| From Rochester, Little Peppy is Marlene Torre, writer and singer on both these sides. She and the band turn in a spirited performance on "It Can Happen!!" The designated a-side, "Since You've Gone Away" is a slow ballad about missing her lover drafted overseas.
This was a custom press recorded at Fine Studios in September, 1966, and released with their house label. The master tape that turned up with the remains of the studio has alternate takes of each song. One mystery is who was the band backing her as the Bare Existence. Little Peppy with the Bare Existence - It Can Happen!! |
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New York
Little Peppy with the Bare Existence
Submitted by Chas Kit on March 24, 2008 - 6:40pm. Little Peppy with the Bare Existence | US | New York | Upstate NY | Rochester | FineCaeser & His Romans
Submitted by Chas Kit on February 24, 2008 - 8:44pm. Caesar & the Romans | Caeser & His Romans | US | New York | Upstate NY | Buffalo | GJM | Scepter| Caeser & His Romans were from Buffalo, recording two 45s on the GJM label in late '67 and 1968. I haven't been able to find much about the group. Both songs on their first 45 were written by C. Vicario and Hesse, recording supervised by Jerry Meyers and Rich Sargent.
Green Grass Makes It Better is their catchiest number, and sure seems like a drug reference to me, the world is "going psycho" but "good green grass makes it better." Why Make a Fool of Me on the flip is denser but excellent as well. Their second record is Black Lantern, a bass-driven lament, backed by one I haven't yet heard, "Baby, Let's Wait." Moving towards a much more commercial direction, they signed to Scepter Records as Caesar and the Romans, releasing two 45s in 1969, both minor hits in the Buffalo area. Baby Love uses some fuzz guitar and heavy beats on the Supremes song, but I prefer the upbeat flip, When Will I Get Over You, written by C. Vicario, Jr. I haven't heard the other 45, Leavin' My Past Behind / Jailhouse Rock. The group has some connection to a later band, Big Wheelie and The Hubcaps. Caeser & His Romans - Green Grass Makes It Better |
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Ren-Vell Records Battle of the Bands
Submitted by Chas Kit on February 13, 2008 - 12:48am. Gyrations | Henchmen | Mystics | Night Riders | Raunch | The | Traits | US | New York | Westchester | White Plains | Ren-Vell
| This is a classic garage LP, even though it's a real mixed-bag of styles and quality. All the bands culled from Westchester County and the northern Bronx. Judging from the songs the bands cover it probably dates to sometime in 1967. A note on the back cover says the label auditioned over 100 groups. Jimmy Carpenito of the Mystics tells me Renvell's studio was next to Gun Town on Central Ave in White Plains.
I thought it was likely Ren-Vell advertised for bands then asked them to put up some dollars to get their cut on the album. However, since first posting about this record, a sibling of one of the members of "The" wrote to me: "there definitely was a Battle of the Bands in Westchester County to compete for participation in the album. The guys didn't pay to have their song on the album." The best song on the record is undoubtedly the Traits' "High on a Cloud", an antisocial ode to chemical escape written by their singer, Mike Carrol.
With lyrics like those, it would be no wonder that Ren Vell buried it at the end of the second side, but the band said they chose to be last on the album. I wonder how many listeners made it all the way through the LP! About the time this album was cut, the Traits appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour (taped at CBS studios on Broadway - sponsored by Geritol!) doing Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Just Like Me". Mack introduces them as "high school students and a machinist from Pelham, NY!" In 1969, they recorded "Nobody Loves the Hulk", an interesting attempt to capitalize on the Marvel Comics hero that I'll feature soon. The other great original is the Henchmen's "Say," written by their guitarist and vocalist John Wallin. The drummer bashes away behind a leaden fuzz riff, segueing to a relatively complex bridge. Andy Porter lays down a good, crude solo, with nice tremolo at the end. The Henchmen also cut a number of demos at Bruno-Dean Recording Studios in New Rochelle and at United Recording including "Strangers", "Jack of All Trades", "Walk With Me Baby", "Sad Clown" and "Stepping Stone". Hear some of these on the new comp "I've Had Enough!" on Norton. Of the cover songs, my favorite is "Respect" by "The", followed by the Gyration's take on "Stepping Stone" and the Night Rider's version of "Jenny Take a Ride". Raunch's version of "Hungry" is good, but my copy has a skip in it. Their bassist Frank Taxiera told me, "Joe Renda asked us to submit a song from about fifteen that we recorded at his studio between '66 and '67." I've since posted more on Raunch here. As for the rest, there are a couple light pop numbers, like "Lolly Pop Train" by the Mystics and "The Glass Toy" by the Reptiles, but they're not bad. The most out of touch with the times is "Angel Baby" by the Vectors of the Bronx, where Carol Pecchio's fine vocal performance is buried in echo behind the drums and bass. Some of the covers are unremarkable, but the Orphans out-of-tune vocals on the Byrds' "Feel a Whole Lot Better" dooms that cut, 'less you're looking for laughs.  