I don’t know anything about the Runaways, there’s just this one fine 45 from 1966. From the opening melody played on a twelve string and bass in unison, the band moves through “It Don’t Mean a Thing” in all of 1:45. Vocals and drumming are solid, and the guitarist lays down a solo that barely strays from repeating the melody line!
Terry Johnson wrote both songs on the 45, the flip being the weeper “Please Do”. This was released as Highland 1170, with production by Phonic Arts.
The Highland label was owned by Sid Talmadge, releasing 45s from 1958 through 1980. Sonny Bono was doing A&R for Highland at this time and had a 45 on Highland 1160 as ‘Sonny’ – “I’ll Change” / “Try It Out on Me”. Perhaps he was involved in bringing them to the label.
Other garage 45s on Highland include the Insects’ “Girl That Sits There” / “Then You Came My Way” and Harry Hellings & the Radials’ “Tale of a Crystal Ship”.
A psychedelic ode to street walkers! Buried on the b-side of a heavy version of Peggy Sue with a good drum break.
Don’t know a thing about the American Express. “When the City Sleeps” was written by Mani and Fournier.
I’m sure there’s a tie to some other group, but who? Not the American Express from Wisconsin who cut “You & Me” / “You’re Going To Be The One” on the Teen Town label, produced by Jon Hall.
Max Waller connects this to Ed Fournier of the Challengers and Dave Mani – see his comment below for more info.
Delta # in the dead wax dates this to February 1969.
The äva label – Elmer Bernstein, Fred Astaire, Carol Lawrence, the Pete Jolly Trio – lots of movie themes and light pop music. It makes sense for a label distributed by MGM. Yet I’ve managed to find a couple great instrumental 45s on äva, Allyn Ferguson’s “Your Red Watermelon” and this one, a solid double-sided winner by the Pace-Setters.
Mustang has a nicely tremoloed guitar setting up riffs for a sax to finish off while engines rev in the background. Heads Up is a great r&b guitar workout originally done by Freddie King.
As for the Pace-Setters, they seem to have been a faceless group of studio musicians. Shows how much talent was around in LA in 1964 – two well-produced instrumentals like this get buried in obscurity.
Mustang was written by Gary Moulton, both sides were produced by Steve Benson.
The Banshees were students at Mills High School in Millbrae, just south of San Francisco. They had started in 1962 as an instrumental group the Black Knights, changing their name to the Banshees when they added a vocalist in ’64. Members were Jack Walters, Chris Guiver and Paul and Dennis Studebaker, and for a short time Bob Morelli.
Banshees Solo 45 They Prefer Blondes
They released two records on the Solo label including the crude and energetic “They Prefer Blondes” / “Take a Ride with Me”. “They Prefer Blondes” was written by Jack Walters, while “Take a Ride with Me” was by Paul Studebaker, and both songs were arranged by Paul Studebaker. Lou Dorren, a high-school friend of the band produced both of their Solo 45s, and also recorded them in a later incarnation as the Kensington Forest.
With the help of his brother, George Guiver, I’ve heard from founding member of the band Chris Guiver, who kindly gave a detailed history of the band. Jason Sweitzer spoke to the Banshees’ friend and producer Lou Dorren about his early years as a sound engineer. Fascinating in itself, Lou’s story sheds light on the Banshees progression from garage act to professional musicians.
Chris Guiver:
Jack and I knew of each other from Lincoln School kindergarten. They lived within walking distance in old Burlingame. Later, in early high school (1962-63), we became best of friends through music and life. My mom was a great singer and dancer from the 40’s and apparent genetics rubbed off. I elected to learn saxophone in the 4th grade, taking school lessons. Jack was taking guitar lessons from early on too, found surf music an attraction and moved to electric – always a Fender Telecaster.
Paul and Dennis, the Studebaker brothers, were talent and intelligence beyond belief. Paul played lead trumpet in the Mills High band and orchestra. Dennis played tenor sax in the band. Paul, Dennis and I all went crazy for swing and were members of the award-winning jazz band at the high school. The three played in jazz combos, free-lance and otherwise and actually played “gigs” This is also where we connected with Jack Walters, who to this day, is viewed as a genius song writer.
At the end of that freshman year and in summer, the foursome started to play rock together. Songs like “What’d I Say” and “La Bamba” were played over and over at the YMCA dances and eventually at San Jose State frat parties. Many practice hours in the Studebaker basement began to bring proficiency, style and a great joy in music and friendships. And that is when the first recording of “They Prefer Blondes” and “Take A Ride With Me” was recorded in the hall of the Presbyterian Church (couple of mics and shared amplifiers).
The Banshees playing in front of the Hyatt Theater, before a Chad & Jeremy and Sonny & Cher concert.
Later in the sophomore year (1964), Jack, Paul and Dennis met Bob Morelli who sang like Gerry of Gerry and the Pacemakers. The four of them linked up and established great harmonies together and won the California Band Wars as The Banshees. Shortly after, missing the sax, I was asked to join again. The five-some played together for about 6 months, playing once as a greeting band for “Chad and Jeremy” and “Sonny and Cher”. Bob went his way, leaving the four-some alone as the Banshees. For the Banshees around these times, four gods began to walk the earth – naming themselves “The Beatles”. Went to both San Francisco concerts.
The original “geek” of the high school, Lou Dorren, heard the group and wished to record them in his garage. That was the beginning onslaught of fantastic original material written by Jack.
The Banshees with Don O’Leary (left) and Lou Dorren (right) holding the first Solo 45, August 1965. Photo courtesy of Don O’Leary Jason Sweitzer notes Lou’s perspective on the first Banshees record:
The SOLO imprint was Lou’s conception. He was 15 when he recorded and produced “They Prefer Blondes” in the Millbrae Presbyterian Church recreation room, with full permission of the priest! Prior to this he hadn’t made any garage recordings of them.
Originally, the song was going to be titled “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” but Marilyn Monroe had recorded a song with that title for a movie of the same name.
Using a Roberts Crossfield 770 reel-to-reel recorder and two cardioid dynamic microphones, which Lou and his friend Don purchased for the occasion from Lafayette Electronics in San Francisco, they recorded five or six takes each of “They Prefer Blondes” and “Take a Ride with Me” until the band got the one they liked.
