The Cyrkle

In this Valentine’s Day episode we dives into music history, record collecting, and forgotten gems from the analog world. Topics range from the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and Janis Joplin’s insurance controversy to music piracy in the ‘70s and ‘80s, mixtapes, and the rise of digital downloading. Justin shares his exciting Goodwill discovery of The Cyrkle’s Red Rubber Ball and its surprising Beatles connection through Brian Epstein and Paul Simon, while the group explores obscure punk records, psychedelic San Francisco bands, Whitesnake’s evolution, and even the legendary fuzzy cover of the Bee Gees’ Odessa. A conversation full of deep cuts, music history, and the thrill of unexpected vinyl discoveries.

 Follow In the Name of Wax on Facebook and YouTube for more record club conversations, vinyl deep dives, and behind-the-scenes music discoveries. Stay connected with us on social media to see what we’re spinning next and join the discussion. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:06

Jerry, why don't you start us off with this day in history?

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Okay. Okay, uh February 14th. Okay, born this day, uh Jack Benny in 1894, Hugh Downs in 1921, Magic Sam. He's a Chicago Blues guy, Magic Sam. He was born in 1937. Vic Briggs from The Animals was born today in 1945. I'm not sure if I have any Tim Buckley. I think I might have one thing, but uh let's see, Adam Hunter. Uh he was an M he was an MTV video video jot, was born. Okay. Uh died today. This will be like a historic Valentine's thing. Several gangsters in the infamous St. Valentine's Day massacre died today in 1929. And also, uh drag is that uh Mike Bloomfield died today of a drug overdose in 1981. He he was pretty young too.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

How old was he?

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Um I don't know for sure how old he was, but he was pretty young, like you know, mid-20s, something like that. He was pretty young. Um let's see, events. Uh Jackie Kennedy gives a TV tour of the White House in 1964. Uh Twist and Shout charts for the Beatles today in 1964. Uh Alan Grossman, uh Janice Joplin's manager, goes to court to prove her death was an accident, not a suicide. Mainly because he had a $250,000 insurance policy on her in 1971.

SPEAKER_04 2:07

Okay. Um I wonder how common that was to have other people have uh insurance policies on artists that they promoted or distributed.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

It's a good question. Um, I mean, when you think about it, it sort of makes sense. Um I don't know, especially kind of I don't know, with I mean with well, with her and other people then's lifestyle and stuff, but yeah. But but yeah, he he had to prove that her death was an accident, not a suicide. It'd almost be sort of hard to I mean, if it's an OD, it'd be kind of hard to prove that one, probably, but okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

Interesting. That actually reminds me, I'm starting to see some things pop up online. Um, they're trying to resurface the Kurt Cobain um passing. People are trying to blow the whistle that maybe it was a homicide. Um I I remember hearing those rumors when I was a kid, and so honestly, it doesn't surprise me that people are bringing it back up, but that just reminded me of that.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know it's kind of you see stuff like that in I mean, I'm gonna get into that with one of my bands for sure, but okay. Uh a judge rules that the life and times of Xavier Hollander cannot use the Mickey Mouse Club theme as a musical background for an orgy scene in 1975. Yeah, that's um agree with the judge there. Uh okay, this next thing I read it, it's only two sentences, but it left me with like a bunch of questions. So I googled it and I'll just read quick if there's time. On this date, okay, eight of the largest companies in the recording industry, which is in a severe sales slump, yesterday sued 130 distributors, charging them with bootlegging music in North Carolina. The record companies, which handle many of the most popular artists, said they filed a total of 52 civil complaints in all three federal judicial districts of North Carolina. They are seeking more than 52 million from 132 defendants, which includes stores, their managers, and their owners. Yesterday's moves resulted from a four-month investigation into record and tape piracy started last October by the anti-piracy unit of the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group. The companies that filed uh suits are RCA Records, MCA Records, Incorporated, Electra Asylum, Nunsuch. When I saw none such, I mean they do classical stuff, so I'm surprised to see none such in there. Warner Brothers Incorporated, the Atlantic Corporation, CBS Incorporated, Polygram Records, Inc., and Capital Records, Inc. Um, the companies, the company said the legal moves represented the largest action of its kind against the growing practice of pirate pirating and counterfeiting records and tapes. Music bootlegs cost the industry more than 10% of its revenue, according to many estimates. Spokesman for the $4 billion a year recording industry put the piracy rate in 1979 at one in ten, one in ten for records, and perhaps one in five for tapes. Several years ago, for instance, uh one industry executive estimated that pirates sold as many copies of John Denver's greatest hits as did the RCA corporation. Pirates sold as many as the corporation did. And the producers, yeah. Uh because counterfeiters do not pay fees and royalties or promotion costs, they can produce records for as little as a dollar fifty cents each and eight-track tapes for about sixty cents each. By contrast, records and tapes usually cost recording companies about four dollars each to manufacture. So, I mean, there's a little bit more about it, but that's pretty much that's what it is. Investigation uh began in 1973, uh, showed that piracy had become big business. I could sure see where that would happen.

