Reg King, frontman for the influential 1960s Mod band the Action died of cancer on Monday, Nov. 8, the UK's Independent reports. King, who has been publicly acknowledged as an influence by both Paul Weller and Phil Collins, was 65.
The Action, whose music was largely derived from soul and R&B, formed in 1963 and were known initially as the Boys. The band first backed singer Sandra Berry on the King-penned 1964 single 'Really Gonna Shake' before recording their own single debut, 'It Ain't Fair' later that year.
The acclaim of that single, also written by King, earned the band the interest of Beatles producer George Martin, who signed the group -- which also counted drummer Roger Powell, Alan "Bam" King, bassist Mike "Ace" Evans and rhythm guitarist Peter Watson -- to Parlophone in 1965. After a name change, the Action had a run of UK hits with blue-eyed soul renditions of popular songs like Cannibal and the Headhunters' 'Land of a Thousand Dances,' the Marvellettes' 'I'll Keep on Holding On' and the Radiants' 'Baby You've Got It.'
In 1967, under King's direction, the group shifted back to originals, writing its fourth single, 'Never Ever'/'Twenty Fourth Hour.' For its fifth and final A-side, the band changed gears to deliver the psychedelic rock number 'Shadows and Reflections.' Although King left the band later that year, his former bandmates backed him on his eponymous 1971 solo album that featured guest appearances by Steve Winwood and the Rolling Stones' Mick Taylor.
Although 'Reg King' stalled commercially, renewed interest in the cult figure prompted a CD reissue in 2006. The band reunited in 2000, with King's final performance occurring at 2004's Modstock.(from Spinner)
Reg King belonged to the Action, Mighty Baby, Blossom Toes, B.B. Blunder family tree, leaving the Action before they became Mighty Baby and performing with (ex-Blossom Toes) B.B. Blunder after releasing this acclaimed and rare solo record.
Members from the bands above would form the backbone for this project, recorded over three years and guesting Stevie Winwood on keys. The Action had cut their teeth covering Motown soul during the mid 60s and those influences had not gone amiss for this LP, albeit through distorted guitars and stoney jams. The leadoff track “Must Be Something Else Around” is a blistering slice of hard English rock that probably gave Led Zep a brief jolt of anxiety. “That Ain’t Living” has the explosive impatience of certain tracks I know from The Action, but add this album’s key ingredient: raw and relentless blue-eyed soul, propelled by Reg King’s voice – probably the best of the British hard-rock-soul singers.
It’s not a grand slam on the other hand. I’m not much of a blues-hound, so “Down The Drain,” or six-minutes of predictable blues doesn’t do it for me. But “That Ain’t Living” pushes hard through a fully worthwhile six of spirited rock. There are a couple less memorable tracks, but the good hooks make this record worth a spin. Perhaps a good introduction to the Action family tree .
"ΕΦΥΓΕ" Ο ΤΑΣΟΣ ΠΑΠΑΣΤΑΜΑΤΗΣ,Η ΧΡΥΣΗ ΦΩΝΗ ΤΩΝ 'ΦΟΡΜΙΓΞ'
Απο το Nostos Music του Λευτέρη Κογκαλίδη, διαβάσαμε:
Πέμπτη, 22 Ιουλίου 2010
Προχθες το μεσημερι ο γραφων δεχθηκε δυο τηλεφωνηματα από την Αθηνα με τα θλιβερα νεα του θανατου ενός τραγουδιστη που λατρεψε η νεολαια της δεκαετιας του 60 και ιδιαιτερα της Θεσσαλονικης
.Ο Τασος Παπασταματης,η χρυση φωνη των «Φορμιγξ»,εσβησε για παντα…
How cold your fingers were remember and it was just our last September είναι καποιοι στιχοι που η ευαισθητη,τρυφερη,βελουδινη φωνη του ερμηνευσε μοναδικα.
Τον Απριλιο του 1964 η νεολαια στο Θεατρο της Εταιρειας Μακεδονικων Σπουδων,στην παρθενικη εμφανιση τους στη Θεσσαλονικη αποθεωνε τους Φορμιγξ και τον Τασο Παπασταματη.αι τα επομενα χρονια στην «Ρεμβη» και στο «Πουσυκατ» η κοσμικη Θεσσαλονικη ρεμβαζε η κινουνταν ρυθμικα ακουγοντας τον γλυκυτατο τροβαδουρο.
Ο τραγουδιστης,που τοσο αγαπηθηκε,πεθανε μονος του,όπως ζουσε,σε ένα διαμερισμα της Αθηνας,ξεχασμενος,με ελαχιστα εως καθολου χρηματα κι επιβιωνε χαρη στο ενδιαφερον ελαχιστων φιλων μουσικων.Χθες εγινε η κηδεια του στην Αθηνα..
Ψυχρο κι αδικο τελος γι αυτόν τον υπεροχο τραγουδιστη και ανθρωπο.Καλο σου ταξιδι,Τασο.
