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indian headband - san francisco raga-rock...


This is really one giant question to anyone that can help me find information on this fasinating and little known group that existed for just over a year and appears on a variety of poster art that has always intrigued me...

 


It seems the band were : hal wagenet-guitar/bill mader-guitar/mickey mader-vocals and wife of bill/bill gross-bass/chet mothershed-drums...wagenet had earlier been in a local surf style band in willits 'The moondogs' and bill gross in a modesto band 'the downbeats'. who's line-up was :kent whitt/bob deleon/danny toledo/bill gross & rounded off by connie heightman.

the downbeats 1958 with bill gross 2nd left.


 Not too much is known about these early bands and if they recorded?

By '67 wagenet & gross had gotten together to form 'indian head band' who by all accounts played a heady mix of raga-like improvisional rock suitably stretched out....very popular at all the major ballrooms and beyond but i've been unable to find a single photo of them! did they record i wonder? but again i've drawn a blank...










 As you can see extremely popular but little knowledge of them...Wagenet did leave the band in early '68 to join 'its a beautiful day' and i'll post a photo here just after he joined to give us some idea of his appearence after leaving the 'headband'...


just after wagenet joined 'iabd' he is at the back with glasses.

 He would stay to record several albums with them but he did leave and would later in '76 return with a folky-blues-psychy-rock group 'natural act' that was wagenet & former 'iabd' bassist mitchell holman..relasing one fairly accessible album behind 'timothy& ms pickens with the natural act' 1976 on the halfmoon bay label' (private press..) & recorded at tioga studios and i'll put a link up so you can hear wagenet blowing some very tasty fuzz guitar on a track called 'communion'..What became of 'indian headband' once wagenet left is a mystery to me and i again need info...Natural act had quite a line-up : wagenet/tim dawe and his wife patricia pickens/ralph berkus & mitchell holman..dawe had earlier in '69 released a beautiful little record on frank zappa's straight label 'penrod' and you should check it out... corrections/amendments all warmly recieved....

natural act 

private press album 1976 'natural act'...

 



little seen matrix poster... 

                                                     

Complete folk-rock poster...

            

                                                      


                                                             another rare and little seen poster.....

                                                       
                                                            



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Comments

  1. Jon11 February 2021 at 04:57

    Fascinating. I especially love the posters because I collected them as a kid. Great post. Look forward to more 👍

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