SPEAKER_03 7:08

And that's so that's ongoing right now.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Right? You could pretty much say, yeah. You can pretty much say.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

Yeah. Because I heard you mention like you said like the words yesterday and October and stuff. So it sounds like this is like an ongoing.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Well, this was a uh I I didn't get the exact date to when that was written. Oh god, sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was reading I was reading it like I was reading right out of the paper.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

It looks like 19. Okay, it looks like it's 1983. So that wasn't that long ago. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

Right. Yeah. It's still funny though. If you can go to any decade, pull out a newspaper, and read the headlines, and you will think you're reading today's paper. Like I I would challenge anybody to do that. Even go back to like the 20s and the 30s. I I've I've watched uh people give talks and they have cli you know newspaper clippings, and it almost looks like you're reading today's paper. Like the news gets recurgitated like throughout the decades. And there's, you know, even today there, I'm sure there's you know piracy stuff going on.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

So yeah, I mean I mean, it almost seems like a super easy thing to do.

SPEAKER_04 8:24

Well, and especially since like technology is always increasing the patterns and um ability to recreate stuff with ease becomes faster and faster. And then how do you uh actually start monitoring what people are able to do with you know different programming or even just um like I remember like when I was growing up, like in high school, the big thing was like Napster and uh the digital downloading and torrent and all of that. Um and just having and just seeing stuff like get leaked out early or uh material getting uh released without the band's permission and you know that type of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Um thinking about like how easy it was now were when when people started like recording, like making their own mixtapes, you know, back in the 80s or the late 70s, I mean companies were like getting worried that that was gonna affect their business or kind of affect their bottom line or whatever.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

And it was interesting that you said like even for like making cassettes and stuff, it was like four dollars a piece. Like when I look at the the prices of like doing like um like 100 record pressings just for like small small runs of stuff, you know, it averages to be about like $15 to $16 like a record, and that's just the record. That's that might not even include the jacket. Um so even thinking like okay, like even when it comes to like physical media, like there's an actual price to actually produce the product itself, um, and what's the value of the product versus the value of the content? Um yeah, so it's a really interesting question or a concept because it just it it reveals itself faster and faster with new generations. And I think like you were saying, Justin, it's like you could read any part of the paper and kind of see those patterns. It's like it's every generation is gonna say face the same problems just with a different perspective with different technology and different ways of achieving the same thing, whether that's getting content cheaper or not paying the pr full price or whatever the case might be.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:44

Yeah, very good. All right. Uh is is that all you have for the stay in history?

SPEAKER_00 10:50

That is it for this, I think. Yeah. All right. Let me let me make sure. Yeah, yeah, that was the last thing.

unknown 10:56

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

That last thing took a while because I had to go read that article, but otherwise it would have been like real quick.

SPEAKER_04 11:02

But no, no, no. That was good. Uh I think it's interesting just kind of seeing where the the dives of history goes into what we're talking about even with Record Club. It all connects.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Yeah, yeah. The the two sentences on the thing were um lawyers for eight record companies file 52 suits accusing 130 people of pirating recordings in North Carolina. That's all it said, and I'm like, what? That's why I had to go look it up to get a little more to find out exactly what that was. Right, right.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

Cool. Well, well, we'll go through the mission statement and then um I have one record to talk about. I'm looking forward to that. Um, Jerry, do you have anything to talk about today?

SPEAKER_00 11:51

Yeah, yeah, I've got two bands and uh one album. I mean, if we get time, the album's real quick, but I just wanted to kind of highlight it a little bit.

unknown 12:02

Sure. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Yesterday, was it yesterday? No, day before. Yeah, day before. Well, I just ended up getting a 40 record haul at a thrift store that I always check there, but there's usually never anything there. Just you keep checking long enough, and pretty soon you're gonna hit on something. So and they were all 50 cents each, so I got 40 of them. Very cool. Yeah, I mean it's some real nice, nice jazz on Verv. And I was at the store, I'm thinking, I gotta get out of here. I didn't even check the records or nothing. And even when I carried them in my arms up to the counter, I didn't even know how many I had. And I'm trying to count them so you know I can check out. And and the lady's like, Oh, I'll get you a box. I said, No, I'm too too big of a hurry. So I just left, and I didn't even check the records out until I got home. And they were like, they look like they've never been played. It was like, so I've been on kind of a hive still from that.

SPEAKER_03 13:03

Very good.

SPEAKER_04 13:03

And I have one record and just more of like a discovery recollection, kind of sharing my subjective history of a group and a record. All right. Uh in the name of Wax is an exclusive record club for music lovers of the analog format through sharing experiences, memories, discoveries, and emotions tied to the albums. Our goal is to build continued appreciation for forgotten bands and members by understanding more of their histories and connections. We reinforce our bond with club members for love of the groove.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

All right. Yes, yes. Love of the groove.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Yes. Analog is alive and well.

SPEAKER_03 13:48

All right. Um, you guys mind if I go first?

SPEAKER_02 13:52

Yes, that's fine.

SPEAKER_03 13:54

All right. Um, cool. So I have a band, and hopefully this band will maybe spark some conversations with uh some members that it has, and there's a couple cool connections in here. Um this band was formed in 1961. Um they're from Pennsylvania, uh, East End Pennsylvania, actually. Um they're born out of the rock genre. Uh let's see here. They were active uh from the early 1960s. Um they only put out um a few albums. They went on a pretty long hiatus. They recently got together in 2016 and are actually currently um, I don't know if they're writing music, but they've been doing some little reunion tours. Um they were so I don't want to give it away uh too much because I know you guys pretty much know uh all the bands that are on all the labels, but they are they were signed too much crap. They were signed to Columbia Records, so they are on Columbia. Um the band was formed by guitarist and lead singer Don Daneman. Does anybody know who he is?