Lou had the tracks mastered and sent to Monarch Record Mfg Co., Los Angeles. Two thousand copies were pressed circa July 1965 and the majority of them were sold for 99¢ at LeCor Camera & Hi-Fi in Millbrae, where Lou worked a part time after-school job, and at White Front Department Store in Sunnyvale, where Lou’s uncle was manager.
Despite being a local success, Lou was unhappy with the sound of SOLO 1 and decided to book time at Coast Recorders at 960 Bush St. in San Francisco to record a follow-up.
from the 1966 San Francisco yellow pages
At Coast they recorded “Never Said I Loved You” and “So Hard to Bear” on a ½” 3-track vacuum tube recorder. This was Lou’s first shot at mixing, and SOLO 2 was pressed mid-September 1965.
These songs show the band developing their melodic side which they would improve upon in their next incarnation. Both songs were written by Jack Walters and arranged by Paul Studebaker.
With this brief stint at Coast under his belt, Lou begged manager Mel Tanner for a job and began helping out in the studio under the supervision of chief engineer Don Geis. It wasn’t long before Lou made his first master cut of the Beau Brummels “Don’t Talk to Strangers.”
Meanwhile the Banshees continued performing, soon landing their first recording contract.
The Ariel
In the fall of 1966 the Banshees received a deal with Bob Shad’s Mainstream label, and traveled down to L.A. to record one single, the very beautiful “It Feels Like I’m Crying” b/w “I Love You.”
This 45 was released as “The Ariel” on the Brent label (another company owned by Shad). In sound these songs are a world away from They Prefer Blondes, with excellent harmonies, introspective lyrics and a delicate melodic sense.
The words of “It Feels Like I’m Crying” are agonizing:
Many times I feel like screaming, Many times I feel like dying, Cause you you, you you, you you, you … Lied and it feels like I’m crying, crying, crying.
Never will I show my feelings, Never will I show the reason, Why she she, she she, she she, she…. Lied and it feels like I’m crying, crying, crying.
Chris Guiver:
Through ‘65 many concerts and performances with largely original material brought an inquiry by a large record label and the band was asked to “try out” at a studio in the city. One of the other bands had a pretty good singer named Janis Joplin. Both bands were contracted to go to L.A. and record in the same studio the Rolling Stones used. What a difference from the old church recordings. Big Brother and the Holding Company could just go. The Banshees had to get parental approval. The producer then didn’t feel Janis had a present enough voice and, yes, required her to double-track her singing!
Local fame had risen and a highlight moment was a senior dance at the high school. The air was sparked with excitement. Regrettably, Paul took ill and couldn’t perform leaving the 3 to fake it. Paul was a year ahead and had gone off to Berkeley leaving the band without its leader and at the end of the ‘65/’66 year the band dispersed.
Kensington Forest
Stereo version of “Bells”
In early 1967 Jack Walters brought Lou a demo of his new song “Bells.” Lou suggested Jack assemble a band and invited them over to Coast Recorders to record it. The newly named Kensington Forest included Jack Walters, Chris Guiver, Dennis Studebaker and Jack’s sister. As the flip to “Bells,” they recorded another Jack Walters original, “Movin’ On.”
While “Movin’ On” was mixed to mono only, Lou made both stereo and mono mixes of “Bells,” and cut separate master plates for each version himself. One thousand copies were pressed with both sides in mono and another thousand made with the stereo version of “Bells” and the mono version of “Movin’ On.” According to Lou, “Bells” was the first stereo 45 engineered to be fully compatible with a mono cartridge.
Pressed at Monarch in mid-to-late May, 1967, and distributed by Melody Sales of San Francisco, “Bells” was a popular regional hit during the summer.
Lou recalls he was driving down El Camino Real listening to “The Emperor” Gene Nelson on KYA when suddenly “Bells” was introduced. It was the first time he heard the 45 played over the radio and he describes it as a peak experience, having stopped his car mid-road to jump up and down ecstatic. Not far away the rest of the band, driving around together in Jack’s car, were doing the same on California Drive!
“Bells” has a rougher sound than the polish of the Ariel 45, but the harmonies and melodic talent are still there, along with some fine guitar work. “Movin’ On” shows the influence of the early San Francisco ballroom groups like the Charlatans and the Dead. If anyone has a better quality transfer of Bells in stereo, please get in touch.
Chris Guiver:
Dennis and I went to San Jose State the next year as dorm-mates. We stayed in touch with Jack who went to Berkeley too but dropped out after a short time wishing to continue writing songs. After a short time, Dennis met a yogi and disappeared into the spiritual only reuniting with me at the 20-year high school class reunion.
Jack and I, with another Bob, formed a group after high school. Jack’s originals, including “Oddie the Troll”, were recorded but Bob was an enthusiast of “The Who”, which didn’t always fly even though Jack was competent in the lead guitaring. I played drums. The group did record probably Jack’s greatest work “Wine Flower” for the guy who produced “Go Granny Go!” in L.A. “Wine Flower” included a string section with tremendous arrangement and harmony – along the lines of the Banshees’ “I Love You”. It is a great misfortune that Jack took mentally ill shortly after.
Gypsum Heaps
Paul Rose of Fantasy Records took an interest in “Bells” and introduced Lou to Max Weiss and Saul Zaentz. After hearing “Bells”, Max offered to distribute Lou’s fledgling Bay Sound Productions and gave Lou a job as sound engineer with Fantasy.
In late 1967 Lou placed audition ads in the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner looking for new bands to record for Bay Sound Productions. By the end of the year he began releasing records on his new Onyx label, one 45 each by the Styx (Onyx 2200); the Tears (Onyx 2201); Weird Herald (Onyx 2202); and Gypsum Heaps (Onyx 2203); with Mark Darnell an unconfirmed 5th artist.
Chris Guiver:
I continued in music and minored at San Jose State, studying and playing bass. I hooked up with Rick Quintinel who became a top California drummer. Rick was connected with the East Bay sound and he and I joined together as a funky rhythm section for soul bands. During that time Rick and I played jazz too and hooked up with a group in “the 10th Street House” that was music 24/7. Two cool things transpired.
