Hubert Deans was organ player for the Durham, North Carolina band the Si-Dells in 1968, when they recorded his song “Watch Out Mother” for the East Coast Sound label, produced by Don Scoggins.
Hubert gives the history of the band in his own words:
The Si-Dells was the first “real” band I was in. In those days bands would typically reorganize in the summer, due to people going off to college.
The Si-Dells were started by: Keith Thompson on guitar John Thomson on drums Lee James on guitar
They advertised in the Durham Herald-Sun for an organ player. That’s where I came in and brought a bass player named Joe Kirschner.
Charlie Clark joined last to play sax. However, Charlie played piano on both sides of the the record – no sax.
Side A was a sappy love song called “She’s The Only Girl For Me”, nothing like “Watch Out Mother”.
The record was recorded “live” in a studio that was built and run by a HVAC contractor. It was a converted corner of his warehouse. It was located at the intersection of 751 and HWY 70 across the street from Jacobs glass.
The record was actually the second recording of the song. The first (and probably better) version was lost by the pressing plant. We were called at around 3pm one Saturday and told to come back in and re-record it. We did and still managed to make our gig later that night.
I left the Si-Dells to join the Bondsmen. I replaced Gene Galligan in the Bondsmen when he went off to college. We (Bondsmen) recorded several tapes but never released anything else.
Q. Listening to the lyrics closely, is Watch Out Mother about a nuclear winter?
No, it’s just about the “natural” end of the world. It was the result of a homework assignment in the tenth grade. The teacher told us to choose a poem by Robert Frost and write one of our own, similar to the one we picked. It was easier for me to write a song and then use the lyrics as a poem. The big news story at the time was a cold spell all across the country, sub zero in the midwest and even in single digits here in NC. It sort of inspired me to go in that direction.
Plus, there was a TV commercial at the time about margarine featuring Mother Nature. The narrator tries to fool mother nature into thinking it’s butter. She ends up causing thunder and lightning and saying “it’s not nice to fool mother nature”. I guess the song was just a product of what was going on in my life at the time. Or maybe a premonition about the greenhouse effect we are seeing now.
After the Bondsmen, I joined a group called “Daze End” which later changed names to Still Creek Band and in 1974 released “Can I Move You”, an international release on MCA. We were pick hit of the week in the UK and Japan, but never sold enough records to amount to anything – no chart action. It’s so bizarre to me that the first thing I ever did seems to be stirring up the most notoriety.
Keith Thompson went on to play with Staircase Band and is still in Durham. His brother John is still around too, I believe, though I haven’t seen him in a while.
Lee James worked for IBM and I haven’t seen him since the 80s. If he’s still around it would probably be in Raleigh. Charlie worked for IBM also. Don’t know what ever happened to him. Joe Kirschner left the state with his family before we graduated from high school (’69). Haven’t heard from him since.
Thanks to Hubert for sharing the history of the band, and for the scan of the 45. Hubert runs the Snow Hill Music recording studio in Hillsborough.
Me and the Guys were a band from Wooster, Ohio, southwest of Akron.
“I Can’t Take It” / “Why Can’t You Be True” is a double-sided winner from 1966, both sides written by Culp and Taylor.
My copy is autographed with the following names: Joel Culp, Tommy Taylor, Bill Ross and Steve Young.
Since posting this, I see Buckeye Beat has the full story on the group, including a couple additional photos from George’s collection.
The only other garage band I know of on the Ohio label Pla Me are the Oceans. This label doesn’t seem to be connected with the Pla-Me label located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, that released the Standels’ (not the Standells) ‘Let’s Go’ 45 as well as rockabilly 45s by Curtis Long, Walter Perkins, Jimmie Belden, and Gene Mooney & Joanie Hardesty.
The Escape Machine produced their own 45, recorded at Wayne Sound in a small town called Jersey Shore, located not anywhere close to what most east coast folks would think of as the Jersey Shore. It’s in central Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northeast of State College and 95 miles north of Harrisburg.