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Doesn't ring a bell with me.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

All right. And Tom Dawes. Okay. They met in Pennsylvania. Okay, okay. Um yeah, like I said, they they're from Pennsylvania. Uh Daneman actually uh enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1966. Um and I think that was a part of the reason for the hiatus. He went into the service and then and then um uh let's see here. Okay. When they originally formed, uh they were originally a frat rock band called the Rondells.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

Anybody heard of the Rondells? I feel like I've heard of the Rondells. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 16:21

Um my favorite part is they were discovered by Brian Epstein. And they uh uh Brian Epstein uh came on as their manager. This particular band even toured with the Beatles in the US. Yeah, uh looks like right yeah, around 1965 is when Epstein found them, became their manager, and they renamed them to their current name. And John Lennon actually picked out the um the lettering for the band name because it's spelt very um unorthodox.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Did they have did they have like one hit? Yes. Was it like hey little Honda or like a Honda motorcycle or something?

SPEAKER_03 17:28

Uh no. But they I would just by what I'm looking at, they seem kind of like a one-hit wonder. It sounds like they did have a second hit.

unknown 17:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Uh okay, let's see here.

SPEAKER_03 17:47

Yeah, they were on the bill for the final Beatles paid concert at Candlestick Park, August 29th, 1966. Um yeah, in 1966, their this hit single went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over a million copies and was awarded a gold disc. Uh this single was also co-written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley of The Seekers and released by Columbia Records.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

So they just did a single then or what?

SPEAKER_03 18:31

Uh let's see here. No, it was um so they had a debut, so this single was on it on their debut album.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

Okay. Was that also released in '66? Yes.

SPEAKER_03 18:47

Um after that, both Dawes and Daneman became professional jingle writers after the band dis uh disbanded. Uh Dawes wrote the Plop Plop Fizz Fizz jingle for Elka Seltzer. So this was after after this album was was released. Anybody have Vien any any ideas who this is?

SPEAKER_04 19:14

I do not. I do not either.

SPEAKER_03 19:16

Okay. Got some more little info here. Okay, so I've I've got the record in front of me. I'm not showing Eric, but I'm just reading off the back here. I'll say the name of the song of the hit song, uh, Red Rubber Ball.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Oh, yeah, I know the song really well, but I can't think of who does it.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

I I don't know. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

So that was a major hit though.

SPEAKER_03 19:44

Yeah. Okay, so just I'll I'll go into the story a little. Uh so I was at Goodwill uh last week, and every time I've gone to Goodwill, I I just I I've always felt like the records are kind of crap. It's gospel music, it's crappy country music, it's um don't let that get you down, just keep going. Uh you know, soundtrack music. Uh well I found a I found a couple records that I felt were worth buying. Uh I found two Neil Diamond uh albums. Uh again, so when I'm at Goodwill, I'm I'm I'm looking for anything that's not like I don't want a greatest sits album. Like I want something that looks like an actual like an actual released album. So I found two new Neil Diamond records. Um and a and a John Denver record. And then I found this other one that I didn't know about. And Jerry, I took your advice and I didn't judge it by the cover because when I first looked at the cover, I almost like threw it away. I'm like, eh, screw this. But as I was looking at it, so I then that's when I read the back, and one of the first things that caught my eye was um was the connection to Brian Epstein uh on the back. And I only would have known that connection from Record Club because a couple episodes ago, uh I uh we mentioned Brian Epstein and I even asked, like, hey, who is he? Like, I've heard him before. Oh, he's the Beatles manager. So so I got so I got this connection. Okay. Uh I'll just tell you the name of the band because you guys don't know it. So I'm like really excited that I'm bringing something. So it's the the band is called The Kerkle.

SPEAKER_04 21:26

Never heard of him.

SPEAKER_03 21:28

Wow. So so this is the cover. Cool. Um yeah, so Red Rubber Ball is the name of the album. Um, and so this is what I f so when I picked it up and I looked at it, and so this is notes sort sort of by the Kerkle.

SPEAKER_04 21:47

I wonder if it's supposed to be the circle. Since you said the spelling was unorthodox, I wonder if it's actually pronounced the circle.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Maybe.

SPEAKER_04 22:02

Cause you said John Lennon gave them the recognition or the encouragement to spell it differently.

SPEAKER_03 22:10

Oh my gosh. I feel like such an idiot if that's if it's if it's actually the circle. Okay, so it's spelt C Y R K-L-E.

