Cyril Jordan and Chris Wilson of the Flamin’ Groovies.
Photos by Mark Murrman (Courtesy of Mother Jones)
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The rock and roll life is not one of smooth sailing and
gentle seas. Any band of consequence will usually tell you its journey is a
crazy one.
As Moulty of the Barbarians told Garagerocktopia some time ago,
being in a rock and roll band is like being married to five people at the same
time. Ergo, most rock bands last on average about 2 ½ years.
We didn’t demand
any documentation, but to us, that sounds like a pretty good estimate.
When it comes to loco rides, few take a backseat to
the The Flamin’ Groovies. That odyssey commenced in 19 hundred and 65 --
and is far from over. Guitarist Chris Wilson – incidentally, a friend of
Moulty’s -- was kind enough to chat with us about what that ride has been like.
With a history that spans six decades, the Flamin’ Groovies
really warrant a book more than a blog article. Wilson was absolutely gracious
with his time, but if we had really given the Groovies the depth they deserve,
we’d probably still be on the phone right now.
Wilson talked to Garagerocktopia by phone from his home in
Gresham, Oregon, a short drive from Portland – arguably the coolest big city in
the United States – and close to the beautiful Columbia River. He described
himself as being “ethnically cleansed” from London, forced out by the
hyper-gentrification afflicting the city of late.
But lest we get our mope on, there’s exciting news: The
esteemed San Francisco band has just released the album Fantastic Plastic,
the first since 1979 teaming Wilson with band founder Cyril Jordan and
bassist George Alexander.
The new album nicely encapsulates what, musically, the band
is all about. Songs like “What the Hell’s Going On?,” “Fallen Star” and the
Dylan-esque “I Want You Bad,” rock in time-honored Groovies fashion.
“The songs on Fantastic Plastic sprung up
organically,” said Wilson. “We get inspiration from everywhere. It can be from
a great author; it can be from the gutter, it can be from a dog’s eyes, it can
be anywhere. Cyril would run an idea by me, and I’d say yay or nay; it also
went that way vice versa. It was like making a house of cards with two guys.”
Some of the songs also harken back the group at its
rootsiest. “Cryin’ Shame,” with its shimmering guitar lines, echoes ‘60s
country-rock. Though Wilson said it wasn’t a conscious effort, other Fantastic
Plastic songs, like “Crazy Macy” (inspired by a character on an Untouchables
episode) have a noticeable country feel.
“Cyril and I have always been influenced by the great
country artists, guys like George Jones, Billy Lee Riley, people like that,”
said Wilson. “I also learned my trade in church, but I actually learned close
harmonies by listening to the Everly Brothers. We were influenced by that
brand of country music.”
Other songs have a more bluesy lilt, such as “Just Like a
Hurricane,” which one could imagine bellowing from a shotgun roadhouse
somewhere on Highway 49. Sadly, the song ended up being an homage to Merry
Clayton, the iconic backing vocal on the Stones’ anthem “Gimme Shelter.”
“’Just Like a Hurricane’” was written for her,” explained
Wilson. “We did a show for the Master’s Series at the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in Cleveland in 2013. Cyril and I played with Merry and many of the
Rolling Stones most amazing back-up musicians, people like Clayton, Bobby Keys
and Ian McLagen. Soon after that, she was hurt badly in an automobile wreck. We
were going to can the song but we decided we would do it in her honor.”
At its earliest, the Flamin’ Groovies were one of many
American bands shooting for the bluesy sound of the Stones. A Reader’s Digest
version of the band’s history: It was founded in the mid-‘60s by guitarist
Jordan, Alexander, and singer Roy Loney. By the time the lineup had gelled a
bit, the Flamin’ Groovies were a decidedly rootsy combo, with a style at times
sharing commonalities with both the blues-rock of the Stones and the country
leanings of Buffalo Springfield. That orientation helped the group achieve a
moderate but loyal following and decent sales.
The lineup would change a bit through the ‘60s and late
‘70s, and the LP Teenage Head, with its unvarnished, garage-y mood,
established the Groovies as a band that, yes, could both sell albums and please
critics. Wilson enlisted in 1971, and the band’s sound would lean more towards
a power pop sound – and draw an even wider audience.
Part of a musically-oriented family, Wilson appreciated a
variety of genres from both sides of the Atlantic. He took special relish in
recounting introductions to American blues musicians, people whom, as he grew
up, were especially venerated in the United Kingdom.
“I met a lot of the old bluesmen,” Wilson recalled.
“Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Muddy Waters, and they were the nicest
people I have ever met. One time, James Cotton heard me play and asked ‘where’d
you learn to play that thing, boy? You play fantastic – keep puffing away.”
Despite the long-lasting relevance of the Flamin’ Groovies’
music, Wilson denied that he ever had in mind the idea of producing a classic.
