(Ray Brandes introduces long-lost film of a fleeting San Diego phenomenon.)
The folk-rock explosion of the 1960s was ignited by the release of the Byrds’ 1965 hit cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” The group’s characteristic three-part harmonies, jangly 12-string guitar and folk-music sensibilities spawned hordes of sincere flatterers and helped boost the sales of contemporary artists who shared the same influences. Los Angeles became the epicenter of a shaggy-haired, granny glasses and moccasins-wearing subculture that included the likes of Love, the Leaves, the Dovers, the Bees, and the Mamas and the Papas.
Eighteen years later and a hundred miles to the south, Carl Rusk, Ray Brandes, Mark Zadarnowski, Bill Calhoun and David Klowden made a valiant attempt to resurrect the folk-rock sound and style. For a brief, shining moment in a year that saw the birth of both the Tell-Tale Hearts and the Gravedigger V, the Mystery Machine kicked up a little dust and then vanished as quickly as it had appeared. There were only three public performances: August 12, 1983, at San Diego’s Headquarters; August 20, 1983, at Orange County’s Radio City; and the final gig August 26, 1983, at Los Angeles’ Lhasa Club.
Read Ray Brandes’ history of the Mystery Machine!
During its short run, the Mystery Machine established a number of firsts for its members, who would later go on to achieve recognition for other musical projects. The band is often cited as a harbinger of both the Tell-Tale Hearts and Nashville Ramblers. It marked the first studio recordings made by Rusk, Brandes and Calhoun and the first public performances of songs written by Rusk. And the very first show at Headquarters was the professional debut of both Bill Calhoun as an organist and David Klowden as a drummer.
One of the guests in attendance at the Mystery Machine’s Headquarters debut was filmmaker Maure Silverman, who had played with both Rusk and Brandes in the Ideals and who was at the time dating Rusk’s sister Natalie.
For the occasion, Silverman rented a Super 8 sound camera and recorded a series of clips from a number of different vantage points in the club. Recently, Silverman transferred the delicate strips to digital format, and they are presented here for the first time in nearly 30 years. We are deeply indebted to Mr. Silverman for his foresight, earnestness and diligence as an archivist.
The Mystery Machine performs the Easybeats’ “Going Out of My Mind”:
The Mystery Machine play Carl Rusk’s “She’s Not Mine”:
The Mystery Machine plays the Blues Magoos’ “One by One”:
The Mystery Machine plays the Remains’ “All Good Things”:
— Ray Brandes
Also by Ray Brandes:
- ’You’re way on top now’: Gary Heffern meets Iggy Pop
- Tell-Tale Hearts take on New Colony Six!
- The train keeps a-rollin’: The story of the Nashville Ramblers
- Hallelujah! The story of Glory
- The Tokyos over San Diego
- The Hitmakers’ hit that never was
- Sensational: The All Bitchin’ All Stud All Stars and the roots of Country Dick Montana
- The Penetrators: Walking the Beat
- Dream Sequence: The history of the Unknowns
- Let the Good Times Roll: The untold history of the Crawdaddys
- The Zeros: I Don’t Wanna Be a Hero, I Just Wanna Be a Zero
- Lend Me Your Comb: A short history of the Hedgehogs
- The Tell-Tale Hearts vs. Joe Meek
- The Tell-Tale Hearts: Go east, young men!