Watermusic - The Weeds
 Watermusic
Waterproof Candle
Waterproof Tinkertoy
The Waters
The Wave-Riders
Kenny Wayne and The Kamotions
Wazoo
Weathervane
The Weavils
The Weads
Wednesday
The Weeds
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| Watermusic
Waterproof Candle
Waterproof Tinkertoy
The Waters
The Wave-Riders
Kenny Wayne and The Kamotions
Wazoo
Weathervane
The Weavils
The Weads
Wednesday
The Weeds
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Formed in 1966 as the Oxford Circus in Waco, Texas by Winston Logan, former drummer of the Headstones who'd relocated to attend Baylor University. Initially a covers band they were augmented by Rene Best in 1969, changed their name to Watermusic and switched to concentrating on original material. Can't You Feel It, My Orange and Silver Chimes appear for the first time on the above compilation which comprises related bands: - The Headstones, Oxford Circus, Seompi - formed by ex-Headstone Dave Williams - and the Remaining Few, a late '70s band which reunited Williams and Logan. (Max Waller)
If the name of the band is anything to go by, this should be one of the most psychy singles ever, but it fulfills your expectations only partly. The 'A' side is sweetest toytown pop-psych, quite agreeable, while the flip is much better with harmony vocals over a repetitive backing and includes a surprising time / measure change. Nice but inconsequential. (Marcel Koopman)
A New York City-recorded outfit, though they band operated out of Springfield, Massachusetts. Continuation is featured on the Beyond The Calico Wall (CD) so you know it's gotta be "way out there somewhere"! Sho' nuff, it's a free-form freakout (or perhaps just the lads winding down before lighting another joint!). Baby Let Go is pleasant upbeat with tasty keyboard and guitar moves. Their cover of Satisfaction is suitably fuzzed but in a heavy pop as opposed to garage style. The other side is lightweight pop - also prevalent on both the later Laurie 45s. Two of the band members are believed to be Tom Ide (drums) and his brother, Carl (gtr). They were originally from Pittsburgh, PA although their mother was from Springfield, Mass where taught school. (Max Waller/Georgiana Thomas)
From Louisville, Kentucky this trio formed in 1967. Their second 45 was produced by Stuart Paine and Fred Baker of The Company Front. It did very well in the local charts and was picked up by the Memphis-based Hip label. 'Louisville's Own', a book published in 1983 by Brenda and Bill Woods, notes that the band split in 1970 and that both Burgard and Barrickman stayed in the music business, having relocated to Memphis. Mother Samwell, with its heavy phasing, raga guitars and good vocal harmonies, can also be found on Psychedelic Experience, Vol. 2 (LP) and Psychedelic Experience, Vol. 2 (CD). (Barry Margolis/Max Waller)
A rare 45 on the collectable Tener label by an unlocated Florida band. Psychedelic States: Florida Vol. 1 (CD) features the strident Robert Johnson-penned pop-punker, Ain't It A Shame. (Max Waller/Jeff Lemlich/Roger Maglio)
NB: (1) has had a limited unofficial repress.
Not to be confused with Dallas' Kenny Wayne; Shreveport, Louisina's Kenny Wayne "Shepherd" or indeed Wayne Lacadisi, Kenny Wayne had earlier recorded with The Starchiefs and The Grapes Of Wrath. A crossover between late sixties punk and early seventies rock, the Kamotions second 45, A Better Day's A Comin', was a rough and wild protest number - the 'A' side can also be found on Highs In The Mid Sixties, Vol. 23 (LP). Child Bride their next 45 featured Chuck Roscoe, who is now a producer with Jennifer Warren (Germany's top female songstress) to his credit, as well as bass player with Eric Johnson and Robbin Ford. Fender recently designed and named a six-sting bass "The Roscoe Beck Signature Model" in his name! It Took 27 Years came out in the Summer of '74, and although uncredited was co-produced and co-written by Buddy Holly's manager/producr Norman Petty, with Wayne on piano and string machine. Stay Away From Me Girl, The Kamotions final 45 wasn't released until 1977, but it was recorded in Shreveport, Lousiana on News year day 1972. Their album, In Motion is a passable effort overall, including covers of Free's All Right Now, T. Bone Walker's Stormy Monday Blues, a soul medley of Joe Brown's I Got You and Ted Wright's Out Of Sight, C. Allen and J. Hill's Are You Ready and Jim Peterik's (of Ides Of March) Vehicle. Interspersed among these are a number of originals, a mixture of uptempo rock (How Should I Feel, Child Bride and They) and pop ballads (The Day When The Sun Goes Down and Time Seems To Fly, of which the former is by far the best) penned by Kenneth W. Hagler (aka Kenny Wayne), who also designed the cover and managed a local booking agency in Texarkana, Texas. Subsequently, Wayne has released an album as Kenny Wayne & His Very Special Guests Born With The Blues And Raised On Rock 'N' Roll; and has recently recorded a new eighteen track album Rockin' Little Redwater, Texas Boy which he describes as "The best damn record that I've ever made!!" It should be noted that the two hard rock albuns, released as by Kenny Wayne are in fact the work of the other Kenny Wayne from Dallas. For more information check Kenny Wayne's website: http://members.aol.com/KWAYNE01/index.html