“Stop!” is a gloomy psychedelic piece written by M. Paige and A. Womer.
The flip, “I’ll Go on Loving You” is totally different, a country vocal written by K. Shingara and E. Shingara. Engineer on both tracks was J. Goditus.
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?
Formed by students in the Campo de Ourique section of Lisbon in 1964, they were originally led by their singer, Zé Luís. An important moment for the group came when they met Cliff Richard, who advised them to sing in Portuguese in order to distinguish themselves from other groups.
They started releasing records in 1965, hitting with pop fare like “Esquece” (Forget). In 1966 they competed in the Grande Concurso Yé-Yé (Great Yé-Yé Competition) held at the Teatro Monumental in Lisbon in 1966, placing fifth.
By the time of 1967’s “I Saw That Girl” they were trying a song in English again, with good results.
Os Ekos went through lineup changes as several members left to serve in the military in Angola, and the group wrote some songs about the colonial situation, some of which, like Sol e Paz, had their lyrics censored at the time. “Habitat 736” is one of these topical songs, their sixth and last record before breaking up in 1970.
Sources include: Thanks to Filipe, who sent in the scans and mp3s featured here. Info on Os Ekos from Vilar de Mouros 1971.
The End at Andover, photo courtesy of Tony Curtiss
The End came out of Philips Academy in Andover, a private boarding school. In 1966, the band traveled forty miles south to Continental Recordings in Framingham to make their only record. Continental’s label Cori pressed their 45 for them with the End’s custom Insegrievious label.
Many Andover bands recorded during the sixties, including the Invictas in 1961, the Satans’ Raising Hell LP from ’62, the Torques in ’63, the Apostles with two albums in 1964-65, and the Group with a four song EP in 1967. The Ha’pennys recorded their album Love Is Not the Same at Continental about the same time as The End made their 45.
A year later another Philips Academy band, the Rising Storm would also travel to Framingham to make their LP, Calm Before…, by far the most famous of all these releases.
The End only recorded one 45 while the rest of these bands (with the exception of the Group) recorded entire LPs. In any case they do well with their two original songs, especially the catchy “Bad Night”. The flip, “Make Our Love Come Through” is a fine ballad.
As for the label name, that apparently comes from the Batman TV series, hugely popular that year: “Catwoman, I find you to be odious, abhorrent, and insegrievious.” It’s not as bad as it sounds – a slang dictionary defines insegrievious as expressing anything and nothing at the same time in an impressive sounding way.
Tony Curtiss wrote to me about the band:
It was my cheesy organ solo in “Bad Night.” Here is the band’s lineup:
John Leone: The lead singer and writer of “Bad Night” and co-writer of “Make Our Love Come Through.” Jeff Lemkin: Lead guitar Chris Moore: Backup singer Cai Underwood: Drums. Cai had earlier been drummer for the Apostles at Andover. Bruce Curran: Rhythm guitar Mel Kendrick: Bass Tony Curtiss: Organ and co-writer of “Make Our Love Come Through.”
The band only made this one record in the Spring of 1966 as all but Mel Kendrick graduated from Andover in June of 1966 (Mel in June of 1967). We soon scattered to the winds. John Leone was off to Harvard, Chris Moore headed to Princeton, I went out west to Stanford etc. Thanks for remembering us, Tony Curtiss
Thank you to Tony for sharing these photos of the band.
The End at Continental Recording Studio, Framingham, MA, “during the recording of ‘Bad Night.’ From left to right is me (Tony Curtiss), Jeff Lemkin’s dad who drove us, Bruce Curran, Chris Moore and John Leone (in glasses).
I didn’t know where the Saucer Men were from until one of the comments below gave Paterson, New Jersey. The ZTSP prefix on the label indicates this was a Columbia Records custom pressing, most likely out of New York. This band has nothing to do with the Saucermen of Dickie Goodman and Bill Buchanan fame.
