Playlist for road trip to Houston: Mayo Thompson, Fever Tree, and Josefus - Installment #2 of Texas Psychedelia.

The wife and I are driving to Houston to see some family, and the playlist is set: start a little mellow with some strange sounds from Mayo Thompson, move on to the psychedelic rock of Fever Tree, and end with some Zeppelin-done-Houston-style rock’n’roll in the form of Josefus.

R. Rauschenberg - 1970

I’ve posted about Mayo Thompson before, but I mentioned his solo work as a mere side note to another story, namely that of the Houston band Red Crayola.  Mayo Thompson’s solo album deserves more attention, however.  He formed Red Crayola in 1966 with Frederick Barthelme, brother of writer Donald Barthelme.  The band could easily be considered Houston’s 13th Floor Elevators, and at times, they were even more “out there” than their Austin counterparts.  (See the linked post above for samples of their experimental “freak outs.”)  After Red Crayola’s first formation, Thompson recorded a solo album in Houston entitled Corky’s Debt to His Father (1970 Texas Revolution; re-released by Drag City...), and it was around this time that he relocated to NYC to work as assistant to the artist Robert Rauschenberg. (He later moved to London where he collaborated with many experimental music acts such as the previously posted Pere Ubu.)  Mayo Thompson’s solo album, however, is one of the greater personal testaments of the psychedelic age of musical experimentation. It stands with the other greats, such as Syd Barrett’s  The Madcap Laughs (1970 EMI) or Alexander “Skip” Spence’s Oar (1969 Columbia). I previously posted the 1st track of the album; here’s the 2nd song, “Oyster Thins”:

Mayo playing live

Corky's Debt to his Father is a very abstract, yet playful, folk-rock album.  The lyrics and musical compositions are like the soundtrack to the mindscape of a Dada poet.  The songs are meaningful, however, and there is great sincerity in Mayo Thompson’s voice and writing. The album isn't always folky; here’s a more rockin’ number, “Venus in the Morning”:

And one last song from Mayo’s solo work; this time from the 2nd side.  The song’s entitled “Fortune”:

Corky’s Debt to his Father may be my favorite work by Houston’s psychedelic guru; I definitely listen to it more than my Crayola records and more than his work with Pere Ubu.  Check out the whole album and listen straight through.

http://www.mediafire.com/?bkynmydmzib

Now Fever Tee was a psychedelic rock group from Houston, TX that played and recorded between the years 1966 to 1970.  The band had one successful hit, “San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native),” released on their self-titled album (1968 Uni Records/MCA):

Good ole Texas boys dreamin’ of the California bay! From what I understand, they did not write their own music; most of that was done by the couple, Scott & Vivian Holtzmann, so maybe they were the ones from San Francisco, dreaming of their summertime return... The music is pretty typical of its era. I do like the sustaining fuzz guitars... good for one’s ears.  Here’s the opening track of the debut, self-titled album (mentioned above); it’s called “Imitation Situation 1 - Where Do You Go”:

For some reason, the introductory “Imitation” part of the song is cut from this video, but you get the point, fun psychedelia that is not as compellingly unique as Thompson’s material but still good for what it is. Fever Tree released a total of four studio albums, but none of their later material seems to match the summer-of-love sound of the debut album. Definitely start with the first one.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mtn4ngdjyni

Another legend of Houston rock were the heavy metal innovators, Josefus.  They formed sometime before 1969; in other words, before there was ZZ Top there was Josefus; they were the Dixie South’s answer to the sounds of Sabbath and Zeppelin.  They recorded 3 albums before disbanding, and the second Lp, Dead Man (1970 Hookah), has recently been rereleased on Vinyl with the instructions on the back cover to play very, very loud.  Here’s the opening track, “Crazy Man”:

I definitely hear the inspiration of Plant here, and many people reiterate the derivative quality of Josefus’s sound.  To their credit, they were recording this material around the same time as the studio sessions for both I & II, so they cannot simply be explained away as a Led Zeppelin knock-off group of the 70s.  The guys were current, fresh, and somewhat ahead of the curve, for sure. The guitarist has nothing on Jimmy Page's chops, however.  Check out the magnum opus title track, “Dead Man”:

Now that was a jam.  If you like earlier-posted Pentagram, Led Zeppelin, and other early innovators of bluesy hard rock, check out Houston’s very own Josefus.  Now off to the town itself I go!!!

http://www.mediafire.com/?plhpacleda85xu8

A Selection of Texas Psychedelia

It’s common knowledge that many seminal figures of Psychedelic Rock have repeatedly  cited Roky Ericson and the 13th Floor Elevators of Austin, TX as a major influence.  Texas had a thriving garage/psychedelic music scene throughout the 60s & early 70s, and it was not limited to the Austin area.  In fact, a good amount of Texas Psychedelic music was recorded and released by the independent Houston label, International Artists.  Gorki’s last post got me digging deeper into my collection of underground Texas music, so I’ve decided to post some random gems of Texas 60s music. Enjoy!

