The Tangerine Zoo

Last updated
The Tangerine Zoo
The Tangerine Zoo.jpg
Background information
Origin Swansea, Massachusetts, United States
Genres Psychedelic rock
Years active1966 - 1970
Labels Mainstream
Past members
  • Robert "Benny" Benevides
  • Tony Taveira
  • Donald Smith
  • Ron Medeiros
  • Wayne Gagnon

The Tangerine Zoo was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Swansea, Massachusetts, in 1966. Encompassed in Boston's psychedelic scene and considered a part of the Bosstown Sound, the band became popular regionally, and released two albums on Mainstream Records during their recording career. The Tangerine Zoo had an opportunity to achieve national recognition at the Woodstock Festival, but was forced to decline the invitation. Nonetheless, the group's material has been reinstated into the public conscious after 1960s psychedelic music collectors have discovered the Tangerine Zoo's work years after their disbandment.

Contents

History

Future Tangerine Zoo members Robert "Benny" Benevides (lead guitar), Tony Taveira (bass guitar), and Donald Smith (drums) first collaborated in the garage rock band, the Ebb Tides, which were formed in 1966. The band became popular regionally, performing as headliners at a series of festivals and battles of the bands. [1] In mid-1966, the Ebb Tides recorded their single "My Baby's Gone" backed by a cover version of "Summertime" for Arco Records. The A-side was later featured on the compilation album Sixties Rebellion, Volume 4, in 1993 and on Quagmire, Volume 3, in 2004. [2] However, disagreements with bandmates Charlie Robidoux and Bobby Robidoux caused the premature disbandment of the Ebb Tides. Abandoning the group's garage sound in favor of psychedelic rock, a new band called the Flower Pot was established soon after. [3]

The band recruited Ron Medeiros (keyboards, harmonica) and Wayne Gagnon, the latter of whom Taveira was bandmates with in the group the Rockin' Teens. With the burgeoning psychedelic rock scene and hippie movement emerging in Boston, the group's new sound featuring a Hammond organ and fuzz-toned instrumentals put them on the edge of mainstream popularity. [4] Taveira recalled later on "The band auditioned for Mercury, RCA Victor and Mainstream in the fall of 1967 in New York City", noting Mercury Records and RCA Victor Records offered the Flower Pot a recording contract to release a single and possibly an album. [2] However, as he also explained, Mainstream Records "offered both at the same time. How could we pass that up after working so hard to get there? Mainstream had us in the studio within a month". [2] As mandated in their contract, the band's name—a reference to marijuana—was changed to the Tangerine Zoo. [4]

In February 1968, the band released their self-titled debut album. With seven of the nine tracks originally composed by group members, the album's best-known song is actually a six-minute rendition of Them's tune "Gloria". [3] One review states "with swirly Hammond and feedback-drenched psychedelic noodling a-plenty doesn't seem like a good way to avoid the mainstream and do your own thing, but the band manage to stamp their own style on this classic". [5] Ironically, the Tangerine Zoo's recording of "One Is the Loneliest Number" was not released, and became a national hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for Three Dog Night in April 1969. One track, "Nature's Children", was covered by garage band the Kidds with regional success, and appears on Pebbles, Volume 10 . To promote the group's album, the Tangerine Zoo performed at Boston's popular psychedelic music clubs including the Boston Tea Party and the Psychedelic Supermarket, with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, and the Amboy Dukes. [2]

All the while, the Tangerine Zoo was advertised as a proponent to the Bosstown Sound, a commercial strategy focusing on several Boston-area psychedelic rock bands such as Ultimate Spinach and the Beacon Street Union. Prior to recording the group's second album, Outside Looking In, Taveira departed to finish high school. In 1969, the Tangerine Zoo was invited to perform at the Woodstock Festival; however, as a consequence of other commitments, were forced to decline the offer. [4] The Tangerine Zoo dissolved in 1970 after music differences plagued the group. Gagnon soon resurfaced with the band Wadsworth Mansion, earning a Top 10 hit with "Sweet Mary", in 1971. Since their disbandment, the band has had three reunions: first in 1988 then again in 1990 and 1993. [1]

Discography

Singles

Albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychedelic rock</span> Genre of rock music

Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording techniques, extended instrumental solos, and improvisation. Many psychedelic groups differ in style, and the label is often applied spuriously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country Joe and the Fish</span> American psychedelic rock band

Country Joe and the Fish was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Berkeley, California, in 1965. The band was among the influential groups in the San Francisco music scene during the mid- to late 1960s. Much of the band's music was written by founding members Country Joe McDonald and Barry "The Fish" Melton, with lyrics pointedly addressing issues of importance to the counterculture, such as anti-war protests, free love, and recreational drug use. Through a combination of psychedelia and electronic music, the band's sound was marked by innovative guitar melodies and distorted organ-driven instrumentals which were significant to the development of acid rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Music Machine</span> American rock band formed in 1966

The Music Machine was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Fronted by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the band cultivated a characteristically dark and rebellious image reflected in an untamed musical approach. Sometimes it made use of distorted guitar lines and hallucinogenic organ parts, punctuated by Bonniwell's distinctively throaty vocals. Although they managed to attain national chart success only briefly with two singles, the Music Machine is today considered by many critics to be one of the groundbreaking acts of the 1960s. Their style is now recognized as a pioneering force in proto-punk; yet within a relatively short period of time, they began to employ more complex lyrical and instrumental arrangements that went beyond the typical garage band format.

