The Ferguson Tractor

Another obscurity from the MTA label. Ferguson Tractor was the vehicle (hah, sorry for the pun!) for D. Ferguson, who wrote both these songs. “12 O’Clock High” has strong fuzz guitar backing the vocals and what sounds like a Leslie speaker for the guitar’s wah effect on the chorus.

“Desperation Blues” is very much like other psychedelic blues from 1967, like the Dead or Big Brother & the Holding Co. The guitar fills remind me of early Country Joe & the Fish especially. Neat watery effect on the organ. Anyone who likes blues in the style of the early Bay Area groups should dig this.

I’ve read that “Desperation Blues” was the last 45 released by the Moonglow label, in early 1967, but I’ve only ever seen it on MTA, a 1969 release. The Moonglow link, if it’s real (which I doubt), plus the general sound of the record strongly suggest this is a California group.

The Wild Vybrashons, Birmingham, Alabama

The Wild Vybrashons, from left: Chuck Terpo, Vern Reeves, Harford Capps, Al Lovoy and Mark Papisan
The Wild Vybrashons, from left: Chuck Terpo, Vern Reeves, Harford Capps, Al Lovoy and Mark Papisan

Revised June, 2010

Wild Vybrashons Red Eye 45 One Track MindThe original Wild Vybrashons were Charles Terpo, Vernon Reeves, Hartford Capps and Mark Papisan, along with a female singer who was replaced by Al Lovoy, who had been in two prior bands, the Swingin’ Lamp Liters and the Royal Carousels.

They released one 45, with a version of “A Place in the Sun” as the A-side. I much prefer their update of “One Track Mind”, a song that had been recorded previously by Gary Lewis & the Playboys and the Knickerbockers.

The record was arranged by Steve Norris and produced by Glen Powers, two popular DJs on Birmingham radio station WSGN. Not surprisingly, the record hit that station’s charts, with “A Place in the Sun” reaching #1 on April 24, 1969.

After the single the group shuffled members, adding another former member of the Lamp Liters, Gary Swatzell.

Thanks to Diana Lovoy for sending the scan of the photo and business card and to Al Lovoy for correcting the band lineup in his comment below.

Wild Vybrashons business card with Al's name misspelled as Al Lavoy
Business card with Al’s name misspelled as Al Lavoy
Cool ad and article on the Monkees coming to Birmingham City Auditorium, with the 'Wild Vybrasions' opening.
Cool ad and article on the Monkees coming to Birmingham City Auditorium, with the ‘Wild Vybrasions’ opening.
Not surprisingly the band’s name is often spelled differently, like Wyld Vibrations, Wild Vibrashons, Vybrashuns, etc.

Annie and the Orphans

Annie and the Orphans were a part of the New Hampshire band scene in the 60’s. The group was from Meredith, a small town on the banks of Lake Winnipesaukee. Although they didn’t release any records at the time, they won a battle of the bands in Franklin, NH.

Original members included Bob McNab on bass, Anatole Paquette (“Annie”) on vocals, Tom Paquette, Jay Ley and Jim Corriveau. More recent members include Peter Previte on keyboards, Roy D’Innocenzo on guitar and Barry Nelson on drums.

Bob McNab sent in these great photos to share, including photos of earlier bands of Peter and Barry, and wrote to me about the group:

Two of us (front man Anatole “Annie” Paquette, and I) have been together since 1964, but we’ve had many other musicians with us over the years, who are with other bands now, but they occasionally sit in from time to time for the fun of it.

We have never made a studio recording as a band, but some of us have done work on recordings with friends bands, especially our drummer, Barry Nelson, he has done studio work on many projects.

We still play venues in, and around NH, ME, VT, and MA.

Check out their website AnnieandtheOrphans.com.


Annie and the Orphans in 1968

Barry Nelson, our drummer, and his old band, The Ampegs c1962


Peter Previte, our keyboard player, and his band, the Wolves circa 1966

The Voxmen

Voxmen at the Hut in Toccoa, Georgia
Voxmen at the Hut in Toccoa, Georgia, l-r: Bill Harding, Bill Thompson, Eddy Jordan, George Dilworth (drums), and David Westmoreland.

The Voxmen released two 45s on their own VM label. Although most of the band was from the town of Toccoa in northern Georgia, they often performed throughout north Georgia and South Carolina and recorded one of their records in Charlotte, North Carolina.

