was to pay our union dues. Also, if you would do a public service thing like that, they would waive your dues. We would play park gigs (for the union). We played down in East Austin one time, and I thought we were going to get killed. As I recall, a lot of Chicanos were hollering and harassing us, because we had long hair – and that was just taboo, it seemed like, for Chicanos. So we had walked into hostile territory, and the way we looked only exacerbated it. And then we were playing rock and roll, and all this…the longer we played, the more tense it got. (Laughs)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKd7nXE6T0HzX0NA57sTsc1nGqhK8mDNuNPFuD8WRiSXVcOWkjkGg1ivB09Ug5DJliUHfSiOfKiVuGbvgzyRLI3mbvVpeEg4qGEA8EfxWgzrl1sW_zby7LRTQDVJbVIdGSEAHNniuOKs/s1600/Sept15%252C66.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="274" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKd7nXE6T0HzX0NA57sTsc1nGqhK8mDNuNPFuD8WRiSXVcOWkjkGg1ivB09Ug5DJliUHfSiOfKiVuGbvgzyRLI3mbvVpeEg4qGEA8EfxWgzrl1sW_zby7LRTQDVJbVIdGSEAHNniuOKs/s320/Sept15%252C66.png" width="177" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Leo and the Prophets at Swinger's Club, September 15, 1966. Featuring "Texas' Goingest Go-Go Girls" ... but the go-go scene would not last much longer. (Austin American-Statesman)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">One thing Dan didn’t remember but Bill did is also playing in a home for the mentally ill. </span><br />
Well…that could be true. (Laughs) Now, I was involved with a band in Colorado, so now I’m mixing these two up. We used to do that – in both Colorado and Texas, play gigs at these institutions. At one point, a guy came up and he’d just shaved, and he’d just ravaged his face. Blood was everywhere. He was talking to us while blood’s running all over him. (Laughter) I’d completely forgotten about those things. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">What were you telling me about the Elevators and their effect on you?</span><br />
I idolized them. They were the vanguard of this cultural revolution. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">They were just completely different –</span><br />
Absolutely. Completely different. This was original. This was unique. These guys were doing something nobody else was doing. The Beatles…nobody was doing what these guys were doing. And they had this sound, this energy, this aura…this thing that was almost tangible. You could almost touch it.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">You said prior to that, you’d seen Roky and the Spades play?</span><br />
Yeah, they played at one of our dances at Reagan High School. They played real well. Musically, they were highly evolved compared to everybody else then playing (in Austin). Benny Thurman, as I recall, was their bass player. I’m sure he was.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">You never viewed the Elevators as just a local band?</span><br />
No, no, no. The were the Elevators. They were bigger than the Baby Cakes, the Wig…<br />
<br />
The Elevators had a guy named Brian Foster who idolized them and knew all their songs. He had a band that played their songs (Brian’s Blokes). It was a knock-off band. And they actually hired him on occasion to take Roky’s place. He knew the chord changes, he knew the songs, so they would just hire him when they knew that Roky wasn’t gonna be there. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">You said, “Back in ’66, nobody got high.”</span><br />
Young kids didn’t. Certainly it was an underground thing, and people that hung around the Elevators were. College Students. But high school students? Nah. Nobody was doing it. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrEVgRCqTNsGRglEXDbv4h8VC6ibKEJ7C_w5uQyQdiiQQ-rcahY81oTSSTENC2895XV0pLMcnHUQloScSA3F0FlWyOzNhfhfTgO97zABsUkCrpX0SJdZtbDQHNKTmfJp-cRj1BsArGZ4/s1600/LeoProphets+Swingers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304014220122754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrEVgRCqTNsGRglEXDbv4h8VC6ibKEJ7C_w5uQyQdiiQQ-rcahY81oTSSTENC2895XV0pLMcnHUQloScSA3F0FlWyOzNhfhfTgO97zABsUkCrpX0SJdZtbDQHNKTmfJp-cRj1BsArGZ4/s400/LeoProphets+Swingers.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 231px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Dan said there wasn’t much of a music scene in Austin in ’66.</span><br />
There was the embryo of it. But…they’d have this battle of the bands during Aquafest. That was a big deal.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">That was at the City Auditorium?</span><br />
Yeah. We would go every year. There was always good bands, and, of course, there was a lot of crap. We played just that once. We were in the final four, and we lost completely. That was when Leo and Dan flopped down on their backs, playing guitars…everybody else had their Beatle jackets on, and they were very poised and so forth. And we’re out there floppin’ around…it was a hoot. It was filled to capacity: 10,000 people. We were playing “Gloria.” Leo flopped down on his knees, and all of a sudden Dan did too…it was so funny. All these people in the audience had their mouths open. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">What’s your recollection of Leo and all of his women? Dan said it got to be embarrassing.</span><br />
He had a talent. To give you an example, we had a friend whose father was this hardcore Baptist. <span style="font-style: italic;">Hardcore.</span> And Leo convinced him to put money into this nightclub (Ozone Forest). That’s what a salesman he was. So, could he talk the pants off a virgin? I think he could. He was unbelievable.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt1MKCaUtR6HqKrdQcITzSA4pXVERjkXjA1QjHWKIXum5HFfBRtT-LobVBgh7t6jogK3vrxfiVwSPlPMJc1jUGNLMrQj9N07pGUmbgHhB1AArEOlUTBHh1NwcuAgJXnujkCplIWdmd1E/s1600/LeoProphets+Spidels.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625303226378415490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt1MKCaUtR6HqKrdQcITzSA4pXVERjkXjA1QjHWKIXum5HFfBRtT-LobVBgh7t6jogK3vrxfiVwSPlPMJc1jUGNLMrQj9N07pGUmbgHhB1AArEOlUTBHh1NwcuAgJXnujkCplIWdmd1E/s400/LeoProphets+Spidels.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 255px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">According to Dan, “By the end of the summer (of ’67), the local fire marshals and police and violent rednecks were showing up every weekend to cite the club for nonexistent offenses.”</span><br />
<br />
Yeah…they went out of their way to shut us down, because it was developing into a long-hair scene. And Austin was trying to do everything they could to shut that down. It was not a safe place after awhile.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Do you remember coming to Houston to play at a place called the Living Eye club?</span><br />
Yeah. It was a dumpy club, painted up…in a dumpy area of Houston. And we stayed at a dumpy hotel. I don’t remember much about it except that it was a mediocre gig. I do remember Leo taking all the money…while we were thinking we were going to split (the money) five ways exactly. He said, “Well, no, I have to take expenses out.” Well, he and Marilyn were eating steaks and drinking wine while we were eating peanut butter sandwiches. So we ended up making nothing. That’s what I remember about it. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DliGm91MnlazFg97kbV3-k4HbHM66jPeRNnRu_WUrWCe0kgk2ZrYxEtLNzkRRNMYXBZMCkDUqxqK3_QAoqcxsZnyLlEa0OYUqplwu1pOMbSuid90H0KskH0ipbujWP13f6cK86o_1EI/s1600/LeoProphets+Ozone+Forest+Club.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302695999851074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DliGm91MnlazFg97kbV3-k4HbHM66jPeRNnRu_WUrWCe0kgk2ZrYxEtLNzkRRNMYXBZMCkDUqxqK3_QAoqcxsZnyLlEa0OYUqplwu1pOMbSuid90H0KskH0ipbujWP13f6cK86o_1EI/s400/LeoProphets+Ozone+Forest+Club.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 305px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The stage at the Ozone Forest. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">What was the story of you meeting Dan again circa 1970? You said Dan told you he was joining the Air Force or something…</span><br />
We were trying to start a band with Brian Foster. He lived out near Lampasas…rented a farm way out in the woods. And so a bunch of us went out there to jam. And it turned out to be this insane asylum, with everybody getting way too high…it was crazy. So, like, 4:00 in the morning, Dan says, “Take me home!” What? Nobody can see, can’t walk… “Take me home.” All the way to Austin? “Yeah. I’ve gotta go home right now.” So, we drive him into Austin. And he disappears. He disappears for, like, six weeks. We’re all saying, “What happened to Dan?” Then I get a letter from him saying he’s joined the Air Force. (Laughter) A week or two later, he showed up at my front door. He was living in this little one-room apartment by the University. And he was now playing upright bass. (Laughter) He’s gotten back with Leo, and he’s playing at the Carousel Lounge down on Airport Boulevard…<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So, did you actually see this group play?</span><br />
Actually, no. I never saw them when they had an actual night gig. They came over and got me one Saturday afternoon. We were driving around, and they said, “Let’s go jam, man.” So we drove over to the Carousel Lounge…their equipment was sitting there. So, we just picked up and started playing. Dan, as I recall, got back on drums. I’m on upright bass, and Leo’s over on guitar. And we’re playing “Scotch and Soda,” “Shadow of Your Smile”…(Laughter) Can you imagine what that sounded like?<br />
<br />
T<span style="font-style: italic;">oo bad your brother wasn’t there with his tape recorder! So, that was the last time you and Dan saw Leo until 1979 or ’80 when you went down to San Marcos…</span><br />
<br />
Right. That’s when this whole “Tilt-A-Whirl” thing came up, where I read about it and so forth. So I thought I’d call Leo and try to get some information out of him – who might have the master tape, and so forth. And he was as cold to me as he could be. I thought he’d be excited to hear from me…and he talked to me as if I was a bill collector.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">How did you find him?</span><br />
I can’t remember, but we start talking on the phone and he tells me he’s got this gig…so Dan and I went down to see him. It was pure Leo: he was doing the same songs, saying the same things…Leo was in his forties or fifties by that time. <br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilU4xSoNoWLmPFR_my4-gvbiGNy0DknzEC27_5EyOTMU6Sf7IJ_yOZhgKwaMm86EDpScD6FpWMLz2p1Z5DlE40qPUWcEVHRQqba8-s8wxIUzgY8kmNVQGACXAXQ5ZIrymJdpVDYyiHfx0/s1600/LeoProphets+Powell.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625303207266890066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilU4xSoNoWLmPFR_my4-gvbiGNy0DknzEC27_5EyOTMU6Sf7IJ_yOZhgKwaMm86EDpScD6FpWMLz2p1Z5DlE40qPUWcEVHRQqba8-s8wxIUzgY8kmNVQGACXAXQ5ZIrymJdpVDYyiHfx0/s400/LeoProphets+Powell.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Bill Powell. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">BILL POWELL</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">AB: Bill, what is your recollection of how Leo and the Prophets came together? Did you meet Dan and Rod at school, or…</span><br />
BILL: Yeah, we all went to high school together.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Did you play with this group J.C. and the Boys?</span><br />
Yeah, Dan and I were in that, and a guy named Mike McClary. I seem to remember we played primarily in McClary’s garage. Rod got involved with some guys called the One Way Streets. They were pretty good. I remember playing New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31, 1965) with them at Lampassas. So, Rod and I knew each musically through that. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXWhH_wXrN-JjwC0ahqn0XClWHSex-OLtVE22kes_YakRqvG1fjhnStLsca0YFKD0-Rq6-7Sl1m92dIjJEG3GdDzHmemea09UJOFmkNJSce47cUgx77D9MN2hNXEPCfW3bKszn20WjMg/s1600/LeoProphets+LAI.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625302049259885826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXWhH_wXrN-JjwC0ahqn0XClWHSex-OLtVE22kes_YakRqvG1fjhnStLsca0YFKD0-Rq6-7Sl1m92dIjJEG3GdDzHmemea09UJOFmkNJSce47cUgx77D9MN2hNXEPCfW3bKszn20WjMg/s400/LeoProphets+LAI.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 309px;" /></a><br />
<br />
The way I remember Leo and the Prophets getting together…my older sister was married to Leo. He was a real Svengali – he ran around in sharkskin suits, his hair was slicked back, playing jazz and singing Frank Sinatra and stuff like that. But then he started playing this place called the Lake Austin Inn which was just a little hovel of a night club on the west side of Lake Austin. He was playing with a three-piece band out there. I went out there a couple of times. I’d been playing drums off and on anyway. <br />
<br />
I think all of a sudden Danny was playing guitar with them. And that just changed the entire complexion of the band from jazz to more of a rock and roll band. I remember sitting in a couple of times out there. The next thing I know, we were a band. I was 16 years old. We played a long time at the LAI, either once or twice a week. That’s where we became a band. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Where was Leo from?</span><br />
San Marcos. He might have been raised in Victoria, but don’t quote me on that. I think his parents still lived in San Marcos when we were playing. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Because Rod seemed to think Leo came from L.A., and that he played in L.A. jazz clubs.</span><br />