SPEAKER_04 22:20

I guess it's the circle. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:23

I like that much better because the Kirkle just didn't sound like just. Uh hopefully there's a lot of people listening that are like, this guy's an idiot. Okay. So notes. Okay. Notes sort of by the circle. The circle is slash are a group. A singing group, a playing group. They, it, is, are called the circle because Brian Epstein asked them us. So again, like we get into like pronouns today, how some people want to be, you know, like like, oh, I'm they, them. You know, it's like they they did this back in the 60s. They they were messing with all this. What is your its name? It's we, they replied, we have none, sir. You are the circle, then, replied Brian Epstein. So, so this is a band that started playing. They they got some people to recognize them. Brian Epstein found them, and they didn't even have a name. So Brian Epstein literally like gave them this name. Um, let's see here. Okay, so most of the songs on the record came from three sources Red Rubber Ball, which is the circle's first single, uh, and Cloudy were written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley. Um, let's see here. Hell Can I Leave Here? Money to Burn, Cry and Big, uh, and Little Woman were were wrote by Doz and Daneman. Um then they they they played some show with the Beatles. Um they they will I think I read they went on they played 12 of their um US shows um including um 1966 at Candlestick Park. Um they they played at that one. Um and I think it's funny the the um Paul Simon from Simon and Garfunkel co-wrote Red Rubber Ball. So the name of the album is Red Rubber Ball, and and that was and that was their single. Um the the the tune of it's like Red Rubber Ball, like something like that. Um so anyway, so that's the album that I found at Goodwill. I'm glad you I'm glad you got something at Goodwill. Yeah, and you know, I looked at it, I'm like, okay, Columbia Records, like that's that's a pretty reputable name. I've never heard of this band, and then I'm looking on the back and I see like Brian Epstein, and um, you know, mentions uh Paul Simon, and I'm just like, I think I have something here, like this is interesting, and it's in really good condition. Um, and it and it played, I listened to it and it played well, and I I was happy that it wasn't gospel, it wasn't country, it wasn't some stupid greatest hits album or or um like a movie soundtrack because like you see a lot of those at Goodwill too. Like, I'm like, no, this is an actual press scene from the 60s that's in good condition. Um, and so I just was just really excited to to find it um and and actually contribute to Record Club. So cool. Um, and then that night I had a phone call from uh one of my aunts, and I'm actually telling her about like Record Club, and and I'm having this conversation, and uh I mentioned this album that I that I got, and she remembers the song. She's like, Oh yeah, that was a big hit back then. And then I mentioned um, okay, so this is uh um something that's written on the on the back of the album here, but and it's signed by an impartial observer. Uh it says, The Kirkle is a talented and fresh a group as there is around rock music today. They first gained a following during appearances at the downtown uh discotheque, yeah. Discotech uh in New York, picking up some more fans as a result of the television performance on Hullabaloo. Uh so Jerry, this is the question I was uh asking you when um uh do you remember the show uh Hollow Blue?

SPEAKER_00 26:38

Um I don't remember watching it like as a kid, but I do know that it was you know, like you know, before American Bandstand started.

SPEAKER_03 26:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

It was one of the early things like that.

SPEAKER_03 26:56

Okay. So so they played on uh Hullabaloo.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

It's a big deal to get on there because that's how you get, you know, national recognition.

SPEAKER_03 27:08

So um, and so it looks like they were on that show after their Beatles tour. So it says, um, and since having been booked on the latest American Beatles tour, uh they have fans across the nation. The circle is a joy to listen to and a pleasure to watch. Um, this album, as you will hear, is very good. It says, signed Impartial Observer. Um Yeah, and so the songs uh so Red Rubber Ball is the the opening song on side one. Um, and then Why Can't You Give Me What I Want? Baby, you're free, Big Little Woman, Cloudy, and Cry.

SPEAKER_04 27:52

Were there any other songs other than Big or Red Rubber Ball that you liked more? Like um because sometimes those are some of like the uh more interesting tracks uh when I listen to uh the actual record where it's like the unknown songs are just as interesting, if not more interesting, than the hits.

SPEAKER_03 28:11

You know, I would have to go back and listen to it because so I listened to both sides and I remember most most of what I was feeling was just like joy and relief that it wasn't garbage. Yeah, and so I think that was like overcoming me most mostly. Uh, but I remember there there was a track or two. I'm like, yeah, this is good. Like just it it's very uh you could definitely tell that they are very Beatles influenced. Like it sounds like a Beatles band, like what sure, you know. Well if the Beatles were a stereotype of what bands were in the 60s, like they fit that mold of kind of that Beatles Beach Boys sort of uh you're you're officially baptized into the club. Yes. Um but yeah, so I'll I'll take a picture, I'll send it to you, Jerry. So um, yeah, when I first looked at it at the cover, I was skeptical. Uh, but because of of your advice, never judge a record by its cover. I bought it, and now I just covered it on record closely.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

And that that's a hard group to find. You don't see that group hardly ever.

SPEAKER_03 29:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

So you did good.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

Yeah, and it's in good condition.

SPEAKER_04 29:25

I'm um was this their only album that they did?

SPEAKER_03 29:29

Uh, I think they put out, let me double check. I think they put out one more. It didn't take long before they uh they pretty much went on a hiatus. Uh, but they couple the original members, so Don Doneman um got back together with one of the founding members in 2016. And it sounds like even to this present day, I think they they're going around, they're doing like a 50-year anniversary um of Red Rubber Ball.

unknown 29:59

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

That was almost like such a big hit that they didn't really have to do any more. Yeah. In a way.

SPEAKER_03 30:10

So that's that's what I got.

SPEAKER_04 30:13

Um hearing your experience of like not judging a band by its cover, um, it makes me think about the very first time I'd seen an album by the band Bebop Deluxe. Um it was actually sent to me as like a protective record, just to um just as like a protective album for another record that I bought off eBay or Discogs or something, um, maybe like five, six years ago. And I looked at the cover of it and I was like, and I initially I I did judge it because I was like, okay, Bebop Deluxe, it's kind of like a silly name, and kind of looked at like the band, the band members, and like, ah, it kind of looks like it's like mid-80s or something. I ended up listening to it and it was from like mid-70s, and it was amazing. It was the the guitar playing was great. I ended up and I ended up eventually seeking out and finding all of their albums, and all of it is amazing. So it's like uh the things that we don't know are uh almost worth exploring because we don't know anything about it. Um and that's uh uh do you mind if I go next?