They recorded their first 45 in Atlanta, produced by Barry Westbrook. “They Say (You’re Gonna Lose That Girl)” is their crudest number, it sounds like many a Texas record to me. “You Tell Me”, written by George Dilworth and Eddy Jordan, is less primitive but holds up equally well, with an excellent solo and scream during the break.

They recorded their second 45, “Time Won’t Change My Mind”, at Arthur Smith’s studio in Charlotte, NC in December of 1967, a three hour’s drive from Toccoa. Their harmonies are smoother, the guitar jangly instead of distorted, and the organ takes a backseat to Sam Camp’s catchy harmonica lines. It’s a radio-friendly 45 that probably didn’t get much exposure, but it holds up very well to repeated listens.

The Voxmen
l-r: Bill Thompson on rhythm guitar, Eddy Jordan on bass, George Dilworth on the drums, and David Westmoreland on lead guitar

I interviewed drummer, vocalist, and songwriter George Dilworth about his time with the Voxmen:

I connected with music from my earliest recollection of hearing it. Coming from a family of four – two girls and two boys – I was the oldest boy. My sisters had a small record player and I cut my teeth on Buddy Holly, Elvis, Shirelles, Platters, Bo Diddley, early rock and roll. I was always pounding away on something with my hands, which led to bongo drums. My dad died when I was eleven and my mother dated a musician for several years (they almost married). He talked me into buying a used set of drums (Slingerland, green glitter) at a music store in Greenville, SC.

Between the Beatles and Motown, I was in love with music. I played with a small three piece band (guitar, bass, and drums) called the Kapps for a few months. Meanwhile, I was also playing country music (which I dislike for the most part) with my mother’s boyfriend to supplement my income and stay in practice. We played VFW clubs, Moose Lodges, and Armory dances.

I had seen the Voxmen play at a popular hang-out in Seneca (my hometown), known as the Chicken Shack, and was impressed. When the group I first played with (The Kapps – guitar, bass, and drums) broke up, I sat in on a song or two to give drummers a break at the Chicken Shack occasionally, and Eddy and I had spoken a time or two at the shack. He undoubtedly remembered me as a drummer without a band and when they needed a drummer they tracked me down.

It surprised me to get a call from Georgia (if memory serves me correctly, [Voxmen manager] Barry Westbrook called me at home) asking if I was interested in auditioning as a drummer for the Voxmen. It was the summer of my sixteenth year. The original drummer was moving to keyboards. They also had a lead guitar (David Westmoreland), rhythm guitar (Bill Thompson), bass (Eddy Jordan). Bill Harding was the drummer moving to keyboards. I went after the position, never giving the first thought to the distance between Toccoa and Seneca should I become a member of the band. Ultimately, where there was a will, there was a way.

Mutually addicted to the Beatles, Eddy and I became close and began singing together (and later writing). Eddy tought me how to harmonize. That led to my doing more and more vocals. I am lead vocalist on both “You Tell Me” and “They Say You’re Gonna Lose That Girl”.

For the life of me, I do not remember where in Atlanta we went to record our first 45. It was an old chicken house or barn converted into a recording studio. Our manager probably set it up. Bill Harding, whom I haven’t been in contact with since the late 60’s, might recall where it was. I’ve been told he lives in Florida and that Sam has invited him to his 60th birthday jam, so, perhaps he can put you in touch with him. Anyway, it was a crude set-up, but we were excited just to be recording. We were pretty nervous at first, though we “settled in” once we began to play. The 45 sounds pretty much like what you would have heard if you had been there.

It was during this time that I met Sam Camp. He played with one of the best bands around at the time, the Avalons. I was a huge fan of the Avalons. I sat in for their drummer a time or two at the Shack and subsequently got to know some of them as time progressed. Sam was a member of the Voxmen when we recorded our second record, “Good Things” and “Time Won’t Change My Mind.”

[The photo above] was taken at the Chicken Shack sometime in 1967 prior to the Voxmen’s second release, “Time Won’t Change My Mind” and “Good Things.” The girl standing next to me was my date, Kay Chambers. Up front and center is Sam Camp on keyboards with Eddy Jordan to the far right.

The band was enjoying a close-knit period with Roy Thompson on lead guitar (not pictured) and his brother, Bill on rhythm (not pictured). Sam Camp and Roy Thompson came aboard not long after our gig in Greenville with the Dave Clark Five, bringing a much-needed seasoning to the band. We were experiencing a surge of creativity from virtually every musician in the group, culminating in the Voxmen’s last recording (December, 1967).