I spent far too much time typing out the credits in the interests of ah, history. What follows is a complete list of songs and band members on the album, and links to a few of the better songs. A1. Hungry - Raunch, from Ossining and Briarcliff Manor
A2. Jenny Take a Ride - The Night Riders, Portchester
A3. Angel Baby - The Vectors, Bronx
A4. Out of Sight - The Night Crawlers, White Plains
A5. The Glass Toy - The Reptiles, Ossining
A6. Say - The Henchmen, Pleasantville
B1. (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone - The Gyrations, Yonkers
B2. Lolly Pop Train - Tne Mystics, Valhalla or White Plains
B3. Didn't Want to Have to Do It - The Hangmen, Eastchester
B4. Respect - "The", Yonkers
B5. Feel a Whole Lot Better - The Orphans, White Plains
B6. High On A Cloud - The Traits, Pelham
Recording engineer: Ernie Rivellino There are also at least two singles on Ren-Vell, best of which may be the Mystics (covered here): RV-318 The Sherwoods - Third Summer (That I Loved You) (by Joe Lanza) / Lonely for You, supervised by Ken Luttman. RV-320 The Mystics - This Is What I Was Made For / Ride My Pony (Come) - not the Lee Dorsey song but an original by James Carpenito and B. Fresta Thanks to Rockin' Rex for info on the Ren-Vell 45s and Raunch single.  |
 The Traits on the Amateur Hour |
The Restless Feelin's
Submitted by Chas Kit on January 11, 2008 - 12:01am. Restless Feelin's | US | New York | New York City | United Artists| Eddie Reeves was writing songs, arranging and producing for United Artists in the mid-late '60s. He wrote and produced the fantastic "A Million Things" for the Restless Feelins, layering distorted guitar throughout the track, even over the vocals and chorus.
The flip is a Byrds-like song by Bruce Murdoch, "Hey Mama You've Been on My Mind". I knew nothing about the band behind this 45 until Eddie Reeves set the record straight with his comment (see below). I repeat it here in its entirety:
A short time after this record by the Restless Feelins, Eddie Reeves produced another UA 45 by the Hysterical Society, a band from his hometown, Amarillo, Texas. The Restless Feelin's - A Million Things 60sgaragebands.com has an interview with Eddie covering the early part of his career. |
  Billboard, August 13, 1966 |
The Prime Mover
Submitted by Chas Kit on November 25, 2007 - 9:20pm. Prime Mover | US | New York | New York City | Sock-O| The Prime Mover were led by two brothers from New York, John Pastor and Tony Pastor, Jr., who wrote both sides of this mystical opus. Released in late 1967, When You Made Love To Me contrasts droning chords with ringing chimes and quirky lead guitar work. The dense production prevents this song from having as strong an impact as it could have.
The less ambitious flip, Shadow of a Day Gone By, falls flat by comparison. The Pastors were sons of jazz bandleader Tony Pastor, and also had a vocal group the Pastor Brothers with their other sibling, Guy. |
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Heart and Soul
Submitted by Chas Kit on November 5, 2007 - 12:55am. Heart and Soul | US | New York | Hudson Valley | Strive| Here's a crude psych 45 with good harmonies and playing. Both songs have guitar breaks as well as more soloing on the outros.
For garage heads like myself, "Afterthought" is the better of the two tunes. it was written by D. G. Rumble and E. Post. My copy is in rough shape, and "If" has one skip in it, but I'm including it anyway. Producers are Swift and Cagnone. The ZTSP prefix in the dead wax means this record was ordered out of Columbia's New York custom press office. I didn't know anything more about them until Fred M wrote in with a comment: "What a small world! I found that very same copy in a Poughkeepsie thrift store about ten years ago. I believe they were from the Hudson Valley region as another record I had on the Strive label was by a guy named Nate Vechio (terrible record) who taught guitar lessons in the area for years. Another band on that label was a group called We + Three which was bad horn rock. I picked up another cleaner copy of Heart & Soul a couple of years ago and put my hammered copy in my junk box and sold the box to a flea market dealer. I played the record to a few psych collectors but it didn't move them. I always thought it was a decent record." |
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