Gig #11: Garage Rock Journeymen

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‘After Rock & Roll saw a relative decline in popularity during the early 1960s, new acts that had this genre as their main template as well as influences such as Surf Rock, Rhythm & Blues, British Beat Music and early Pop/Rock would emerge. Their musical approach was distinguished for being relatively raw and energetic, generally employing simple, fuzzbox-distorted guitar melodies and many times even shouting or screaming. Since many of these groups featured rather untrained musicians, aimed for an amateurish approach to their music and/or tended to practice in their garages, the style has been retroactively dubbed as Garage Rock.

‘Garage Rock has been considered as one of the most important precursors and influences to the Punk Rock explosion of the second half of the 1970s and the genre is strongly related to the so-called Proto-Punk phenomenon that predicted the style. While Garage Rock would suffer a decline of popularity during the last years of the 60s, bands from the Detroit Rock scene, including The Stooges and MC5 would continue with the legacy of the genre, playing an even more hard-edged and aggressive style than earlier artists did. This would also contribute not only to the development of Punk, but also of Hard Rock. The 1972 release of the first Nuggets compilation has also been credited for a continued popular interest in the genre.’ — The Garage Rock Hideout

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Music Machine
‘The Music Machine (1965–1969) was an American garage rock and psychedelic (sometimes referred to as garage punk) band from the late 1960s, headed by singer-songwriter Sean Bonniwell and based in Los Angeles. The band sound was often defined by fuzzy guitars and a Farfisa organ. Their original look consisted of all-black clothing, (dyed) black moptop hairstyles and a single black glove. Their debut album, (Turn On) The Music Machine, was released in 1966 on the Original Sound label. Seven of the twelve tracks were originals, written by Bonniwell. One of these, “Talk Talk”, became a Top 20 hit in the U.S. The follow-up single, “The People In Me”, peaked at #66. Bonniwell blamed the weak showing of this single on a supposed feud between the band’s manager and a top record executive. In 2000, Bonniwell wrote about his life and The Music Machine in the autobiography Beyond The Garage, published by the small press publisher Christian Vision.’ — Beyond the Garage

‘Talk Talk’

Music Machine ‘Talk Talk’

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Syndicate of Sound
‘Formed in San Jose, California in 1964, the Syndicate of Sound are considered to be one of the forerunners of psychedelic rock, establishing a national following based on one massive 1966 hit, “Little Girl”. Comprised of vocalist / guitarist Don Baskin, guitarist / keyboardist John Sharkey, lead guitarist Larry Ray, bassist Bob Gonzalez and drummer John Duckworth, the band rose from the ashes of high school rock bands the Pharaohs and Lenny Lee and the Knightmen. The new group won a “Battle Of The Bands” contest, beating out 100 other groups to win a recording session with Del-Fi Records. That effort went nowhere, but the band had been working on new, original material and began shopping a tune called “Little Girl” to anyone who would listen. Nearly everyone turned them away before Hush Records, a predominantly rhythm and blues label in Richmond, California, decided to take a chance and issue the record locally in late 1965. As the years wore on into the new century, Don Baskin, Bob Gonzalez and John Duckworth reformed with a couple of new members and began performing as The Syndicate Of Sound once again.’ — classic bands.com

‘Little Girl’

Syndicate of Sound ‘Little Girl’

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Tommy James and the Shondells
‘Tommy James & the Shondells — the very mention of their name, even to someone who doesn’t really know their music, evokes images of dances and the kind of fun that rock & roll represented before it redefined itself on more serious terms. And between 1966 and 1969, the group enjoyed 14 Top 40 hits, most of which remain among the most eminently listenable (if not always respected) examples of pop/rock. The group was almost as much of a Top 40 radio institution of the time as Creedence Clearwater Revival, but because they weren’t completely self-contained (they wrote some, but not all, or their own hits) and were more rooted in pop/rock than basic rock & roll, it took decades for writers and pop historians to look with favor on Tommy James & the Shondells. Tommy James & the Shondells were lucky enough to be making pop-oriented rock & roll in an era when most of the rest of the rock music world was trying to make more serious records and even create art (often even when the act in question had no capacity for that kind of activity).’ — oldies.about

‘Mony Mony’

Tommy James ‘Mony Mony’

