October Country
| October Country | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1967-1968 |
| Labels | Epic |
| Associated acts | Michael Lloyd |
| Past members | Caryle De Franca Joe De Franca Eddie Beram Marty Earle Bruce Wayne Bob Wian |
October Country was an American folk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1967. For musician Michael Lloyd, the group was one of his earliest projects with him assuming the role of record producer. It also was another side-project, along with the Smoke, California Spectrum, and the Fire Escape, during a period in which Lloyd was absent from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. October Country recorded one self-titled album in 1968 and is best-remembered for the track "My Girlfriend Is a Witch". They are credited as the musicians for the Steven Spielberg short-film, Amblin'.
October Country was formed by siblings Caryle, also known as Carol, (vocals) and Joe De Franca (vocals), who both started out singing in church choirs. In 1966, the Franca family moved to Los Angeles, California, where the two hoped to engage themselves in the city's folk rock scene. They recruited a full-fledged band consisting of Eddie Beram (drums), Marty Earle (lead guitar), Bruce Wayne (bass guitar), and Bob Wian (keyboards) to attempt to fulfill their aspirations. October Country began performing at some dances and parties before finding moderate success on the Los Angeles club scene as a supporting act to the Coasters and the Rivingtons.
In 1967, filmmaker Denis Hoffman approached October Country with the idea of filming the group as they perform and live their daily lives. Serving as a demo video to record labels, an article on Dangerous Minds states that "Watching the band grappling with the concepts of hippie culture, lightshows and psychedelia while going about their basically boring lifestyles is quite amusing. They’re proud to be squares, which considering the era was probably not a great marketing concept". Nonetheless, the film succeeded in convincing company president Len Leny to sign October Country to Epic Records late in 1967. The band was teamed with musician and aspiring record producer Michael Lloyd, who had departed the psychedelic rock band the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band earlier in the same year to work on side-projects such as the Rubber Band and California Spectrum.
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