Crunchin’ Mid-’60s Garage Punkers!
Back From The Grave | Volume 5 | (Crypt) 1985
THE HUMANS – “Warning”
All six of the Humans were in a marching band together in Albion, New York high school when they decided to start a rockin’ band of their own in Summer ’64. They chose their name so they’d stick out from the tons of groups with insect and animal names.
Murray The K’s, The Carskills, Florida and the Boston-to-Toronto circuit were invaded by the Humans, who got to open for bigger acts like the Stones, Animals, Hollies, Standells and in Summer ’66 they opened for Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels in Central Park, NYC at the Rheingold Beer Festival.
Lead guit-man Bill Kuhns met up with Eric Burdon, Chas Chandler and Mitch and hit the clubs in Greenwich Village that night.
Back From The Grave | Volume 5 | (Crypt) 1985
THE WARLORDS – “Real Fine Lady”
In ’65 a group of high school pals who’d been playing in various bands got together and formed the Warlords, with the goals of 1) BLASTING wild rock-n-roll, and 2) meeting up with girls. Their parents were a bit suspicious of this second goal, and one of their dads went as far as driving 130 miles to spy on them, only to discover that they were playing a chaperoned Catholic junior-high dance. They recorded this great pounder in ’66 at RCA Studios in Chicago.
THE VESTELLS – “Won’t You Tell Me”
The Vestells battled it out in eastern Pennsylvania with cool local bands like the Devils and the Earthquakes. They chose their name from the vests they wore on stage, and their label name, BOJO, from two of their members’ names, Bob and John.
This was their only 45, recorded in ’66 at the Cameo-Parkway Studios in Philadelphia. They had to call it quits in ’67 when draft notices arrived for all three band members.
Back From The Grave | Volume 5 | (Crypt) 1985
THE ILLUSIONS – “City Of People” These Detroit coolsters started at age 14 as a frat band in typical “greaser” garb (white Levis, turtle necks, etc) but in ’65 they became Stones/Pretty Things/Kinks nuts and started dressing like their heroes.
They caught a lotta shit from and got into fights with greasers and squares that didn’t dig their pointy boots and long hair, so they cut loose on the square world with this anti-social ranter! Besides the usual teen clubs, civic centres, etc, they appeared on “Milky’s Party Time” – a TV show for kids – and on a dance show hosted by some cat named Robin Seymour. When not playing, they hung out with other local bands, including Bob Seger’s Last Heard and Suzi Quatro’s Pleasure Seekers . . .
THE JAGUARS – “It’s Gonna Be Alright”
A real raunchy rocker from Michigan, tho their record label has an address of Santa Claus, Indiana, a tiny resort town in the far south of Indiana, where they travelled to record this.
The Jaguars formed in ’64, getting their name from the guitarist’s Fender and their biggest influence from the Kinks. A Chevy Suburban dubbed the “VOX-MOBILE” was their means of transportation to shows.
A ’56 Chevy with no wipers hauled ’em down to Santa Claus to record this 45, and a heavy rainstorm almost wiped out their return trip north.
THE FEW – “Escape”
A MAESTRO records release. The Few were big fans of the Animals and played a lot during their sophomore, junior and senior high-school years throughout the Chicago suburbs. This gnarly guitar riff was borrowed from the Animals’ “Inside Looking Out” and recorded in early ’67, a few months before the group split up to go to college.
Back From The Grave | Volume 5 | (Crypt) 1985
THE TIKIS – “Show You Love”
This northern-Indiana teen combo recorded this cool garagey love pledge and a Stones-styled ballad at Chicago’s RCA Studios in late ’66. Their manager got it released on a small label in Elkhart, FUJIMO (which Stands for Fuck You Jack I’m Moving On!). Local competition included the Back Door Men and the Tempests, both with releases on the FUJIMO label.
THE KEGGS – “To Find Out”
One member of the Keggs stated that he started the band so he could rationalize growing his hair long to his parents, AND so he could talk his dad into buying him a guitar. Damn lucky they gave the thumbs up, cauz the two songs they released on their only 45 (“To Find Out” on GRAVE 5 and “Girl” on GRAVE 6) are the 2 BEST garage punk songs EVER!!
The group was a 4-piece Detroit high school combo who were big fans of the Kinks, so they chose a short, catchy Kinks-ish moniker. But they changed their name after each party they played because people hated them (which made their business-card printer a rich man!).
Their strangest show was at an outdoor tennis court booked for dances every Thursday by the local Jaycees. The idea was for the bands to play and kids would pay to go inside the court and dance. But when the Keggs played NO ONE came onto the court. There they were, with 200 kids surrounding the high fence screaming and swearing at them for ruining their evening of fun and games.
Back From The Grave | Volume 5 | (Crypt) 1985
But the Keggs kept on playing to earn their money (40 dollars for 2 hours!) until someone pulled the power switch. Well, the kids that didn’t dig ’em back then, and any of you SQUARES who don’t dig ’em today can FUCK OFF! Cauz these guys are the FUCKIN’ BEST!