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The Sonics
‘Of all the garage bands that made a glorious racket in the 1960s, few if any were louder, wilder, or more raw than the Sonics, a Tacoma, WA quintet whose over-the-top style, complete with roaring guitars, pounding drums, and the fevered howls of lead singer Gerry Roslie, anticipated the mania of punk and pushed rock & roll deep into the red zone during their 1963-1966 heyday. The Sonics were stars in Washington, but it took a while for the rest of the world to catch on, and in time they would become one of the most fabled bands on the Pacific Northwest rock scene. In 2007, the Sonics were persuaded to do a reunion show in New York City as part of the annual Cavestomp garage rock festival; while Andy Parypa and Bob Bennett opted not to participate, citing an unwillingness to travel, Gerry Roslie, Larry Parypa, and Rob Lind were on hand, with Ricky Lynn Johnson, formerly of the Wailers, sitting in on drums, and Don Wilhelm of the Daily Flash on bass. Since then, the Sonics have been playing occasional club and festival dates in Europe and the United Kingdom.’ — history-of-rock

‘Strychnine’

The Sonics ‘Strychnine’

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The Standells
‘The Standells were thee punk band of the 1960s. They combined a snarly, moody look with a vicious, burning sound that made them the epitome of Teenage Punk. Their records were a tour de force of us-versus-them teenage stances packed into two-and-a-half minute, commercial rock songs. It all worked so well, that it seems amazing such a group could have emerged from their rather ordinary backgrounds. “Dirty Water” was released as a single on Capitol Records’ Tower subsidiary towards the end of 1965, not because there was any great belief in the record, but because Tower really wanted a Ketty Lester record that Cobb also produced. In July, 1966, “Dirty Water” surprised everybody climbing to number 11 on Billboard’s national chart. Other songs cemented image. The chip-on-the-shoulder bad boys, despite having a tough go of life — still manage to indulge in their pleasure of loose women (“Medication”) and drugs. The end of the 1960s ushered in a whole new era of Woodstockian-like heavy, progressive, jamming bands that rendered a “Serious” group like the Standells impotent. They were lost in a new era of 1000 watt Marshalls and twenty minute guitar solos. That confusion coupled with a lack of direction and internal difficulties splintered the band.’ — phinnweb.org

‘Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White’

The Standells ‘Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White’

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The Beau Brummels
‘Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the Beau Brummels’ original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmonica), and John Petersen (drums). They were discovered by local disc jockeys who were looking to sign acts to their new label, Autumn Records, where Sylvester Stewart—later known as Sly Stone—produced the group’s early recording sessions. Initially, the band’s musical style blended garage music and folk music and typically drew comparisons to The Beatles, while their later work incorporated other music genres such as psychedelic rock and country rock. The Beau Brummels broke into the mainstream with their debut single, “Laugh, Laugh,” for which they would later be credited for setting the aesthetic foundation for the San Francisco Sound. The group’s commercial success declined by the following year, at which time the financially struggling Autumn label was acquired by Warner Bros. Records. After recording an album of cover songs, Beau Brummels ’66, the band released a pair of critically acclaimed albums: Triangle in 1967 and Bradley’s Barn in 1968.’ — allmusic

‘Talk Talk’

The Beau Brummels ‘Laugh Laugh’

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The Seeds
‘Best known for their rock & roll standard “Pushin’ Too Hard,” the Seeds combined the raw, Stonesy appeal of garage rock with a fondness for ragged, trashy psychedelia. And though they never quite matched the commercial peak of their first two singles, “Pushin’ Too Hard” and “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine,” the band continued to record for the remainder of the ’60s, eventually delving deep into post-Sgt. Pepper’s psychedelia and art rock. None of their new musical directions resulted in another hit single, and the group disbanded at the turn of the decade. Sky Saxon (born Richard Marsh; vocals) and guitarist Jan Savage formed the Seeds with keyboardist Daryl Hooper and drummer Rick Andridge in Los Angles in 1965. During the early ’70s, Saxon led a number of bands before retreating from society and moving to Hawaii. Savage became a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. A collection of rarities and alternate takes, Fallin’ off the Edge, was released in 1977.’ — last.fm

‘Can’t Seem to Make You Mine’

Sky Saxon ‘Can’t Seem to Make You Mine’

