The Marshmallow Overcoat

The Marshmallow Overcoat
Cover image to The Marshmallow Overcoat's 2-LP "The Very Best Of" (2014)
Background information
Also known as	Marshmallow Overcoat, Overcoat
Origin	Tucson, Arizona, United States
Genres	Garage rock
Years active	1986–1996, 2000–2011
Labels	Dionysus Records, Skyclad/Get Hip Records, 360 Twist! Records, Kinetic Vibes Records, Face Records, Music Maniac Records, Collectables Records, Purple Cactus Media Productions, Garage Nation Records
Website	Official website
Members	Timothy Gassen (aka "Randy Love"): vocals, band leader Scot Gassen: drum kit Dan Magee: bass Chad White: guitars Matt Rendon: guitars, bass, drum kit Bill Kurzenberger: keyboards Debra Dickey: keyboards
Past members	Sean Randel Mike Pancino Al Perry Jeff Dobberpuhl

The Marshmallow Overcoat is an American garage rock band, formed in Tucson, AZ, in 1986 by lead singer Timothy Gassen under his "Randy Love" persona. They are considered an essential part of the paisley/neo-psychedelia bands that formed the 1980s.

The Marshmallow Overcoat’s first recording deal was with Dionysus Records in Los Angeles who released their first LP, The Inner Groove, in 1987. They received international attention for their brand of "modern psychedelia", and for generating the "Arizona sound." Influenced by The Chocolate Watchband, The Doors, The Beatles, The Byrds, Fuzztones, early Miracle Workers, Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Electric Prunes, 1960’s garage/psychedelic music, their sound incorporates traditional fuzz with elements associated with these other genres, such as the use of the Farfisa organ and 12-string Rickenbacker guitars, re-created without cliched regurgitation. Subsequent releases on Skyclad/Get Hip Records and two European labels, Music Maniac (Germany) and Psych-Out (France), and an international tour, earned them a fan base in Europe as well as the US.

Their music videos received airplay on more than 50 video shows on the top cable channels in the 1980s. MTV's "120 Minutes" aired the music videos for the songs "Suddenly Sunday" and "Thirteen Ghosts." SuperStation WTBS also aired the music video "Suddenly Sunday" on their show "Night Tracks".

For a brief time, between '91 - '93, the band shortened their name to "Overcoat." The band stopped touring in 1996, but re-formed in 2000 to record through 2011. Although the band played its last concert in 2008, many contemporary garage bands have cited The Marshmallow Overcoat as a chief influence. In addition to nine full-length album releases, singles and vinyl EPs, The Marshmallow Overcoat appear on compilation albums released in the US, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Greece and Germany. Their recordings have received airplay on radio stations in the US and abroad. In 2013 Timothy Gassen ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to release a 30-song "best of" audio collection as a 2-LP colored vinyl set. The band's name, The Marshmallow Overcoat, was inspired by dialog in Martin Scorsese's 1978 film The Last Waltz.