Απο τις ειδήσεις του STAR CHANNEL 23/7/2010:
Νεκρός επί ένα μήνα στο σπίτι του θρύλος του ελληνικού τραγουδιού
Σε προχωρημένη αποσύνθεση βρέθηκε μέσα στο ίδιο του το σπίτι νεκρός ο γνωστός τραγουδιστής Τάσος Παπασταμάτης, ψυχή του θρυλικού συγροτήματος Forminx. Εικάζεται ότι επί ένα μήνα βρίσκονταν νεκρός ο τραγουδιστής που έκαιγε καρδιές στην διάρκεια της δεκαετίας του ’60, που έφυγε μόνος και ξεχασμένος και συνοδεύθηκε στην τελευταία του κατοικία από μόλις δέκα άτομα, μεταξύ των οποίων ήταν οι Βαγγέλης Παπαθανασίου, Τέρη Χρυσός και Νίκος Μαστοράκης.
Μαζί με τον Παπαθανασίου και τους Σωτήρη Αρνή, Κώστα Σκόκκο και Βασίλη Μπακόπουλο, ο Τάσος Παπασταμάτης ήταν συνιδρυτής των Forminx, ενός συγκροτήματος που έκανε ταινία και με τον Θόδωρο Αγγελόπουλο. Η μεγαλύτερη επιτυχία του ήταν το «Τζερόνιμο Γιάνκα» που ακούγονταν σε όλα τα κλαμπς της εποχής. Μετά τη διάλυση του γκρουπ ο Παπασταμάτης ακολούθησε σόλο καριέρα ως τραγουδιστής ορχήστρας σε κρουαζιερόπλοια, ξενοδοχεία και καζίνο, ενώ πολλές ήταν οι τηλεοπτικές του εμφανίσεις στην τότε ΥΕΝΝΕΔ.
Όπως αναφέρει η εφημερίδα «Espresso», ο Τάσος Παπασταμάτης έφυγε από τη ζωή μόνος και ξεχασμένος μέσα στο ίδιο του το σπίτι. Κατά την εκτίμηση των ιατροδικαστών, παρέμεινε το άψυχο σώμα του εκεί για ένα μήνα περίπου. Για αυτό και βρέθηκε σε αποσύνθεση. Εντοπίστηκε όταν γείτονες διαμαρτυρήθηκαν για την έντονη δυσοσμία που εκπέμπονταν από το σπίτι του...
23/07/2010 11:56 : ΠΗΓΗ : (Star Channel News)
@@@ ^V^ @@@
The Forminx in shakin 'n twistin harmonies.
From The greek film "O Thodoros kai to Dikano", 1962.
Απο το Avopolis 25/07/2010 :
«Έφυγε» ο τραγουδιστής των Forminx Τάσος Παπασταμάτης.
Πέθανε στα 72, ολομόναχος στο διαμέρισμά του στη Κυψέλη, ο τραγουδιστής Τάσος Παπασταμάτης, των FORMΙNX, του δημοφιλέστερου ποπ/ροκ γκρούπ στην Ελλάδα μέχρι σήμερα.
From 1965 to 1967, they were The Shadows of Greece. They filled concert halls with screaming fans, all dying to hear something similar to what they knew was going on in England and the USA. The fans wanted their own Beatles experience, and The Forminx gave it to them. Vangelis knew at an early age that for the Greek band to be successful, they needed to sing their hits in English. They were even able to get their music sent to the UK and the USA, and had singles pressed in those countries. Vangelis was in a great position. He had one of the few Hammond organs in Greece during that time. He did a lot of side work. And so he grew apart from the band and eventually formed his own Papathanassiou Set.
The famous Greek director Theo Angelopoulos began a documentary film on the band, The Forminx Story, that was never fully realized. I wrote to him recently and he responded that the print has been lost and unlikely to be found. Perhaps Nikos Mastorakis has a copy, and that gives me some hope that we might see this rare footage. In case you happened to run across a roll of film in a Greek warehouse that has this footage, would you write to me?
[Thanks to John Pear for the scan of the Australian 7" of "Jeronimo Yanka", to Andreas Rallis for the scan of "Jeronimo Yanka" Greek multicoloured 7" and the label variation of "Love Without Love", and to Peter Althammer for the scan of the one Greek reissue 7" of "Jeronimo Yanka".]
Source : (http://vangeliscollector.com/music_forminx.htm)
Σαν γκρουπ κυκλοφόρησαν από το 1962 έως το 1966, έντεκα singles με μεγαλύτερη επιτυχία το ‘Jeronymo Yanka’ που πούλησε 90.000 αντίτυπα το 1965, όπου έγινε και η αφορμή να μπούν εξώφυλλο στο αμερικάνικο μουσικό περιοδικό CASH BOX ανταγωνιστικό τότε του BILLBOARD.
