Categories: Kiski, New Apollo, Oakdale, Pennsylvania, Vandergrift

The Coachmen Five and the Kiski label of Pennsylvania

November 13, 2015 Chris Bishop 5 Comments

The Coachmen Five have this one obscure release from May of 1966 on the Kiski label. The band was from Oakdale, Pennsylvania, a small town about 20 minutes west of Pittsburgh. The Kiski label was located in North Apollo, PA, an even smaller town about 45 minutes drive northeast of Pittsburgh.

The singing is somewhat eccentric, but the band ably rocks out on both songs, originals written by Horpenska. A comment below lists members of the band as including Joe Horpenska on vocals, Jeff Thomas on bass and Denny Singer on drums.

I can find almost no info about the band, but this seems to be one of the later releases on the Kiski label, at least of the 20xx series. Kiski had over a dozen 45 releases in the early ’60s ranging from country to religious to soul to garage. Kiski started with Vandergrift, PA listed on the labels, then Freeport, PA, then New Apollo, PA.

Any help with this discography would be appreciated.

Kiski 2050 – Jacklads (arr. Dick & Jack Tody, sax Dick Tody) – “Alouette” / “Hot Toddy”
Kiski 2051 – Men From Mars – “I’ve Been With Jesus”, “Lord Build Me a Cabin” / “Previous Memories”, “The Fourth Man”
Kiski 2052 – Faulkner Bros., Gary & Dick – “In The Chapel In The Moonlight” / Gary & Dick Faulkner – “Guitar Boogie” 1961
Kiski 2053 – Jack Cartwright & the String Kings – “I’ve Lost You Forever” / “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”
Kiski 2054 – ?
Kiski 2055 – Barnes Brothers – “All Mixed Up Inside” / “Don’t Blame Me”
Kiski 2056 – The Alma-Keys (vocals) with the Citations – “Please Come Back To Me” (Roland Hayden) / “Jumpin’ Twist”
Kiski 2057 – Tawni Simms – “Will You Please Be Mine” / “Goodbye My Love”

Kiski 2063 – Ed “Tex” Belin & the Bel-Marts – “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)” / “I Overlooked An Orchid” 1963
Kiski 2064 – The Renditions – “That’s When I Cried” (David M. Wells) / “Time Goes By” (Thomas B. Kennie & David M. Wells) 1964
Kiski 2065 – The Chevrons – “Who Does He Cry To” / “Jones Girl”
Kiski 2066 – The Thundermen – “Thunderbeat” / “Conjagua”
Kiski 2067 – The Marauders – “Slidin’ In” (Ronald Misejka) / “Kosta Rica”
Kiski 2067 – The Royal Rebels – “Drive In” / “Mojo Workout”
Kiski 2068 – The Kruisers – “C’mon Sweet Baby” (James Robeson) / “Karen”
Kiski 2069 – The Four Dimensions – “Moe’s Cast” / “I’m In Heaven”

Kiski 2072 – The Coachmen Five – “I Will Cry Today” / “I’m Comin’ Home”

Possibly DJ Bob Livorio of WKPA in New Kensington had something to do with the label.

The Royal Rebels came all the way from Cortland, Ohio, and had another recording as the Rhythm Rebels on Sunburst, “The Things You Do” / “Littlest Hobo”.

The Kruisers came from the towns of Sarver and Butler, PA, about 40 miles to the northwest of North Apollo. The Kruiser had another single on the Process label “It’s the Way She …” / “Panther Walk” in December of 1965, and another as the Lost Ones “I Can’t Believe You” / “I Wanna Know” on Mersey 002 in 1966.

In addition there are at least two LPs on Kiski, the Kiski Area High School Second Annual Choral Spring Concert and the Men From Mars Music From Out Of This World. Kiski also released at least one LP and single of polka and Slovakian music by Eddie Mack & His Orchestra, but with a different numbering system than the singles above.

Categories: Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia, Virginia Beach

Adrian and the Sinsations

November 13, 2015 Chris Bishop 64 Comments

Poster for Adrian and the Sensations at Nags Head Casino, March 22, 1969, submitted by Richard Dawes

James Shott wrote to me about a group he was in during the late ’60s, Adrian’s Sensations, or Sinsations. James wrote:

