Kaleidoscope Band American psychedelic folk and ethnic band 1966/1970

Leggendaria formazione californiana, uno dei gruppi più misteriosi e carismatici di tutti i '60, i Kaleidoscope hanno inventato nella loro breve carriera miscela uniche di blues, folk, cajun, old time music, con capricciose armonie orientali e punteggiature di strumenti esotici. Il Gruppo si forma a Los Angeles per opera soprattutto di David Lindley (n. 1944, USA). Lindley si unisce a John Vidican, Brian Monsour, Rick O'Reil e Salomon Feldthouse, quest'ultimo esperto di strumenti orientali e turchi in particolare, cantante con una possente voce baritonale. Non è un caso, visto le premesse tanto esotiche, che il complesso prenda come primo nome quello di Baghdad Blues Band, che tramuta in Kaleidoscope quando in formazione entrano Chris Darrow e Chester Crill. Darrow conosce Lindley dai tempi della Dry City Scat Band, un gruppo di folk tradizionale acustico (all'attivo 2 brani nell'antologia di STRING BAND PROJECT e un EP); nella formazione anche Richard Greene, Peter Madlem e Steve Cahill. Quanto a Crill, è un estroso polistrumentista he apparirà nei vari dischi con i più bizzarri pseudonimi: Max Buda, Templeton Parcelly, Connie Crill nonchè il defunto Fenrup Epp, alla cui memoria è dedicato INCREDIBLE KALEIDOSCOPE (Epic 1969 USA). Usciti Monsour e O'Reilly, organizzati a quintetto, i Kaleidoscope registrano SIDE TRIP (Epic 1967 USA), miscela di stili diversi, dall'Oriente di Egyptian Gardens al blues alla ballata tradizionale. Per gran parte del 1967 il gruppo si esibisce dal vivo nei maggiori locali della West Coast, con l'insolito accompagnamento di danzatori turchi. Alla finedell'anno esce A BEACON FROM MARS (Epic 1968 USA), disco ecentrico e leggendario, con due brani dal vivo (Taxim e Beacon From Mars) in cui i Kaleidoscope esprimono senza limitazioni il proprio stile; interminabili voli strumentali, timbri esotici, atmosfere ipnotiche. A quel punto, però il gruppo è già in crisi; Darrow se n'è andato, insoddisfatto della direzione musicale e scenica, ed è stato sostituito da Stuart Brotman, e di lì a poco Paul Lagos sostituirà John Vidican. Pur priva di un musicista di talento come Darrow, la nuova formazione risulta più omogenea e orse addirittura la migliore della storia Kaleidoscope, INCREDIBLE KALEIDOSCOPE (Epic 1969 USA) è una pagina rock di altissimo livello, con la bella Seven Ate Sweet, esemplare inontro di Oriente e Occidente, e il gioco di prestigio strumentale di Banjo (David Lindley).
Nel 1969, purtroppo, dispute interne e lo scarso riscontro di pubblio portano il complesso alla fine. David Lindley si stacca dal gruppo, desideroso di intraprendere nuove vie musicali, e la formazione subisce l'ennesimo mutamento, on l'ingresso del cantante Jeff Kaplan e la sostituzione di Brotman con Ron Johnson. Così sistemati i Kaleidoscope partecipano alla colonna sonora di Zabriskie Point e incidono BERNICE (Epic 1970 USA), disco più debole dell'intero repertorio. Nel 1971 i Kaleidoscope si sciolgono e di molti omponenti non si sentirà più parlare. I soli Darrow e Lindley si faranno notare, il primo con una serie di lavori solistici, il secondo come sideman e uomo di studio (con Terry Reid, Crosby & Nash, Jackson Brown). Nel 1976, su impulso di Darrow, il gruppo si riformerà per una sola, buona occasione, WHEN SCOPES COLLIDE (Pacific Arts 1976 USA).

Kaleidoscope (originally The Kaleidoscope) was an American psychedelic folk and ethnic band who recorded 4 albums and several singles for Epic Records between 1966 and 1970. The band membership included David Lindley, who later released numerous solo albums and won additional renown as a multi-instrumentalist session musician.

History

Formation

The group was formed in 1966. The original members were:

David Lindley (b. March 21, 1944, Los Angeles, California)

Solomon Feldthouse (b. January 20, 1940, Pingree, Idaho)

Chris Darrow (b. July 30, 1944, Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

Chester Crill (a.k.a. Max Budda, Max Buda, Fenrus Epp, Templeton Parcely) (b. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

John Vidican (b. Los Angeles, California)

Lindley was an experienced performer on a variety of stringed instruments, notably the banjo, winning the Topanga Canyon Banjo Contest several years in a row in the early 60s. While studying at La Salle High School in Pasadena, he formed his first group, the Mad Mountain Ramblers, who performed around the Los Angeles folk clubs. There, he met Darrow, who was a member of a rival group, the Re-Organized Dry City Players.
Soon afterwards, around 1964, the pair formed a new group, the Dry City Scat Band, which also included fiddle player Richard Greene (later of Seatrain), but Darrow soon left to set up a new rock group, The Floggs. Lindley also began forming his own electric group. In the course of this he met Feldthouse, who had been raised in Turkey and, on returning to the US, had performed flamenco music and as an accompanist to belly dancing groups. Lindley and Feldthouse then began performing as a duo, David and Solomon, when they met Chester Crill. They invited him to join their band, and by the end of 1966 added Darrow and drummer John Vidican, so forming The Kaleidoscope.