Τα μέλη ήταν : Tάσος Παπασταμάτης [τραγ]
Βαγγέλης Παπαθανασίου [πιάνο]
Βασίλης Μπακόπουλος [κιθ]
Σωτήρης Αρνής [μπάσο]
Κώστας Σκόκος {ντραμς]
Θέμος Πέτρου [κιθ]
Οι συναυλίες τους προκαλούσαν υστερία, όπου έπαιζαν, με κορυφαίες στο θέατρο Κεντρικό της Αθήνας, στο θέατρο της Εταιρίας Μακεδονικών Σπουδών και στο Palais de Sport της Θεσσαλονίκης, όπου απέναντι σε 8.000 νέους σε κατάσταση αμόκ χρειάστηκε η επέμβαση της αστυνομίας, για να διαφύγει το γκρούπ μετά το τέλος της συναυλίας.
Η εποχή τους καταγράφηκε σε ντοκιμαντέρ απο τον σκηνοθέτη Θόδωρο Αγγελόπουλο, όπου όμως ποτέ δεν προβλήθηκε, και η αυθεντική κόπια αναζητείται έκτοτε στη Θεσσαλονίκη.
Δύο χρόνια μετά ο Παπαθανασίου έφτιαξε τους Aphrodite's Child.
Οι FORMINX είναι το συγκρότημα που ξεκίνησε την ελληνική ποπ/ροκ σκηνή και που έβαλε τα θεμέλια για την δημιουργία χιλιάδων συγκροτημάτων στην Ελλάδα εδώ και 48 χρόνια.
Ο Παπαστάματης βρέθηκε σε προχωρημένη αποσύνθεση, αφού ο ιατροδικαστής εικάζει ότι είχε πεθάνει 15-30 μέρες νωρίτερα.
Στην κηδεία του ήταν μόλις 10 άτομα, μεταξύ αυτών όλα τα μέλη των FORMINX.
rocksixties
Η ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΠΟΠ-ΡΟΚ ΣΚΗΝΗΣ 1965-75
ΙΔΡΥΣΗ-1962 ΑΘΗΝΑ
Οι FORMINX πηρξαν το γκρουπ που εριξε τον σπορο για την δημιουργια της εκρηξης των συγκροτηματων στην εγχωρια σκηνη,ενω παραλληλα αποτελουν το πρωτο συνολο που στις συναυλιες του σημειωθηκαν πρωτογνορες εκδηλωσεις υστεριας
The Forminx a look at the music of Vangelis Papathanassiou Tassos Papastamatis a look at the music of Vangelis Papathanassiou The Forminx on You Tube
και ενα σπουδαίο αφιέρωμα απο τον Φώντα Τρούσα
The Forminx - Say You Love Me
Photographs (1) from their music awards record company and Catherine Gesar,
(2) from the grand concert Mamouth, (3) Mpakopoulos playing billiard,
(4) from their appereance in German TV,
(5) Ultra Rare Pictures from the Unreleased Movie "Toubles" (Adventures With The Forminx)
Directed ByTheo Aggelopoulos & Kostas Lixnaras (6) from Vangelis Papathanasiou , birthday's Party 26 March those years.
The Story About The Lost Movie
"TROUBLES"
(Adventures With the Forminx)
Directed By Theo Aggelopoulos & Kostas Lixnaras
Πάνω απο 45 χρόνια έμειναν θαμένα στα συρτάρια, ξεχασμένα απο το χρόνο, τα τραγούδια που οι Forminx, για την μια και μοναδική ταινία που γύρισαν , το "TROUBLES"
(Adventures With the Forminx) - σημαδιακό σε τίτλο για τους μπελάδες που είχε το film, πρίν , στην διάρκεια του γυρίσματος και μετά !
Ξεκίνησε να το σκηνοθετεί ο Θ.Αγγελόπουλος που τράβηξε μερικά χιλιόμετρα φιλμ ...όλο πόδια
και με ενα σενάριο που ξαναγραφόταν κάθε μέρα!
Την ταινία τελείωσε ο Κώστας Λυχναράς !
Κανείς δεν ξέρει τι έγινε μετά, στο μοντάζ και την απόπειρα να βγεί στο cinema !
Κανείς εκτός απο τον παραγωγό,δεν την εχει δεί !
Τα 8 κομάτια δεν κυκλοφόρησαν ποτέ σε βινύλιο ή cd,γιατί δεν ήταν στο συμβόλαιο των Forminx με την δισκογραφική τους εταιρεία την MUSIC BOX HELLAS.
Τα Ανακάλυψε ο γωστός παραγωγός του Ραδιοφώνου
και για δεκαετίες συνεργάτης της ΥΕΝΕΔ - ΕΙΡ - ΕΡΤ,
The Forminx was a '60's Greek pop band that would have no place in the GEPR except for one reason: it was Evangelos Papathanassiou's first band. (Just look at these guys ... are they a bunch of Buddy Holly wannabees or what?). Of course, he's better known as Vangelis. The Forminx had a hit single in 1965 and disbanded in 1966. They didn't release any albums during their active years, but there was a later release of archival material as listed in the discography. They mostly performed at parties and never got paid much. After this band broke up, Vangelis formed Aphrodite's Child and began to explore more progressive waters. By way of warning, don't buy one of these albums just because Vangelis is on it without knowing what you're getting into first. This is '60's pop, not prog. -- Fred Trafton www.gepr.net
In the movie film star Zoe Laskari appears to be singing "Crazy Girl," but in reality the voice heard belongs to Aleka Kanelidou. Music Mimis Plessas
Wild Wild Greek Late sixties shake groove !!!!!
