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.
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Many thanks to Sy Goraieb. More information about Richard "Dick" Harris would be appreciated.
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.
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Some 1966 yearbook pics of Ray Gomez and Charles Cirrone HERE.
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 seeThe Beatlesat their return show at Shea Stadium in August 1966 and got to see supporting acts likeThe CyrklesandThe 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 Mugwumpsname (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.
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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 MaceHERE and HERE, either digital or paperback. Thanks for reading.
Ever heard of the Black Narcosis? Some name, for sure! And here we are with two singles by this Michigan mystery band. Almost nothing is known about the group itself but a few things can be pieced together.
Randy Howard Turnbull was from Deckerville, Michigan, roughly 50 miles from Port Huron. He attended Deckerville High School and was in a first band there called The Rebel Rousers around late 1965.
(The Times Herald - Nov 19, 1965)
The band was comprised of Randy Turnbull, Wayne Schmidt, Bob Jacob and Dennis Rich. All members of The Rebel Rousers except Dennis Rich were in the Eagles football team of Deckerville High. Their only known gig was at the annual FFA-FHA party at the School.
In November 1966, a weird thing happened as Randy Turnbull was arrested on the scene of a fire southwest of Deckerville with six quart jars filled with gazoline and six strips of cloth in the trunk of his car. Turnbull had been questioned earlier that evening at the scene of another fire while in another car. He pleaded guilty, was fined and received a 30 day jail sentence that was suspended and he was placed on 90 days probation.
(The Times Herald - Nov 2, 1966)
Most members of The Rebel Rousers graduated around 1966-67 and some left for College.The Black Narcosis was most likely a different band, possibly led by James Clements who was the main songwriter, but not a single trace of them could be found in the press. Maybe they toured under a different name. I could find nothing on James Clements either, but I believe the Clements family was active in the Deckerville industry.
TeenBeat Mayhem bases The Black Narcosis in Port Huron, so maybe the band relocated there at some point. The name was possibly a weird play on words with the Black Narcissus, unless it was a reference to Turnbull's parents' house on Black River Street in Deckerville. Outside of Randy Turnbull and James Clements, the band also included a female vocalist. Other members remain unknown.
Their first single was "I Don't Know" b/w "Kaeom", produced by Daniel T. Lick and released in July 1968. Daniel Lick a.k.a. Larry Lick (real name: Larry Pavlick) was based in Port Huron hosting a radio show on WPHM but worked with the Sound, Inc. label and recording studio in Detroit since 1966. He was certainly related to Johnny Powers (real name: John Pavlick) who founded Sound, Inc. The Black Narcosis were likely recorded there.
Both sides, written by James Clements, are slow trippy numbers, with guitar parts and haunting vocal harmonies. A discrete organ can be heard on "I Don't Know". Both songs are very moody, not to say beautifully depressive, both addressing a lost love with a unique, chilling atmosphere.
For some reason, the single was not pressed on the Sound, Inc. label, but under a one-shot spin-off of the label called Raido, though the catalog number (SI-198) definitely included it in the Sound Records catalog. I suspect Raido was in fact misspelled from another Sound subsidiary called Radio that had a couple of releases. Not many copies must have been made as the single is impossibly rare today.
Their second single was not long to come. This time, Johnny Powers took over production along with his long-time fellow producer Michael Valvano. While Clements was still the songwriter of the B side, Turnbull co-wrote the top side with him. The association resulted in the fantastic fuzz/organ monster "The Land Of Stone".
The flip side, "Everybody's Blind", is not too far behind, with slower parts but great drum breaks and fuzz/organ background. The female vocalist apparently left between the two singles.
The single was again released on another Sound, Inc. subsidiary called Cupid (this one, at least, would have a dozen of releases until the mid-70s) as SI-214, though this catalog number is identical to another Sound Inc single by The Conn Sisters.
This last Black Narcosis single was apparently issued in the second half of 1968, but probably not too late as other Sound releases close to that catalog number date from July/August. Unfortunately, the band wouldn't enjoy their recording career very long as Randy Turnbull was drafted in Oct 1968.
With Turnbull gone (and possibly Rebel Rousers member Dennis Rich too if he had followed Turnbull in The Black Narcosis, as he volunteered in the Navy in July 1968), the band likely disbanded around that time.
Turnbull left for Vietnam in April 1969. He was a sergeant while stationed near Tay Ninh and stayed in Vietnam until at least March 1970. Back from the war, he was employed at the A.C.C.O. Corp in Warren, Michigan where he worked in the engineering and design department. He was also certified a professional scuba diver in 1975. I believe he later moved to Florida.
More information about this band would be greatly appreciated.
