THE CLIQUE from Red Bank, New Jersey (1962-1969)

by Achille Brunet

(The Daily Register - Dec 27, 1965)

Even if they never released anything at the time, The Clique from Red Bank, New Jersey were nevertheless one of the most popular acts in Monmouth County as part of the same scene as Bruce Springsteen's The Castiles or The Mods, also playing regularly in New York, and almost made it on wax no less than three times! Let's uncover some archives...

The Clique were first formed in Red Bank in the early 60s as The Velveliers by John Presti, Emil Talarico, Jimmy Scott and Nick Migliaccio. The band members were around 15 and the band attended school dances.

Emil's brother, Vinnie Talarico (aka "Little Vinnie"), started to perform with them around 1962 as he was only 9. At first, Vinnie's inclusion was only a gimmick for his older brother's band. "I was about six years younger than they were," Vinnie recalled in 1977, "so they asked me to come along and try to sing on stage. I'd sing about four or five songs before I'd get tired and have to go home, but it got them jobs."

(The Daily Register - July 17, 1964)

In July 1964, the band had become a quintet with Vinnie becoming a constant member of the band. Nick Migliaccio had left and been replaced by Mel Taylor on sax. When members started to drift apart after the summer, Little Vinnie took up lead singing. Several members attended Red Bank High School.

In the fall of 1964, the lineup that would be The Clique had solidified with John Presti (bass guitar, of New Shrewsbury), Vinnie Talarico (lead singer, of Red Bank), Emil Talarico (drums, of Red Bank) and Jimmy Scott (lead guitar, of Middletown) and the band added Nick Soviero of Little Silver on keyboards.

(The Daily Register - June 11, 1965)

The band appeared at the Old Mill in Spring Lake, the Holiday Inn in Long Branch, the Shrewsbury Yacht Club in Oceanport, CYO dances, and numerous schools and private parties. At that point, they could play a variety of styles ranging from rock'n'roll to jazz, dixieland and even foxtrot.

The band changed name to The Clique around May 1965, when they provided the dance music at a Church 'Crowning' in Eatontown. They also played for the opening of the Teendezvous country club in Red Bank in June and soon played two nights a week throughout the summer. They would appear there until the late 1960s.

(The Daily Register - July 16, 1965)

The band was managed by John Muller and Mark Finucane of New Shrewsbury and soon became one of the best bands North of Ashbury Park. On July 16, the band was sponsored by Teendezvous owner J. Kelsey Burr, Jr. to play at the New Jersey pavilion of the World's Fair in New York and played twice on WNYC as part as Mrs. Laurence Taylor's program "Worlds Fair Spotlights".

The band also met with Columbia records and announced two songs written by Jimmy Scott, "1965" and "The Clique", would be recorded for a single, but no release followed.

In December, the band attended the Teenage Band of 1965 contest in St. Joseph School in Keyport along with 15 other bands from the area, including The Inmates that would soon release "You Tell Lies' on Columbia. Jury included Brian Epstein. More than 1,200 teenagers flooded the place.

Little Vinnie holds trophy.

(The Daily Register - Dec 31, 1965)

The Clique won first place, grabbing the $200 cash prize and engraved trophy. The jury praised their showmanship and originality of arrangement for "What Love Has Joined Together", "I'm Down" and "It's My Life". The Inmates ranked second. (The story goes that The Mods were also part of a contest that The Clique won, but it wasn't that one, unless they went by another name at that point.)

In 1966, the band left the area in order to pursue their performing career. Though four members had finished High School, the band confined their performances to weekends to allow 13-year-old Vinnie to complete his education.

(The Keyport Weekly - May 5, 1966)

During the next three months, The Clique appeared at the Park-Sheraton Hotel and Downtown Club in New York, at Rutgers University, and various other clubs and discotheques in New York and New Jersey including the Sound Room, Dover, and occasionally coming back at the Teendezvous. 

They also attended recording sessions in January and it was announced in February that a single had been recorded and would be released March or April. The plan likely fell flat again as it was never mentioned again after March.