Well, he did. He lived out there for awhile. When my sister first met him, he’d just gotten back from Los Angeles. He came back in a Corvair that he wrecked on Lamar Boulevard. If you’d seen this car, you wouldn’t have believed that anybody walked away from it. That Corvair was just completely demolished. I’m pretty sure Leo was drunk at the time. But I remember distinctly that the Corvair had California plates on it. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKz5gYxe4o_CHV3pLvwkUMyziJlzyKlknLMcJykN0CPIPpUghY_eeF4UVA5k4S7HRmrvziMKRoGl1h1EwBg1gJFURdTpt9YGywBqAZ9V457Qe7P6s5TmbEKQY3KOhsV1UNlhIPuFZc_k/s1600/LeoProphets+Powell+LAI.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625303201276034226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKz5gYxe4o_CHV3pLvwkUMyziJlzyKlknLMcJykN0CPIPpUghY_eeF4UVA5k4S7HRmrvziMKRoGl1h1EwBg1gJFURdTpt9YGywBqAZ9V457Qe7P6s5TmbEKQY3KOhsV1UNlhIPuFZc_k/s400/LeoProphets+Powell+LAI.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 393px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Bill Powell at the Lake Austin Inn, 1967. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>The Lake Austin Inn was a full-fledged drinking club. In those days, you could go to a night club at any age, you just couldn’t drink unless you were 21. It was real liberal back then. But all you could buy at a club in Texas was beer or wine. Or, you could buy set-ups, and bring your own bottle into a club. Weird laws. But, two things: it had to be in a paper bag, and it had to be kept on the floor. I can remember playing these clubs when I was 16 and there would be these older guys, the serious drinkers, ordering pitchers of ice or water, sitting there mixing up highballs. But their bottle of Jack Daniels would always be on the floor. That was the law – the New Orleans Club, the Jade Room, it was like that everywhere. <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HJWxngwvqZtRVg8_aa3YSpYFVCovqq8pK5v6ZTsA62N3G7JvDORmb936b6bbQLWzFNk-TYDFxZp_T5cybT9RZCX7CJbGd_uy6aI2ggh1OB61GFtHw3L_uWfh3M4DtQNuRcg-9sBxpoI/s700/Lake+Austin+Inn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HJWxngwvqZtRVg8_aa3YSpYFVCovqq8pK5v6ZTsA62N3G7JvDORmb936b6bbQLWzFNk-TYDFxZp_T5cybT9RZCX7CJbGd_uy6aI2ggh1OB61GFtHw3L_uWfh3M4DtQNuRcg-9sBxpoI/s640/Lake+Austin+Inn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-style: italic;">The Lake Austin Inn.</span></div><div><i><br /></i>
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Anything stand out about the other bands playing in Austin at the time, like the Elevators?</span><br />
They were tremendous. We were really very fortunate to see the Elevators as much as we did. I was a real groupie. I went to see them all the time. The Jade Room, New Orleans Club, wherever they were playing, we were there. I think Stacy’s really one of the underrated guitarists of that era. The guy was pretty amazing. John Ike was a heavy influence on my playing. And Roky – that voice, I’ve never heard anybody else quite like that. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Were they instantly popular in Austin?</span><br />
No. I can recall seeing them at the New Orleans Club with a dozen people there. Same at the Jade Room. They were regulars at the Jade Room, like on Wednesday nights. What made them popular was when they got busted for marijuana. Nobody had really paid that much attention to them and, of course, they were splashed across the newspapers because of that. So then everybody, out of curiosity, wanted to go out and see them. Marijuana possession, you know, was like murder in those days! <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Do you recall playing a show at the state home for the mentally retarded?</span><br />
I remember more than one! I remember at least one show at the state hospital, and one at, I think it was called the Brown School, which was for the mentally retarded. We played at the Cackle Factory at least once.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The “Cackle Factory”?</span><br />
The state hospital. The crazy people. <span style="font-style: italic;">Believe me</span>, there were some really crazy people there. It was right off of Guadalupe. I think it’s called the Austin State Hospital for the Mentally Ill. The Brown School, which I think is out near the Burnett Road area, was for the mentally retarded. We hit ‘em all. You know why? Because Leo had us all join the union. And if you played those kinds of gigs and you were in the union, you’d get paid minimum scale. So, we used it to get some practice time in, but hell, we also got paid for it. Six to eight weeks after we played those gigs, I’d get a check in the mail for $18 from the Texas Musician’s Union. (Laughs) But the state hospital people just loved us.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Was that a regular circuit for local bands?</span><br />
Not that I’m aware of. I think that was something Leo pulled out of his hat. I can’t remember how we got involved with that, but the next thing I knew, I was setting up my drum kit in the auditorium of the state hospital. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQO4CdV9jXFlQOkOIVaf-tAWrZ9WTeNHNzzSY8qNzVTQ9l01v4Ra_QrHpqCt7E9KtVCuqvk7V98RLG5aEMvIb3QpJ3mg0-_0xsg7jhiFBqA0nwaMSc15xfJN7-1KJ0qzBevl_tp581F-g/s1600/LeoProphets+Earth+People.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625301441793371010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQO4CdV9jXFlQOkOIVaf-tAWrZ9WTeNHNzzSY8qNzVTQ9l01v4Ra_QrHpqCt7E9KtVCuqvk7V98RLG5aEMvIb3QpJ3mg0-_0xsg7jhiFBqA0nwaMSc15xfJN7-1KJ0qzBevl_tp581F-g/s400/LeoProphets+Earth+People.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 319px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The Earth People (Golden Dawn) appearing at the Ozone Forest. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<br />
Leo was a very artistic person. He wasn’t an intellectual, but musically and artistically, he was a very talented individual. He just walked into an architecture firm and got a job as a draftsman. And he’d had no formal training in architecture or drafting. He just went in and did it. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">How old was Leo? Both Dan and Rod seem certain he was about 30. </span><br />
I think he was about 10 years older than me at the time, which would have made him 27. I don’t think he was 30. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">So, the record was banned by KNOW?</span><br />
They played it for a week or two, because I remember being ecstatic about hearing it on the radio. But then they got to that “I got a feeling/banana peeling” line. Somebody apparently took offense to that, and yeah, they banned it. But that turned out to be the biggest publicity we ever had. It was better than airplay. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHRq292yFmaHC1vgXAazTbLitP-drddcRNWLuRnL6cIJ03AWAGvReTH39IHv5C-x66fVMTHZNo92Racly6lkIJnB6KNDAzEteq7emm5ifa7ferChz8u0kk1jhbGJq4XozoloP8FZOUko/s1600/LeoProphetsPlatterParty.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304662887571986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHRq292yFmaHC1vgXAazTbLitP-drddcRNWLuRnL6cIJ03AWAGvReTH39IHv5C-x66fVMTHZNo92Racly6lkIJnB6KNDAzEteq7emm5ifa7ferChz8u0kk1jhbGJq4XozoloP8FZOUko/s400/LeoProphetsPlatterParty.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 222px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Do you remember playing outside of Austin much?</span><br />
We played at the Dunes Club in Port Aransas – that was the hottest club in the whole Corpus Christi area. It was a happening joint. It was right on the beach. They had a band upstairs and downstairs. The upstairs band was actually in the open. The downstairs band had a roof over them. We played there a couple of nights. After that, just for the hell of it, we went down to Matamoros, down to Brownsville. We stayed in Port Isabell…<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtUAdPW1WU7ZMlyLVfTMD0yFTxQegac539l8-QsAl4Rfrd7ZOhsrLxXbhdHmSkYOXuT_bqOu7U5MmX44JbIUI0NlQwdv45lYgrpSepS1V8VKcZWghU4HPerUaXwa50r3w5UOXZ2XmoA4/s1600/LeoProphetsDunesPtAransas2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304036256100274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtUAdPW1WU7ZMlyLVfTMD0yFTxQegac539l8-QsAl4Rfrd7ZOhsrLxXbhdHmSkYOXuT_bqOu7U5MmX44JbIUI0NlQwdv45lYgrpSepS1V8VKcZWghU4HPerUaXwa50r3w5UOXZ2XmoA4/s400/LeoProphetsDunesPtAransas2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 323px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Leo and the Prophets at the Dunes Club in Port Aransas, 1967. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">Was that the trip where you stopped in a bar in some small town –</span><br />
Yeah. It was in Sinton, Texas. That was one of the famous incidents with Leo and the Prophets. All’s well that ends well. <br />
<br />
We had a few pretty bad incidents at the Ozone Forest. Guys would just bust the door down and start beating up everybody that they could find. Travis actually pulled a gun on them one night. They chased him into there – he was up by the bandstand, and I was afraid he was going to shoot ‘em. He didn’t, so they picked him up and threw him over my drums. And that was the end of it. I think that particular incident was the end of the night club. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Dan remembers that a couple of years after the band broke up, he started playing jazz with Leo.</span><br />
I remember that.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Did you play with that group?</span><br />
I want to say that maybe I played once or twice with Dan and Leo at a couple of little cocktail bars. I don’t think I felt very comfortable, because Leo was so much more accomplished in that area. He was playing a lot of jazz stuff, and I couldn’t play jazz drums. But I do remember that big ol’ bass.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Was Leo still playing during the 68-69 period?</span><br />
If he was playing, he probably went back to playing by himself. I really don’t know. I never saw him perform again. <br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
More on Leo and the Prophets' Sonobeat session can found at the <a href="http://sonobeatrecords.com/unreleasedmaterial1967.html#Link884089C0">Sonobeat website. </a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">All photos/illustrations courtesy Dan Hickman, Rod Haywood, Doug Hanners, and Newspapers.com. <br /><br />Thanks to Craig Malik. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQcecEq57iOZLCzORb5d2VJKK2H_o7QyTEJY9U6zcxOjA_er8HgPJcO2t6Og2zVLixMvPZVpRguiZbEuaDffCsRgFiyRNkj_05oyRtUEdP0mfMoLZeE8JHhjGxRD9RrZifAyfVa1byZ0/s1600/LeoProphetsBusinessCard.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304016298047698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQcecEq57iOZLCzORb5d2VJKK2H_o7QyTEJY9U6zcxOjA_er8HgPJcO2t6Og2zVLixMvPZVpRguiZbEuaDffCsRgFiyRNkj_05oyRtUEdP0mfMoLZeE8JHhjGxRD9RrZifAyfVa1byZ0/s400/LeoProphetsBusinessCard.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 234px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfzaW9vpVnJ6bInIyDYvHFzNbNkWra-kH92RfZkd_ZQFemRxB_zonNArdDtGVtYqBy8-PzjlRHS4rzd5ht1AD8PIje-O7_VQr1by2zMHERAz9Q3EASOFEqpGfu7VpPqqo4Exgc_zZ-50/s1600/LeoProphets+ad+from+the+Rag.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625301426097284930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfzaW9vpVnJ6bInIyDYvHFzNbNkWra-kH92RfZkd_ZQFemRxB_zonNArdDtGVtYqBy8-PzjlRHS4rzd5ht1AD8PIje-O7_VQr1by2zMHERAz9Q3EASOFEqpGfu7VpPqqo4Exgc_zZ-50/s400/LeoProphets+ad+from+the+Rag.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 186px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 299px;" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-70631638520581908492011-07-17T13:56:00.000-07:002019-04-25T16:03:04.870-07:00The 1964 KILT Back to School Spectacular<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_dJEK4DXyu6wOVw0F_OloZnhrLIqGkOvKBh4-9O9DlaqO7QmeED56uiY_Xo4WdM47YYHn1lW5pDeZYsFnXbRRPPeK3uZPN8G3EhcpQaSbhhK7KGWd2nikgDhQ2l9yw6wqKGaN8g1-Ac/s1600/Johnny+Winter+promo+8x10" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630428928488993250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_dJEK4DXyu6wOVw0F_OloZnhrLIqGkOvKBh4-9O9DlaqO7QmeED56uiY_Xo4WdM47YYHn1lW5pDeZYsFnXbRRPPeK3uZPN8G3EhcpQaSbhhK7KGWd2nikgDhQ2l9yw6wqKGaN8g1-Ac/s400/Johnny+Winter+promo+8x10" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 287px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">"THERE WILL BE NO TUNING UP ON THE STAGE"</span><br />
<br />
KILT radio's Fifth Annual "Back to School Spectacular" was held at the Sam Houston Coliseum sometime in August, 1964. This was a huge affair, with no less than 16 acts performing, and the Everly Brothers headlining. I'm not aware of any photos that exist from this event, but luckily a schedule that was given to the performers has somehow managed to survive. <br />
<br />
According to the helpful "artist bio" on the back of the schedule, The Five Americans, who had not put out their first record yet, are making their first Houston appearance at this show. Johnny Winter had been kicking around a few years at this point but shot to local fame when his "Eternally" was, we learn, "one of the most played records at Garner State Park" that summer. Cecil Moore is here because "Diamond Back" on Sarg was a Top 5 record on KILT. It's safe to safe this was the largest crowd that Luling boy had ever played in front of. We also learn that C.L. and the Pictures are "known to everyone in Houston." Maxine Davis, a Huey Meaux act on Guyden joined Lee Maye (another Meaux artist) as the only African-American performers on the bill. Roy Head and the Traits, Bobby Doyle Trio, and the Champagne Brothers all put in appearances. B.J. Thomas and the Triumphs are conspicuous in their absence. And while the British Invasion was seven months old by then, there is no sign whatsoever of an English group. Perhaps everyone at this time was still viewing it as a fad that would pass away in a few more months.<br />
<br />
We also learn that David Box's first record, "If You Can't Say Something Nice" was "a big Houston hit" and his "Little Lonely Summer Girl" on Ray Rush's Gina label was a hit that summer. This was one of the last appearances for Box, who perished in a plane crash on October 23. <br />
<br />
The 1965 Back to School Spectacular was headlined by the Beatles. I'm not sure if the Spectacular continued after that. <br />
<br />
The schedule was:<br />
<br />
3:00 The Jokers<br />
3:03 Introduction of KILT disc jockeys (Bob White, Johnny Mitchell, Bob Presley, Ken Knox, Charlie Brown, Jim Wood)<br />
3:08 Five Americans<br />
3:?? Lee Maye<br />
3:14 Johnny Winter<br />
3:20 Buddy White and the Bellhops<br />
3:26 Cecil Moore<br />
3:32 Roy Head and the Traits<br />
3:38 C.L. and the Pictures<br />
3:44 Bobby Doyle Trio<br />
3:53 Maxine Davis<br />
4:02 David Box<br />
4:11 Mickey Gilley<br />
4:20 Champagne Brothers<br />
4:30 Ray Stevens<br />
4:45 Jerry Lee Lewis<br />
5:00? Everly Brothers<br />
<br />
<br />
