The Shames aka the Cryin’ Shames of Ipswich, MA from left: James Amero, Gerard Trudel, Patty Germoni, Denis Trudel, and Joey Amerault.
The Shames crank out both songs on this single like it’s the only shot they’d ever get. There’s no weak playing here, just guitars overloading the studios inputs, a drummer slamming out the beat and a vocalist cutting loose. On “The Special Ones” he complains about getting grief for having long hair! “My World Is Upside Down” may be the most distinctive of the two, if one had to choose a top side.
This 45 was released twice with different RFT labels – someone forgot to put the band’s name on the first one! The second version is yellow with a different logo up top.
“My World Is Upside Down” was written by James Amero and Robert Beaulier. “The Special Ones” by Denis Trudel. In copyright listings, both songs are arranged by Jacques Trudel.
US Copyright Office publications list an unreleased song “One More Chance” written by James Amero and Robert Beaulier. All three songs have a copyright date of November 30, 1966, though release of the single may not have come until April, 1967.
As it turns out the band’s full name was the Cryin’ Shames. Alan Lowell sent in the photo business card, above, and writes, “They were a great local band from Ipswich MA and often played at the Sillouette Club in Beverly. They were a big user of Magnatone amps which had a great sound back then.”
Their manager was Charles Larrivee.
More information came from Denis Trudel, who commented below and listed the members at the time of the photo at top:
Denis Trudel – lead singer James “JB “ Amero – lead guitar Patty “Beetle” Germoni- keyboards Gerard Trudel – bass Joey Amerault – drums
Denis reports that his brother Gerard passed away in 2005.
Thanks to Alan for the photo and info on the band and to Denis for his comment below that filled in many gaps.
Update: I’m sorry to report that Denis Trudel passed away on May 27, 2021.
The Nocturnals started as an instrumental band called the Rousers in Haney, BC, east of Vancouver in the late 1950’s. They evolved into the Nocturnals, based in Vancouver, with members Bill McBeth drums and lead vocals, Ron Henschel on guitar, Chad Thorp organ, Wayne Evans on bass, and Roger Skinner and Carl Erickson on saxophone.
The band had regular bookings at the Grooveyard, located at 795 Carnarvon in New Westminster, a nightclub they part-owned. Les Vogt (member of another early Vancouver band the Prowlers) and Red Robinson opened the club in September, 1965. The Nocturnals kept their stake in the club a secret so competing bands wouldn’t refuse bookings there.
The Grooveyard succeeded in a Vancouver scene that attracted top r&b acts. The club’s primary competition was Danceland, a big hall on the other side of town which attracted U.S. servicemen from the Whidbey Island base.
Les Vogt produced a two LP set, Live From the Grooveyard, featuring bands who appeared regularly at the club: the Stags, Kentish Steele and the Shantelles, the Epics, Soul Unlimited and the Night Train Revue. The Nocturnals have four songs on the album: “Mustang Sally”, “Slow Down”, “You Make Me Feel So Good” and “Get On Back”. Far from being live, it was recorded at Robin Spurgin’s studio with crowd noise overdubbed, and released in 1966 on New Syndrome, run by Tom Northcott, who made a few records himself. The album accurately reflects the soul-oriented live shows typical of working bands of the time.
In late 1965 the Nocturnals traveled to Kearney Barton’s Audio Recording in Seattle, the same studio used by the Sonics and the Wailers. Their first single, “Because You’re Gone” chugs along steadily with a Peter Gunn-style riff, flashes of horns, fine drumming and chanting vocals. Their second featured two more originals, “This Ain’t Love” b/w “You Lied.” Both of their Regency 45s reached the top ten on CFUN.
For their first two singles the band had help in song writing from Kathy Dubin and Jeanne Fink, two sisters who were fans of the band. Kathy and Jeanne wrote “Because You’re Gone” with Billy McBeth and the flip “Can It Be True” with Henshel. Jeanne’s daughter Linda headed the Nocturnals fan club!
In 1967 they signed to Trans-World and released three more 45s. The second of these, “Detroit” b/w “Do What You Want” was picked up for U.S. release on Milton Berle’s Embassy Records in March, 1967. Although it didn’t chart, “Detroit” is a good track, with all the elements that would have made their live show exciting – fuzz guitar, soulful horn charts, and group vocals.