(The Daily Register - May 27, 1966)

The band also planned a tour in Chicago and in Florida for the spring but apparently stayed in New Jersey, New York and Delaware, playing colleges and discotheques. In May, they were back at the Teendezvous for an anniversary party for the club, while still playing in New York. 

Vinnie also played solo performances at several Long Island beach clubs but not for long. "I had an opportunity to out on my own but I didn't take it. I guess I basically was afraid to leave my brother and the band," he recalled in 1977.

Around that time, The Clique changed manager for Paul D. Moroney of Matawan. The band signed with Nemperor Artists Ltd., a company founded by Brian Epstein and Nat Weiss (the guy who had brought The Beatles to the US) for managing artists. In July, the band gave news of a new upcoming record, produced by Brian Epstein and pop band The Cyrkle (of "Red Rubber Ball" fame) for a release planned in September. The A side was to be "There's Nothing Sacred Now".

The reworked Clique lineup.

(The Daily Register - Jan 10, 1967)

From September, the band started to play at the Hullabaloo dance club at the Oaks on Highway 35 in Middletown, a club where The Castiles started to play regularly as well. Other bands featured there included The Chlan, The Knack, The Teburys, 5 Of A Kind and The Caste. The Clique also attended dances in Eatontown and Matawan.

In November, the single was rescheduled for a release in early 1967 because of personnel changes in the group. John Presti was drafted and Jimmy Scott also left (presumably for the same reason). Jimmy Barr from Colts Neck was brought in in replacement. The new lineup shared the bill with The Mods (of "Ritual" and the Back From The Grave version of "Satisfaction") at the Surf 'N See Club in December.

On January 3, 1967, The Clique was back in studio and cut the only song by the band to have reached us for now at Dick Charles recording service in New York.

Information on this acetate are next to nothing, but despite the fact several bands roamed the country as The Clique at the time, several things point toward the New Jersey band, particularly the New York location and kiddie vocals that would perfectly fit Little Vinnie. It's difficult to be sure but it seems very likely. It's probably not one of the songs for the single, maybe intended album tracks or rehearsal.

The single was announced again for a national release in March. The band also opened a teen shop named after themselves on Little Street in Matawan where they sold records, pop art posters, teen fashions and items from Greenwich Village. The shop was operated by Moroney but the band regularly checked in. The shop remained open at least until July.

Clique manager Paul Moroney tries 

a "Clique tie" outside the band's shop.

(The Daily Register - Feb 21, 1967)

Unfortunately, an embarrassing silence regarding the single followed again and the release was likely cancelled. The band went on playing at the Hullabaloo and attended dances including a swim party at the YMCA's Camp Arrowhead in July along with The Mods and The Castiles in July.

From then on, news about The Clique became sparse. It was no more question of any release. The band came back to Camp Arrowhead for the summer of 1968 with bands like The Source, the Harlequins and the Castiles.

In September, the band attended a teen dance in St. Mary's Memorial Hall in Middletown, hosted by DJ and TV star Murray the 'K'. They kept playing teen and CYO dances until the end of the year.

(The Daily Register - July 6, 1967)

At the beginning of 1969, The Clique was back at the Teendezvous until June. Back at Arrowhead yet again for the summer, they shared the bill a couple of times with The Rusty Chains. 

By that point, the band featured only the Talarico brothers, plus Jim Scott who had apparently come back. Scott teached at the Red Bank School of Music until the late 1960s and also cut an unidentified record in New York City with John Cubbage (of the early 60s duo Denny & Jay) that was produced by Tommy Falcone. The Clique closed the season at Arrowhead with one last dance at the end of August.

(The Daily Register - Sept 30, 1966)

Organist Nick Soviero had went on with a band called Scaborough Fair. In late 1969 he joined The Source. The band played at the Teendezvous. The band had won four band contest prior to Nick's addition to the lineup.

The Clique then evolved into "Fate". Scott and the Talarico Brothers stuck together and they co-wrote songs from the early to mid-1970s. "Fate" also included Tom Zvoncheck and kept playing until 1975.

