USA Garage - Regional flavour count

[bosshoss]

Today I was reading Lost and Found (Minnesota & Illinois, Volume 3) pondering my own ability to recognise and categorise songs based on their regional origin. It's not infallible, but it's quite easy to discern a style that could be linked to Minnesota for example. Trashmen, Ready Men, Accents, Deacons, Gregory Dee & The Avanties, Rave-Ons, Underbeats...etc. It's a kind of crazed, twisted surfing' beat with manic vocals and oddball lyrics. Of course there are many Minnesota records that do not conform to this template. But the bands I mentioned do form a basis for a regional style that is recognisable.

It got me wondering how many regional flavours could be defined and counted, with a minimum of 5 solid examples per flavour. Obviously Austin, TX is going to be one, on the strength of the IA label output alone. (Or were some of those groups from Houston?)

Can you name any distinct regional flavours, with 5 examples and a brief description of the flavour? The "flavours" do not necessarily have to be ones that have been previously defined and acknowledged. It can be a completely new idea of your own.

 

[mr. splendid]

One of my fave flavours is the SoCal "snot & snarl" . Songs with "Put Down Lyrics" and singers with an attitude , for example Lyrics ; Hysterics ; Mustangs ; Starfires ; Ty Wagner ; John English III......

 

[bosshoss]

One of my fave flavours is the SoCal "snot & snarl"

Mine too!

 

[Perkeo]

Obviously you have to mention the Pacific Northwest and it's hard RnB with sax approach - Sonics, Wailers, Don and the Goodtimes, Bootmen, Mr.Lucky and the Gamblers, Raymarks, etc...there was also the NW subtype where at least one member of the band had to sport the tri-corner hat ala Paul Revere and the Raiders

 

[bosshoss]

Ok, that's 3 identified so far. And I'll add Michigan Manglin', which consists of ultra high energy guitar riffmangling. Examples being MC5 "I Just Don't Know", Mussies "12 O'Clock, July" Sweet Cherry "Eight Day Blues", Rationals, Grifs "Keep Dreaming", etc.

Minnesota twisted surfbeat
SoCal snot 'n' snarl
PNW sonic saxbeat
MI manglin'

 

[bosshoss]

As well as manglin', Michigan bands are known for a kind of dark, minor-key pulsating organ driven melodic teenbeat sound. It's still pretty high-energy in its approach. There's at least five examples of the style on the Fenton label alone :

Beaux Jens - She Was Mine
Aardvarks - I'm Higher Than I'm Down
Peter & The Prophets - Don't Need Your Lovin
Plagues - I've Been Through It Before
Jades - Surface World

For this topic, I'll call it Michigan Fen-tone. That's 5 flavours already.

 

[The Phantom]

One of my fave flavours is the SoCal "snot & snarl" . Songs with "Put Down Lyrics" and singers with an attitude , for example Lyrics ; Hysterics ; Mustangs ; Starfires ; Ty Wagner ; John English III......

Oh Yeah, I go along with this "classification". What about the better known SoCal/LA bands? Seeds, Sons of Adam, Other Half. They fit this definition to a ... "The snot has caked against my pants, it has turned into crystal ..." "Live and let Live" - LOVE

 

[The Phantom]

I once read that although Minnesota (and adjoining states) was maybe the state the farthest from the Surf & Hot Rod state California, it was crawling with bands playing HotRod/Surf music; even more than CA itself?!

 

[Frantic]

I once read that although Minnesota (and adjoining states) was maybe the state the farthest from the Surf & Hot Rod state California, it was crawling with bands playing HotRod/Surf music; even more than CA itself?!

Unless you live near the ocean in Cali. you aren't near much water. In Minnesota and Wisconsin you have lakes and rivers everywhere. Lotsa boats, lotsa skiing, lotsa sandy beaches on those lakes, lotsa girls in bikinis. Not much surfing though but plenty of inspiration. And let's not forget sidewalk surfing.

 

[mr. splendid]

I once read that although Minnesota (and adjoining states) was maybe the state the farthest from the Surf & Hot Rod state California, it was crawling with bands playing HotRod/Surf music; even more than CA itself?!

Looking at John Blair's Surf Music and Hot Rod Music discographies I don't think there is any merit to that claim .

