4.09.2008

Lemon Fog: Three O`clock Merrian Webster Time (Rare Wild Garage,1965)

BAND INFO

The Lemon Fog were a Houston-based quintet that had the distinction of being the first rock act signed to Ray McGinnis' Orbit Records label. They started out in the spring of 1963 as The Bar Eights, formed by Fillmore High School classmates Danny Ogg and Terry Horde, with Timmy Thorpe on bass, and Dale VanDeloo on saxophone and vocals. They were a Rip Chords-type surf band, with a few pop-soul numbers mixed into their sets. The group got a few coffee bar gigs and a sock hop to two to play before they broke up when VanDeloo supposedly attacked Ogg with a mike stand during an argument. Enter Chris Lyons, who was recruiting musicians at Clem's Music in Houston for a new band he was forming. Danny Ogg showed up at the store, and Lyons asked him to join--Ogg agreed on condition that Timmy Thorpe, who had just gotten laid off from work, play bass. Lyons agreed, and by that weekend, The Pla-Boys, as they were known, were playing their first gig, at St. Regis College for the Arts. It was there that they were seen and heard by Ted Eubanks, an avant garde composer on Houston's mod scene, caught The Pla-Boys' act, which consisted mostly of covers of such garage greats as Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs and ? and the Mysterians. Eubanks liked the way they played more than what they played, and immediately approached them after the show. The band liked his suggestions, and he began putting original numbers into the group's sets. He also changed their image from clean-cut, matching suits to psychedelic, including beads. In a matter of weeks in 1965, they went from being The Pla-Boys to The Lemon Fog, who quickly became recognized as one of the more formidable bands in Houston. The group's line-up soon shifted as Timmy Thorpe was dropped and Danny Ogg moved to bass, with Terry Horde taking over the lead guitar spot. They won a local battle of the bands, and, with help from producer-songrwriter Jimmy Duncan, were approached by Orbit Records with the offer of a recording contract. Only three singles were ever issued on the group by Orbit, although they recorded many hours' worth of demos under Eubanks' direction--he handled most of the songwriting, alternating with Duncan. The best of these was "The Living Eye Theme," also known as "The Lemon Fog," which reached No. 8 on the regional and local charts in the Houston area. The group was a major draw there and in the Houston area, and made many television appearances promoting their singles. Their sound, initially typical garage band dance material, had advanced by leaps and bounds. Some of their songs resembled the folk-rock of the Byrds or the Beau Brummels, while their playing was closer in spirit to the complexity of Moby Grape, with lots of unexpected twists in the guitar and organ parts, and interesting harmonies. Personality conflicts eventually doomed the band, despite some extraordinary music to their credit. Egos clashed, and the use of drugs hampered the talents of one member, and in 1970 Eubanks was cutting records as a solo artist, which heralded the group's disintegration.

OK... DIGGING MY OLD LPS and CDS I decided to pick THIS ONE...
REAL TOUGHT, WILD AND RAW GARAGE FROM TEXAS...
GARAGEHEADS WILL LOVE THIS ONE, PURE TEXAS 60S SOUND ! !


LINK: DRINK SOME LEMON JUICE (A FROG)

8 comments:

The Bomber said...

Pass:
mza-garagelemon

piepsi said...

It's LEMON FOG :)
Just caught this one off from Ebay. Yellow Vinyl. Yeah.

Mateus Paul said...

Ainda estou descobrindo o disco. Mas nas primeiras audições adorei muito! "Summer" e "Echos Of a Time" são as minhas favoritas, por enquanto!

aldo said...

I remember this one..but I didn't get it (you couldn't get them all!).
IT IS BRILLIANT!
Not strictly Psychedelic, but they have a kind of psychedelic vibe all the same..and yeah "Summer" how cool!
When you listen to this stuff you feel like you always knew the band.
DO NOT MISS IT!
Pablo, what about the other side of this, The Nomads, any good?

StevenK said...

More good stuff! Any chance you could also post the other side featuring the Nomads? If so, great! Thanks again!

Steven

Mateus Paul said...

Mirror:

http://sharebee.com/f41db761

Anonymous said...

Awesome I love this one

Thanks!

L said...

Thanks for this. These guys are great. Terrific melodies.