By chance, I neighbored with Pat Simmons who became the founder of the “Doobie Brothers”. I used to back him up on bass when all he wanted to perform was James Taylor and “would never go electric”. Tommy Johnson, the Doobie’s lead guitar connected with Pat at “the house” and the rest is history (noting Pat did go electric when Tommy’s Chicago Blues-style got him and they wrote songs that produced a lucrative Warner Brother’s deal.)
Wandering through the East Bay sound playing funk, Rick and I formed a band called “Gypsum Heaps”. Full rhythm section, organ and horns. The singers were Rufus Miller, the original lead singer for “Tower of Power” and Rat his gospel cousin. Hot. I wrote a song called “Would You Love”, which was recorded at Fantasy Records – the other side of the record was the Banshees’ “Movin’ On” by Jack Walters. One can easily imagine the song arranged as a “Tower of Power”. The release landed a concert for 20,000 people with “Santana” as the headliner. The Banshees lived on.
The Banshees were a unique bunch with a great love of all types of music, deep friendships and many talents. If an arrangement called for it, one might say to the other – “I think it would be better if I played guitar and you played drums so I can sing easier”. The other would respond – “Sounds good, lets do it”.
It is a great experience and honor to have played with and known The Banshees, The Ariel and Kensington Forest all of whom were the same guys in different musical venues. It is a trip after 40 years to once again hear some of our music through the efforts of Garage Hangover.
Thank you to Dan for the clips of “Never Said I Loved You” and “So Hard to Bear”. Special thanks to George Guiver for the photo of the band playing outside the Hyatt Theater, and for putting us in contact with his brother Chris.
This article written by Chris Bishop and Jason Sweitzer.
The Boy Blues came from Chico, and released two 45s in February 1966 and 1967.
This article is superceded by the release on CD of ‘Up From The Grave’ on Frantic Records (the reissue label, not the original Frantic label based in Universal City), which has all four songs they recorded in incredible sound quality, plus an extensive history of the group including some outrageous stories of baby food and a drug bust that I won’t repeat here. Get the CD to read the full story and hear 30 tracks by a number of Sacramento Valley bands. I recommend it highly.
Below is a brief history of the group:
The Boy Blues started out of a band called the Disciples, with Mark Cipolla on guitar and vocals, Jim Conley on lead guitar, Randy Reaves on bass and Rick Wagner on drums. Bob Brien joined to share rhythm guitar and vocal duties with Mark Cipolla, and then the band changed their name to the Boy Blues. Conley left and Chris Howard joined as lead guitarist.
They met their manager George Martin at a battle of the bands in Marysville, and in early ’66 he brought the band into Ikon Studios in Sacramento to cut their first 45 for release on the Vardan label.
The top side “Living Child” would be re-recorded in a much different arrangement for the b-side of their second 45. Most people prefer the Frantic label version, mainly because it has distorted guitar throughout instead of horns. Still, I wouldn’t dismiss the Vardan version, it’s faster and tighter, and even if the horns are superfluous, they add some dissonance to the chorus.
The b-side of the Vardan 45 is another good Bob Brien song, “Think About It Baby”, with a thick layer of horns arranged by Arthur Wright. I like this one as well, especially the Byrds-like guitar solo. The squeak of the bass drum pedal is really noticeable, especially in the introduction.
Would this be a better 45 without the horns? Maybe – it definitely would have had a more typical garage sound, but the horns don’t ruin either cut for me.
A drug bust in Novato got the band on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle, and led to the departure of Randy Reaves and Chris Howard.
The band heard John Palmer playing while driving by his garage in Richmond, in the East Bay, where he had been a member of the Plague. The band convinced John to come up to Chico to join them as lead guitarist, and added Jeff Gadbois, who has since passed away, on bass.
The bust didn’t stop their popularity at live shows, nor did it dampen the expectations of George Martin, who brought the new lineup into Sountronics in Lodi for their second single.
‘Coming Down to You’ chugs along to the Batman theme for most of its three minutes, and features a great fuzz solo after its somewhat dreamy chorus. It was written by Bob Brien and Mark Cipolla. Some copies of this 45 were released with a picture sleeve that features the earlier lineup of the group.
John Palmer and Jeff Gadbois were with the group for about six months before departing to play a heavier type of music with Lincoln’s Promise. In the spring of ’67 John went back home to Richmond where he became a founding member of Savage Resurrection.
Cipolla moved to bass, while he and Bob Brien found new members Pat Varvel on drums, Ed Seymour on keyboards and Chuck Edwards on guitar and vocals. They changed their name to Colours and moved to the Bay Area for a new start. That period is documented in a two CD set also released by Frantic, but I haven’t heard it yet.
Arvey Andrews produced the Vardan 45, and co-produced the Frantic release with his business partner, George Martin, while they were stationed at Beale Air Force Base east of Yuba City.
Frantic had other good releases, including the Styx with ‘Stay Away’ and ‘My Girl’ (CR-2125/6), a group called Psycho with ‘You Need Me (CR-2128), and the Mystic ‘I Get So Disgusted’ / ‘Weekend People’. The Boy Blues might be the last 45 on the label.
Sleeve for their second 45 – but showing the earlier lineup of the group anyone have a better quality scan of this sleeve?
I wrote about the Impression label back in 2006, but at the time I didn’t know the full story behind the Intercoms record, and had not yet heard the Mark Five or C-Minors 45s. As it turns out, the Mark V of Redlands, California was responsible for all three of these releases, and a few members also backed Jimmy Robins (aka Jimmy Robbins) on his soul classic, “I Just Can’t Please You”.
The Intercoms’ “Unabridged, Unadulterated, Unextraordinary, Ordinary, Mediocre Unoriginality Blues” (Impression 107) is a cynical parody of protest songs, and one of my favorite Dylan send-ups. Opening verse: “Well I sit right down to write myself a protest song/and I try to think about something particularly wrong/but I couldn’t think of nothing that hadn’t already been said/ I couldn’t get the Siamese cats out of my head.” It was written by Danny Faragher of the Mark Five and M. Fouch. The flipside, Please Try And Understand was written by Dave Kelliher.