 

[bosshoss]

Chicago was the site for at least a couple of flavour bursts. One easily identified is that influenced by the huge local blues scene. This proximity lead to a tuff garage sound with plenty of drive and snarl. Examples are Shadows of Knight "Oh Yeah" , Knaves "Leave Me Alone" , Dirty Wurds "Born In Chicago" , Outspoken Blues "Not Right Now" , Half Pint & The Fifths "Orphan Boy"

Chicago bluesbeat = 6 flavours so far.

 

[Perkeo]

Unless you live near the ocean in Cali. you aren't near much water. In Minnesota and Wisconsin you have lakes and rivers everywhere. Lotsa boats, lotsa skiing, lotsa sandy beaches on those lakes, lotsa girls in bikinis. Not much surfing though but plenty of inspiration. And let's not forget sidewalk surfing.

This applies to Iowa as well, with the likes of the Slough Boys "Surfin' on Cedar Lake" and the output of the fabulous silver-haired Beachniks

 

[buckeyebeat]

Some of these include records/bands that are outside of the garage genre, and in some cases aren't really popular for collectors, but....

New England moody (i'm surprised no one mentioned this yet)
Long Island area Rascals/Vagrants big organ
VA/NC beach teen soul
Cleveland greaser
SW Ohio Lonnie Mack Magnatone sound
Chicago layered vocal Cryan' Shames types
Cali Fender equipped post surfers
as an aside, there are probably 200+ popular and obscure surfy 45s from CA during the 1962-5 prime time
Detroit soulish Mitch Ryder pounders

Don't have the focus at the moment to name 5 examples, maybe later

 

[mr. splendid]

Chicago was the site for at least a couple of flavour bursts. One easily identified is that influenced by the huge local blues scene. This proximity lead to a tuff garage sound with plenty of drive and snarl. Examples are Shadows of Knight "Oh Yeah" , Knaves "Leave Me Alone" , Dirty Wurds "Born In Chicago" , Outspoken Blues "Not Right Now" , Half Pint & The Fifths "Orphan Boy"

Chicago bluesbeat = 6 flavours so far.

I was thinking about that flavour as well , but felt that there are not enough examples . For me the Little Boy Blues and the New Colony Six Centaur releases fall into that category .

 

[bosshoss]

Some of these include records/bands that are outside of the garage genre, and in some cases aren't really popular for collectors, but....

New England moody (i'm surprised no one mentioned this yet)

I thought maybe it was more than one flavour. But I haven't thought it through yet.
In your list you mention flavours that I didn't even know existed. I'm going to taste 'em asap!

 

[Dave Baldwin]

BEATLES - influenced Washington, D.C.-area, Florida and Chicago/Illinois groups
ROLLING STONES - influenced California and Texas groups
ANIMALS - influenced Washington, D.C.-area and Louisiana groups
YARDBIRDS - influenced Texas, California, Chicago/Midwest groups
ZOMBIES - influenced New England and Southwest groups
KINKS - influenced Texas, Louisiana, and Michigan groups
THEM - influenced Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, New England, and California groups
RAIDERS - influenced Texas, Florida, Northwest and Chicago/Midwest groups
RASCALS - influenced Washington, D.C.-area, New York and Florida groups
BYRDS - influenced California, Florida, New England, Midwest, and Michigan groups
LOVE - Influenced Texas, New England, Louisiana and California groups
SURF INSTRUMENTAL - influenced California, Midwest and New England groups
SOUL MUSIC - influenced Southeast, New York, Midwest, Chicago/Illinois and Michigan groups

 

[13th Floor Garage]

New England; Favor - Morose
Examples; Rising Storm, Landlords,Citations,Renegades, Shyres
The New England area seems to predominately exude "states" of grief of their own. Unlike other locations ie; CA - "Syndicate" with their song "Egyptian Thing" ("if good girls do it, so can you") or TX 13th Floor Elevators "You're Gonna Miss Me" ("I gave you the warning but you never heeded it").... New Englander's were not singing as much with an accusatory or sour grapes mindset, but instead, giving the impression of writing songs in between licking their wounds.

The above is by no means a put-down. In fact, while most here seem to be fans more so of the "Back from the Grave" camp, color me a bigger fan of "New England Teen Scene!"