Houston’s The Red Crayola:

So let’s start with Houston and Mayo Thompson’s The Red Crayola.  An art student in the mid 60s, Mayo Thompson started the psychedelic rock group with Steve Cunningham and Frederick Barthelme, and yes, Red Crayola’s original drummer is related to the celebrated writer, Donald Barthelme (they’re brothers I believe....).  Although the band is no longer together, M. Thompson still performs under the name Red Krayola (and I believe Jim O’Rourke plays with him...).   Their music was ahead of the curve to say the least.  One hears the roots of punk, noise rock, no wave, and other avant-garde genres of the more recent past.  They released their debut, Parable of Arable Land, in 1967 on the Houston label, International Artists.  On the album every song begins with what has been described as a “free form freak-out” where the band, along with their “Familiar Ugly” friends (which includes cameos of Roky Ericson), play whatever they wanted.  Ahhhh yes, the roots of noise rock.  Check out their song, “Hurricane Fighter Plane,” as it was released as a single:

Now listen to the same song as released on their 1st LP (with “freak outs” and all):

Gotta love the psychedelic imagery that compliments the 2nd video. Their album, Parable of Arable Land, is a must have for all noise rock & no wave enthusiasts.  Check it out.


dl: http://www.mediafire.com/?1xlth0u0cue

Mayo Thompson recorded some great solo material from this period as well.  Some have described Thompson as the “Texan Syd Barrett,” and I hear that in his solo work for sure.  Roky Ericson, however, seems to be better suited for that designation for obvious reasons.  Thompson released the album Corky’s Debt to his Father in 1969 (Texas Revolution), and the record probably appeals to a broader listenership than that posted above.  Truthfully, I listen to this record much more than any Red Crayola material; the music reveals Thompson’s folkier sensibilities. The music still experiments with eccentric arrangements, and Thompson’s lyrics are often playful & non-sequitur.  He rocks here as well, and when he does, it’s more bluesy than anything Crayola.

This album is definitely worth a listen.

dl:  http://www.mediafire.com/?bkynmydmzib

San Antonio/Austin’s Bubble Puppy:

Bubble Puppy were a Psychedelic Rock group that formed in mid/late 60s in San Antonio, TX.  They eventually moved to Austin, signed with Houston’s International Artists, and released their sole full length, A Gathering of Promises, in 1969.  This is a great album, lots of Cream-influenced fuzz rock with progressive changes all viewed through the lens of Southern rock & blues.  Their name was taken from Huxley’s A Brave New World (seems appropriate for the period...).  The band never had much success beyond the release of one single, “Hot Smoke & Sassafras” (gotta love that name), so they eventually moved to L.A., signed to a new label, and changed their name to Demian (named after the writings of yet another author celebrated by the rock’n’roll 60s generation..... geeks!) Oh, and they hired the manager of...... guess which band?  That’s right, Steppenwolf! I wonder if they all got together for Herman Hesse book discussions?  Anyways, check this out:

                        (It's definitely very Creamy....)

dl: http://www.mediafire.com/?tnzmggzmton

Austin’s The Golden Dawn:

Everyone’s knows of Austin’s contribution to psychedelia, namely the 13th Floor Elevators.  A lesser known but similar sounding act was Austin’s short-lived group The Golden Dawn.  (They have reunited in recent years...) They released one full length in 1968 entitled Power Plant (on International Artists as well).  (I know, the reunited Golden Dawn has now released a 2nd album....) One can’t help but think of that classic “You’re Gonna Miss Me” garage-psychedelic sound.  To illustrate listen to their track “Starvation”:

Sure, it sounds just like Ericson’s Elevators, but why complain?  Garage rock by nature all sounds similar, and some of us just don’t get tired of hearing it.  I really like George Kinney’s vocals as well.  If you like that Austin psychedelic sound check out their album Power Plant.

dl:  http://www.mediafire.com/?jtyikcymn0y

So one more post and then I'll call this one quits.

Tyler’s very own Mouse & the Traps:

So I have to add Mouse & the Traps.  Not too often does one come across Psychedelic Rock from the buckle of God’s favorite belt: East Texas!  Mouse & the Traps were from Tyler, TX, and being from that small, conservative town, I thought it appropriate to conclude this posting with a band from the old neighborhood.  Mouse is hit and miss; the music’s garage frat-rock at times, fuzzy and progressive at other moments;  some of the songs are very bubblegum psyche-pop while some tracks lean more towards bluesy folk rock.  It’s kind of all over the place.  The below video makes a comparison between Ronnie (Mouse) Weiss’s vocals and that of Bob Dylan. (Is that good or bad? not sure...) So all East Texans, here’s your psychedelic heritage:

Here’s the entire album, The Fraternity Years:

dl:  http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HW4U8O1J

(wait 45 secs at meagaupload before clicking file link)

Wow, that was a long post, and I have so much more material from this era. I will add more soon.  Peace.