The Flamin 'Groovies

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The Flamin 'Groovies
General information
origin San Francisco , United States
Genre (s) Rock 'n' Roll , Power Pop , Garage Rock
founding 1965, 2013
resolution 1991
Founding members
Cyril Jordan
Roy Loney (1965-1971)
Tim Lynch (1965–1971)
George Alexander
Danny Mihm (1966–1973, 1981–84)
Current occupation
Cyril Jordan
Chris Wilson (1971–1981, since 2013)
George Alexander
Victor Penalosa (since 2013)

The Flamin 'Groovies is an American rock band that was founded in San Francisco in 1965 and has been active again since 2013 after a break of several years.

The band never achieved great commercial importance, but fans and critics have always been enthusiastic about the works of the group from the San Francisco area . One reason for their persistent failure was possibly the fact that the groovies always played against the prevailing music trends. Earlier in her career, she preferred a volatile mix of rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues , in the 1970s they turned the Sixties pop to traditional character to and have been at the forefront of power pop and even of punk rock and New Wave celebrated .

Band history

Founding years

The Flamin Groovies came together in California in 1966 from the remnants of surf bands Chosen Few and Lost and Found . The original line-up consisted of Roy Loney ( vocals ), Cyril Jordan, Tim Lynch (both guitar ), George Alexander ( bass ) and Danny Mihm ( drums ). The quintet built a repertoire that consisted of their own material and cover versions in equal parts and played their way through the California club scene. A self-produced mini-LP called Sneakers (1968) was finally followed by a record deal with Epic Records after a long search . The first result of this partnership was the album Supersnazz (1969), produced on a very small budget and received with enthusiasm, especially by radio hosts in and around San Francisco . However, the sales figures were moderate, not least because of the half-hearted promotion of the record company.

In the same year, the Groovies performed several times at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, sometimes together with bands like the Grateful Dead or the Stooges . Two more albums followed in 1970 and 1971 with Flamingo and Teenage Head (this time with Kama Sutra Records ), which had the same fate as their predecessor Supersnazz . Critics were very impressed by the songs, which lyrically conveyed a carefree, cheeky attitude towards life and were also musically convincing, but failed to achieve any commercial success. The band had nothing in common with the predominant psychedelic rock at the time, but played a happy, carefree garage rock .

During the recording of Teenage Head , the band kicked their lead guitarist Lynch out because of his drug problems and added James Farrell. In 1972 the charismatic groovies front man Loney left the band and began an (unsuccessful) solo career. His replacement was Chris Wilson, who came from the band Loose Gravel . The incisive anti-drug song Slow Death was released shortly after Loney's departure and ended the first chapter of the band's history.

The power pop years

With Wilson at his side, Cyril Jordan, who previously wrote the band's material with Loney, discovered his vein for crystal clear, guitar-driven and melodic pop music . However, it was not until 1976 before the band came back to the public. With Dave Wright as the new drummer, the Groovies in London recorded the LP Shake Some Action produced by Dave Edmunds , which would become their best-known work. It contained songs like You Tore Me Down , I Can't Hide or the title track, which were strongly based on the classic pop song of the sixties and combined highly melodic guitar work with two-part vocals. Subsequent Europe - tour with over 250 concerts came to triumph for the Flamin 'Groovies, but contributed nothing to the still lack of sales in the current album in. During these days the quintet was happily attested to being a particularly charming anachronism : musically incontestable and highly independent, but voluntarily years behind the development in the music business. At the time Shake Some Action was released, punk rock was on the rise in Europe , making it difficult for the band to gain a foothold. After another line-up (Michael Wilhelm replaced James Farrell) and one last attempt to produce a hit album ( Jumpin 'in the Night , 1979), she disappeared from public view.

The 1980s

Even in the eighties there were still Groovies releases that were still clinging to the old preferences and no longer caused a stir. The creative core was limited to the two founding members Jordan and Alexander, who played with changing fellow musicians. While they were no longer given any attention, current bands such as Family 5 , Yo La Tengo , the Hoodoo Gurus or REM took up the old style of groovies and subjected it to the necessary modernization. At the beginning of the 90s, the band broke up for the time being. In 2013 the band re-formed and in 2017 another studio album was released.

Discography

Albums

  • Sneakers (1968)
  • Supersnazz (1969)
  • Flamingo (1970)
  • Teenage Head (1971)
  • Shake Some Action (1976)
  • The Flamin 'Groovies Now! (1978)
  • Jumpin 'in the Night (1979)
  • One Night Stand (1987)
  • Rock Juice (1992)
  • Fantastic Plastic (2017)

Members

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Flamin 'Groovies' Roy Loney Dead at 73