006 - Sir Guy and the Apple of My Eye

Garage/Soul 66 Podcast #006 - Sir Guy and the Apple of My Eye

What a mix of groups in this episode! First we go to Grundy, Virginia down in the southwest part of the state for a track by Sound on Sound. Then it's across the state to the Eastern Shore for a soulful ballad by Sir Guy.

Off to Arkansas for the Marion Deaton Group, and then -- well, we don't know. Because the Psychodelic Psymphony is a complete and total cipher. Don't know who they were, or where they came from. But we're glad they left a recording or two behind. Their low-fi freak-out "Mad Mod Speed Ball" rocks.

- Radio Star

This program we play:

Sound on Sound: Girl, You Got To Turn Me On
Aliens, Psychos, and Wild Things, Vol. 2

Sir Guy: My Sweet Baby
Ol' Virginia Soul, Vol.2

The Marion Deaton Group: Apple of My Eye
Lost Souls, Vol. 1

Psychodelic Psymphony: Mad Mod Speed Ball
Aliens, Psychos, and Wild Things, Vol. Fore

005 - Xciters and Wild Cherries

Garage/Soul 66 Podcast #005 - Xciters and Wild Cherries

This show we feature three groups who only recorded one 45 rpm record each. But what recordings they were!

The Xciters were only together for a few months, yet they managed to get into the studio at least once. The Wild Cherries had a longer run -- two years, but high school graduation put an end to the band. We play one of their two recorded songs.

And we also put two sides of a 45 back together. Mark IV Wilson laid down a hot dance track spread over two sides of a disc. We present both parts of "Jump Up and Down" back together!

- Radio Star

This program we play:

The Xciters: Upsetter
Lost Souls, Vol. 1

Mark IV Wilson: Jump Up and Down, Parts 1 and 2
Ol' Virginia Soul, Vol.1

The Wild Cherries: Baby, Baby
Aliens, Psychos, and Wild Things, Vol. 1

004 – Don’t Be Afraid of the Barefacts

Garage/Soul 66 Podcast #004 -Don't Be Afraid of the Barefacts

"Don't Be Afraid" is the song recorded in 1966 by the Psychodelic Psymphony for a movie that's even more obscure then the group! But that's still more than we know about the Barefacts. This northeastern Arkansas group came into the KOSE studios, recorded one song, and vanished without a trace.

For balance, we also play a 1964 track by the Satellites, fronted by Dean Kohler. Kohler was a major regional musician in Virginia, and is still an active performer. Barbara Stant was another prominent performer. We play her soulful ballad "My Mind Holds On To Yesterday."

- Radio Star

This program we play:

The Barefacts: Tell Me
Lost Souls, Vol. 1

The Satellites: When Will You Stay
Aliens, Psychos, and Wild Things, Vol. 1


Psychodelic Psymphony: Don't Be Afraid
Aliens, Psychos, and Wild Things, Vol. Fore

Barbara Stant: My Mind Holds On To Yesterday
Ol' Virginia Soul, Vol. 2

003 - The Baco Walk and The Problems of Tyme

Garage/Soul 66 Podcast #003 - The Baco Walk and The Problems of Tyme

Ricky and the Impressionables turn up the heat with the Baco Walk. When Arcania International reissued this 45 rpm, they put Part 1 on one CD, and Part 2 on the following volume. In this episode we put both tracks back together, and play them back-to-back -- just the way you would have heard it if you were lucky enough to own the original platter.

We round out the show with another hard-driving track from Virginia's Swinging Machine, and an unknown band from Arkansas, the Problems of Tyme.

- Radio Star

This program we play:

The Problems of Tyme: Back of My Mind
Lost Souls, Vol. 1

Ricky and the Impressionables: The Baco Walk, Parts 1 & 2
Ol' Virginia Soul, Vol. 2
Ol' Virginia Soul, Encore!

The Swinging Machine: Comin' On Back Home
Aliens, Psychos, and Wild Things, Vol. 1

002 - Live Wires and Rocking Cavaliers

Garage/Soul 66 Podcast #002 - Live Wires and Rocking Cavaliers

This episode we play a mixed bag of forgotten classics. Sir Guy and the Rocking Cavaliers lay it all on the line with their soulful ode to "Funky Virginia." An incredibly youthful group appropriately named the Live Wires heat things up with their 1964 garage band concoction of "Scrambled Eggs."

