cktimes.ca Archives for Classic Vinyl


Classic Vinyl

With Allan Day

Garage Bands of the 60's Part 8

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The Gestures The Electric Company The Great Scots
 The Henchmen

I hope to do several of these columns over the year on the 60's garage bands and I hope you find some of their albums or better yet, newly re-released cd's. Not all of the bands managed to get number 1 hits, some came very close, but they left their mark in Garage Band History. Now the ultimate collection to find these days is the 2 box sets put out by Rhino Records, The Nuggets Collection---each set contains 4 cd's of garage rock bands with a great booklet, pictures and descriptions of the bands small history----these are a must have for the 60's generation collector.

Who can forget Question Mark and the Mysterians, The Seeds, The Electric Prunes--The Leaves--The Strangeloves--The Cryan Shames--Chocolate Watch Band--Michael & the Messengers--The Third Rail, this list could go on and on, so I will stop here and feature 5 bands i have researched for this weeks review---I hope you like them as much as I do, when you find their music.

The Gestures: "I'm Not Mad" 2:35 on Soma 1426 Records 1965

Band members are: Dale Menten/vocals, guitar, Gus Dewey/vocals, guitars, Tom Kingberz/bass and Bruce Waterston/drums. The band hailed from Mankato, Minnesota and hat their first hit in 1964 "Run,Run,Run. This small record label couldn't handle the pace of success with The Gestures popularity and this added to their short demise (1 year)----"I'm Not Mad" hit Billboard's Top 50, a fast drum/guitar rhythmic song with great vocals----another strong single for the band was a song titled "Candlelight" Gus Dewey sadly passed away in 2004---Dale Menten has released 2 cd's with his Live Bait Band---The Gestures had a great 60's garage band sound---this single is the most sought after by collectors as only a handful of promo's were distributed in 1965.

The Electric Company: "Scary Business" 1735 Titan Records in 1966

The band Members are: Dick Fletcher/vocals, John Glazier/guitar, Craig Parker/organist, Dick Sidman/drummer and Dana Morgan Jr./bass---the band from San Francisco performed at local frat houses and college parties under the name of Lothar & The Hand People but when they recorded this straight ahead rocker, full of teenage angst concerning unplanned parenthood, Titan label owner George Brown renamed them the Electric Company--by the time they recorded this song the band had already gone their separate ways. Dana Morgan used to play with another soon to be famous group the Warlocks who later became the Grateful Dead.

The Great Scots: "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" originally unissued 1966

Band members: Dave Isner/bass, Rick McNeil/vocals, Bill Schnare/guitar, Wayne Forrest/guitar and Gerry Archer/drums---this Great Canadian Band from Nova Scotia cut one of the wildest versions of Miracle Worker in 1966---many bands covered this song and this put The Great Scots on the garage band map. Wearing full kilt costumes and playing Stones, Hollies, British Invasion style songs gave their stage presence all the attention they needed. When they played The Rose Bowl with Herman's Hermits, Lovin' Spoonful, The Byrds and Sonny & Cher back in 1965 they found themselves turning the heads of the hippy attire trippy people. Great vocals, Eric Burden style, and driving guitars make this a SUPER Garage Band Hit---2 of their cd's are now available on Sundazed.com store---Check Them Out for Sure

The Henchmen IV: "Is Love Real? Cuca Records 6731 in 1967

Band members: Scott Heinske/vocals, guitar, Joe DeHut/rhythm guitar, Bob Durant/bass, Art Moinlenen/organ, Jeff Jackson/tambourine and Jay Jackson/drums. This band from Ontonagon, Michigan was a town favourite, playing all the local venues and they even got to practise at the local Town Fire Hall---they were like the Norman Rockwell band of the town---they got to play along side the Left Banke who played Beatles material, while the Henchmen IV played The Stones---like most bands from the 60's, Uncle Sam broke up the band.

My youtube selections this week should bring back some 60's memories: The Syndicate of Sound "Hey Little Girl" http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ppfbd78b_zQ the Buckinghams "Kind of A Drag"http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hq1fpN1qWv8 and The Outsiders "Time Won't Let Me" to great big roller skating tunes.

Hope you enjoyed this weeks column and see you in 2 weeks---contact me at bluesslider88@yahoo.ca or at cktimes with any comments you would like to make about classic vinyl.



Allan Day----long time acquaintance of John Gardiner----I presently live in Goderich Ontario, retired (oh yeah) and live for the sound of music, especially from the 60's music explosion---I hope you enjoy some of my articles and they bring back some lost memories of bands gone by. Now I have to let you know that I am a HUGE Rolling Stones fan, collector, historian and I hope to hear any stories you might have on this GREAT Band from the 60's----email me at CK Times and let me know what you have or memories you have of this group. I will include stories and short stories on The Stones each week.