I played in a band called either Adrian’s SInsations, or Adrian and the SINsations (it was called both by audiences) in the Hampton/Newport News/Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. People knew me as “Smokey.”
The SINsations was a very good band, and played a good bit at the Peppermint Beach Club, filling in for Bill Deal and the Rhondells when they were gone.
Adrian Brandt played keyboards, Wayne Beckner played guitar, Joe Smith played drums, Jean Lynch sang, Jim Williamson and I played trumpet, Mike Minguez and Tom Gallucci played tenor sax, Dickie Dawes and David Champagne played trombone (at different times), Curly (can’t remember last name) played bass for a while and then another bass player, too. Gary Church was a singer in the band before Jean Lynch.
The Sinsations business card listing Gary Church on vocals with phone numbers for Adrian Brandt and Wayne Beckner
The band was quite good. We played soul, but also the top tunes of the day. Somewhat like Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago and Tower of Power, the Sinsations employed elements of jazz into the arrangements.
We spent a good bit of time in Virginia Beach at the Peppermint Beach Club, and played in clubs in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News and Norfolk, and also played military bases. The horn players were music majors in college, and the rhythm section was mostly self taught, but quite good. Jean Lynch was a very thin girl with a big voice; sounded like Aretha Franklin.
I was in the band from either late 67 or early 68 until I was separated from the USAF (Jim Williamson, David Champagne also in AF, Mike Minguez in Army). I believe the group continued to work for a while after that, but lost contact with the guys.
I’d like to get some feedback from other members and anyone who heard/saw the group.

Thank you to Richard Dawes for sending in a photo of the rare poster of Adrian and the Sensations at the Casino at Nags Head and the scan of the Sinsations business card..

Categories: California, Long Beach, Los Angeles

The Royal Knights

November 7, 2015 Chris Bishop 4 Comments

Royal Knights Photo 1965 — The Royal Knights, 1965. From left to right: Phil Whitson, Ric Zacher, Jim Wilson and Steve Werner

Lead guitarist Eric Zacher sent in these two photos of the Royal Knights, one of the many bands who played the Retail Clerks Auditorium and were listed on a flyer I had posted in 2014.

Members were:

Phil Whitson – lead vocals
Eric “Ric” Zacher – lead guitar, 2nd vocal
Mark Drawbolt – 2nd lead guitar and rhythm
Steve Werner – rhythm guitar
Jim Wilson – bass
Terry Buckman – drums

Eric writes:

The Royal Knights on the bill with Limey and the Yanks, the Saints, and the Things at Retail Clerks Auditorium, Nov. 12, 1965

We started in Terry’s garage as a lot of bands did in 1965. We all went to Millikan high in Long Beach, CA. My dad was our band manager and represented us very professionally unlike other bands. We got lots of gigs (most weeks after we got going were 2 per week!).

We played Retail a Go Go as the flyer said (did about 3 gigs there), Cinnamon Cinder in Long Beach, the Elks club and many “joints” (off campus clubs having Friday and Saturday parties).The songs we did included Stones, Zombies, Beatles, Yardbirds, Byrds and others from the mid 60s.
We broke up in 1967, all went our separate ways. I was in a college band called the Woods – very professional and made lots of money! I still play weddings and am jamming with several local bands. I really got into blues after the 70s. I have cut several CDS of 60s and 70s folk rock.
The Gibson 335 that you see me holding in the pics was purchased used for 250.00 in 1965. It is an original limited edition dot neck 1961 cherry – I still play it as my blues guitar!

Categories: Mexico

Los Locos del Ritmo, 1966

October 29, 2015 Chris Bishop 7 Comments

I didn’t know the identity of this photo until Francisco Candia of Phoenix recognized the band as Los Locos del Ritmo, Mexico’s premier rock ‘n roll group who have been recording since 1957 and who still perform today. Enrique Ochoa Calderón confirmed this and provided the identities of each member in his comment, below.

The photo was taken by Green Pig Studio, a name for John A. Kurtz and Walt Walston, photographers in the Navy, stationed at at Miramar Naval Air in San Diego. I’ll post more photos John sent to me in the near future.

Categories: Denim, Holiday, Indiana, Muncie

The Jades of Muncie, Indiana

October 28, 2015 Chris Bishop 5 Comments

The Jades came from Muncie, Indiana, a college town about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Kathy Knecht sent in the photo above asking for more information about the Jades.

Members were:

Gary Royer – lead guitar
John Terhune – bass
Greg Hood – organ
David Smith – drums

The Jades had two singles, both with excellent original songs.

The first was “I Cried” / ” Once Upon a Time” in December 1965 on Holiday, a label from Union, Kentucky, just southwest of Cincinnati.

The second was “Come Back” (Greg Hood) / “Change My Ways” (Gary Royer) on the Denim label, release #1078 in March of 1967. Denim Records would go on to release four singles by the Chosen Few and one that I haven’t heard by the Affectionate Armpit.