Roanoke, Virginia is nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountain Range, yet it's from the Star City that Captain Darby and the Buccaneers set sail on the high seas of rock n' roll. "Look Out" indeed!

This program we play:

The Yardleys: The Light Won't Shine
Lost Souls, Vol. 1
Psych of the South

The Live Wires: Scrambled Eggs
Aliens, Psychos, andd Wild Things, Vol.  2
Arcania International

Sir Guy and the Rocking Cavaliers: Funky Virginia
Ol' Virginia Soul, Vol. 2
Arcania International

Captain Darby and the Buccaneers: Look Out!
Aliens, Psychos, and Wild Things, Vol. Fore
Arcania International

001 - Pink and Green and the Swinging Machine

Garage/Soul 66 #001 - Pink and Green and Swinging Machine

Welcome to the Garage/Soul '66 podcast! Arcania International (AI) and Psych of the South (PotS) are two of the many small record labels that are collecting and reissuing forgotten pop, psych, rock, R&B and soul recordings of the mid to late 1960's.

Both labels are carried by DCD Records, and both were willing to share the music with you. These vintage recordings are lo-fi, raw, high-energy and authentic. And deserve to be heard again.

For the first episode of our podcast series, we present four tracks of widely different stars.

The Swinging Machine was a mainstay of the eastern Virginia music scene, and it looked like they would break through in time. But the death of their lead singer in 1968 put an end to their dreams, and the band.

Shirley Hughey checks in with a slab of psychedelic pop titled "Pink and Green" from 1969. Far out and groovy, but many questions left unanswered, such as what does pink and green mean, and who was Shirley Hughey?

The Blue and Gray, as befitting their name, came from the deep south (Arkansas), where the Civil War is still the Recent Unpleasantness. Their track, "Don't Send Me No Flowers" has a protopunk swagger to it that's years ahead of its time.

Gene and the Team Beats/Gene and the Teen Beats. Same band, subtly different name. But solid soul no matter how they spelled it.

This show we play:

The Swinging Machine: Do You Have To Ask (1964)
from Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things, Vol. 1
Arcania International

Shirley Hughey: Pink and Green (1969)
from Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things, Vol. 3
Arcania International

Gene and Teen Beats: I'll Let Nothing Separate Me (1967)
from Ol' Virginia Soul, Part 1
Arcania International

The Blue and the Gray: Don't Send Me No Flowers (1966)
from Lost Souls, Vol. 1
Psych of the South

Listen to the podcast and give us some feedback!

Welcome to the "Garage/Soul '66" podcast.

This first entry is something of an experiment -- we're asking everyone visiting this page to listen to our pilot episode and provide some feedback.

Garage/Soul '66
The this podcast will feature forgotten tracks from the mid-1960's through the early 1970's, compiled by Arcania International and Psych of the South.

Garage bands were comprised primarily of 16-18 year-olds, drawing on the rawer sound of the British Invasion for their inspiration. Riff-driven artists like the Rolling Stones, the Animals provided the template for these groups. The genre got its name from the most common practice space and sometimes venues for these bands -- their parents' garages.

The goal of many bands was simply to earn enough money playing dances to record a 45 rpm record. Graduation, college and the draft broke up most of these groups, but their high-energy low-fi recording live on, thanks to the efforts of labels like Psych of the South and Arcania International.

The soul groups Arcania's collected in their "Ol' Virginia Soul" series highlights the lively -- if primarily regional -- African-American music scene in the urban centers of Virginia.

So What's the Concept?
Our goal is to present three tracks from these labels in a manner that recaptures the excitement and sound of '60s AM radio. We have a lot of material to work with -- between the two labels we have access to approximately 480 songs. That's enough for at least 160 podcast episodes.

And both Arcania International and Psych of the South are working on new compilations, so there's a good chance even more material will be available.

So How Can I Help?
Just listen to our sample podcast, and let us know what you think.

Listen to the Garage/Soul '66 Podcast

Your comments can be about any aspect of the podcast. Did you like the format? Was there too much echo on the voice? Would you have preferred more information about the bands? Different title?

Whatever you like -- or don't -- about the podcast, please let us know. It all helps!

Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy the podcast, and I look forward to reading your comments.

And when we launch the podcast for real, this will be its home.
- Ralph Graves (the Radio Star)