“Another Chance” is a maudlin tune, good if you like the downbeat, weepy garage numbers. The flip, “Don’t Do It” is a poppier, somewhat awkward song.
Both songs were written by Tom and Nick Bonagura and released on their own Bonna label.
Thanks to Ra for sending in these clips and the label photo.
1964, l-r: Fred Masson on bass, Doug Dixon, Gary Brennan (at drumset), David Burt, Bob McKay and Jim Pernokis with Fender. Flyer thanks to Terry Gomes.
The Ardels formed in Etobicoke, just outside Toronto, in 1963. They released an album of rock n’ roll standards of the day in 1964, then three 45s, one on Hallmark and two on Cancut, including what is now their most well-known work, “Piece of Jewellery”, an original by vocalist Doug Dixon. Fred Masson, bassist and founding member of the group took the time to answer my questions about the band.
Fred Masson: The Ardels were originally formed when three of us: Dave Burt (piano), Robin Scott (guitar) and I met at a local church dance. I’m not sure that, at that point, we had any defining musical influences other than current pop tunes and early blues. Rather, as I remember, we were more influenced by the bands that were playing the local circuit. We came up at the same time as a bunch of local bands who were fairly busy copying one another and stealing licks and stage business that worked. As an example of that I can vividly remember playing a John Lee Hooker song in the style of a local band long before I actually heard the original.
After a few months of practicing we realized that none of us had the type of voice that would work as a front man and we recruited Bruce Saracini for the position. We also added Gary Brennan on drums at about the same time.
Over the first 6 months or so we probably played no more than 7 or 8 jobs, mostly local restaurants, house parties and a bunch of university frat parties.
We were competing in the neighborhood at the time with two very good garage bands, “The Checkmates” (later “John and Lee and the Checkmates”) and The Lucernes (years later Doug, Russ and I would form “The Green Apple Quickstep” with Doug Duff, the horribly talented piano player from “The Lucernes”) and realized that we needed a dynamic front man – leading us to Doug Dixon who lived in the neighborhood and had an unswerving drive to be a pop singer and composer. Doug joined us replacing Bruce and was responsible for writing almost all of the original Ardels material.
About the same time Robin Scott decided that he wanted to devote more time to his studies and we held open auditions for a new guitar player. Jim Pernokis, the brother of Ken, the guitar player for “Little Caesar and the Consuls” (which, over a few years, had included Robbie Robertson and Gene McLellan and was probably the most popular local/area group at the time) came to sit in for an hour and stayed around for about 40 years.
At the same time we recognized that we needed a horn in the group and recruited Bob McKay on tenor sax. Bob not only proved to be a terrific addition musically but also added a huge amount of charisma to the group. He can be heard on “Comin’ Down”.
As to the album, we had recorded about 12 songs at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and had been given access to the master tapes. At that point we were playing regularly around Ontario and were getting requests for recorded material. Using the CBC masters we self-produced an album through Quality Records in Scarborough, Ontario so that we’d have promotional material to offer at dances – and to promoters. I think we only had about 500 of them to begin with!
The album leaned very heavily on standard rock songs of the period and borrowed heavily from Ronnie Hawkins (“Lonely Hours”) and James Brown (“I Go Crazy”) which showed off Doug’s range.
About the same time we had been contacted by Bill Gilliland of ARC Records who had auditioned us at the Met Dance Hall in Toronto and was interested in looking at the group for the label. This brought about an ARC recording session which didn’t result in a contract. Unfortunately the masters of that session have been lost.
A few weeks thereafter we went into Hallmark Studios in Toronto – a huge, cavernous room used at the time for large orchestral recording – to produce a single – primarily to impress Stan Klees and Walt Grealis who were becoming a force in Canadian music at the time, just starting to publish RPM, the music magazine (which, over the years, would morph into The Junos – Canada’s national music awards) and Ron Scribner who ran Bigland Agencies – the only large and credible booking agency in the country. The session resulted in “Comin’ Down” (a song written for Bobby Darin that had been rejected by Darin – or so we were told) and “So Glad You’re Mine” [the Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup song].
