Day 2 of our entrants in the Texas Battle of the Garage Bands takes us to McAllen, Texas.
You really have to work hard to get to McAllen, Texas. It's a speck on the Mexican border and a world away from where the music industry was kicking out must have records circa 1966. But in this dusty outpost lived four hep-cats who kicked out some crude rock-n-roll on the local Pharaoh Records label. The band went by the cryptic name of The Headstones and they were so hip that they did their photo shoot in the High School library. Check out that Dewey Decimal System baby! File under "Cool".
Frontman, Dave Williams and his cohorts recorded their first record, Wish She Were Mine/24 Hours (Everyday) in the Summer of 1966 at a two track studio in their hometown. As is so common, 24 Hours (Everyday) was the Flip-Side of this August release. As usual, we'll start with the Flip-Side.
24 Hours (Everyday) is just primitive awesome, cool. A little Them riff and heaping of fuzz, a bouncing bass and an incessant tambourine create the backdrop of this tale of sexual frustration that knows no time limits.
The A-Side is the catchy and solid beyond solid, Wish She Were Mine. It starts bouncy with harmonica and lyrics of longing. Then we get a little fuzz on the navel as we go into what stands in for a chorus. We're particularly fond of the :30 of non-stop music to end the song. Not a bad double-sider at all.
Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!
