If you were listening to us on the intertube radio last night -- and if you weren't, don't worry, I'm gonna post a zip file link to the show this weekend, because it was a pretty damned amusing two hours of talk and music, if I'm any judge of horseflesh -- than you may have heard me carrying on about a band called The Mix.
The short version: They were friends of mine and they should have been huge.
Slightly longer version: They were managed by Leber & Krebs, who also handled some loser band called Aerosmith (the Mix's album -- American Glue -- came out on L&K's custom label aand has never been on CD), and they were a genuinely exciting live act. Frontman Stu Daye, in particular, was as annoyingly talented and natural a rocker as anybody I've ever seen -- think Steve Marriott with Pete Townshend's guitar moves. Still, although they were quite a big deal in the New York area for a while, they never broke through; if I had to guess why, I'd say it's because the record didn't really do them justice. For which I blame rather lackluster production by the late Felix Pappalardi.
That said, please enjoy my personal favorite track from the album (for reasons that will become apparent shortly), the sublimely Beatle-esque "Forever."
Incidentally, the band's drummer was the great Corky Laing, of Mountain fame. The bass player was David Grahame, an old bandmate of mine who I haven't heard from in a while but who's apparently become something of a powerpop cult figure over the years. It thus pains me to mention that to (perhaps) his eternal shame, his major credit remains co-writing the soul-destroying Mr. Big hit "To Be With You."
I should also add that the guitar riff that intros the tune was composed by yours truly, and I'm still waiting for my damned writers credit.
David has written some damn good songs.
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