The first single was impressive enough to bring about the deal with Cancut Records and representation with Bigland.
The band played very few (if any) bars or night clubs at that time. There were, in fact, not many venues of that type available for young bands in Southern Ontario. The Toronto Strip – an area about 4 or 5 blocks long – had Le Coq D’Or, which was Ronnie Hawkins’ (almost) permanent home; The Brown Derby booked larger national acts like Joe King and the Zaniacs; The Sapphire catered to a slightly more esoteric audience and regularly featured Jackie Shane backed by Frank (Duel Trumpet) Motley while The Zanzibar catered to a more blues-oriented audience and booked in groups like The Bossmen/Shays.
The rest of us played regularly at dance halls: The Mimicombo (a roller rink), The Met, Krang Plaza, Myzeric Hall, The Masonic Temple – along with the usual school, university and church dances.
Q. Did you play on the unreleased 45, “Stronger Than Dirt” b/w “I Should Have Known”? – Was that supposed to be for Cancut as well?
I’m not sure if I played on the unreleased version of “Stronger Than Dirt”. It had been redone several times over the years but I’m almost certain that Roger played on the one that you’re thinking of. And yes it, along with “I Should Have Known” (below) was (probably) going to be the next CanCut recording.
The band didn’t so much break up as slowly slip away. Several of us left to pursue either job or educational opportunities and some were drawn to different types of music. We were very fortunate to have been a part of the Canadian music scene at what would become known as the first gasp for recognition.
I can remember having a discussion with Garth Hudson in front of The Met Dance Hall on Lakeshore Road in Toronto at about 1:30 in the morning bemoaning the fact that there weren’t many opportunities for air-play (this was before the fabled days of CanCon, the government-mandated order for all Canadian radio stations to devote huge blocks of air time to Canadian talent. Check out the bios on Stan Klees and Walt Grealis for more on that). I seem to remember that Hudson managed to rise above the problem eventually.
1966: clockwise from top: Gary Brennan, David Burt, Jim Pernokis, Bob McKay, Doug Dixon and Roger Charlesworth. RPM 100 chart, September 28, 1966
Q. You were impressed by the Fireflies of Sault Ste. Marie when you were young – did you grow up in the Soo before moving to Etobicoke?
I lived in The Soo for about 5 years before my family moved to Etobicoke. There’s no reason that Eddie Pelletier and Howard Hall of the Fireflies [from Sault Ste. Marie Ontario] would remember me but their music – or, more accurately, the fact that a bunch of kids from the Soo could actually produce some great music – was the first bit of inspiration I needed to get on that same track. I have great memories of those guys playing the “Y” dances (and still fondly remember Eddie’s version of “Home”).
Q. I’ve read that the Ardels backed David Clayton-Thomas on a tour, is that correct?
The Ardels didn’t back Sonny Thomas at any time (at least not during my time) as he was associated with a very talented band – either The Bossmen or The Shays depending upon the time. A few of the guys in these bands – Freddy Keillor – guitar (sorry, I’m unsure of the spelling) and Tony Collicott – piano (listen to “Brainwashed” – Tony had 36 fingers.) were as good as anyone playing anywhere at the time.
The Ardels recorded a number of songs that have never been released. Along with “Stronger Than Dirt” and “I Should Have Known”, there is also an earlier version of “Piece of Jewellery”.
After the group broke up in 1968, Doug Dixon and Jim Pernokis joined The Bedtime Story, who had two 45s on Columbia.
In 1988, Fred Masson, Doug Dixon, Jim Pernokis and Ardels backup drummer Russ Crerar formed Pastime, playing together until 2000.
