Tea - 1971-1978 "Tea" '74, "The Ship" '75, "Tax Exile" '76

 

Tea was born out of a jam session in 1971, when founding members Turu Pashayan (ex-Sauterelles) o bass and vocals, Roli Eggli (ex-Fact, Alaska Range) on drums, and Armand Volker (ex-New Hue, Tusk) on guitar first got together. 

Taking the first initial of their names and calling the band TEA they made a name for themselves touring Switzerland, Germany, and Netherlands. In 1972 Maltese born Marc Storace who had previously fronted  St. Gallen Swiss band Deaf joined the trio. 

In 1973 it was rare for a swiss band to get exposure on television, however Tea got a chance to showcase their talents on the Swiss show "Hits-A-Gogo" and the band spent the summer touring Italy extensively with the high light being Headlining a 8,000 capacity

festival in Naples. Later that year, keyboardist Phillipe Kienholz joined the group. In 1974 the released their first single:"Good Times" b/w "Judy" (both non-album tracks) as well as their debut album. The spent the rest of the year touring with Queen. 

In 1975 their 2nd album "The Ship"  was released as well as the single "Summer in the City" a cover of the Lovin' Spoonfull song. The band signed a distribution deal with the United States, only to have their label go under. They went on tour with Status Quo, Nazareth, & the Baker /Gurvitz Army. (23 dates in front of a audience of 45,000)

In 1977, the band played their last concert in Switzerland. Volker became  successful producer, who owed a studio near Munich. Rolli started his own company, and Storace wet on to front Krokus (the support band for TEA on their final tour.)

 

The Lemon Dips ''Who's Gonna Buy "- 1969

Recorded by an anonymous studio band, ad was overall a major curiosity. it's what is known in England as a "library" record. Which is a alum that was released in miniscule quantities for use in television or film so not that many were made, as the were not for public sale. 

a major curiosity, 'Who's gonna Pay" was divided into a side with vocals ad a instrumental side as well. 9five of which are just side one songs without vocals the album offered up a wonderful variety of garage and psych moves.

Tracks like "Who's gonna buy" ,"I'm the Man", or "Pack your Bags" offers up snarling vocals, all puched up with distorted guitars and a wall of keyboards.

Check out  full review HERE

Fraternity - Livestock - 1971

 Once over-hyped as potential superstars of Aussie progressive rock, early-'70s hippie collective Fraternity failed to live up to expectations and might have been entirely forgotten to history had their singer not been one Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott -- future legendary frontman for AC/DC.

Formed in 1970 by bassist and de facto band leader Bruce Howe, guitarist Mick Jurd, keyboardist John Bisset, and drummer Tony Buettel, all of the recently disbanded Levi Smith's Clefs, Fraternity were conceived to be Australia's answer to the Band, and, as such, they initially didn't even feel the need to draft a true lead singer for their first trip into the studio to record a single ("Why Did It Have to Be Me?") financed by local independent label Sweet Peach. But they soon changed their minds when Bon Scott became available following the demise of his popular bubblegum group, the Valentines, inviting him to join them at their communal house in Sydney, along with drummer John Freeman (another Levi Smith's Clefs alum), who replaced Buettel. Interestingly, although their lineup was just coalescing at home and on-stage, Fraternity were already seen as a hot commodity based solely on the reputation and experience of the band members, and as they shifted out of blues-rock into art rock, under the influence of groundbreaking foreign bands like King Crimson, the Moody Blues, and Deep Purple (plus countless mind-altering

Fraternity was soon ushered into the studio to record the songs for its debut album, 'Livestock', and though Sweet Peach wouldn't get around to releasing it until nearly a year later, the hype surrounding Fraternity continued to grow unabated as they scored repeat TV appearances throughout late '70, and even toured the country behind American rock & roll godfather Jerry Lee Lewis. That tour took them through the south central town of Adelaide, where they were welcomed like returning prodigal sons by fans and press alike, and quickly taken under the wing of one Hamish Henry. The scion of a well-to-do local family and a self-appointed patron of the arts, Henry offered Fraternity unqualified financial support if they only agreed to set down roots in Adelaide permanently, and local boys Howe and Freeman, at least, were more than happy to oblige. This decision altered the course of Fraternity's career forever and for the worse, unfortunately, as they would become increasingly isolated from the Aussie music business hotbeds of Melbourne and Sydney in what was then still a pretty sleepy and geographically remote outpost.