Mind Garage was an American psychedelic rock and roll band from Morgantown, West Virginia, and a progenitor of Christian rock music. Their "Electric Liturgy" performed in 1968 was the first documented Christian rock worship service, and their 1969 eponymous debut RCA album was one of the earliest Christian rock albums released.

Psychedelic music is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as 5-MeO-DMT, DMT, LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin mushrooms, to experience synesthesia and altered states of consciousness. Psychedelic music may also aim to enhance the experience of using these drugs and has been found to have a significant influence on psychedelic therapy.

Psychedelic pop is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included "trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, sitars, and Beach Boys-style harmonies, wedded to melodic songs with tight song structures. The style lasted into the early 1970s. It has seen revivals in subsequent decades by neo-psychedelic artists.

Earth Opera was an American psychedelic rock group, active between 1967 and 1969 and featuring Peter Rowan and David Grisman.

Ultimate Spinach was a short-lived American psychedelic rock band from Boston, Massachusetts which was formed in 1967. In terms of style and national recognition, the band was one of the most prominent musical acts to emerge from the "Bosstown Sound", which was a marketing campaign posing as a regional attempt to compete with the San Francisco Sound. During the group's existence, they released three albums, with their self-titled debut the most commercially successful.

We the People was an American garage rock band from Orlando, Florida, that was formed in late 1965 and professionally active between 1966 and 1970. Although none of their singles charted nationally in the U.S., a number of them did reach the Top 10 of the local Orlando charts. The band are perhaps best remembered for their song "Mirror of Your Mind", which reached the Top 10 in a number of regional singles charts across the U.S. during 1966. The song has subsequently been included on several compilation albums over the years.

Ford Theatre was an American psychedelic rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, that were active between 1966 and 1971. Their sound was similar to other Boston-based psychedelic rock bands of the era.

Listening was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1960s.

Twentieth Century Zoo was an American psychedelic rock band formed from the remnants of The Bittersweets in Phoenix, Arizona in 1967. The band released several singles, and an album to reach regional acclaim before disbanding in 1970. Their later works spanned across multiple genres, including early examples of proto-punk. The band was known for playing among other highly successful acts, and incorporating their influences into the group's own individual sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple Pie Motherhood Band</span> American psychedelic rock band

Apple Pie Motherhood Band was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1967. One of the several groups involved in the "Bosstown Sound", a commercial ploy designed to compete with the San Francisco Sound, the band developed a blend of psychedelia, blues rock, and hard rock, which was exemplified and expanded upon on their two albums. The group went through several line-up changes before disbanding in 1970.

<i>The Bonniwell Music Machine</i> (album) 1968 studio album by The Bonniwell Music Machine

The Bonniwell Music Machine is the second and final album by the American garage rock band The Music Machine, recorded under the renamed moniker The Bonniwell Music Machine, and released on Warner Bros. Records on February 10, 1968. As with their debut LP, the album again saw the band blending garage and psychedelic rock influences, albeit with a greater emphasis on psychedelia than on their previous album release. Prior to completing its recording, all of the group's original members, except for its creative force, Sean Bonniwell, departed, though they would still appear on some of the album's tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohemian Vendetta</span> American rock band

Bohemian Vendetta was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Long Island, New York, who were active from 1966 to 1968. In addition to recording two officially released singles and several previously unissued demos, they cut a self-titled album, Bohemian Vendetta, released by Mainstream Records in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Freeborne</span> American psychedelic rock band

The Freeborne was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1966. The band was one of the numerous groups associated with the "Bosstown Sound", and is noted for releasing one eclectic album, Peak Impressions, in 1967, which exemplified the young members' versatility embedded in psychedelia.

The Psychedelic Supermarket was an underground music venue in Boston, Massachusetts, that was open in the 1960s, and became one of the core establishments of the city's psychedelic rock scene. It stood at 590 Commonwealth Avenue inside a parking garage that was converted into a club by promoter George Papadopoulo in 1967. The Psychedelic Supermarket was active for two years, before its closing.

<i>Behold & See</i> 1968 studio album by Ultimate Spinach

Behold & See is the second album by the American psychedelic rock band Ultimate Spinach, and was released on MGM Records in August 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosstown Sound</span>

The Bosstown Sound was the catchphrase of a marketing campaign to promote psychedelic rock and psychedelic pop bands in Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 1960s. The concept was conceived by the record producer Alan Lorber as a marketing strategy intended to establish several underground musical artists native to the city on the national charts and compete with the popular San Francisco Sound. Lorber chose Boston for his plan because of the several bands developing in the city, the abundance of music venues, and the proximity of MGM Records, which had signed the core groups.

Chamaeleon Church was a short-lived American psychedelic rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1967. It was founded by singer-songwriter Ted Myers after the disbandment of the Lost. Chamaeleon Church recorded one self-titled album in 1968. Similar to other psychedelic groups native to Boston, the band is remembered for its relation to the Bosstown Sound. In addition, the band had future actor and comedian Chevy Chase as a member.

References

  1. 1 2 Ankeny, Jason. "The Tangerine Zoo - Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Tangerine Zoo". home.unet.nl. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Palao, Alec (2009). "All Kinds of Highs (CD booklet)". Big Beat Records.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 "The Tangerine Zoo". tangerinezoo.homestead. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Tangerine Zoo - Tangerine Zoo". headheritage.co.uk. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.