Influence (band)

Influence was a 1960s Canadian band best known for their mini rock-opera, Mad Birds of Prey.

The band was the brainchild of guitarist Louis Campbell McKelvey (born 31 October 1943 in Killorgin, County Kerry, Ireland). McKelvey, who had spent the early ‘60s playing in west London band, Jeff Curtis & The Flames and recorded with South African bands The Upsetters and The A-Cads between September 1965 and April 1966.

Having arrived in Montreal around October 1966, he initially found work with the French-speaking group, Les Sinners, playing a one-off date with them at Paul Sauve Arena before briefly hooking up with Our Generation in December for a lone single.

Through a chance meeting with The Haunted's guitarist Jurgen Peter, McKelvey met former Haunted drummer Dave Wynne (born May 17, 1947 in Stockport, England) and recruited him for the new project he was planning. Around the same time, he also befriended bass player Jack Geisinger (born Jakob August Geisinger, March 1945 in Czechoslovakia) who had recently been playing with The Buddy Miles Quartet but was currently unemployed after Wilson Pickett recruited the group for a US tour.

The last member to join this original lineup was English singer Andrew Keiller (born August 16, 1941 in Bodmin, Cornwall, England), who had previously worked with McKelvey in The Upsetters in late 1965 and before that, recorded a solo album in Johannesburg, which was belatedly released in 1966. Keiller, who had moved to Montreal in April 1966, had seen McKelvey playing with Our Generation on a local TV station and contacted him.

Influence debuted on 1 June 1967 at the Barrel, a small Montreal club. Later that month the band added Geisinger's former colleagues from The Buddy Miles Quartet, singer/songwriter and pianist Bob Parkins (aka Bobo Island) and lead guitarist Walter Rossi. The three musicians had previously played together in the early ‘60s with Bob & The Messengers and The Soul Mates.

In late August, the group relocated to Toronto, playing Boris’ Red Gas Room in the city's Yorkville Village on September 2, 1967. They then performed regularly at the venue over the next two months before travelling to New York during November to record an album for ABC Records at Bell Studios with producer Dennis Minogue (aka Terry Cashman). Released in January 1968, the album included the mini-opera 'Mad Birds of Prey', which was "more echoes of Weill's Threepenny Opera than of anything around in rock".

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