ROCK DIARY
Some San Francisco groups grew-up sad, some grew-up glad. Some groups wanted to grow-up to be The Lovin’ Spoonful. The rest, the sad ones, wanted to grow-up to be something strange. Some San Francisco groups grew-up liking the feature film.
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ROCK DIARY
THE DREAM BANDS
Richard Robinson
Some San Francisco groups grew-up sad, some grew-up glad. Some groups wanted to grow-up to be The Lovin’ Spoonful. The rest, the sad ones, wanted to grow-up to be something strange.
Some San Francisco groups grew-up liking the feature film. In real surreal b&w. Foreign films-art films-classic cinema-the Russians: Segi Eisenstein and Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin. The others still think Mickey Mouse is a gas. And Hopalong Cassidy never went to the bathroom. Zorro; Superman; Donald Duck — you remember the rest, but do they MEAN anything to you?
The Charlatans, The Flamin Groovies, Dan Hicks And His Hot Licks, Tongue ‘N’ Groove.
Dan Hicks was never really a drummer. He’d pretend he was absent-minded (when he was really sly and foxy) and had just plumb forgotten in the middle of a song that he was playing drums and gotten up to tickle the ivories. But The Charlatans probably never noticed. You dumb fuck, HOW THE FUCK COULD THEY NOTICE SHITHEAD, they were
They were so fucking far out they’re still smilin’. They got grins cornin’ out a their ass.
Unless the name of the group was “Original Recordings” and I’m totally confused, Dan Hicks And The Hot Licks’ first album on the Epic label, and before and since for that matter, Original Recordings, is a mere masterpiece and completely in keeping with all the analogies drawn so far.
To say nothing of parallels (or arm wrestling)
Which we haven’t.
Yet.
Okay, come on, Dan Hicks played shit sticks but boy could he mix those melodies with a bitch of an ear for words. He’s a regular word wizard in fact.
“I hit a grand slam,” says Dan. My soda fountain baby.
“I saw the girl who keeps the ice cream and now it’s time to scream for her,” he says that too.
“And then I had a root beer.” Violins come in.
But then, Roy Loney of the Groovies said, “I got the rockin’ pneumonia from a hole in my shoe.”
And, “She’s got the kinda body on her to make a bald man tear his hair.”
The Charlatans said, “She’s a 32-20 on a 45 frame.” Or something like that and also said, “The Shadow Knows”. But they had help on that, but then the Dead coulda said it as well and never would and didn’t.
The sissy bands.
Well step back jack I’m about to get it on and pound the pud of this vagina mouthed mama fuckin ..,. mmmm . . . let ’im have it where ’is balls should be.
Fuck you sissy.
No man, they were the dream bands. Sailing along on a smile.
The Dream Bands.
They love you. And me. They love us and we sit on their balls. They care.
Don’t you understand?
Dan Hicks stands a man and his dog on the Globe Propaganda album cover. PFC green. Original recordings. With Sherry Snow and Christina, who are gone now.
“Yes, once again it’s time for Jimmy, The Talking Dummy.”
Yaaaaaa
Billy, The Boot Black.
What is this? Did the Airplane ever even mention Billy, The Boot Black?
You bet your subscription to the Rolling Stone special on the resurrection they didn’t.
I mean, Dan Hicks says IT. “When the juke joint’s jumpin’ there ain’t no sanity at all. ”
The back of the album cover was shot at 7:15. I presume in the evening, but with this kind of group you can’t tell.
“Love time, I’m a kid again,” sez Roy Loney.
Sure they could play hard too. Cyril Jordan and Tim Lynch can ride with the best alive.
But why ride your way through life?
“Clap your hands and pick a petunia.” Roy again.
Roy and Cyril and I and a groupie in a volkswagon-sized Mustang on the way past Hollywood High. Crusin’ past Hollywood High. The moisture from the young cunts there makes it rain at lunch time. Well, at least mist a little. Nieblo.