A highpoint for the Nocturnals was playing the huge Expo 67 in Montreal. Afterwards the band relocated to Ontario, but, uninterested in adapting to the new psychedelic styles, they returned home after a few months. The band broke up in 1968, with Billy McBeth going into The Fox and Wayne Evans and Carl Erickson both staying in music for some time.
In April and June, 2007 the Nocturnals reunited for two live performances. They also released a CD of all their 60’s recordings, and a DVD of clips of the band from CBC-TV’s Let’s Go show and at the PNE backing the Coasters.
Heart and Soul early photo, from left: John Grower, Don Rumble, Jimmy Roland, and Kevin Swift, with Ezzie Post in front
Heart and Soul formed in 1967, releasing this crude psych 45 with good harmonies and playing on the Strive label out of Poughkeepsie. Both songs have guitar breaks as well as more soloing on the outros. The band members came from Kingston and Saugerties in the Hudson Valley of New York, Members were:
Ezzie Post – lead vocals John Grower – guitar Don Rumble – organ Kevin Swift – bass Jimmy Rowland – drums
For garage heads like myself, “Afterthought” is the better of the two tunes, writing credits to D G. Rumble and E. Post. Don Rumble wrote “If”. Swift and Cagnone produced the single.
Thank you to John Grower, who sent in the photos seen here. Kevin Swift passed away in 2011.
The ZTSP prefix in the dead wax means this record was ordered out of Columbia’s New York custom press office. For more on Strive Records, see Ian’s comment below.
Heart and Soul at the Viking LoungeHeart and Soul 1967
The Swinging Machine at the South Norfolk Armory, from left: Wayne Richardson, Vince Screeney, Bobby Fisher, Lee Caraway, Dicky Bocock, Bobby Weaver and Gary Richardson
I’ve read many accounts that consider the Swinging Machine the best of all local bands in the Tidewater area back in its day.
In 1963 three friends from Oscar F. Smith High School in South Norfolk formed the Chevelles. The group included Evan Pierce, Jr. (lead guitar), Richard Bocock (drums) and Steven Curling (saxophone). At Old Dominion University they met Esdras ben Lubin who took over on lead guitar and vocals, and suggested the band change their name from the Chevelles to the Swingin’ Machine. The addition of fifteen-year-old Billy Gene Stallings on organ helped their musical acuity considerably.
Esdras left the band and the group found Gary Richardson and Lee Caraway from the Villagers (out of Churchland High School in Portsmouth). Steve Curling left for college and was replaced by Bob Fisher, though Steve would occasionally sit in with the group.
At the time of the release of their 45 the band consisted of:
Gary Richardson (vocals) Lee Caraway (guitar) Billy Stallings (organ) Bob Fisher (sax) Evan Pierce (bass) Dick Bocock (drums)
According to Evan Pierce, the band fought with their producer Frank Guida and was disappointed in the record. However, fans of the mid-60s band sound really love this 45, with “Do You Have to Ask” being especially tough and original. Frank Guida who was also owner of S.P.Q.R., is listed as one of the songwriters. “Do You Have to Ask” was recorded in the fall of 1965, “Comin’ On Back Home” five or six months later.
“Comin’ On Back Home” reached #39 on a Syracuse, NY AM radio station, WOLF 1490 in early June, 1966. How it reached the charts so far away from their base is a mystery.
Besides the 45 there is an early version of “Do You Have to Ask” and a simply amazing rocker, “Brother Look Out” that were unreleased at the time. They’re both now available on the Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things series.
There is also a tape of ten cover songs recorded in a studio, probably made as a demo to get live gigs. The songs include versions of “Tell Mama”, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”, “Fire”, “Spooky”, “Get Ready”, “Wrap It Up”, “Sunshine of Your Love”, “Rock and Roll Woman”, “To Love Somebody” and “Dear Eloise”.
I would love to hear a live recording of the band – if anyone has a tape, please get in touch.
In 1967 Wayne Richardson joined on trumpet. Bob Weaver was a later member as well. Vince Screeney from the Sting Rays replaced Evan Pierce while he was in the army. Rocky Cantrell filled in on occasion.
Gary Richardson died tragically from a drug accident in July of 1968. The Swinging Machine continued for a short time with William “Rocky” Smith on vocals, but soon disbanded. Dick Bocock and Bob Weaver formed a new group, the Machine.
