Category Archives: Tener

The State of Mind (Florida)

The State of Mind, from left: Tommy Devore, Gary Redwine, Mike Darby, Glenn Coleman and Bobby Corley
The State of Mind, from left: Tommy Devore, Gary Redwine, Mike Darby, Glenn Coleman and Bobby Corley
This photo and the one of the band van from Bobby’s blog Diary of a Drummer

State of Mind Tener 45 City LifeLast year Bobby Corley of the State of Mind sent me a copy of their cool single for the Tener label. I sent him a couple emails to thank him and ask for more information on the band, but haven’t heard back yet. Bobby has a blog Diary of a Drummer with many good photos, but he hasn’t updated it in a couple years.

The members of the State of Mind were Tom Devore (vocals), Glenn Coleman (lead guitar), Mike Darby (rhythm guitar), John Dumas (bass) and Bob Corley (drums). Their original drummer was Leo Gates, replaced by Corley in 1967 when Gates went to college. Gary Redwine also played bass with the group, though I’m not sure if he came before or after John Dumas.

The band was from Winter Park, by Orlando, often appearing on bills at the Orlando Youth Center and The Place, but other than that I don’t know much about them.

Their first release was probably this very fine version of “My Back Pages” on the Bee Jay Demo Volume II compilation from 1967 (Tener TC 1014). I hadn’t heard this until recently.

The State of Mind – My Back Pages

State of Mind Tener 45 Time Will TellTheir single came out in late ’67 or ’68. “City Life” is really unusual, with static noise layered over the music throughout the song, giving it an apocalyptic feel. It was written by Mike Darby, Tom Devor and Glenn Coleman. The flip “Time Will Tell” is also good, written by Devor and Darby.

Glenn Coleman and Tom Devore, and later Mark Darby, played with a later group called the Orange Wedge (not the Michigan group who recorded “From the Tomb to the Womb” or the Baltimore group with two LPs in the ’70s).

Thank you to Jeff Lemlich for the transfer of “My Back Pages”.

The State of Mind van, Winter Park, Florida

Orlando Youth Center, Fall 1968 schedule, featuring the State of Mind, Ron & the Starfires, the Marshmellow Steamshovel, Plant Life, Magic Circle and more.
Orlando Youth Center, Fall 1968 schedule, featuring the State of Mind, Ron & the Starfires, the Marshmellow Steamshovel, Plant Life, Magic Circle and more.
Orlando Youth Center, Fall 1968 schedule From the collection of Rootbound at the Limestone Lounge.
Orlando Youth Center, Fall 1968 schedule From the collection of Rootbound at the Limestone Lounge.

The Malemen

 The Malemen from left: Bill Avera, Ed Bacon, Larry Bacon and Randy Bushee
The Malemen from left: Bill Avera, Ed Bacon, Larry Bacon and Randy Bushee

Updated April 2011

Malemen Pine Hills 45 My Little GirlI really like this 45. “My Little Girl” has rockabilly-style guitar with a light touch and drumming to match. “She Means All the World to Me” is the ballad side, and a great one if you can dig the slowness.

The T4KM- prefix in the coding signifies a RCA custom press from the first half of 1966. This predates other 45s I know of on the Pine Hills (PH) label. Don Gore ran the studio in the Pine Hills neighborhood, just west of downtown Orlando. H.F. Gore may have been the same person, or a relative, but he’s credited with producing this 45. H.F. Gore also had a country 45 backed by the Undertakers.

Jeff Lemlich’s Savage Lost mentions that the Malemen backed Sue Pennie on her Dunmar 45 “Ghost Town” / “He’s Everything I Need”, which I’ve never heard or seen. They also covered “Norweigan Wood” for the rare Bee Jay Booking Agency LP 12 Groovy Hits, 12 Florida Bands on Tener.

I couldn’t find much concrete info on the Malemen until guitarist Randy Bushee contacted me.

I played in a couple of good bands in Orlando during the ’60s … The Malemen and Oxford Blue. Also the Brass Opera at the Citizen’s Nation Bank building, downtown Orlando.

The Malemen during my time was Bill Avera on guitar, Ed Bacon on bass, his brother Larry Bacon on drums. Larry and I would switch off sets, I’d play drums a set while Larry played guitar, then we’d switch off. We played Beatles, James Brown tunes and I did a few ballads too.

I just met up with the drummer from Covington Tower (another group from Orlando). He gave me an old newspaper clipping about Don Gore. It has a picture of The Malemen while I was in the band. I don’t remember recording but the picture is of me and them and the story is about his recording place in Pine Hills. I was with the Malemen before or after those recordings.

Oxford Blue was a “soul band,” we had a horn section. We did several of the Blood Sweat & Tears hits as well as the James Brown type of stuff. I was pleased to see that old Orlando Youth Center Schedule with our name on it [see the State of Mind entry].

I wrote “Alice in Wonderland” in 12th grade. It was about my then girlfriend, Alice. I sang it at my 12th grade talent show, I won it too. The other side of the record was a cover of Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”. We were a band with horn section and put our own touch to it. I did a lot of work with Eric Schaubacher at BeeJay in Oxford Blue. Eric went on to a successful career. You can see him at Winter Wood studios in the Ozark mountains where he has a resort style recording studio with many gold records hanging on the wall. Oxford Blue got together a while back for a reunion.

Larry is a retired sheriff now playing music with Patty Mann in Colorado. Eddie, Larry’s brother is a retired US Marine. Not sure what Bill is doing yet. I am trying to find those guys. My emails to them keep bouncing so they must have new ones. I just moved back to FL after being gone almost 30 years. I am still pretty active playing in bands even at the young age of 62!

Randy Bushee

Randy sent this profile of Don Gore and the Malemen from, I believe, the Orlando Evening-Star. It discusses the start of Pine Hills Recording in detail, saying that Don Gore put over $12,000 into buying Ampex decks, a Gates mixing board, a Fisher Eco-Reverb and a Rekokut dub cutter. He started the studio as much out of interest in recording engineering as in turning a profit. “‘Kids used to use my place to practice,’ he said. ‘There wasn’t any place in the area to record.'” Pine Hills had only a few small hits around the Orlando area, but Don’s legacy will include all the good music he recorded.

The article also mentions upcoming releases – a country disc by Jerry Morris & John Lindy’s String Band and a rock group called the Thunders. I’m not sure if these ever saw release. Jeff Lemlich tells me “The Thunders were probably the Fabulous Thunder. They were from the Orlando area, and were booked by Bee Jay (the guys behind the Tener label). The only 45 of theirs I know is ‘So Hold Me Tight’/’Jealous Of You’, on Tight 3606 from January 1966”.

Profile of Pine HIlls Recording Company's Don Gore and the Malemen, Orlando Evening-Star
Profile of Pine HIlls Recording Company’s Don Gore and the Malemen, Orlando Evening-Star