Bermuda Triangle Band | |
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Roger and Wendy of Bermuda Triangle at the New York Folk Festival, Central Park bandshell 1986
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Background information | |
Also known as | Roger Becket, Wendy Becket |
Origin | Greenwich Village, New York, United States |
Genres | Psychedelic rock, psychedelic folk, pop rock, folk, folk rock, pop music, country pop |
Years active | 1967-present |
Labels | MGM, Heritage, Polydor, Winter Solstice, Acme, Anazitisi |
Website | www |
Members |
Roger Penney Wendy Penney |
Bermuda Triangle Band's wild psychedelic and delicately nuanced electric autoharp and transcendental vocals grew out of the late 1960s folk rock scene. With an independent attitude, eccentric style and highly unusual instrument lineup, the group was unprecedented. Psychedelic rock autoharp was then-unknown, and at the time (with the notable exception of Carol Kaye), there were very few women playing bass guitar. Since the formation of the band in 1967, its only constant members have been Roger Penney and Wendy Penney.
The band, originally called Roger and Wendy, was formed in the late 1960s in Greenwich Village, typically playing in pass-the-basket-for-tips coffeehouses and folk clubs, such as Gerde's Folk City, (where they headlined for 33 weeks in one year,1970, setting a club record); the Cafe Wha?, the Bitter End, the Cafe Au Go Go, The Gaslight Cafe, The Freudian Slip, The Basement Cafe, and Kenny's Castaways. Performing at first without microphones (as basket houses had no cabaret licenses, thus amplified vocals were illegal), they developed an energized psychedelic folk style with just an electrified autoharp and fast-pulse bass guitar. Their music quickly evolved from traditional ballads to electric folk, including psychedelic folk, acid freak folk and rock.
Roger and Wendy took the stage names Roger Becket and Wendy Becket when they had become involved with the Theatre Company of Boston, and then in several off-Broadway plays. They kept these pseudonyms through much of their musical career before returning to their original surname of Penney. This accounts for some of the confusion regarding credit for albums. Wendy is a lifetime member of the Art Students League of New York.