Picture of schedule (front):<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5DFeR5TGN9vSQQHlWbb3YIX9lOX_8iXiOlVJwjHt1OnL1m17-iBA8iOnG52gdKfJCCkttys8ATQMZoj0p6PotTgvVRdBURQdBCAezRDhn3PjsFWhxajBKeKbXk0LeQ8-uRbEJKKLQIk/s1600/kilt+back+to+school+show+1964+front.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630428625150425714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5DFeR5TGN9vSQQHlWbb3YIX9lOX_8iXiOlVJwjHt1OnL1m17-iBA8iOnG52gdKfJCCkttys8ATQMZoj0p6PotTgvVRdBURQdBCAezRDhn3PjsFWhxajBKeKbXk0LeQ8-uRbEJKKLQIk/s400/kilt+back+to+school+show+1964+front.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 312px;" /></a><br />
<br />
"Artist Bios" (back):<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7xMpL7-LisK-L0JwWzClhqD33Dcox5lcE4pvMUSpTol4UvO3aZU_kUp3rslRmb1JUwimUfalZEW1VsQdtd-2p9Sl9vsK5XRwWatxmUJ80dRYV4r8PHMvUK1bOz5g7l0RL3kiqsU2bL0/s1600/kilt+back+to+school+show+1964+back.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630428621725306498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7xMpL7-LisK-L0JwWzClhqD33Dcox5lcE4pvMUSpTol4UvO3aZU_kUp3rslRmb1JUwimUfalZEW1VsQdtd-2p9Sl9vsK5XRwWatxmUJ80dRYV4r8PHMvUK1bOz5g7l0RL3kiqsU2bL0/s400/kilt+back+to+school+show+1964+back.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 383px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-42757167724793994902011-07-17T11:29:00.000-07:002019-04-21T17:53:18.364-07:00The Epics<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSpmKV3MXcIEBouZGmjV9Oa-jTmPPccinz5gOtnRGBfcqJx7WLR2XxP33IcmNn0CfscfCOyEgO7l58QSjIB59SxBuRhKP38T1-BuuGRFtzJkBj4CDeYJqC0__fCvncFpHB813q1c7U0Q/s1600/LYNN+513+A+lo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630390937120024738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSpmKV3MXcIEBouZGmjV9Oa-jTmPPccinz5gOtnRGBfcqJx7WLR2XxP33IcmNn0CfscfCOyEgO7l58QSjIB59SxBuRhKP38T1-BuuGRFtzJkBj4CDeYJqC0__fCvncFpHB813q1c7U0Q/s400/LYNN+513+A+lo.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 393px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">THE EPICS</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tKYHbSkC-gU" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Little information is to be had on the Epics, a vocal group from early '60s era Houston. They had seven releases between 1960 and 1963, most of them written, arranged, and released by Ray Doggett. The early releases on Lynn/Sabra have a male lead, Buddy Williams, but by late 1961 a girl named Jeannie (last name unknown) had taken over as the lead. <br />
<br />
Lynn 510<br />
ACA 4132/L-722 Girl by the Wayside (James Hickey) <span style="font-style: italic;">ACA master: Late 1960</span><br />
ACA 4133/L-723 Ho-Hum-Deedle-Dum (Doggett) <span style="font-style: italic;">KNUZ #19 Dec 1, 1960</span><br />
<br />
Lynn 513<br />
ACA 4203 The Magic Kiss (Ray Doggett) <span style="font-style: italic;">ACA master c. Jan 1961</span><br />
ACA 4204 (I’m Gonna Pay You Back With) The Very Same Coin (Ray Doggett)<br />
<br />
Lynn 516<br />
ACA 4283 Last Night I Dreamed (J. Gribble) <span style="font-style: italic;">ACA session: May 16, 1961</span><br />
ACA 4284 Most of All (Harvey-Fuqua-Freed) <br />
<br />
Sabra 516<br />
ACA 4283 Last Night I Dreamed (J. Gribble) <span style="font-style: italic;">1961? </span> <br />
The Magic Kiss <br />
<br />
Eric 7001<br />
ACA 4418/386 Grounded (Ray Doggett-Lelan Rogers) <span style="font-style: italic;">ACA session: Aug. 31, 1961</span><br />
ACA 4419/387 Wishing You Were Mine (Bill and Faye Shackelford)<br />
<br />
Dante 3004 The Epics Featuring Jeannie<br />
D-205 I Want to Be Your Girl (Goldner-Barett) <span style="font-style: italic;">1962</span><br />
D-206 So Many Times (G. Smith-S. Jones)<br />
<br />
Dante 3006 Jeannie and the Epics - A Doggett-Spreen Production<br />
Mama Dear (Ken Grant-Joe Ashford) <i>"10-62" written on label</i><br />
Glad to be Free (Bill Shannon)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-31450826954049563902011-07-14T19:38:00.001-07:002018-04-15T08:24:54.933-07:00Shane Records: The Discography<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSetKGxY7WjZda_MmcdRCDtWL3hTQLMFY_zbO5CGHpiJ-cvCb5zd_OMgkqW2pFnCE2zU9V5RWjm65d5lr7lDGyz_uzshtzpRSAfyIVgM0_l2sDYnvb9es9a6WSKRJwRZURjKZ9eZ-Fxwg/s1600/Shane+35+Earl+Ball.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629403095528312066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSetKGxY7WjZda_MmcdRCDtWL3hTQLMFY_zbO5CGHpiJ-cvCb5zd_OMgkqW2pFnCE2zU9V5RWjm65d5lr7lDGyz_uzshtzpRSAfyIVgM0_l2sDYnvb9es9a6WSKRJwRZURjKZ9eZ-Fxwg/s400/Shane+35+Earl+Ball.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 392px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 375px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SHANE RECORDS: THE DISCOGRAPHY</span><br />
<br />
I've seen the Shane label pegged as a Louisiana label. That's a good guess, as many of the label's acts are from the Pelican State, but this was another Huey P. Meaux label based in Conroe, Texas (later Pasadena). It appears to have started out as a regular label but over time became a vanity/custom label for bands who paid for the privilege. Most of Shane's output is early sixties teen pop with some New Orleans R&B flavor (some sessions were probably done at Cosimo's), with early efforts from Wayne Talbert (as "Larry Wayne"), Gee Gee Shinn, Phil Bo, and Hank (Henry) Moore. Toward the end there was a good minor key effort from a Hispanic soul group, Steve and the Coronas, and garage band sounds from two Houston area groups, the Actioneers and the Eccentrics. The latter two appear to be the only groups on Shane to have been reissued, and the label remains painfully obscure. <br />
<br />
“Shane was a label that I would put out stuff that I didn’t think quite had the quality to make it.” (Huey Meaux, 1992)<br />
<br />
<br />
33 NEIL RICE Produced by Bob Millsap and) Huey P. Meaux<br />
33-1 Throw Away Boy (Bob and Vivian Millsap) <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1962</span><br />
33-2 Whos Kissin’ My Girl (N. Rice)<br />
<br />
34 LARRY WAYNE (WAYNE TALBERT) <span style="font-style: italic;">Houston Records invoice: October 11, 1962</span><br />
34-1 It’s a Dog Gone Shame (G. Chord)<br />
34-2 Two Hearts in Love (W. Talbert)<br />
<br />
35 PHIL BO<br />
34-3 Now Baby, Ain’t That Love <span style="font-style: italic;">1962/1963</span><br />
34-4 Tear Drops in the Morning (Jerry Matthews)<br />
<br />
35 EARL BALL Produced by Crowder Enterprises<br />
35-1 Mama Mama Mama (J. Miller <span style="font-style: italic;">1963</span><br />
35-2 Party Girl (E. Ball)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Note: Shane 35 issued twice. </span><br />
36 LARRY WILSON and The Continentals<br />
36-1 All of Your Love (Larry Wilson) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963</span><br />
36-2 I’ve Got It (Alaimo-Maynard)<br />
<br />
37 GEORGE VINCENT<br />
37-1 Beginning of the End (J. Duncan) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963</span><br />
37-2 I’ll Put the Hurt on You (J. Duncan)<br />
<br />
38 GEE GEE SHINN with Bobby and The Rockers “Dist. By Crazy Cajun Enterprises, Conroe, Tx.”<br />
75-863 I Apologize (R. Thibodeaux) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963</span><br />
75-864 Ain’t That a Shame (R. Thibodeaux)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1iTJ2SZt119AQ_ci6vEfeJud1BSD8cJyLEuryOFN-GiJqMhZCsFaW5FE4-Ng7xfKzHgaAffvRosTUxy3MaF0XbS5ARKsp2Ojm54RA3R7UzJC_M5eQksChmO3T0NVa48uTsMh42znJ7I/s1600/Shane+39+Jerry+Fowler.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629403102772191778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1iTJ2SZt119AQ_ci6vEfeJud1BSD8cJyLEuryOFN-GiJqMhZCsFaW5FE4-Ng7xfKzHgaAffvRosTUxy3MaF0XbS5ARKsp2Ojm54RA3R7UzJC_M5eQksChmO3T0NVa48uTsMh42znJ7I/s400/Shane+39+Jerry+Fowler.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 301px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 281px;" /></a><br />
<br />
39 JERRY FOWLER<br />
39-1 Candy Apple Red (J. Fowler) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963</span><br />
39-2 Your Cheating Heart (Hank Williams)<br />
<br />
40 JIMMY VELVIT<br />
40-1 I Can’t Help It – I Love You (J. Mullins) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963</span><br />
40-2 Gotta’ Lotta’ Women (sic) (J. Mullins)<br />
<br />
41 HANK MOORE<br />
41-1 Big Daddy <span style="font-style: italic;">1963</span><br />
41-2 Peacock<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
42<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
43 THE NEWPORT SINGERS <br />
43-1 November 22nd (W.A. Van Cleve, Jr.) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963/1964</span><br />
43-2 Spring Rains (Billy Basley)<br />
<br />
44 THE CONTINENTALS of Lafayette, La.<br />
Pussy Cat (Part One) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963/1964</span><br />
Pussy Cat (Part Two)<br />
<br />
45 JAY RANDALL<br />
45-1 Sorry My Friend <span style="font-style: italic;">1963/1964</span><br />
45-2 You’re All I Have<br />
<br />
46 NEL NELSON<br />
Believe What I Say <span style="font-style: italic;">1963/1964</span><br />
Keep on Running Around<br />
<br />
47 JAC AND JAY with The Tom Toms <br />
47-1 Peanut Butter (Barnum-Smith-Cooper-Goldsmith) <span style="font-style: italic;"> DJ stamp: April, 1964</span><br />
47-2 Monkey’s Uncle (James McClung II)<br />
<br />
48 RONNIE LEE<br />
All by Myself <span style="font-style: italic;">1964</span><br />
O Christina (Futch)<br />
<br />
49 DANNY DAY and The Night Beats Arr. by: Char-Ret Productions <br />
49-2 Your Turn to Cry (S. Cantrelle-C. Thomason-R. Aucion) <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1964</span><br />
49-1 Give Me a Chance to Cry (C. Thomason-R. Aucion)<br />
<br />
50 THE CROWD<br />
50-1 Waiting for You (Joe B. Crane) <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1964</span><br />
50-2 What Else Can I Do (Joe B. Crane)<br />
<br />
51 BOBBY BOOGOS PAGE with Bobby and the Rockers<br />
I’m the Boss<span style="font-style: italic;"> 1964</span><br />
Please Don’t Say Goodbye<br />
<br />
52 JOHNNY and the Nightshades <br />
S-52-1 That’s Why (Carey Wise) <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1964</span><br />
S-52-2 Would It Matter to You (Johnny Shannon)<br />
<br />
53 LENNY MICKELS with Kerry and The Tempos<br />
You Treat Me Bad <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1964</span><br />
A Sorry Plea<br />
<br />
54 GENE RICKY and The Ravens<br />
SH-1069 There’s More for You <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1964</span><br />
SH-1070 Without True Love<br />
<br />
55 NEL NELSON<br />
LH-1219 Looking at My Treasure (Marti Manning-Robert Thibodeaux) <span style="font-style: italic;">Late 1964 </span> <br />
LH-1220 Somehow I Care (R. Thibodeaux)<br />
<br />
56 BILLIE CARROLL <br />
LH-1308 Gary Dean Brown (Dic Ferrier) <span style="font-style: italic;"> Late 1964</span><br />
LH-1309 Humbuggin’ Me (J. Miller-R. Morgan)<br />
<br />
Tape box says, “John L. Corbell, Dublin, Texas.” <br />
<br />
57 THE ACTIONEERS <span style="font-style: italic;">Session date: November 15, 1965</span><br />
AC-1 It’s You (Ray Gilburn) Late 1965<br />
AC-2 No One Wants Me (Ray Gilburn)<br />
<br />
58 STEVE and The Coronas <span style="font-style: italic;"> Late 1965</span><br />
Love Me<br />
Let Me Show You the World<br />
<br />
59 DEAN SCOTT<br />
Can’t Make My Heart Understand <span style="font-style: italic;">Late 1965/Early 1966</span><br />
Two Years Ago Today<br />
<br />
60 THE ECCENTRICS<br />
TSS3660122A Baby, I Need You (L.J. Swift) <span style="font-style: italic;"> Jan., 1966</span><br />
TSS3660122B She’s Ugly (L.J. Swift)<br />
<br />
61 DAVID PALMER<br />
Can’t Help But Love You After All <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1966</span><br />
Every Step of the WayUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-4507603820362622932011-07-13T18:53:00.000-07:002011-07-14T19:38:22.543-07:00Eric Records: The Discography<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhov_3OGZoDBqzYe_xl0VYBkn8FSdLRrzQsBUMOUaHre-lfvzOT8xQEQyJ9VYwiyX7j9yrcHoPccOuTSANEfQqKM_6e-gBXVfDkFSrfIR7P4BvcS43KP2XGwKBGj4i6cB1ptziH5Ict9nM/s1600/BigSambo837.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 316px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhov_3OGZoDBqzYe_xl0VYBkn8FSdLRrzQsBUMOUaHre-lfvzOT8xQEQyJ9VYwiyX7j9yrcHoPccOuTSANEfQqKM_6e-gBXVfDkFSrfIR7P4BvcS43KP2XGwKBGj4i6cB1ptziH5Ict9nM/s400/BigSambo837.