Frumious Bandersnatch! psych band 1967-69-Bay Area gold!
Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:58 pm
Frumious Bandersnatch - A Young Man's Song (1968)
- Bay Area Heavy Psychedelic Rock
What Is A Bandersnatch?...a nice Quicksilver feel to it...SF all the way...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wF_b6_9V2Y
They had the chops to succeed, but it was not to be...
Frumious Bandersnatch was a psychedelic rock band in the late 1960s. The band was named after a character from the Lewis Carroll poem "Jabberwocky". Based out of San Francisco, California, the band was active from 1967 to 1969. Their initial three-song EP produced a minor underground hit with the song "Hearts to Cry". A recording of their live work, titled A Young Man's Song, was released on the Big Beat label.
The band was formed across the bay from San Francisco in Contra Costa County, and changed personnel several times in their brief lifespan (1967–69). Interest from several record companies came to naught, and the band's only release was a three-song EP on their own label, pressed in a quantity of 1000 and distributed locally.
Four members of Frumious Bandersnatch (Bobby Winkelman, Jack King, Ross Valory, and David Denny) became regular members of the Steve Miller Band. Valory, along with fellow Frumious Bandersnatch member George Tickner and manager Herbie Herbert joined former Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie to form the band Journey in 1973. -wiki
Cheshire-alt version..rocks!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8qIF8UCIws
Not every worthwhile San Francisco psychedelic group of the late '60s got to record often, or at all. Frumious Bandersnatch were one of the most prominent examples, their output limited to a meager (if good) three-song EP that barely anyone outside of the area heard. The band's stinging guitars were very reminiscent of those employed by Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and the Moby Grape; their harmonies, too, were quite close in style to the Airplane and Grape, with vibrating lead vocals in the mold of Marty Balin or the Grape's Bob Mosley.
...................
If any one group can legimately qualify as the "great lost psychedelic band', then Frumious Bandersnatch is that group. The few tantalizing glimpses of the combo afforded by their solo release in the 1960s gained them an enormous reputation. The subsequent fortunes of its members in groups like Journey and The Steve Miller Band have only added to the phenomenon. The name, derived from Lewis Carroll's proto-psych 'Jabberwocky', has an air of psychedelic mystery to it. So, after years of wishful thinking on the part of psychedelic music aficionados all over the world we find the earnestness of this their latest achievment all the more extraordinary.
60's Sound bloodspot:
This ultimate rare San Francisco album is only album these guys ever recorded - and as it's said in "About" article, it's trully lost psychedelic gold. This is mostly recorded live at Straight Theatre down in legendary Haight Ashbury street. They have vivid rhythm and beat of Big Brother and Holding Company and guitar sound of Jefferson Airplane. Starter song is actually a medley of "You Gotta Believe" and some jamming here n there. Song is pretty decent, rocking hard with trippy vibe and with relaxed impro in the middle of the song. "Paper" is filler song with weird lyrics about paper. In the middle of song there's professor-style talking about value of paper. They had to be really stoned when they're wroting this, who would wrote song about paper xD ? "Chain Reaction" is protest song about youth uniting. Nice theme, but song is only saved by cool solo section.
Next is "Rosemary's Baby" another protest song with anti-war theme - much better than it's predecessor. You can feel lack of quality in recording, especially when vocals starts singing higher - too bad they hadn't had few days in studio to record this. Guitars are doing great job, filling with licks and showing teeth in solo. "What Is Bandersnatch?" is great trippy track. Lengthy, epic and psychedelic - like it's "The End" (by The Doors) transformed by Quicksilver Messenger Service. "Woodrose Syrup" is lengthy song with regular San Fran psych rhythm, with guitar following with sweet riffs. After 2 minutes, there's slight change in rhythm and it can't be nothing else than - trippy jamming. These guys really know how to play their instruments - jamming is mindblowing. "Now That You've Gone" is slowing things down with ballad-ish style. Cheery tune "45 Cents" follows up but - these guys have that habit - ending with song and jumping in crazy jamming. I like their style. "Pulpit Huff" is good psych tune with nothing new to offer, but with good n old to give. Jamming as long as you can see. "Cheshire" starts as free-for-all jamming style tune with great guitar impros. Tune is kind of familiar to San Francisco's Shiver I reviewed this month - you can't forseen their song's path. It goes everywhere, from top to bottom and it shake your groovy booty while doing so. "Black Box" is starting with clock tempo. Fastly it builds up to cool tune that again, follows path of previous song. "Can-A-Bliss" follows Grateful Dead with psych jams, but manage to stay original. It's the longest track on the album and it's one helluva jam. Oh yeah, and there's that Bonzo-level drum solo that it's just out of this world.Well done guys, that's how it's done. I haven't heard such good ender song in a while. Another proof that anything that comes from 60s Bay Area scene is awesome.
HIGHLY recommended to 60s Bay Area scene fans, psychedelic dudes and jam freaks.
