George Tomelloso, lead guitar and vocals
Andy Arguello, guitar
Mike Mendoza, guitar
Eddie Williams, bass
John Lujan, drums

The Liberty Lads were from the Liberty Farms and Dixon area east of Vacaville. In 1965, like many bands from the area, they recorded at Bill Rase’s studio on Franklin Blvd in Sacramento, a package deal of a few hours recording time and 45s on a custom label to sell at their shows.

George Tomelloso, who passed away some time ago, wrote both sides of their only release. “Too Much Loving” has great tension created by the repetitive bass line and sitar-like lead guitar line. The immense reverb makes the sparse instrumentation seem even thinner. The vocals don’t start until nearly a minute in, and Tomelloso delivers them in a weird snarl with another member echoing the lines deep in the background. A lone handclap accompanies the chorus. At 3:55 this is one of the longest independent singles of the day, and unlike any surf music ever recorded.

All the qualities that make “Too Much Loving” so great are nearly absent on the flip, “I Need Believe In”, a ballad that drags along for over three minutes with only a fine reverb guitar sound to help it along.

The excellent Big Beat CD The Sound of Young Sacramento has a great photo of the group, along with thirty great tracks by bands from the region, and I recommend it highly.

Eddie Williams (Eddie Guilherme) joined the Tears who cut “Weatherman” on Scorpio and “Rat Race” on Onyx.

Thank you to Vicki Bowlin for the photo of the group at top. Vicki commented below that her mother Bobbi Madrid helped manage the band, and had them practice at their house in Vallejo.