From Cleveland, Ohio. Their 45 was issued on a New York City label and comprises of late sixties soft pop-rock - not 'garage' as sometimes claimed. It sounds not dissimilar to later (Young) Rascals material - pleasant but very average. The obscure Wazoo LP on an equally obscure Michigan label is strange indeed - the personnel as listed above is sketchy due to the lack of info on the gatefold sleeve, with its welter of named and unnamed photos, but Robert DiPasquale had previously been in Bocky and The Visions. Musically the album contains an odd mix of brassy jazz-rock with The Fugs and lots of weird s**t thrown in: anti-war and anti-establishment jibes, some nice baroque touches, a soupcon of avant-garde, some heady lyrics, and barrages of war and off-the-wall sound effects... all of which make for a challenging listen. Noteworthy moments include: the eleven minute jazz-psych trip of The Way I See It; the bluesy fuzz of Sleep On; the amazing bad-trip noise of Arnie Funny Far Fackor which should only be listened to in a padded room; and the excellent heavy fuzz-and-feedback blast of BH Man that closes the album in a more accessible acid-rock vein. George Katsakis recalls:- "I was also the leader of a group formed in 1958 called the Royaltones. I used the name Konstantine because it was my father's name. The Wazoo album was recorded in Novi, Michigan at a studio that was owned by Bob Adell. The studio was located in a building that is now known as the Novi Expo Center and Arnie of Arniefunnyfarfacker was the recording engineer". (Max Waller / George Gell / George Katsakis)
From the label that brought the world The Savages, so presumably Bermuda was home to this outfit too. Don't Call My Name is a tuneful beat-ballad, the flip is uptempo beat-pop. Compilation appearances include: Today on Killer Cuts (LP); Don't Call My Name on Open Up Yer Door, Vol. 2 (LP) and Tymes Gone By (LP). (Vernon Joynson / Max Waller)
Keyboard-dominated garagey sounds from the pen of one Steffen Presley, on a Salinas, California label. The band were from Modesto and this appears to be their sole release. Check out 4-4,5-4 on Seeds Turn To Flowers Turn To Dust (LP & CD). (Max Waller)
From Houston. Judging by the 'B' side, with their fake British accents they seem to have been a Beatles' put-down group. The song rocks along pretty well and has humour too, The punch line:- 'The Beatles are good but we don't care, cause it only takes a minute to comb our hair! You can also find We're The Weavils on Pebbles, Vol. 21 (LP) and Acid Visions - The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (3-CD).
A strange "concept" album, with a side devoted to the rock standards dealing with tragic death and lost love! The interest is mainly on the second side, full of wah-wah guitar rock. (Stephane Rebeschini)
NB: (1) reissued on Behemoth (T-2) in 1988 with a picture sleeve and insert/info/interview with Fred Cole. Originally from Las Vegas in Nevada, this band later relocated to Oregon. Their first 45 became an anthem for the flower children at Portland's Spring Trips Festival in 1967. The flip, Little Girl is also a great raw punker that displays Fred's raucous vocals and some savage guitar work. Sadly, though, it was all a litle too raw for the American record buying public at the time and didn't sell. The band also spent a lot of time in Los Angeles where they came under the influence of Lord Tim Hudson, manager of The Seeds. He didn't like the combination of pushing The Weeds on the road with The Seeds to promote the LP they'd just recorded so their name was changed to The Lollipop Shoppe with the above line-up still intact. The group didn't like the name and after the LP and 45s failed to generate riots, they returned to the Northwest and put out the N.W.I. 45 as The Weeds once more. The others broke away but Fred Cole kept going... Later in 1979 he was in a hard-core outfit, The Rats. He's become something ot a cult figure since with Dead Moon and had earlier recorded as Deep Soul Cole. Compilation appearances have included: It's Your Time on Nuggets, Vol. 8 (LP), Pebbles Vol. 1 (CD) and Pebbles, Vol. 1 (ESD) (CD); It's Your Time, Stop and Little Girl on Filling The Gap (4-LP). (Vernon Joynson / Max Waller) |
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