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Christopher (1970) USA

(Psych/Acid Rock)

Formed in 1968 in the Houston, TX area. Doug Tull, Doug Walden, and Richard Avitts were the original members of the band, which started out as "United Gas."

Tull and Avitts, at the same time playing in a series of R&B and soul-leaning groups, met in 1966 when Tull sat in on drums with one of Avitts' bands. Tull, however was not as serious about the music as Avitts, leading to an eventual split.

Tull developed a friendship around this time with Jefferson Airplane guitarist and Texas native Jorma Kaukonen, and, in 1967, invited Avitts to jam with them. Certain they had the makings of a band, the two went searching for a bass player who could sing, eventually finding Doug Walden. It wasn't long before Untied Gas developed a following in and around Houston, playing clubs like Tangerine Forest who's owner, Nick Lee, took interest in the band, eventually becoming their manager. Walden and Avitts began writing their own material and recorded a demo which Lee shopped around his contacts in Las Vegas and California.

United Gas relocated to Las Vegas, and then California after an L.A. label, Metromedia offered them a two year deal. At the labels behest, the group changed their name to Christopher so as to avoid confusion with similar named California Pacific Gas and Electric. Walden and Avitts felt Christopher to be a religious band (their name is taken after Saint Christopher) and wanted to convey this through the music.

Recording of their first album began in early 1969, but was hampered by Tull's drug use, and a failed suicide attempt. He was fired (later returning to Houston and joining Josefus, and ultimately, was found hanged in an Austin jail cell in 1991, victim of an apparent suicide, although there have always been suspicions he was a victim of police brutality) and the session were completed by John Simpson and Terrence Hand. The result was Christopher's debut album, released in a pressing of only 1000 copies. Walden and Avitts remained in Los Angeles playing as Christopher before Avitts moved back to Houston later that year.

Starting off is possibly one of the enjoyable and best songs off the album, Dark Road. One of the grooviest jams ever. Starts off slow and begins to speed up for a few seconds then back to the slow tempo. Wicked guitar! A must listen. Dreamy psychedelic Magic Cycles is next. Heavily influenced by the San Francisco sound, this tune will surely put you to sleep (in a good way) and relax ya. Wilbur Lite has such a funky bass! This tune reminds me a bit of Jefferson Airplane. If Grace was singing with Walden, you could easily mistaken this song for a Jefferson Airplane tune. In Your Time at times sounds like Dead’s cover of Morning Dew. It’s a pretty rockin’ tune (despite it being slow) and again, you can feel that San Francisco vibe to it. Side one ends with Beautiful Lady. The chorus makes you wanna sing along. “...Beautiful lady...” & “...Wonderous woman...”. Nice bass in this one too. Side two starts with a Cream-inspired psych tune called Lies. Disaster has a rad guitar that screams on and on... Very acid rock. The Wind is my least favourite. I was kinda bored throughout it all. Maybe it’s the story telling that I didn’t really like. Queen Mary begins with a guitar screeching in your ear. An amazing touch to it. The drum beat and groovin’ bass is pretty enjoyable too. “...There’s fire on the Queen Mary. Smoke from the clouds, someone shouting above. Someone is screaming “Help!”...” The album ends with Burns Decision. I was also bored with this song and never bothered listening to all of it.

Side one is more pleasing than side two. I recommend this album to die hard psychedelic rock fans. Especially those that are into 60s San Francisco psych rock. I must include that Walden’s vocals are a dead ringer for Jack Bruce. At certain times during songs, I was like, “Is this Jack singing?” Anyways, check it out, kiddos.

