Monday, January 15, 2024

Seeking Pleasure With The Vandals - Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Mashua"

This episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM, featured a lot of songs that weren't on Spotify making the playlist links (found down below) more comprehensive than they normally are. I've noticed a few compilations have been pulled from Spotify but there's always been a sort of, ebb and flow, with artist's appearing and then disappearing from the service. Anywho, that's just how streaming services go, especially when you have albums made up of music with dubious copyright claims or flat-out unknown composers. Let's not get into that long-winded subject, however, and instead focus on some of the things I talked about during the episode!

First off, you heard The Vandals perform their song The Joker. The group is from Hollywood, FL and is best known for their song I Saw Her In A Mustang which features lyrics that can make even modern audiences blush or at least tilt their heads. According to the liner notes of their 2021 compilation (written by The Vandals keyboardist Augie Bucci) the band's record label pushed the group to rewrite the lyrics to I Saw Her In A Mustang insisting that the risqué lyrics would kill any prospects of radio play. The band stuck to their guns and refused to rewrite the lyrics and unfortunately the label was correct and the single received no airplay and abysmal sales figures. However, the controversial song added to the band's mystique and helped fuel their popularity among their frat party peers, ensuring them frequent shows to decently sized crowds in South Florida. We can only speculate how popular the group could have been without the controversy surrounding I Saw Her In A Mustang but I'll let you be the judge by asking you to listen to what Bucci considers the band's best song, Mystery. 

The Pleasure Seekers as seen on an Oregon Television program in 1968

After The Vandals, you heard a cult classic by The Pleasure Seekers named What A Way To Die, which stands out from the rest of their musical output due to its hard edge and subject matter. Surprisingly, the band's co-founders, sisters Suzi Quatro and Patti Quatro, were only 15 and 17 when they recorded their first single which was written by Dave Leone, who was the founder of a popular Detroit nightclub known as The Hideout who was also the manager of Bob Seger and Ted Nugent. Plenty of articles have been written about the group but the best articles I found were written by Margaret Moser for The Austin Chronicle and a short bio on the Quatro sister's official website. After The Pleasure Seekers dissolved, the Quatro sisters formed a heavier rock band named Cradle, who produced songs more along the lines of Deep Purple and have often been compared to the American band Fanny. Suzi continues to play music to this day, has had a very successful solo career in the UK, and at one time had a reoccurring role on Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero. Another Quatro sister, Pleasure Seekers' keyboardist Arlene Quatro, is also known for being the mother of Sherilyn Fenn.

And finally, I'll quickly wrap up with a quick list of the three other artists I talked about on the show:

You heard The Briks' song Keep Down and I mentioned that the group was from Denton, TX but originally formed as The Embers in Lubbock, TX, which, as you may know, is famously the birth place of Buddy Holly. You can read more about the band on Garage Hangover.

Next up, I played The Parking Meter by Leo and The Prophets. What stood out to me about the band was their original name JC and The Boys, where the JC stood for Jesus Christ and The Boys referred to his disciples. Supposedly the band considered the name somewhat risky but no one ever questioned it. You can read an interview with The Prophets' rhythm guitarist Dan Hickman on the blog 1966: Texas Music in the Sixties.

We ended the show with Connie Converse's song Father Neptune and I briefly mentioned that Converse recorded her songs for a small audience of peers although she aspired to a career in the music business. Partially because of her lack of success Converse vanished into obscurity after leaving her family letters that explained how she was going to start a new life in New York. A fraction of Converse's recordings was compiled in 2009 and they have a folksy and somber quality when paired with her unusual story makes for an unusual listening experience. For some more in depth reading check out these articles by both NPR and The New York Times.

That's all for this episode's rundown! Thanks for reading the blog and be sure to listen over the air on KUCR 88.3FM on Saturdays at 9pm PST or listen to an archived version of the show here. You can also listen through KUCR.org, Radio Garden, or Tune-In. 

Check out this week's playlist below:

  

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