The Flying Dogs of Jupiter was a band formed some time around 1974 in
Westfield New Jersey.
It was a
real jam band that stretched way out and played everything from Chuck Berry, to Captain Beafheart, the Fugs, Commander Cody, the New Riders, the Dead, the Doors and long very spaced-out jams that could go anywhere(including feedback and noise), plus a bunch of original songs.
The original members were:
Alan
Grigg- guitar and vocals
Lamont B.
Dumont- vocals and percussion (Chris Szeliga)
Curt Hansen- bass
Ed Tristram- guitar and vocals
Steve Horowitz-Drums
They released one self-produced 33rpm LP album (a.k.a. a record) on their own record label called 'Jovian Records' in 1975 titled "American Dream" and played numerous live shows in and around New Jersey.
This record is showing up on eBay for
ridiculous sums. ($150 buy- it- now price in Feb. '08)
Later on they added Lenny Northover on sax and flute. Eventually, Phil Clayton joined on guitar after Tristram left. By the end of '77 the band fell apart after investing alot of money in equipment, studio time and promo. A really good 4 song recording of original music got some interest but was never released. Two test records were cut and several cassette copies made.
We had a lot of fun with the Dogs, I can assure you. At the time there was no 'jam band' scene so we created our own.
The musicians may have played the instruments but the 'band' really included many more people who influenced the music and were a big part of the creative process. The 'crew', Bob, Tom and Paul; were always there from the start. They know more about the band than anyone else and went on to form their own band '
The Spuds'.
Alan was the one who wrote and arranged most of the original music. We started the band in his parents' basement.
Chris was the front man,
jokester, musicologist and wrote many of the lyrics.
I was the bass player and built
alot of speaker cabinets for our sound system. At the beginning, I was also studying electrical engineering (before dropping out to
pursue music full-time). I had the van to haul the band gear around, too.
Tristram had actually lived in San Francisco for awhile in the late sixties. The Dogs were heavily influenced by the psychedelic scene that came out of California.
He wrote songs and filled in the gaps. He had a kid and his own place and was a college grad while the rest of us were only a few years out of high school.
After Steve joined, we used to rehearse at his parents' house in Hillside which was right across the street from the police station. They must have liked the music because they never came over to arrest us.
The details are fuzzy and I don't remember alot from that period but I'm hoping that some of the people involved will participate in this project and share some tales (tall or otherwise) to jog our collective recollections. Send me your images, recordings and stories from the dog daze. If I get enough material we can put together a real website.
Click on 'comments' below and leave a comment.
Westfield High School football field
Church: the cops pulled the power after about 20 minutes of 'just one more song'
Gettin' Down