I asked guitarist and vocalist Dave Roberts (Dave Kelliher) of the Mark V about the band:
The Mark V (Redlands, CA) was basically a dance combo (piano, drums, bass, trombone, sax, and trumpet) but we dabbled in guitars, harmonicas, and tambourines. The Mark V band members were:
Brad Madson (piano) Steve Hauser (sax, clarinet, flute, vocals) Dick Owens (drums) Danny Faragher (trombone, harmonica, vocals) Jimmy Faragher (bass, guitar, vocals) Dave Kelliher (aka Dave Roberts) (trumpet, guitar, vocals)
We had recorded an instrumental at Universal Studios at 5539 Sunset Blvd. in 1964. Instrumentals (particularly surf tunes) were hot. But also you had songs like Wonderland By Night, Midnight in Moscow, The Lonely Bull, The Theme from Mondo Cane, and all of that Al Hirt and Tijuana Brass stuff on the charts in the early 60’s (a lot of trumpet solos there…). Also, novelty songs were big (“No Matter What Shape Your Stomach’s In” from the Alka Seltzer commercial).
Well, there was a fairly new corn chip on the market called Wampums so…we came up with this little gem on our own…and believe or not, it was a big hit at dances and proms…girls in huge prom dresses, dancing like Indians and doin’ the Wampum battle cry…it wasn’t pretty. And Steve Hauser was one helluva saxophonist, as you can hear. Steve, by the way, was the leader of the band and probably has more (and perhaps more accurate) accounts of all of this.
We went back a year later to get our masters but Universal was out of business, replaced by Impression Records. We had some other demos we were shopping around on our own–recorded at Wm. Locy Sound Studio in Riverside, CA. in 1964. No producer, just us and whatever studio time a hundred bucks would buy.
Now, to my ear, it’s got more “soul” to it [than the remake on Impression], as rough as it is. Brad Madson’s piano work is really featured here, with a kind of haunting Gerry & The Pacemakers sound. (Okay, and I like my trumpet solo better.)
We were greeted by Sonny and Al Jones who want to hear our stuff. In no time we signed with Impression and cranked out a couple of things under Mark V, the one record as Intercoms, and another under the C-Minors. But it was the same six guys. It was heady…I was the youngest at 15 and the oldest was 17. Al and Sonny were country guys…Dorsey Burnette used to hang around there all the time.
Al and Sonny needed something quick and probably had a narrow window in which to work with John Fisher, who was riding high with “Suspicion” by Terry Stafford. (Fisher loved to tell the story of how they got that strange sound in “Suspicion” …they put a paper bag over a the organ’s Leslie speaker.) And you can’t underestimate how the British Invasion really fired up the band scene in L.A.
So, they threw all against the wall to see what would stick. We did hear “I’m Through With You” on local radio (KMEN, San Bernardino; KASK, Pomona) and it apparently got a little action in various small markets around the country. I don’t think the other stuff modulated many transmitters out there. They all came out at the same time.
By the way, we hated those other names but we figured they knew what they were doing.
The Mark Five’s first Impression release [is] “I’m Through With You”. They brought in a session guitarist for this and it was either James Burton or Jerry McGee. Both were on one of our recordings and I’m pretty sure it was the former. You could probably tell by listening…at 15 I had no idea I was in the presence of a phenom. Even though I didn’t get to play guitar on it, that is me on the trumpet.
The flip side – “I’ll Keep On Trying”. Again, I’m pretty sure this is Jerry McGee on guitar (think Rita Coolidge riffs). By the way, both were produced by Al Jones, Sonny Jones, and John Fisher.
A Mark Five record released as the C-Minors – “Just A Little Feeling,” / “Don’t Go” Impression 106. That is me on guitar and of course, trumpet, back up vocals, nail biting, etc.
The Intercoms
I wrote “Please Try and Understand” (okay, so my English was bad…not as bad as my singing or guitar work for that matter), the song on the flip side of “Unabridged, un…” I also sing lead and lead guitar. I owned only one copy of it (I was 17) and it warped (and subsequently cracked) in my car trunk.
Three of us did play on “I Just Can’t Please You” by Jimmy Robins: Dick Owens (drums), Danny Faragher (trombone), Dave Kelliher (trumpet). Jimmy Robins is on keyboards and that string-stretching is Sonny Jones on guitar. It was originally on the Impression label.
We left Impression in 1966 to be managed by Dan Dalton (Back Porch Majority). He changed our name to Peppermint Trolley Company (did somebody say 1910 Fruitgum Company?), got us a gig at Disneyland, put us in red-striped pants, blue blazers, and red ties.
“About a month into our new name on a big photo shoot at Knott’s Berry Farm. These handsome lads are (l-r): Danny Faragher, Dave Kelliher (Roberts), Brad Madson, Dick Owens, Jimmy Faragher, Steve Hauser.”
We signed with Valiant, recorded at Moonglow studios, and did get some serious airplay with “Lollipop Train” (P.F. Sloan/Steve Barri; Grassroots had done it on one of their albums) in September of 1966.
“Bored to Tears” – written and sung by Jimmy Faragher; we got the chance to go back to our Dixieland roots. It actually had some relevancy given the popularity of “Flowers on the Wall” by the Statler Brothers about a year before. Buzz Clifford (“Baby Sittin’ Boogie” from the early 60’s) also released this song in about 1967 (he was a Dan Dalton act). We were wildly received with songs like this at Disneyland…a Mickey Mouse gig, but it was Union scale.
Back to “Lollipop Train” … Dan couldn’t get the kick drum sound he wanted at the beginning of each verse so Dick Ownes (drummer) overdubbed the beating of the kick drum case with a tympani stick.
Considering that this was just months after the stuff we recorded at Impression, I think this really does speak to Dan Dalton’s talents as a producer. Valiant Records’ biggest star was The Association, they played right behind us — literally across the alley — at Disneyland that year. We were in the Carnation Pavilion and they were starring in the Pepsi Theatre in FrontierLand.
We disbanded in early 1967. Our break-up was very gentlemanly. We had been playing together since the 8th grade and now we were freshmen and sophomores in college…all at different colleges. We all needed to stay in college or be drafted. Lollipop Train didn’t “pop” (Valiant was purchased by Warner Bros. and phased out; they really only wanted the Association).
I was the one who started it, leaving the band to go off to be a disc jockey. The others decided that their interests, strengths, and weaknesses all differed and they decided to disband. As noted earlier, Danny and Jimmy Faragher took the Peppermint Trolley Company forward with a lot more fame with two other guys we all knew from Junior High/High School. Both good guys and very talented. Danny & Jimmy then formed the Faragher Brothers with two other family members. Very talented family … little brother Davey Faragher is bassist for Elvis Costello.