Vinnie Talarico graduated from Red Bank High School and majored for two years in acting at Brookdale Community College, while still perfoming each weekends in clubs. After "Fate", he was in a band called Skyline still with Jim Scott for about a year. He then became an extremely popular singer and entertainer at Resorts International hotel in Atlantic City. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 66. Emile Talarico passed in October 2024.

Sax player Mel Taylor seems to be still around and has a site HERE.

The Clique has also been lengthily evoked at garagehangover HERE in the comments under the Mods article.

Vinnie sings in New York clubs.

(The Daily Register - Oct 9, 1977)

THE BACKGROUNDS - "Day Breaks At Dawn" b/w "Oh Baby Please Take Me" (Cenco – 110, 1967)

by Achille Brunet

Buried in the depths of time, the case of The Backgrounds had remained an unfathomable mystery. Only a couple of copies surfaced and soon became highly sought-after collector items mostly for the A side, "Day Breaks At Dawn", the mind-blowing fuzz riff of which had more than one head spinning. Drummer, vocalist and songwriter SY GORAIEB finally provides the story of the band.

The Backgrounds was formed as The Four Aces in 1965, first as a four-piece, by teens from Saint John the Baptist Catholic Elementary School in Norwalk, California when one of their teachers suggested they become a band.

Sy Goraieb: "The four of us were already friends, especially Johnny and me, so we did. I was the drummer and lead vocalist for the band. The others were Roland Bautista (guitar), Bobby Torres (bass) and Johnny Graveline (keys). For all of us, it was our first band, and like so many others at that time, it was the result of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show on February 9, 1964. It changed everything! On the block where we rehearsed, on Saturdays, you would find six other bands doing the same thing! Our first performance was for our student body. So much fun! It was a great time!"

THE BACKGROUNDS

From left to right: Sy Goraieb, Johnny Graveline, Bobby Torres, 

Roland Bautista and on the floor is Dick Harris (Courtesy of Sy Goraieb).

At some point, the band changed name to The Backgrounds. A year or so later, the members went to different High Schools in Gardena, Lawndale and Los Angeles, CA but kept playing together. It was then that Richard "Dick" Harris came into the picture.

SG: "Roland went to Serra High School, Johnny to Loyola High School and that’s funny, I can’t remember where Bobby went. Dick and I were Leuzinger High School students and he and I were involved in the music department. When he heard our band, he asked if he could join. He was incredibly talented. When he joined he and I shared the lead vocals. He was with us for one year in 1966-'67."

The band played at dances, parties, and private functions, but were too young to play clubs. They also shared a few concerts with other bands and participated in Battle of the Bands. The band was interested in different music styles, ranging from British Invasion material to Soul music and Rhythm & Blues.

SG: "Because of Dick and my very different styles of singing, we could cover a lot. Johnny was an incredible pianist, especially for his age, and that gave us much freedom to do songs by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Motown and so much more."

In late 1966/early '67, The Backgrounds recorded two songs at an unidentified studio in Los Angeles: "Day Breaks At Dawn", a great fuzz rocker written by Richard Harris, and "Oh Baby Please Take Me", a catchy soul ballad written by Sy. The pair was released on the Hollywood label Cenco, owned by Mike Gradney.

SG: "I learned how to play guitar at that time for one reason, to write songs. 'Oh Baby…' was the first song I ever wrote. Dick was a great songwriter, I learned a lot from him! Cenco was a label that a friend’s dad started and when he heard us, he wanted to record us. Normally I sang on my songs and Dick as well but we decided for the record to have one vocalist. Dick sang both songs. But we shared the vocals on all of the other material. Nothing came from it and the record slipped into oblivion. This was the only recording we did."

The single was released in February 1967 and never went anywhere. It was so rare Sy wasn't even sure the record existed. Shortly after a benefit concert at Leuzinger High in May 1967, The Backgrounds broke up.

(The Daily Breeze - May 25, 1967)

SG: "After Dick graduated from High School, he got more serious about acting and pursued it. At that time, he was an incredible actor."