*Bolded are my favourites off the album.*

1. Dark Road 2. Magic Cycles 3. Wilbur Lite 4. In Your Time 5. Beautiful Lady 6. Lies 7. Disaster 8. The Wind 9. Queen Mary 10. Burns Decision

Doug Tull - drums Doug Walden - bass, vocals Richard Avitts - guitar, vocals Leon Rudnicki - bass Terence Hand - drums Ron Kramer - percussion John Simpson - drums

Christopher “Christopher“ 1970 very rare US Psych Acid Heavy Rock

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Christopher were an underground acid rock trio featuring future Josefus drummer Doug Tull. They evolved from United Gas, a psychedelic band from Houston who rubbed shoulders with legends like The 13th Floor Elevators and Moving Sidewalks . After relocating to Los Angeles, where they changed his name to Christopher, they played at numerous biker parties and recorded their sole album in 1970 for the Metromedia label. It’s an amazing example of West Coast psychedelia / acid-rock featuring strong fuzz-wah guitar, great compositions and superb musicianship. Terrific cover depicting the band at the same hippie crash-pad where some scenes from the “The Trip” movie were filmed. One of the holy grails of American psychedelic-rock and the rarest album originally released by the collectable Metromedia label. Newly remastered sound, original artwork, insert with liner notes. Note: This is the only legitimate, fully-authorized vinyl reissue of Christopher in the current market. Beware of inferior, low-quality bootlegs. “One of the better LPs in the crowded sub-genre of proto-heavy westcoast hippierock, with mid-period Airplane and Cream the obvious influences. The lyrics are memorable strange” Patrick Lundborg (Acid Archives)....~

“A great 'lost' album from the USA underground, one that grows and grows with repeated listens. Lots of vibrato guitar riffs and creepy vocals a la Frumious Bandersnatch or Framework.” Clark Faville ..... PSYCHEDELIC biker-trio, featuring drummer Doug Tull, who later went on to play with JOSEFUS. The LP is an amazing example of West Coast psychedelia and Cream-influenced acid-rock, featuring strong fuzz-wah guitar, great compositions and superb musicianship. This definitely is one of the holy grails of American psychedelic rock and the rarest album originally released by the collectable Metromedia label. Comes with newly remastered sound, original artwork and an insert with liner notes. .....

Another one of Texas' wealth of interesting, late-'60s psychedelic bands, Christopher came together in 1968 in the Houston area. Doug Tull (drums), Doug Walden (bass, vocals), and Richard Avitts (guitar, vocals) were the original members of the band, which was originally known as United Gas. Tull and Avitts, at the time playing in a series of R&B and soul-leaning groups, first met in 1966 when Tull sat in on drums with one of Avitts' bands. Tull, however, was not as serious about the music as Avitts, leading to an eventual split. Tull developed a friendship around this time with Jefferson Airplane guitarist and Texas native Jorma Kaukonen, and, in 1967, invited Avitts to jam with them. Certain that they had the makings of a band, the two went searching for a bassist who could sing, eventually finding Doug Walden. It was not long before United Gas developed a following in and around Houston, playing local clubs such as Tangerine Forest, whose owner, Nick Lee, developed an interest in the band, eventually becoming their manager. Walden and Avitts began writing their own material and recorded a demo that Lee had circulated around Las Vegas and Los Angeles by his connections in those cities. United Gas moved to Las Vegas for a brief time and then to Los Angeles after L.A. record label Metromedia offered them a two-year contract. At the behest of Metromedia, the band changed their name to Christopher so that they wouldn't be confused with similarly monikered California band Pacific Gas & Electric. Walden and Avitts felt Christopher to be a religious band -- the name is derived from Saint Christopher -- and wanted to convey this through the music. Recording of their first album started in early 1969; however, it was hampered by Tull's drug use and his failed suicide attempt. He was fired (later returning to Houston and joining Josephus) and the sessioins were completed with drummers John Simpson and Terrence Hand. The result was Christopher's self-titled debut album, released in a single 1970 pressing of a thousand LPs by Metromedia. Walden and Avitts remained in Los Angeles playing as Christopher until Avitts returned to Houston later in the year...........by Stanton Swihart.......~