Nevertheless, after performing at Sydney's Odyssey and Adelaide's own Myponga festivals (two of the largest Australian festivals in the post-Woodstock era), the members of Fraternity settled into a sheltered property outside of Adelaide named Hemmings Farm, which they intended to make into their own "Big Pink," diving headlong into their music and mounds of magic mushrooms. The group also recorded a new single entitled "Seasons of Change" in April of 1971, then welcomed harmonica player "Uncle" John Ayers, who, in the true spirit of the Age of Aquarius, stopped by for a visit and simply never left. Their long-awaited first album, the aforementioned Livestock, would finally emerge that June but impressed few with its bloated art rock meanderings -- even after Fraternity hit the road for a series of gigs across Australia. Even more worrisome, the reality was that, despite this show of activity, Fraternity's members -- now augmented with erstwhile Flying Circus guitarist/keyboardist Sam See -- had frankly grown lazy and unfocused in their entitled seclusion, spending more time communing with the trees in the idyllic surroundings of their Adelaide fiefdom than composing new material or performing local gigs.

 

In the end, all this was more peace and quiet than even Bon, Howe, and Bisset could stand, and they duly vacated the farm for downtown Adelaide in late 1971, where they attempted to rekindle Fraternity's fires after being dropped by Sweet Peach. Naturally, it was Hamish Henry who would come to the rescue, dipping once again into his bottomless pockets to finance the recording of a second Fraternity album, named Flaming Galah (that being the aboriginal name for the rose-breasted cockatoo), eventually released through RCA in April of 1972.
Now mostly cured of their ponderous proggyness, the band seemed bent on exploring a bluesier, more boogie-oriented direction, but many of the songs featured were in fact quite old, or re-recorded fare, leaving room for just a handful of new compositions. Meanwhile, Fraternity had tellingly been shunned by Australia's biggest festival ever, Sunbury, so, as a last-ditch effort to make something of their ailing career, they were packed off to England by the ever-faithful Hamish (wives and dog in tow!), where their unshakable self-confidence would finally be put to the ultimate test. However, 18 tortuous months later, that test had resoundingly failed. Fraternity had to wait nearly six months before scoring the first of several two-bit gigs, lost Sam See to his old band, Flying Circus, and even changed their name to Fang during the desperate winter of 1972-1973 -- all to no avail. At the last, even Hamish decided that time had come to cash out, and by the early months of 1974, most of the band members had also limped home to Australia, each in his own time, signaling Fraternity's probable demise. Shortly after his return, Bon Scott miraculously survived a motorcycle accident and then expeditiously joined AC/DC, thus sparing himself involvement in Fraternity's unexpected (and largely unheralded) reunion in early 1975. This produced no further recordings but ironically served to kick-start the career of future Cold Chisel singer Jimmy Barnes, during his lone year with the group as Bon's replacement. By 1976, Barnes was gone and Fraternity had changed their name to Some Dream, then morphed into Mickey Finn between 1978 and 1981, at which time they released a pair of singles before vanishing for good [bio by Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi]

 

Page 45 Singles

• Mote Zuma (Switzerland) 'Rock is Here EMI 1976
• Forum Livii (Italy) 
• Bulldozer (U.K)
• Boy Racer (Ex-Buffalo) "Must Be Seeing Things" 1978
• Harlem Avenue ''He Guy" Elsa Rella Records - RJD 1029 / ERD 5796
• Sunshine "Crimson" U.S.

           

Alacran - s/t 1971

You want Santna you've got it. Okay, that's not really fair just because they take the same latin beat and turn it into hard rock. Sorry to be so racist. 