Producer Frank Guida passed away on May 19, 2007.
I want to say thank you to Diane for sending in these rarely seen photos of the band. Diane and Lee Caraway were married until he passed away in 1979.
Diane had this to say about the photos:
Anyone who hung out with the band will know the panel truck. That was their equipment truck for many years.
The Lighthouse pics show them unloading the equipment and setting up for the dance that night. The pics of them on stage don’t do it justice because the camera won’t pick up all the colors and psychedelics flashing on the stage background, the lights in that place were hooked into the sound system.
One pic is Gary and Wayne Richardson standing in front of a cottage the band was staying in at Nags Head when they were playing at the Casino.
Steve Curling wrote to me with his recollections of the band:
I will give you a brief history of the band as I saw it.
The band originally was called “The Chevelles” which consisted of Evan Pierce on bass, Dickie Bocock on drums, Bobby Fisher and myself on sax (I doubled on trumpet) and several different lead guitar players but the one I remember most was Eris Ben Lubin [Esdras ben Lubin] who was older and taught us the ropes. We didn’t have an established keyboard player until Billy Stallings came along.
The band centered around Dickie’s home. Dickie’s father was a prominent doctor in South Norfolk and financed most of the equipment for the band. I loved hanging out at Dickey’s because he lived on the Elizabeth River on about 4 acres with a pool and a 85 foot yacht named the Blue Haven which we spent many days and nights, plus he had all the toys including speed boats and a 1967 Olds 442 which Dickie and I decided to total one night coming back from the old Ambassor’s club in Portsmouth.
I remember playing at several of the clubs on the Naval Base, the Ambassor’s Club which we called the AB Club, the lighthouse and the casino at Nags Head. We realized that we needed a steady lead guitarist and a lead singer. While interviewing Gary Richardson for lead guitar we discovered he was a much better singer than guitar player plus his friend Lee Caraway came with him and he turned out to be a great lead guitarist and Gary stuck with singing. So the band was formed as the Swinging Machine and it really took off.
There was a battle of the bands and several groups entered the competition. Most of the people voted for their own local favorites. Since Gary and Lee were from Portsmouth and the rest of us were from South Norfolk we had the inside track on the voting from both Portsmouth and South Norfolk.
After we won the battle of the bands, things really started to happen but I had to make a decision on whether to stay with the band on continue with school. I left the group and headed to Roanoke College where I played on the weekends with several bands including Ricky and the Romans, a local Roanoke band consisting of 8 members.
During this period Evan joined the Army and only played when he had leave. In his absence, Vince Screeny filled in and did a great job. After Evan’s Army service he returned to the group. I would occasionally play with the group but by this time they had become established with one sax and I mostly just filled in when needed on sax, bass and trumpet.
I don’t recall the band ever going to California but I do remember talking about it since I was dating a girl from Los Angeles at the time and she was looking into renting a house for us in the Santa Monica area but it never happened. Instead we rented an old 2 story house off Indian River road and most of us hung out there to party, sleep and practice.
It was in this house that Gary died. He actually died on his own vomit. Bobby Fisher tried CPR but was unsuccessful. The band was scheduled to play at the Peppermint Beach Club and canceled. The band continued on for a while but disbanded shortly afterwards.
Lee decided to go into the ministry and rented a house from my uncle, Herman Johnson in the Great Bridge area off Cedar Grove Road. I saw him a couple of times with his Church bus but he had changed. Later I found out that he had a brain tumor which he succumbed 4 years later.
Bobby Fisher went on to play with Bill Deal and the Rhondels but by far the most talented member of the group was Billy Stallings, who was trained at Juilliard School of Music in New York. Billy practiced 6 to 8 hours everyday for years. His father owned the Triangle Billiards in South Norfolk. Needless to say, Billy could play anything. As soon as a new song would come out, Billy had already learned all the parts including the lead guitar, bass and the brass parts.
Billy was never a healthy person and the life of a musician was a hard one. Later Billy moved to Baltimore and I saw him one time at Evan’s home years ago. I understand he passed away a couple of years ago.