A deep blue label for the guys by the sea, straight from the Los Angeles seaside in San Pedro. For fans of the Garage Punk Unknowns comps, "Cause It Was Her" needs no introduction. The band in itself, however, does!
The Grapes Of Wrath were from San Pedro, a district of Los Angeles, CA on the waterfront that includes part of the City's port. Of the half-dozen of 1960s bands to bear this name, it seems these had a special connection with John Steinbeck as the author reportedly had ties with the area.
The band was formed by students of San Pedro High School during summer 1966, with Ralph Sias (guitar), Danny Morrow (bass), William Doheney (drums), Brian Magnan (vocals), and Bill Lichty (organ).
(News Pilot - May 17, 1967)
Bassist Danny Morrow introduced the band in the press: "Ralph writes the songs, plays lead guitar and gets nervous. Brian sings lead vocal and smiles at girls. Bill plays organ and wears leather boots. William plays drums and loves drums. I play bass and get in and out of trouble."
The boys had met while in the high school gymnastics team, at the exception of Lichty. Ralph was the commissioner of athletics. Ralph Sias and Danny Morrow had known for a while. Ralph had also been part of a folk trio, The Brandyhill Singers, in late 1965.
Commissioner Ralph Sias crowns a Queen.
(News Pilot - Nov 11, 1966)
The band soon played their own songs, written by Ralph Sias and sometimes Brian Magnan. The band was managed by H. Eugene MacDonald, a.k.a. U. L. McDonald, who was a 41-year-old hotel manager at the Hacienda Hotel in San Pedro. He also managed and produced artists on Vita Record, Inc. since 1965.
At the beginning of 1967, the band recorded a "rough demo disc" at a small studio (it's unclear if the article refers to the actual Vita single or to an anterior acetate). MacDonald then presented it to various recording companies.
(News Pilot - May 17, 1967)
One Mr. Roth, vice-president of Sunburst Records (a label founded by Ed Cobb started with the second single by the "E" Types), was impressed enough with both the band and recording, finding them a "professional air", and arranged for another session.
Danny Morrow recounted the trip for the promotional article:
"The band owned one set of drums, five microphones, and one five-year-old amplifier. With the help of a not-too-willing 1959 Plymouth station wagon and rented equipment trailer totaling over $1,500, the "Grapes" headed for Studio City. For the trip, Brian occupied a position between the tail-gate of the car and the sacred amplifiers, a space of six inches. I filled in the back seat, alone with a spare tire, two dress coats, a lead guitar and my oversize feet. The front seat contained Bill and Ralph, who looked much like the pilot and co-pilot of a strickened WW II B-24 bomber. Despite a trip on the freeways that rivaled with the Wizard of Oz, the Grapes Of Wrath made it to the studio."
The band went over to American Recording Co. studios in the Studio City district in North Hollywood and recorded two songs written and arranged by Ralph Sias in the course of a five-hour session, produced by Mr. Roth.
The band recorded "For Every Year" and "Cause It Was Her". Sunburst didn't release the songs and the Vita single was pressed in March. The songs subsequently received some airplay at the local rock station, at least in May. When the summer came, all members (except Lichty who was one year younger) had graduated from San Pedro High School.
Despite the Seeds-like tones of their best side, the band described themselves as folk-rock. An article of the time pointed out that they had not embraced the hippie style and stuck to short hair and burgundy-cherry dinner jackets.
In September 1967, the band appeared on a Fresno TV show and left for a tour in Redding, Red Bluff and North Sacramento Valley. The tour was planned because "Cause It Was Her" had become popular on Redding's airwaves. Drummer William Doheney was also an amateur radio operator and obtained the single to be played by DJ Ian Evans there.
It's the last thing I found on the band and they likely disbanded in the following months or years.
Ralph Sias became an architect and worked as a chief engineer for various construction companies. He also invented an air-conditioning decontaminating process in the early 2000s.
Bill Lichty in Church Choir, 1968.
Danny Morrow passed a scientific Master Thesis in Lawrence Bekerley Laboratory at the University of California in 1977 and moved to Half Moon Bay, CA.
Bill Lichty sung in many choirs and later attended Harbor College. He later worked in the aircraft field.
H. Eugene MacDonald kept producing a couple of rock singles, 50th Anniversary Zoo ("Love Man") and Scorpio Tube ("Yellow Listen"), that were both bands/projects of Eugene's son Conn. McDonald. It also seems Conn. had been imposed as the bass player to the Grapes by his father for the recordings.
EDIT: I was advised the band was also discussed in Ugly Things #39, you will find more useful information there. The article was also available HERE(site is defunct but the archive survives)
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