WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND : Volume One

Stop me if you've heard this one before.  A couple of L.A. rich kids with too much time on their hands buy some recording equipment, rent a space and start recording their own album, which they proceed to press themselves and sell at gigs and local record stores.  Big deal, right?  Happens all the time.  Ahhh, but this is a little different.  See, these cats did it in '66!  Hell, that's even before Guided By Voices!  The band was made up of  Michael Lloyd (who went on to work with the Osmonds, Stryper and Shawn Cassidy, but don't hold that against him) and brothers Shawn and Danny Harris.  They were all 16 or 17 when they got an Ampex 2-track, a 1-track Ampex, a small mixer, a Fender reverb unit, a tape echo and a some mics, including a U47 (remember this is the '60's and they weren't that expensive then) and started recording in Mike's bedroom.  They later had their parents rent them out a storefront, where they finished recording the rest of this album.  So, what does it sound like?  Well, it's not lo-fi, in fact the recording is pretty clean.  The material is pretty basic garage pop with some covers thrown in but it's cool to think that these kids were doing DIY. way back when.  This record is not essential but the next 3 records they put out are.  Evidently Sundazed is putting those out as well so start saving. (Sundazed)