After the band broke up Dickie lived alone in the home his father had built on the river. His father had a heart attack and died after the band was established. He has two brothers, Tom and Harry. I always thought is was funny that they was known as Tom, Dick and Harry Bocock. I would visit Dickie when I was in town and we would sit and reminisce the band.
I recently retired from USAirways and live on Lake Norman, North of Charlotte, NC. Evan Pierce owns an appraisal business in Norfolk. I hope this gives you an insight of the Swinging Machine as I lived it. It was a part of my life I will never forget.
Lee Caraway with the Swinging Machine van
Photos below from the Lighthouse, April 1968
Setting up at the LighthouseInterior of the LighthouseBobby Fisher and Vince ScreeneyLee Caraway and Wayne RichardsonLee CarawayLee Caraway and Gary RichardsonBobby Fisher on rightDickie BocockBilly Stallings at the LighthouseLee Caraway at the LighthouseGary and Wayne at Nags Head – July ’68Bob Spain and Lee Caraway – July ’68The Swinging Machine and Willie T. & the Impressions at The Other PlaceWayne Richardson, Sherry Cheston and the Proclaimers at the Upstairs, Virginia BeachThe Swinging Machine at Ohef Sholom TempleThe Swinging Machine at Sigota Dance, Temple IsraelOpening weekend at the Light House, July 1967! Other groups include the Prophets in Flight, the Chaparrals, Beachnuts and Sound Effects.The “Swingin’ Machines” opening a WNOR show for acts from Where the Action Is at Norfolk’s Foreman Field along with lesser known groups like the Wild Kingdom, the Triumphs, the Knights and Kon Tiki and the Rafters.At Boykins Fire House, December 30, 1967
All photos and poster scans courtesy of Diane except the Boykins Fire House poster (sent by Jay Jenkins of SouthernSoul.com), and the Ohef Sholom, Sigota Dance and Light House opening posters, which were sent in by Kelly Miltier. The Ohef Sholom, Sigota Dance and Foreman Field posters are from the collection of Billy ‘Hurricane’ Harrell.
Evan Pierce, Jr. has written a substantial history of the band that I recommend – look for Swinging Machine on Facebook.
The Friedles were the four Fried brothers from Penns Grove in southwestern New Jersey: Mike and Herman Fried on guitars, Simon Fried on bass and Milton Fried (just 14 years old at the time of their first record!) on drums.They went across the river to Ken-Del Studio in Wilmington, Delaware to make their first record “I Lost Her” / “I’m So Glad” with Milt singing lead vocals. Released as the Fried Brothers on Scope, it was mastered louder and issued again on the Hanna label. The sound may come off as somewhat crude, but there’s no denying the energy and spirit in the brothers’ delivery. “I Lost Her” was written by Mike and Milt, “I’m So Glad” by Herm and Milt.
The Fried Brothers (Friedles) Ken-Del demo 45 rpm I Do Love Her“I Lost Her” entered Wilmington, DE station WAMS Top 30 survey the week of September 11, 1965 at #30. In the following weeks it rose to #24, #17, #13 (this time listed with it’s flip side, “I’m So Glad”), #11 and finally reached #10, its highest point, on October 23.
Two other songs from their early sessions at Ken Del went unissued, “I Do Love Her”, with lead vocals by Si Fried, and “The Joke’s on You”, which I haven’t heard. Both of these were written by the Fried brothers, as were the two songs on their next record.
Issued in a cool bat-themed sleeve for some reason, “She Can Go” is kind of a cross between the Searchers’ “Needles and Pins” and the Zombies’ “Tell Her No”. “Don’t Tell Me What to Do” on the flip sounds more natural, with fine punk attitude and great harmonies. The song opens with a great bass line, and Mike and Herm Fried’s guitar playing is excellent throughout. This record credits Norris Austin on organ, and the drumming by Milt is excellent.
The Fried Brothers (Friedles) Ken-Del demo 45 rpm The Jokes On You
Fried Brothers (Friedles) South Jersey Recording Service demo 45 When Love
By 1968 their sound had become psychedelic, even as their image stayed fairly conservative. The band went to Jim Hanna’s South Jersey Recording Service in Woodstown, NJ to cut a couple songs that weren’t issued at the time. Bassist Si Fried sings “When Love”. One of the great unissued songs of the ’60s, it didn’t see the light of day until 1984, when it was released on the classic and long out-of-print Attack of the Jersey Teens compilation, which I also have to thank for the photo of the band.
