Day 10 of our SoCal Battle of the garage bands has us spinning a band often mis-located as a Texas band (because of the label). But The Fabs hailed from Fullerton, California just South of Los Angeles and played the SoCal circuits with bands like The Seeds and The Arrows. They made one and only one single in 1967 for the graphically challenged, Cotton Ball Records. And here it is!
The A-side of the double-sided gem is the superb cover of folkster Fred Neil's That's The Bag I'm In. The Fabs add a defining bass line that lifts this far above other versions and change some lyrics to highlight their teen angst LA lifestyle a bit more. I first came to the number by way of the excellent comp, Back From The Grave Vol. 1. That comp suggested the band was from Texas, based on the label, but they weren't.
The Flip-Side was written by one E.H. Loney and it's called Dinah Wants Religion. Any relation to Roy Loney of The Flamin Groovies? We may never know. A killer opening riff, dominant organ and a blistering guitar lead highlight this classic girl put-down of a chick who embraces hypocrisy with both arms and gives it a big wet kiss. Dinah Wants Religion appeared on Back From The Grave Vol. 4.
It's been hard to find quality info on the band but I have been able to turn up the fact that Bob Burton is the singer, Rob Cammack is the organ player, Steve Cox was on guitar. Not known are the bassist and drummer. If you have any more info on The Fabs, please let us know below.
Meanwhile, check out the bitchin' poster for a concert from October 29th, 1967 with The Fabs on the bill. Thanks to the Surfadelic blog for finding it for us. Great show with The Seeds, The Arrows, and the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.
Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!
I've stole that poster from Big Beat site. Didn't read those small letters. There was Davie Allan & The Arrows too. It must be a real cool Halloween show. Anyway, The Fabs had that fabulous two-sider, made famous by Back From The Grave series. Dinah must be one hell of a chick :-))
ReplyDeleteI heard Dinah was half in the bag most of the time.
DeleteThat's The Bag I'm In. One of the all-time great riffs of garagedom. It's a fun one to play.
ReplyDeleteNice article & pics. I was raised and born in Austin. Baby boomer. I didn't think they were Texas even though many Texas Garage Albums have The Bag songs on them. Like the article states probably because of the label. Enjoy life!!!
ReplyDeleteGood Job
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