Greg Hood sent in the two photos seen below and commented:

We all were singers. Gary and I wrote the songs we recorded but the whole band had input on the final product. The greatest thing about this band is that we were such good friends.

Greg would go on to join the December’s Children, who recorded “Keep on Runnin'” and “99 and A Half” on the Classic Records label.

The Jades, from left: Gary Royer, David Smith, Greg Hood and John Terhune

Categories: Arkansas

The Restless Men

October 23, 2015 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

The Restless Men were James J. Healy and Russell LeJeune (mispelled LeJune on the label), from possibly Arkansas.

In November, 1965 they released their only single, the ballad “Man of Mind” b/w “Somebody Knows Me Now” on RM Records 51132.

No drums, but bass and acoustic guitars and a tambourine in a bath of echo propel “Somebody Knows Me Now”, a song about finding companionship in prison! Unlike the loneliness of being free (“each in his shell, in his own little scene, each one alone, only fish in the sea”), now they are “locked behind bars, each know the game, hold the same cards”. Some bluesy runs in the guitar break shows an r&b background for at least one member. This was the b-side of the single.

The ostensible A-side could be described as a folky paean to the Christian concept of god.

The songwriters James J. Healy and Russell LeJeune copyrighted both songs on March 9, 1966 under their own names, no publishing company listed.

Categories: Columbus, Musicol Recording Studio, Not garage, Ohio

Gun Shy

October 18, 2015 Chris Bishop 1 Comment

I come across many singles out of the range of the ’60s garage I usually cover on this site. When something is very obscure, with little or no info on the ‘net, I post it to satisfy my own curiosity.

Such as this single by Gun Shy, Ohio rock that sounds mid-70s but actually dates to 1981. It’s a Musicol press out of Columbus, with lots of EQ notes in the dead wax.

The A-side is “Gun Shy”, straight-up rock with plenty of cowbell, and a professional sound. The flip “Rymes and Reasons” is a power ballad with a good solo. B. Whitlatch and J. Cremeans wrote both sides. No publishing info, but production was by L. Smith and W. Withrow.

Categories: Austin, Texas, Totem

Leo and the Prophets

October 16, 2015 Chris Bishop 3 Comments

Leo and the Prophets cut one of the legendary Austin singles of the ’60s, “Tilt-A-Whirl” b/w “The Parking Meter” on Totem Records T-105 in April, 1967.

The band members were:

Leo Ellis – vocals and lead guitar
Travis Ellis – tambourine
Dan Hickman – rhythm guitar
Rod Haywood – bass
Bill Powell – drums

In January or February of 1967 they recorded their first songs with Sonobeat’s Bill Josey Sr. and Rim Kelley, resulting in a finished vocal, “Flowers on the Hill” and two instrumentals “Ozone Forest” and “Prophecy of Love”. Unfortunately none of which were ever released, but you can hear about half of “Flowers on the Hill” at the impressive Sonobeat website. Thirty seconds of “Ozone Forest” used to be on the old Sonobeat site but I can’t find it now. It’s a pity these songs weren’t finished and released, but at the time Bill Josey and the band felt there was too much distortion in the recording.

Andrew Brown published interviews with Dan Hickman, Rod Haywood and Bill Powell on his site 1966: Texas Music in the Sixties, which makes the best history of the band. I don’t have much to add to that.

My copy of the single is signed by Leo W. Ellis, Bill Powell, Haywood and “To the Roman Nose … Danel Boone” which I believe is Daniel Hickman as he signed the copy on the 1966 site in the same manner.

A possibly complete discography of Totem Records:

Totem T-101 – Rix Slaughter “Listen Little Girl” (Rix Dale Slaughter and James O. Glass)/ “Shades of Dawn” (Slaughter), November 1964
Totem T-102 – Rix Slaughter “Bright Lights” / “Everybody’s Fallin’ In Love”
Totem T-103 – Damon Meredith & the Western Caravan “Don’t Interfere With Love” / “(I Know That) You’re Trying to Forget Me” (WAM-45-66126, copyright reg. May 1966)
Totem T-103 – Cecil Moore & The Diamondbacks “Wind It Up” / “Stuff” (WAM-45-66125, copyright reg. June, 1966)
Totem T-105 – Leo & the Prophets – “Tilt-A-Whirl” (Ellis, Haywood) / “The Parking Meter” (Ellis, Hickman), April, 1967

Totem Records and KCFH advertisement for Rix Slaughter "Listen Little Girl" — Totem Records and KCFH advertisement in the Cuero, Texas paper in November, 1964

J.O. Glass (James Otto Glass) and J.C. “Scat” Hamilton produced all the singles.