Scene from the greek film "Mia Ellinida Sto Xaremi",1971.
Dancers :Vangelis Seilinos & Mary Ioanidou Music : Mimis Plessas
Zoitsa Kouroukli & The Storms (On The Bass Guitar The Youngest Demmis Roussos and Lucas Sideras on Drums, pre Aphrodite's Child) May I Suppose that the guitarist is Argiris Koulouris? (In the opening credits that's how they referred) .
Music : Kostas Klavas & lyrics Nikos Mastorakis From the greek movie "Na Zei Kaneis H' Na Mh Zei",1966
1.And for the End ?The Forminx 1963-1966 or a Guide To Look Back in Tyme 2.Searchin' For The IncredibleGreek Sixties (The Birth Of Greek Pop & Rock '64~'73) 3. seeherefor : The Forminx - The Complete Singles (Forminx CD singles, buy here)
5.the final big surprisehere, The 8 Lost & Unreleased Tracks , for the Unreleased Movie ,"TROUBLES" (Adventures With The Forminx) A Film Directed By Theo Aggelopoulos & Kostas Lixnaras 6.και μιας και μιλάμε για τα ελληνικά sixties , να κάτι πολύ σπάνιο : The Nico Mastorakis Tape We Five 1966 (Seagull 1978).
του Νίκου Μαστορακη ηχογραφημένη εκπομπή στην Νέα Υόρκη το καλοκαίρι του 66
(We Five feat Vaggelis papathanasioiu - Percussion Galore
Loubogg - She is cool
The Forminx - Until The End)
στην εταιρία : Seagull ..Enjoy!!! & Peace !!!
The Mojo Men were a rock music band, inspired by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, that recorded for the Autumn Records label in San Francisco, California. One of their biggest hits, 1965’s “Dance With Me”, and a number of other records, were produced by Sylvester Stewart, later better known as Sly Stone.
One of the earliest San Francisco rock bands, the Mojo Men had local hits on the Autumn label with "Dance With Me," "She's My Baby," and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Off the Hook" in the mid-'60s. Their early sides displayed a raunchy but thin approach taken from the mold of British Invasion groups like the Stones and Them. In 1966, after female drummer Jan Errico joined from the San Francisco folk-rock group the Vejtables, they moved to Reprise and pursued folky psychedelic pop directions, and had a Top 40 hit with a Baroque arrangement of Buffalo Springfield's "Sit Down I Think I Love You" in 1967. In their later days, they developed more intricate arrangements and harmonies that reflected the influence of the Mamas & the Papas and Jefferson Airplane, although they weren't in the same league as those groups. Their many singles never fully displayed the band's considerable songwriting and vocal talents, and after changing their name to the Mojo and finally just Mojo, they disbanded in the late '60s. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
THE MOJO MEN (US)
Personnel:
JIMMY ALAIMO vcls, bs A B C
PAUL CURICO gtr A B C
JAN ERRICO drms, vcls A B C
DON METCHIK organ A B
SLY STONE keyb'ds, gtr, vcls A
ALBUM:
1 MOJO MAGIC (GRT 10003) 1968
NB: There have also been three compilations:- Dance With Me (Eva 12049) 1984, is a 16 track compilation of their 1965-1966 material; Why Ain't Supposed To Be (Sundazed SC 11028) 1996, concentrates on their period at Autumn, 1965-6, including nine previously unreleased tracks; Sit Down... It's The Mojo Men (Sundazed SC 11032) 1996, similarly concentrates on their period at Reprise, 1966-8 including many previously unreleased tracks.
45s:
1 Off The Hook/Mama's Little Baby (Autumn 11) 1965 -
2 Dance With Me/Loneliest Boy In Town (Autumn 19) 1965 61
3 She's My Baby/Fire In My Hean (Autumn 27) 1966
4 She's My Baby/Do The Hanky Panky (Reprise 0486) 1966 -
5 Sit Down, I Think I Love You/Don't Leave Me (Reprise 0539) 1967 36
6 Me About You/When You're In Love (Reprise 0580) 1967 83
7 What Ever Happened To Happy/Make You At Home (Reprise 0617) 1967
8 New York City/Not Too Old To Start Cryin' (Reprise 0661) 1968
9 Should I Cry/You To Me (Reprise 0689) 1968
10 Sit Down, I Think I Love You/Me About You (reissue) (Reprise 0707) 1968
11 Don't Be Cruel/Let It Be Him (Reprise 0759) 1968
12 I Can't Let Go/Flower Of Love (GRT 5) 1969
13 Candle To Burn/Make You At Home (GRT 8) 1969
14 Everyday Love/There Goes My Mind (GRT 10) 1969
NB: (11) as The Mojo. (12), (13) & (14) as Mojo. There's also a rare French EP with picture sleeve: Off The Hook/Mama's Little Baby/Dance With Me/Loneliest Boy In Town (Vogue INT 18050) 1966.