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629020509290090626" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Above: Big Sambo (James Young). <br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">ERIC RECORDS: THE DISCOGRAPHY<br /></span><br /><br />While Eric Records may have been the brainchild of Ray Doggett, he may have only released 7001, by Jeannie and the Epics (who also had several singles on Dante), before selling or giving the label over to Huey P. Meaux and Chester Foy Lee. The label was based in Conroe, Tx., but seems to have done most of its sessions in New Orleans at Cosimo's Studio. <br /><br />Eric was probably Meaux's most significant early label. Barbara Lynn made her debut on this label ("Dina & Patricia"). Joey Long recreated himself as a teen pop singer with several releases. Rockin' Dave Allen had a couple of early singles. Roy Perkins had a memorable stab at swamp pop ("Train to Nowhere"), and Cookie Roberts made one of the wildest rockers Meaux ever released ("Draggin' the Drive-Inns"). Presumably, a few of these were local hits along the Gulf Coast, but the only one I'm aware of is Big Sambo's "The Rains Came," a huge hit in Houston in 1962. Today, we're more likely to be wowed by the flipside, "At the Party," a '50s Little Richard style homage caught out of time. <br /><br />Eric was discontinued in late 1964. <br /><br /><br /><br />7001 THE EPICS<br />ACA 4418/386 Grounded (Ray Doggett-Lelan Rogers) <span style="font-style:italic;">ACA session: Aug. 31, 1961</span><br />ACA 4419/387 Wishing You Were Mine (Bill and Faye Shackelford)<br /><br />7002 BUDDY LORTON<br />103-387 Makes No Never Mind (J. Bonvillian-P. Vidacovich) 1961<br />103-386 Time (Naomi Neville)<br /><br />7003 BIG SAMBO AND THE HOUSE WRECKERS<br /> The Rains Came (Meaux) 1961-62<br /> At the Party (Meaux)<br /><br />7004 BARBARA LYNN<br /> Dina & Patricia (B.L. Ozen) 1962<br /> Give Me a Break (B.L. Ozen)<br /><br />7005 THE GIL BACA COMBO Featuring Vernon Drozd<br />75-472 Have You Ever Been Lonely (Peter DeRose-George Brown) 1962<br />75-473 Elmer’s Tune (Allrecht-Gallop-Jurgens)<br /><br />7006 ROCKIN’ DAVE ALLEN<br />E-450 Irene (J. Miller-B. Jolivet) 1962<br />E-451 Forever Trying to Change My Ways (Kinghill)<br /><br />7007 RUE JENNINGS<br />E-452 Blue Tears (Kerney Ravet) <span style="font-style:italic;">DJ wol: 7/2/62</span><br />E-453 Don’t Let It End (Kerney Ravet)<br /><br />7008 BUDDY LORTON <span style="font-style:italic;">Houston Records invoice: June 18, 1962</span><br />E-454 A Fool I’ve Been (J. Bonvillian) 1962<br />E-455 Someday Some One (J. Bonvillian)<br /><br />7009 COOKIE ROBERTS <span style="font-style:italic;">Houston Records invoice: Aug. 15, 1962</span><br />E-456 The Black House (B. Lewis-Jack Rhodes) 1962<br />E-457 Draggin’ the Drive-Inn’s (sic) (Jack Rhodes)<br /><br />7010 MARY NELL <span style="font-style:italic;">Houston Records invoice: Sept. 21, 1962</span><br />E-458 Before You Go (Carter-Rhodes) 1962<br />E-459 Hello Mr. Lonely (Rhodes-Ebner)<br /><br />7011 PORTER JORDAN AND THE DREAMERS <span style="font-style:italic;">Houston Records invoice: Sept. 29, 1962</span><br /> Hanging Around the Corner 1962<br /> Free Loader<br /><br />7012 THE SHADOWS<br />E-463 Something Wild (Butch Palcher)<br /> A Night at Smokey Joe’s<br /><br />7013 JAMES YOUNG <span style="font-style:italic;">This is “Big Sambo’s” Real Name</span><br />E-645 Long Gone (Meaux) 1963<br />E-646 I Had to Cry (J. Scott-A. Matthias)<br /><br />7014 ROCKIN’ DAVE ALLEN<br />E-466 Carol My Darling (Dave Stitch) 1963<br />E-467 Just to Hold My Hand (Perryman-Robey)<br /><br />7015 JOEY LONG<br /> I Cried 1963<br /> Near You<br /><br />7016 KEN HANA<br />HM-KH-1 Bird Dog (Jordan-Rhodes) 1963<br />HM-KH-2 False Love (Jordan-Rhodes)<br /><br />7017 ROY PERKINS<br /> Jole Blon 1963<br /> Train to Nowhere<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoY47zrPXHTanXyibAuccFar_sJmxkt3lLHSxRsSM9bgvpCTVLJj-lnlNvy0eOPjPavT6bC5lB_8-sfp61n0R0mv0RPK__HO6wzDMVr2pQfABQV9-qU9_z8I9yoL24lUisqi9GTp0-Es4/s1600/ERIC+7018A.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 394px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoY47zrPXHTanXyibAuccFar_sJmxkt3lLHSxRsSM9bgvpCTVLJj-lnlNvy0eOPjPavT6bC5lB_8-sfp61n0R0mv0RPK__HO6wzDMVr2pQfABQV9-qU9_z8I9yoL24lUisqi9GTp0-Es4/s400/ERIC+7018A.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629020801849786514" /></a><br /><br />7018 JOEY LONG<br />HM-JL-1 If I Should Need You (Would You Say Yes) 1963<br /> (Col. Tom Parker-Gabe Tucker)<br />HM-JL-2 You Can’t Give Back the Love (That I Gave To You)<br /> (Porter Jordan-Jack Rhodes)<br /><br />7019<br /><br />7020 JOEY LONG<br /> Teen Keen Baby<br /> Lover’s Land<br /><br />7021 MICKEY GILLEY<br /> Whole Lotta Twistin’ Going On 1963<br /> Fraulein<br /><br />7022<br /><br />7023 LI’L MARGIE CRANE<br /> He Taught Me How 1964<br /> Pretty Face, Cute Figure<br /><br />7024 JOEY LONG<br />LH-1186 Bitter Cup of Sorrow (J. Longoria) Fall, 1964<br />LH-1187 Please Mr. Sandman (Let Me Sleep Tonight) (J. Longoria)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-47040345920340787472011-07-13T18:35:00.000-07:002020-06-09T16:21:57.517-07:00Dante Records: The Discography<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiac8go7MRZ-BEZ1f_AZsivmfbNhMlknLxPB9-7y2HmMEpNI9J4IQJy55Pz1H7uH3M4KL9nr3DN3PYg9pPP2yVRN3OfK8siNpJniHxKk-qD9lZAjqkJ2kqFKRmOnhYBeVxu0VZ6yCxtfBA/s1600/Dante+3002+Triumphs+A.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629016825100413874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiac8go7MRZ-BEZ1f_AZsivmfbNhMlknLxPB9-7y2HmMEpNI9J4IQJy55Pz1H7uH3M4KL9nr3DN3PYg9pPP2yVRN3OfK8siNpJniHxKk-qD9lZAjqkJ2kqFKRmOnhYBeVxu0VZ6yCxtfBA/s400/Dante+3002+Triumphs+A.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 376px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">DANTE RECORDS: THE DISCOGRAPHY</span><br />
<br />
Dante was one of the three labels started by Ray Doggett in Houston in 1961 (the other two were Cadette and Eric). It appears that B.J. Thomas and the Triumphs, Dean Scott, and Steve Tyrell all had their debut discs on Dante. Most of them probably didn't make much of an impression, but the Triumphs' "The Lazy Man" and Steve Tyrell's "Payday Someday" were big local hits on KNUZ and KILT. The final Dante came out in late 1964. <br />
<br />
802 TRACY AND CARROL Produced by Mickey Gilley and Ray Doggett<br />
ACA 4281 Dream on Dreamer (C. Gilley) <span style="font-style: italic;">ACA session: April 25, 1961</span><br />
ACA 4282 Don’t Believe (Gilley-Harrin)<br />
<br />
3001 RONNIE BYRD<br />
ACA 4536 All American Guy (Louise Shields) <span style="font-style: italic;">ACA: Feb. 17, 1962</span><br />
ACA 4537 B.T.O. (Louise Shields)<br />
<br />
<i>Note: Kiddie pop.</i><br />
<br />
3002 THE TRIUMPHS<br />
D-201 I Know It’s Wrong (B.J. Thomas) <span style="font-style: italic;">ACA session: Feb. 9, 1962 </span><br />
D-202 The Lazy Man (B.J. Thomas) <span style="font-style: italic;">KNUZ: #36 August, 1962</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"> Note: Dante 3002 was picked up for national distribution by Smash and renumbered 1788. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
3003 DEAN SCOTT<br />
D-203 It’s Never Too Late (Dean Foelsing) <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1962-63</span><br />
D-204 I Want to Get Married (Dean Foelsing)<br />
<br />
3004 THE EPICS Featuring Jeannie<br />
D-205 I Want to Be Your Girl (Goldner-Barett) <span style="font-style: italic;"> 1962-63</span><br />
D-206 So Many Times (G. Smith-S. Jones)<br />
<br />
3005 BOBBY CAVAZOS AND THE EPICS <br />
D-207 Answer Me (Winkler-Rauch-Sigman) <span style="font-style: italic;">1962-63</span><br />
D-208 Here I Am (Larry Klein)<br />
<br />
3006 JEANNIE AND THE EPICS<br />
Mama Dear <span style="font-style: italic;">1962-63</span><br />
Glad to be Free<br />
<br />
3007 STEVE TYRELL<br />
D-211 Payday Someday (Spreen-Ashford-King) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963-64</span><br />
D-212 The Greatest Love (Ray Doggett)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"> Note: Dante 3007 reissued as All Boy 8506. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
3008 EARL BALL <br />
D-213 Going Steady, Married, or Engaged (E. Ball)<span style="font-style: italic;">1963-64</span><br />
D-214 Hung Down My Head and Cried (Davis-Bruner)<br />
<br />
3009 MIKE FRANKLIN Arranged by Glen Spreen<br />
D-214(sic) I Should Try to Forget (A. Schroeder-G. Sharp-M. Kalmanosf) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963-64</span><br />
D-215 All Alone (M. Franklin)<br />
<br />
3010 HARVEY WHITE<br />
D-219 Touch My Shoulder <span style="font-style: italic;">1963-64</span><br />
Welcome Home (H. White-R. Doggett)<br />
<br />
3011 THE TRIUMPHS<br />
You’re Mine Tonight <span style="font-style: italic;">1963-64</span><br />
People Sure Act Funny (T. Turner)<br />
<br />
3012 LITTLE GOLDEN Backed by: The Blackjacks<br />
D-222 Jealousy (The Little Green Man) (Clara Mitchell) <span style="font-style: italic;">1963-64</span><br />
D-223 House of Memories (A.J. Lankford-M. Lankford)<br />
<br />
3013<br />
<br />
<br />
3014 JOHN and MARIE<br />
LH-1225 Oo-Wee Baby (M. Alexander-J. Richmond) <span style="font-style: italic;">Late 1964</span><br />
LH-1226 One Day (M. Alexander-J. Richmond)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-66816933416644749762011-07-10T16:52:00.000-07:002011-07-19T06:31:16.275-07:00Cadette Records: The Discography<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Nn9sCwu_nJBQl0B4KHt8MFondp2cbo6XOTuP9FOvXcfWb9F_CJ7AI5_3IngSjnIfxnj-tQxkbb_BRKf3nAbnQrHIelc9HT1Z41y_xsR7-lb0tgX_nSVSw5v30PutoFQGuVtsXNRBWjM/s1600/CL+and+Pictures+Cadillac+lores.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Nn9sCwu_nJBQl0B4KHt8MFondp2cbo6XOTuP9FOvXcfWb9F_CJ7AI5_3IngSjnIfxnj-tQxkbb_BRKf3nAbnQrHIelc9HT1Z41y_xsR7-lb0tgX_nSVSw5v30PutoFQGuVtsXNRBWjM/s400/CL+and+Pictures+Cadillac+lores.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627876106790064930" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Above: C.L. and the Pictures, c. 1963. L to R: Charlie Broyles, Trent Poole, C. L. Weldon, Leroy Rodriguez, Bill Tillman, Harold Fulton.<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">CADETTE RECORDS: THE DISCOGRAPHY<br /></span><br /><br />Cadette was, along with Dante and Eric, one of Ray Doggett's early labels in Houston. There were only 10 known releases, with no known local hits, but Doggett apparently tried to corner the local market for teen sounds with early efforts from Gary Smith, C.L. and the Pictures, Vicky Vaughn, the Indigos, and others. Songwriters' credits show that Mickey Gilley, Y. Parker Wong, Clarence Garlow, Dale Gothia, Jerry Fowler, and Joe Ford (Ashford) were all involved as well. Steve Tyrell was on the scene but failed to attain a release on Cadette, which was discontinued in early 1963. <br /><br /><br />8001 GARY AND SONNY<br />ACA 4486 It’s All Over <span style="font-style:italic;">ACA session: Dec. 19, 1961</span><br />ACA 4487 You’re Gonna Love Me<br /><br />8002 VICKY VAUGHN<br />CA-8-1 Butterflies (Ray Doggett-Mickey Gilley) <span style="font-style:italic;">ACA session: Feb. 20, 1962</span><br />CA-8-2 Love Fever Ray Doggett-Mickey Gilley)<br /><br />8003 THE INDIGOS<br />CA-8-3 My Dream Girl (John Hazelbarth) <span style="font-style:italic;"> 1962</span><br />CA-8-4 Beyond Your Wildest Dreams (Y. Parker Wong)<br /><br />8004 JAY RICHARD<br />75-523 Anymore (Robey-Washington) <span style="font-style:italic;"> 1962</span><br />75-524 I’ve Got the Best (D. Gothia-J. Fowler)<br /><br />8005 C.L. AND THE PICTURES<br />CA-9 Love Will Find a Way (Clarence Garlow) <span style="font-style:italic;">1962</span><br />CA-10 Then You’ll Know (Ray Doggett)<br /> <br />8006 BERRY WILLIAMS <br />CA-11 Playmates (P.D.) <span style="font-style:italic;"> 1962-63</span><br />CA-12 As Lovely As Me (E. Williams)<br /><br />8007 GARY & SONNY<br /> Kiss and Run <span style="font-style:italic;">1962-63</span><br /><br />8008 BUDDY WILLIAMS<br /> Life, Love, and Devotion <span style="font-style:italic;"> 1963</span><br /> Marry Him<br /><br />8009 GINGER LAWLER<br />CA-17 Reassure Me (Ray Doggett) <span style="font-style:italic;"> 1963</span><br />CA-18 I’m Learning Very Fast (Ray Doggett-J. Ashford)<br /><br />8010 THE DEL-FI’S<br />D-216 No More No More (Thomas Sherman) vocal by Jim Lynch <span style="font-style:italic;">1963</span><br />D-217 Magic of Your Love (B. Brown, Jr.-J. Lynch)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Below: The Del-Fi's share the stage with the Raiders of "Stick Shift" fame at Mr. Lucky's, c. 1963.<br /></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj597luw9iEHzMXDbrylaLL6QMAhhqD4J01_6NEvUhr9RWnADpdgOiUNROFF7TrBFccCEUMptqN8e9CfqdVZ7g2h-BiD879VI8QHLZ8qv0wpKFmxwYI9A3mH0tGcj7A0jq3OHtfvfiEJZQ/s1600/MrLuckys+ad+Del-Fis%252CRaiders+lores.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 322px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj597luw9iEHzMXDbrylaLL6QMAhhqD4J01_6NEvUhr9RWnADpdgOiUNROFF7TrBFccCEUMptqN8e9CfqdVZ7g2h-BiD879VI8QHLZ8qv0wpKFmxwYI9A3mH0tGcj7A0jq3OHtfvfiEJZQ/s400/MrLuckys+ad+Del-Fis%252CRaiders+lores.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627877003615165602" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-87553047239183130932011-07-03T19:17:00.000-07:002018-04-13T15:40:19.636-07:00Alan Case<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nQEoAC-77nkrM9JY2CEHtAdczO_YnOMOayYijNsPffjN4-DFBad71WYGwxNoc8gblWyKvuDE5oCAM9bNN9OU2yXsGF9lHDdw6iAk4LcC3X8U8qbi5NzywZ5YlhKH85t2oTURnAo9rK0/s1600/Scotch+tape+box+lores.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625320961289114818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nQEoAC-77nkrM9JY2CEHtAdczO_YnOMOayYijNsPffjN4-DFBad71WYGwxNoc8gblWyKvuDE5oCAM9bNN9OU2yXsGF9lHDdw6iAk4LcC3X8U8qbi5NzywZ5YlhKH85t2oTURnAo9rK0/s400/Scotch+tape+box+lores.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 398px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Mystery of Alan Case</span><br />
<br />
Five strong, original folk songs (out of 12) from the otherwise unknown Alan Case -- a sole documented appearance at the Checkered Flag Club in Austin in the late sixties is the extent of my knowledge of this artist. The tape box simply says, "Alan Case, brought in by J. Roland Cole, pastor, St. Mark's Methodist Church, Austin." For some reason the tape was forwarded to Tantara Records, who sat on it. <br />
<br />
Case wrote some typical upbeat love songs, but the stark, bleak vision that permeates dirges like "Melinda" and "Can Anybody be to Blame?" is what stands out today. It's a shame that a singer/songwriter of this caliber can be totally forgotten. The Austin Methodist Church connection adds another layer of intrigue here; several songs have religious undertones.<br />
<br />
Austin musician Paul Tennison knew Case and remembered that Stacy Sutherland actually wanted to recruit him into the 1968-69 era 13th Floor Elevators as lead vocalist. This of course didn't happen. Mr. Case's subsequent moves are, at this point, a mystery.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks to Craig Malek. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-21846047172156682011-07-02T15:29:00.002-07:002018-03-28T18:56:41.174-07:00Terri Sharp on Ventural<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ScUWsatv_zcNNSjvZ9WefN86ItfpQ32_56fspEC9jGoeCqRnJzc1RaAKhS35KKBQyQhIMxanMWb0PF-rLORs_VQzL7hoPsWpJzaCKIUE_9pM3CicOlFxgs6cCBkJ9KqNL6QSHErUuHs/s1600/TerriSharp+HPost+Feb+13%252C66+pic+lo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624886058073298354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ScUWsatv_zcNNSjvZ9WefN86ItfpQ32_56fspEC9jGoeCqRnJzc1RaAKhS35KKBQyQhIMxanMWb0PF-rLORs_VQzL7hoPsWpJzaCKIUE_9pM3CicOlFxgs6cCBkJ9KqNL6QSHErUuHs/s400/TerriSharp+HPost+Feb+13%252C66+pic+lo.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 296px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Terri Sharp - A Love That Will Last / I'm Young (Ventural)</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fel_KjuQUFw" width="560"></iframe>