Our second recording was done, as you know, at Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte. Sam loved getting to play the baby Hammond and blew us all away on the harmonica break on “Time Won’t Change My Mind.”

Eddy and I stood side by side to sing “Time Won’t Change My Mind”, with a scream from me and a “hooooo” from Eddy. I was worried about my voice that day since I had a cold (stuffy nose, scratchy throat, etc.), but it didn’t seem to bother me. Eddy and I were grinning from ear to ear or laughing out loud the whole time.

Something most people do not know is that “Time Won’t Change My Mind” was really written by Eddy and me. The original song by Roy and Eddy never quite suited us, but after Eddy and I rewrote it, we never bothered to change the credits. It’s still mine and Eddy’s favorite song by the Voxmen.

We came up with the idea for the guitar and harmonies at the end of “Good Things” the night before going up to record in Charlotte. Hearing it play back the next day in the studio was a trip. We were never quite happy with the horns on “Good Things,” but had a lot of fun doing both songs. I sing lead vocal except on “Good Things”, which is sung by Roy Thompson. Eddy, David Westmoreland, and I sang background harmonies.

About where we played live. I mentioned the Chicken Shack in Seneca. It was owned by a fellow named Charlie B. Stancil (he and a friend went in together to convert an old chicken shed into a place the young people could hear live music and dance, but the friend took his share and pulled out) who later went on to give a few live outdoor concerts on his farm in the country with groups like Edgar Winter and White Trash, Cactus, Fleetwood Mac, Marshall Tucker Band, and REO Speedwagon to name a few. Charlie’s house burned down years ago and when he rebuilt his house, he finished the basement in a smaller replica of the old Chicken Shack. Charlie brought a lot of bands to this area who would never have come otherwise. All of the young people liked Charlie B. when I was coming up.

 The Voxmen with the Dave Clark Five, at the Greenville Auditorium
The Voxmen with the Dave Clark Five, at the Greenville Auditorium

We played places like the Chicken Shack, youth centers (like the Hut in Toccoa) throughout SC and GA, and, at our peak, opened for the Dave Clark Five at the Greenville Auditorium in Greenville, SC. An article in the Greenville paper made a big deal of our Beatle cover song, “A Day in the Life”. We heard from several sources that we outshone the Dave Clark Five that night. I still have some photographs of the two groups backstage. (Would you believe my future wife was in the audience and managed to get my autograph that night?)

It was during this phase of the band that we discovered a group in California already had legal use of the name Voxmen. We lost Roy Thompson, our lead guitar, so, Eddy and I made a trip to Jacksonville, Florida to try and recruit an old friend of Eddy’s. We brought Karl Hague back to Toccoa with us and formed the group Fredrick Haze. Internal problems (Karl was married and his wife was expecting) broke up a pretty good sound that never saw maturity. I got a job and married Deborah while the band was fizzling and never attempted to re-enter the field of music.

The keyboardist and harmonica player on “Time Won’t Change My Mind,” Sam Camp, has continued to play music over the duration of his life. He is primarily a saxophone player. He threw a big jam at his place ten years ago when he turned fifty. He’s doing it again this October for his sixtieth and it’s going to be the best yet. We’re trying to get all the old band members to attend.

George Dilworth drumming at the Greenville Auditorium. Eddy Jordan on bass in foreground.

Special thanks to George for taking the time to answer my questions and for sending the photos of the band, and to Sam Camp for the photo of the Frederick Haze poster. Sam tells me the reunion was a great success, with the band playing for over three hours. I hope to add his story on the band, along with some photos in the near future. Check out the Avalons, Sam Camp’s band before joining the Voxmen.

The Swingin’ Lamp Liters

The Swingin' Lamp Liters photo

One of the finest records on the Vaughn Ltd. label is the Swingin’ Lamp Liters’ “Get Away”. Members at the time of recording were Al Lovoy on vocals, Tommy Calton guitar, Jesse Warth bass and Gary Swatzell on organ. Charles Carbonie was band leader and drummer.

The record was cut in 1967, featuring Tommy Calton’s original “Get Away” backed with a cover of “Little Latin Lupe Lu”.

Other members of the band at one time or another included Frankie Parrish rhythm guitar, Greg Sheffield bass (actually bass lines on a 6-string guitar!), Steve Burkes on organ and three lead vocalists: Jimmy Whitt, George Tobias and Larry McMeekin.

