Ian is neither disappeared or dead. He has continued recording, and hopefully, with Ian's help, I will have some info on his other groups. Anyone interested in Ultimate Spinach or Ian Bruce-Douglas can email him at AZLBRAX@compuserve.com
This one!?
1968 : Ultimate Spinach I, MGM
1968 : Behold and See, MGM
1969 : Ultimate Spinach III (MGM
The Story of Ultimate Spinach by Ian Bruce-Douglas:
The first mistake I as a "virgin" bandleader made was that someone would introduce me to a guy who happened to play guitar and I would say "You play guitar? Cool! Wanna play in a band I'm putting together?" With the exception of Barbara Hudson...who I had heard play at an open mic at the UNICORN COFFEEHOUSE, in Boston...I had never heard any of these people play and I didn't have the sense to audition them or "feel out" their personalities beforehand. The drummer, Keith, was the brother of the local record store owner on Cape Cod, where I was living at the time. He, essentially, introduced me to the guitarist and bassist. Keith was a very nice, mellow, easy-going guy...and he played pretty well, too. Unfortunately, he had the good sense to leave the band right after we recorded the first album. Barbara was okay, too. However, I had nothing but problems with the guitarist and bassist. They were a couple of Cape Cod rednecks who played in country bands on weekends.
They wanted no part of the Hippie Movement, didn't smoke cannabis or take
LSD and had absolutely no concept of the psychedelic images I was trying to
create. We nearly came to blows on a number of occasions and were on the
verge of collapse when we were "discovered". In a word: I was
sincere...if inexperienced...and was doing it for the passion and joy of
creating and making music...well, maybe the sex and drugs were part of it,
too! They, however, were only in it for the money.
To put it mildly, there was something of a "culture shock" between me and the rest of the band. In fact, it ALWAYS seemed to be about "me against them"...and, having had a few really joyful bands since then, I know that it doesn't have to be this way...even if the band has a strong-willed leader, like me. I have always called my bands "benevolent dictatorships" since I reserve the right to make all decisions as I see fit...but, in my best bands, we have always shared a lot of laughter along with the hard work and as my respect and appreciation for my musicians grows, we tend to become friends outside the band and I end up considering their feelings whenever I make those decisions.
In a word ULTIMATE SPINACH was a VERY bad mistake...even if it got
me my "15 minutes of fame"!
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