FLASHING Hastings; 'straight' classical extreme but not wanting to LONESOME WITH... percussionist/jazz drummer take the wind out of the THE DAILY FLASH Jon Keliehor and New York following article, I'll let Neal folk musician Steve Lalor, take up the story with the The offer of a Daily Flash they emerged tangenitally affable Steve Lalor, still today interview for the Terrascope from the Seattle teen-dance a busy local musician and only from one of our regular North scene of the early 1960s and too pleased to talk to us for American correspondents, quickly established themselves this Terrascope retrospective. Neal Skok, was received with as Seattle's leading alternative Over to you, Neal: a certain amount of glee here psychedelic outfit. By 1966 at Terrascope Towers. A band they were at the heart of the Why don't we start from the representing the very best of psychedelic movement's beginning... can you give us the West Coast musical and Mecca, playing consecutive some background to all four cultural explosion of 1965-67, nights at San Francisco's of The Daily Flash people? a band who successfully Avalon Ballroom and Los blended jazz, folk, blues and Angeles' Whiskey a'Go Go Well, the furthest away from early psychedelic elements with contemporaries such as the rest of us was our guitarist into their sound, the fact that Love, Quicksilver Messenger Doug Hastings. Doug was very their only LP, 'I Flash Daily' Service, Big Brother & The young at the time he joined on England's Psycho label Holding Company, Moby the Flash, he was still in (itself a collection of Grape, England's own college and was very much unreleased studio and live Yardbirds and others you've into The Dynamics, he was performances and now long either read about in these listening to those guys a lot. deleted) wasn't released until pages already or will be doing 1984 somehow only served to so soon. Was he in local bands at all? further endear them to us. The Daily Flash have never They released two singles, He was playing in a lot of been covered in depth in any 'Jack Of Diamonds'/'Queen nameless garage bands and contemporary magazine and Jane Approximately' in 1965 would sit in with The in many ways remain just a and 'French Girl'/'Green Dynamics whenever he could. name passed in hushed Rocky Road' early in 1967 and He knew their guitar player whispers amongst although the A-side of the Harry Wilson so he hung out afficionados of touchstone latter was a strong local hit in with Harry and played when 12-string and electric guitar the Pacific Northwest, it failed he got the chance to. At the music overlaid with multi-part to garner any national same time Don MacAllister harmonies, yet their history attention and the original and I were involved in the first makes fascinating reading and members soon afterwards big folk boom in Seattle crosses paths with countless started to drift away - initially during the early Sixties. There more successful contemporary Keliehor to get 'spiritual' and was a big interest in acoustic outfits - as you shall see. Hastings to the Buffalo music up here. MacAllister Springfield. With the addition was in a bluegrass group with The Daily Flash were of another Northwest guitar Paul Gillingham called The however quite unique. Made wizard, Craig Tarwater, and a Willow Creek Ramblers, and up of four quite different drummer named Tony Dey I was a solo artist as well as components, the Daily Flash struggled on being involved in a couple of bluegrass-mandolin-turned-ro until early 1968 whereupon group projects. ck-bass player Don they finally gave up the ghost MacAllister; hotshot local altogether. Their subsequent (Seattle) guitarist Doug careers were varied in the We were called The Driftwood Singers [they did one single for Jerden Records, no details to hand though - Ed]. When that kind of bellied up and we split MacAllister suddenly turned up in San Francisco and said to come back to Seattle. He told me he'd found this great drummer named Don Stevenson who sang as well, I was gonna love him. This sounded OK to me, so I put some things together and told him I'd see him in Seattle in a few weeks. I got to Seattle and found there was no Don Stevenson... instead there was a Jon Keliehor. The story was, Keliehor was with the musicians that eventually went to make up The Moby Grape - The Frantics. And I believe you were originally on an acoustic show, which when The Frantics went to from New York; when and was a huge success. It was California, Keliehor was why did you move to Seattle? turned into a weekly TV show involved in an auto accident that ran for a year and a half. I in Eugene. He left his spleen I came out west in January was on every show, and the in Eugene as a matter of fact, 1963, having dropped out of pay from that was enough to and ruined his 6 string college in Ohio, landed in San live on. acoustic guitar at the same Francisco and stayed there time. He eventually sold it to through to the late Spring. I Was it during this time that me, and it's still downstairs was in the San Francisco you ran into MacAllister? here. Anyway, I had been Scene for a while with Janis really looking forward to Joplin, Roger Perkins and the Yeah, as I said he and I would being in a group with this rest of them and... I just didn't hang out together and sing Don Stevenson, but that care for San Francisco a lot, stuff we'd learned, Everley wasn't to be and as it turned there was a hard, cold attitude Brothers songs and eventually out Keliehor was the secret in the city. Not really a very Beatles songs because the magic ingredient that makes friendly place at all. I decided harmonies were so natural. groups happen... see, he knew to take an exploratory trip up Don was an excellent singer music better than the rest of to Vancouver, stopped off in and wasn't afraid to try us and he was game to try Portland for a while and then anything. I then moved back anything and lead us down because there was a good folk to San Francisco and had a the road. scene already in Seattle I folk group which was based at decided to move there. The Hungry I. We were talking to Jerry Shortly after I got to town the Miller recently, and he told Seattle Center decided to put What were they called? us the same thing from The the Flash went out we had to you're playing with Frantics point of view. So piece together a PA that MacAllister and Keliehor is anyway, it's 1963, '64; what catered to harmony singing. your drummer - where did are you as a folkie thinking of When we finally got one, and you guys find Doug Hastings? all the bands like The Sonics we were very well practised at and The Wailers, the 'Louie the time, we turned up at a MacAllister mentioned him Louie' type bands here in the club called The BFD and we to me, but no immediate Northwest? just smoked it, because the decision was made. When I harmonies were coming over got up to Seattle I met I didn't hang out with them like a wall of sound, a wall of Keleihor and as a matter of much. It wasn't the kind of three-part harmonies. And fact moved in with him and situation where I his mother for a couple could sit in of months - MacAllister comfortably. I did lived there at one point used to sit in with too. We looked around Tommy Chong for guitar players and up in Vancouver - decided that Doug he went on to be Hastings was the guy one half of whose ear was most Cheech & receptive. So many of the Chong - it was at guitarists of the time an all-night place, were into the big thing of and because of the day, that early 'Seattle the type of music Sound', and although we Tommy and liked that we didn't want those guys played anybody who was so far was like an older, gone in that direction mid-Fifties type of that they couldn't relate rock & roll it was to the acoustic guitar or a lot more basic to melodic music. Doug to play. The stuff seemed to fit the mould that The real well, he was willing Dynamics and to learn new directions... The Sonics were and he sure got them playing was a lot with us! more sophisticated, it So, at what time was the had a black kind line-up of The Daily of edge to it but it Flash arrived at? was very horn-heavy as I Seattle hadn't heard anything remember it. The PA's of the like that before. I would say it would be late day didn't even have speakers, 1964. Keliehor, upon arriving they would have two large I remember seeing the Daily back in town, promptly horns on the stage and one Flash at dances a couple of contracted hepatitis through singer with a microphone times back then, and as I not taking care of himself. He right in his mouth screaming recall you guys could do was recovering from losing his into it and sounding like an Beatles and Byrds covers like spleen, remember.