David Burt has had a long career as solo pianist, teacher and writer. Gary Brennan passed away in 2007.
Update February 2018
David Burt contacted me with information on the formation of the Ardels:
I just read with great interest your article on the Ardels. I thought I would take this opportunity to set the record straight on the formation of the group. To understand the process, I have to take you back to a completely unknown group called The Stereos. I on piano, and Robin Scott on guitar, formed this group around 1959 / 60. Over the short time we were together we brought in Peter Salter who was replaced by Paul Carrier on drums. Alan Dorsey, rhythm guitar, was replaced by Dave McDevitt on bass. Like the Ardels in the beginning, nobody was was good enough to front the group vocally. I found this guy named Mike Ferry who used to do pantomime. He admitted he never sang in his life; but, would give it a try. (We didn’t care, we just needed a singer who was better than the rest of us). We did start to get gigs, but soon it became clear that there was a difference of opinion as to direction of the group. Mike Ferry and Paul Carrier left and ended up forming The Checkmates. Mike became Lee of Jon and Lee. I received a call from Gary Brennan saying he heard about our split and would we consider him to replace Paul on the drums. Robin Scott, Gary Brennan, and I were the actual founding members of the group. Fred Masson, bass came on board immediately, replacing McDevitt. Bruce Saracini was replaced by Doug Dixon. I believe it was Doug who came up with name Ardels.
Thank you to Fred Masson for helping with material for this article and for patiently answering my questions, to Ivan Amirault for contributing many of the photos and scans from RPM magazine, and to David Burt for additional information on the formation of the group.
1966, l-r: Doug Dixon, Jim Pernokis, Gary Brennan (top), Roger Charlesworth and David Burt.RPM June 6, 1966RPM, September 26, 1966RPM, October 31, 1966
I am Chris Bishop, currently residing in the Hudson Valley with my children. I grew up in New York, Toronto and Houston, attended college in New Orleans and Colorado, and lived for some time in California, Oregon and Japan. I’ve traveled to every state of the continental U.S. except North Dakota, and a good deal of Canada as well.
I’ve been a fanatic for garage rock since high school, notably from hearing the Bondsmen and the Q65 on the Mod Monday radio show and buying LPs of the Remains and the 13th Floor Elevators at the old Venus Records. I started Garage Hangover in August of 2004 to share some of my favorite songs with friends of mine, but it has grown into something else entirely.
I’m looking for a sponsor or grant in order to devote more time to research. Please contact me if you can help.
Band members, record collectors and fans in the Hudson Valley, New York area should drop me a line.
I also will buy collections of records: 45s, LPs and 78s; especially in New York or western Massachusetts.
Deejaying at the Swan Club, València, March 15, 2008
If you have ever seen the Girls In The Garage Oriental Special comp and wondered who the ‘Unknown Artist’ was who performed “If You Ever Go”, I can tell you. It was Shirley Nair and the Silver Strings from Singapore. The song appeared on what I believe was their first single.
At the age of nineteen Shirley had joined a group called the Checkmates singing Beatles covers and other beat songs. That was in late 1964. She did not stay with the Checkmates long before she teamed up with the Silver Strings. It seems the band only released a handful of records backing Shirley, including the songs “If You Ever Go”, “You’re The Boy”, “Too Late For Tears”, “Come Home To Me”, “Don’t Leave Me”, “I Won’t Let You See Me Cry”, “I’ll Remember Today”, and “Two People”.
Unlike many other Singaporean performers of the day, Shirley wrote her own material, at least that’s the case with the stuff I have seen. The overall impression I get from Shirley the singer/songwriter and the Silver Strings is a positive one. These are good pop songs.
Included here are what were probably Shirley’s second and third singles, from late 1965 or 1966. Why the band did not go on to produce more music, I do not know. I cannot find any information about what happened to Shirley, but it seems the Silver Strings may still be performing in Singapore at sixties revival concerts.
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