Now, as I understand it, but grist for revision: Steve actually worked the rest of his way through college and law school playing with bands in Vegas. Brad graduated from the prestigious University of North Dallas School of Music and is a professor of music (jazz) at Jefferson College in Jefferson, MO. Dick went on to become an executive at Broadway Department Stores. I stayed in radio, earned a PhD in Communication, was a VP at RKO Networks and CBS Radio, and became a research consultant. I still have a guitar, drums, trumpet, and my voiceover studio (and this big smash hit in my own mind and about 15,000 “internet hits”: “Armadillos In Mourning” (A parody of Amarillo By Morning by George Strait, written by Terry Stafford).
It’s hard to believe that 40 years later it is this much fun!
– Dave Roberts, February 2008
In August of 2009 Danny Faragher wrote to Garage Hangover:
Here’s a bit more information concerning my song, “The Unabridged, Unadulterated….Unoriginality Blues”. We had recorded “I’m Through With You” / “I’ll Keep On Trying” in August of 1965. In September, I started attending San Bernardino Valley College as a music major (one of my classmates was Jimmy Webb). It was hard for me to focus on my studies. All I could think about was making rock and roll records. A couple of weeks into school, I sat down at the piano in the commons, and performed Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” to a packed room of lunch eaters. I sang every verse with all the inflections, and got a rousing applause, which of course I dug completely. In fact, I wanted more, and I wanted it SOON!
A couple nights later I got the idea for a song which would kind of riff off the “Dylan protest thing”. My good friend Michael Fouch sat next to me as I composed the tune, acting as a sounding board and cheering squad (I don’t think I’d have written it without his being there. Hence the writer credit). The next day I performed the song for the lunchtime crowd. Of course, as people didn’t know the tune, they didn’t respond with the same enthusiasm, but a lot of the students dug it. At the next band rehearsal, we worked it up. In February of 1966, I believe, we recorded it for Impression. Incidentally, I have just recently reconnected with Michael after thirty plus years.
My brother, Jimmy, and I are going to attend a reunion party for the Inland Empire bands of the Sixties on August 29th. It should be interesting.
The six Impression sides have now been included as bonus tracks on the CD reissue of the Peppermint Trolley Company’s 1968 album, entitled “Beautiful Sun”. The CD is selling well.
I have a website up (www.dannyfaragher.com) up with bios of all the bands I was in, including the Mark Five. The bio fleshes out the story even more.
Special thanks to Dave Roberts for his history of the band and audio of their demos. Dave has his own voiceover business, www.DaveRobertsVoiceover.com. Also thanks to Danny Faragher for adding more to the story – check out his site, www.dannyfaragher.com/markv as there’s a lot more information there.
Ed Kienholz’ sculpture Back Seat Dodge ’38 shows two pairs of legs coupling in an old jalopy amidst empty beer bottles. Its exhibition at the Los Angeles County Art Museum in 1966 caused a scandal. Condemned as obscene by the County Board, it was censored in a way, shown for a time with the door closed, which a guard could open only in the presence of adults. This sculpture became the inspiration for the only release by Opus 1, on Mustang (a Del-Fi subsidiary) in April of ’66.
Despite the obscurity of the group, its members actually had long histories in the Los Angeles surf and rock scene. Opus 1 was a professional group playing at clubs such as the Cinnamon Cinder alongside competing bands The Emperors, The Cindermen, The Pyramids, The Vibrants and The Knights of Day.
Band members were: Brian Decker: Lead Guitar (Mosrite) and vocals Doug Decker: Fender P Bass (Big Red) and vocals Pete Parker: Farfisa Organ and vocals (John) Chris Christensen: Ludwig Drums and vocals
Christensen says “Bob Keane was peaked by the idea of something controversial, so we took another of our songs ‘Why Did I Lie,’ changed the lyric and did a little tweaking on the arrangement and ‘Back Seat ’38 Dodge’ (poetic license) was born. We paired that with the all ready completed ‘In My Mind’ and that became our only single. Somebody once described ‘Back Seat ’38 Dodge’ to me as the ‘last real surf record and the beginning of punk.’ It does sound like a huge hell bound train to me thanks to those great Del-Fi echo chambers.”
Not to be overlooked is the fine b-side “In My Mind”, early psychedelia with paranoid lyrics about being stared at and whispered about while “two prophets sitting in a tree” tell him he’s right. Many unreleased demos and studio out-takes exist, and hopefully will come to light someday.
For the full story on Opus 1 see Mike Dugo’s interview with John “Chris” Christensen. Below is Christensen’s detailed account of his early bands and the formation of Opus 1, in his own words:
The Sunsets and the Surfriders parallel each other as being the very first groups I played in. I started to learn the drums in my freshman year at St. Anthony’s Boy’s High School in 1961 from W.H. “Jack” Plummer, a reed specialist who had traveled for years with Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. Jack was not really a drummer, but an excellent teacher nonetheless, and a multi-instrumentalist.
I started putting together pieces of stuff to fashion a drum kit in early ’62 and began jamming a lot in the band room, with Bob Jones, a senior who played the clarinet, and had all the Benny Goodman stuff down cold, especially “Sing, Sing, Sing” which I LOVED to play. In the 90’s I would do many gigs with Graham Young and Ed Mihelich, who were Gene Krupa’s 1st trumpet and bassist in ’41-’42. Another person I jammed with was a sax player Jose Valazquez (aka Joey Val), who really had the Joe Houston thing down, and a trumpet player named Mike Squibb who was really great as well.
Outside of the band room I spent a lot of time hanging out with, and plotting ‘band strategies’ with, guitarist Bob Renfro, with whom I had a pretty long association. Bob Renfro would later write and record the classic “Ode To A Bad Dream” with another band I was in called “Time of Your Life.” Bob and I would get together and try to play various old R&R and R&B tunes, singing a lot of our favorite ‘black’ songs.
We would also try to figure out how to get our hands on some really good instruments. Finally we hit on a plan – we both wrote letters to relatives asking for a loan to buy instruments. I got a loan from my Great Grandfather, and purchased a used Ludwig set. Bob’s Uncle gave him a loan for a guitar, and we were off! That was December of ’62, and I played my first gig for money the week after I got the drums. The gig was with Jose Velazquez (sax), Don Wittsten (guitar), and I think a trombone player named Ed Price. Bob and I continued jamming with a few groups and nothing really clicked, but while we were trying to put something together I started to jam with some friends of my first cousin, Marlene Addy.