In High School in 1965-'66, Dick Harris had sung in "Oklahoma" and "My Fair Lady". While in his senior year at Leuzinger, he won the role of the king in the musical play 'The King And I'. He also directed the comedy and held the romantic lead in "You Can't Take It With You" while attending rehearsals of "Guys And Dolls" at El Camino College. At 17, Harris was the first person to win a leading role at the College while still a student at Leuzinger. Sy lost touch with Dick Harris so it's not know what became of him afterward. (He's not to be confused with prolific movie actor Richard Harris, born in 1930.)

SG: "Bobby, I believe, continued in teaching guitar (although I’m exactly sure what he's been up to)."

In the following months, Roland Bautista stepped in in replacement of guitarist Dewayne Russell in The Velvet Illusions, a band from the Washington state that had relocated to Hollywood, CA. Roland's blistering lead guitar can be heard with certainty on "Lazy", "The Stereo Song" and "Minny Shimmy", and possibly "Hippy Town", all released in Nov 1967. Though his guitar tracks are less prominent in the mix than with the blasting fuzz of "Day Breaks At Dawn", his style is unmistakable.

SG: "In 1967, Johnny and I joined Al McKay and The Turbans, a ten-piece soul band with friends from our neighborhood. Al asked us both to join after Roland had left. We all remained friends. That was a great band also!"

Al McKay and The Turbans had made two records in 1966, including one on Cenco. Al McKay and drummer Ralph Johnson would later become key members of Earth, Wind and Fire. Lester Smith, leader of the Turbans, was a nephew of Louis Armstrong. More about it HERE.

SG: "Johnny and I toured and recorded together up through our late 20’s and are still very close friends to this day. In a latter band called Orion, Johnny and I wrote more and recorded a bunch. This was between 1973-76. Nothing was formally released at that time. Johnny went on to play with various bands and write songs for various projects."

SG: "I later played with different bands, signed with Capitol Records as the drummer and one of two lead vocalists of the group Future Flight, produced and songs written and co-written with Lamont Dozier (the famed Motown writers and producers Holland, Dozier, Holland) for one album in 1981. Since 1984, I’ve been involved in Church music as a worship pastor and songwriter and have written songs for Integrity Music. In 1993, I re-recorded "Oh Baby Please Take Me" for a music library album called "Remember The 50's" that I produced for Sonoton Music. The song has since had some activity in various TV and Film projects."

Roland Bautista went on to record as a not consistent full member of Earth, Wind & Fire in different periods of time. He also collaborated as session man and songwriter for The Crusaders, The Jackson 5, Lamont Dozier, Ramsey Lewis, Randy Crawford, George Duke, Wayne Henderson and Hubert Laws. He passed away in 2012.

__________

Many thanks to Sy Goraieb. More information about Richard "Dick" Harris would be appreciated.

HEAD AND THE HARES - "One Against The World" (H&H Productions, 1966)

by Achille Brunet

The mysterious HEAD AND THE HARES fascinates while remaining very elusive. The fact that a 1990s garage revival band borrowed the name and also covered one of their songs does make the task more difficult. But we now have a bit of a lead...

Playing at least since mid-1965, Head and the Hares was formed by students from the Boston, Massachusetts area. Charles Cirrone (vocals? bass?) and Ray Gomez, Jr. (guitar) attended high school in Everett, MA while Joseph Oliveri (drums) was in Revere, MA.

These three guys were all 17 in Sept 1965. The other members, if there were any, are not known, but in the case Charles played bass, the band could very possibly have been a trio.

Seems the "Head" loses a bit of "Hare". 

The event that originated the band's name?

(The Boston Evening Globe - Sept 8, 1965)

In Sept 1965, the three members were photographed at Louis D'Assisi's barber shop with D'Assisi cutting Charles Cirrone's hair, his high school having apparently ruled that he had to get rid of his long hair or be expelled.

The band self-funded and self-released one single in May 1966. The A-side, "I Won't Come Back", was written by Ray, while the flip side, "One Against The World", was co-written by Ray and Charles.