-60'sSound/blogspot
More...Chain Reaction!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beigq2ekwV0
- Bay Area Heavy Psychedelic Rock
What Is A Bandersnatch?...a nice Quicksilver feel to it...SF all the way...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wF_b6_9V2Y
They had the chops to succeed, but it was not to be...
Frumious Bandersnatch was a psychedelic rock band in the late 1960s. The band was named after a character from the Lewis Carroll poem "Jabberwocky". Based out of San Francisco, California, the band was active from 1967 to 1969. Their initial three-song EP produced a minor underground hit with the song "Hearts to Cry". A recording of their live work, titled A Young Man's Song, was released on the Big Beat label.
The band was formed across the bay from San Francisco in Contra Costa County, and changed personnel several times in their brief lifespan (1967–69). Interest from several record companies came to naught, and the band's only release was a three-song EP on their own label, pressed in a quantity of 1000 and distributed locally.
Four members of Frumious Bandersnatch (Bobby Winkelman, Jack King, Ross Valory, and David Denny) became regular members of the Steve Miller Band. Valory, along with fellow Frumious Bandersnatch member George Tickner and manager Herbie Herbert joined former Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie to form the band Journey in 1973. -wiki
Cheshire-alt version..rocks!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8qIF8UCIws
Not every worthwhile San Francisco psychedelic group of the late '60s got to record often, or at all. Frumious Bandersnatch were one of the most prominent examples, their output limited to a meager (if good) three-song EP that barely anyone outside of the area heard. The band's stinging guitars were very reminiscent of those employed by Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and the Moby Grape; their harmonies, too, were quite close in style to the Airplane and Grape, with vibrating lead vocals in the mold of Marty Balin or the Grape's Bob Mosley.
...................
If any one group can legimately qualify as the "great lost psychedelic band', then Frumious Bandersnatch is that group. The few tantalizing glimpses of the combo afforded by their solo release in the 1960s gained them an enormous reputation. The subsequent fortunes of its members in groups like Journey and The Steve Miller Band have only added to the phenomenon. The name, derived from Lewis Carroll's proto-psych 'Jabberwocky', has an air of psychedelic mystery to it. So, after years of wishful thinking on the part of psychedelic music aficionados all over the world we find the earnestness of this their latest achievment all the more extraordinary.
60's Sound bloodspot:
This ultimate rare San Francisco album is only album these guys ever recorded - and as it's said in "About" article, it's trully lost psychedelic gold. This is mostly recorded live at Straight Theatre down in legendary Haight Ashbury street. They have vivid rhythm and beat of Big Brother and Holding Company and guitar sound of Jefferson Airplane. Starter song is actually a medley of "You Gotta Believe" and some jamming here n there. Song is pretty decent, rocking hard with trippy vibe and with relaxed impro in the middle of the song. "Paper" is filler song with weird lyrics about paper. In the middle of song there's professor-style talking about value of paper. They had to be really stoned when they're wroting this, who would wrote song about paper xD ? "Chain Reaction" is protest song about youth uniting. Nice theme, but song is only saved by cool solo section.
Next is "Rosemary's Baby" another protest song with anti-war theme - much better than it's predecessor. You can feel lack of quality in recording, especially when vocals starts singing higher - too bad they hadn't had few days in studio to record this. Guitars are doing great job, filling with licks and showing teeth in solo. "What Is Bandersnatch?" is great trippy track. Lengthy, epic and psychedelic - like it's "The End" (by The Doors) transformed by Quicksilver Messenger Service. "Woodrose Syrup" is lengthy song with regular San Fran psych rhythm, with guitar following with sweet riffs. After 2 minutes, there's slight change in rhythm and it can't be nothing else than - trippy jamming. These guys really know how to play their instruments - jamming is mindblowing. "Now That You've Gone" is slowing things down with ballad-ish style. Cheery tune "45 Cents" follows up but - these guys have that habit - ending with song and jumping in crazy jamming. I like their style. "Pulpit Huff" is good psych tune with nothing new to offer, but with good n old to give. Jamming as long as you can see. "Cheshire" starts as free-for-all jamming style tune with great guitar impros. Tune is kind of familiar to San Francisco's Shiver I reviewed this month - you can't forseen their song's path. It goes everywhere, from top to bottom and it shake your groovy booty while doing so. "Black Box" is starting with clock tempo. Fastly it builds up to cool tune that again, follows path of previous song. "Can-A-Bliss" follows Grateful Dead with psych jams, but manage to stay original. It's the longest track on the album and it's one helluva jam. Oh yeah, and there's that Bonzo-level drum solo that it's just out of this world.Well done guys, that's how it's done. I haven't heard such good ender song in a while. Another proof that anything that comes from 60s Bay Area scene is awesome.
HIGHLY recommended to 60s Bay Area scene fans, psychedelic dudes and jam freaks.
-60'sSound/blogspot
More...Chain Reaction!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beigq2ekwV0