Week of April 22, 2007

Touch

Personnel:
Don Gallucci - Keyboards, Vocals
John Bordonaro - Percussion, Vocals
Joey Newman – Guitar, Vocals
Bruce Hauser - Bass, Vocals
Jeff Hawks - Vocals

Album:
20/20 Sound (Coliseum 51004) 1969 US, Deram (SML 1033) UK
CD: Renaissance RCD 1001, 1993; Eclectic ECLCD 1005, 2003

45:
Miss Teach/We Feel Free (Coliseum 2712) 1969

All five members of this band had previously played in Don And The Goodtimes, a popular club band from Portland, Oregon. Prior to that, Gallucci, who later became a staff producer for Elektra, was with The Kingsmen, Newman with The Liberty Party and Bordonaro and Hauser - with Connecticut's Gretschmen.

Their album was a really exploratory effort with touches of psychedelia ("Down At Circes Place"), jazz, avant-garde and progressive rock. The vocals sound rather like Tim Buckley in his Starsailor period - amazing! It was produced by Gene Shiveley, who also produced the Elyse Weinberg album for which Hauser and Bordonaro also provided the rhythm section and on which Gallucci and Joey Newman also appeared.

Renaissance also put out a sampler CD, "Buried Treasures", containing three further Touch tracks: a 1968 demo of "The Spiritual Death Of Howard Greer", "We Finally Met Today" from an unreleased 45, and "The Second Coming Of Suzanne" from 1973.

Hawks and Hauser were later in Stepson who made an album in 1974 along with Newman, who had been in Blue Mountain Eagle in the interim. Newman later played with Shaun Cassidy. John Bordonaro also was assistant A&R Director at Elektra Records in Los Angeles in 1972-73. John had toured with James Taylor, Carole King and Dan Kortchmar, working as a road manager and concert mixer, before going to Elektra.

(Vernon Joynson/Max Waller/Stephane Rebeschini w/thanks to John Bordonaro)

Taken from: Fuzz, Acid & Flowers - American Garage, Psychedelic & Hippie Rock 1964-1975


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