Bandlands

  April 18, 2006 

  
 Memory Lane...

Probably about 1968. I bought 'Electric Music for the Mind and Body' (the title of their {CJ&tF} first album) together with Hendrix's 'Are You Experienced' the same day. They had been out for awhile maybe a year before I finally got it together to make the big purchase. 

   'Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine' was the Fish's big hit at least before the Fixing to Die Rag came out ...according to my feeble memory.

   What was that line? ...' it's a pity that you were raised up in the city and you never learned nothing about country ways...'

I loved that tune.
To me that was good stuff and all that Keyboard & Guitar 'psychedelic sounds' it was fun though obviously not of the same creative level of Hendrix...
but hey that's what happened a long long time ago.


  
Now Barry Melton this guitarist that I associated with the SF psychedelic sound has been one of the most consistent players over the last few decades to maintain a continual gigging presence here in the SF Bay area.. but today his music seems far removed from that 60's stuff.


  The man has this gruff kind of blues shoutin' voice that reminds me of his guitar playing.
Gritty.
  
  Time for you to listen up and check this out. 

  Yes a couple of you might remember that I had another clip from almost the same cast of players from 5 years ago. 

That was a choice little piece of music too. I would like more than an encore. 

If I get 5 emails from any fans of Barry and this music I will put that older clip back up too. I need to know you all are alive out there. According to my counter there are between 150 to 300 of you visiting each day. Glad to have your company ..somebody make some noise.. say something to me real and make me put that 'hot' old clip up.

     Great cast of characters...too.

     Peter 'Pops' Walsh With his Santa Cruz strat, Sweetwater All-Star session man.
     Banana .. keyboard player years back for the Youngbloods great work on those vintage recordings. Former Commodore.. no, not the band.
     Roy Blumenfeld, Drummer with The Blues Project a mostly forgotten seminal BluesRock band
  of the mid 1960s that helped lay the ground for a lot of the later Psychedelic Jam style. They featured extended blues jams that got weird. Boldly weird. I remember 'Live from Town Hall' I wouldn't mind hearing that again.
    The Bass Man, Steve Ashman founder of the big Zazu Pitts Orchestra that Rocked the Bay Area awhile back most of you probably were there for at least one of their shows somewhere.
   Here is a Barry interview.

     

                            say hey guy@bandlands.com

 

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