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NEWS!!!!!
THE ACT-UPS-PLAY THAT OLD PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF TODAY
500 COPIES LP
The Act-Ups were born in 2001 - A
monster made up of one volt of Iggy,
one hambone of Pickett,one shot of Hank, two injections
of Jeffrey Lee and a case of bourbon. Their first record
"I Bet You Love Us Too", released in 2003, was
the perfect record for your late night garage party, filled
with soul-punk anthems and rockin' rave-ups. "The Marriage
of Heaven and Hell", their second disc, saw the light
of the day (and hid in the cloak of night) in 2005, fired
up by more whiskey than ever before and the demons that
came with it.
The record you now hold in your hands
rests atop three pillars of puré fury: the two records
that preceded it and the live energy this combo unleash
upon unsuspecting
pilgrims all across this land.
Behold the Old Psychedelic Sounds of Today!
Shimmy
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THE SEA-DERS - LP-500 COPIES
-NUMBERED
tarting in 1965 many groups began to borrow elements of Eastern
music to add a little mystery and exotica to their sound. Some
of the more prominent examples of this trend include the Kinks’
“See My Friends,” the Beatles’ “Norwegian
Wood,” the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High,”
the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” and the
Hollies’ “Stop, Stop, Stop. "
Less known than the aforementioned acts, but acknowledged in
some circles as masters of the form were the Cedars. Only, for
them it wasn’t a case of flirting with foreign culture—they
tapped right into the source in their own backyard.
Formed in Beirut, Lebanon, around
1964, they were originally known as the Top 5. By 1966 they’d
become the Sea-ders with Albert Haddad on lead guitar, Joe Shehadeh
on rhythm, Raymond Azoury on bass and Zad Tarmush on drums;
all four band members sang. Their first 45, “Thanks A
Lot” b/w “Better Loved,” was released in Lebanon
in 1966 on the Symbol label. The A-side in particular was really
strong, propelled by Haddad’s spellbinding double-picked
Eastern motif and Azoury’s unusual pulsating bassline.
It quickly became a smash hit in Lebanon, selling around 10,000
copies and topping the charts. Shortly afterwards, Decca Records
made contact with the group and offered them a record deal in
the UK. The group relocated to London, and in 1967 Decca released
“Thanks A Lot” b/w “Undecidedly” as
their first British single. The flipside was another excellent
Middle Eastern flavored beat number, which had been recorded
in Lebanon at the same session as the A-side. The record got
some airplay on the pirate stations, but failed to break into
the charts.
Nevertheless, Decca went ahead with
an EP release, featuring the three previously released tracks
along with the fine “Cause I Do Care.” Apparently
the record had a very limited pressing as it’s
now very rare.
By 1968 the Sea-ders had become the Cedars. Their next single
paired two of their strongest original songs to date, “For
Your Information” and “Hide If You Want to Hide.”
For the recording session the group was teamed with producer
Tony Clarke, who also worked with the Tremeloes. This time they
employed an authentic Middle Eastern instrument, a bouzouki.
Played in tandem with an electric lead guitar, the acoustic
bouzouki gave the record a highly unique and appealing flavor.
Unfortunately, despite the high quality and originality of both
the material and the production, the record again went nowhere.
Much to the group’s disappointment,
their producer turned to outside songwriters for their third
and final British single, “I Like the Way” (written
by Richie Cordell) and “I Don’t Know Why.”
Nevertheless the Cedars infused the songs with their own Eastern-derived
sound to pleasing effect. When this single failed to click,
Decca not only dropped the group, but also presented them with
a huge bill for studio time. Defeated and nearly destitute,
the four Cedars headed home to Beirut, leaving their prized
musical equipment behind.
The story didn’t end there, though—not
quite anyway. The following year, 1969, “For Your Information”
was released in Turkey, where it became a huge hit, going
on to be covered by several Turkish artists. The Cedars, though,
had by now gone their separate ways. Fortunately, their eight-song
recorded legacy remains to remind the world of their uniquely
exotic sound. Thanks a lot for that.