The Sunsets
Friends of my cousin, and kids I had played ball and stuff with, Dickie Lambert and Clyde Brown were also interested in music. We made a pretty good noise together. Dickie had a guitar and was playing bass lines, Clyde played rhythm guitar. The problem was finding a lead guitarist! I’m not sure exactly why Bob Renfro was never auditioned, but Clyde, especially, was a hustler. He wanted to bypass all the B.S. and get a pro manager and financial backing right away, even though he was not yet a spectacular guitarist. While he was busy hustling, we kept trying out lead guitar players, settling on one guy who was adequate, and who’s name is lost to time. On the financial side, some friends-of-friends tried to hook us up with TV star Broderick Crawford (Highway Patrol), but it was all missed phone calls and excuses. We spent one completely frustrating day waiting for The Star’s appearance while getting numerous “I’m coming” messages from the no-show. Clyde was not deterred.
Somehow, Clyde got the number of this guy Mr. Sheets. Sheets had cash and connections, and was trying to market a newly updated version of the old ‘film jukebox.’ Sheets also had visions of a Record Company with a full stable of young stars. I was under the impression that he was tone-deaf. We continued to rehearse and hang out, and finally I got bored with the endless waiting. This version of the band never played a gig!
By the time I had something else going on I found out that I had been replaced by Adrian Lloyd from The Rumblers, a very successful local group; and our ‘nameless’ guitarist was replaced by Ron Eglet, later to be a member of The Knights of Day, and most famously as Dick Dale’s bassist and occasional producer for a couple of decades. The group was renamed “Adrian Lloyd and The Sunsets,” and they recorded on Sheets’ (what else?) Sunset Records. They created a pretty big stir for a brief moment, and then sank! Their album “Breakthrough” and their singles (Ron Eglet told me a few years ago) are supposed to be big-time collectibles.
The Surfriders
Fed up with waiting for Mr. Sheets to do something and The Sunsets to actually play, Bob and I began to plot again. Jose Velazquez had a lead guitarist friend Bob Riddar. A jam was set up with:
Bob Riddar: Lead Guitar Jose Valazquez: Sax Don Wittsten: guitar Bob Renfro: guitar Chris Christensen: drums
Now this was more like it! We had a really good front line, guys that could really play. Even though Bob and I were singing, this was an instrumental “Surf” band. The lineup seemed to click and we started gigging around doing quite a few local dances and things. A couple of months later, Bob and I were unceremoniously ‘dumped.’ The band was doing well, and people LIKED us, but Bob Riddar liked another local drummer, Bob Meadows, and another ‘nameless’ guitarist took Bob Renfro’s place, playing bass lines on a guitar. Later, Bob Riddar and Bob Meadows would replace Ron Eglet and Adrian Lloyd in a newly reconstituted “Sunsets.” Jose Velazquez would become “Joey Val” and play with The Reveres and Lloyd Terry and The Victors.
Chris Christensen in 1963
The Intruders
Bob Renfro and I, fairly pissed-off about being dumped, made a pact: we would form our own band, and do it ‘our way.’ We would continue doing the Surf Thing, but we would sing and do the required instrumental stuff. The band would go on to be ‘our vehicle,’ but it seems that it did so with a constantly revolving cast of characters. For a while The Intruders line-up was:
Bob Renfro: Lead guitar and vocals Chris Christensen: Drums and vocals Steve Pound: Rhythm guitar Steve Soloman: Sax Mike Squibb: Trumpet
Strange as it seems today, the common wisdom of the time was that the last instrument booked for the gig (depending on the budget) was a bass. The Intruders membership changed often, with Don Wittsten and Jose Velazquez frequently being in the band. There was also a succession of Rhythm guitarists, bassists, and piano players coming and going. The main thing that set us apart from the other “Surf Bands” was that Bob and I sang R&B – we really liked the black vocal groups, and The Righteous Brothers. Most surf bands didn’t sing, and if they did, it was usually bad.
My partnership with Bob Renfro lasted several years. The Intruders morphed into The Pleasure Seekers, The Blue Boys, and a couple of names I’ve forgotten, finally becoming The Town Criers and gaining real management in ’64/’65 with Barry Campbell, the man who started Ionic Records. The Town Criers would cut 6 sides, ‘live’ in the studio. Only one side has been released, a cover of The Zombies “You Make Me Feel So Good” – and it was credited to Time of Your Life, a band Bob and I started after The Town Criers final demise.
The Town Criers had a short but good run. We played on shows with Gary Lewis and The Playboys, The Sunrays, Mel Carter, Joey Page, Bobby Sherman, The Togas, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. We played The Ice House, The Troubadour, the Marina Palace, The Fox West Coast Theater and many other venues. If certain members of the band been more appreciative of The Management, it might have lasted longer.
When I left Time Of Your Life, Bob Renfro recruited Vox Organist Jay Schlesenger, and even they don’t remember who played on their only single for Ionic. Bob and I continued to hang out, and I did help with the editing of “Ode” from it’s much longer version to the single that everyone knows. Some version of this band and The Town Criers played New Years Eve at Pandora’s Box in (I think) 1965. We also played the Teenage Fair, next to The Hollywood Paladium around the same time.
Being working players (very young, but feeling we were pros), even while we had a ‘main thing’ we were gigging with other bands. That’s how I met the Decker Brothers and worked with TJ Walker, and also The Reveres. The Decker brothers, Brian and Doug, had seen a succession of bands in which even though they were largely responsible for the groups sound and success, but they always ended up being subservient to their front men. Their method was to find a strong lead singer, and then build a group around that person. Eventually the front man would become overbearing, and then the band would break up. I believe that happened to them with Frank and the Conceptions, Lloyd Terry and the Victors, and, finally, The Togas, when Chris Morgan left taking the group name and putting his own in front.The Reveres
When I received the loan from my Great Grandfather, George Ainsworth, to purchase my drumset, my Mother, in her infinite wisdom, advised me to give the money to her. She would “make payments on the kit in my name;” her reasoning being that it would help me establish credit. Mother made some of the payments in good faith before finally defaulting. What she did with the money I’ll never know. Kenny Robinson from Campbell’s Music Store (no relation to Barry Campbell) called me and said my Mother was not meeting the obligation, and they were going to have to repossess my drums! I was now making darn good money (for a high school kid) playing gigs! I couldn’t lose my drums! Kenny said he’d give my name to people looking for a good drummer, and maybe I could make enough to make some payments.
