In Dan’s Garage…#99

Ahhh, summer is finally upon us and with it comes the beauty of warm weather, nicely trimmed lawns, swimming pools, etc. Welcome all to another edition of “In Dan’s Garage”, this one being #99!!!!! HOLY CATS!!!! The weather has been a little steamy as of late and I’ve found myself cooling off in my man cave which is about 10° cooler than the rest of the house and since I’m down here quite often, I usually spend the time spinning 45s! As usual I have a little bit of this and that here, you know…some garagey sounds, some early R&R, sunshine pop, psychedelia, and even a country rocker to boot! I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do for #100, but I might do something special, or I might just stay the course and do my usual bit. Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll all enjoy listening to it as much as I loved putting it together. So mix yourself a nice cool cocktail, sit back, relax, and enjoy In Dan’s Garage…#99.

Little Caesar & The Consuls – (My Girl) Sloopy / Poison Ivy (1965) A very popular Canadian group from Toronto that had several hits including this slow loopy cover of the McCoy’s “Hang On Sloopy”. “The Band” and Hawks member Robbie Robertson was in an early lineup of this group.

Jimmy Barbee – Cause I Love You (196?) We featured ol’ Jimmy back in IDG #71 and we couldn’t find any info on him then. I’m sorry to say that we’re still at a dead end, but at least we can enjoy this crude, Jerry Lee Lewis styled rocker from what I would presume is the mid-sixties???

Ultra Mates – The Huckle-Buck / Pitter Patter (1964) I can’t say for sure when this was released. I’ve seen ‘62, ‘64, and ‘65 but judging from the sound, I’m gonna go with ‘64. This group of gals were actually Phil Spector stalwarts The Blossoms backed by an ace studio combo. A side is a decent up-tempo number but the B side is a killer, haunting almost psychedelic tune. Very cool indeed.

Aches ‘N Pains – Again And Again (1966) The Aches “N Pains were a group from the Plattsburgh, NY area that were previously known around those parts as The Thunderbolts. They recorded this do-woppish ditty in 1966 long after the the vocal group greaser sound had gone out of style with the obvious exception of The Four Seasons whom I would assume they’re trying to copy here. Not bad though.

Sages – I’m Not Going To Cry / In The Beginning (1966) A terrific folk/rock influenced 45 from the UK that was apparently only released in the US (???). Sucks for those in Britain because this is a really good record. Three members of The Sages went on to form Vanity Fare and had a huge hit with “Hitchin’ A Ride”.

Clefs Of Lavender Hill – One More Time / So I’ll Try (1966) In my opinion THE BEST 45 released by this Miami, FL quartet. It amazes me that this band never got it’s due back in the 60s because this particular 45 is genius. Great riffs and harmonies abound here with a “British Invasion” flair.

George Washington & The Cherry Bombs – Brother Ward / Don’t You Just Know It (1965) Great lo-fi goodness delivered in typical Pacific NW fashion.

Nooney Rickett – Bye Bye Love / In The Swim (1965) Nooney and his combo put out here with a frantic version of the Everly’s biggest hit. Nooney’s group was featured in the mid 60s academy award winning film “Pajama Party”.

Good Feelins – I’m Captured / End Of A Love (1966) A San Bernardino, CA area group that had the unbelievably cool “I’m Shattered” which came out on Boulders Vol. 3 back in the old days. This 45 which was first released on the Rock-It label is a nice bouncy Invasion styled two sider.

Wild Life – This Is What I Was Made For (1966) I can’t find much info on this big production folk/rock ballad, which is a nice rendition of a Sloan / Barri song that was originally done by The Grass Roots on their first LP. My guess is that this is an LA or New York studio group.

Cops “N Robbers – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue / I Found Out (1966) We featured these guys in IDG #84 doing “There’s Got To Be A Reason” on Parrot Records, but this time they mellow down a wee bit with Dylan’s often covered “Baby Blue” and a slow moody flip.

Human Beinz – Every Time Woman (1968) The “Beinz” never did equal the success they had with “Nobody But Me”, yet they did record some really good sides (some pretty bad ones as well) and this is one. Great fuzz guitar on this one.

Chosen Few – Synthetic Man / Last Man Alive (1967) I really had to think twice about posting this one. Bagpipes really annoy the hell out of me, ESPECIALLY when they’re used in the context of Rock & Roll, or Pop music (sorry, no offense to any Scottish readers out there), but this record is so wacked out I had to include it anyway. The Chosen Few were most likely a studio group concocted by Dick Torst the writer of both these songs as well as the legendary “Asian Chrome”, another psychedelic gem that was featured on Boulders Vol. 7.

