Bands of San Francisco

Between 1967 and 1971 this self-described "original all-girls band of the San Francisco rock scene" was a fixture on the live circuit, appearing at venues like Filmore West, Avalon and Winterland. Although they did some studio recording, no singles or albums were released during the band's existence. It's Bad For You But Buy It, consisting of unreleased studio and live recordings ---- was released in 2004.

Jeff Blackburn and Sherry Snow were linked both professionally and romantically, beginning in 1965. What little notice they received outside the Bay Area was with the single, "Stranger In A Strange Land," which was written by David Crosby (using the alias Samuel F. Omar) when he was with The Byrds. Snow turned down an offer to replace Signe Anderson as Jefferson Airplane's lead vocalist. Blackburn and Snow broke up shortly after their personal relationship ended in 1967. Blackburn later joined Moby Grape, and Snow eventually left the music business. The two singles that had been released in 1966 and 18 other previously unreleased tracks made up Something Good For Your Head, released in 1999.

This Bay Area band released just three singles (one of them under the name The Showmen) between 1964 and 1968. Virtually all of their songs were written by Ron Elliott of the Beau Brummels, leftovers that didn't make the cut for inclusion on Brummels albums. Although Engle's band was popular on the local club circuit, the formula for recorded material didn't work, and the band broke up in 1968. A compilation of their singles and a number of previously unissued tracks were released as No Matter What You Say: The Best Of Bruce Engle And The Styx in 2000.

The Charlatans were one of the very first psychedelic rock bands to emerge from the Haight Ashbury district. They had significant influence on those that followed, albeit as much because of their unconventional outfits and behavior as their music, which tended more toward jug band blues. Their self-titled debut album wasn't released until 1969, by which time they were on the verge of disbanding. The Charlatans was reissued on CD in 1996.

The name alone was worth some degree of notoriety among the psychedelic set. Musically, however, Chocolate Watchband leaned much more toward punk rock than psych rock. Their manager felt it best to capitalize on the Flower Power craze, with the result being that their recordings (which were heavily post-produced to emulate a psychedelic sound) bore little resemblance to what the band sounded like in live performance. Constant clashes with management and frequent personnel turnover spelled a relatively quick end to the band. In 2005, the two-disc set, Melts In Your Brain ... Not On Your Wrist: The Complete Recordings 1965 to 1967 brought all of the band's recorded works together in one package.

The band's name usually draws blank stares, until you mention the one song that garnered them any notoriety, "Psychotic Reaction." After the single reached as high as #5 on the Billboard singles chart, Count Five rushed to follow up with an album, which sank as colossally as the single had risen. Because the band's members were intent on staying in college to maintain their draft deferments, they didn't have the time or motivation to continue as a serious band. A digitally remastered version of the album Psychotic Reaction was released in 1999.

Dan Hicks was a member of the Bay Area's first psych rock band, The Charlatans, before leaving to form Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks in 1968. His own band's sound was based in folk music but also incorporated elements of jazz and country. 1973's Last Train To Hicksville was the band's fourth album, but was the one that finally brought them recognition well beyond San Francisco. And just as the band was on the rise, Hicks shut it down, eventually pursuing an off-and-on solo career and developing a cult following of devotees of his often eccentric brand of music.

Dino Valente (also spelled Valenti) was actually Chet Powers, who was an original member of Quicksilver Messenger Service and who wrote the Youngbloods' hit "Get Together." Valente/Powers' only solo album was released in 1968, shortly after he finished serving jail time on a drug possession charge. The fact this his singing voice wasn't all that great was largely masked by sweetening in the studio, and overshadowed by the lyrics and musical arrangements. Arguably his greater influence on the San Fransisco Sound, however, was his songwriting. In addition to "Get Together" he also wrote most of the songs on the 1970 Quicksilver album, Fresh Air, using yet another pseudonym, Jesse Oris Farrow.

Family Tree was formed from the remnants of two Bay Area garage bands, Ratz and The Brogues. Their second album, Miss Butters (1968) showed the influence of Harry Nilsson, who had taken the band under his wing. Their concept album was praised by some, criticized by others who felt it was too similar to The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It is a good example of San Francisco psych rock at its peak.

Fifty Foot Hose stood out among San Francisco psychedelic rock bands because it really wasn't one. It was more an avant-garde, experimental, electronic band. Writes Richie Unterberger in All Music Guide, band founder Cork Marcheschi "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." Even though they couldn't get radio airplay even on underground stations, they were embraced by psychedelic fans because they took chances, experimented, and were seriously unconventional. Their only album, Cauldron was released in 1968.