But this does have a Santana kind of urge to it, Madrid's Alacran,was the brain child of drummer and guitarist, Fernando Arbex, who recruited Oscar Lasprilla on keyboards, and singer/bass player Ignacio Egana. Their one and only albumv featured ''Sticky" which was their single. Recorded in 1969 and receiving no promo on either side of the Atlantic, none the less, captured the interest of the youth culture from their homeland. The edginess of the guitars and minor key compositions, drew the inevitable anaccurate comprisons toSantana. But none the less, this is latin rock at he beginning, and a damn fine album at that.

Daybreak - s/t 1971 / A Celebrartion of the Individual - 1974

Daybreak was a high school band from Westchester County, N.Y..  Aspiring hippis of their generation, the band played anti-war songs anthems and songs that spoke to them. On their debut album, an ultra-rare RPC custom press of 1,000, they covered some very iconic staples of the time including Steppenwolf 's "Monster" and The Moody Blues' "Knights' in White Satin" along with 3 originals. Unfortuntely the recording inclues the cheezy "Rock Around the Clock" on some of the worst recording quality of the 70's.

But beneath the muffled noise of their cheap cassete recorder, there is some of the "best acid psych ever laid down."

In 1974 the band recorded another album in mutiple styles from soft acid rock to clunky jazz rock.

Worth a listen but not essetial

Bux - "WE Come to Play" 1976

Bux started out in Washington DC and was initially called "Daddy Warbux" (1967- 1972) and ws probably best known for having Punky and Mickie Jones, who later both wound up in the band Angel, and lead singer Ralph Morman who ended up in Joe Perry Project, from 199-80, and Savoy Brown from 1980 to 1982. The band was part of the early 70's glam rock movement that was quite popular through the late 70's and then sprung back up in parts of the Heavy Metal scene in the 80's.

The band was signed by Capitol records who rushed them into the studio to record their debut- and sole record. As Daddy Warbux, the band toured with Humble Pie. As a rebuilt band "Bux" they were signed by then Aerosmith manager Frank Connolly.

NSU Turn On or Turn Me Down - 1969

The band came from Scotland, and recorded their one and only album in the winter of 1968.

From: Cooperbolan at rateyourmusic.com: It's easy to hear that these guys were mostly influenced by Cream. Their style is a mix of psychedelia, blues rock, and hard rock ,and the guitar work is pretty impressive through the whole album. The A-side is more psychedelic while the B-side includes more bluesy material. "On the Road"is the longest song here and it's a great album closer I think. Probably the best thing about this whole record is that the shortest songs are solid and entertaining too. There are no fillers and overall this, the only NSU album is a pretty satisfying totality.
A very nice effort by a virtually unknown band. For those who like Cream.

Epsilon -"s/t" 1971 / - "Move On'' -1971 / "Epilson Off" 1974

Epilson were a German progressive hard rock band from Marburg, Germany. The were rooed in classical rock and a repertoire of The Nice compositions, but changing somewhat when taking on a new front-man Michael Winzowski (ex-Orange Peel, Nosferatu). The transition can be heared on their debut LP, a much more progressive rock styled album, whereas the subsequent releases were more song based  mixtures of heavy rock and blues fronted by Winzowski who later went  on to solo as Michael Winn

Atomic Forest - Obsession 1971

Atomic Forest was an Indian psychedelic and hard rock band from Mumbai, active in the early 1970's. This is their one and only album "Obsession 77" and was not released until after the band had dissolved. Obsession 77 was re-released January 2011 by Los Angeles based labe; Now and Again Records. It caught the eye of collectors as it was the only recorded psychedelic rock album produced from India. The band performed along side Led Zeppelin when Zeppelin performed in Bombay in 1972. The group was also featured in Abhimanyu Kukreja's documentary Evolution of Indian Rock.
Mandhukar Dhas joined the band in 1971. Also that year jazz musician Joe Alverez played with the band at a blow-up in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel

Madahukar Dahs grew up in Madras (now known as Chenna) where he was raised in a strong Christian tradition. His father expected him to be a doctor, bu the was infukenced by and played music from The Troggs, The Turtles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Electric Prunes, and The Doors among others while in school.