The other song from this session is also excellent, “Love the Way You Love Me”, sung by Milt.
Charlie Bum South Jersey Recording Service demo 45 When Love
The band seems to have dissolved soon after. Milton Fried started referring to himself as Charlie, or Charlie Bumm. He and Mike Fried went back to South Jersey in 1971 to cut Mike’s song “Early in the Morning”. With the band credited as ‘Charlie Bum’, Mike plays guitar and takes the first lead vocal, Charlie played drums and sings the second lead (with the high-pitched wails), and Tom Fanty played bass. Two other songs recorded at South Jersey in ’71 feature Charlie playing all instruments and vocals: a slower version of their ’65 song “I Do Love Her” and a cover of the Marmalade’s “Reflections of My Life”. For some reason, these songs are in mono on the acetates.
Simon Fried passed away in 1999. Thank you to Charlie Fried for sending me additional songs, information about the sessions and photocopies of the acetate label scans.
Thanks also to Joe Mullin for the scan of his Scope 45.
Update: Mike Fried passed away on March 15, 2013.
Charlie Bum South Jersey Recording Service demo 45 I Do Love HerFried Brothers (Friedles) Ken-Del demo 45 rpm I’m So GladMilton Fried’s notes on the songs of the Friedles and Charlie Bum 1Milton Fried’s notes on the songs of the Friedles and Charlie Bum 2Milton Fried’s notes on the songs of the Friedles and Charlie Bum 3Milton Fried’s notes on the songs of the Friedles and Charlie Bum 4
The Dagenites, late 1965. l-r: Julian Bardi, Jimmy Musgrove, Roger Fallin, Jon Rowzie and John Bardi
The Dagenites were a great band from Oxon Hill, Maryland who formed in 1964 and cut two crucial garage 45s in their short time together. Original members were John Bardi lead guitar, Bruce Kennett rhythm guitar, Geoff Robinson bass and Roger Fallin drums. Their name came from Dagenham, a working class suburb of London where John Bardi’s mother grew up.
They shared a manager with Link Wray, leading to weekly bookings with Wray at the 1023 Club.Because of a connection Bruce’s father had with the owner of Pixie records, the band traveled to Megacity Studio in Dayton, Ohio in the early spring of 1965 to record their first 45, “I Don’t Want to Try It Again,” an original by Geoff Robinson. John Bardi’s guitar drives the verses and before his wild lead break you can hear someone shout “Play it J.B.!” Lyrics are hard to make out, though it’s clear the singer is trying to get out of an entanglement with a girl.
The flip side is Bruce Kennett’s original “Now That Summer’s Gone,” which the band would re-record for their second record. The Pixie label also released also released 45s by Bittervetch and Dave and the Stone Hearts.
Record collector Mike Markesich told an interesting story about this 45:
The initial pressing run for promo copies of The Dagenites 45 printed the name of the group on the label incorrectly as the Joy Boys, and the label name as Fencoe. I own a copy of this 45. Someone at the record company affixed corrected labels by pasting them over the errant labels (I also have the detached corrected labels for both sides). There were probably a few hundred that went out this way. The rest were correct, as are the yellow label stock copies.
After the band members graduated from high school in 1965, the lineup changed. Geoff Robinson and Bruce Kennett left to be replaced by Bardi’s brother Julian on bass and Jon Rowzie on guitar. Jimmy Musgrove was added as vocalist.
John Bardi describes the next phase of the band’s career:
Ron Barnett got us the contract with Heigh Ho records. There was what we were told was a nationwide talent search. My brother and I applied, Ron (a beatnik looking character probably in his mid-20’s, maybe a few years older) auditioned us and we won! He wanted to call us the “Howling Wolves” and have a trained wolf appear with us when we performed. We of course mocked the idea, but he had such an air of certainty about him, and he DID have this recording contract, that we went along. He had big ideas. I once heard that he had become a successful producer (I can believe it), but apart from that, I never heard anything about him after our short time together.