Local competition was the Redcoats and the Keggs opened a show for Bob Seger’s Last Heard at a club called the Cavern. They recorded their two GREAT songs in 4 hours at a small studio in a bad section of Detroit in July ’67. Two weeks later they went to pick up their records and the studio was gone! During the famed Detroit race riots the place was burned down, but luckily they found the woman who ran the studio and she had a copy of the tape they made. So they pressed up only 75 copies for their friends and families but never actually released it.
THE JESTERS OF NEWPORT – “Stormy”
Here’s a super-wild California cruncher from outta the surf and into the garage! Dig that crazed “Peter And The Wolf” intro and the BOOOOMMMMMMMM ending!!
The organ player started out in a surf band called the Crygons and in ’64 he created the Jesters, battling it out to the top teens of their area over such competition as the Bushmen, Royalties and the Voyagers.
This monster was recorded in a back-room studio of a record store in Santa Clara, and was released on a label they created in honour of the Man From U.N.C.L.E., SOLO.
THE HENCHMEN – “Livin”
PUNCH Records, a sub-division of the famed HIDEOUT label of Detroit, released this wild guitar-blastin’ rocker in ’65 as the flip to the poppier “hit” side “Please Tell Me” .
Back From The Grave | Volume 5 | (Crypt) 1985
THE TIGERMEN – “Close That Door”
This upstate New York four-piece recorded four songs one cold October night in ’65 at a studio in Buffalo. They released two singles simultaneously on BUFF (short for Buffalo) Records and this insane thrasher was the wilder of the two.
Two loud screams, two berserk guitar breaks and poundin’ drums to nail you to the wall! Their second was a cryptic tale of a cold-hearted “Tiger Girl”, backed with a cover of Del Shannon’s “Runaway”.
The group was a short-lived high school project, beginning in early ’65 and calling it quits in August ’66, with college and Vietnam at their heels. Their jaunts across New York led them into shows with the Invictas, Peter & The Wolves, Ollie & the Go-Go’s, and others.
Back From The Grave | Volume 5 | (Crypt) 1985
THE AZTEX – “The Little Streets In My Town”
This sharp little ditty is a cool hybrid of jangly folk-punk and SPEED! The Aztex started rockin’ in ’63 as the Valuables, trying their hand at Everly Brothers and Beatles songs. In ’64 they changed names and style and the Aztex were born.
Local competition in the northern Indiana/Gary area included the Riots (an all-girl band), the Kritters, and the Squires. They recorded this great 2-sider (hear the AWESOME “I Said Move” on GRAVE 4) in ’66 but it wasn’t released until early ’67, about five months after the lead singer split to join the Squires, so they only pressed up 100 copies, on STAFF RECORDS.
THE HATFIELDS – “The Kid From Cinncy”
Yeah! Yet another rockin’ teen combo from Indiana! This was the second of two singles by these guys (hear the first, “Yes I Do” on GRAVE 2), recorded in one frantic session in Chicago.
The group formed in ’65 with a first name of SHERLOCK & THE HOMELIES! But changed to the Hatfields cauz their manager figured they could cash in on the popularity of the McCoys.
Back From The Grave | Volume 5 | (Crypt) 1985
THE NOBLES – “Something Else”
This Delaware monster doesn’t let up on the crazed guitar breaks! These guys started out in ’64 as the Sting Rays, then as the Cobras, and finally as the Nobles. They were a radical bunch in a small town, so they got hassled for their looks and attitude by all the local rednecks, who did like ’em for their wild sounds tho.
This resulted in lots of fights between the redneck gangs trying to get the Nobles to play at their parties. The group had competition from local bands like the Morticians, Virtues and Bluejays and even got on a civic centre bill with the Shangri-Las, Crystals and Freddy Cannon.
They recorded this killer in ’66 at Ken-Del Studios in Wilmington and would’ve had a local hit but local radio banned it because they thought it was about sex (which it IS about!). The group split up in ’68 when it came time for either Vietnam or college.
THE CENTREES – “She’s Good For Me”
Ohio’s Centrees cranked out this surf-influenced garage rocker in ’66 for the small WILDWOOD label. The group got their surf licks down in their ’63-64 phase as the Rhythm Riders (see drum set in photo).
Their area didn’t have much in the way of teen clubs, but they got plenty of jobs playing parties. At one pool party they played, a rather drunk doctor’s wife was dancing so wildly that her bathing suit top fell off, and other than a short freeze in their playing the Centrees didn’t miss a note.
THE RISING TIDES – “Take The World As It Comes”
“Take the world as it comes, or your GRAVE will be the DEEPEST one!” kicks off this cryptic tune, unreleased except on an acetate demo. The Rising Tides were from Morristown, New Jersey’s High School and were heavy-duty fans of the British R&B scene.
Their sets included lotsa Stones, Pretty Things and Kinks covers, and they recorded a cool version of the Animals’ “I’m Crying” on the flip of this acetate.
In November ’65 they ventured to a New York City studio to record two cover songs, but on their way they passed a graveyard in Madison, so they put their heads together and arrived at the studio with this cool original. (Late-breaking news: The above brief on the Rising Tides is utter baloney!)
Liner notes taken from Volume 5. Read more Graves here.
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