He formed the band The Voodoos with classmate Sukumar Nambiar, son of factor M.N. Nambiar at MCCS and while attending Madaras Christian College. With the Voodoos,  Madahukar played in college festival and competitions. (at this time he also began his track on what would become his later career in advertising.)

Atomic Forest played the Sneha Yaltra Festival (a.k.a The 'Indian Woodstock) and were regular fixtures at prominent clubs and discos such as Slip Disc, Blow Up and Hotel Hilltop in Mumbai.

The Coloured Balls - 1972 - '74

Lobby Lloyd (born as John Baslitngon Lye (b10, 1941 d.April 27, 2007) also known as John Berry Lyde or Barry Lyde ,an Australian guitarist, songwriter and producer, cut his teeth as a member of two 60's bands with time in Purple Hearts which had a top 40 single "Early in the Morning" in 1966, and Wild Cherries with "That's Life" in 1967. He became a major figure in the Australian pub scene, particularly with Billy Thorp and the Aztecs on their 1971 no. 8 album ''The Hoax is Over", and in Colored Balls, their top 10 album "Ball Power" (1971). He was briefly a member of Rose Tattoo from 1979-'80.
Inducted in the AIRA Hall Of Fame in 2006, where his former bandmate Angry Anderson acknowledged his prowess: "More than anyone else he helped create the Australian guitar sound, Long before Angus (Young), Billy Thorpe & The Angels or Rose Tatto,o Lobby inspired bands to step up and play as  loud and aggressively as they could. People are still trying to copy it today."

Lloyd died of lung cancer in 2007.

Colored Balls (formed March, 1972) consisted of Andrew Fordham on guitar and vocals, Janis Miglans on bass, and Trevor Young on drums.Their first single "Liberate Rock" had been recorded by Lloyd with Aztecs members as studio musicians. The single was released in August. During 1972, the original Colored Balls recorded material for an album "Rock Your Ass Off", but the material wasn't released 'till 1976 as " The First Supper Last" (or, Scenes we Din't Get to See") by independent label Rainbird.

In 1973, Colored Balls teamed with Guest vocalist Thorpe and  and Leo De Castro at the Sundbury Pop Festival. Their performance was released in November as the "Help Me" b/w "Rock Me Baby" on the album Summer Jam. The album included Colored Balls' 16 minute version of  ''G.O.D." (Guitar Over Dose). The same year Fordham had been replaced by Ian Millar on guitar, Colored Balls released 3 singles, including "Mess of the Blues" which ended up in the top 40. They supported Marc Bolan& T-Rex on an Australian tour. They then released their debut album "Ball Power" on EMI which peaked at No.13 on the Go - Set National albums chart in February 1974.

Their second album "Heavy Metal Kid" hit the top 40 with "Love You Babe" in June '74. Along with Thorpe, Madder Like, Buster Brown, and Chain they were supported by the suburban sharpie gangs.  (a Gang from the 60's & 70's known for their violence but strict code of honor. They got their name from looking "Sharp") Colored Balls had adopted the Melbourne sharpie style of wearing chisel-toe boots, tight fitting Cardigans, and  crew-cut hair styles with "rat-tails". Most sported tattoos on their necks of a spider web.  Their musical tastes were influenced by American bands like MC5 and Flamin' Grovies. The pubs became battlegrounds for rival sharpie gangs. Venues became rare for bands, and news reports were saying Lloyd was responsible for inciting the violence. A member of the Melbourne sharpies said "he (Lloyd) was permanently fixed with a cigarette hanging from his lips, and usually seemed drunk or stoned. He would play half a song, go behind an mp, throw up and return without missing a beat!"

Colored Balls broke up in the end of '74 and Lloyd went on to pursue solo work.