Recording and performance career

The group was founded on democratic principles – there was no "leader". They soon began performing live in clubs, winning a recording contract with Epic Records. The first single, "Please", was released in December 1966. It was produced by Barry Friedman (later known as Frazier Mohawk), as was their first album Side Trips, released in June 1967. The album showcased the group’s musical diversity and studio experimentation. It included Feldthouse's "Egyptian Gardens", Darrow’s "Keep Your Mind Open", and versions of Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher" and Dock Boggs' "Oh Death". Crill, for reasons he never made clear (but ex-bandmates speculated had to do with concerns about overreactions from his "straitlaced" parents), was credited as "Fenrus Epp" on the first album and adopted various other pseudonyms on later recordings.
Between them, the group played a huge collection of stringed instruments in such psychedelic songs as "Egyptian Gardens" and "Pulsating Dream." They played fusions of Middle-Eastern music with rock in longer pieces such as "Taxim," which they performed at numerous venues including the Berkeley Folk Festival on July 4, 1967 and the Newport Folk Festival in 1968. Live, band numbers were sometimes interspersed by solo instrumental turns from Feldthouse or Lindley, and occasionally Feldthouse brought belly dancers or flamenco dancers on stage. The band performed many different styles, including rock, blues, folk, jazz, Middle-Eastern and also featured music by Calloway and Duke Ellington in their repertoire. Kaleidoscope were one of the progenitors of World Music.
The band's second album A Beacon from Mars was released in early 1968, to generally good reviews but poor sales. The album was a mix of Middle-Eastern, country, folk and rock musical styles. The title track, inspired by a Howlin' Wolf musical riff originally in his song Smokestack Lightning, was recorded live in the studio, and featured a long psychedelic electric guitar solo by Lindley, which later caused Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page to refer to the Kaleidoscope as his "favourite band of all time." In live performances of the tune, Lindley used a violin bow on his electric guitar, probably influencing Page to use the same effect later. Another live "no overdubs" track on the album was "Taxim," with solos from Lindley on a "harp guitar" and Felthouse, who played oud and saz on the lengthy cut.
Liner notes to the much-later CD reissue claim the album's original title was "Bacon From Mars," but that the title was misprinted. This is a complete myth, initiated by a joke printed in the magazine ZigZag during their three-part feature on Kaleidoscope.
Darrow left the group after recording the album and was replaced by bassist Stuart Brotman, previously a member of an early version of Canned Heat. However, Darrow returned briefly for studio work when the group backed first Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Larry Williams on their 1967 single "Nobody", and later Leonard Cohen on "So Long, Marianne" and "Teachers" on his first album. Vidican was also replaced by drummer Paul Lagos who had a jazz and R&B background, having played with Little Richard, Johnny Otis, and Ike and Tina Turner.
The band recorded their third album, Incredible! Kaleidoscope, in 1968. It featured "Seven-Ate Sweet", a long progressive instrumental piece in 7/8 time signature which they had been playing live since the early days of the group. The album reached No. 139 on Billboard in 1969, the only Kaleidoscope album to chart. Around this time they also did soundtrack work on educational and other films, and also made an appearance at the Newport Folk Festival.
Kaleidoscope’s fourth and final album from their Epic Records era, Bernice, featured more electric guitar work than the earlier albums, and more country influence. There were further personnel changes, adding singer-guitarist Jeff Kaplan, and bassist Ron Johnston who replaced Brotman during the making of the album. Feldthouse also left the group.
At the end of 1969, Kaleidoscope contributed two new songs ("Brother Mary" and "Mickey's Tune") to Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point, and supported Cream on their American farewell tour. The band split up soon afterwards.

Later careers

After the end of Kaleidoscope, Lindley became a highly respected session and live musician with Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and others, before forming his own band, El Rayo-X, in the early 1980s. Feldthouse performed at Renaissance Pleasure Faires, and with various flamenco and Middle Eastern groups. Darrow formed the Corvettes with Bernie Leadon before becoming a leading session musician and solo performer. Crill became an underground comic writer for a time, co-writing the Mickey Rat series, and also produced the first 78rpm record by R. Crumb's group, Armstrong's Pasadenans. Brotman became involved with the LA folk dance scene and has done considerable work as a movie extra. In the 1980s he became active in the Klezmer Revival, playing bass and tsimbl for Brave Old World and most recently is a member of the San Francisco-based trio, Veretski Pass whose most recent CD, "Klezmer Shul," was released in 2011. He is also a regular instructor at KlezKamp, KlezCanada, and other ethnic music gatherings. Paul Lagos died on October 19, 2009.

Kaleidoscope reunions

In 1976, ex-members Brotman, Crill, Darrow, Feldthouse and Lagos reconvened for the reunion album, When Scopes Collide, which was released on Michael Nesmith’s Pacific Arts label. Lindley also contributed, but distanced himself from the project by appearing as “De Paris Letante.”
Fourteen years later, Crill and Darrow organized a second reunion session, this time for Gifthorse Records. Greetings from Kartoonistan (We Ain’t Dead Yet) again brought together the same lineup, with Brotman contributing the instrumental, Klezmer Suite. (Though invited, Lindley declined to participate.)

Trivia

Solomon Feldthouse is the father of film actress Fairuza Balk.
Chris Darrow plays on the James Taylor album Sweet Baby James.

Discography

Side Trips (1967)
A Beacon from Mars (1968)
Incredible! Kaleidoscope (1969)
Bernice (1970)
When Scopes Collide (1976)
Bacon from Mars (1983) (compilation)
Rampe, Rampe (1983) (compilation)
Egyptian Candy (A Collection) (1990) (compilation)
Greetings from Kartoonistan... (We Ain't Dead Yet) (1991)
Beacon from Mars & Other Psychedelic Side Trips (2004) (compilation)
Pulsating Dreams (2004) (compilation of the four Epic albums and other recordings of that period)