Charles Carbonie formed the Lamp Liters in January of ’64 and continued playing live shows until early 1969.

After cutting the single, Tommy Calton, Al Lovoy and Gary Swatzell left the band to form the Royal Carousel with Jimmy Whitt on bass and Al Pettinato on drums. The Royal Carousel played current sunny pop songs like the Merry Go Round’s “Live”, but only lasted a few months, when Tommy and Gary returned to the Lamp Liters.

Al Lovoy went into the Wild Vybrashons, who cut a good fuzz version of the Knickerbockers’ “One Track Mind”, produced by two WSGN DJs, Steve Norris and Glen Powers.

Tommy Calton formed bands including the Brass Button, Wooden Music and Hotel, and still plays music professionally. The photo and much of the information here is from his (now-replaced) website www.tommycalton.com.

The Inn Crowd

Baton Rouge group the Inn Crowd recorded a few 45s, all produced by Sam Montel (a pseudonym for S.J. Montalbano), and released on his Montel-Michelle and Michelle labels.

Bill Johnson founded the Inn Crowd and recruited Hal Ellis and Cookie Smith from the Emeralds.

Members changed over the years, but they included:

Cookie Smith – lead vocals and organ
Hal Ellis – lead guitar, replaced by Jimmy O’Rourke after the singles
Sammy Rubin – rhythm guitar and shouts on “Run Clarence Run”
Bill Johnson – bass, replaced by Harold Coward after the singles
Jim Ingalls – drums, replaced by Lester Dodge by the time of the singles
Darrel Folse – tambourine
Jerry Ameroso – percussion in the early days

Duke Bardwell of the Greek Fountains occasionally sang with the Inn Crowd.

I haven’t heard their first 45, a cover of the Impressions’ “You Must Believe Me” b/w “Sun Arise”. Anyone have sound clips or scans of that single?

Their second 45, “Baby You’re So Fine” features twelve string guitar work by Hal Ellis, harmonica and reverb on the beat. Hal Ellis is best known as guitarist for John Fred and the Playboys, who he joined in 1968. Bill Johnson & Lester Dodge also ended up in the Playboys after the Inn Crowd.

The song was a cover of “Gee Baby”, a 1960 hit for Joe & Ann on Ace records, written by Joe Joseph and Alvin “Red” Tyler. Promo copies credit Danny Cohen (aka Casey Kelly of the Greek Fountains) for supervision of the session. It’s a fine commercial recording and could have been a hit for the band with a little more luck, but a mislabeled release probably caused confusion and hurt its chances.

Inn Crowd Michelle 45 Run Clarence Run The Michelle label assigned “Baby You’re So Fine” a master number of 74 M/M 68. However, labels were printed with “Baby You’re So Fine” having a master # of 74 M/M 67, which actually belonged to another Inn Crowd song, “Run Clarence Run”.

This mix-up may have been the reason that there is one 45 release that has the label for “Baby You’re So Fine” but the song that plays is actually “Run Clarence Run”. This mixed-up release is backed by a cover of John Mayall’s “Someday After Awhile (You’ll Be Sorry)”, a fine blues workout on the guitar, and credited to Cookie & the Inn Crowd. Thus Michelle put out a record with essentially two B-sides on it, which I’m sure did the band no favors.

When Michelle realized their mistake, they must have released the actual “Baby You’re So Fine”, correctly labeled this time, and with a correctly labeled “Run Clarence Run” on the flip (though the master numbers are still wrong on the labels).

“Run Clarence Run turns out to be a faster take on Willie West’s “Willie Knows How” on Rustone:

Their third 45 is “Go Away”, an original by Ellis. The opening features an interesting arrangement of twelve string, bass and rhythm guitar, creating a droning, melancholy sound. The song gets a little monotonous though, with its repetitive lyrics. The band’s name is listed as (Ye Olde) Inn Crowd for this release, and it was backed with “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby”, released in 1967.

Stewart Ellis, Hal’s son quoted from Hal’s notes in a comment below:

We were invited by the management of a major local department store, Godchaux’s (later to become Maison Blanche) to be their special guests at a fashion show and autograph party on a Saturday afternoon at the store. We signed and gave out over 100 autographed pictures of the band.

It wasn’t long before our name reached Dallas, Texas where there was a recording act named ‘Jon, Robin, and the Inn Crowd’ that was managed by the powerful team of Hanna-Barbara of cartoon fame. We received a letter indicating that the name “The Inn Crowd” was owned by this Dallas band. In response, we quickly renamed the band to something more British ‘(ye olde) Inn Crowd’. In Louisiana, we still were known as The Inn Crowd.