The band traveled to New York City to record their next 45 “I’m Gone Slide” released on Heigh-Ho in September, 1965. The song is credited to Barnett, who supplied the words and idea for the song, though John Bardi arranged the music. John says, “A studio musician was hired to record an organ part for ‘I’m Gone Slide.’ He had played on the Wilson Pickett ‘Mustang Sally’ sessions (which at the time had not yet been released) and during breaks regaled the band with stories about those recently completed sessions. He played a rough cut of ‘Mustang Sally’ in order to try to influence the band in their approach to ‘I’m Gone Slide.'” For the flip they included a new version of “Now That Summer’s Gone.”
Two other tracks were recorded at the New York sessions, “The Fugitive” and “Poison Ivy,”. These songs were pressed with a Heigh Ho label and released in early 1966, though perhaps on a promotion-only basis as copies are extremely rare now. “The Fugitive” earned a pick hit review in Record World Magazine.
“The Fugitive” (“Once I was a respected man, but then they said I killed with my hands….”) was going to be offered as the theme song for the TV show the Fugitive, but the show was cancelled that summer. John believes it would have been the first rock style TV theme song.
There was also a second version of “I Don’t Want to Try It Again” recorded. This one had smooth vocal harmonies and a wild guitar break, and it was also released on the Heigh-Ho label. Like “The Fugitive” it was not released widely, and in fact only one copy is rumored to exist.
John wrote to me, “I still play, but the innocent immediacy of those days is long gone” – as fine a summary of the appeal of this music as I’ve ever seen.
Gina C. writes, “On June 28, 2008 Jimmy Musgrove threw a party in Benedict, Maryland reuniting all of the members of the Dagenites. They were tighter then ever and brought the house down of close to 200 class mates and friends of Oxon Hill High School.”
l to r: Roger Fallin, Bruce Kennett, John Bardi, Geoff Robinson, Jimmy Musgrove, Julian (Lenny) Bardi, and Gus Perrotta; and in front Kenny McConkey
I’m sorry to report that Jimmy Musgrove passed away on September 9, 2010.
Rocky and Jacqueline on their wedding dayRocky Teoh Beng Hock was born in Taiping, Perak, Malaysia in 1946 and was killed in a car accident on 9 September 1990, the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s famous debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. The connection is significant as Rocky Teoh was renowned as ‘Malaysia’s First and Best Elvis Presley Impersonator’.
When I first heard of Rocky I was reminded of Anthony Burgess’s stories based on his experiences in Malaya in the late 1950s. In one of those stories four young small-town Malays, besotted with American rock ’n’ roll, spend their days sitting in cheap cafes practicing the English they have learnt from American films. Each day one of the four wears the uniform they bought cheaply from a hard-up British serviceman. Not an army uniform, rather a pair of drainpipe trousers, a serge jacket with a velvet collar and a string tie. I imagined that Rocky Teoh came from a similar background, but was surprised to learn that he came from a slightly later generation. When 19 year old Rocky cut his first record in 1965 other teenagers around the world were being swept along by Beatlemania, but Rocky Teoh dreamed of being Elvis Presley.
Rocky’s recording career was brief, from 1965 to 1967, but he is said to have released in that time two singles, twelve EPs and two LPs, but I haven’t seen all of these. Many of the songs Rocky recorded were ones that had been made famous by Presley previously, but he was not entirely an imitator as he sometimes used different arrangements and also recorded some of his own songs, such as his second release, Jacqueline, dedicated to his girlfriend, later his wife. The tune for Jacqueline is an adaptation of a Chinese popular song, a technique utilised by Rocky in some of his other compositions as well.
Rocky and his band toured throughout Malaysia and Singapore from 1965 to 1967 and also toured in Thailand in 1966, always playing to packed houses. Rocky certainly projects the image of a cool rocker on his record covers and I can imagine he spent considerable time in front of the mirror perfecting his smile-cum-sneer and Elvis-like stance. Many of Rocky’s old recordings have recently been re-issued on CD by the Rocky Teoh Fan Club. You can visit their website here: http://www.rockyteoh.com/ You can also see more photos of Rocky on this site.
History, photos and music submitted by Steven Farram.
The Distant Sounds at Killdeer Island Club, Webster, MA. From left: Jimmy Duszlak, Ben Bembenek, Billy Meagher, Dennis Casaubon, and Bob Stockdale.
The Distant Sounds came out of Bartlett High School in Webster, Massachusetts, about 15 miles south of Worcester.