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Electric Prunes
‘Though they got considerable input from talented L.A. songwriters and producers, with their two big hits penned by outside sources, the Electric Prunes did by and large play the music on their records, their first lineup writing some respectable material of their own. On their initial group of recordings, they produced a few great psychedelic garage songs, especially the scintillating “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,” which mixed distorted guitars and pop hooks with inventive, oscillating reverb. Songwriters Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz wrote most of the Prunes’ material, much of which in turn was crafted in the studio by Dave Hassinger, who had engineered some classic Rolling Stones sessions in the mid-’60s. “Too Much to Dream” was a big hit in 1967, and the psychedelized Bo Diddley follow-up, “Get Me to the World on Time,” was just as good, and also a hit. Nothing else by the group made it big, and their initial pair of albums was quite erratic, although a few scattered tracks were nearly as good as those singles. Although they began to write more of their own material on their second album, their subsequent releases were apparently the products of personnel who had little to do with the original lineup. Their third LP, Mass in F Minor, was a quasi-religious concept album of psychedelic versions of prayers; a definitively excessive period piece, its best song (“Kyrie Eleison”) was lifted for the Easy Rider soundtrack. None of the original Prunes were still in the lineup when the band dissolved, unnoticed, at the end of the ’60s.’ — allmusic

‘I Had Too Much to Dream’

Electric Prunes ‘I Had Too Much to Dream’

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Paul Revere and the Raiders
‘One of the most popular and entertaining groups of the 1960s, Paul Revere & the Raiders enjoyed seven years of serious chart action, and during their three biggest years (1966-1969), sold records in numbers second only to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. And their hits “Steppin’ Out,” “Just Like Me,” “Hungry,” “Him or Me-What’s It Gonna Be,” and “Kicks,” in particular, are now seen by compilers as bold, unpretentious pieces of ’60s rock & roll with a defiant, punk edge. In a quest to shed their ’60s image, the group switched to the name “The Raiders” in 1970. And suddenly, the Raiders tried to sound serious, heavy, and very modern. The result was the Collage album, a very strong rock record, built largely on songs by singer Mark Lindsay and new member Keith Allison, that never found an audience. And the “Raiders” name change only seemed to confuse wary fans — where was Mark Lindsay? By 1975, Columbia Records had abandoned the group, and Lindsay had parted company with Revere. In the decades since, a version of the group that is as much devoted to comedy as music has performed under the leadership of Paul Revere (age 71 in 2009).’ — classic bands.com

‘Hungry’

Mark Lindsey ‘Hungry’

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Love
‘Psychedelic folk-rock band Love were formed by enigmatic singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Arthur Lee when he was just 20 years old. Lee is also known for producing a young Jimi Hendrix in his early career, and tipping off his label bosses about his friend Jim Morrison’s new band, The Doors. The other members were Bryan MacLean (singer-songwriter, guitar), Johnny Echols (guitar), Ken Forssi (bass guitar) and Alban Pfisterer (drums). Love released their debut album Love in 1966 on Elektra Records, and had a minor hit with the Bacharach/David song “My Little Red Book”. It did reasonably well, before second album Da Capo followed within months. It included the single “7 and 7 is”, which Lee later modestly cited as being his “invention of punk-rock”. Love’s all-time classic album was not long in coming: in November 1967 they released their final album in their original line-up, Forever Changes. Problems with drugs and fall-outs meant the album was recorded in a turbulent atmosphere, and Lee famously said that he believed he was about to die. The result was an album of intricately arranged acoustic guitar, swelling strings and Spanish horns, and morbid, foreboding lyrics: a perfect synthesis of Lee’s paranoia and his ambivalence following the so-called ‘Summer of Love’. It was largely ignored upon release but has since been reappraised and is widely considered one of the greatest albums of the 60s.’ — soundunwound

‘My Little Red Book’

Love ‘My Little Red Book’