Totem advertised Rix Slaughter’s first single in conjunction with KCFH in the Cuero Record on November 3, 1964.

The Meredith and Cecil Moore singles have a code I’m not familiar with, WAM, the Moore reading WAM-45-66125, while the Damon Meredith notes WAM-45-66126. Both singles share catalog number Totem T-103.

The singles list Totem Records at 4307 Speedway, Austin, with publishing by Fathom Pub. Co.

James Otto Glass copyrighted other songs in 1963 and ’64 that may not have been recorded, including “Halfway to Heaven (I Can’t Believe In You)”, “Window In My Heart”, “Fleeting Love”, “Just a Tear Away” and “What Doesn’t Show (I’ll Feel in My Heart)”.

Categories: California, Unknown

Sonlight band photos 1970-1971

October 15, 2015 Chris Bishop 7 Comments

Sometimes I pick up photos of unknown bands through ebay or in antique shops. This set came from a seller in Yuba City, California, north of Sacramento, but I don’t know the locations in the photos yet. Most of the photos show what seems to be a Christian music group called Sonlight from about 1970 and 1971. One photo shows some teens in front of a Saint Anthony Seminary, possibly in Santa Barbara, but I’m not sure of that. The photo at the top left is from 1967 and shows what is definitely a teen garage band in front of a banner “Sound”, but I don’t have the name of the group unfortunately.

Jeffrey Harvey pointed out that The Ancient Star Song website posted the cover and tracklist of an album by Sonlight that may be the same group. The back cover lists members of Sonlight:

Vicki Higgins, Betty Davis, Patti Bryson, Doug Norby, Ron Quigley, Richard Johnson and Roger Walck.

The group has an address in Van Nuys, California. Dean Talley produced the LP, and Mike Wallen designed the cover. Recorded at Customcraft Recordings in North Hollywood.

Can anyone identify who these people are?

1967 band photo Sonlight — 1967 band photo, one member may have been in Sonlight band later

Sonlight photo 9 — on back: Jerry, Kathy, Me [Joe?], Sue before the jazz dance

St. Anthony Seminary - Santa Barbara? — St. Anthony Seminary – Santa Barbara?

Sonlight photo 10 — dig the Rheem Mark VII Combo organ

Categories: Carroll, Iowa, Poverty, Sears Recording Studios (Omaha)

The Fabulous Thunderbolts “My Girl Sue”

October 14, 2015 Chris Bishop 5 Comments

The Fabulous Thunderbolts started as a quartet at Kuemper Catholic High School in Carroll, Iowa. Carroll is situated about 90 miles drive NE of Omaha, Nebraska, or 90 miles NW of Des Moines.

The Thunderbolts traveled to Sears Recording Studios in Omaha to cut their only single, “My Girl Sue”/”I Want to See You Again” released in August 1965. Ted Kisgen wrote both sides and copyrighted both under his own name in April, 1965.

“My Girl Sue” is a sharp two-minute rocker. The entire band is solid, but one can’t help but notice the blazing lead guitar, the excellent lead vocals, and the sax solo.

Members included:

Jerry Hauser – lead vocals
Rich Danner – lead guitar
Ted Kisgen – drums, lead vocals on “My Girl Sue”
Gene Wycoff – saxophone
Mike Kisgen
Ron Hauser
Harold Powell

They seem to have been a quintet for much of their existence. On their single I hear lead guitar, bass guitar, saxophone, drums and lead vocal. The Iowa Rock n’ Roll Music Association Hall of Fame inducted the group in 2000 and has a tiny photo of the group as a quintet on their inductee page.

The band also recorded a couple of acetate demos at Sears that I haven’t heard, the uptempo “Say That You Love Me” and an instrumental, “The Explorer” that seem to predate the Poverty release.

I had a photo at the top of the page from an ebay auction of this demo, but a comment below correctly pointed out the photo was of a different group, the Thunderbolts from Plattsburgh, NY.

Ted Kisgen joined a later version of the Green Giants, originally from the southern Iowa towns of Shenandoah and Bedford. They had one single on Round & Round Records 4501, “Pity Me” / “You’re Going to Lose That Girl” in November 1966.

Many singles were cut at Sears Recording Studio, including the Last Chapter on Skip, the Shags “You’re a Loser” on Rocky (and Jo Jo), the Cellophane Spectacle on Spectacular, and probably everything released on Dad’s Records out of Omaha, including the Fabulous Impacts, the Sundae Funnies, the Rumbles, and the Great Imposters. I haven’t seen a comprehensive list. The Echos V from Des Moines recorded a five-song demo there that has not been released.

I haven’t seen any other releases on a Poverty Records from Omaha.

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