This bouncy girl pop 45 gives us a nice change of pace from the male-dominated music scene of Houston. Terri Sharp was still in high school when she cut "A Love That Will Last" in Nashville in August, 1965. Nobody there was interested in releasing it so she settled on Ventural, one of Huey Meaux's family of labels in Pasadena. It sold well enough in Houston to attract attention from Fontana, who re-released it in the US and Great Britain. It wasn't a hit, and neither was Terri's follow-up on White Cliffs. She later moved to Nashville and became a songwriter for Hank Williams. Jr's publishing company.<br />
<br />
Terri Sharp passed away Dec. 17, 2015.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Below: Terri Sharp article in the Houston Post Woman's World Chic, February 13, 1966. Click to enlarge.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1m3OCU1lXWe2KEGuor4ry6bclC4FmA8Zo1FGjAsJ2vi69KpZsqHU6zgItBYN-HYjUY8TsrBEdsIs5SCym0EzyMGUUuhF2lvrJPPWTYzlwhT_G0fw-zLgH9wIZclAa6huSfdIRa93QPg/s1600/TerriSharp+HPost+Feb+13%252C66+lo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624886333428668770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1m3OCU1lXWe2KEGuor4ry6bclC4FmA8Zo1FGjAsJ2vi69KpZsqHU6zgItBYN-HYjUY8TsrBEdsIs5SCym0EzyMGUUuhF2lvrJPPWTYzlwhT_G0fw-zLgH9wIZclAa6huSfdIRa93QPg/s400/TerriSharp+HPost+Feb+13%252C66+lo.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 135px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8Dl7lFKpEzeKj65LPBfwWd7bxEUKNWH2y4SD7gv8yZ3ZJU7xVOQZoe1oUN7WhZQPbitT_DUGzicGcOKNtxhzB_H1oL1ScZSIP3oO-sJXUTVaJpYoMmknpRTmAOwZ8fETK5D9Yf4cHWY/s1600/TerriSharp+HPost+Feb+13%252C66+2+lo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624886337046647778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8Dl7lFKpEzeKj65LPBfwWd7bxEUKNWH2y4SD7gv8yZ3ZJU7xVOQZoe1oUN7WhZQPbitT_DUGzicGcOKNtxhzB_H1oL1ScZSIP3oO-sJXUTVaJpYoMmknpRTmAOwZ8fETK5D9Yf4cHWY/s400/TerriSharp+HPost+Feb+13%252C66+2+lo.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 371px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0svZaRD7dJV_CObK-W4kWUD5FFo1vTDE9tOFP1KpmKPcXC8zLb5pu-SpfxpXbUv-hg6tc_bd4krdgDDQ5vOWkhR44btZ-70BiaGr08ioFsIsSVLH4I7v6khXMLvyZT_LYwDshLdRRy-E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-28+at+8.51.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="830" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0svZaRD7dJV_CObK-W4kWUD5FFo1vTDE9tOFP1KpmKPcXC8zLb5pu-SpfxpXbUv-hg6tc_bd4krdgDDQ5vOWkhR44btZ-70BiaGr08ioFsIsSVLH4I7v6khXMLvyZT_LYwDshLdRRy-E/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-03-28+at+8.51.55+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-4846169357861332092011-06-29T18:05:00.000-07:002019-02-24T14:47:38.441-08:00Neal Ford and the V.I.P.s on Mindi<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/422461833&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Neal Ford's '60s singles have been pretty well documented by now, but this fun teen rocker apparently eluded everybody. Credited solely to the V.I.P.'s, this is obviously Neal on vocals (he's credited as songwriter) and probably Kim Espy on harmony vocal, i.e., the same duo who performed and recorded as The Ramadas. Why the name change? Who knows? I'm guessing this dates from 1963-64. Mindi appears to be a one-off label. Ray Doggett was involved (Corette Music BMI was owned by Ray.) The backing group is unknown.<br />
<br />
Neal and Jon Pereles would form the Fanatics not long after this. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Below: the V.I.P.'s, also known as the Ramadas: Kim Espy (left) and Neal Ford, 1963-64. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKh0drPDBQkUW3SGPb8QWyqSvwhV4XTZlsk5u_ORzqXC42UaCNlTq7k3Mc1Z49c2YZMddqgbivCJctBgrbTkGbcnulCy0yjs1cm1UWTlxwopK5Zy6Cz_kimX2REleqlgl1gbrm84WwNw/s1600/ramadas+kim+espy+neal+ford.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="739" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKh0drPDBQkUW3SGPb8QWyqSvwhV4XTZlsk5u_ORzqXC42UaCNlTq7k3Mc1Z49c2YZMddqgbivCJctBgrbTkGbcnulCy0yjs1cm1UWTlxwopK5Zy6Cz_kimX2REleqlgl1gbrm84WwNw/s320/ramadas+kim+espy+neal+ford.png" width="272" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Below: Earliest photo of Neal Ford and the Fanatics, Houston, early 1965. L to R: Johnny Stringfellow (lead guitar), Neal Ford (vocals, back), John Cravey (drums), W.T. Johnson (bass), Jon Pereles (rhythm guitar, vocals). </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPutQrzrKdxbSFOlFqKtyyVuX-BnXdryiHm2M-MUjEuTA0AESA0WruWaxh-lDbYvOfRsHjHdKF-lLfgYOUpJ1YpbNIfB_clwXpWI6WFWx2wyFcoJTK-bnla-qoaUeBTJQujZ6lxs9HiJ4/s1600/Neal+Ford+Fanatics+65.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623813070150380962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPutQrzrKdxbSFOlFqKtyyVuX-BnXdryiHm2M-MUjEuTA0AESA0WruWaxh-lDbYvOfRsHjHdKF-lLfgYOUpJ1YpbNIfB_clwXpWI6WFWx2wyFcoJTK-bnla-qoaUeBTJQujZ6lxs9HiJ4/s400/Neal+Ford+Fanatics+65.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 315px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-14780648486141542012011-06-25T17:22:00.000-07:002019-03-16T19:07:30.626-07:00The Coachmen V - "99th Floor" and "Stay Away"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEJlYI7ErY9F0hTUB-swMfhZ_QeABcP-0KNE7OPpbX23azogiD0fE-ow-Pu5931wgxobKoc8q3TalBfIT1i66J5ArbaNL3IBggFI-6tePH6o3L3VclkQTvIUbDwcyraDSioFTgIbZ9n8/s1600/Moving+Sidewalks+Coachmen+lores.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622318757562205298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEJlYI7ErY9F0hTUB-swMfhZ_QeABcP-0KNE7OPpbX23azogiD0fE-ow-Pu5931wgxobKoc8q3TalBfIT1i66J5ArbaNL3IBggFI-6tePH6o3L3VclkQTvIUbDwcyraDSioFTgIbZ9n8/s400/Moving+Sidewalks+Coachmen+lores.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 311px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Above: Bill Gibbons and the Coachmen V, at Foley's in downtown Houston, late 1965. From left: Kelley Parker (organ), Dan Mitchell, Bill Gibbons, Mike Frazier, Bob Braden. (Dan Mitchell Collection)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VrZpUZd2o-A" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Coachmen V had not yet changed their name to the hipper "Moving Sidewalks" when they recorded their "lost" debut session at Gold Star Studios in Houston on April 22, 1966. It took only two hours to record the two group originals, "99th Floor" and "Stay Away." Bob Lurie engineered. Steve Ames (who was still in Neal Ford & The Fanatics at this time) was also present, and claims this was the session that started his career as a producer. His brother, Richard Ames, had rolled out the first Tantara release around this time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioz1t_fn1YGjW7kFc9pmH3UTxUBy173pB0pKp9p9NOhTxNDUDCLUHjnvLrv5IxZnopxg-yhCrYc3J0bGrmFeei9p972ePdEske_7veDWjMGaKbNore8M9DB3ff-9HjyfSWN6PMiTjeiPY/s1600/coachmen+at+gold+star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="717" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioz1t_fn1YGjW7kFc9pmH3UTxUBy173pB0pKp9p9NOhTxNDUDCLUHjnvLrv5IxZnopxg-yhCrYc3J0bGrmFeei9p972ePdEske_7veDWjMGaKbNore8M9DB3ff-9HjyfSWN6PMiTjeiPY/s320/coachmen+at+gold+star.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>The Coachmen V outside of Gold Star Studios, April 22, 1966. From left: Mike Frazier (bass), Dan Mitchell (drums), Kelley Parker (organ), Bill Gibbons (vocals, lead guitar, harmonica), and Bob Braden (rhythm guitar). (Dan Mitchell Collection)</b><br />
<br />
<br />
If this first attempt at "99th Floor" sounds flat and anemic, we should remember that these were 10th grade students in the studio for the first time, with an engineer who probably hated rock and roll. The group auditioned the songs for several local labels, including Back Beat and International Artists, but were turned down by all. A few months later, they went to Andrus Productions to re-cut the much stronger "99th Floor" we all know today. As he had with the Elevators, Walt Andrus worked his magic to make a good song sound great, and it's hard to believe only a few months separate the two versions. The second "99th Floor" was a huge regional hit when it was eventually released on Tantara in March, 1967. (The delay was due to Mainstream Records, who originally signed the group, along with Fever Tree and the Six Pents. They released the latter two but passed on "99th Floor.")<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_91YfTp5x0fDGPinZ_JFOrCvERE0nt7hcOp_V8StjkoWCJZLzEVpUfCLq2Q9ygDtzUzDT-i7YHq6XFxyXmuyVT7F6AjjwDIxBYSKpZDrjrKYU58yFH0ICYHoA6OWbutk4PHv0j5RYScg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-22+at+8.34.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_91YfTp5x0fDGPinZ_JFOrCvERE0nt7hcOp_V8StjkoWCJZLzEVpUfCLq2Q9ygDtzUzDT-i7YHq6XFxyXmuyVT7F6AjjwDIxBYSKpZDrjrKYU58yFH0ICYHoA6OWbutk4PHv0j5RYScg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-22+at+8.34.35+PM.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This version of "99th Floor" features the original line-up of Bill Gibbons (vocal, lead guitar), Dan Mitchell (drums), Kelley Parker (organ), Bob Braden (rhythm guitar), and Mike Frazier (bass). Parker and Frazier were replaced by Tom Moore and Don Summers by early 1967, when Steve Ames drafted a promotional letter introducing the group (see below). <br />
<br />
The original studio receipt survives and gives us a good idea of the breakdown of the time and costs of a typical recording session of the day: first, two hours recording (at $32.00/hour) and one hour mixing ($20.00). The 1/2 inch master tape cost $18.00, but only half the reel was used so the group was only charged $9.00. One reel of 1/4 inch tape ($2.40) would be used to dub both songs onto an easily accessible tape size, and six "D/F" (double face) 7-inch disc dubs (acetates) were made at a cost of $5.00 each. Presumably, one acetate was given to each member of the band. Total cost, including 2% sales tax, came out to $126.33 (the value equivalent of $986.00 today). The band paid in cash. The receipt was signed "RGL" (studio engineer Robert G. Lurie).<br />
<br />
As Dan Mitchell remembered in 1992:<br />
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">"We started playing all of these Battle of the Bands against the Interns from Memorial and the Surfside VI, a surf band, from Memorial. Somehow, we got a job at St. Luke’s Methodist Church on Westheimer near River Oaks. A guy concerned about youth had started something called the Teen Canteen over there every Friday and Saturday night. He’d throw a dance for the kids. It was the gym of the church. Every time we played, like a thousand kids showed up. They charged $1.00 each to get in and they’d give us the money. And we would be the band to beat at the Battle of the Bands.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">"We had some problems. A couple of guys had to quit the band. So Gibbons and I decided to change the name to “The Eleven Mile An Hour Moving Sidewalks.” That was a joke parody on the 13</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> Floor Elevators. They actually had a moving sidewalk at the Dallas airport. It had a little plaque next to it that said, “Moving Sidewalk.” I think that’s where we first saw that. So, Gibbons and I were sitting around and we said, “The Eleven Mile an Hour Moving Sidewalks” as kind of a joke. And then we said, “Wait a minute. Let’s just make it the Moving Sidewalks.” The Elevators had a big influence on us. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">"Originally, it was me, Gibbons, Kelley Parker on keyboards, and Mike Frazier on bass. We recorded “99</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> Floor” at Gold Star. We took that record (acetate) to everybody from Don Robey to Fred Carroll. Robey turned us down. We ended up going back to Steve Ames and said, “Here’s our record, are you interested?” Steve and Richard Ames always had this rivalry thing going. Steve saw this as a chance to do something on his own. He wanted to be our manager. He agreed to put up the money for the label. "</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Below: Gold Star Studio receipt for the Coachmen V, April 22, 1966.</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPo0j7hZpTpaaPdqbLS34cRtS3RhPUVJ8FqrsnfKGsEwJfphCD4UPSQnYUqxa5jM-AZ4zS9M98ySzRSiAfVsBtcBmj4_TyBwBKYx8u5FBMZXfkfx7C62DuBYMc8E-BnEx3cmMw3IdMHc/s1600/MovingSidewalksGoldstarlores.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622322415706818130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPo0j7hZpTpaaPdqbLS34cRtS3RhPUVJ8FqrsnfKGsEwJfphCD4UPSQnYUqxa5jM-AZ4zS9M98ySzRSiAfVsBtcBmj4_TyBwBKYx8u5FBMZXfkfx7C62DuBYMc8E-BnEx3cmMw3IdMHc/s400/MovingSidewalksGoldstarlores.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 327px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Below: Earliest known photographs of the Moving Sidewalks, taken at the Catacombs in Houston on or before October, 1966. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfD5uTP9To7skOLSaorwOCzFFc9mew6Q7L8M9ai8Epjf_YSBZ4bNSrqMg7Q1CinjN2onrJ13rU8em7WPHQbSHgROlhq5ICH_TIUwr_TyzkescfodZcOdhZXJ9b8GpUSGK6AypEIvg636M/s1600/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622321632383067058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfD5uTP9To7skOLSaorwOCzFFc9mew6Q7L8M9ai8Epjf_YSBZ4bNSrqMg7Q1CinjN2onrJ13rU8em7WPHQbSHgROlhq5ICH_TIUwr_TyzkescfodZcOdhZXJ9b8GpUSGK6AypEIvg636M/s400/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+6.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 396px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnUgw1aiZloXkacEHBWhCgkk6UaiFUsKRk3C2AHfBwEbF_TuXjKLNUKLzw0rr25Dy6F-prWhH3oD3v7yeTtzsTv74roDOMgcZTHo1hY59gPNB9RHKCni58xpKQbjmbOOeGPjkF9sC6hC8/s1600/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622321464081928530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnUgw1aiZloXkacEHBWhCgkk6UaiFUsKRk3C2AHfBwEbF_TuXjKLNUKLzw0rr25Dy6F-prWhH3oD3v7yeTtzsTv74roDOMgcZTHo1hY59gPNB9RHKCni58xpKQbjmbOOeGPjkF9sC6hC8/s400/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+5.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 391px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEV3sBwhbTQXlGUhMhg9gWi0yC7D49VirYsZh4pNcCwApXU1ElOMaucdP9Bfw3RhK-xGX_iZJiDgGUlGAZkBFqhxB6093Mj6brcSnz6yr0uUZNHO3jbYYmPO7aCvBsak_mey5EK3Qp6qg/s1600/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+4.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622321456191940498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEV3sBwhbTQXlGUhMhg9gWi0yC7D49VirYsZh4pNcCwApXU1ElOMaucdP9Bfw3RhK-xGX_iZJiDgGUlGAZkBFqhxB6093Mj6brcSnz6yr0uUZNHO3jbYYmPO7aCvBsak_mey5EK3Qp6qg/s400/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+4.