The single was pressed by Decca Custom Records in New York. Unfortunately, according to TeenBeat Mayhem, a defective mastering or stamper causes slushy sound reproduction playback on all copies.

Hear both sides:

No trace of a gig could be found. The band possibly disbanded at the end of the school year.

Despite being a classic to my ears, "One Against The World" only found its way on the original New England Teen Scene LP in 1983, plus on one Wyld Sydes CD and now remains uncomped for decades.

Charles David Cirrone kept up with music later in life, also playing saxophone, and passed away on June 30, 2024 at Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln, Massachussets. See his obituary HERE.

________

Some 1966 yearbook pics of Ray Gomez and Charles Cirrone HERE.

More about this band would be appreciated.

THE HOBBITS aka THE YOUNG'UNS featuring PAUL MACE and DON SCARDINO (1964-1967)

by Achille Brunet

This article was adapted from Vernon Gravely's work of research on Paul Mace, who kindly forwarded me his book as well as the acetate songs and pictures of the band. Useful links to his work can be found at the end of this post. Special thanks to Jake as well for the above acetate (his channel HERE).

New York, NY - 1964: the British Invasion strikes and an overabundance of teen bands immediately fills the air with guitar sounds and vocal harmonies. Young PAUL MACE, then a teen Broadway/TV actor and future co-star of The Lords Of Flatbush (1974) with Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler, is no exception...

Born on April 4, 1950, in New York City, Paul Nicholas Mace appeared at a very young age in TV shows. IMDb lists his first credited role when he was 12 years old but he had appeared many times before as a small boy on various TV shows, including with Zippy the Chimp. Everyone was immediately charmed by his ease and natural ability to act which soon propelled him to the stage.

10-year-old Paul Mace, rehearsing for

the Broadway play 'The Wall', circa Sept 1960.

Music was also deeply rooted in his family, his father being a professional voice teacher, and at the age of eight, Paul had become a member of the boys’ chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera. In 1958, he made his stage debut in Tosca, singing the Shepherd Boy’s solo, leading him to appear in several Broadway shows in the early 1960s.

As well as singing and playing the violin, Paul had learned from his father to play the piano. Despite his family's penchant for classical music and the great composers, Paul also liked modern pop music. In 1962, he got rid of his violin, bought his first guitar and learned everything by himself.

Paul Mace, ca 1966 with The Hobbits

When The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, everything was turned upside down. Paul and his cousin Ed were amazed and immediately loved it. Ed recalled that Paul’s musical ear picked up their songs very quickly. Paul and Ed would see The Beatles at their return show at Shea Stadium in August 1966 and got to see supporting acts like The Cyrkles and The Remains.

As to ensure him a proper education in parallel of his acting career, Paul attended the Professional Children's School, where he soon befriended Barry Pearl, another Broadway child actor. Barry loved the Beatles as much as Paul, and learned guitar from him. 

Barry Pearl, 1969.

"Paul was a master guitarist," Barry recalls, "and he was self-taught, I believe. He taught me bar chords, for instance. The very first song was ‘And I Love Her.’"

Paul and Barry started to write some originals together, one of them called “Ezra Death”: “Live so long . . . Then you die / You can’t go on, I’ll tell you why / You pass above the earth, or be-low your mind / Until you realize that you’ve become EZRA DEATH.”

Don Scardino, ca 1967.

Barry soon started to play guitar in a band called The Mugwumps, formed by Don "Donnie" Scardino (guitar), and two other students of the Professional Children's School, Rod "Roddy" Hausen (bass), and Iano "John" Valentino (drums). Don's girlfriend's mother came up with the name when telling them about the 1800s political movement of the same name.

Don was already an accomplished teen actor and, around that time, had the opportunity to screen test for a show that would eventually become The Monkees (Screen Gems actually started holding auditions in New York City several months before they held the Los Angeles auditions that resulted in the final casting). Don brought The Mugwumps to the audition. They played a few tunes, and he actually got the job. Unfortunately, he was already under contract with another show that wouldn't release him, which prevented him from joining.

The Hobbits recording at Lynn Oliver studio, 1966.

Rod Hausen, John Valentino and Paul Mace.

