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Complex prog rock inspired by Genesis primarily but you will hear a lot of different things that might remind you of any of a dozen other bands. These guys were just playing music they loved and did not mind if it crossed genre too much. They began in Houston in 1970, the CD contains liner notes so you get more of their history. Very cool stuff!
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Formed in Dallas, TX. in 1970, they were very active gigging and recording (several 7" singles) and built a good size following by the time of their pinnacle in 1976. Their lead guitarist, Randy Nunnally, had even attracted the attention of National act Ted Nugent and was asked to join Ted as his guitarist for a tour. Unfortunately, at that same time, Randy was diagnosed with ALS and went downhill pretty fast, passing away a few short years later. This CD contains music found on their 7" singles as well as a fantastic live radio broadcast. All of the original master tapes were lost in a fire, this is all the music that could be found. The CD is dedicated to the memory of the late, great Randy Nunnally.
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Dallas, TX. based hard rock/jazz fusion group heavily influenced by Jean Luc Ponty and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Enjoyed a brief but fruitful life span between the years 1975 and 1977, and having at least two significant line-up changes. Bassist Roy Vogt would later go on to find much success touring with legendary singer Englebert Humperdinck and teaching and recording many compositions in Nashville, most notably with guitarist extraordinaire Stan Lassiter.
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Formed in Dallas, Brat were originally known as Cottonmouth (beginning in 1972). They went through a line-up change and a name change in 1975 and became a staple in the local Dallas rock scene. Known as a hard rocking covers band, they interspersed their own songs into their set list and eventually did some demos but nothing became of it. The fact is, they were a gritty, powerhouse live band! They breathed fire and fury into their very eclectic cover songs, and inspired hard rocking originals. This CD comprises their only known studio demos and live tracks.
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We got this tape years ago when it was submitted by a customer of ours who thought we would be interested in it. He was from Ohio, and told me he was friendly with the guys in this band. He managed to get their demo recording and sent it on behalf of the band. That was around 1986, and the recordings dated around 1983. That was the last I heard about it. Decades later, I rediscovered the tape and decided it was time. Heavy and complex, the first track of their demo tape was 45 minutes long! As you can imagine, there were no labels that took them on...except me of course!
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Formed in 1972, Hands were originally called Ibis, and then a series of name changes which eventually led to Prism, which they were widely known as, until things got serious. With the production of high quality studio demos, they were forced to change names again, this time for good - with the name HANDS. These early recordings capture them at a time before the studio quality demos, when they were still working small clubs and colleges and playing a lot of covers (albeit very interesting ones).
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This is the first release on the Shroom Productions record label begun in 1995. It consisted of tracks mostly from Hands 1977 January Sound recording sessions in Dallas, TX. The CD was put together from that plus an assortment of other tracks because, at the time, it was not known if there would be another Hands CD, we just did not know what the demand would be. Well, some 3000 copies later, and there is STILL demand for this great music. Numerous reviews and consistently high ratings give praise to this band and this CD in particular. Discover them if you have not heard any of their music, I mean, if you love bands like Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Kansas, Yes, Camel, Happy The Man, Gryphon, Greenslade, UK, or PFM.
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Released on vinyl, this features excellent multi-layered guitar, ripping bass and drum work, and Ian Gillan inspired vocals with dark, haunting, somewhat blues-tinged hard rock songs. Recorded in Rosenberg, TX. only a single 45 rpm was released, but the tracks on the 7" were from a previous demo recording done in 1974. This and much more is featured on the CD version, where you can hear for yourself why the world should have heard of the name Ottis Coleman, but hopefully now they will get the chance. For fans of Trapeze, Deep Purple.
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Heavy, rural psyche that features pretty acid influenced guitar (putting it mildly) stoned, psychedelic lyrics with an Eastern mysticism pervading. Effects include conch shell through echoplex (yup), flutes, walls of feedback, sort of what you might get if you mixed Ya-Ho-Wa 13 with Tangerine Dream, Loch Ness, Hendrix, and Amon Duul. Out There!
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Austin rural rock that had built up a good following and had incredible promise but for some reason their first recorded album never got picked up by anyone and remained shelved. As far as I know, this CD is the only way to hear this lost album, it's so obscure not even the track names are known. The band did change their name eventually and recorded another album which I know very little about.
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Begun in Houston in 1969, brothers Duane and Bill Massey created an eclectic hard rocking progressive rock band that survived numerous line-up changes over the years and still exists to this day. An album, "Ruff Mix", was released in 1975 and features excellent arrangements augmented with blazing electric guitar by Richard Heath who went on to join Lic. This CD captures them in the early 80's where more emphasis was placed on hard guitar sounds, not necessarily metal but good Texas hard rock.
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Formed in 1969, legendary heavy Southern psyche rock group Josefus took Texas by storm, recording a monumental LP (Dead Man) and touring throughout Texas in 1969 (opening act for Grand Funk on most of the Texas dates). Somehow, through all the craziness, they have kept it together (original singer and guitarist) all these years and continue to record and play live. This CD showcases an exceptional live performance on one side (this was originally done on vinyl which is now out of print) and a rare 1978 studio session on the other side (was lost for over 35 years!). A killer disc!