The upshot of this was that I gigged for a little while with TJ Walker and The Jaywalkers. TJ was a black singer and guitarist, and a Front-Man Supreme. The only problem was that he played night clubs and strip joints, and I was a minor. Still, I did quite a few gigs with him, because he was in a bind, and so was I. The best part about working for TJ was playing for the strippers! The worst part was having to stay in the back room when not playing. Finally TJ got someone else (legal) and I was let go – but I had gone a long way towards paying for the drums. Later my Great Grandfather would give the family children their inheritance early. He deducted the original loan from my share – this was the drum set that I had to pay for ‘twice’ thanks to my Mother’s intervention. Kenny Robinson, anxious to help me continue meet my payments after the TJ gigs ended, gave my number to some ‘older’ college-aged players. They had a working band called The Reveres. The core of the band was to be:
Jack Long: Lead Guitar Louie DaVia: Rhythm guitar, Sax and vocals Bob Covington: Bass Joey Val (Jose Valazquez) Sax Chris Christensen: Drums and vocals
There were occasional substitutions in personnel. Sometimes Bob Renfro or Brian Decker would sub for Louie DaVia. The constants of the band were myself, Jack, and Bob Covington. These guys (The Reveres) worked all over. They had some kind of ‘in’ with the military bases and I was often running down to Camp Pendelton for gigs. These guys were “pro” all the way. Jack Long was hands-down one of the best guitar players I’ve ever worked with. He was also the only guy I ever knew who had every single Freddy King song down note-for-note. He could then turn around and play Chet Atkins for you! This is a guy I’ve been trying to get in touch with for 30 years. The Reveres played all over, but as far as I know, no recordings of the group exist.
Opus 1
I had booked a casual on this particular day using a group I played with on and off called The Reveres. Bob Renfro was also going to play, and we set out from one of the band members house to caravan to the gig. Unfortunately, we became separated on the freeway, and I was the only one with the actual address of the party, which was in a house in Naples, just down the street from where the Decker’s lived. After many frantic calls to the other members houses, it soon became apparent that I wasn’t going to get in touch with any of the guys and I had an obligation to provide a band for this party. I walked down the street to the Deckers, and was fortunate enough to find Doug, Brian, and Pete Parker there. I told them about my jam and asked them to come and help me out. Well, we played our first gig together that day and it was amazing. Four part harmony was ad-libbed on the spot! The songs just flowed out of us effortlessly. They were sick of Chris Morgan, and I was tired of my situation.
The gig had been so easy that we decided to make it permanent. We called the band Opus 1. I believe that the suggestion for the name came from Brian Decker, and then we all listed the reasons why it fit, because it was a fresh start…a new beginning….a ‘first work.’
Our first ‘real’ recording sessions were at Western Recorders. We hired Bones Howe to handle the production. Our recordings that night consisted of a couple of Brian Decker songs “In My Mind” and “Birds of Passage” that the band had arranged. Bones was also a talent scout for White Whale Records at the time and expressed some interest in us, but nothing came of it.
KRLA Beat, May 14, 1966
With our acetates in hand we had a show biz attorney, Jay L. Cooper shop us around town. He was actually Bob Keane’s attorney, and played our recordings for the Ritchie Valens/Bobby Fuller discoverer. Keane liked the sound we made enough to invite us down to his studio on Selma in Hollywood for a audition/recording session that lasted most of a whole day and late into the evening. He and Barry White sat around in the control room and pretty much recorded our entire original repertoire “live” in the studio. During one of the breaks we began to discuss the then current controversy surrounding the art exhibit by Ed Keinholtz, and in particular “Back Seat Dodge, ’38.” Keane was peaked by the idea of something controversial, so we took another of our songs “Why Did I Lie,” also known as “Song,” changed the lyric and did a little tweaking on the arrangement and “Back Seat ’38 Dodge” (poetic license) was born. We paired that with the all ready completed “In My Mind” and that became our only single for Mustang Records.The band lasted about a year. It didn’t really break up. It just sort of dissolved. During this brief period everyone just sort of moved out into other directions. I had opened the door for all of us when I originally made contact with Barry Campbell who ran Ionic Records. Pete Parker quickly moved towards record production for Ionic, sort of leaving us in limbo. I think Opus 1 was done by the summer of ’66. That about wound up the history of Opus 1.
Doug, Brian and I hooked up again here and there, but that was the end of our involvement under that moniker.
It seems that something I’ve done in every decade since the sixties has seen renewed interest this past year. Domenic Priore’s book has a couple of paragraphs about Opus 1. SJ McParland has interviwed me extensively for his book on Mustang Records/Bob Keane/Bobby Fuller; it’s due out in ‘08. 1974 band Laser Pace’s album Granfalloon will most likely be reissued through Anthology Records in ‘08 due to an recent internet feeding frenzy. My ‘94 CD “Songs from The Xenozoic Age” by Christensen/Schultz is finally seeing wider release, and I am putting out a complete unreleased album by Hot Food To Go, recorded in ‘84; it’s called “Adrenaline Drum.”John “Chris” Christensen
Sources: Photo of Back Seat Dodge ’38 from the American Museum of Beat Art. All other photos and Opus 1 45 scan courtesy of John “Chris” Christensen, copyright protected and reproduced with permission, except. Time of Your Life 45 scan courtesy of Erik of Beat Behind the Dykes and Opus 1 newspaper ad from the great KRLA Beat site. Portions of John Christensen’s recollections previously appeared in an interview with Mike Dugo. <!-More information on John “Chris” Christensen available at his myspace page.->
In My Mind:
Always laugh, you laugh think I’m a clown, that doesn’t care, stop and stare Claim to see a frown, that isn’t there, chew the fat,
Tell me where it’s at, then leave it at that, put a feather in your hat, but you’re wrong — count your numbers, think you’re strong, but you’re wrong.