Sam Rubin wrote to me:

I don’t remember the guy you have listed as percussion at all and I don’t remember Jimmy taking Hal’s place. Jimmy was my roommate for several years. Lester didn’t come into the band until Jim Ingalls left for Viet Nam, long after the recordings. I don’t remember for sure, but I think I was the one who played the harmonica on “Clarence”.  We did those records pretty early in our history, probably in ’66.

I’m not sure we would qualify as a “garage band.” Except for the original recordings, we were just a cover band with some pretty decent talent. Hal was one of the finest guitarist I have ever heard. We worked very hard at out harmonies and musical interpretations of songs. I guess you know we were all inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame a few years ago, 2010 I think.

This group is unrelated to the Shreveport In-Crowd, nor to the band that had an LP titled Live at the Bellemont in the 1970’s.

The Inn Crowd’s complete releases are:

Montel Michelle MX 971- “You Must Believe Me” b/w “Sun Arise” (1966)
Michelle MX-982 – “Run Clarence Run” (mislabeled as “Baby You’re So Fine”) b/w “Someday After Awhile (You’ll Be Sorry)” (B-side credited to Cookie & the Inn Crowd)
Michelle MX-982 – “Baby You’re So Fine” b/w “Run Clarence Run”
Montel Michelle MX-986 – “Go Away” b/w “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby”  – as (ye olde) Inn Crowd

Does anyone have a photo of the group?

Special thanks to Bossy Boots for the loan of her original copy of “Baby You’re So Fine” and for pointing out the Willie West original.

The Rhythm Checkers

A truly European band, the Rhythm Checkers had members from four countries over the course of their three-year career. Their first EP includes some of the wildest garage ever cut on the continent.

Begun in 1965 in Sarrelouis, a town in the Saarland region of Germany very close to the border with France, the band had three Germans: Dave Kelly (Wolfgang Mersinger) on vocals and guitar, Kurt Horbach on bass, and Norbert Hohlweg (spelled Hohlweck on the EP) on drums, with Eddy Van Nelfen from the Netherlands on rhythm guitar. Occasionally Frank Farian, the founder of the Hansa label, would join them on keyboards.



Kibitz Club, Strasbourg, May 1966

The band relocated to Strasbourg, France in 1966, replacing Dave Kelly with two Frenchmen: Robby Stierheim of the Black and White (“Where Did You Go” on Storz) on guitar, and Roby’s friend Roland Bauer (aka “Bouboule”) of the Skat Five as new lead singer.

That summer the Rhythm Checkers traveled to play the Puce Palladium in the town of Juan les Pins in the French Riviera, and on November 8 they opened for Jerry Lee Lewis at Paris’ Olympia Theatre, playing r&b hits like Ride Your Pony and Long Tall Sally. They went over big, leading to a month-long booking at Kiki Chauvieres’ club the Locomotive in Paris.


Juan les Pins, Summer 1966

Returning to Strasbourg in December, they cut their first EP at the Kibitz Club, produced by Alain Dubois and pressed in 2000 copies on the Disques AGD label. “Cause I Need You” and “Theme of the Rhythm Checkers” are originals by Robby Stierheim and Eddy Van Nelfen.

Both are solid songs, though the production brings the drums and vocals to the fore and buries the fuzz guitar on “Theme of the Rhythm Checkers”. On this song especially, Roland’s voice reminds me of Roky Erickson’s though I’m sure he was unaware of the Elevators at the time.

They also cover Bo Diddley’s “Said Oh Yeah” and, surprisingly, a great version of “On Your Way Down the Drain,” originally by the New York group the King Bees. This song is crude as can be, a real garage classic.

On February 21, 1967 they returned to the Olympia to open for Chuck Berry. By this time another former member of the Black and White, Danny Gentner replaced Kurt Horbach on bass. A hoarse Roland Bauer opens their set with a shout of “Vivre le rock n’ roll et vivre les Rhythm Checkers!”

This wild performance was recorded for their second EP, featuring all cover songs this time: “Long Tall Sally”, “Kansas City”, “Land of a Thousand Dances”, and the Small Faces’ recent release “I Can’t Dance With You”. Again they’re engaged to play Paris clubs, this time the Tchoo Tchoo, the Poporama and the Bus Palladium.


