OFF: Lothar & Early Synth Stuff

[Douglas Pearson]

Since Hawkwind were the first band that really clued me into the fact that
synthesizers could be used in a rock band to make interesting/bizarre
sounds and textures (rather than just playing notes that sounded different
from a piano or organ, ala Rick Wakeman), I've made an effort to find as
many bands that pre-dated HW who also made interesting use of synthesizers
and electronics ...

In addition to Lothar & TONTO (and thanks, John, for the very informative
post!), my top early synth-using bands would include:

The United States of America, from LA circa 1968, who used lots of synth
noises & effects over their driving melodic rock sound, with a great female
singer.  One of the electronics guys also played violin, often heavily
processed (especially with ring modulator) - Simon House fans take note!
Their sole, self-titled, album has been reissued on CD by Sony, with bonus
tracks.  Leader Joe Byrd went on to make another similar, but not quite as
good & rockin' album with a new band called the Field Hippies, before
retreating to staid academia.  I think(?) the Field Hippies album has also
been reissued on CD.

Fifty Foot Hose from San Francisco (c. 67/68) had somewhat of a Jefferson
Airplane-type feel, with a female singer and heavy jazz/blues influences,
in addition to the amped-up folk-rock sound.  All their electronics were
homemade, and even today sound quite avant-garde in spots.  Their only LP
was recently re-issued domestically on the band's own Weasel Disc label,
and they even did a couple "reunion" shows in SF (with the electronics guy
as the only original member), which were recorded.  Parts of these recent
shows, as well as the original album, have been released on CD by Captain
Trip (Japan), as I believe the domestic issue has sold out.

Silver Apples were easily the most freaky of these bands (and also reunited
recently, again, with only the original electronicist).  They were a
drums/electronics duo who employed a homemade device called the "Simeon"
(named after the builder) which was controlled with foot pedals, in
addition to the standard knobs/dials.  Very weird, often haunting music,
which must have been a big influence on the mid-70s NYC band, Suicide.
They released two LP's, which have been reissued by Simeon (the man, not
the machine) on CD, since the original label (Kapp) has been swallowed by
the dust of time (there was also a bootleg CD reissue a couple of years
back).

I also believe (I'm not sure) that Florian Fricke of Popol Vuh had his Moog
synthesizer before the end of the 60s ... at least he was a synthesizer
owner before Tangerine Dream were, since he helped out on one or two of
their early albums.  Anyway, the first two PV albums (both reissued on CD
one way or another on Spalanx) are almost entirely synthesizer music (i.e.
not much rock content, unlike their mid-70s guitar/keyboard power drones).

A few interesting uses of synthesizer/electronics in more mainstream 60s
bands would include:

* The Monkees(!) "Daily Nightly" & "Star Collector" off the 'Pisces,
Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones' album.
* Rolling Stones "Please Go Home" from 'Between The Buttons' (UK) or
'Flowers' (US) - I think this might be Theremin (possibly inspired by "Good
Vibrations"), but the track also has some great tape delay effects on it.
* Beatles "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - actually, George Harrison plays
synth all over 'Abbey Road', but this is my favorite, with the wall of
white noise building up to a massive climax during the "She's So Heavy"
portion.
* Deviants "Nothing Man" - OK, not exactly mainstream(!), but this track
from 'Ptoof' has cool oscillations and Musique Concrete (tapes & stuff)
elements.

And, to go back to an earlier thread, a couple of psych compilations that
include obscure/unknown bands with cool electronics on their tunes are:
Beyond the Calico Wall (Voxx)
Endless Journey (3 LPs on Psycho, now available as a double CD)

If I left anyone out, please let me know!

        -Doug
         ceres at sirius.com