Mike Stax
Ugly Things Magazine
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NOVA VAGA - O ROCK EM PORTUGAL
(THE HISTORY OF PORTUGUESE ROCK FROM 1954 TO 1974)
Groovie Records is the label
responsable for the Exibition NOVA
VAGA, a tour to the Rock'n'roll,
Pop Music, Garage and Psych Rock produced in Portugal between
the year of 1955 and 1974, the year of Salazar Dictatorship
falls. This book was part of a exibition and a few left, more
than 120 full color pages with texts and never published photos
and more than 400 coloured record covers pressed by portuguese
bands from that era. With release date, serial number and
tracklist. For now the book only have a portuguese edition,
but will be released soon as a bilingue (english & portuguese)
version, with text upgrade, biographies and including the
most important psychadelic and progressive rock records until
1981.
Groovie Records is proud to
anounce the next releases and reissues for 2008 !!
RELEASE FOR THE 2008!!!
THE CAVESTOMPERS - LP
- GROO 0012
The Cavestompers! got together in september 2006. Before that
members of the band played in various groups and formatinos
in Moscow City, not only garage-oriented. Now we are trying
to play as much gigs as possible and to create our own sound
based on covers and original material. We are also trying
to develop and support local garage scene in Russia. VIVA
GARAGE! The first gig was played spontaneously at Blow Up
club instead of beating up the passer-bies. Anyway - it's
all lies and originally we were formed in 1974 but by 1968
we had already split up then again reunited in 1961. And finally
disbanded in 1956. So as you have noticed - we're all dead,
and we're all zombies. WE CALL IT BACK IN THE GRAVE!!!
Portuguese Contribution
to Soul Music
JESSE&JAMES-BELTER SINGLES COLLECTION – 1967-1970
-lp
The group is formed by Antonio and Fernando
Lameirinhas .They lived with their Portuguese parents in Belgium,
moved to England and caught the soul-virus after playing in
a few beat-groups (e.g. Screaming Lord Sutch). In 1967 they
return to Belgium and form the J.J.Band.
From "Wit-lof from Belgium" : "A few flops,
half a hit ("Half a woman") and the two hits "Move"
and "Something for nothing" led Jess & James
with the J.J.Band to the top."
After the hits, dissension grew between the frontmen (who
wanted to continue to make soul music) and their backing band
(who aspired to make music in the style of the American group
Chicago). At the end of 1968 their ways separated.
Jess & James then formed a group around Scott Bradford
(who later married teen-idol Anneke Soetaert). Later on, they
moved to Amsterdam and formed another unsuccessful attempt
to make it big again "Sail-Joia".
The J.J.-Band went their own way (in 1971 they changed their
name to "Plus"). They evolved to a style called
souljazz. Among the member of the J.J.Band and Plus figured
people like Francis Goya (Real name Francis Weyer, who later
on had a worldwide hit with "Nostalgia" and would
have millions of romantic souls dream away on his guitar melodies),
Bruno Castelluci (jazz-drummer known troughout the world)
etc ...
Now together with the BELTER label Groovie
Records compiled here the best tracks of their release to
BELTER.
The LP will be out soon after the summer with booklet and
photos about the band!!
DARA PUSPITA - LP
- GROO 0013
Dara Puspita (Flower Girls) was Indonesia’s most successful
girl band of the 1960s. While there were many popular female
vocalists in Indonesia at that time, they nearly all relied
on the services of a backing band. Dara Puspita was one of
the few girl groups who actually played all their own music
as well.
Dara Puspita hailed from the city of Surabaya in East Java
and first formed in 1964 with the line-up of sisters Titiek
Adji Rachman (Titiek A.R.) on guitar and Lies Soetisnowati
Adji Rachman (Lies A.R.) on bass, along with Susy Nander on
drums and Ani Kusuma on rhythm guitar. In April 1965 Lies
left the band for a month to finish school and was replaced
on bass by Titiek Hamzah. When Lies returned she took the
place of Ani on rhythm guitar and Titiek Hamzah stayed on
as bass player. It was with this line-up that the band set
out to conquer the world.
BAOBAS - LP -DELAYED!!!
BRAZILIAN
BITLES - LP - GROO 0015
The Brazilian Bitles were one of
the most prolific bands from the 60’s in Brazil. The
released a lot of ep’s and a few lp’s also, recording
more than 30 songs. Here we compiled the more garage ones,
with a lot of fuzz and screaming vocals. Some of the tracks
were from obscure and rare to find ep’s from the band.
A real most for colectors of the south american garage.
MORE NEWS TO COME SOON!!!
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