I'm a miner searching for that mother lode of 'Burque's rock & roll gold. I've searched the world wide web, compiling a playlist that includes every 1960s Albuquerque/New Mexico band that I could dredge up. It's a fairly comprehensive look at an under appreciated period of 'Burque musical history. This is good stuff... fuzz laden garage punk rave ups, teener bop and moody sixties psychedelia. All products of homespun Albuquerque record labels, Lance, La Vette, Hurricane, Delta, Mortician. Mid-Sixties garage bands are now most often described as "garage rock," sometimes as "garage punk," "'60s punk," though at the time it had no specific name. It wasn't until the release of the 1972 compilation album, Nuggets, compiled by Lenny Kaye, that music fans and collectors began to define the style.
Garage rock peaked commercially and artistically around 1966-67, which coincides with the period most of 'Burque's garage bands thrived. Gilesi over at the amazing music blog “Cosmic Minds at Play” once mused about the Duke City garage band scene in 1960s: “I have no idea what Albuquerque, New Mexico was like as a place to live in the mid 60s but it certainly seems to have had more than its fair share of top class garage bands, so I can only assume that there was a wild scene going on among its young denizens.”
Garage rock peaked commercially and artistically around 1966-67, which coincides with the period most of 'Burque's garage bands thrived. Gilesi over at the amazing music blog “Cosmic Minds at Play” once mused about the Duke City garage band scene in 1960s: “I have no idea what Albuquerque, New Mexico was like as a place to live in the mid 60s but it certainly seems to have had more than its fair share of top class garage bands, so I can only assume that there was a wild scene going on among its young denizens.”
Disclaimer: I know no more than the guy that knows next to nothing who knows less than the guy that knows everything. The band info and recordings I've compiled are from various online sources: Dick Stewart and The Lance Record website. Vintage Bands of Albuquerque's Facebook page, Vinnie G's YouTube channel “mrmusico1000” 60sgarageband.com., the curiously named YouTube channel “puppetmastertoday” Vic Gabrielle who was there as it happened. Garage Hangover.com. and Sweatsoked.com. Having spent countless hours scrolling through microfilm archives and digging through bins searching for “local” music. I can attest to the fact that the internet makes the job much easier. Visit these sites, subscribe, comment, or in Dick Stewart's case... buy something. I'm saving up to buy the Lance Records newsletter collection on cd-rom for $39 U.S. Dollars or 800 Mexican pesos at the current rate of exchange.
Not one aircheck from any Albuquerque radio stations in the 1960s seems to have survived to the present day. Forcing me to substitute radio excerpts from Danny Clayton at Denver AM rocker KBTR 1966 and British born, Tommy Vance on KOL, 60s AM powerhouse in Seattle.
Pick up Your Head- The Fe Fi Four Plus 2
Who's Been Driving My Little Yellow Taxi Cab- Lincoln St. Exit
Papa Oom Mow Mow- Lindy Blaskey & The Lavells
No Correspondence- The Beckett Quintet
I Want To Love You- King Richard & The Knights
How Can I- The Kreeg
What I'm Going Through- The Morfomen
Say You Love Me- The Striders
We're Pretty Quick- The Chob
She's With Him- The Torques
Walk Away- The Feebeez
In Her Own Little World- Trademarques
My Angel- Viscount V
Baby Darlin'- The Morticians
When You Were Mine- The Morfomen
Sand and Sea- The Berrys
Working Man- CellarDwellers
Half a Man- Lincoln St. Exit
For Your Love- Mother Sturctman's Jams and Jellies
I Wanna Back Back (From the World of LSD) The Fe Fi Four Plus 2
No Silver Bird- The Creation
No Silver Bird- The Hooterville Trolley