SPEAKER_03 31:23

Yes, go for it.

SPEAKER_04 31:24

Yeah. Um, the band I wanted to discuss. I hadn't I haven't had time this week to re-listen to it, but this is the band that I thought of yesterday or last week when you were talking about getting into punk music. And punk is such a a vast underground scene just by its origin and bands that maybe only toured with other groups, or maybe they played in one state or in one city, or maybe they didn't go into anything else. Um it's kind of hard to kind of know like where do you start with punk? Um and I remember I was at the electric fetus, I don't know, maybe like seven, eight years ago. And I just I always like to just browse through their recently arrived sections, and sometimes they might have like a five-dollar bin section. And uh I found this album and I just grabbed it just because of the name. Um I'll just say the name, or I'll just share a little bit about them. Um, they only did this one album as far as like LPs, uh, and it was released in 1999. It's off of um uh album or a label called Battleborn Records, and this they were out of Nevada, so they're out of Las Vegas. And this album was the only LP released by this label. Um, the only other thing that this label released was a CD by this band in 2004. So the label seems like I don't know if it was like a in and when I looked up the band label to find out more about it, there's a current label also running out of Nevada called Battleborn Records, but it was founded in 2008. So I don't know if if it was necessarily founded or bought out or if it was renamed after maybe this original label dis uh fell apart or was discontinued. Uh, but this album came out in 1999, um, and it's the only LP from this band. Um the group is called Part Time Whore, and uh the album cover is what the name of the band, and then the album cover is what really like I was I was like, all right, I'm just gonna see what this is about. Um, it's just a picture of like two kids, and the little boy has a uh a small little hatchet, and he's like just standing over a turkey. Um so it just kind of looks interesting. Um, and I was like, all right, I'm just gonna grab this. It was like a five-dollar record at the Electric Fetus. And I remember listening, when I listened to it, it it I don't know if you've if um well I'm sure Jerry, you've had this experience where you listen to a record and you literally can't do anything else. You're just like listening intently to the music and it's completely keeping your attention the whole time. Um that's what this album did. It like every track almost I don't want to say it shocked me, but it kept my interest because it was like the aggression of it, the dryness of it. It's like heavy punk, um, but very unapologetically raw. You could just tell that these guys were just having fun with what they were doing. Um, and it was and I I really, really found it interesting. And I and this was the album that I was like, okay, I want to get into punk more just because of how I was open-minded to this record. And it made me think about okay, like where did these guys go, or what was the punk scene like in the late 2000s or in the late 90s, and also kind of wanting to dip my toes into punk as a genre more often. Um, the label is interesting. The band name is called Part-Time Horror, but the label has um what appears to be the McDonald's M logo, and I don't know if that if this album was considered to be like an independent release or if it was through or if they had to go through uh processes just to be able to put that. But it's but the whole back of the the back cover of it is just kind of littered with um brand names. So there's like Marlborough, there's Dr. Pepper, there's the McDonald's M, there's ATT, Bud Light, and there's just all these different um logos and actual, you know, real, what appears to be real logos of these uh big big companies. So it's just kind of interesting. Um, just kind of seeing this. But the music was great. I'll uh take some pictures of this and send this to you. Um, but when you were talking about punk music, it just this was the first album that came to my mind, and I was like, oh, okay. It's an obscure find, um, especially since it's the only album they did. Um, and I think finding uh one album, what a basically a one LP band from Nevada in Minnesota, I think is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 36:25

Very very good.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:31

Yeah, punk is a whole whole new thing. It's a great thing too. Yeah, yeah. I keep thinking I want to get start doing some more of those. I will, but other stuff's and kind of getting in front of it.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Sure. All right.

SPEAKER_03 36:48

Jerry, you want to go next?

SPEAKER_00 36:49

Yeah, I've got a band. Um, and I can even go ahead and tell you this band, because I mean, I never heard of this band before, and it would surprise me if either of you guys heard of it before. Um how I found I can I can't I I I like to watch some of these documentaries on Woodstock and stuff like that. Their name was mentioned, they weren't in Woodstock, but they were you know out of San Francisco at that time or whatever. Okay. Um the name of the band is The Sons of Champlain. They're an American rock band out of uh San Francisco Bay Area, formed in 1965. Um, they let's see, founded by vocalist keyboards, Bill Champlain. Um let's see here. I'm gonna kind of go through That's funny.

SPEAKER_03 37:57

I grew up in a city called Champlain.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

Oh, yeah, I think I know that city. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Um okay, late six completely unrelated though. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

The main wow um I mean they had horns, uh a horn section, uh Hammond B3 organ, um one of the the they did blue-eyed soul singing, and one of the band members unique jazz-bass guitar soloing. They were one of the enduring uh 1960s San Francisco bands, along with Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and Moby Grape. Uh, one of these guys went to Moby Grape at one point, too. Okay, let's see here. They of course they started out as a high school band, and they the name of their band was The Opposite Six. Uh, and that was in '65. Um as I go through this band, I don't think there's any other band that went through more like problems in this band, it seems like. People were they were arguing, you know, people were leaving for a while, coming back. You know, they had some tragedies, a couple, but anyway. Um I guess I never asked, did you have you guys heard of the Sons of Champlain?

SPEAKER_01 39:35

I I have not.

SPEAKER_04 39:37

Nope.