Although this band was based in San Francisco some members originated from Florida. The original band formed in Coral Gables, Florida as The Valiants. Singer Jim Alaimo (cousin of singer Steve Alaimo) had early releases under the names Jimmy Sumers and The Slicks and Jimmy Paris. The Valiants also back Steve Alaimo on his 1961 album Twist With Steve Alaimo. It was pretty much the same line-up that moved to San Francisco in 1964 and became The Mojo Men. For much more info, see the liner notes of the Sundazed compilation Why's Ain't Supposed To Be.
Sly Stone had left the band (to form Sly and The Family Stone) by the time the band signed to Reprise and achieved some success with Steve Still's Sit Down I Think I Love You. Their diminuitive female vocalist Jan Errico had earlier achieved much popularity on the West Coast as drummer and lead vocalist for The Vejtables.
In late 1967 the band became known as Mojo because Jan Errico got tired of being known as a Mojo Man. They also changed labels to GRT so that they could record an album. Released in 1968 it was produced by Dave Hassinger. It contained their New York City 45, which suffered from sounding too much like The Mamas and Papas, and overall contained a number of mildly psychedelic, post-Sgt. Pepper pop rock songs. The band finally split in 1969 when they realised their era had ended.
There remains a lot of unissued material from both eras of The Mojo Men. From their time with Autumn fifteen tracks remained unissued although some of these later appeared on Eva's Dance With Me compilation and the superior Sundazed retrospective Why Ain't Supposed To Be. A further nineteen tracks were recorded but not released during their spell with Reprise. These include the long and experimental What Kind Of Man, which was reputed to be a latter-day venture into psychedelia by the band.
Jim Alaimo later resurfaced in a seventies funk band called Jammer that recorded for the Avco-distributed Honey label. He later died of heart failure.
Compilation coverage has so far included: Sit Down, I Think I Love You and She's My Baby on Nuggets Box (4-CD); Sit Down I Think I Love You on Nuggets Vol. 5 (LP), Nuggets - Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 (Dble LP) and Sundazed Sampler, Vol. 2 (CD); Off The Hook on Sounds Of The Sixties San Francisco, Vol. 1 (LP); Dance With Me on Sound Of The Sixties (Dble LP), Sixties Archive Vol. 1 (CD) and We Have Come For Your Children; Dance With Me and She's My Baby on San Francisco Roots (LP), The Autumn Records Story (LP) and Nuggets, Vol. 7 (LP). All three of their Autumn singles also figure on the Autumn Single Box. More recently much of their material has featured on Big Beat's Nuggets From The Golden State series:- the Dance With Me CD contains Dance With Me plus a demo and six unreleased cuts from 1965 (She Goes With Me, Off The Hook, Something Bad, My Woman's Head, Can't You See That She's Mine, Why and As I Get Older); Someone To Love features four 1966 cuts - She's My Baby, Fire In My Heart and the unreleased Why Can't You Stay and Girl Won't You Go.
(Vernon Joynson / Max Waller / Stephane Rebeschini / Jeff Lemlich)
Known mostly (if at all) in the States for doing the original version of "Everything's Alright" (covered by David Bowie on his Pin Ups album), the Mojos were one of the best Liverpool groups of the British Invasion. Besides "Everything's Alright" — a Top Ten raver in the U.K. — they never scored any other British hits of note, though a couple squeezed into the Top 30.
Bob Conrad (drums),
Keith Karlson (bass),
Stu James (vocals, harmonica), and Adrian Wilkinson (guitar)
had first gotten together in the early '60s as theNomads — though based in Liverpool, they were a bit different from most of the other Merseyside bands in that their first love was American blues rather than R&B and rock & roll, preferring to cover the works of John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters to those of Chuck Berry or Little Richard.
They did manage to cross paths with the Beatles on more than one occasion, as evidenced by the fact that it was George Harrison, having heard the Nomads' roadie Terry O'Toole play jazz piano at a club, who suggested they make him a member and resident keyboard player. The four became five and they occasioned sometime after that to lay down their first permanent account of their sound, "My Whole Life Through," as part of a live showcase captured for posterity on one volume of Oriole Records' This Is Merseybeat. It was sometime after this that they were forced to relinquish the Nomads name to a London band who had an earlier claim, and they became the Mojos. By then the Beatles had launched the Merseybeat boom nationwide and Decca Records — who'd passed on the latter group — was playing catch-up by signing any group in sight. The Mojos got a contract and were among those bands that actually deserved that honor and effort — their debut single was consisted of "They Say You Found a New Baby" b/w "Forever," the latter an original by guitarist Adrian Wilkinson.
