Oh Be Cruel!

“A fellow named Jody Rich, an ex-marine and taskmaster was originally the leader of the group. We recruited a young Hispanic fellow, stage name Benny King, on drums, plus Tony Valentino and myself. Our first gig was in Hawaii for three months. Jody, who was married at the time, was jealous of the younger band members scoring on all the babes. He became an absolute tyrant, setting a curfew, demanding spit-shined shoes, and freshly ironed clothes. Benny was the first to drop out. He went back home to his mother. Tony and I openly rebelled and Jody fired us…wait a minute…he didn’t have a band left. We re-formed and fired him.”
-Larry Tamblyn on the Standells’ early days

Click the box above to watch the Standells’ play “Dirty Water” and “There’s a Storm Comin’ ” on the Mike Douglas Show in 1966 - a rare performance of theirs without then-mandatory lip-synching. The Standells were a band of misfits from various backgrounds, but they managed to put together an early garage punk sound that would later be covered by hardcore legends Minor Threat (“Good Guys Don’t Wear White”). While “Dirty Water” brought the band a ton of success, members admit that they have always thought the song was a dud.

“I overheard the exciting sounds of Los Saicos….and was instantly hooked.”
-Jared Swilley of the Black Lips

“We thought we were baaad, but actually were average middle class kids driving our parents’ cars reeeeaaaalllyyy fast.”
-Erwin Flores, Los Saicos

Click above to listen to Los Saicos’ 1964 hit Demolicion. Isolated from the early iterations of garage rock happening in the USA and the UK, the Peru-based Los Saicos somehow developed a sound that was ahead of their time by generations. Sadly, their time together as a band was as brief as it was innovative. Years later, bands like the Black Lips still reference Los Saicos as one of their greatest influences. The good news? Looks like remaining band members from Los Saicos and the Black Lips will be getting together to collaborate soon.