SPEAKER_00 39:37

Okay. Okay, they were playing just like local clubs around there. Um, they were covering artists, they were covering James Brown songs, Lou Rawl songs, The Beatles. Um then uh they did attract the attention of the Kingston Trio's manager, uh Frank Werber, or Werber, who signed them to his label Trident Records. Okay, the group went into studio September 66 to begin working on an album. They did a single um that was released in March of 67, and it received airplay around the Bay Area, but not cracking the national charts. Okay, this is 1967. As the psychedelic music scene flourished further south in San Francisco, the Suns began regularly playing Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium and Chet Helms' Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. When they were at, this is this is interesting. When they were at the Fillmore Auditorium, they met a guy by the name of Fred Roth. He was a photographer, and at the time he was flipping burgers there. Roth became the group's manager, so this burger flipper became their manager, but he introduced them to counterculture poets whom he knew, such as Alan Ginsburg and Gary Schneider, and also to the drug LSD. That'll change a band. Okay. These would become powerful and lasting influences on the band, soon leading them to largely abandon the mainstream pop style they had adopted for Trident and turn more toward lyrically and musically complex psychedelic rock and jazz. In May 67, uh let's see, where we got the sons back to the studio. Um they had the, I think they had to the band now. So I think they got the it seems like they had to play one more so another track just to get out of Trident record. And then let's see, they got let's see, 26. Plans for a new single to release. Okay. Late 67, keyboarders, survived, fallen, saxophonist. Uh and their trumpeter. Uh let's see, well, one of them, okay, got uh drafted into the army. Um and then somebody else came to the band. With the addition of the person that came, they now had a full-time horn section. Okay, I'm gonna jump down to uh okay. During this is kind of the last paragraph of this part. It just said during the 60s, the Sons of Champlain performed regularly regularly at the San Francisco venues, the Avalon Ballroom, Winterland, the Fillmore West, The Matrix, and various other Speedway Meadows concerts in Golden Gate Park. During this era, they shared Billing with, among many others, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger service, Steve Miller band, Country Joe and the Fish, and the Youngbloods.

unknown 43:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 43:26

They were also the opening act at the band's first concert, like the band that's named the band, uh, along with the Ace of Cups. Okay. I'm gonna jump down. Oh, yeah, this is in okay. Uh in 68, they finally got out of Trident and they got signed to Capitol. They released a single in 68, which was given away free for anyone who wrote to the band. And then their double album. Loosen Up Naturally in April 69. That is such a fabulous psych album. I can't believe it. I have that album. This was a band that their first great album, that was their high point. They didn't do quite as well after that. But anyway, um, Loosen Up Naturally. It's the most psychedelic cover I've ever seen on an album. And it's a bifold. So when you unfold it, it's like two covers worth of psych. Anyway, let me see, how do I put this? Okay. It soon became a big hit on uh FM stations on the West Coast and had such cuts as Getting or Get High and a 15-minute long Freedom, and it would become the group's signature songs and staples on their set list. However, unbeknownst to Capitol, the phrase, and this is in quote, big fucking deal, was written in small letters on the psychedelic cover art. It was discovered soon after the album was released, and the company was forced to recall 100,000 copies of the offending word physically scratched out on the jacket. Now I've opened mine up and looked at my jacket. I'm gonna take a mic uh magnifying glass and go because there's so many places where some little thing could be written just to see if I can see where it was scratched out or something. Okay, anyway. Uh so in July 69, the group went into Capitol Studios uh to record their second LP, The Suns, released in the fall of that year. The album featured a gentler side of the band containing several ballads of acoustic tracks. See, they they kind of went the wrong way. That album didn't do as good. Okay, to promote the Suns set out on a two-month natural tour, culminating with an engagement at the Fillmore East. Despite earning positive reviews, the tour proved chaotic, strained emotions, and okay. Then this is where they broke up in February 70. They broke up. Uh, one of the guys went and joined Moby Grape. And then uh, let's see, one of the other two of the band members put together their own loose configuration. They called themselves the New Boogaloo Express, and they had uh somebody from Big Brother and the Holding Company with them. So this band sort of like deteriorated in a way from their high point of that 69 double album. Um I mean, I can send you a picture of that too if you guys want.

SPEAKER_01 47:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

Um let's see. Okay, in 74, okay, they're still with Columbia. Oh no, Columbia dropped them in 74. Then let's see, they they toured with Three Dog Knight and Leon Russell. I mean, they were kind of a known band, but they just didn't, you know, they they played with Elvin Bishop and Dave Mason. Um, let's see here. Yeah, I mean they did stuff with Country Joe and the Fish, Huey Lewis and the News. Um, but yeah, they did, let's see, that 69, Loosen Up Naturally was their 69 album. Then they did another one in 69, one in 70, uh, one in 71, one in 73. I have their 73 one. It's not as good as the 69 psych one. Um, let's see here. And that that pretty much covers it, really. I mean, there's a bunch more stuff of kind of all the problems they had. One of the men they were on tour one time, and one of the band members, like parents and brother and sister, were murdered in their house or something. And then I don't know, they were always sort of like arguing with each other, but but yeah. This was this could have been really a great band if things would have gone a little better for them. But I'm super happy I've got that 69 double album. It's really good.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

It sounds really good.

SPEAKER_00 49:02

Like I say, I never heard of this band before until like a couple weeks ago. And I don't know if you guys have ever heard of them.