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 392px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbIcev3iEiGu4zL2uV3d14oIRLrKpMENpdf4ocGYHY3B5ljJxpCCLEAUTqdJMS-F-6ghcpn2tSE9YcrHxACiLtPDNcFGApoK98JgAZW1nqTVN1BcN3wfw4FS0aiTE8D_SY6e_2jVMifE/s1600/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622321455800756146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbIcev3iEiGu4zL2uV3d14oIRLrKpMENpdf4ocGYHY3B5ljJxpCCLEAUTqdJMS-F-6ghcpn2tSE9YcrHxACiLtPDNcFGApoK98JgAZW1nqTVN1BcN3wfw4FS0aiTE8D_SY6e_2jVMifE/s400/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 395px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTVNVLBDzlRF7g7LIzK3HjAoNtQO0ZIUvgWcMexzfIUFAmlYRv54MBBK6VKEkpmTo4QvJsicbufCQTkZ7kQocScrApSj1Eph2Bp53KKbTYrhdjB8AAa3dSmeAmB8TJm3sLhxQWsVUsbA/s1600/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622321448029789826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTVNVLBDzlRF7g7LIzK3HjAoNtQO0ZIUvgWcMexzfIUFAmlYRv54MBBK6VKEkpmTo4QvJsicbufCQTkZ7kQocScrApSj1Eph2Bp53KKbTYrhdjB8AAa3dSmeAmB8TJm3sLhxQWsVUsbA/s400/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 397px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6_LwRbyd50JQLpLKEKh24mjiu9_NT9DC-QbiMrg9pqOLEUlfXKhdN8mXw5GqfYZntTxaZzqZ70rNHxvIcXYqPL7PuE7-KUW6kgp4Js4K0AVi81TT4F8_G1qGJclOMwz_tG67A4CJIh0/s1600/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622321446157389650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6_LwRbyd50JQLpLKEKh24mjiu9_NT9DC-QbiMrg9pqOLEUlfXKhdN8mXw5GqfYZntTxaZzqZ70rNHxvIcXYqPL7PuE7-KUW6kgp4Js4K0AVi81TT4F8_G1qGJclOMwz_tG67A4CJIh0/s400/Moving+Sidewalks+%2540+Catacombs+1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 389px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Below: Steve Ames promotional letter introducing the Moving Sidewalks, 1967. Note reference to Mainstream release of "99th Floor." Click image to enlarge. </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02UZ6BlxurP91fiREtnxTcWIKOmbWeeloWzRY_dskYHDvXS6xOIBOAjX3fDFetny_eenFtvrlXJY3qqN-m_GKvt9go8xEvh8q1csl1fQWWcIaghpmLvztJrn6OOTdFJCp5nMYITpdcOI/s1600/Moving+Sidewalks+bio+by+Steve+Ames.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622321979703422530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02UZ6BlxurP91fiREtnxTcWIKOmbWeeloWzRY_dskYHDvXS6xOIBOAjX3fDFetny_eenFtvrlXJY3qqN-m_GKvt9go8xEvh8q1csl1fQWWcIaghpmLvztJrn6OOTdFJCp5nMYITpdcOI/s400/Moving+Sidewalks+bio+by+Steve+Ames.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 325px;" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a_4dXoRINyI" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-46908186585003584132011-06-25T17:01:00.001-07:002018-03-28T18:47:17.523-07:00The Continental V<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXLBAC3aX1yx2_t7KNczYPKEzl9r8a_EFpkm6G6H6kbmsfoy2qb4YlkCNroAJIvxa6lFIrR5wZf_mYnyQqK2Im1CLjmm_vcQZCN1PQOpzCqzCJY0UM_SowJ7IGXNIBbek7aFdE7z39Bo/s1600/Continental+101.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622313125321840994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXLBAC3aX1yx2_t7KNczYPKEzl9r8a_EFpkm6G6H6kbmsfoy2qb4YlkCNroAJIvxa6lFIrR5wZf_mYnyQqK2Im1CLjmm_vcQZCN1PQOpzCqzCJY0UM_SowJ7IGXNIBbek7aFdE7z39Bo/s400/Continental+101.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 378px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 386px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Continental V - Wake Me Up Girl / Tell My Why (Continental 101 & Radel 107)</span><br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lERktZdkZtA" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br />
Very little information has surfaced on the mysterious Continental V, the group who crafted the psych classic "Wake Me Up Girl." A surviving studio receipt, however, gives us some clues. The session was done at Gold Star in Houston on July 29, 1967, with Jim Duff engineering. Karl Horn of 1818 Wayside Drive, Texas City, paid $219.50 for the studio time and 100 records. This was not an insubstantial investment -- $219 being the equivalent of spending $1,400 today. Both sides were recorded and mixed in three hours. <br />
<br />
One hundred copies were pressed on the band's own Continental label, but these must have sold out quickly, and it was soon re-pressed on the Radel label. The producer credit shifted in the meantime from K. Horn to Ray Dale Boynton. And that was all from Texas City's number one psych band. I'm guessing that they didn't survive into the '70s. <br />
<br />
Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman fame has recorded a new version of "Wake Me Up Girl" that is scheduled to be released this year. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Below: Gold Star Studio receipt for Continental V session. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-xwWqn2y-zyYBSNtW3O3m0-ass7TX-YiUOW-OJpLNjrKrvWrFSAfNwgiM1hPP9mkiegfBgNQuURUg__Z-UAhktQmdglobTVm60xOAsmMN8Z7jVBNwnew6Adb9U5z3Tm4lhjUmYXFwwE/s1600/Continental+V+Gold+Star-+lores.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622312192735050770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-xwWqn2y-zyYBSNtW3O3m0-ass7TX-YiUOW-OJpLNjrKrvWrFSAfNwgiM1hPP9mkiegfBgNQuURUg__Z-UAhktQmdglobTVm60xOAsmMN8Z7jVBNwnew6Adb9U5z3Tm4lhjUmYXFwwE/s400/Continental+V+Gold+Star-+lores.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 315px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxl9-EyRSpUOyIuuuM0YHlVuci6avYUCX71nnsWLWi17b4MbDT9b_0MLSbT7O26W5XMi2P7mCBasFSrAL47IhaUk4Y3VW_AngoGsTzJ0ynmzUVNnEN9fago6Mi9PKXjQiYg1sI2Ky_70k/s1600/RADEL+107.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622313128355535858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxl9-EyRSpUOyIuuuM0YHlVuci6avYUCX71nnsWLWi17b4MbDT9b_0MLSbT7O26W5XMi2P7mCBasFSrAL47IhaUk4Y3VW_AngoGsTzJ0ynmzUVNnEN9fago6Mi9PKXjQiYg1sI2Ky_70k/s400/RADEL+107.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 306px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 304px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-45417217535274769522011-05-14T18:12:00.000-07:002011-05-14T20:13:04.573-07:00Kurt Linhof on the Decline and Fall of International Artists<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_PeTnUuE74iUymF71c9qkyQDHKdCW_DcAWHs17VIwOl5xYM-zppZ2Rap9ThlyrS4HnruXP55ukVC_YZfAdtEPN1QwsCIFXbRfsN8zPtSoOgS5rDYoopdBNlxoAjPcH99uzDBhVft1wg/s1600/Spidels+Kurt+Linhof+SanAntonio.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 370px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_PeTnUuE74iUymF71c9qkyQDHKdCW_DcAWHs17VIwOl5xYM-zppZ2Rap9ThlyrS4HnruXP55ukVC_YZfAdtEPN1QwsCIFXbRfsN8zPtSoOgS5rDYoopdBNlxoAjPcH99uzDBhVft1wg/s400/Spidels+Kurt+Linhof+SanAntonio.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606748682592956562" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Above: Kurt Linhof (second from left) with the Spidels in San Antonio c. 1966.<br /></span><br /><br />After decades of research, we now know plenty about the International Artists label during their early glory days of 1966-67. Far less attention has been paid to its shadowy and mysterious final year before declaring bankruptcy and shutting the doors in resigned anonymity in 1971. Unbelievably, what had been one of the most promising up-and-coming record labels in the Southwest just a couple of years before was by then a hemorrhaging mess of a company, having careened from the top of the pop charts with "Hot Smoke and Sassafras" to shambolic nothingness in no time. <br /><br />One of the few surviving witnesses from this dark period is musician Kurt Linhof. A member of the San Antonio '60s band The Spidels (pictured above), he was in Houston working with The Children when he heard about a job opening at International Artists in early 1970. He was soon working 100 hours a week refurbishing the Brock Street studio, a renovation that never actually reached completion. Very little was recorded at IA during this final period, and only a few singles and one album (Endle St. Cloud's disappointing <span style="font-style:italic;">Thank You All Very Much</span>) made it to vinyl. Kurt reveals all the gory details in our conversation below. <br /><br />Remarkably, the surviving Children reformed for a session at IA (now Sugar Hill Studios) in 2004. Linhof recalls, "It was amazing to click like we had in '72-3, or whenever the last time together was. I think we figured 32 years since we'd all been together at once. It was kind of magic that we were still right in the groove together. The studio sounds much better than it used to and is so comfortable to work in."<br /><br />Kurt is better known today for his line of Linhof custom guitars. A true guitar and amp guru, he is also working on finishing what should be one of the definitive books on Fender amps, entitled <span style="font-style:italic;">The Pre-CBS Fender Amp Collectors and Investors Guide.</span><br /><br /><br />KURT LINHOF: In 1969, I went up to Virginia to go to Antioch's experimental branch, then gave that up after a semester. When I came back in January '70, I played bass with the Children and took a job at International Artists, recording test sessions while helping wire the new 16-track board. They were pretty much bankrupt, so I was getting $2.50 an hour, working over 100 hours a week. We had to get this 16-track up, 'cause they had no income. They tore out the old recording shit to rewire it. We put in, like, 52 miles of wire. It was a 16-track; it was a big deal. It never worked, either. Because instead of hiring a real engineer to design it, they hired this guy that'd just come out of Elkins Institute (laughs)...and paid him, you know, four dollars an hour (laughs) to design this massively complex state of the art studio.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What is the Elkins Institute?<br /></span><br />It's like DeVry Institutes are today. It's a tech school, trade school. I applied that summer, the summer of '70. Honest to God, they wouldn't let me in 'cause my hair was too long (laughs). I couldn't even pay 'em money to be a student!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">This was in Houston?<br /></span><br /> Yeah. I was assigned as production engineer for a new band IA had found named Denim. And this is what's really cool: I was 19, and I got a credit in <span style="font-style:italic;">Billboard</span> as Production Engineer (of Denim). I think it was the July 18th (1970) issue. I thought it was front page, it was actually on page 18, after seeing the copy. "Producer"....can you imagine? I was 19. I'd been riding the knobs for all of about two weeks.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Below: Billboard, July 18, 1970.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwy8_5E8yrNKMcbDMR3VQUnU6vFWdkgQAjCor3L7tzESZ5h7mY9QJ-ata-EDELddG6CMz1xge9JKGdyYseqRORVolaFGefl4Q6TCFero-dbEKjkZje92-c3wKC1L2UJcDvlX2bcRrwes/s1600/BB+IA+Kurt+Linhof+July18%252C+70.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 196px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwy8_5E8yrNKMcbDMR3VQUnU6vFWdkgQAjCor3L7tzESZ5h7mY9QJ-ata-EDELddG6CMz1xge9JKGdyYseqRORVolaFGefl4Q6TCFero-dbEKjkZje92-c3wKC1L2UJcDvlX2bcRrwes/s400/BB+IA+Kurt+Linhof+July18%252C+70.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606747142378048594" /></a><br /><br />This board, we could never get more than 9 channels working. Once you got into the tenth channel, the whole system would go into some sort of parasitic oscillation (laughs)...all the meters would peg and everything would blow up.<br /><br />So, it really wasn't happening. And they called in experts -- we bought a bunch of real expensive modules -- and they called in experts from Tektronix or whoever had built the modules, and they couldn't figure 'em out. 'Cause this guy from Elkins had designed this Frankenstein system with hundreds of ground loops.<br /><br />They never really got the studio working. They'd hired Dale Hawkins as the President. The guy who wrote "Susie-Q." And Dale showed up once in awhile. He never, ever oversaw me on a session. Even though I was his lead engineer, I guess. There were two of us...so I don't know what I was. But anyway, Hawkins would show up once in awhile and one time -- he had a sidekick named "Steve" -- they both came to the studio one day wearing zoot suits. Dale had an Eldorado convertible. And they had a chrome-plated Thompson (machine gun) with 'em, playing gangsters. Driving around Houston, drinking, with a Thompson under the seat...a chrome-plated Thompson.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Below: Dale Hawkins.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFaOw_mEbQIkxbM3W90kKAy1DyIamxSp8exfVgPD8oAnTBQEnDgaHxMdFpmGCDmExPPQPpaG2u4zNhB8pPeHWG98-l1xUwEjPMywtcfitgX4DpiRT8-P6iIln_UxGdpuRIGBFmV0CLQqc/s1600/Dale+Hawkins.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 331px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFaOw_mEbQIkxbM3W90kKAy1DyIamxSp8exfVgPD8oAnTBQEnDgaHxMdFpmGCDmExPPQPpaG2u4zNhB8pPeHWG98-l1xUwEjPMywtcfitgX4DpiRT8-P6iIln_UxGdpuRIGBFmV0CLQqc/s400/Dale+Hawkins.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606747349467751442" /></a><br /><br /><br />It was crazy. The whole place was bugged. J.L. Patterson and what was that other guy...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bill Dillard?<br /></span><br />B.J. Dillard. And J.L. Patterson. I don't know if they were friends, or...they didn't show up much, either. They'd come sometimes late at night, sneak up to the upstairs office, and have meetings. I'd see 'em around, because I was working 24 hours a day. Anyway, the place was bugged. They had wires running back to their houses so they could listen to each other and what was going on at IA in their absence . I forget who bugged who. Either B.J. had done it, or... J.L. had the place bugged, so he could listen to what Dillard was saying about him behind his back.<br /><br />Dennis, the Elkins engineer, had helped wire this up. And Dennis was also probably helping build the blue boxes, where you could make free long distance calls. There was a little of that going on. And either Patterson or Dillard was into that deal. Don't know who they sold them to, but it was a "living."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Yeah, I think Patterson went to jail for that later.<br /></span><br />That's right. And Dennis knew about it but didn't get busted. Dennis got hired away and went to work for IMC Drilling Mud. They probably paid him like seven times what he was making there (at IA).