Impact Express – Fly With Me / A Little Love (1968) The last of five 45s this Pacific NW group released. They originally were known simply as The Impacts, but added the “Express” to it and switched over to a more pop/psych oriented style. The intro to “Fly With Me” sounds reminiscent of The Monkees “Daydream Believer”

Nova’s Nine – Pain (1968) I try to be very choosy when it comes to “horn” rock or bands that feature horns in general, and a lot of what is considered “Beach Music” kind of falls into that category, not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just not my cup of tea. I dig a blasting sax, but when things get a bit too brassy and start veering into Blood, Sweat, & Tears or Chicago territory, that when I start to back away. This 45 is an exception mainly because of the real garagey vocals, the cheezy Farfisa organ in the background, and the fuzzy guitar as well. This bunch was from Statesville, NC and amazingly this somewhat obscure regional hit was covered by at least two other bands that I know of.

Phaetons – Leave It To Me / You’d Better Come Home (1968) This Long Island group released three 45s on Warner Bros. as well as an accompanying LP. Real nice folk/psych with great 12 string guitars.

Sounds Of Modification – Darkness Fills My Lonely Heart / Carry On Carole (1969) Although some have criticized this group for sucking badly, I think tis record is pretty good. Both sides are great pop/psych with excellent backing vocals and some decent guitar work. This has Bob Gallo’s name written all over it, and some of you may remember him as the guy who created The “You Know Who” Group. For all we know, the same guys might be playing on this 45!

get it here

In Dan’s Garage…#98

Great googly moogly! I thought I’d never get back to another post given this extremely busy month or so I’ve had. Aside from the usual family type stuff that I have to tend to, the bulk of my spare time has been recording and mixing the new True Believers project and I’ve been working diligently trying to make each track sound great. What we did was recorded pretty much everything on our set list as well as several original contributions from local musician pals (we solicited them because we are such lousy songwriters), and possibly some original songs from our old bands that never really got their due, and when all is said and done we should have enough material for two, possibly three CDs. The first will most likely be a bunch of our favorites as we’re still putting a lot of “finishing touches” on the original material which were “blank canvases” if you will and I’m trying to come up with ideas that aren’t too clichéd. The entire project is being recorded, mixed and mastered in my humble little DIY studio here in the man cave just inches away from where I write this very blog, thus the major distraction. I did manage to find a bit of time this weekend to finally hammer out this edition as I head towards Volume 100 which I thought I’d never see. In fact, I may have enough cool records here to produce another 50 of these which certainly will keep me occupied for a few more years. As I did with the last post, I’ll keep the commentary brief as to get the whole shebang out by today, so please, enjoy the weekend, and Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads out there. This one’s for you.

Princetons Five – Roll Over Beethoven / Passing By (1964) A Michigan group who I think were also known as simply “The Princetons” and released several 45s on Colpix, Wand, and Philips. All good.

Mousers – I Know (About My Baby) (1964) Not sure who these guys were, but they must’ve been a bunch of greasers given the schmaltzy do-wop flip.

Spartans – I Won’t Be Taken / Who Told The Lie (1965) Cool garagey sounds from a virtually unknown band.

Conlon & The Crawlers – You’re Comin’ On / I Won’t Tell (1966) Chuck Conlon’s group after he left the Nightcrawlers. A side is great with lots of fuzz and a kind of sleazy delivery. The B side is sort of a re-make of “Little Black Egg”.

Middle Window – Treasure Land / Let My Heart Heal (196?) Another virtually unknown act. Judging by the label this may be from Chicago or somewhere close by.

One Way Street – Yard Dog / Girls, Girls (1966) Blue eyed soul from Louisiana.

Flying Machine – I’ll Find You Anyway / Flying On The Ground (1967) Decent garage/pop from Wisconsin. B side is a slow, mellow version of Neil Young’s Buffalo Springfield nugget.

Astronauts – Main Street / In My Car (1966) 1966 finds this great surf band changing up it’s sound with the times in an effort to keep up with what sounds like some “Pet Sounds” influences. Real good IMHO.

New Colony Six – Love You So Much / Let Me Love You (1966) Great effort before they became a “soft rock” act.

Barry Lee Show – I Don’t Want To Love You /  Over And Over (1967) A British group doing a nice mod cover of the Everlys

Reed Williams – I’m Free / There’s A Girl (196?) A real obscure crooner from Houston.

Paraphernalia – It Came Out Of The Sky / Quicksand (1970) Madison, WI group tackles CCR and The Youngbloods.

Wazoo – Hey Girl I’m In Love With You / Don’t Give Your Love To Anyone (1969) Cleveland group delivers some lite pop/psych. Former members of Bocky & The Visions here.

Chayns – You / Let Yourself Go (1971) Last 45 released by this San Antonio band. A side has that Vanilla Fudge thing going while the B definitely leans into the 70s.

Aum – Aum / Little Brown Hen (1969) Heavy, religious inspired A side with a hard bluesy B. These guys were very popular on the late 60s Bay Area scene.

get it here