He said he was merely trying to make music people enjoyed listening to.
“Like most young people at the time, I really didn’t know
what the future would hold,” Wilson explained. “It was this long glittering
road with so many things. Some of those things, especially at the time, were
awful – the possibility of nuclear war, racial unrest, things like that. I had
no idea where any of this was going to go.”
But Wilson also recalled with fondness what life as a rock
and roller was like during some of those very same days.
“The ‘70’s were a golden time,” said Wilson. “My star was
shining. I was recording in some fabulous studios in the Welsh countryside,
then later on driving around the streets of London. It was incredible and it
felt like anything was possible.
“But they were also days of outright hedonism. We used to
annihilate ourselves with alcohol and drugs and women, to a point bordering on
dangerous. If we had had more money, we might not even be having this
conversation. I’d have gone down like so many of our friends did.”
Anyone with even a smidgeon of appreciation for power pop or
garage rock almost certainly has “Shake Some Action” on some device, CD or
vinyl somewhere. The song, an absolute essential, was recorded and ready for
release by 1971. But, as has happened with revolting frequency in the music
biz, the suits and their corporate horse-pucky games kept the song under wraps
for, as Eddie Boyd might say, five long years.
That it still managed to catch people’s ears – and is still
doing so – speaks for itself, though we hasten to add it’s by no means the
Groovies’ only great song. “Whiskey Woman,” and “I Can’t Hide,” “Slow Death”
and myriad others show the band at its rootsy best.
With the gruff sound of Teenage Head and the power
chords of Shake Some Action, many have dubbed the band founding fathers
of both punk and power pop, but Wilson is a tad reluctant to accept those
designations.
“I’m not so sure about that,” mused Wilson. “There are a lot
of artists from that period who could be roped in as progenitors of that style
– Eric Carmen and the Raspberries, for example. We’ve also been called
progenitors of punk, and I have no idea how anyone could have come up with
that.”
What is indisputable is that the Shake Some Action
album did emerge at about the same time as other early power pop songs, short,
to the point and featuring the same kind of upbeat style and alluring hook.
Later that decade, the Flamin’ Groovies shows were opened by
a New York outfit with, at the time, only a cultish following. Those dates
introduced Ramones to wider audiences than they may have mustered on their own.
Post “Shake Some Action,” the Flamin’ Groovies story sinks
into episodes all-too-familiar. Subsequent albums Flamin’ Groovies Now and
Jumpin’ in the Night would certainly have their devotees, but both rang
the registers less than anticipated. Amidst constant quarrelling, Wilson
departed the band in 1980. The Flamin’ Groovies slogged through the ‘80s until
finally calling it quits in 1993.
But there was also an epilogue, a familiar one that’s a lot
cheerier.
As we have seen time and time again, all is not always said
and done on the first go-round with a band as influential as the Flamin’
Groovies. As with so many of the bands we have profiled here, platinum albums
might not ring the Groovies’ walls, but their vinyl albums would inspire
minions of
rock and rollers to come.
Amongst those minions were the Hoodoo Gurus, set to launch a
comeback tour of Australia. Through a series of oddball events in 2012, the
Flamin’ Groovies would find themselves onstage once again, opening for the Hall
of Fame down-under band, which in turn helped the Flamin’ Groovies launch a
comeback of their own.
“I had once met Tim Pittman, who was the promoter of those
shows,” recounted Wilson. “His brother lived down the street from me and Tim
had given him my phone number. Later we went to the neighborhood pub and over a
couple of pints, he laid this whole thing about opening for the Hoodoo Gurus
out. At first, I was reticent about it. But in 2011, when Tim told me that the
Hoodoo Gurus really wanted the Flamin’ Groovies for the tour, that got
me to thinking. I met up with Cyril and we patched things up.”
Though Wilson did detail some times less than hunky-dory,
through much of the interview he talked like a man who, in his seventh decade
of life, seemed to have few complaints. Closing the interview, he offered a few
tips.
“Steady your feet and stay on them the best you can,”
advised Wilson. “Keep plugging away, and as you get older, you find out what
will get you through the night without killing you.”
“If you’re not here then you’re out of it. We’re still here.
That’s what counts.”
Here at Garagerocktopia, we're always looking for cool bands and awesome garage rock related stuff to report on. We have reason to believe that a fair number of regular readers here are musicians themselves. Please feel free to send us your music and information. We won't guarantee a write-up, but some we've had some very awesome artist step up. Email us or you can visit our Facebook page.
Rock on!
Here at Garagerocktopia, we're always looking for cool bands and awesome garage rock related stuff to report on. We have reason to believe that a fair number of regular readers here are musicians themselves. Please feel free to send us your music and information. We won't guarantee a write-up, but some we've had some very awesome artist step up. Email us or you can visit our Facebook page.
Rock on!
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