It was a solid effort, probably a little poppier than their stage sound of the time but not jarringly so, and though it failed to chart it was a credit to everyone involved. It was their second single, "Everything's Al'right" b/w "Give Your Lovin' to Me," cut in early 1964 — both group originals — that proved the group's worth, making number nine in England in the late winter of that year and spending 11 weeks on the charts, and even earning a U.S. release. Sad to say, they were never able to follow up that success, possibly because they never found a suitable song or approach. Their next single, "Why Not Tonight," seemed an awkward pop/rock vehicle for the group, the musical equivalent of a man forced into wearing a very uncomfortable suit of clothes (and in this case, the "suit" seemed to belong to either Gerry Marsden or Billy J. Kramer). Much better were the contents of their one EP, which included — in addition to "Everything's Al'right" — "I Got My Mojo Working" and Smokey Robinson's "The One Who Really Loves You."
It was already the second half of 1964 when that four-song platter appeared, and as the group had only scraped the Top 30 since their solitary hit, the label began losing interest around this time. They did make it into a post-Hard Day's Night British Invasion cash-in film, Seaside Swingers, doing "Nobody But Me," but none of their singles from 1965 got anywhere near charting, and it was during this time that Conrad, O'Toole, and Karlson left the band to pursue other opportunities. Stu James kept the outfit running, and among the replacements he recruited were the bassist son of their road manager, a musician with acting aspirations named Lewis Collins, and Aynley Dunbar on drums.
It was this version of the group — although in all probability Stu James was the only one present — that recorded some fairly lackluster songs for Decca in 1966; "Goodbye Dolly Gray" was a pointless cover of a World War I song, and "I Just Can't Let Her Go" is a little too close to Tom Jones territory — which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but was a bad end to an R&B-based band — for comfort, given this group's history. James used the name the Mojos in the studio at least once more, on Liberty Records in 1968, before closing out the history. And had it not been for Bowie's cover of their one hit, that might have been as much as anyone knew or cared about the Mojos.
At times they could be pretty wimpy, with vocals and material that would have been at home with Gerry & the Pacemakers. But at other times, with their electric keyboard-driven sound, they echo the much tougher Manfred Mann. Not quite at the level of the Beatles and even the Searchers in terms of quality, they were, except for the Swinging Blue Jeans and the Merseybeats, the best of the rest in their home city. info Enjoy!
founder of 1960s band the Seeds
The lead singer, who was known for his Mick Jagger-influenced vocals, was believed to be in his 60s. The Seeds' garage-band sound was popular with the flower-power generation.
Sky Saxon, lead singer and founder of the 1960s band the Seeds, which had a Top 40 hit in 1967 with “Pushin’ Too Hard,” died Thursday at a hospital in Austin, Texas, after a brief illness. He was believed to be in his 60s.Publicist Jen Marchand said in a news release that Saxon died of heart and kidney failure after an "undiagnosed infection of his internal organs. ''
The Seeds sprang up in Los Angeles in 1965, and their garage-band sound became a favorite of the flower-power generation. Another hit single of 1967 was “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine,” and their song “Mr. Farmer” was included in the soundtrack for the movie "Almost Famous."Saxon's Mick Jagger-influenced vocals dominated the sound of the band that was rounded out by guitarist Jan Savage, keyboardist Daryl Hooper and drummer Rick Andridge.A 1967 Times review of their album "A Web of Sound" noted that the Seeds had "been adopted by the hippies -- the flower children -- because of their open-ended songs which generally skirt neatly plotted thoughts and didacticism."
The album included a 14-minute song called "Up in Her Room" that featured a lengthy improvisational jam session.
The Seeds disbanded in 1969, and the eccentric Saxon recorded with other musicians over the years. He joined a commune called the Source Family and moved to Hawaii for a time, but in the last several years he performed with retro psychedelia shows at the Knitting Factory and other Southern California venues.
from the film Psych-Out
Various sources cite conflicting birth dates for Saxon, who was born Richard Marsh and grew up in Utah. He moved to Los Angeles and recorded first as Little Richie Marsh, then fronted the bands Soul Rockers and Electra Fires.Saxon had recently moved to Austin, where he played with his new band, Shapes Have Fangs. He had been planning to perform this summer with the California '66 Revue, a tour featuring a lineup of California bands from the 1960s.Saxon's survivors include his wife, Sabrina. His ashes will be scattered in Hawaii. Related stories
From the L.A. Times Details released on the passing of the Seeds’ Sky Saxon
From other L.A. sources Sky Saxon of the Seeds also Died Yesterdaygothamistllc.com Sky Saxon was member of the Seedspresstelegram.com
Around the Web Obituary: Sky Saxonguardian.co.uk
"Autumn Records - Someone To Love: The Birth Of The San Francisco Sound - Nuggets From The Golden State," which compiles 30 amazing tracks from the folks who started a musical revolution, plus liner notes.
