Hey everyone! Thanks for clicking on our newsletter. Hopefully, a few minutes reading about cool shnazz will distract from the doom scrolling. It’s been another bonkers week with more extreme weather events, economic upheaval and horrible hateful actions from the current regime here in the U.S. Thank God for music. We need it more than ever.
Whilst working with Jeff last week at the store we were listening to a bunch of different things and at some point, via YouTube suggestions, we found ourselves playing a few tracks by Californian garage band Public Nuisance. At first Jeff thought I was playing more from my favorite Arizonans, The Resonars, who totally nail that sixties sound. He wasn’t wrong in thinking that the recordings had a more modern feel to them, however Public Nuisance was indeed a sixties band and the tracks we were playing were recorded in the winter of 1968 and January 1969. They do sound great, full and powerful and loud and rocking. What’s even more astounding is that these tracks remained unreleased and virtually unheard until the early 00s. There have been lots of obscure records rediscovered over the years and lots of unreleased recordings such as acetates have had a second chance to reach appreciative ears, but there probably hasn’t been a group that had so much strong material as these guys, and had it remain unreleased for decades. The reason is a bit of a story, which is worth hearing, but more importantly for lovers of late sixties garage and psych. This is one set of tunes you need to hear.
Public Nuisance was from Sacramento, California and shared a similar story to countless other garage bands. They began as high school friends who, just like everyone else, got swept up by the British Invasion and Surf music. They were more Anglophile than most, and first started playing gigs as The Jaguars and mixed in more obscure British bands’ material into their sets. They were big Pretty Things fans. Throughout 1964 and 1965, they would play the typical teen dances and fairs up and down the valley, honing their craft. In early 1966, an opportunity to record came up and they cut two songs at Ikon in Sacramento and a 45 was issued under the new name of Moss & The Rocks. It’s a decent but typical teen folk rocker single and didn’t make much of an impact. Six months later, the band, bankrolled by one of their parents, travelled to Gold Star Studios in Hollywood and re-recorded the same two songs. They were released on the Chattahoochee label, but again failed to have much of an impact.
Soon after that, in the fall of 1966, the guys decided to change their name to Public Nuisance and continue in a heavier direction. Their image also changed along with the heavier sound, and they began appearing all in black with the hair getting longer on at least two of them.
The area had quite a few notable bands they would share stages with. The New Breed, Oxford Circle and Kak were locals and part of the scene, and Public Nuisance held their own alongside those groups besides opening for touring national acts like The Doors, who Public Nuisance opened for in July 1967 at the State Fairgrounds and by all accounts blew the headliners of the stage. Other big names the band opened for were Buffalo Springfield and Sonny & Cher, plus a set at the Fillmore East with The Grateful Dead on the same bill.
During the fall of 1967, the group made three trips to San Francisco where they recorded a bunch of tracks that supposedly had them sounding like a cross between The Seeds and The Pretty Things. Unfortunately, those tapes have been missing almost from the time they were made, and very few can testify to the contents of them, but judging by what was to come a year later it seems more than likely that they might be good.
Meanwhile, a friend of theirs, Gary Shiro, along with DJ Johnny Hyde, had a record label called World United that had released records from Oxford Circle and The New Breed. That label folded, but Shiro got The New Breed signed to famous producer Terry Melcher’s new label called Equinox, and it was through these connections that Public Nuisance were given the chance to record demos for Melcher’s consideration. Thus, in September and October 1968, the group travelled to Sound Recorders in Hollywood for two sessions. Melcher liked what they recorded and signed them in November. The band (now down to a trio) recorded a dozen new songs during December of that year and continued with sessions in January 1969. As strong as the demos are, it’s a testament to the band and their ambitions that they so quickly had even better fresh songs for what was intended as their debut album. Aided by engineer Eirik Wangberg, who really made them sound big and full and seasoned, the record was mixed and mastered and ready for release.
Here’s where the story comes to an abrupt halt. In August, the Manson murders took place. Sharon Tate and her guests were staying in a house that belonged to Terry Melcher. He had been Manson’s intended target, the lunatic being angry that Melcher hadn’t come through with a supposed record deal for Manson. Naturally, Melcher was scared shitless and went into hiding and along with that went all the projects and business that he was involved with. So, no more Equinox and no more record deal and album release for Public Nuisance. The guys soldiered on totally dejected for the rest of 1969 with a couple of different rhythm guitarists, but finally packed it in as the new decade dawned.
That might have been the end of their story and the world might not have heard them had it not been for the championing done by Joey D at Frantic Records, who for years was shouting from the rooftops about how great Public Nuisance was. It was through his efforts, along with other key names in the sixties garage psych world such as Alec Palao and the band themselves, that a super double album set titled Gotta Survive was released in 2002. The CD was out on Frantic, and the vinyl version was released via Shadoks Music, the fine German label that specialized in rare psychedelic reissues. That double vinyl release also came with a bonus 7” E.P. with the four Moss & The Rocks cuts.
At the time of this rediscovery of Public Nuisance, I was working at Rockit Scientist in New York City and can vouch that everyone was going nuts when they heard the music. We sold loads of the CD and vinyl version. It’s justified. The unreleased album and the previous demos are all so good. Banger after banger. It’s hard to pick a favorite. I know I was blown away. So too was Jack White, who would go on to reissue a version of the intended album on his Third Man label ten years later in 2012.
I’m the worst at trying to describe music and how it sounds, but also subscribe to the opinion that everyone should just listen and discover for themselves. You don’t need some journo telling you when to appreciate a guitar riff or drum roll or whatever. Suffice to say, there’s plenty to love and enjoy about Public Nuisance. If you dig sixties garage with an Anglophile influence, then these guys should be right up your street. Maybe you have been turned on to them already, but it has been twenty-plus years since the first rediscovery, so perhaps there are some of you out there not aware of them that will appreciate the steer. Either way, go check them out. Here’s a YouTube link to play the full CD release.
For the record, my favorite Public Nuisance songs are Gotta Survive, Love Is A Feeling, Small Faces and America.
Okay, deadline approaching. Happy listening everyone.
Sláinte – Dom
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