Genre: garage
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: Bring Down the House
Company: TEO
Catalog: LPS 5000
Year: 1965
Country/State: Richmond, Virginia
Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+
Comments: stereo pressing
Available: 2
GEMM catalog ID: 4526
Price: $180.00
Cost: $1.00
We won't tell you how much the guy wanted for the LP, but apparently amazed we'd even heard to the band, we'll tell you that he sold it to us for the $25 we had on us.
First, (with a massive thank you to singer/lead guitarist Nick Colleran for all of the wonderful information), here's a quick bio on the band. As a 16 year old attending Richmond's Douglas Southall Freeman High School, Colleran formed the band in 1961. The original line up included bassist Bob Buhrman, Colleran on guitar, sax player Buzz Montsinger and singer Sam Owen. The call of college saw Buhrman replaced by Richard Parrish, with Tom Hill taking over for Montsinger. The line up was eventually rounded out by drummer Richard Eastman.
In spite of the band's relative youth, they became fixtures on the Richmond music scene, playing school dances, proms and local beer joints. The band continued to perform through college, although in 1964 Owen and a date were killed when the car they were driving was crushed by a 15 year old engaged in a drag race. Singer Jimmie Faber was subsequently brought in as a replacement. When the Army draft claimed drummer Eastman, Sandy DeWitt was added to the line up.
Perhaps reflecting the fact Colleran was taking accounting courses at the University of Virginia, the band proved themselves business trendsetters. Having formed their own label - TEO Records (The Escorts Operation), a 21 year old Colleran borrowed $1,200 from a local bank. Having long promoted their own events, the funds were used to rent Richmond's Mosque Ballroom. Giving new meaning to the word independent, the band rented and set up the recording equipment, sold their own tickets, ran the show's concession stand, designed and prepared the album cover art work (Hill's father took the cover photo), wrote the liner notes (Colleran's father set the hot type for the back cover), hired the recording engineer, and arranged for mastering, pressing and final assembly.
So what's this rarity sound like? Well, as we said earlier, judging by the LP, The Escorts were your typical mid-'60s frat band. Produced by guitarist Colleran, "Bring Down the House" consists of a dozen popular rock and soul covers (Beatles, Otis Redding, Stones, Them, etc.) with a couple of lesser known tracks thrown in. Lead singer Faber won't exactly knock you over (check out his out of tune performance on "You're Going To Lose That Girl" - understandable given the band didn't have any feedback speakers), nor will you be awed by the rest of the band's technical merit, though they do bring an admirable sense of enthusiasm to their performances and Colleran turns in several nice performances (he nail's Roger McGuinn's 12 string performance on their cover of Drylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man"). Highlights included a nice "These Arms of Mine" and an enthusiastic "Turn On Your Love Light". In spite of the fact it was recorded live with extremely primitive equipment (four microphones recorded straight on to a two track tape), the sound's surprisingly crisp. At least to our ears, musically the set compares favorably to better known frat acts such as The Ace's Combo, The Englishmen, The Invaders (or any group signed to Justice Records).
"Bring Down the House" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Treat Her Right (Don) - 2:15
2.) You're Going To Lose That Girl (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) - 2:18
3.) Listen People (GrahamaGouldman) - 2:25
4.) Gloria (Van Morrison) - 2:31
5.) Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan) - 2:05
6.) These Arms of Mine (Otis Redding) 2:41
7.) Turn On Your Love Light (Malone - Scott) - 2:45
(side 2)
1.) Louie, Louie (Berry) - 2:30
2.) The Last Time )Mick Jagger - Keith Richard) - 2:54
3.) Scotch and Soda (Guard) - 2:19
4.) Bye, Bye Baby (Walls) - 2:44
5.) Out of Sight (Wright) - 3:25
6.) Shout Parts I and II (Isley - Isley - Isley) - 3:55
Starting in the mid-60s the band also recorded a series of five singles, including a cover of "Shake a Tailfeather", the original "Turn On Your Love Light", the blue-eyed soulish "Hitchhiking Down Broadway" and "S.O.S. (Heart in Distress)". The album and their latter singles brought CBS, Liberty and several other labels calling. Liberty pressured the band to relocate to California and begin touring, however reluctant to lose their college draft exemptions, they passed on the offer, instead A&R man Bob Devere signing them to a recording deal with CBS.
With original drummer Eastman out of the army and back in the line up and bassist Ricky Goldman having replaced Parrish (who left to get married), 1968 saw the band starting work on a studio album. Unfortunately, Goldman was drafted (within a year he'd died of a drug overdose). The draft also caught Hill who ended up in the Marines. With those personnel losses, the band promptly collapsed. In an interesting side note, apparently semi-AWOL from the Marines, Hill reappeared in the band Our House, whom Colleran ended up producing.
Colleran appears to be the only band member who kept his hand in the music business. In addition to extensive production work, including acts such as Pat Benetar and Bootsy Collins, he co-founding Alpha Audio, Virginia's first large-scale recording studio, and Acoustics First Corporation. which offers a full range of acoustical materials including sound absorbers, barriers, diffusers, and specialty products for recording studios and other specialty applications (they have a website). Hill went into business, including stints as president of the firms Planters-Curtiss and Kiwi. Faber went into banking. Parrish briefly tried his hand as a studio player, but along with the others seems to have vanished.