<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Below: International Artists Studio. Click to enlarge.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsB_4R0ooSvpnHEeIAF6otkpW5JxxalgcrYU50p8W_EuHe07SaGXjiUtcfgdMRCjkPyf9bxrMxoKETQiBMkzwM5K7ZcnYP1_Q8gEr1_WVfJbLnumffCKqdDQ_Y0NRrFb87AeD8tt2NOws/s1600/IA+Studio+lores.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsB_4R0ooSvpnHEeIAF6otkpW5JxxalgcrYU50p8W_EuHe07SaGXjiUtcfgdMRCjkPyf9bxrMxoKETQiBMkzwM5K7ZcnYP1_Q8gEr1_WVfJbLnumffCKqdDQ_Y0NRrFb87AeD8tt2NOws/s400/IA+Studio+lores.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606751272151286866" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Do you remember Dennis's last name? He's not credited on any of the IA records or papers.<br /></span><br />Bledsoe, but he didn't do any of the "art", he was strictly a wire jockey. And apparently had no music talent at all. He also owned a PA system. Homebrew. Real powerful. He would rent it, but he would have to run it. He rented it out to Steve Miller once, who had his own guy running it. But Dennis had to babysit it. And they had it turned up too loud. Dennis turned it off, unplugged it, and said that, you know, "You can't use this." This was at a gig! Dennis took his toy and went home.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Did you ever see guys like Ray Rush or Fred Carroll at IA?<br /></span><br />I think Fred Carroll came around once or twice, but there was nothing to do... 'cause there was no system.<br /><br />The other famous thing about IA that I remember was, for monitors, they used <span style="font-style:italic;">three</span> Altec A-7 Voice of Theater speakers (because they had used 3-track Ampexes forever). Those giant things you'd find in an old movie theater? They had three of those. And the control room was the size of a small kitchen. So there's these giant boxes in your face. It's no wonder early IA's recordings sound like they do (laughs). 'Cause that's what we mixed on. God, it was...I ran a mix, I think it was for Denim, and I came up to Denver. Walt Andrus had given me the name of a guy, Dick Darnell, who had the best studio in Denver. I took this tape that I had done and put it on his system -- he had a flat system, a real recording studio -- and it was the worst sound I'd ever heard. And that was my work. I was up there, kind of looking for work. Fat chance with that example...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">So you thought you'd play him this tape, he might be impressed...<br /></span><br /> Yeah. I play this tape and it was unbelievably bad. God, it was awful. It brought me right back to where I belonged. I even spun a few untouchable settings on the monitor system to balance it - and of course, blamed it on IA's system, but it was just as much my lack of training as our terrible mix facility. Darnell wasn't happy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">So even Bubble Puppy had left IA by this time?<br /></span><br />Yeah. "Hot Smoke and Sassafrass" had sold 600,000 copies or something, and it bought IA new carpet and a new sofa. They were very proud of that. Really. They talked about it. We (The Children) did some gigs with them around south Texas, made no money, then they headed for L.A., to become "Demian", after apparently "borrowing" their IA masters one night. That's all hearsay, but I have no reason to doubt it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpZbCP9srwz2Kr7RRqcrO_bL0tmlqrFIcPbaGm15VJfFk-nFdrzCMJxMAlNXmRbe3AsycrbU_437BF_KwGpaCk8LcU7wcVgrLNAucDf8IdufGjvyl5sFfCY8L7wedtB1puRc4DcEl0kE/s1600/IA+Stationary.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 90px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpZbCP9srwz2Kr7RRqcrO_bL0tmlqrFIcPbaGm15VJfFk-nFdrzCMJxMAlNXmRbe3AsycrbU_437BF_KwGpaCk8LcU7wcVgrLNAucDf8IdufGjvyl5sFfCY8L7wedtB1puRc4DcEl0kE/s400/IA+Stationary.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606748481004223026" /></a><br /><br />My Favorite Memory was - the front closet in the waiting room was completely full of "defective" Elevators record returns. Thousands of 'em. I took a few. They were "defective" I think because of the jug. (Laughs) People would listen to 'em and go, "What's that noise?" I'm serious. Like a record store owner in Arkansas would put the record on, and hear that jug, say, "there's something wrong with this record," and send it back. And it was also just returns, because the Elevators -- they're not gonna sell in Arkansas. Just too fuckin' weird, man. But there were boxes of 'em. This whole closet was full of albums and singles. There were thousands, literally. A good percentage of Elevator records were probably in this closet!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">So how long did you work there? A few months?<br /></span><br />Yeah, maybe three or four months. Maybe six. And, like I said, Dale Hawkins was never around. And he was on some sort of big retainer, I guess. But he got my name in <span style="font-style:italic;">Billboard</span>. I mean, he still had that kind of clout.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-11423644590880088432011-05-14T17:54:00.000-07:002011-05-14T18:10:53.529-07:00International Artists in Billboard, March 15, 1969The music industry trade press took very little notice of the International Artists label. That's what makes this 1969 article in <span style="font-style:italic;">Billboard</span> so surprising. Datelined "New York" (?), we learn that IA is currently planning an ambitious expansion after a "management overhaul" eight months prior. The circumstances of that overhaul are unknown, as Bill Dillard, Noble Ginther, and J.L. Patterson, "Houston businessmen" (no mention is made of the law firm), were in charge before the overhaul. Lelan Rogers was long gone by this point, and Ray Rush was now the general manager. (Fred Carroll was also back in the fold by then, but is not mentioned.) The idea that IA would be releasing "a minimum" of two albums a month is quite puzzling when we consider that the label only released three LPs total between then and the bankruptcy in 1971. The Shades LP never materialised. <br /><br />Bubble Puppy was hitting with "Hot Smoke and Sassafrass" at the time but, they, too, didn't get a mention. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvpH3DTATtVFpm5ntOn8FCEq4Hdv-HUXhr1aHI32WLXpiG3LD7ch6FwNI1LXqHy1Yt3gwu7fVoTbonQHltpMeYSMjGyWl3roA9GHo3O_tzoo3BTTG2soBYcgsOTcr2ALw-pb8btJip2o/s1600/IA+-+BB+3-15-69+IA+Expansion.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 255px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvpH3DTATtVFpm5ntOn8FCEq4Hdv-HUXhr1aHI32WLXpiG3LD7ch6FwNI1LXqHy1Yt3gwu7fVoTbonQHltpMeYSMjGyWl3roA9GHo3O_tzoo3BTTG2soBYcgsOTcr2ALw-pb8btJip2o/s400/IA+-+BB+3-15-69+IA+Expansion.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606740133984225506" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-75652535542031866102011-04-18T18:47:00.001-07:002018-03-28T18:35:05.251-07:00Mr. Rogers' Cabinet of Curiosities: Dissecting "Epitaph For A Legend"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwELWQzsHvlMtC-GCwcJ1_g9vAjtoAS3396OzwDfqTBJQSoQr7v6QRbwgbTuENNoZNmMpg0VHt37LTJjJ4jXoFPAKi5DmokRfocGS_ZVu8nOxTw49j8JmZ5048hCB5ikIFH6rxfc2_6c/s1600/Epitaph.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597106482239307026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwELWQzsHvlMtC-GCwcJ1_g9vAjtoAS3396OzwDfqTBJQSoQr7v6QRbwgbTuENNoZNmMpg0VHt37LTJjJ4jXoFPAKi5DmokRfocGS_ZVu8nOxTw49j8JmZ5048hCB5ikIFH6rxfc2_6c/s400/Epitaph.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 378px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
Various Artists - <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph For A Legend</span> 2CD digipack with 40 page booklet (Charly/International Artists Snax 620)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.internationalartistsrecords.com/epitaph-for-a-legend.html">Official webpage.</a><br />
<br />
The 1980 IA retrospective, <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph For A Legend</span>, is now on its third or fourth go-round in the digital era. This 2010 iteration from Charly is, by all appearances, the 'definitive' version, if such a term can accurately be ascribed to an album that's mostly famous among record collectors for being so remarkably <span style="font-style: italic;">un</span>-definitive. <br />
<br />
A large part of the problem with <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span> is its maddening lack of self-definition. Is it a greatest hits package? No. IA only had two of those, and neither are here. Is it a rarities package? No, because several of the rarest singles are excluded. Is it a smorgasbord of previously unissued goodies, carefully selected for quality? No, nearly one-third of the 27 cuts had been released. <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span>, then, is 'none of the above,' a jumbled potpurri of sounds, presided over by their original producer and Svengali, Lelan Rogers. <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span> less resembles a dignified 'epitaph' than it does a hastily-organized rummage sale held by distant relatives after the death of an eccentric but somewhat appreciated uncle. Some jewels are to be discovered, to be sure, but one has to dig through piles of rubbish to find them. For example, Bubble Puppy, IA’s biggest group, are nowhere to be found on <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span> -- the first clue to the buyer that things here are quite amiss. (Years would pass before we realized why: the Puppy had been produced by Ray Rush, not Rogers, and Lelan was only-too-happy to keep the focus on two bands he produced, the Elevators and the Red Crayola. Despite its Top 20 status, 'Hot Smoke & Sassafrass' passes unmentioned in Jon Savage's interview with Rogers, enclosed within both the original double LP and this CD.)<br />
<br />
And it wouldn’t be an IA album without a garish, hand-drawn cover too amateurish-looking even for a tax write-off or vanity labels. Each of the original 12 LPs are given their own tombstone (the singles apparently weren’t given a proper burial -- an unintentionally ironic statement on the album’s contents). Anyone expecting, say, a photograph or two of the bands has clearly set their expectations way too high. In the packaging department, <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph for a Legend</span> fully complements the DIY non-aesthetic of contemporaneous early garage-psych bootlegs like <span style="font-style: italic;">Boulders</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Texas Flashbacks. </span><br />
<br />
Retrospectives of this sort almost always include some information on the artists. Even the most oblivious, only-in-it-for-the-money discount label knows this. But clearly this, also, is expecting too much of Lelan Rogers, who instead of providing information on the bands or recordings, merely inserted his 1978 Jon Savage interview into the original package, as if it constituted the final word of IA. Actually, the interview raises more questions that it answers (not the least for its omission of Bubble Puppy), and much of what Rogers says is of questionable accuracy. It is not wholly without value, but I believe much of what he said has since been supplanted by better research. This is not to denigrate the man too much. We should not forget that Lelan's job at all times was to sell records, not write history books, and at least he was making an effort to do <span style="font-style: italic;">something</span>, within his limitations. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ijst3Ryihtzpi3Yd29gyLh2_kPcScI7uPUhuaCLyQbwxreQ6ilfZRUhOLt86hIEynOmBUv4R2ylqFTbXCV-xKMmNYjvmLKWg2yraSjXH6vXJphzRdH0oqWOI6woyHTsOU4Tun5VIdEg/s1600/Lelan+Rogers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597106616148215330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ijst3Ryihtzpi3Yd29gyLh2_kPcScI7uPUhuaCLyQbwxreQ6ilfZRUhOLt86hIEynOmBUv4R2ylqFTbXCV-xKMmNYjvmLKWg2yraSjXH6vXJphzRdH0oqWOI6woyHTsOU4Tun5VIdEg/s400/Lelan+Rogers.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 250px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 250px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Lelan Rogers, amidst his paisley curtains, working the phones in an attempt to create a hit, 1960s.</span><br />
<br />
Mistaking the enthusiasm of a few LA, Texas, and UK record collectors for a larger, general interest, Rogers pressed several thousand copies of <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span>, but his naïve optimism for the revived IA label was soon met with cold reality: only a few hundred copies actually sold at the time of release, and Lelan was forced to wholesale the rest at cost to Midnight Records in New York (where it was a list staple now for decades). It probably never occurred to him that sales might have been stronger had the album been responsibly packaged and logically laid out. Lelan’s timing was off, too – interest in obscure sixties labels and music was only then getting off the ground (<span style="font-style: italic;">Pebbles</span> Volume 1 had just appeared), and years passed before a real market developed for this kind of thing. If he had waited until 1986, and had spent a little more thought on packaging and track selection, Lelan might well have had an underground 'hit' with <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6f0pGFWkRtuNIqWaqmQ9ohyEMCP2G5HHESUf-hw1Z0uijvoea_HiBzht6A6qQsXnMy7Pj_Ho6SEKNy9y35Epyvo2nWX8qiRvfYoE4AMI4CbnjhXwLJxmZNk07LyOcQrHmpVr_kT_Cw8/s1600/Oct13%252C79+LelanRogers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597306455329610882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6f0pGFWkRtuNIqWaqmQ9ohyEMCP2G5HHESUf-hw1Z0uijvoea_HiBzht6A6qQsXnMy7Pj_Ho6SEKNy9y35Epyvo2nWX8qiRvfYoE4AMI4CbnjhXwLJxmZNk07LyOcQrHmpVr_kT_Cw8/s400/Oct13%252C79+LelanRogers.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 327px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 178px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Billboard 13 October 1979</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
