Texas Spotlight: The Stoics - Hate/Enough Of What I Need

Day five of our Texas Battle of the Garage Bands. The journey takes us down to San Antonio, Texas where we find a stiff-upper-lipped group that go by the name of The Stoics. The band was comprised of guitarists William Ash and Rufus Quillian, singer Al Acosta, drummer Sam Allen and bassist Michel Marechal. Legend has it that the latter three were from a tough part of town and the band sprang out of a bit of a gang affiliation they had. I don't know if that is true or not, but there you go. 

The Stoics released only one single in their brief existence. It's as rare as a Kardashian shunning publicity! Wow! That is rare. The number was recorded in 1966 and released on the one-off label, Brams Records, in January of 1967. 

The A-Side is a not-so-love song called Hate. The number was composed by some cat (or psuedonym for multiple cats) who went by the name of J. Cutrer. Don't know who he  or she is. But Mr. or Mrs. Cutrer had some pent-up aggression going on. The damn perfect song starts off with a sparse guitar and rapid-fire drums. Sam Allen keeps the relentless beat going perfectly for 2:25. Al Acosta nails the vocal delivery for his tale of mixed up confusion in a world where love turns dark.

If I could get my eyes from being paralyzed
I could have seen your love was hatred in disguise
No, please, please. Don't let me go.
No, please see, I need you so. 

I'm particularly fond of the falsetto harmonies on the number at points like "hatred in disguise". Pure teen-genius. The band screws up at the :45 mark. But hey, this is teen angst, live in a studio. We don't need no stinking over-dubs or anything like a "take 2'. Damn the torpedoes. Fire!

The flip-side was composed by guitarist, Rufus Quillian. The melodic Enough Of What I Need starts off with a great descending bass run by Michel Marechal that would make Chris White of The Zombies proud. Acosta keeps his requisite sneer over the soft backing vocals. With Acosta's aggressive vocals, everything takes on a menacing undertone.

I'm not asking if what you do is wrong
Because to me, that's where you belong
Think of all the nights that you kissed my lips
And the pleasure of my fingertips
You got to, Gotta Love me babe
You got to, gotta hold me
And give me enough of what I need.

Hmmm, I like the way this guy thinks.

 Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!