“It Reminds Me”, written by drummer Dennis Casaubon, is a fine example of New England garage. The band’s name is appropriate given the somewhat murky recording quality, but I think it all adds up to a great record. The guitarist picking notes off chords combines well with the keyboards in the background. The vocal harmonies are great and I like the crude guitar solo.
The flip is a slow surf instrumental called “Dreamin'”, written by Ben Bembenek. The record was pressed at the Rite plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, a low-cost plant used by many bands at the time, and released on the Citation label.
Rhythm guitarist Bob Stockdale wrote to me about the Distant Sounds:
Billy Meagher was the lead singer and Jimmy Duszlak played bass guitar. I played rhythm guitar and Ben Benbebek played lead guitar. Ed Catteau later joined the group on keyboard. I think Ed was from Charlton MA.
We played a lot of dances at the Killdeer Island Club in Webster Ma. We also played at many places in the surrounding towns. It was nice money for school kids. On some weekends we made $50 plus each, if we had 2 gigs. We once played in Connecticut as an opening act to the Turtles. Dennis Casaubon’s dad set us up to play in New York City. His brother was a priest and provided a place to sleep a couple nights in the Big Apple.
Ben, Jimmy and I graduated from Bartlett High School in the ’60s in Webster MA. Dennis was a summer resident of Webster but went to High School in Southbridge MA, his hometown. Billy went to St.Louis High in Webster and was tragically hit by a car and killed in the late sixties … early ’70s?
Ben went to Berkley School of Music and still plays. I actually saw Ben a few months ago. I believe Dennis stuck with music as well. I never continued with the guitar playing and found other interests.
I’ve seen a signed copy of the record that has Denis Casaubon’s first name spelled with one “n” in Denis.
Thank you to Bob Stockdale for adding information about the group, and for the photo and business card.
Something of a mystery, my understanding is that although their second 45 has a Brooklyn, NY address on the label, the band was actually from Springfield, NJ.
The misspelled “Your Gona Break My Heart” has some cool slide effects on the intro, a fine guitar break and lots of echo. It was released with the band listed as the Abstrack Sound, on the CBM label in 1966, with a moody “Judge Him If You Can” on the flip.
On their second record, the stomping “I’m Trying” backed with the wild “Blacked Out Mind”, they’re called the Abstract Sound. This one was released twice in 1967, on the Gray Sounds and Sound of Soul labels, and was produced by E. M. Gray.
Bill Monetti and C. Catena wrote their songs, along with Denis Dreher on the second 45. However, the Gray Sounds release lists Dreher as co-writing “I’m Trying” while the Sound of Soul release gives him co-credit on “Blacked Out Mind”. BMI lists him on both songs along with Monetti, and drops Catena altogether! Obviously someone screwed up the credits somewhere along the way. To make things still more confusing, the labels are reversed on my copy!
Anyone have a photo of the group or scans of the CBM or Sound of Soul labels?
The Matematicos came from Nuevo Laredo, across the Rio Grande from Laredo, TX in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. This is their third album. Their first looks to be more 50’s based rock n’ roll and their second is surf music.
The only name I can find for this group is Juan Garza, the lead singer and, in a sense, lyricist. He takes three songs by the Kinks, for example, keeps the music and writes completely new lyrics (and titles) in Spanish.
That wouldn’t amount to much, except he and the band really rave it up on these tracks and others like “La Pelea”, my favorite track on the record. All the first side is good, and two tracks from the second. The remaining three are really less worthwhile.
The band broke up when Garza went solo. Their name has more of a ring to it in Spanish, in English it would translate as the Mathematicians, not very hip!
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
The Shames crank out both songs on this single like it’s the only shot they’d ever get. There’s no weak playing here, just guitars overloading the studios inputs, a drummer slamming out the beat and a vocalist cutting loose. On “The Special Ones” he complains about getting grief for having long hair! “My World Is Upside Down” may be the most distinctive of the two, if one had to choose a top side.
Heart and Soul formed in 1967, releasing this crude psych 45 with good harmonies and playing on the Strive label out of Poughkeepsie. Both songs have guitar breaks as well as more soloing on the outros. The band members came from Kingston and Saugerties in the Hudson Valley of New York, Members were:
The Distant Sounds came out of Bartlett High School in Webster, Massachusetts, about 15 miles south of Worcester.
