Canada Spotlight: The Free-For-All - Show Me The Way/Blue Monday

Day four of the Canada Battle of the Garage Bands takes us to Nova Scotia, Canada. Seriously. We definitely don't know of any other garage bands from Nova Scotia. 

The band name on the label says The Free-For-All but the band is really the Halifax, Nova Scotia band, The Great Scots. The Great Scots recorded a number of solid records in their native land for London Records and Epic Records before they made their way to LA to try to hit the big time. The band seemed to be on the edge of success when they ran into a brick wall. Maybe it was their silly Kilt outfits and coordinated dances. Or maybe it was their tight cut non-Beatle hair that held them back. Who knows? But in an effort to trick jaundiced radio programmers, the band released Show Me The Way (which is actually the Flip-Side of the record) under the name The Free-For-All. Show Me The Way just soars. Catchy melody and a great guitar riff. How was this not the A-Side?

The A-Side was the more pedestrian blues number, Blue Monday, a rewrite of T-Bone Walker's often covered number, Stormy Monday Blues. 

The single was released on Challenge Records in the Summer of 1966. Ultimately the prestidigitation didn't work and the record went nowhere, despite it's inherent quality. Then the Canucks got a rude awakening. Dave Isnor was conscripted into the US Army and sent off to Vietnam. Yep, when you were here on a working visa, you could be drafted. Whoops. The remaining members, Gerry Archer, Bill Schnare, Rick McNeil. and Wayne Forrest high-tailed it back to Nova Scotia on the first dog sled out and their chance at stardom was lost. Luckily they left us this gem before they got lost in the snow drifts of time.

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

Northern California Spotlight: The Brogues - I Ain't No Miracle Worker/Don't Shoot Me Down

Day six of our Nor Cal Battle of the Garage Bands takes us to the center of the state in the farm town of Merced. That's where we find a five piece band calling themselves The Brogues.

The Brogues released their second and final single in November of 1965 for Challenge Records. The band at this time was Bill Whittington, Eddie Rodriguez, Rick Campbell, Greg Elmore and Gary Cole.

I Ain't No Miracle Worker was a song written by Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz, two songwriters who would soon score garage and psych classics for The Electric Prunes. I Ain't No Miracle Worker would also be recorded by The Great Scots about the same time and later covered by The Chocolate Watchband, who slowed the number down quite a bit. The Brogues original recording of the song is a surprisingly fast paced number with some scorching guitar from Eddie Rodgriuez.

The flip-side is the band composed Don't Shoot Me Down. It's a blitzkrieg of a rewrite of Bo Diddley's Hey Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut. Probably by way of The Pretty Things as the singer, Rick Campbell, even gets in a few Phil May inflections.

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

Wynn Stewart - Another Day, Another Dollar

Wynn Stewart hailed from Los Angeles where he began playing both kinds of music, Country and Western at Edison Park High School. Many years on the circuit running the triangle of LA to Bakersfield to Las Vegas led to many line up changes, many label changes and eventually the opening of his own club. It was at his own Nashville Nevada in Las Vegas where Wynn Stewart and the West Coast Playboys held a 6-night a week residency playing honky tonk to the Vegas faithful. 

Wynn Stewart never hit it big but he did put out some nice records and even was able to give a young Merle Haggard a start in the music biz as The West Coast Playboys' one-time bassist. In 1962, Wynn Stewart and The West Coast Playboys released Another Day, Another Dollar on Challenge Records. The song made it to #27 on the Country and Western charts and features the fine guitar work of Roy Nichols. I'm not too sure who is playing the sledgehammer. Enjoy.

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

Chris Morgan and The Togas - Would You Believe

Late last week we shared a single by a little known Southern California band called The Togas. You can check that out here. We return today with the band's only other record. This time released under the moniker of Chris Morgan and The Togas. Would You Believe was written and composed by Chris Morgan and appeared as the Flip-Side of their May, 1966 release on Challenge Records.

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

The Togas - Hurry To Me

Not too much information about this band that went by the name of The Togas. I do know that the members were Chris Morgan on vocals, Brian Decker and Doug Decker on guitar, John Metheny on drums and Peter Parker (not spiderman) on keyboards. The band hailed from Southern California and released two singles on the Challenge Records label. Hurry To Me is their first, released August, 1965. Hurry To Me is the Flip-Side of a perfectly okay cover of Bob Dylan's Baby I'm In The Mood For You. Our featured song today, Hurry To Me, was composed by our frontman, Chris Morgan. The party dude on the right in the picture below. Producer Nick Risi also gets credit...but we are always suspect about producers getting writing credit. Feels more like a shakedown to me.

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

Song of the Week: We The People - In The Past

I first came to this song by way of The Chocolate Watchband's ethereal cover. Then I heard this, the original version. Wow. I mean, just...wow! 

We The People hailed from Orlando, Florida and put out a series of amazing and unique singles between 1966 and 1968. In The Past was the band's 4th single and was released on Challenge Records in December, 1966. The song was written by guitarist, Wayne Proctor, and features a unique instrument they called an Octachord, an eight string mandolin of sorts. Tommy Talton, David Duff, Randy Boyte and Lee Ferguson rounded out the rest of the band.

In an effort to avoid the Vietnam War draft, Wayne Proctor, left the band in '67 to enroll full time in college. So it was, like many other bands of the era, it was over. Just like that. 

Click here to listen to another of We The People's records, You Burn Me Up And Down.

Song of the Week: We The People - You Burn Me Up & Down

The reality is that most of the garage bands who existed in the 60s were nothing more than that, a garage band. Most never got past the garage or maybe a sock hop. A few won a Battle of the Bands competition in their local town or even played their high school dance. Far fewer were lucky enough to cut a solitary 45rpm disc which they could shill at their local malt shop. A few, a very, very few, got signed to a real label and cut more than one single.

Our focus today is one of those rare bands that fall in the latter category. We The People hailed from Orlando, Florida and they were formed in 1965 when members of competing bands merged to form a local "super-group garage band", if you will. That formation brought together Wayne Proctor and Tom Talton who kicked out some very nice songs. Today's SoTW was composed by Talton and appeared as the flip-side (of course it was the flip-side!) of their third single. The song is You Burn Me Up & Down and it's a very unique number with a wonderful slide guitar riff to open the song. Gravely vocals and quizzical and suggestive lyrics make this one of the genre's greatest songs ever. The band went on to cut three decent singles for RCA records before the typical story of Vietnam, college, and rifts led to the band disintegrating. If you get a chance, dig into We The People's seven single discography. Mirror Of Your Mind, When I Arrive, and Follow Me Back To Louisville are all stellar. As is You Burn Me Up & Down and the way cool song, In The Past, which, of course, was covered by The Chocolate Watchband on their album, Inner Mystique.

Enjoy and let us know what you think in the comment section below.