Artwork by Autumn Riddle
I was once sitting in a pool of prospective jurors, when the Judge declared, "Now the mysterious part of our proceedings." It was time for prosecution and defense to exercise their peremptory challenges. Juror Number Five—poof. Juror Number Nine—poof. Even if the casual observer could detect no red flags for those individuals, they were gone.
It may seem a stretch, but it seems to me a similar dynamic occurs in the musical realm. A band appears that seemingly can't miss, except it does. As with the jurors, is the result because of something we just do not see, or is it simply because the universe is inherently unfair? Whatever the case, on Earth One, the bands below never went as far as I felt they should have. But, in the more perfect world of my imagination, all are candidates for my Should Have Been Hall of Fame.
Patchy Sanders
Full disclosure: I was something of a groupie for this band. Whenever they performed within driving range of the Bay Area, I would make every effort to attend. They were a six-part group out of Ashland, Oregon, who liked to call themselves a folk orchestra. One reviewer described them as "folk gypsies impossible to categorize." The members were two sisters, their significant others, plus a bassist and a violinist. Their venues were small: cafes, churches, bars, house concerts, and local festivals. When they broke up in 2015, I took it harder than the breakup of the Beetles.
Patchy Sanders—Darkest Skarlet Wild Rose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoWxzPqS6-4&list=RDDoWxzPqS6-4
Patchy Sanders—Cahaunti Sea
http2s://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDAD-8IPaUQ&list=RDLDAD-8IPaUQ&start_radio=1
Trembling Bells
I discovered this group because the YouTube algorithm figured out that they had resemblances to my all-time favorite, The Incredible String Band of the '60s and '70s. The algorithm evidentially had it right, as the band listed ISB as one of their influences, and former ISB member, Mike Heron, frequently performed with them. The were based in Scotland and played together through 2018. The track below is titled "Hallelujah." Yes, they had the temerity to borrow Leonard Cohen's canonized title, but because the song is entirely different, and they are Scottish, there should be room for forgiveness. Lead vocalist Lavinia Blackwall has a voice from heaven.
Trembling Bells—Hallelujah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIUzTDiggF8
Screaming Gypsy Bandits
The group began as a project of Mark Bingham when he was a student at Indiana University in 1970. They were very popular In Bloomington, Indiana through 1975. Bingham described them as "a 10-piece theatrical psych rock group with an absurdist/prankster bent." Their lone album, In the Eye, was released in 1973. The number 1 track, "Prematurely," combines an amazing range of disparate sounds, tangling around an updated "Fly Me Away." (First link below). One alumnus known to have had a musical career beyond was Caroline Peyton. She recorded two other albums in the 1970s, and later in her career appeared on Broadway. You might also hear her voice in a number of Disney animations. Her very haunting lead in "All This Waiting" is in the second link.
Screaming Gypsy Bandits—Prematurely (Fly Me Away)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgRx_xQ1nkI
Screaming Gypsy Bandits—All This Waiting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI9AD9MPnMQ
