The Dagenites
| The Dagenites | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1964-1966 |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | Link Wray |
| Past members |
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The Dagenites were an American garage rock a band from Oxon Hill, Maryland near Washington, DC, who were active in the 1960s. They shared management and frequent billing with noted guitarist and performer Link Wray. In recent years their work has become highly regarded amongst garage rock enthusiasts and collectors and has been included on several compilations. The Dagenites are especially known for their proto-punk anthems, "I Don't Want to Try it Again" and "I'm Gone Slide", both of which have been mentioned as garage rock classics.
The Dagenites were formed in 1964 in Oxon Hill, Maryland outside of Washington, DC. The band would practice in their parents' basements and their original lineup consisted of John Bardi on lead guitar, Bruce Kennett on rhythm guitar, Geoff Robinson on bass and Roger Fallin on drums. The group wanted a name to tie-in with the popular British Invasion. Lead guitarist John Bardi's mother had grown up in a working-class neighborhood in Dagenham, a suburb of London. The group chose the name "Dagenites" as a reference to her birthplace. The Group's manager also managed Link Wray, who was living in Maryland at the time, which led to weekly bookings with Wray at the nearby 1023 Club. The Dagenites were noted for their loud performances. According to Geoffrey Robinson, a member of Wray's group, the Raymen:
Rhythm guitarist Bruce Kennet's father knew the owner of Pixie records in Dayton, Ohio and it was arranged for the band to go there and record for the label. Pixie had also released records by garage bands such as the Bittervetch and the Stone Hearts. In early spring 1965, the group travelled to Dayton and taped their first single, "I Don’t Want to Try It Again", a raucous number written by bassist Geoff Robinson. The lead vocal and lyrics are hard to make out, but the song is apparently about not wanting to be lure back into a bad relationship. Before John Bardi's guitar solo, one of the other members can be heard shouting, "Play it J.B.!" That song appeared on the A-side and was backed with a ballad, "Now that Summer's Gone", written by band member Bruce Kennett. The initial pressing run for promotional copies of the record accidentally printed the name of the group as "the Joy Boys", and "Fencoe" as the label name. The manufacturer compensated for these errors by pasting new labels on top of the old ones. Several hundred of these errant promo copies were pressed, before the standard copies went into production.
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