Shortly after, Paul was brought in as third guitarist but the quintet didn't last long. Despite being the best of friends, Paul and Barry would often argue and fight, and Barry eventually decided to leave. In addition, it wasn't long until another New York band with the same Mugwumps name (featuring future members of The Mamas And The Papas and The Lovin' Spoonful) signed for a single with Warner Bros. in August 1964.

The kids were then forced to change name and opted for The Hobbits. The band rehearsed at Paul’s father’s mansion home on West End Avenue. Despite his dislike of modern pop music and guitars, Paul's father was very supportive. The band preformed mostly at high school dances, and were able to record some demos (likely in July 1966) at Lynn Oliver Studios, 250 89th Street, above a movie theater around the corner from Paul’s apartment. Lynn Oliver was a big band drummer. He founded the studio in the late 1950s and operated it for the next three decades.

Seven songs were recorded, including five originals: "Without Love" and "All in Vain" (written by Scardino), "Green Midnight" and "My Kind of Woman" (written by Mace) and "Happy Again" (written by Hausen). Two covers were also taped: "Thirsty Boots" by Eric Andersen and "You Don’t Have To Tell Me" by Peter & Gordon.

The line-up for the recordings was: Don Scardino (rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals); Paul Mace (lead guitar, lead and backing vocals); Rod Hausen (bass and occasional backing vocals); and John Valentino (drums). Paul and Scardino shared the lead vocals, with Paul handling the lower parts and Scardino the higher. "All in Vain," one of Scardino’s songs, has a Zombies-esque feel to it, and though it sounds like an electric piano is heard, it's only Paul's guitar sent through a lot of reverb according Scardino. Other influences can be heard in Paul's "Green Midnight", a sweet, heartbreaking ballad in which the influence of the Byrds' "Here Without You" is strong.

When Don set to transfer his acetates to a digital format, "My Kind Of Woman" had been lost. And that's when the impossible happened: when Vernon Gravely contacted me about The Hobbits, the title of the lost track seemed to ring a bell. I checked my files, not hoping much for my guess. After all, so many song could bear that title... 

And yet the hunch was right: I actually knew someone who had found that acetate with the lost song, only three years ago! What makes it even more astonishing is that I made this connection on July 13, 2026—exactly 60 years to the day after the date found on the acetate: July 13, 1966!

However the acetate was credited to The Young 'Uns, a name Vernon had never heard before. Asked about it, Don recalled they had been called that way before becoming The Hobbits, though the other way around sounds more probable as Paul referred to his band as The Hobbits in a letter from January 1966 and the acetate was cut in July at Dick Charles; in addition, another Hobbits band, formed in 1965, started to make some noise in mid/late-1966 in New York, likely prompting Don and Paul's band to change their name again.

One way or the other, Don positively identified the recording as being the right one. Of all their songs, it's their most garage rock one, a sort of proto-psychedelic number with fuzz breaks in a "Eight Miles High" kind of way. Paul was then only 16, and his musical abilities are impressive. (I hope to include the song in a compilation in a near future.)

"It's Paul's song, music and lyrics," Don recalled, "he's singing lead and I'm singing harmony. It's also me playing the 'raga' guitar, all the rage for a moment back then, and Paul hitting a fuzz-tone pedal to play the corresponding riff. Fuzz was also the rage because of George Harrison's playing it on "Think For Yourself" on the 'Rubber Soul' LP. Great cut."

The Hobbits recording, 1966.

Paul and Don.

"I continued to do a lot of songwriting demos at Dick Charles." Don added. "It was a very busy place in midtown and I knew it because my Dad, who was a bass player (and later a band leader) did tons of recording there. A lot for the Don Kirschner stable of writers, I recall."

In a letter he wrote to his music teacher in January 1966, Paul tried to put words on what was happening musically:

I've been exploring the endless realms of folk-music, trying to seek out something that a vast number of teenagers as well as the other generation can latch on to and eventually understand the meaning behind the lyrics. [...] The Hobbits, my group, after a year and a half got hold of something different. I can't really explain it, but it was a kind of folk-rock, that wasn't played, it was felt. With every audience we played for, there was a weird rapport between the group and the audience, and we were no longer performing, we were conveying love and countenance through a groovy medium... our music. 