At Gérardmer, summer 1967

In the fall of ’67 English keyboardist Chris Hadfield joined the band for gigs with the Artwoods and Sandie Shaw. The group broke up at the end of the year, with Robby, Chris and Roland forming a r&b group called the Meats. Roland reformed the Checkers in the 1970s for one single.

The Hergs

The Hergs of Adelaide

Updated May, 2010

Adelaide group the Hergs recorded one 45 before moving to Melbourne to try their luck. Members at the time of this recording were Eddy McPherson (Robin McPherson) on vocals, Mike Williams on guitar, Laurie Lehman guitar, Peter Luckins on bass, and Barry Sincock on drums. Peter Luckins and Eddy McPherson coined the band’s name, and if there’s a meaning to it, they kept it to themselves.

Hergs Parlophone 45 Style of LoveFrom 1967, “Style of Love” is a great early punk-meets-psychedelia track, written by Eddy McPherson. The explosive version of “Cadillac” on the flip is not the Bo Diddley song covered by the Kinks and myriad of others, but a cover of Vince Taylor’s “Brand New Cadillac”. To make matters more confusing, the label gives songwriting credit to Chuck Berry, who had no part in either of these songs.

Barry Sincock, the original drummer from The Hergs gave me some info about the group and sent me the great clippings and photos presented here:

The name The Hergs came from bass player Peter Luckins, who said it was a name for Trolls in Northern England. Not sure if this is true or not.

The words of the song “Style Of Love” were written by me, the words came from an article from Life Magazine about the hippies in San Francisco. The song was put together the night before we went into the studio by the whole band.

 Hergs at #5 on 5KA's Top 50, Dec. 15, 1967
Hergs at #5 on 5KA’s Top 50, Dec. 15, 1967

Q. I suppose there weren’t too many psychedelic substances around Adelaide at that time?

It wasn’t until we got to Melbourne and lived in a rundown mansion with a group of prostitutes that everything changed. Lots of crazy nights thanks to the Masters Apprentices and those crazy girls.

The song “Cadillac” we got from watching Molly Meldrum, miming on Kommotion. We didn’t know who wrote it, so we decided Chuck Berry was a good candidate. Mike did the record. John Thorton joined about eight months before we packed up and moved to Melbourne.

The band went to Melbourne under the management of Darryl Sambell, but he was so busy with John Farnham that he passed us on to Geoff Edelsten.

We went into the studios and put down two tracks with John Farnham and Hans Poulson helping with back up. One of the songs was “Three Jolly Dwarfs” which the Zoot ended up recording due to our problems with Geoff. The songs were never released. The tape was left at Armstrong Studios along with a few other bands when Edelsten wouldn’t pay the studio and went off to make his fortune in medical practices.

I was drafted to Vietnam in 1969. Eddie McPherson went on to the musical Hair, and later moved to Melbourne.

Laurie Lehman played lead guitar, he passed away in December 2008.

Barry Sincock

After this record John Thornton replaced Mike Williams and David Potter replaced Barry Sincock. Adrian Russell replaced Eddy McPherson by the time of their last live appearance, at the Royal Melbourne Show in September, 1968.

Source: correspondence with Barry Sincock and Lyn Nuttall’s poparchives.com.au site, which specializes in sources of Australian pop records.

What Is a Herg?

 Hergs profiled in Go-Set, August 30, 1967
Hergs profiled in Go-Set, August 30, 1967

Rose Iwanaga and the Avengers

Rose Iwanaga & the Avengers Philips EP front cover

Rose Iwanaga & the Avengers Philips EP
Rose Iwanaga and the Avengers came from Kuching, capital of Sarawak in eastern Malaysia. Iwanaga is a Japanese name, but I don’t know anything of Rose’s background or how she came to be living in Sarawak.

Rose Iwanaga and the Avengers are credited as the first band from Malaysian Borneo to make an English-language recording. They are said to have made three EPs in total, but I have only ever seen this one, their debut, which I reckon was released in 1967. The Avengers were James Ong – rhythm guitar, Jimmy Ho – lead guitar, Peter Ho – bass, and Jalek Zula – drums.

James Ong (rhythm), Jimmy Ho (lead), Peter Ho (bass), Jalek Zula (drums), Rose Iwanaga
James Ong (rhythm), Jimmy Ho (lead), Peter Ho (bass), Jalek Zula (drums), Rose Iwanaga

I love the liner notes description of Jalek Zula as a ‘violent’ drummer. This isn’t obvious from the recording, however, most of which is saccharine-sweet with huge doses of strings added into the mix. I wonder what the band might have sounded like when they played the small nightclubs of Kuching without all the accompaniment? Much better I am sure.

