Peter Case

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The Plimsouls With Horns!

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(The first track on our first album, “Lost Time,”  featured legendary arranger/ musician Harold Battiste leading a horn section that also included Jackie Kelso from Gene Vincent & the Bluecaps. The horns at one point in the tune backed up a screaming feedback solo from Eddie Munoz. The Plimsouls were hard to categorize but they always rocked. Below is the story of our first ever session with the horns, played by Steve Berlin, and Marty Jourard)

Out in Paramount—south of the city–rain in torrents—sandwiched between Downy’s old school working-class and Compton’s black working class & struggle—the main drag—Rosecrans Avenue—on an industrial mini-mall—a rented shell of a room we shared with a band called the Apples—driving in the slanting rain with the wipers full blast dry in the car but all my clothes are damp—from the backseat of Eddies VW bug—Steve Berlin our friend with the tight pants and the tucked in shirt—serious—& Marty from the Motels—each with golden brass saxophones—and we stood in a circle & began to play—Otis & Wilson & the sound of the horns was big & bright & fat & full of wind & force of pride & power—the music came up from under my ribs & lower & burst full color into the rain soaked atmosphere—the humidity which made the whole experience that much heavier—the smell of cigarette smoke & wet hair—the lack of any comfort in the room mattered not—the water was rising in the parking lot, coming up over the sidewalk—a flood—but the band with horns—blasting—crying—calling in glory of a sound we made that amazed us—heart beats quickened—playing on and on—‘cause it just sounded so big & good & real—the antidote to everything—every poison—forever.

4 comments

  1. ‪Love the Plimsouls so much. Saw you guys many times in Los Angeles, Orange County and one time I literally rode a ski-lift up a mountain to see you in Big Bear or somewhere. Just making up for Lost Time, I guess. “I still remember those days…”. ‬