unclehobart
this is my special title
GEORGE FRAYNE (a student in graduate school at the University of Michigan) put a band together with his pal JOHN TICHY (an engineering Ph.D. candidate) in 1967. The first group was more of a "happening" than anything else, featuring the Tap Dancing Green Sisters, Pat the Hippie Strippie and , of course, the Galactic Twist Queens with a supporting cast of anywhere between 5 and fifty hippies, featuring a kazoo section of up to six degenerates.
The COMMANDER character is taken from Commando Cody, Skymarshall of the Universe, the original rocket man, star of the movie The Lost Planet Airmen (Republic Pictures 1952)
After graduation, in 1968, Cody was unable to cope with an actual job situation (Assistant Professor of Art at Wisconsin State University), so he drove 14 hours a week back and forth to Ann Arbor every weekend to appear with the band. Their new singer/harp player, BILLY C. FARLOW, (who hailed from Decatur Alabama) and George penned the first original tunes; Down to Seeds and Stems Again and Back to Tennessee, in a library during a break in finals.
After 2 semesters, George quit teaching and jumped into the Ozone Van with Billy C and steel player West Virginia Creeper, and headed for the left coast. Arriving in San Francisco during the summer of 1969, the band caught the tail end of the famous psychedelic scene. They found a home in the saloons of Berkeley, and after packing a local dive known as Mandrake's every night, they got some suits from Paramount Records to sign them up.
Guitarist BILL KIRCHEN, who had previously left the band in Ann Arbor for San Francisco, was the key ingredient in Cody moving west. After a year, John had gotten his Ph.D. in Engineering from GA Tech and moved to California. ANDY STEIN (fiddle/sax) moved out in the fall of 1969 and the band was complete. That is, after pilfering Charlie Musselwhite's rhythm section for "Buffalo" BRUCE BARLOW (bass) and LANCE DICKERSON (drums.) This eight piece bought an old Greyhound bus and hit the road.
The first album, Lost in the Ozone coughed up a hit single, Hot Rod Lincoln which sold a million records and launched the boys into Rock and Roll History. They recorded 4 albums for Paramount, which are released today on CD and cassette by MCA. They did three albums for Warner Brothers and broke up after a long European tour in 1976. The last album was an historical 2 record live set Got a Live One Here (with Norton Buffalo, who joined the band for their last tour). Along they way, they played with John Lennon, Gene Vincent, Link Wray opened for the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles (who started out opening for the Lost Planet Airmen...) and more.
In 1977 everyone went in different directions, Cody making 2 albums on Arista and working with Delaney Bramlett and Nicolette Larson. He teamed up with Bill Kirchen's Moonlighters in 1979, and some of that personnel are featured on the Relix release Aces High.
AIM Records (Australia) released a 17 tune CD, Worst Case Scenario, in 1994. Warner Bros. released the double live album, Got a Live One Here, recorded in Europe (1976) on CD in 1996. With the Relix release of, Best of CC&LPA, in 1997, there are now 12 different Cody CD's available. Frayne continues to paint and has done shows with Joni Mitchell, Ron Wood and Klaus Voorman.
In 1997, Frayne relocated to Saratoga Springs, New York and a new configuration of the Lost Planet Airmen magically appeared. Original Airmen John Tichy recommended guitar wizard DAVID MALACHOWSKI to the Commander, fresh from a stint with superstar Shania Twain. In ‘95 and ‘96, David was bandleader/guitarist/vocalist for Twain, supporting her The Woman In Me release on Mercury, which subsequently won a Grammy and sold 15 million copies.
David writes as a music journalist for Albany news and arts weekly Metroland, when not touring. He’s also bent strings for Janie Frickie, John Michael Montgomery, Les Taylor and many others.
Like Malachowski, guitar slinger MARK EMMERICK was also referred to the band by an original Airmen: Bill Kirchen. Mark has played with Greg Allman and the Toler Brothers. Groove master STEVE BARBUTO was stolen from the James Montgomery Band, and has played with Edgar Winter. Bass monster CLYDE DAVIES toured with Richie Havens in another life. ROB HYKYS joins frequently on steel.
