THE BLACK NARCOSIS - "The Land Of Stone" b/w "Everybody's Blind" (Cupid – 1021, 1968)

by Achille Brunet

 

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.

Randy Turnbull 

(Deckerville High, mid-60s)

CLIPPING GALLERY:

(The Times Herald - Oct 9, 1965)

(The Times Herald - Nov 2, 1966)

(The Times Herald - April 13, 1969)

(The Times Herald - June 5, 1969)

(The Times Herald - March 17, 1970)

(The Times Herald - Aug 22, 1975)

THE GRAPES OF WRATH - "Cause It Was Her" (Vita Records – V-005/V-006, 1967)

by Achille Brunet

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)