The Bards

From the same Pacific Northwest environment that produced garage area rock and roll legends the Sonics, the Kingsmen, the Wailers, and Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Bards formulated in Moses Lake, WA, in 1961. Evolving out of past due-’50s teenager cover combo called the Fabulous Continentals, the music group was originally a perpetually moving five-piece mainly comprising Moses Lake Students. When business lead vocalist John Draney still left to become listed on the military in the first ’60s, the group’s lineup finally solidified as the quartet of keyboardist Mike Balzotti, guitarist Mardi Sheridan, drummer Bob Galloway, and bass participant Chuck Warren. Utilizing a Roget’s Thesaurus to choose a name that could give their organization an English band, they truly became the Bards. The music group began launching singles in 1966, placing out a slew of 45s on such prominent brands as Picadilly, Panorama, Jerden, and Bird, but its initial big break emerged when Capitol Information released its cover from the Curtis Mayfield tune “Under no circumstances Too Much Like” nationally in 1967. Though it failed to graph on Billboard, the one reached amount 67 in the money Box Best 100 and provided the Bards the chance to tour with main acts just like the Pets, the Dave Clark Five, the Rascals, as well as the Turtles. By this aspect, the Bards currently had progressed into an enormously well-known live attract locally and experienced toured just about any Northwest dance hall, radio train station, and golf club. Sheridan briefly remaining the music group in 1967 to trip to SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, but he came back towards the lineup soon thereafter, of which stage the foursome made a decision to light out for LA, with tapes at hand, to find a maker. In Hollywood, they serendipitously went into Curt Boettcher within an elevator and he wanted to pay attention to their recordings. Liking what they noticed, the maker and his partner Keith Olsen made a decision to focus on the Bards’ first recording. Sadly, this also ultimately resulted in the band’s break up. The people re-christened themselves Moses Lake and released an individual on Boettcher and Gary Usher’s Jointly Records. But following the record was completed, Boettcher recommended he go back to the Northwest using the quartet to do something as its lead vocalist, delighting Balzotti and Sheridan. Warren and Galloway, alternatively, were less excited with the theory, preferring to come back towards the band’s outdated gig circuit. The previous duo finished up dropping from the group and time for Hollywood to go after songwriting and documenting careers, as the second option pair come up with a new edition from the music group and continuing playing through the entire Northwest. The Boettcher-and-Olsen recording continued to be unreleased until Gear Fab reissued it on Compact disc first of 2002 as The Moses Lake Recordings. Another recording, First American, documented in 1969, also proceeded to go unreleased until showing up on vinyl fabric on Picadilly in 1980. Balzotti later on came back to Seattle and performed inside a duo as the Michaels with fellow songwriter Michael Langon.