SPEAKER_01 49:13

I have not.

SPEAKER_00 49:15

Yeah. It reminds me of- I can't believe it that you can still find great stuff, you know, that we've never heard of.

SPEAKER_04 49:23

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 49:25

Today proves that.

SPEAKER_04 49:26

Yeah. And it's like it's something that we talked about even a couple weeks ago, where it's like the gold mine is a is in your collection, and it's like the stuff that you don't even know that you have, or the stuff that you forgot that you have, or um the discoveries that um that aren't recognized in the moment because we get sidetracked into other things, or we get focused in other bands or other subtopics or genres.

SPEAKER_00 49:53

Yeah, I know. That's one it's one thing Record Club really helps me with is hearing from you guys things that you notice or find or or think about or whatever. Yeah. So that was the band that that I knew nobody would know. I do have another band that we all know, but uh yeah, but it's kind of interesting.

SPEAKER_03 50:25

Do you want to talk about that?

SPEAKER_00 50:27

I sure will, yeah. And it probably I don't think it'll take us long. Let's see here.

SPEAKER_03 50:33

No, that's that should be perfect, actually.

SPEAKER_00 50:35

Okay, cool. Okay. Okay, this band, they're an English rock band formed in London, and they were started by someone who left another group. Uh, the band quickly developed into their own entity. Um let's see, they had a uh EP come out in 78, and then looks like they released another album in 78 and 79. Uh let's see here. They began to make a name for themselves across uh the UK, Europe, and Japan, and they did another album in '80, and then they did another one in '80, and one in '81 and '82. And they all reached the top ten on the UK album chart by the mid-80s. Um the main guy at that time was thinking about America or North America. So they got signed to the American label Giffin then. And then they released uh a pretty major album in '84. And let's see, here featured the band through heavy airplay on MTV. MTV was going on then. In 87, they released another album. And in the UK, uh it was their biggest success at that time. Um, and it sold over eight million copies in the United States and spawned a few singles. Um, let's see here. It says that they also adopted a more uh contemporary look akin to the Los Angeles glam metal scene. Let's see. Their main guy decided to take a break after their 89 album. Uh let's see here. They did a greatest hits thing after that. Let's see, they remained inactive up until 2003. And the main guy put together a new lineup, and they ended up doing a 25th anniversary thing. Uh let's see here. Um They were their early sound was or has been characterized by critics as blues rock, but by the mid-80s, the band slowly began moving toward a more commercially accessible rock style. Uh, topics such as love, sex are common in in their lyrics, which make frequent use of this was pretty smart. Uh okay, it says topics such as love and sex are common in their lyrics, which make frequent use of sexual induce and double intenders. It's like this word could mean two different things.

SPEAKER_01 54:09

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:10

It's easy to get away with stuff when you do that.

SPEAKER_01 54:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:15

So that was a smart move by them, I think. Um they've been featured on lists of the greatest hard rock bands of all time by several media outlets. While their songs and albums have appeared on many best of lists, um, such as uh VH1 and Rolling Stone.

SPEAKER_01 54:41

Uh let's see here. Anybody got any shots of who it could be yet?

SPEAKER_00 54:51

I do not know. If you don't okay, it's got another um deep purple connection. Um, let's see here. After leaving, okay, let's see, so let's see, no scene. Okay, before it looks like one of the people wanted another guitarist and wanted to get this guy that used to be with UFO. And looks like another guy that was with UFO. Okay. Oh, they self-bearing will recruit they recruited some other guy. I don't know who that is. Okay, kinda da-da-da.

SPEAKER_02 55:45

Um let's see.

SPEAKER_00 55:49

Okay, then the main guy sort of took over the name of the group. Um I think it was all the same members then. Okay, after completing a UK club tour, the band didn't write songs. Looks like they might have went to EMI then. Yeah, okay. They they EMI wanted to sign them.

SPEAKER_01 56:26

Let's see here. I don't know. Okay, they it looks like they did sign with EMI.

SPEAKER_00 56:36

They did another album.

SPEAKER_01 56:39

Well, that was in 78. Uh am I going through their history here?

SPEAKER_00 56:44

Let's get down to there's a kind of a big like page at least on like eat each album. Um, let's see. They toured across this was 83, 84, they toured across Europe and Japan in early 83, uh, before starting rehearsals. Next album at John Lord's house in Oxfordshire. UK.

SPEAKER_04 57:18

Was John Lord in the band? Uh da da. I'd have to back up a little bit. I'm wondering if that was the deep purple connection.

SPEAKER_00 57:30

Uh, it's not the deep purple connection that I was thinking of.

SPEAKER_04 57:34

Okay, because John Lord was also the keyboard player for Deep Purple. Okay, it makes sense now that you say that.