Charly has seen fit to <span style="font-style: italic;">finally</span> give the album the proper liner notes it should have had back in '80. Mole from the Higher State has sorted out what was originally released and what wasn't, helpfully filling in whatever info has come to light over the last three decades. Jon Savage’s interview with Rogers is presented here yet again, with a thoughtful new introduction for context. Remarkably, Jon reveals that his introduction to IA came in 1971, when he discovered a copy of <span style="font-style: italic;">Easter Everywhere </span>at Doug Dobell's 77 Charing Cross record store. He was thus as prepared as anyone to chat with Lelan, whom he recalls 'had exactly the right amount of passion mixed with just that hint of carnival chicanery' -- one of the 'old school' of record business operators who could work the phones and BS with enough DJs enough to help create a national hit, even for a local two-bit operation like IA.<br />
<br />
Disc 1<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Chayns - Night Time (Is The Right Time)</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span> begins with a bit of a let-down: a San Antonio garage band’s inept and redundant version of the Strangeloves. This was released on the strictly-local 'Alamo Audio' label first, and, after apparently becoming a minor hit, was licensed by IA for some hoped-for larger distribution that never happened. (This 'buy-in' was unusual; most of what IA released was recorded by them.) One wonders if Lelan was even aware of the Strangeloves’ vastly superior version, which hit #30 in the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1965.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucNu_oFqF8JR4DCkJwUTYa-_bFAVXGza40hd9tiNUKzCXQfqqMlv25XB54mGQXWNbfBlEU142JpwMoWx1pOkT5tDBPPbHoT4B6jtEQtPfgFjOVO7xA70d5EPnfreM_IdqsNtDSwd-uo4/s1600/chayns+AustinAS+8-1966.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597106700819601474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucNu_oFqF8JR4DCkJwUTYa-_bFAVXGza40hd9tiNUKzCXQfqqMlv25XB54mGQXWNbfBlEU142JpwMoWx1pOkT5tDBPPbHoT4B6jtEQtPfgFjOVO7xA70d5EPnfreM_IdqsNtDSwd-uo4/s400/chayns+AustinAS+8-1966.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 367px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Patterns - In My Own Time</span><br />
This is more like it: an unknown group tackling a little-known Bee Gees album cut. Would have made a respectable single at the time. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Chaparrels - I Tried So Hard </span><br />
<br />
Another unknown group, but presumably the same Houston bunch who put out 'Roxanne' on the Notsuoh label when IA passed on them (comped on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Houston Hallucinations</span> LP). One of the few real surprises of <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span>, 'I Tried So Hard' is an energetically fuzz-driven, harder-rocking cop of 'Along Comes Mary' that practically screams 'hit.' Though Lelan presumably produced the original session, no explanation is given as to why it was left unreleased.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday's Children - A Part Of You</span><br />
One of Houston’s better rock bands of the era, Thursday’s Children had two highly regarded singles for IA. They didn’t sell, and were rare and unheard at the time of <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph.</span> Surely that meant their inclusion was warranted here, yes? Er, no. Instead we’re treated to 'A Part of You,' which is decent, but sounds demo-y, and not nearly as good as any of the four single sides.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Rubayyat - If I Were A Carpenter </span><br />
Strangely credited to Electric Rubayyat on the original <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span> LP, we now know that this was Danny Galindo’s post-Elevators group, comprised of Austin and San Antonio players (including Bill Hallmark from the Golden Dawn). This was released as a single in early 1968, and is a pleasant though pedestrian cover of the Tim Hardin/Bobby Darin hit from two years prior. The American Blues released a stronger version at approximately the same time.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sonny Hall - Poor Planet Earth</span><br />
Forgettable novelty nonsense from a washed-up lounge/country singer, completely out-of-place here. This didn’t deserve its’ original 45 release, much less a reappearance on what was supposed to be a rock/psych-oriented retrospective.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Inner Scene - Communication Breakdown</span><br />
Led Zeppelin goes to the garage. A fun, originally unissued version, though, like the Rubayyat’s 'If I Were a Carpenter,' redundant, and hardly worth dredging up when far superior material was left waiting in the wings.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Red Crayola - Hurricane Fighter Plane</span><br />
Mono version of the master take of this psych goodie, the closest any Texas band got to sounding like early Pink Floyd; presented here <span style="font-style: italic;">sans</span> the extraneous 'freakout' noise (and lousy fidelity) of the familiar fake-stereo version heard on <span style="font-style: italic;">Parable for Arable Land.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Red Crayola - Pink Stainless Tail (Demo) / Nickle Niceness (Demo) / Vile, Vile Grass (Demo) / Transparent Radiation (Demo) </span><br />
Rough drafts for songs that were re-recorded for <span style="font-style: italic;">Parable</span>. Lelan obviously had a soft spot for this group, whom he thought were 'gimmicky' enough to hit as a novelty act, <span style="font-style: italic;">a la</span> the Mothers of Invention or Tiny Tim. One demo would have been appropriate here; four is excessive overkill.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Emperors - I Want My Woman</span><br />
Los Angeles-area group who recorded this for Lelan’s Sabra label in 1965. Nothing to do with IA, therefore perfectly appropriate for inclusion on <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lost And Found - 25 M.P.H.</span><br />
Basic demo of a dull, unissued song from this underachieving Houston group. Their IA album <span style="font-style: italic;">Everybody’s Here </span>captures a third-rate Elevators copy band that never really outgrew their roots as surf instrumentalists; however they rallied to create a fabulous single-only release, 'When Will You Come Through' in ’68. <span style="font-weight: bold;">That</span> would have been the logical choice for <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span>, but any listener still expecting logic at this point in the programme is an exceptionally slow learner.<br />
<br />
CD 1 thus concludes with just 14 tracks, at least six of which are redundant and/or mediocre, and less than 40 minutes of music.<br />
<br />
<br />
Disc 2<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Big Walter - Breakfast In Bed </span><br />
Besides Lightnin’ Hopkins, pianist Big Walter Price was the only African-American artist to record for otherwise lily-white IA. Walter had recorded some R&B for Peacock in the fifties, and 'Breakfast in Bed' is basically ossified early fifties R&B dusted off and given a contemporary rock gloss. Like the 'The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions' LP, it’s 'blues rock' not likely to please either blues or rock audiences. Certainly not bad, though for curiosity value only.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Dave Allen - C. C. Rider / Saturday A.M. Blues</span><br />
Dave Allen was a white bluesman who had some singles for Jin and a worthwhile 1969 album for IA, <span style="font-style: italic;">Color Blind</span>. It's apparent from listening to these two that they are from the same session that produced Big Walter's 'Breakfast in Bed.' Neither are as good as anything on <span style="font-style: italic;">Color Blind</span>. 'C.C. Rider' is a generic version of the done-to-death standard, and 'Saturday A.M. Blues' is a forgettable Lightnin' Hopkins imitation. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lightnin' Hopkins - Conversation With Lightnin' Hopkins </span><br />
This could have been entitled, 'Conversation With Two Incoherent Drunkards' and no one would have known the difference. This is apparently Lelan attempting to 'interview' Hopkins, an excerpt of a<span style="font-style: italic;"> three-hour</span> tete-a-tete recorded during the <span style="font-style: italic;">Free Form Patterns</span> sessions. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lightnin' Hopkins - Black Ghost Blues </span><br />
A good outtake from the otherwise forgettable <span style="font-style: italic;">Free Form Patterns</span> LP. Typical Hopkins.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Roky Erickson - Interview with Roky (KSAN 4/1/78) </span><br />
A complete waste of space. 'Roky, what do you think of the Sex Pistols?'<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Spades - You're Gonna Miss Me / We Sell Soul</span><br />
The first LP appearance of Roky’s pre-Elevators garage band, originally released on the Zero label in Austin. That might raise some eyebrows: 'What are they doing on an IA comp, then?,' you might ask. Dunno, though it must have been exciting to obtain these two rare, practically unknown tracks at the time. Though far superior vinyl rips could be (and have been) made from the 45 using today’s technology, that would be expecting too much, and Charly has opted instead to use the dreadful needle-drops done in the ‘70s for the original LP.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Roky Erickson & Clementine Hall - Splash 1 / Right Track Now</span><br />
Two 'unplugged' Elevators songs, exposing their folk music roots and sympathies. Mysteries when they appeared on <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span>, years of archaeological research has established that these are <span style="font-style: italic;">Easter Everywhere</span> outtakes.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13th Floor Elevators - Wait For My Love</span><br />
By far the most significant track on <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span> when it appeared was this previously-unknown Bull of the Woods-era pop-rocker from Stacy Sutherland. Recorded after Lelan left IA, it is the most commercial song in the Elevators’ entire canon (after 'You’re Gonna Miss Me') -- and yet, astonishingly, was rejected both as a single and an LP track. The band achieves a tightness largely absent from the ’68 sessions, and 'Wait For My Love' compares favourably to Moby Grape’s first LP – not a sound one would readily expect from the Elevators. An inferior rewrite, entitled "Til Then," did finally make it on Bull of the Woods.<br />
<br />
Aurally, this sounds like a second-generation tape dub, and since the exact same version appears on the 2009 box set, we must assume that it’s all that survived. A newly-remixed version was released as a new IA single this month (April, 2011). <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13th Floor Elevators - 60-Second Radio Spot for 'Bull Of The Woods' </span><br />
Interesting radio commercial from 1969, aimed at a San Francisco audience, where it was presumed they still had a following (though we now know that they hadn't appeared there since '66).<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13th Floor Elevators - Fire Engine</span><br />
Mono single mix. Mildly different from the stereo version, but something like the mono single version of 'Levitation' would have been a far better choice. But that would have actually required some thought and deliberation. <br />
<br />
CD 2 finishes the programme at a mere 13 tracks: four pedestrian blues numbers, two 'spoken-word' pieces, two Spades tracks unrelated to IA, two acoustic Elevators demos, and one great track, 'Wait For My Love.' An exceptionally poor showing. <br />
<br />
And there you have it. Twenty-seven tracks on two CDs, well over half of which would have been rejected for <span style="font-style: italic;">Pebbles Volume 89;</span> nothing at all by two of IA's greatest bands, Bubble Puppy and the Golden Dawn (and no explanation for their exclusion); four tracks that have nil to do with IA; a clutch of unremarkable demos; a couple of rambling spoken-word pieces; and – almost by accident! – a few great tracks that almost justify the hype. All in all, <span style="font-style: italic;">Epitaph</span> was/is a textbook example of why label owners should leave this sort of thing to the fans. It <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> have been great. But the same could be said of IA as a whole, couldn't it?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120238302251890469.post-75633763032381595122011-04-18T18:13:00.001-07:002011-04-18T18:45:39.936-07:00New 13th Floor Elevators / Red Crayola Vinyls on International Artists<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSykems0tk-m96ULi1Q6wvWWXk6zkVJntAbbo5XOE0Np8VoeWgHJwp0hP6PIBjEocQTErHZlsccfx4A2EsDxzMVeFA2a6FiK90BUtAiouaIDtsUS4N276p9tw78ktJ2dEIH0ZEoncmwo/s1600/IA+new+45s.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSykems0tk-m96ULi1Q6wvWWXk6zkVJntAbbo5XOE0Np8VoeWgHJwp0hP6PIBjEocQTErHZlsccfx4A2EsDxzMVeFA2a6FiK90BUtAiouaIDtsUS4N276p9tw78ktJ2dEIH0ZEoncmwo/s400/IA+new+45s.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597097658282059906" /></a><br /><br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.shindig-magazine.com/Happening-April-2011email.html">Shindig magazine's website, </a>two new vinyl 45 rpms have been issued on International Artists for the first time in 40 years. This is most welcome news. The 13th Floor Elevators' lost sixth single, planned for 1968 but for unexplained reasons left completely unissued, "Wait For My Love," is finally being pressed, as is the Red Crayola's "Hurricane Fighter Plane," both with "correct" label artwork for the time in which they should have been released. Both have been remixed by Sonic Boom and are limited to 2,000 copies. Along with the most recent spate of reissues, this is the first time International Artists material has been intelligently reissued since ... er ... well actually IA has <span style="font-style:italic;">never</span> been intelligently reissued, come to think of it. So this is a completely new experience. <br /><br />Check your local shops for availability.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0