While I crawl, down the dismal darkened hallway, I’m afraid, I may fall, Never again to call, out my name, by myself,
Put me on a shelf while the servants count your wealth, and drink to your health, but you’re wrong — count your numbers, think you’re strong, but you’re wrong.
In my mind I can see, Two prophets sitting in a tree, Softly telling me, They say I’m right, step up to fight, they know I’m right.
So just laugh, laugh think I’m a clown, I don’t care, stop and stare, Bigotry won’t get you anywhere, chew the fat,
Tell me where it’s at, then leave it at that, put a feather in your hat, but you’re wrong — count your numbers, think you’re strong, but you’re wrong.
Here’s a 45 on the Impression label that I didn’t know about until finding it last week. It also happens to be the label’s first release on their revamped, yellow Impression label. I’m not sure who the Dillons were, but this 45 was written and produced by Dorsey Burnette.
Along with his younger brother Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison, Dorsey was one of the Rock and Roll Trio, whose songs include the fuzzed-up version of “Train Kept a Rollin'” that the Yardbirds would cover.
“Simple Way of Living” is a truly fantastic garage tune, contemporary to the times musically, if not lyrically. The flip, “Night Winds”, is out of an earlier era, and was written by Burnette and Joe Osborn, bass player for Ricky Nelson.
I’d love to know the story behind this single! Freddy pointed out the clip from Shivaree, which shows the band as a duo backed by (according to a comment on the video) the Challengers:
Tommy Faia is the force behind Tommy & the True Blue Facts, writing his own songs, singing and playing the acoustic guitar. I didn’t know anything else about him until he contacted me in January 0f 2009.
“I’m Back” is an anti-drug song, more convincing than most with great lines like “I’m not trying to bring you down, but how long ago was your mind really sound?” The arrangement of guitar, congas and an out of tune electric piano perfectly matches the mood of the song; Tommy sounds like he was way out there indeed.
“Who’s Got the Right” is a bit of a rant sticking up for cops (“he must refrain from protecting his life because if he does, he’ll get the blame”) and denigrating looters, law breakers and welfare bums. It’s just an example of reactionary attitudes in the late ’60s.
I’ve heard one other 45 by Tommy, an original called “You’ve Got My Soul”, which sounds like Neil Diamond, backed with “An Exception to the Rule”. Gone are the politics, instead you get love songs, with fuller production, girl group backing singers and a generally unconvincing result.
Tommy recently got in touch with me and told me the story about his records on A&M:
Around 1966 I jumped in my friend David Rosenkranz’s pick up truck loaded with his drums and my guitar and amp etc and headed down to LA from Carmel. I was about 19-20 years old. We rented a little dump in Hollywood where we could practice..we’d only been playing together for 1-2 months. I had been writing songs for about a year.
David got a gig playing drums for a little recording studio on Santa Monica Blvd. He told the owner about me and the guy recorded Who’s Got The Right … just David and I played. I played an amplified acoustic classical guitar with a flat pick … like Willie Nelson (unfortunately I didn’t sound like Willie but it was a big driving rhythm sound). The guy said he’d take it around town.
About 2-3 days later we get a call at night from a guy that says to me “do you want to be a star?” I said sure but wasn’t convinced by the big talk. His name was Ed Forsyth and he had a nice plush office on Sunset Strip right across from the Whiskey. We loaded up David’s truck and drove over there the same night and played for him in his office.
About a week later we walked into a huge recording studio with lots of musicians. Jim Economides was the producer (he was a producer at Capitol Records and worked with Dick Dale, Johnny Burnette, Bobby Vee, Bobby Darin and others). What really impressed me on that session was that the guitar player was James Burton. He’s doing that Eastern sounding guitar on “I’m Back”. They spared no expense. Funny because David and I were disappointed that we didn’t have much say in the process. All the records are large productions. On the later ones we had three male back up singers and three female (the Blossoms!)
Just a note on “Who’s Got The Right”. I wrote that song during the Watt’s riots. Later my friends told me it was a “right wing song”. I was not yet political. But I think that my manager Ed Forsyth really liked the message of that song and that’s what got us the deal. I later wrote many anti-war songs during Vietnam. Anyway didn’t want you to think I had a shaved head.
The True Blue Facts was really just David and I. Our management came up with the name. We were horrified at the time. We were a duo. Now I kind of like the name. I also played harmonica (Jimmy Reed was my mentor). We had a big sound for two guys.
I’m 63 now and just starting up another band with original music that I’ve written over the years. After Tommy and the True Blue Facts I continued writing music hoping to get another record deal with a hit song….never happened….came close a few times….even spent 3-4 years in Nashville. Finally gave up in 1983 and moved back to my home town on the Monterey Peninsula in California. Today my songs are much better and I’m playing with some guys and eventually will record our stuff. It’s fun to be back and so cool to find your site.
Tommy Faia
Update June 2012
Tommy has a new website and is performing around Monterey. See www.tommyfaia.com for his current shows.
Don Griffin and Jerry Strickland were primarily songwriters. In 1965 and ’66, they cut some of their originals as Don & Jerry with the Fugitives.
Their first 45 was “In The Cover Of Night” b/w “I Can’t Quit”, released on Fabor Robinson’s label in late spring of 1965. Ron Gray and the Countdowns would later record an excellent version of “Cover of Night” for N-Joy.
They next backed singer Delna Lee for another record on Fabor which I haven’t heard yet, “One Year Today” b/w “Big Man (That Ain’t Love, It Ain’t Right)” from June of 1965.
Returning to Louisiana, they released another original with a quick tempo, “Better Run & Hide” b/w “Too Much Confusion” on N-Joy. I’ve heard “Better Run & Hide”, and it’s good, but I don’t have a copy to make a transfer yet.
Jerry Strickland went on to work with Bobby Patterson on producing and writing songs for the Jewel and Paula family of record labels. He started two labels of his own, Soul Power with Bobby Patterson in ’72 and Alarm with Stewart Madison in ’75.
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
A psychedelic ode to street walkers! Buried on the b-side of a heavy version of Peggy Sue with a good drum break.
Tommy Faia is the force behind Tommy & the True Blue Facts, writing his own songs, singing and playing the acoustic guitar. I didn’t know anything else about him until he contacted me in January 0f 2009.