SPEAKER_01 57:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 57:44

So their music was getting kind of more hard rock. Um, and they were doing stuff looks like emphasized more with like Trapeze and Rainbow, which even makes more sense. Uh, let's see. They began recording their sixth album in Munich, okay, '83. They headlined the Monsters of Rock Festival at the Castle of Dungington in England. I always pick these bands, but there's so much to read about them. Let's see here. I'm gonna kind of jump ahead. Okay, they did, they had a new lineup when they did their live debut in Dublin in 1984 during a tour stop in Germany. Uh, one of them broke their arm leaping from atop of a parked car and leaving him unable to play a guitar. Yeah, I guess I guess so. Okay. And I think that person actually ended up having to leave the band. I kind of like to get down to like the legacy part. Take forever to read all this stuff. Okay, it just says styles and influences. Okay, the original version was to create blues of melodic hard rock, um, combining elements of hard rock RB and blues with good commercial hooks. The uh earliest influences included the pretty things and the yardbirds, who combined uh blues and soul with electrified rock. Another major influence on their sound was the Allman Brothers band, uh, particularly their first album. I'm not sure what their first album was. Okay. Other early influences of theirs were Cream Mountain, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, Jeff Beck, Truth, particularly Truth and Beckola, Paul Butterfield, John Mail, and the Bluesbreakers. Particularly the Beano album. I don't know that album either.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:15

From John Mail.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:17

The Beano album from John Mail and the Bluesbreaker, yeah. If I saw a picture of it, I'd know it. I don't want to click on right now, though. Okay. Uh Zaban Beclaim, playing together, writing together, their sound developed further into what is described by most critics as blues rock, period. Um I have four of their albums, and I listened to all four of them this morning. And uh the last one I listened to was their live album, at which my live album theory is still held. Um, but there's uh I think two other live albums I'm hoping to get. Okay, uh, let's see here. The band, let's see, it did uh more electrifying later period, described by most police as hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:23

Um people would confuse them with Motley Crew, it looks like.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:35

Yeah. People would confuse them with Motley Crew, didn't know that. Okay. Okay. Oh, and there's comparisons to Led Zeppelin. As their style evolved into the in the mid to late eighties, they began to draw unfavorable comparisons to Led Zeppelin. Uh having been accused of copying Led Zeppelin, jeez, I didn't know that. Uh and the the main guy was accused of uh imitating Robert Plant.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:18

Who knows? Uh let's see here.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:22

God dang, I'm gonna Okay, I'll just say how many albums they did. Let's see.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:29

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:34

They did thirteen albums. Their last one was in twenty nineteen. First one was in nineteen seventy-eight.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:44

Anybody got any guesses? Uh no clue. I d I do not either. Okay. That's uh White Snake. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:00

Yeah, I could see that, especially with uh David Coverdale. Coverdale, yeah. Yep, yeah. And that makes sense with um the deep purple connection with uh practicing with John Lord, too. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:14

Um yeah, white White Snake was a band I've had their albums for a long time. I just never really did anything with them. And the other day I just thought I'm gonna listen to these things, you know. So I was into Robin Trower, and for some reason I wanted to hear some other like good guitar stuff or something. I went from Robin Trower to Whitesnake.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:40

I uh looked up what the Beano album is, and you and I, Jerry, we both have the Beano album. Uh that wouldn't surprise me. Uh it's the 1966 Bluesbreakers album with Eric Clapton. That's kind of colloquially known as the Beano album. Why Beano? I don't know. Um I feel like we've even talked about this before, too. Yeah, so it just says bluesbreakers colloquially and colloquially known as the Bino album, is the debut album by the English blues rock band John Mail and the Bluesbreakers. So it's the it's the Bluesbreakers record with Eric Clapton, where Eric Clapton is uh uh where they're all sitting in front of a building on the concept.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:26

I thought I probably would. I mean, I've got at least 12 or 15 John Mail albums. So I feel like I've got him covered. I just had one other album I was just gonna mention. Sure. It's an album that Eric and I know pretty well, and I'm pretty sure you have a copy of it, Eric. And I was just gonna bring it up, not not a lot to talk about, but I want to kind of make sure Justin knows about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:02

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:04

And I'll ask Eric right now if you had to pick one album, I mean, if I say this album's got a super cool cover, that could mean a bunch of albums. Sure. This there's no other cover like this cover. That could also go to a bunch of different albums.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:30

It could be anything.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:32

Putting it that way, okay. When this album was manufactured in the the the plant, people there were getting sick because of how this cover was made. Um it doesn't feel to the touch like any other cover.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:59

Uh I I think it's is it the Rolling Stones album? Oh, what's the name of it? It's the one where it's like a it's like a telegraphic holographic style cover. No, that's not it.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:14

Okay, I was wondering if it might have been that. I thought for sure you would get it, Eric. We talked about this album like early on.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:24

Yeah, Eric, we talked about this.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:27

We don't remember which could be hundreds of things, right? Okay. Um, how can I put this? The only way I can put it is well, it's fuzzy on the outside, but when you open it up, it's not fuzzy.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:45

I know which one it is. It's it's the Beatles, or it's the Beatles. It's the Bee Gees Odessa.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:52

Yep. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:54

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:55

And I'm thinking uh Justin maybe I don't know. Do you have that album, right, Eric?

SPEAKER_04 1:07:02

Oh yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:04

Did you ever show it to Justin?

SPEAKER_04 1:07:06

I'm gonna grab it right now. I know exactly where it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Grab it and show it to him. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:12

Um hold on, before you do that. Uh can we uh Jerry, did you have anything else you wanted to talk about? Nope. Okay. Can we can we adjourn record club? Oh, can you need to go?

SPEAKER_00 1:07:26

That'd be cool. I gotta go meet somebody before too long, too.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:28

Yep, I don't. Jerry's gotta go. I gotta pee real bad and and I gotta get going.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:32

So I'll let Justin borrow it so he can he can listen to it. That's cool. Good job. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:39

All right, good record club, guys. Thanks, Jerry.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:42

Okay, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:43

Good one.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:44

Yep, yep.