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Blues Magoos
‘A Bronx-based quintet, the Blues Magoos were formed in 1964 and were originally known as the Trenchcoats before changing their name to the Bloos Magoos and then subsequently adopting the more conventional spelling as they became fixtures on the Greenwich Village club scene. The band released singles for the Ganim and Verve Forecast imprints before signing with Mercury Records in 1966, and after an intense makeover and a marketing blitz, they emerged as a sort of East Coast answer to the then-emerging San Francisco flower power psychedelic scene with a big single, “(We Ain’t Got) Nothing Yet,” that same year, and attracted further attention with the album Psychedelic Lollipop, which also charted. Really more a blues-rock band with a garage band’s approach and intentions than they were a Summer of Love band, the Blues Magoos nonetheless continued with psychedelic trappings for the album Electric Comic Book, which appeared in 1967, and the similarly constructed Basic Blues Magoos a year later in 1968. At this point the group restructured its membership and approach, signed with ABC Records, and returned to its blues roots for 1969’s Never Goin’ Back to Georgia and 1970’s Gulf Coast Bound, which added some Latin touches to the blues and featured mostly session players. By 1972 the Blues Magoos name was retired, although the group reunited for live shows in the late 2000s.’ — last.fm

‘We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet’

Blues Magoos ‘We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet’
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p.s. Hey. So, I’m heading back to Paris in a few hours. I think I was overly optimistic when I wrote the other day that I might be able to a proper p.s. tomorrow because I’m certain that I’m going to be wiped out and probably sleeping tomorrow morning, so let’s say I’ll just say hello and intro the post tomorrow, and then I’ll be back to do a full p.s. on Saturday when, I’ll remind you, we’ll be holding a weekend-long writers workshop here featuring the fiction stylings of Postitbreakup. For those who are interested, the photo session thing yesterday was actually quite simple and easy. It wasn’t a fashion kind of thing but rather a head and shoulders portrait. The other writers who were shot and will be in the same spread with me were Salman Rushdie, Richard Ford, Peter Carey, and Martin Amis. I’m guessing the reason why all the trouble and expense was taken to bring me over here so briefly is because, obviously, that’s very fancy, famous company for the likes of me. So, we’ll see what comes of it. Okay, I’d better get to this. ** Alan, You got two right. Trippy, no? ** Sypha, Hey, Good to see you. I’ll bet you’re crazy busy at work, and good luck with that, man. Yeah, all this traveling is more than a bit tired-making. I have one more trip to Amsterdam in about 10 days, and then hopefully I’ll get to be still for a while. ** Kyler, I’m glad the Regardie post found a comrade. Very interesting what you said about self-knowledge and magic. I kind of love that last Harry Potter. Yeah, I guess it’s time for the series to end, but it was my franchise. It was the only one where I got excited about the next one. I have to find a new franchise. Maybe ‘the Hobbit’ or something. ** Killer Luka, Writers have actually tried to write porn in strict poetic forms. I think there was an anthology of them maybe. They weren’t very sexy. Well, to me. What happened to that artist book? Did you ever scan it or anything, or would you? Naturally, I’d love to see it. I’m definitely going to look into this ‘Stalag’ fiction thing. That’s fascinating, and that’s the first I’ve heard of it. Blog post fodder maybe. More than maybe. Hm. Adieu to you too. ** Bollo, Yeah, the Eiffel Tower, pencil, etc., all edible. I guess it’ll be a flip a coin situation. I’ll do my annual buche scarfing photo spread post, yep. Thanks about the Other People interview. Yeah, I guess madly scribbling punk Kama Sutra illustrations or something would be an equivalent? ** Ken Baumann, Ken! The photo shoot was kind of cool. Everyone was really nice. I didn’t have put on make up. They just threw a wrinkled stripey open button down shirt — designer, but I forget who — over my organic t-shirt, sat me down at a kind of little table, and snapped away. I didn’t meet the famous writer guys. Martin Amis was due after me, but he was running late. ‘Sleeping Beauty’: my eyes will be peeled. Ah, so you did a reading, and you did like it, and you did triumph. There you go! You’re all ready for your 60 city ‘Solip’ tour now, man. ** Alter Clef Records, Hey, Nick! Yeah, I’ll bet Iceage was insanely great live. I hope they don’t break up or something before I get to see them. Me? I’m good, just kind of tired out from all this traveling stuff, and dreading the worst-to-come, i.e. post-flight tomorrow. Great about your avant-garde