Pioneering '60s SF Rockers Celebrate A Half Century Of Music
One of the most legendary garage-rock bands to emerge from San Francisco during the '60s, the Flamin' Groovies released a series of albums that made little impact on the charts, but exerted a major influence on many punk and power-pop acts that followed in subsequent decades.
Anchored by the songwriting partnership of wildman lead singer Roy Loney and guitarist Cyril Jordan, the band embraced a mix of '50s rock and roll (frequently covering songs by the likes of Little Richard and Eddie Cochran), feral garage-rock originals and an ear for punchy pop melodies that nodded to the British Invasion bands of the era. While they may have been out-of-step with the psychedelic sounds that dominated the era, the Groovies would endure to have just as much impact on rock as contemporaries the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane.
The band first came together in 1965, but it wasn't until they self-released their Sneakers EP in 1968 that they score a record deal with Epic. The resulting debut Supersnazz had so little commercial impact that the label dropped the group within a year of its release, but the album has become a cult classic. Embodying the same kind of joyful celebration of primitive rock and R&B that would be echoed in both the New York Dolls and the Ramones, the Groovies delivered ferocious originals like "Love Have Mercy" that stood up alongside renditions of already classic tunes "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Something Else/Pistol Packin' Mama."
The band bounced back by signing to Kama Sutra Records and producing the equally spectacular Flamingo and Teenage Head (featuring the monstrous proto-punk title track), but growing tensions between Loney and Jordan would lead to the singer's departure. Taking complete control of the band, Jordan brought guitarist/singer Chris Wilson on board and relocated the Groovies to England to capitalize on their greater popularity in Europe.
Working with future Rockpile guitarist Dave Edmunds in the studio, the band eventually put together what many consider its finest post-Loney effort. Shake Some Action came out in 1976 on Sire Records and revealed a sound that ditched some of the '50s rock flavor for ringing Rickenbacker guitars and mod British Invasion pop. The follow-up album Flamin' Groovies Now furthered the band's embrace of a more power-pop sound.
Jordan would continued to lead the Groovies into the '80s and early '90s, but eventually disbanded the group and founded his new band, Magic Christian. However, in 2013, he reunited with Wilson and longtime bass player George Alexander after the Groovies were invited to play Australian festival dates. A series of sold-out shows both in San Francisco and abroad would follow.
Last year, the Groovies drew packed houses performing their seminal Shake Some Action album in its entirety at a number of local shows including one at the Chapel in San Francisco. The band returns to the venue this week to kick off what will be a string of concerts marking the band's 50th anniversary. The Groovies already surprised fans a couple of months ago when they announced plans to release a new 7-inch single for Burger Records featuring the song "Crazy Macy" that comes out on Record Store Day. The band also will be performing at a couple of notable festivals with scheduled appearances at All Tomorrow's Parties in North Wales and Burger Boogaloo in Oakland's Mosswood Park in late June.
While most of the band's performances since the 2013 reunion have focused on the power-pop version of the band, this show will be the first time that Loney will join the group onstage to play some of their classic collaborations in a number of years. Loney and his group the Phantom Movers will also play a supporting set in addition to an opening solo performance by Peter Case (formerly of the Nerves, the Breakaways and the Plimsouls) and DJ selections from SF garage-psych songwriter Kelley Stoltz. For more info and tickets, visit the Chapel website.
Flamin' Grooves 50th Anniversary Celebration
Thursday, April 7, 8 p.m. $25
The Chapel