Tracks
1. She's My Baby - The Mojo Men
2. Fire In My Heart - The Mojo Men
3. Why Can't You Stay - The Mojo Men
4. Girl Won't You Go - The Mojo Men
5. Girl - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
6. Father Bruce - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
7. You Can't Cry - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
8. Born To Be Burned - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
9. Daydream Nightmare Love - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
10. Heads Up - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
11. Double Triptamine Superautomatic Everlovin' Man - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
12. Ain't It Babe - Charity Shayne
13. Last Thing On My Mind - The Vejtables
14. Mansion Of Tears - The Vejtables
15. Let's Get Together - Dino Valente (who wrote the song)
16. That's How It Is - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
17. Right To Me - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
18. Where - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
19. Cold Dreary Morning - Jan Ashton (of the Vejtables / The Mojo Men)
20. I'm A Fool - Butch Engle & the Styx
21. Smile Smile Smile - Butch Engle & the Styx
22. Someone To Love - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
23. Free Advice - The Great Society (which evolved into Jefferson Airplane)
24. Bye Bye Bye - The Tikis (who later became Harper's Bizarre)
25. Lost My Love Today - The Tikis (who later became Harper's Bizarre)
26. More And More And More - The Tikis (who later became Harper's Bizarre)
27. True Love Is Hard To Find - The Tikis (who later became Harper's Bizarre)
28. Happy With You - The Tikis (who later became Harper's Bizarre)
29. Mad - The Tikis (who later became Harper's Bizarre)
30. About My Tears - Jan Ashton (of the Vejtables / The Mojo Men)
The Mystery Trend's name has proved appropriate in defining their fate. They were a band that lots of rock music scholars have heard of -- mentioned in lots of essays about San Francisco in the mid-'60s -- but never heard. Even the Charlatans, another Bay Area band that barely made it out of the starting gate where records were concerned, are better known, by virtue of their music having bounced in and out of print from various sources over the past 34 years.The Mystery Trend never recorded much professionally, and a lot of what they did was in the realm of works-in-progress, rather than finished pieces of music. The group's other big problem was that their sound wasn't too much in sync with the music most people associate with mid-'60s San Francisco. They started out doing R&B based dance music, then gravitated toward the Beatles, the Kinks, the Zombies, and Bob Dylan, but they never really sounded like any other band. In contrast to the Charlatans, the Grateful Dead, and the Jefferson Airplane, they preferred tight song structures. For all of their associations with San Francisco in the '60s, the Mystery Trend had their roots in old-style rock & roll, R&B, and dance music. Ron Nagle hailed from the city by the bay and was a serious R&B enthusiast, especially where Ray Charles was concerned -- he played the piano and was heavily influenced by everything that he heard in Charles' early-'60s sound. While studying at San Francisco State College in the early '60s, he hooked up with Larry Bennett, who shared the same interests. Nagle -- who'd majored in art -- was teaching at the San Francisco Art Institute when the British Invasion hit America, and while he was serious enough about R&B to keep the Beatles at arm's length, he did see an opportunity. The British rock & roll boom restored rock bands to their rightful place at the center of music, and jump-started some long-held ambitions that he and Bennett shared about forming a band. They hooked up with students Bob Cuff (guitar), Mike Daly (bass) and John Luby (drums), and after jamming a couple of times on songs like "Woolly Bully," the group became the Terrazzo Brothers (named for an Italian masonry style), with Bennett as lead singer. After about a year, a lineup change took place, as Mike Daly became their manager, Larry Bennett made a lateral move to take over on bass, and Larry West came aboard on lead guitar while Bob Cuff stayed on rhythm. By that time they were writing their own material together as a group effort, and coming up with some unusual and very fresh ideas. And there was the name change. "The Terrazzo Brothers" didn't seem to be doing anything for them, and then the bandmembers misunderstood the line about the "Mystery Tramp" in Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone": the result was the Mystery Trend. They had a special sound and a following, at least locally. The Mystery Trend were the first band to play the Matrix Club after the original Jefferson Airplane, and regularly gigged with the Great Society. They also joined the Airplane in Bill Graham's first effort at rock music promotion, the Mime Troup Benefit. Along with the Airplane, the Great Society, and the Charlatans, the Mystery Trend seemed to be on the cutting edge of what music was about in San Francisco. Part of their secret was the sheer range of influences within the lineup, and their ability to pull them together. Bennett was an unbelievably good singer for an unsigned band, and had formidable intuitive skill in handling a song. Nagle and Cuff were master rock & rollers, and Nagle, in particular, could analyze practically any song on the radio and break down what was happening in it, and why a line, lick or riff worked, or why they didn't. West was a serious beat, and a folk musician with prodigious guitar skills which meshed perfectly with Cuff's rhythm playing. And Luby was a very solid drummer, holding it all together no matter where their songs took them. If anything, the Mystery Trend more resembled the small group units that grew out of the big-band era that Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington, among others, participated in. Those small groups, made up of top soloists and true virtuosi, had lots of room for the members to maneuver and express themselves, but were also highly disciplined.
