From Davis, California (outside Sacramento), Kak consisted of Gary Lee Yoder (vocals / guitar), Dehner Patten (lead guitar), Joe-Dave Damrell (bass) and Chris Lockheed (drums). They made one of the best one-shot US psych LPs of the late 1960s, but - despite having clear commercial potential and being one of the truest early representations of the West Coast sound - it sank without trace. I thought I'd post the only contemporary references to the quartet that I've ever seen.
Their first release was a single pairing Everything's Changing and Rain, produced by John Neel and issued on September 20th 1968. This performance of Rain is different to that on the LP. Oddly, the promo copies were stereo and the stock copies were mono (with some stock copies being stickered as demonstration copies. to add to the confusion):
At the same time, Epic issued a second promo-only 45, with Everything's Changing on both sides, one being a truncated version:
Oddly, it was this non-commerically available disc that was reviewed in the trade magazines. Here's what Record World had to say in their October 5th issue:
Cash Box covered it the same day:
However, it was counted as part of the label's January release schedule, as this sampler LP attests:
The band played famously few gigs, but one - an album launch of sorts, I guess - took place at a San Francisco car showroom on Sunday 19th January, as part of the local Mardi Gras:
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| The San Francisco Examiner, Tuesday January 14th 1969 |
I've only encountered three reviews of the LP. The first appeared in Billboard of February 1st:
The second appeared in the UK underground paper International Times on April 11th, and was written by Barry Miles (later to become Paul McCartney's official biographer). As if Miles weren't already hip enough, note how he casually refers to the 13th Floor Elevators, whom most critics in Texas had never even heard of at the time:
As far as I know, two ads appeared - one in Rolling Stone and one in Go:
Somewhat amazingly, the album was also promoted via a film, which has surfaced on youtube, and from which the outstanding front cover was extracted:
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| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ43oz_qVxc |
Here's a larger version of the photo that appeared on its cover:
Their third and final 45 was I've Got Time / Disbelievin' (Epic 5-10446), produced by Gary Grelecki and issued on February 21st 1969:
The album and singles were not issued abroad, but an EP appeared down in Mexico, coupling HCO 97658 and Everything's Changing with two tracks by Spirit, housed in a picture sleeve showing the latter band's debut LP cover.
The appetite for Kak south of the border was evidently not sated by that: mind-bogglingly, a full EP also appeared in Mexico, offering Rain, Disbelievin', Electric Sailor and Mirage. At the time of writing, I am aware of only three copies:
Kak split almost as soon as their LP appeared, having played a meagre estimated total of five concerts. Only one poster / handbill seems to exist. It's for a gig at Freeborn Hall, the concert venue on the campus of UCD (University Of California, Davis). Being a hometown gig, it bills them as the Kak [Oxford Circle]... That name still meant something to the local longhairs, even if they were forgotten everywhere else.
On April 26th, Record World ran a special Los Angeles issue, which featured this ad:
By then, they'd split up. A month later, well after the album's moment had passed, the seemingly oblivious Epic placed this advert in the May 17th 1969 issue of Rolling Stone:
Following their split, leader Gary Yoder issued a so-so solo 45 before joining Blue Cheer, while drummer Chris Lockheed joined Randy Holden for his deafening Population II project. Kak hadn't been entirely forgotten, however - a couple of years later Lester Bangs praised them highly in his Rolling Stone review of Blue Cheer's Oh! Pleasant Hope (July 8th 1971):
In the decades since, many others have come around to Bangs' way of thinking.
Thanks, Richard, for this nice remembrance of KAK, for sure among my all time fave records (and discs in the shape of Alec's CD on Big Beat) right alongside Frumious, the first QMS and both Mighty Baby contributions to human well-being. Over a decade ago now, while Jud and Alec were both trying to track down KAK members (with the goal of beating each other to a CD release -- clearly Alec "won" that round) I was asked to try and track down Dehner. Using the same techniques that had helped me track down other NW bands for a few reissue ventures (e.g. phone book searches and online searches,) I managed to find Dehner in the greater Portland, OR, area and we spoke once by phone. He told me that he had continued to play music, mostly in local blues-oriented outfits, but with no further recording after the demise of KAK. He said he "might" have something on a cassette, but did not seem motivated to search out and send anything to me. Eventually Alec seemed to establish contact with Yoder, Patton and other band members and the Big Beat CD happened, as did the Oxford Circle CD. But nothing ever surfaced from any of Dehner's possible later recordings -- and that is something I'd still like to hear as he ranks among my fave guitarists of that era.
ReplyDeleteCheers, John Berg
Very informative , Richard , for a band that very little information had existed , previously. MAYBE THEY WERE ONLY SUPPOSED TO HAVE EXISTED AS THEY DID......I'd lean toward "shoulda beens " shoulda been more press , more shows , more and better distribution.....I'm sure you know , some of the Kak /Oxford Circle camp played on "Oh ! Pleasant Hope", as studio musicians. Blue Cheer had become , to many people , more Yoder's band than Peterson's , so it's not surprising he's enlist some friends from Davis , As Dickie was becoming less involved. However , I interviewed Dickie several years ago , and he had nothing but praise for Yoder , noting that he'd recently jammed with Gary and other former members of Oxford Circle.. Best , John Battles
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