Battle of the Garage Bands: The Enfields v. The Ugly Ducklings

Round 5 is in the books and for the first time we have a unanimous decision. The Chocolate Watchband of the NorCal Region knocked out The Shadows of Knight of The Great Lakes region.

We move today to round 6 of the Battle of The Garage Bands' "super-duper, bestest ever, most epic garage single bracket". It is indeed the final showdown of the first round of said bracket.

On Turntable number one we have The Enfields of Wilmington, Delaware.  The quintet will put forth with their 1966 single for Richie Records, She Already Has Somebody/I'm For Things You Do. Both sides of the single were composed by the band's guitarist, high schooler, Ted Munda. Somewhat like the single put forth by Phil and the Frantics, the Enfields take a moody, minor key, harmony approach to their double sided gem.

And on the other side of the music room, on turntable number 2, we have a band from Toronto, Canada calling themselves The Ugly Ducklings. Just In Case You Wonder/That's Just A Thought I Had In My Mind are two band composed numbers. The single was the band's third record and was released in 1966 on Yorktown Records.

Original post on The Enfields can be found here. 

Here is a link to the original post on The Ugly Ducklings

Both of these singles had very stiff competition on their way to representing their region in The Battle of The Garage Bands. Both bands won only by the most narrow victories. Here is a look at the top 4 singles they bested to take the number 1 spot. 

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

Mid-Atlantic Spotlight: The Enfields - She Already Has Somebody/I'm For Things You Do

[Ed. Note: Please see the comment section below for a little bit of color from the song's author, Ted Munda]

Day three of our Mid-Atlantic Battle of the Garage Bands. Today we move to Wilmington, Delaware.

Like everyone else I know who has heard this song, I first came to it by way of the outstanding 1980s compilation, What A Way To Die. Many years later I was lucky enough to come across the single and scoop it up. Because of misinformation from that compilation, I had it in my head that these cats were out of Pennsylvania, but a little internetting showed that -- as usual -- I was wrong. It appears The Enfields hailed from the Wilmington, Delaware area. They put out a number of singles between '65 and '67 and then the band splintered. 

The frontman and songwriter, Ted Munda, was apparently still in high school when he penned She Already Has Somebody (with V. Rago) as well as it's top notch Flip-Side, I'm For Things You Do. It's the band's second single and was given to us in 1966, of course. It features gentle, warbly guitar work by John Bernard who sounds like he has been digging on some surf music. The song also comes with some stellar whispered harmonies courtesy of Munda and Charlie Berl, each of whom appear to have worshipped devoutly at the church of The Holy Zombie with pastors Blunstone and Argent leading the minor key sermons. 

She Already Has Somebody is top notch all the way through. But this Flipper thinks it reaches it's zenith at the surprising and convincing music break starting at 1:20. The break starts with a little bit of a Pete Townshend influenced dead pickup switching and then rolls into a peppy drum beat. The lead then changes keys and goes into beautiful stutter rhythm. The Flip-Side, I'm For Things You Do, is another wonderful rocker that shows great restraint and mousy vocals.

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