Joe_Stax
Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 354
Location: deep inside your radio
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 Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:44 am Post subject: Joe's Book Club 4: Fuzz Acid & Flowers |
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Okay, this isn't going to be a review. But I came across something I wanted to share.
Among the best reference books I've ever seen are the garage & psych guides compiled by Vernon Joynson. To date, he's put out 3 volumes on the US, UK and Canadian/Australian scenes. All are massive works, nearly a thousand pages each, compiling information on bands and their releases. These books were printed in criminally short runs, and have always been hard to find. I've lucked into my copies by constantly monitoring Amazon UK, trying to catch them in their brief windows of availability; luckily, I've managed to get the updated editions of all three books. Whenever I've checked for these books, there's always link to new/used copies from various sellers asking crazy prices. I mean CRAZY prices. The list price on Amazon UK usually translated to around $50-$60 for my purchase, but the re-sellers were asking $100 and up! Some were being offered for nearly $300!
I came across a book collector's site called Bookride recently, and in addition to some fascinating tales of the book trade and collecting, there was a piece on one of the Vernon Joynson books!
| Quote: | Vernon Joynson. FUZZ ACID AND FLOWERS REVISITED: a Comprehensive Guide to American Garage Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (1964-1975). Borderline Productions, 2004.
Current Selling Prices
$150+ /£100 +
MUSIC REFERENCE/ ROCK/ PSYCHEDELIA
A hefty large format paperback with an exhaustive list of American 60s bands most of whom are completely forgotten. Anyone who was in any of these bands (25000+ persons) is a potential punter for the book. Something of a 'sleeper' - it looks like a £20 book but worth five times that. Almost all books by Vernon Joynson are much sought after - Tapestry of Delights, Up Yours! (punk history)The Acid Trip: A Complete Guide to Psychedelic Music and Dreams, Fantasies and Nightmares from Far Away Lands. The man must have a serious record collection.
Perusing the book one notes the zany names -Tonto's Expanding Headband, Starvation Army Band ('...of which little is known...') Roamin' Togas, Pugsley Munion, Children of the Mushroom, The Bean Denturies, Byron and the Mortals etc., There are bands with identical names identifiable only by the state they came from and some with very similar names- e.g. 'The Boss Tweeds and The Boss Tweads--the former's song 'Faster Pussy Cat, Kill! Kill! inspired a Russ Meyer movie and provided the name for a 1980s sleaze rock band. |
For the rest of the story, plus other curious tales of bibliophilic adventures, check out Bookride.
And if you're feeling masochistic, visit Amazon or eBay and look up "Vernon Joynson". I just checked Amazon, and this book is going for around $250 (!). If you're looking for a good deal, you can get Dreams, Fantasies and Nightmares from Far Away Lands Revisited (the Canadian/Australian/NZ scenes volume) for under $50.
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One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz. |
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