Too Young seems to be the song that most older Malaysians remember from this record, but my favourite is Please Tell Terry, which is a straight ahead pop song and the only one without the annoying strings or horns. This song and Say You’re Mine are credited to Adrian C. Tills. I have not been able to find out anything about Adrian and do not know whether these songs are cover versions or were written for the band. I have seen Adrian’s name on a record from a Singapore singer also, so perhaps he was a local.

What became of the Avengers is a mystery to me, but I have read that Rose was still performing in Kuching nightclubs until at least the late 1990s.

Rose Iwanaga & the Avengers Philips EP back cover

The Inferno 5 Plus 1

 The Inferno 5 + 1 from left: Wayne Wallace, Lance Whitman, Les Maki, Dave Powers, John Bell and Randy LaRocque
The Inferno 5 + 1 from left: Wayne Wallace, Lance Whitman, Les Maki, Dave Powers, John Bell and Randy LaRocque

About a hundred miles east of Sault Ste. Marie is Sudbury, Ontario, home of the great Inferno 5 Plus 1. Members of the band were Lance Whitman and Randy LaRocque on guitars, John Bell vocals, Wayne Wallace (or Wayne Wallice) bass, Leslie Maki on drums and Dave Powers on keyboards and vocals.

 The Inferno 5 + 1 Villa 45 I Can Take It“I Can Take It” has insistent drumming, repetitive guitar riffs, and good harmonies. The lack of cymbals, distortion or echo makes for a very dry production but the band’s raw energy is apparent. Either this song or the flip “Fay’s Gig” (which I haven’t even heard yet – anyone have a transfer?) became part of the soundtrack to the movie “Attack of the Brain Demon”. That movie seems lost to time as a print has never surfaced, though I’ve read silent 8mm footage of the band practicing exists.

John Loweth produced for his own Villa label, and the songwriting credits are R. Larocque and D. Powers. The prefix below the Villa label number, ST-, indicates that this, like the two 45s on Algoma, is an custom press from the Arc company in Toronto.

After my initial post about the Inferno 5 Plus 1, I heard from guitarist Lance Whitman, who gave me background about the band and sent in over a hundred photos of the band (see below). Soon after, producer/manager John Loweth contacted me and filled in some of the details.

 Lance Whitman of the Inferno 5 + 1
Lance Whitman

Lance Whitman:

The Inferno was a local club in a laneway behind Durham Street in Sudbury where we were the house band. That’s where the name Inferno 5 came from, when Randy joined we didn’t want to change it so we just added + 1.

The 45 “I Can Take It” was recorded at a local Radio Station, CHNO here in Sudbury one evening back in the 60’s where John Loweth was a DJ at the time.

I never got to see the movie, it aired at a local Drive-In here which had a large homemade screen on the side of a hill…… The 45 was released around the time that I left the the band. [Prior to this] Wayne Wallace left the group and Les Maki went from drummer to bass player and Rick Panas took over as the drummer.

The Inferno 5 Plus 1“I Can Take It” was not used in the movie that I’m aware of … it may have been as it says on the 45. The flipside “Fay’s Gig” was used in the movie … Where the movie is, is anyone’s guess I would think that there maybe a copy of it somewhere though everyone involved has been out of touch for so long it’s hard to say….

The scene back that was like a lot a towns I guess a lot of local bands…and a lot of fun times The Kids, King Street, Marketville Riot, The Village Steps, The Beasties. Can’t recall all of them.

The Inferno Five + 1 like a lot of groups had differnces of opinions and parted ways. The remaining members went to form ‘The East African Fair’ and they released a 45 “Lovin’ Every Little Thing You Do” written again by Randy and Dave I believe.

The Inferno 5 Plus 1 at the Inferno Club in Sudbury
The Inferno 5 Plus 1 at the Inferno Club in Sudbury
Rick Panas
Rick Panas

John Loweth:

I was a pretty popular DJ on CHNO in Sudbury at that time and also worked for the record company Arc Sound as sales and A&R promotional rep in N. Ontario. I used to do a lot of school dances on Friday nights taking portable DJ equipment to the dances, but around 1964 as groups like Beatles, Dave Clark 5, Stones became so popular, all the students were asking me if I could get a group to come and play at the dances as well.