Now, [Don and I] have been writing constantly. Our music is the kind Leonard Bernstein would dig; breaking away from standard progressions, etc. Our lyrics are seldom psychedelic, but often satirical. [...] The lyrics can be accepted easily by the pot-heads, and with a little more thought, by people when they are straight.

Paul also cites the lyrics of one of his songs, "Walls Of Blue", that remained unrecorded:

Is it hard to keep hold of the one you love,

When she's stumblin' 'round societys walls of blue.

Essence of my life is none that compares to you

Lying down in shades of love, and walls of blue

Wanting you and my battle will be won

Then you'll love me and we'll return to our walls of blue.

"It's not my better composition, but it is calm and tender; just what this society needs." Paul added.

The Hobbits were friends and more or less in competition with another band called The Live Wires, featuring Dennis Kirby (the son of Durward Kirby) on lead guitar. Both bands would often play together, as well as backing a girl quartet called The Young Darlings, which they would help put their shows together and played clubs in New York. All three bands were child actors, attended PCS or were linked one way or the other to show business.

The Hobbits aka The Young'uns disbanded at some point in 1967 as the members went in separate directions.

Besides his band activities (possibly prior), Paul also recorded a demo as a duo with another one of his friends, Harris Parker. It was a cover tune, though the title and recording are now lost in time. The guys had an acetate made and Harris recalled that Paul made a label up to stick on it: "Paul went around telling people he got a record contract. It was embarrassing as hell. It was like, ‘Everybody can see that you hand-drew the label, man – what are you doin’?’ But, that was Paul."

The Hobbits recording, 1966.

John and Rod.

It was also in the mid-60s that Paul got into the growing drug counterculture. He was introduced to marijuana and occasionally took LSD. It was unfortunately the beginning of a long and difficult period for Paul.

After the demise of The Hobbits and The Live Wires, some members of both defunct bands (but not Paul) gathered for a while as December's Children until they pursued other goals. 

Don Scardino put out a pop/bubblegum single called "Movie Day" on Kapp in 1968, produced by Al Capps. In 1970, he played the lead role in the movie "Homer" and one of his songs was featured in the soundtrack LP along with the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the Lovin' Spoonful and Led Zeppelin. He would have a respectable career as an actor for several years before turning to directing and producing, mainly in theater and television, receiving an Emmy Award (producing) and nomination (directing) for episodes of the 30 ROCK series. 

Rod Hausen (1951-2004) would become an accomplished pianist, arranger and teacher, working with the likes of Tony Orlando, B. J. Thomas, Engelbert Humperdinck, Pat Benatar, Richard Belzer and Jamie deRoy. Not much is known about John Valentino, though Scardino heard several years ago that he had passed away.

Paul continued with acting, appearing alongside Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler and Perry King in The Lords of Flatbush (1974). Barry Pearl also stuck with acting, his best-known role being that of Doody in the movie Grease (1978). 

Paul Mace - 1966

Though he enjoyed a prolific acting and singing career from the ages of 8 to 22, Paul developed around 1968 a devotion to the Church of Scientology that put major strains on his familial relationships since Paul's father was gay and Scientology didn't approve of that. It also interfered with his acting career, causing him to take a five-year hiatus after The Lords of Flatbush. 

He returned to the big screen when Stallone offered him a role in Paradise Alley in late 1977, after which he relocated to California and pursued his show business career with renewed vigor. Sadly, any aspirations of making a living with his craft came to an abrupt end when he was killed in a motorcycle accident in August 1983 at the age of 33.

____________

Many thanks to Vernon Gravely, Don Scardino and Jake.

If you are interested in reading more about Paul Mace, you can find Vernon Gravely's very interesting and exhaustive book The Forgotten Lord: The Story Of Paul Mace HERE and HERE, either digital or paperback. Thanks for reading.

Paul Mace, early 1980s.