Psychedelic Bands And LPs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Weed

Ken Hensley recorded the "Weed" album during March 1971 in between the Uriah Heep albums "Salisbury" and "Look at yourself". Some members of the 1970/71 Virus line-up were also involved.

Answer: Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a huge psychedelic/garage classic from Mexico City circa 1968/69, and is one of the rarest and most desired psychedelic albums of all time! A stellar album, with all songs in English-heavy grooves, super fuzzed out, distorted guitar and a raving, ranting, drooling savage garage sound.

The band has never been located. It's said that if a really nice copy of this album ever turns up, it may sell for $10,000.00.

Answer: Frumious Bandersnatch

Ross Valory who later went on to Journey played drums and sang for the band Frumious Bandersnatch. Their sought after EP is self titled. Initially named All Night Flight, they changed their moniker in 1967 to Frumious Bandersnatch after a character in the Lewis Carroll poem 'Jabberwocky'. Original members included Dave Denny (lead guitar, vocals), Jack King (drums, vocals), Brian Hough (bass) and George Tickner (guitar). Later that year, Denny temporarily left the group and was briefly replaced by Kaja Doria (vocals) and Bret Wilmot (lead guitar).

It was this lineup that laid down the group's first recordings, including an early version of 'Cheshire', but none were officially issued at the time. By 1968, Denny had returned and Hough and Tickner had been replaced by Ross Valory (bass) and Bobby Winkelman (guitar, vocals). Also at around this time they added a second lead guitarist, Jimmy Warner.

It was this lineup that recorded their classic EP, Four members of Frumious Bandersnatch, Bobby Winkelman, Jack King, Ross Valory, and David Denny would be regular members of the Steve Miller Band. Valory, along with fellow Frumious Bandersnatch member George Tickner and manager Herbie Herbert would join with ex-Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie to form the band Journey in 1973.

Answer: When held to the light it showed purple in color.

Frumious Bandersnatch were a San Francisco band who never made it, though should have. Arriving later on the scene than Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Grateful Dead or Moby Grape, they missed the boat so fame and fortune was not in their cards.

Their EP was purple in color which was noticeable when held up to the light and was released in 1967. This was their sole release and was a 7 inch EP. Songs were "Cheshire", "Hearts To Cry" and "Misty Cloudy." Their music was a festive and soulful liquid-light swirl of long and freaky jams, catchy guitar riffs, melting leads, and strong male/female vocal harmonies that gave the band its unique sound within the realm of Haight/Ashbury Acid Rock.

Answer: Churchills

The self titled 1968 album by Israel's Churchills is one of the most sought-after records in the world. Some rare records go for hundreds of dollars, an original copy of The Churchills can and will fetch in the $2500.00 range. Tune after tune, this album simply amazes.

It produces everything from psychedelic rock to ballads with pure professionalism. The songs are all very original and no other band could sound the way that the Churchills sounded. Soulful vocals, adept, blazing fuzz guitars, sound effects that cpuld be from outer space, exotic Mideast touches - the Churchills use a stunning array of tones and colours, they took the the old fashioned Tel Aviv studio technology of the day to its maximum to create one of the most well regarded psychedelic albums from anywhere on the planet.

Answer: Agemo's Trip To Mother Earth

The tunes on "Agemo's Trip To Mother Earth" are laced with trippy effects, organ overlays, relentless pulsing bass guitar, active percussion, spacey and phased voices and an acidic guitar tone that uses every bit of studio trickery and tone affectation available at the time.

The UK had Pink Floyd and the Dutch had Group 1850's "Agemo's Trip to Mother Earth." This album is taken from the same cloth as "Saucerful of Secrets." There just flat out wasn't anything quite like this in 1968, especially in The Netherlands.

The fuzz guitar, the trippy voices, the acid induced phased effects, and the drumming. It's a bona fide masterpiece in the field of psychedelic progressive music.

Answer: Rick Saucedo - "Heaven Was Blue"

In 1978 Rick Saucedo pressed up 300 copies of an album he titled "Heaven Was Blue" on the Reality label. It floored his Elvis impersonator fans in that it consisted of well creafted, melodic psychedelic music with great hooks, dreamy vocals and dreamy guitars.

This was definitely music his Elvis fans could not relate to. It compared with Bobb Trimble and Michael Angelo. The songs are deep and emotional in a way that sends chills up and down your spine. This album is a major collectors item today and changes hands for upwards of $1,000.00.

A few years back I was still seeing Rick Saucedo performing at local pizza parlors in my town.

Answer: CA Quintet - "A Trip Thru Hell"

The CA Quintet, from Minnesota, was a psychedelic music band active in the late 1960s. They failed to gain national notoriety during their heyday (all their records were locally produced in Minneapolis and none had national distribution). Their only album released during the band's existence, "Trip Thru Hell", sold less than 1000 copies and was virtually unheard of outside of their home town. Now it's considered one of the greatest psychedelic albums in existence.

Answer: Black Widow - "Sacrifice"

Black Widow were a rock band that formed in Leicester, England in September 1969. The band were mostly known for its early use of satanic and occult imagery in their music and stage act. They released their debut album "Sacrifice" in 1970. Perhaps better known than their music was the band's use of occult references in their music and their live performances, which were made more controversial with the mock sacrifice of a nude woman.

The band attracted further controversy by consulting infamous witch Alex Sanders for advice.

The concept of this album is about a girl named Astaroth, who the last time she was loosed upon the Earth, posed as her con juror's mistress. The poor girl was terribly tormented until, driven insane, she threw herself to her death. The year 1764, over two centuries later, a young occultist, having discovered the power to cast his mind backthrought his previous incarnations, revisits his early life in Egypt and hearing reference to Astaroth by a demon which he conjured all those years ago, he goes on to re-witness the tragic results of his experiment in the 18th century.

The songs on the album tells the continuing story...Packed with satanic, mystic, witchcraft lyrics, makes this album the grandfather of all occult rock that has ever followed! I do have to say that the vocals sound wimpy though. Not what you would think for such a dark album.

Answer: Four Levels Of Existence

The Four Levels Of Existence story begins somewhere in 1974-75 when Thanasis Alatas and Xrhstos Blaxakhs, both ex-members of another Greek band, Frog's Eye, met Mario Giamalakh and Niko Grapsa. (I'm not positive, but I believe Grapsas was an ex-member of the band 'Paralos') These four guys joined forces and created The Four Levels Of Existence. One year later (1976) they released their only, self titled album, in a very small quantity, on the Venus label.