So as the Inferno 5 +1 who had started to play at the Inferno Club in Sudbury were becoming popular, I had them come out and play basically during my break. Naturally it was a very short time before I was playing 45s during their break, as our roles quickly changed. I suggested we record some material, and as I had access to professional recording equipment, all it took was a little time how to figure out how to do it.

The recording “I Can Take It” received quite a bit of air play throught Northern Ontario. I know – I was the producer, and promotional guy, and band manager, and mother. We recorded it and a number of other tracks in the dead of night at the CHNO radio studios when the station was off the air on single track Ampex reel to reel recorders and did multiple dubs to get everything on tape.

Through my contacts in radio I was able to get all my buddies in other radio stations to play it and chart it, ie: Sault Ste Marie, North Bay, Kirkland Lake, Timmins etc. and then I started booking the band in some of those towns as well.

We sold over 4,000 45’s which was pretty good, but I had access to and knew all the other DJ’s from CJIC and CKCY in the Soo [Sault Ste. Marie], to all the other towns, plus in my day job as a record guy I had their 45’s front racked in all the Kresges, and Woolworths and even drug stores across the north. And also had special signs advertising the records.

Attack of the Brain Demon poster
Attack of the Brain Demon poster, “starring Harvey Ransom, Paul Quesnel, Doreen Wright, Meeka Littlejohn, Frank Carbone and Yolanda Zwygart”

Attack of the Brain Demon was produced by 19 year old local Sudbury High School student Larry Zazelenchuck at a cost of $3,500 in B&W 16 mm, in 1967. Starred local school kids Names included Harvey Ransom, Paul Quesnel, Doreen Wright and some others including me as the DJ announcing some sort of demon sightings.

Larry was a fan of mine and came to see me about this film he was doing, and could I arrange to record the sound track, I think we recorded the Inferno 5 with some instrumental pieces plus other stock music and used naturally “I Can Take It” as the title tune. Its premier was at the Sudbury High School Theatre about 400 seats and sold out several shows, It also played successfully at other high schools around Sudbury area, after that I don’t remember what happened to it, or to Larry.

Later we changed the name to East African Fair and did pretty well with our second record, “Lovin Every Little Thing You Do Girl” (after Lance left) which was a totally different style (more Hermans Hermits) than the Stones style of the first release. Then we moved to the big city of Toronto. We did lots of auditions and things and played in trendy Yorkville where you just had to be if you wanted to be anywhere in Canada at that time of 1967.

The national CTV show ‘After Four’ was interested in replacing the current group Robbie Lane and the Disciples and said they woud use us as the featured band next season, they suggested a name change and the remainder of the group now lead by Randy LaRocque became ‘York Lane’.

The Inferno 5 Plus 1 "I Can Take It" painted posterA major booking agent booked the group in southern Ontario and upper New York state, but unfortunately several band members became homesick and discouraged due to lack of money, and went home, leaving just Randy and myself. I think we were just inches away from stardom.

Randy went on to bigger things, as lead guitarist and arranger for many well known bands and singers and was based in Atlanta, GA for 25 plus years, and I have been lucky enough to make a lifelong living with my company Mayfair Music, due in part to everything learned in those early exciting years.

Update: I’m sorry to report that John Loweth passed away on April 4, 2009. John generously shared his recollections and memorabilia to help document the story of this band.

Srouces: Photos of the band from Lance Whitman, scan of the ad for Attack of the Brain Demon and some info on the band from an article by Alex Taylor and Ivan Amirault in Loose Leaf Review #2.

A history of the Inferno 5 Plus 1 in photos

From the collection of Lance Whitman (click on any photo below to see many more images):

 At the Sudbury Arena - the Queen looks on from above!
At the Sudbury Arena – the Queen looks on from above!
Rehearsal at Les Maki's house in Lively
Rehearsal at Les Maki’s house in Lively

 At the Sault Ste. Marie Boathouse
At the Sault Ste. Marie Boathouse
 At the Inferno Club

At the Inferno Club

Photos pt. 5
Photos pt. 5
Photos pt. 6
Photos pt. 6

Two documents of a later version of the band, from the collection of Ivan Amirault:

After Lance Whitman had left the band, RPM Weekly, March 18, 1967
After Lance Whitman had left the band, RPM Weekly, March 18, 1967

New Directions in Sound with the Inferno Five, Villa Recording Artists

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