Fifty Foot Hose
Fifty Foot Hose were a psychedelic rock band that formed in San Francisco in the late 1960's.
They were one of the first bands to fuse rock and experimental music. Like a few other acts of the time (most notably the United States of America), they were consciously trying to fuse the contemporary sounds of rock with electronic instruments and avant-garde compositional ideas.
The group comprised three core members: founder and bassist Cork Marcheschi, guitarist David Blossom, and his wife, vocalist Nancy Blossom, augmented by Kim Kimsey (drums) and Larry Evans (guitar).
Cork Marcheschi had previously been with the Ethix, who released one experimental and wildly atonal single, "Bad Trip", in 1966 - the intention being that the record could be played at any speed. Interested in the ideas of experimental composers like Edgar Varese, John Cage, Terry Riley, and George Antheil, he constructed his own electronic instrument from a combination of elements like theremins, fuzzboxes, a cardboard tube, and a speaker from a World War II aircraft bomber.
David and Nancy Blossom brought both psychedelic and jazz influences to the band. Together, the trio recorded a demo which led to a deal with Limelight, a subsidiary of Mercury Records.
They released only one album, "Cauldron", in early 1968. It contained eleven songs, including "Fantasy", "Red the Signpost" and "God Bless the Child", a Billie Holiday cover. Although an erratic work, with sometimes pedestrian compositions, it was intriguing for its mix of jazzy psychedelic rock tunes with fierce and primitive electronic sound effects. "I don't know if they are immature or premature", said critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The record sold few copies at the time, although the group had a small but intense following in San Francisco and also toured with other acts including Blue Cheer, Chuck Berry and Fairport Convention. They broke up in 1969 when most of its members joined the musical "Hair", Nancy Blossom becoming the lead in the San Francisco production and later singing in "Godspell".
Interest in the group resurfaced in the 1990s, as they became recognized as precursors to the electronic rock sounds of groups like Throbbing Gristle. The album was reissued on CD in 1996. Marcheschi is now a respected sculptor, specializing in public work using neon, plastic, and kinetic characteristics.