opera. What’s it about? Ha ha, worst question ever. I do know that Scott Walker is recording a new album, yes, and, of course, hooray. Best to you, man. ** Brendan, Hey, B! Yes on SR. No on RF. Not bad. Going to the gym a lot and feeling good is something to report. Happy to hear it, and love supreme. ** Shannon, Hi! I like listening to people speak too, yeah. I like to study their speaking styles while I’m listening. It’s hard though, like rubbing your head while scratching your belly. Or is it vice versa? Whoa, you got nominated for a Pushcart! Congrats! I hope the Pushcart people have their heads screwed on right. And that’s awesome about your nonfiction sex writing piece getting published. Print or online or both or … ? Iow, will we be able to see it? Yeah, that’s all great Shannon! Super wonderful to hear that, my pal. ** Lee, Hey there, Lee, really nice to see you! More coincidental studio upheaval. I kind of like the through-line. But, assuming your studio is generally at peace, please don’t wait until the next remake to say hi. Unless you want to. Through-lines are made to busted. Oh, cool that something I said to you helped out. Robert Morris … I probably gently trashed him, right? I don’t remember. Anyway, the main thing is that your conjunction was acknowledged as exciting. Cool! I’m okay. In my case, I need to upend the furniture, etc., in my Paris pad because it’s a total fucking mess. Best to you, big L. ** Steevee, Hey. ** Bernard Welt, Hey, B. Yeah, cloying is a good way to put it. Also, Mills’ style seems like very borrowed and familiar to me. A too twee Woody Allen thing meets a kind of elegantized ‘Malcom in the Middle’ thing. Or something. Plummer was great though, yeah. And the actress whose name I forget was pretty good too. ** SwAmPeX, Hey, man. Great to see you! I know, I know, I’m being so slow to write back to you. When I get through the tail end of all this traveling stuff, I swear. ** Misanthrope, Rain rain rain. It’s not raining right now, but it was raining nonstop in NYC from the second I arrived until now, i.e. when I have to leave. It’s chilly out. Anyway, … so your work place is full of characters. Well, two so far. You should get everybody there together and organize a theater production of ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ or ‘Marat Sade’. I don’t know. Yeah, I think if you guys do all the work for Little Show one more time, you’ll ruin him for life. I don’t know. The other writers are listed up at the top there. How about that? I’m, like, all hoity-toity now, man. ** 5strings, Dude, yes, seriously, thank you for that. That being the Regardie post. Very enlightening and much ‘liked’ on Facebook too. I’m virtually positive that Gisele won’t sell you a boy doll, sorry. Well, unless you’ve got some big bucks. And even then maybe not. Baseball isn’t for retards, though. It’s the poet’s sport, man. Anyway, I’ve got to zoom along ‘cos my taxi to JFK or whatever is due, but, yeah, thanks again, and much more next time. ** Little foal, Hi, Darren! Oh, shit, yeah, your comment must have arrived as I doing the final spellchecking and posting. Sorry. Let’s see … I think you should see ‘Beau Travail’ next. It’s pretty great. You snagged a copy of ‘Strange Landscape’? That’s not easy to do. Nice! I hope you like it. I think you will. I haven’t read ‘Boneyard’ yet, but I bought a copy while I was here expressly so I could. I’ll bet it’s great. Beachy is a really good and really undervalued writer, and a totally swell guy. You be well too, my friend. ** Armando, Hey! You good? Thanks about the polaroids. Yeah, that was the real Ziggy. I’ve got a lot of polaroids of him. Maybe I’ll do a big Ziggy polaroid post sometime. Yeah, I’m lucky. That’s the truth. How are you, man? What’s up? ** Jeff, Hey. I don’t have a strong dislike of Gallo. Certainly not like I do for Von Trier. I totally understand why people think that he and what he does are interesting. He’s a real artist and an iconoclast, and more power to him. He just doesn’t connect with me most of the time, I guess. I looked for a Blecher book while I was here, but I had no luck, so I’ll order one when I get back to Paris. Thanks a lot! ** David Ehrenstein, Ha ha, I don’t know if Carax has gone gay or not. Maybe Minogue will turn out to be an amazing actress. I can imagine that could be possible somehow. Something about her face. ** David kelso-housman, ‘Loving’ by Henry Green is indeed really great! Cool. Muriel Spark Day … no, I don’t believe there has been one yet. Good idea. ** Right. So, I noticed that a bunch of the best known so-called Garage Rock bands are still out there playing their roughian pop hits, and I thought that was interesting and also melancholy, and a post was born. Up to you. As I said, I will undoubtedly will be sleeping fitfully but necessarily tomorrow at blog posting time, so you’ll get a post, but I will see you again in this fleshed out form on Saturday. ‘Til then …