The Fugitives | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Sacramento, California |
Genres | Garage rock, pop rock |
Years active | 1964–1966 |
Past members | Paul Huston : Guitar Jack May : Guitar Jim Phillips : Saxophone, vocals Recorded members Tom Fabian : DrumsFrank Galindo Loscutoff : Vocals Tony Powell : Guitar and vocals Allen M. Purdy : Bass guitar Laramy Smith : Guitar and vocals |
The Fugitives were a Sacramento, California group whose first big success was at the 1964 Surfer's Convention at the State Fairgrounds, when they set the attendance record for Sacramento rock and roll shows. The Fugitives opened for many famous acts, including The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, The Kinks, The Beau Brummels and Paul Revere and the Raiders.
After making a number of personnel changes (lead singer and both guitarists), the band's style had changed to pop rock, and they headed to Los Angeles. They recorded nine songs at Western Recorders (as The Grimfacqles) with The Beach Boys' engineer, Chuck Britz. The band's manager, Dan Steward, tried to interest a major label in the Western sessions but was met with indifference. Those recordings subsequently disappeared and have remained lost despite several research attempts to find them.
The band later returned to Los Angeles to appear on the nationwide television show, Hollywood A Go-Go . They returned to Northern California, where the band was a wildly popular center of the Davis-Sacramento music scene and known throughout Northern California for their playing of originals and cover versions of The Beatles and other top rock groups. Their success continued until the band finally broke up in late 1966, but not before the remarkable energy they expressed was captured. An early 2-track recording of The Fugitives' high-energy "Blowin' My Mind", written by the group's Laramy Smith and Allen M. Purdy, recorded in Sacramento at Bill Rase/Ikon Studios and engineered by Eirik Wangberg, was selected for inclusion on the CD The Sound of Young Sacramento, a compilation released in the UK in 2000 that was put together by Alec Palao for the London, England-based company, Ace Records, a subsidiary of Big Beat Records.
On May 11, 2007, The Fugitives were honored again when the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center (SAMCC) released a 45rpm vinyl record of four songs by four influential '60s-era Sacramento bands for the exhibit, "Hearing our History". The Fugitives' "Blowin' My Mind" is one of the four tracks on the record, and a photo of The Fugitives band is on the SAMCC vinyl's cover.
After the band split up, Smith released a record on ATCO produced by David Briggs, Neil Young's producer. In 1968 Smith produced a number of recordings with his group Phoenix including "Los Angeles" co-produced with Laramy's long time pal Eirik Wangberg, Paul McCartney's producer, recorded at Sound Recorders in Hollywood, with ex-Byrd Gene Clark, featured on M 1998 album title 'Flying High". Gene Clark moved on to Dillard & Clark and in 1972 Smith created yet another band, Arizona with Sneaky Pete Kleinow, pedal steel king of The Flying Burrito Brothers. In 1974 Smith moved on to Europe where for 26 years he toured 16 countries and released recordings on Columbia and EMI records. Smith is active in the music industry. Allen M. Purdy is a real estate mogul in northern California. Frank Gallindo Loscutoff, who retained The Fugitives band name, is a musician in Sacramento.
The Byrds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member. Although their time as one of the most popular groups in the world only lasted for a short period in the mid-1960s, the Byrds are today considered by critics to be among the most influential rock acts of their era. Their signature blend of clear harmony singing and McGuinn's jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitar was "absorbed into the vocabulary of rock" and has continued to be influential.
Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best-known originals from this period, including "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", "She Don't Care About Time", "Eight Miles High" and "Set You Free This Time". Although he did not achieve commercial success as a solo artist, Clark was in the vanguard of popular music during much of his career, prefiguring developments in such disparate subgenres as psychedelic rock, baroque pop, newgrass, country rock, and alternative country. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the Byrds.
Christopher Hillman is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke.
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Clarence White was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, as well as for being a pioneer of the musical genre of country rock during the late 1960s. White also worked extensively as a session musician, appearing on recordings by the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, the Monkees, Randy Newman, Gene Clark, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, and Jackson Browne among others.
Michael Clarke was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group the Byrds from 1964 to 1967. He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.
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Fifth Dimension is the third album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released in July 1966 on Columbia Records. Most of the album was recorded following the February 1966 departure of the band's principal songwriter Gene Clark. In an attempt to compensate for Clark's absence, guitarists Jim McGuinn and David Crosby increased their songwriting output. In spite of this, the loss of Clark resulted in an album with four cover versions and an instrumental, which critics have described as "wildly uneven" and "awkward and scattered". However, it was the first Byrds album not to include any songs written by Bob Dylan, whose material had previously been a mainstay of the band's repertoire.
Byrds is the twelfth and final studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released in March 1973 on Asylum Records. It was recorded as the centerpiece of a reunion among the five original band members: Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke. The last time that all five members had worked together as the Byrds was in 1966, prior to Clark's departure from the band. During the reunion, the current, latter-day lineup of the band continued to make live appearances until February 1973, with McGuinn being the only member common to both versions of the group.
Gary Lee Usher was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fictitious surf groups or hot rod groups, mixing studio session musicians with his own troops. These bands included the Super-Stocks, with the hot-rod song "Midnight Run", and the Kickstands.
No Other is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Gene Clark. Released in September 1974, it was largely ignored or lambasted by critics and was a commercial failure; the studio time and cost were seen as excessive and indulgent. The record label, Asylum Records, did not promote the album, and by 1976 had deleted it from their catalog. Clark never recovered from the failure of the album.
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Never Before is a compilation album by the American rock band the Byrds, consisting of previously unreleased outtakes, alternate versions, and rarities. It was initially released by Re-Flyte Records in December 1987 and was subsequently reissued on CD in 1989, with an additional seven bonus tracks.
In the Beginning is a compilation album by the American folk rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1988 by Rhino Records. It features demo recordings made during 1964, before the band became famous.
"She Don't Care About Time" is a song by American folk rock band the Byrds. It was released on a non-album single in October 1965, as the B-side to "Turn! Turn! Turn!". The song was written by Gene Clark, the Byrds' main songwriter between 1964 and early 1966. "She Don't Care About Time" was recorded during sessions for the group's second album Turn! Turn! Turn!. The song is on most of the band's hits compilations.
Edward Hoh was an American rock drummer who was active in the 1960s. Although primarily a studio session and touring drummer, Hoh exhibited a degree of originality and showmanship that set him apart and several of his contributions have been singled out for acknowledgment by music critics.
Public Nuisance was an American rock band from Sacramento, California who were active from 1964-1970, first as Moss & the Rocks, then later as Public Nuisance. In 1965 they recorded the song "There She Goes" as Moss & the Rocks for a single released on the local Icon label. After changing their name to Public Nuisance in 1967, they began to incorporate psychedelic elements into their sound and a series of mostly unreleased songs recorded at various sessions from 1968-1969 that went for years unissued, but finally saw the light of day in 2002 with the release of the Gotta Survive anthology. Since then, their work, both as Moss & the Rocks and Public Nuisance, has attracted the attention of garage rock and psychedelic enthusiasts worldwide.