Some of the Mystery Trend's music sounded ripe for jamming, with soaring guitar solos and rippling keyboard parts, and folk-like melodies that lent themselves to experimentation, but they limited their experimentation to clean, precise three-minute-plus structures, without ever leaving the listener feeling cheated. Listening to the Mystery Trend's best work, amid the odd beats and time signatures, strange key changes and modulations, and harmonies filled with the unexpected, was, indeed, like listening to the very best of the big bands, playing the guts out of a piece in three-and-a-half minutes. It was too good to last, and it didn't last long. West exited in early 1966 in grand style, smashing his guitar on-stage in the midst of a duel with the Great Society's Darby Slick at a show in Sausalito. He nearly joined the Great Society, while the Mystery Trend continued with Bob Cuff playing what lead guitar was required on record. Eventually he left, and was succeeded by John Gregory, a very talented lead player; by that time, however, the Mystery Trend's days were numbered. The San Francisco music scene was exploding. The Beau Brummels had already scored hits on the Autumn label, a ton of other acts were getting recorded on one-off singles and, in some instances, getting local airplay; the Jefferson Airplane and the Great Society had done album-length releases, and the Grateful Dead and even the Charlatans were getting scouted by high-powered recording outfits; and late in 1966 the best thing that the Great Society had going for it, Grace Slick, had linked up with the Airplane. It was happening for every act of any note except, that is, the Mystery Trend. They'd gotten one barely representative single, "Johnny Was a Good Boy" b/w "House on the Hill" out on Verve Records through Frank Werber, the manager of the Kingston Trio, and Trident Productions, who were riding high at around that time with the work of the We Five. Werber did try hard with the group but their sound, spellbinding as it was on-stage, seemed impossible to capture adequately on record -- they covered songs by the Who and did R&B standards, and worked on a ton of originals, all to no avail. The group stuck to its own way of making music, which wasn't much like the We Five, but also avoided the kind of long, aimless jams that were becoming the rule among their Bay Area colleagues. The Mystery Trend didn't sound like anyone else, and somehow they never nailed down a second single, much less an album. By 1968, it was over. Nagle returned to studio art, which he'd never stopped entirely, and became a successful ceramic artist, and later wrote some songs for the Tubes and Barbra Streisand, among others. Apart from Larry Bennett, who passed on in the '90s, the others (including Larry West) remained in music. The Mystery Trend passed into history and the true depths of tantalizing obscurity -- their name was alluring when coupled with their obscurity, and the fact that they seemed to rate mentions in any serious books or articles about San Francisco's music roots. Nothing apart from the rare copies of that old Verve single, which told us virtually nothing about the band, was around to hear, however. In 1999, a comprehensive collection of the best surviving tracks by the Mystery Trend were released by Ace Records on its Big Beat imprint.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Debtocracy: Ένα ντοκιμαντέρ για την κρίση
Για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα, ένα ντοκιμαντέρ με παραγωγό το θεατή. Το Debtocracy/ Χρεοκρατία αναζητά τα αίτια της κρίσης χρέους και προτείνει λύσεις που αποκρύπτονται από την κυβέρνηση και τα κυρίαρχα μέσα ενημέρωσης.
Το δόγμα του σοκ !
Το δόγμα του σοκ και η άνοδος του καπιταλισμού της καταστροφής: το βίαιο παρελθόν της πλέον κυρίαρχης ιδεολογίας της εποχής μας.
Φόβος: Ουσιαστικό. Αλλά και ουσιαστικός.
'' Όσοι το χάλκεον χέρι βαρύ του φόβου αισθάνονται,ζυγόν δουλείας ας έχωσιθέλει αρετήν και τόλμην η ελευθερία." Ανδρέας Κάλβος
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crossing the lines
in the 5th season
The Perfumed Garden Of Folk Blues
Once he said "If songs were lines / in a conversation / the situation would be fine" Nick Drake
" Once he said "If songs were lines / in a conversation / the situation would be fine"
Nick Drake
^Ω^
When The Power Of Love Overcomes The Love Of Power,The World Will Know The Peace.
"Sri Chinmoy Ghose''
^Ω^
"Μόνο όταν κοπεί και το τελευταίο δέντρο
Μόνο όταν δηλητηριαστεί και ο τελευταίος ποταμός
Μόνο όταν πιαστεί και το τελευταίο ψάρι
Μόνο τότε θα ανακαλύψεις
ότι τα χρήματα δεν τρώγονται..
(Προφητεία των Ινδιάνων Κρι)
^Ω^
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After about a year, a lineup change took place, as Mike Daly became their manager, Larry Bennett made a lateral move to take over on bass, and Larry West came aboard on lead guitar while Bob Cuff stayed on rhythm. By that time they were writing their own material together as a group effort, and coming up with some unusual and very fresh ideas. And there was the name change. "The Terrazzo Brothers" didn't seem to be doing anything for them, and then the bandmembers misunderstood the line about the "Mystery Tramp" in Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone": the result was the Mystery Trend. They had a special sound and a following, at least locally. The Mystery Trend were the first band to play the Matrix Club after the original 
Those small groups, made up of top soloists and true virtuosi, had lots of room for the members to maneuver and express themselves, but were also highly disciplined. 
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