What A Way To Die Pleasure Seekers, The SKU: SUNDAZEDLP5458 Barcode: 90771545817 30.00 £30.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Sundazed Released Date: 2nd December 2016 Buying Format: 180g 1LP Coloured Vinyl Out of stock Back Order Add to your Wishlist Description Product Info The archetype for the ’60s-era girl group was etched indelibly into stone, like a commandment: three pretty girls with matching outfits and bouffant hairdos would sing, with musical backing supplied by a bunch of guys standing in the shadows. The Quatro sisters shattered that archetype forever with the Pleasure Seekers, an all-girl teenage rock & roll group who played all the instruments themselves and were fully capable of wiping the stage with any male band that crossed their path. The Quatro girls had been brought up in a musically-minded family, nurtured with classical piano and vocal lessons. As Patti recalls, “By 1964, I had been taking guitar lessons, hanging with musicians in the local music scene. We had seen a Beatles concert, and I was quite dazed and focused at the event, watching the audience cry and scream out of control. It was my epiphany moment, and I was determined to start an all-girl band.” Shortly thereafter, the first lineup of the Pleasure Seekers fell into place with Patti Quatro (lead guitar), Marylou Ball (rhythm guitar), Suzi Quatro (bass), Diane Baker (keyboards), Nan Ball (drums) and vocal duties shared by all. Around the fall of 1965 the girls dared local teen club manager Dave Leone to give them a slot at his popular Hideout Club, claiming they were better than most of the other live bands there. “You’re on,” responded Leone, “in two weeks. Three songs!” The Pleasure Seekers were soon a popular feature at the club, honing their skills alongside the likes of the Rationals, the Amboy Dukes and Bob Seger & the Last Heard. “In the beginning, there was a lot of skepticism,” remembers Patti, “especially the first night. The boys crowded the stage, the girlfriends pulled them away with laughter, as if ‘Girls playing?! Yeah, right!’ It was always satisfying to see them be silenced quickly when we began playing. We grew used to seeing slack jaws open in surprise.” Next they were asked by Leone to record and release a single on his Hideout label. That March 1966 release is now regarded as the greatest “girl garage” single of the era: “Never Thought You’d Leave Me” b/w “What a Way to Die.” “Dave brought lyrics, and we put the songs together quickly,” remembers Patti. “We felt very legit in making this record at a small local studio. Nan was the sexy voice on ‘Never Thought You’d Leave Me,’ and there was lots of laughter as Marylou added the screams on ‘What a Way to Die.’” Suzi Quatro remembers the recording as “very important and memorable.” The Pleasure Seekers were soon in demand in the region, playing teen clubs, parties, colleges and local TV shows. After a series of lineup changes, the band brought in older Quatro sister Arlene (keyboards) and Darline Arnone (drums), the first female drummer sponsored by Slingerland Drums. A short time later, Pami Benford joined-up on guitar and bass (that lineup lasting through most of 1968). “It was a very versatile group,” remembers Patti, “with Pami and Suzi sharing bass, and Pami and I sharing lead and rhythm guitars.” “The gender bias was my hot button,” recalls Arlene, “along with confidence in our musical abilities. With women musicians dismissed as a novelty, I delighted in watching the audience go from skepticism/ridicule, to shock/cheers.” For Suzi, though, this period was where she learned her craft: “I considered myself a musician, and didn’t really think about gender too much.” Two tracks recorded in 1967, but unissued at the time, “Elevator Express” and “Gotta Get Away,” highlight the band’s growing musical maturity since their Hideout debut. “Detroit was the best learning ground in the world for musicians,” recalls Suzi, “with an amazing energy and creativity that is in every successful artist that has come out of the city.” “We were actually one of the earliest Detroit bands traveling the country,” adds Patti. “Everyone wanted this unusual allgirl band who rocked an entire Motown revue (changing instruments and singers throughout) and an entire Sgt. Pepper/Magical Mystery Tour revue, as well as covering English bands, acid rock and everything in between.” Signing up with Associated Booking Corporation, the group began making the transition from local to national act. Producer Dick Corby caught the Pleasure Seekers at Trude Heller’s in New York’s Greenwich Village and signed them to a Mercury Records deal in early 1968. To keep rein on their finances in NYC, Patti recalls, “We booked Arthur’s nightclub for a month, staying at the infamous rock Gorham Hotel, recording by day—playing by night.” Also in residence were the Who, the Blues Magoos and an assortment of other bands. “Hitting NYC as young teens, it was exciting, scary, fun—all emotions churning,” she continues. “We felt we had hit the big time, going from the tiny local Hideout session to the huge Mercury professional studio facility, complete with session people adding strings and other elements.” A single pairing “Good Kind of Hurt” and “Light of Love” was released in April 1968, while a third song, “Locked in Your Love,” remained in the can. The group then headed out to the Northwest for a lengthy tour. “The Northwest tour was awesome,” remembers Patti. “We were billed with Canned Heat, Boyce & Hart and Merilee Rush, and were held over six weeks to tour with Eric Burdon and the Animals. The Mercury single was out, momentum was surging.” Both sides of the single were getting airplay, but ultimately it failed to gain any traction. “Really neither song reflected our own sound,” admits Patti. “We rearranged ‘Light of Love’ for live performance, feeling disconnected to the record, yet realizing we had to play ball with the executives to keep us rolling.” Ultimately Mercury’s vision for the Pleasure Seekers clashed rather sharply with the band’s vision. “The suits wanted tits and ass,” recalls Darline, “wowing Vegas crowds, playing tinkly tunes in lavish costumes.” “In that male-dominated music era, we were strictly a novelty, and a high risk endeavor,” adds Patti. “The record executives felt women musicians would fall in love or get pregnant so were not worth investing the time and money. We had to kick down many doors. We were serious musicians, and in it for the right reasons. In the end, we were not happy with a forced direction that Mercury Records had in mind, and ended up leaving the label to rock our music in our own fashion.” After a memorable 1968 Far East tour, playing for wounded returning American soldiers from Vietnam, the Pleasure Seekers (with new drummer Nancy Rogers) returned to a Detroit that was now, in Patti’s words, “exploding with heavier sounds. That sparked us to change direction with new ideas we had been exploring. Arlene left the band and we brought in our youngest sister Nancy (vocals). With Suzi’s Joplinesque vocals combined with Nancy’s wailing ‘female Robert Plant’ style, we enjoyed a harder edged, ‘double-punch’ effect.” The last four songs on the album, “White Pig Blues,” “Brain Confusion,” “Where Have You Gone?” and the atmospheric psychedelic mover “Mr. Power,” all date from this 1968–69 period when the Pleasure Seekers were playing the Grande Ballroom alongside the MC5, Alice Cooper, the Stooges, the Amboy Dukes and SRC. With this change in musical direction and the departure of Arlene and Pami, the band forged on as Cradle. Suzi Quatro departed for England in 1971, launching a successful solo career. Patti and Nancy continued with Cradle until 1973 when Patti joined another pioneering female rock group, Fanny. The Pleasure Seekers reunited recently in April 2012 (minus Suzi) for a well-received show in their hometown, where they were inducted into Detroit’s Hall of Fame. “I think all of us Quatro girls are extremely proud of our pioneering days” reflects Patti. “In a renaissance-era of music, we kicked down doors for women to rock heavy. There were key times in our lives of making decisions that may have turned us towards larger fame, but less happiness—depending on your philosophy of such things. The Pleasure Seekers could have been a Las Vegas show act bringing in buckets of money or on Motown, turned very formulaic girlie-soul. But we stayed true to our goals, and I don’t think any of us have any regrets of staying our course and playing the music that moved us. It’s all been a thrilling ride with great memories.” –Mike & Anja Stax Ugly Things magazine Artist Pleasure Seekers, The Genre Psychedelia / Garage Label Sundazed Buying Options 180g 1LP Coloured Vinyl Format 180g , 1LP , Coloured Vinyl Condition New Country United States of America Track Listings Intro By DJ The Lord Gotta Get Away Never Thought You'd Leave Me Light Of Love Good Kind Of Hurt What A Way To Die Elevator Express Locked In Your Love White Pig Blues Brain Confusion Where Have You Gone Mr. Power Share this On Facebook On Twitter Via Email More from Psychedelia / Garage View Product Quick View Silver Apples The Garden – Indies Only Psychedelia / Garage | ChickenCoop | 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 14th October 2016 £19.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Silver Apples The Garden – Indies Only £19.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: ChickenCoop SKU: CCRLP003COL Formats: 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 14th October 2016 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Various Yesterday’s Dawn (Garage Vaults) Psychedelia / Garage | 1LP Released 13th November 2007 £17.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Various Yesterday’s Dawn (Garage Vaults) £17.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage SKU: FOSSIL006 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 13th November 2007 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Knifeworld Home of the Newly Departed Psychedelia / Garage | Believers Roast | 1LP Released 16th December 2016 £14.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Knifeworld Home of the Newly Departed £14.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Believers Roast SKU: BR017LP Formats: 1LP Released Date: 16th December 2016 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Shadows Of Knight Raw ‘n Alive At The Cellar Psychedelia / Garage | Sundazed | 180g, 1LP Released 25th July 2016 £28.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Shadows Of Knight Raw ‘n Alive At The Cellar £28.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Sundazed SKU: SUNDAZEDLP5006 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 25th July 2016 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Up From Below: 10th Anniversary Remastered Edition Psychedelia / Garage | Rough Trade | 180g, 2LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released 20th September 2019 £23.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Up From Below: 10th Anniversary Remastered Edition £23.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Rough Trade SKU: RT0096LP Formats: 180g, 2LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 20th September 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Novells, The That Did It Psychedelia / Garage | Sweet Dandelion | 1LP Released 10th September 2012 £21.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Novells, The That Did It £21.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Sweet Dandelion SKU: SWDDL728 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 10th September 2012 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Grateful Dead Skeletons From The Closet – The Best Of Grateful Dead Psychedelia / Garage | Rhino | 1LP Released 4th September 2020 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Grateful Dead Skeletons From The Closet – The Best Of Grateful Dead £22.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Rhino SKU: 0603497847792 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 4th September 2020 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Cerberus Shoal Cerberus Shoal – Anniversary Edition Psychedelia / Garage | Temporary Residence | 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 14th October 2022 £28.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Cerberus Shoal Cerberus Shoal – Anniversary Edition £28.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Temporary Residence SKU: TRR283LPC1 Formats: 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 14th October 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Graham's picks View Product Quick View Dukes of Stratosphear (XTC) 25 O’Clock Psychedelia / Garage | Ape House | Miscellaneous Released 11th October 2019 £21.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Dukes of Stratosphear (XTC) 25 O’Clock £21.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Ape House SKU: APELP023 Formats: Miscellaneous Released Date: 11th October 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Goat Medicine Psychedelia / Garage | Rocket Recordings | 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 13th October 2023 £23.00 Select options Goat Medicine £23.00 Genre: Psychedelia / Garage Label: Rocket Recordings Formats: 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 13th October 2023 Read More Select options See more in Psychedelia / Garage Start again
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