As always, the old COMMANDER CODY himself is behind the piano, leading the musical mayhem and controlled chaos. This fresh edition harks back to the virtuosity and spontaneity of the original band, and the response from critics and crowds has been overwhelmingly positive.
The legend of the Lost Planet Airmen continues...
The COMMANDER character is taken from Commando Cody, Skymarshall of the Universe, the original rocket man, star of the movie The Lost Planet Airmen (Republic Pictures 1952)
After graduation, in 1968, Cody was unable to cope with an actual job situation (Assistant Professor of Art at Wisconsin State University), so he drove 14 hours a week back and forth to Ann Arbor every weekend to appear with the band. Their new singer/harp player, BILLY C. FARLOW, (who hailed from Decatur Alabama) and George penned the first original tunes; Down to Seeds and Stems Again and Back to Tennessee, in a library during a break in finals.
After 2 semesters, George quit teaching and jumped into the Ozone Van with Billy C and steel player West Virginia Creeper, and headed for the left coast. Arriving in San Francisco during the summer of 1969, the band caught the tail end of the famous psychedelic scene. They found a home in the saloons of Berkeley, and after packing a local dive known as Mandrake's every night, they got some suits from Paramount Records to sign them up.
Guitarist BILL KIRCHEN, who had previously left the band in Ann Arbor for San Francisco, was the key ingredient in Cody moving west. After a year, John had gotten his Ph.D. in Engineering from GA Tech and moved to California. ANDY STEIN (fiddle/sax) moved out in the fall of 1969 and the band was complete. That is, after pilfering Charlie Musselwhite's rhythm section for "Buffalo" BRUCE BARLOW (bass) and LANCE DICKERSON (drums.) This eight piece bought an old Greyhound bus and hit the road.
The first album, Lost in the Ozone coughed up a hit single, Hot Rod Lincoln which sold a million records and launched the boys into Rock and Roll History. They recorded 4 albums for Paramount, which are released today on CD and cassette by MCA. They did three albums for Warner Brothers and broke up after a long European tour in 1976. The last album was an historical 2 record live set Got a Live One Here (with Norton Buffalo, who joined the band for their last tour). Along they way, they played with John Lennon, Gene Vincent, Link Wray opened for the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles (who started out opening for the Lost Planet Airmen...) and more.
In 1977 everyone went in different directions, Cody making 2 albums on Arista and working with Delaney Bramlett and Nicolette Larson. He teamed up with Bill Kirchen's Moonlighters in 1979, and some of that personnel are featured on the Relix release Aces High.
AIM Records (Australia) released a 17 tune CD, Worst Case Scenario, in 1994. Warner Bros. released the double live album, Got a Live One Here, recorded in Europe (1976) on CD in 1996. With the Relix release of, Best of CC&LPA, in 1997, there are now 12 different Cody CD's available. Frayne continues to paint and has done shows with Joni Mitchell, Ron Wood and Klaus Voorman.
In 1997, Frayne relocated to Saratoga Springs, New York and a new configuration of the Lost Planet Airmen magically appeared. Original Airmen John Tichy recommended guitar wizard DAVID MALACHOWSKI to the Commander, fresh from a stint with superstar Shania Twain. In ‘95 and ‘96, David was bandleader/guitarist/vocalist for Twain, supporting her The Woman In Me release on Mercury, which subsequently won a Grammy and sold 15 million copies.
David writes as a music journalist for Albany news and arts weekly Metroland, when not touring. He’s also bent strings for Janie Frickie, John Michael Montgomery, Les Taylor and many others.
Like Malachowski, guitar slinger MARK EMMERICK was also referred to the band by an original Airmen: Bill Kirchen. Mark has played with Greg Allman and the Toler Brothers. Groove master STEVE BARBUTO was stolen from the James Montgomery Band, and has played with Edgar Winter. Bass monster CLYDE DAVIES toured with Richie Havens in another life. ROB HYKYS joins frequently on steel.
As always, the old COMMANDER CODY himself is behind the piano, leading the musical mayhem and controlled chaos. This fresh edition harks back to the virtuosity and spontaneity of the original band, and the response from critics and crowds has been overwhelmingly positive.
The legend of the Lost Planet Airmen continues...
I always follow through on my childish threats.