Let Texas, in 1968, a group called United Gas is a trio, Doug Tull on drums, Doug Walden on bass and lead vocals, Richard Avitts on guitar and vocals. They will become Christopher, because of St. Christopher, the saint of travelers, because yes, there’s a saint for pretty much everything, that’s what is practical with the Christian religion. And indeed, the group claims to be full of religiosity. From there to talk about Rock Christian it is only a step, that we will not necessarily. Because the drug is present goddess also requires time, and that listening to this single titled album gives more desire to smoke a firecracker (feeling that we will carefully suppress) that kneel to pray.Returning to our Texan trio, who found a record company, Metromedia, record company-related media group of the same name. Recording sessions begin at beautiful spring 1969, but Doug Tull takes too comes to drugs and attempt suicide, it fails. But suddenly, he is fired from the band, which, between ourselves, is not the result of a deeply Christian attitude of the other two members. St. Christopher is still good. Tull is replaced by two drummers for studio sessions ( “Why two drummers? Because there’s always one is not there,” said Jacques Higelin in live sound in Mogador). One of the two, Terrance Hands, made the promo tour in Texas (the group had left between time in Los Angeles, the place to be at the time). So there. The group has not really held much longer.That leaves a disc with reference to Cream is absolutely undeniable. Of course, the musicians are not the likes of Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton. However, in the heavy rock style psychedelic , the album stands rather bien.Certes, guitars solos sometimes tend to expand, but then who wants it. The compositions are not pale faces and mystical delusions are well controlled. Despite that said this criticism, the album is very consistent, and careful arrangements without going overboard. It is also sometimes think of HP Lovecraft, especially in the song Burns Decision.Doug Tull joined the group Josefus , eventually committing suicide in jail for good in 1990. Avitts leads a quiet family life and Doug Walden played in various blues bands until his death in 2007. …..~

With his sweet, high tenor voice, and winning way with falsetto, Danish pop sensation Christopher has built a huge fan base for his infectious, dance-oriented sound. He burst onto the scene in 2011 with an online acoustic cover of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend." The video instantly went viral, garnering thousands of hits, and paving the way for his debut single and album. Born Christopher Nissen on January 31, 1992 and brought up in the Copenhagen suburb of Kastrup, on the island of Amager, he was interested in music from a very early age and began singing at the age of three. Dreaming of stardom, he took up the guitar at 12 and began writing songs, and, while still in high school, turned up unannounced one day at EMI's Copenhagen offices with his guitar and performed a number of his songs for the execs, who rewarded his chutzpah by signing him on the spot. His debut single "Against the Odds," a funky pure pop ballad, was released in September 2011 and reached a respectable number 23 on the Danish singles chart. The follow-up, "Nothing in Common," released the following January, fared much better, reaching number five. His debut album, Colours, dropped a couple of months later and hit number four on the albums chart. It was not until 2014, however, that Christopher tasted major and international success. He had built a huge following on social media, and excitement was rife for his second album, Told You So. The album had more of an R&B feel than his debut, and showcased Christopher's maturation and progression as both singer and songwriter. Upon its release, it peaked at number two in the Danish albums chart, but it was on streaming services that it really made its mark, topping Denmark's Spotify chart for a staggering seven weeks. It was also released in China, where it accrued enough interest for Christopher to undertake a promotional tour. The non-album single "CPH Girls" was also a hit there, reaching number two in the QQ Charts for Western music. An ode to the beauties of his home city, "CPH Girls" featured American R&B singer Brandon Beal, who later returned the favor by featuring Christopher on his own single "Twerk It Like Miley." Both singles went to number one Denmark. Christopher's reputation was secured when he won several awards at the 2014 Danish Music Awards, including Pop Album of the Year. He also won Best Danish Act at the 2014 MTV EMAs. He then set to work on his third album, working with producers such as Clarence Coffee, Jr. and the Nordsø Brothers. "Tulips," the album's libidinous, double entendre-laden first single, was released in August 2015. The full-length Closer followed a year later, and reached the top of the Danish albums charts. In 2018, Christopher returned with the non-album single "Bad." ~ John D. Buchanan....~

Band is : Richard Avitts - guitar Doug Walden - bass, piano John Simpson - drums Terrence Hand - drums

Tracklist:

01 – Dark Road [00:02:54] 02 – Magic Cycles [00:05:05] 03 – Wilbur Lite [00:03:57] 04 – In Your Time [00:05:28] 05 – Beautiful Lady [00:02:32] 06 – Lies [00:03:08] 07 – Disaster [00:03:46] 08 – The Wind [00:05:03] 09 – Queen Mary [00:03:25] 10 – Burns Decision [00:05:17]

#christopher #christopher band #us psychedelic rock #us private rare albums #rare psychedelic rock albums