Week of April 22, 2007
Personnel:
Don Gallucci - Keyboards, Vocals
John Bordonaro - Percussion, Vocals
Joey Newman – Guitar, Vocals
Bruce Hauser - Bass, Vocals
Jeff Hawks - Vocals
Album:
20/20 Sound (Coliseum 51004) 1969 US, Deram (SML 1033) UK
CD: Renaissance RCD 1001, 1993; Eclectic ECLCD 1005, 2003
45:
Miss Teach/We Feel Free (Coliseum 2712) 1969
All five members of this band had previously played in Don And The
Goodtimes, a popular club band from Portland, Oregon. Prior to that,
Gallucci, who later became a staff producer for Elektra, was with The
Kingsmen, Newman with The Liberty Party and Bordonaro and Hauser -
with Connecticut's Gretschmen.
Their album was a really exploratory effort with touches of psychedelia ("Down
At Circes Place"), jazz, avant-garde and progressive rock. The vocals sound
rather like Tim Buckley in his Starsailor period - amazing! It was
produced by Gene Shiveley, who also produced the Elyse Weinberg album for
which Hauser and Bordonaro also provided the rhythm section and on which
Gallucci and Joey Newman also appeared.
Renaissance also put out a sampler CD, "Buried Treasures", containing
three further Touch tracks: a 1968 demo of "The Spiritual Death Of
Howard Greer", "We Finally Met Today" from an unreleased 45, and "The
Second Coming Of Suzanne" from 1973.
Hawks and Hauser were later in Stepson who made an album in 1974 along
with Newman, who had been in Blue Mountain Eagle in the interim. Newman
later played with Shaun Cassidy. John Bordonaro also was assistant A&R
Director at Elektra Records in Los Angeles in 1972-73. John had toured with
James Taylor, Carole King and Dan Kortchmar, working as a road
manager and concert mixer, before going to Elektra.
(Vernon Joynson/Max Waller/Stephane Rebeschini w/thanks to John Bordonaro)
Taken from: Fuzz, Acid & Flowers - American Garage, Psychedelic & Hippie Rock 1964-1975