Dinosaurdays - Fever Tree

Fever Tree - Fever Tree were a fantastic psych outfit who were originally known as Bostwick Vine when they were formed in Houston, Texas in 1966. Founder and guitarist Michael Knust had previously been a solo artist. They spent a lot of time in San Francisco and many believed them to be Californians. This was partly due to their US Top 100 hit, "San Francisco Girls", which reached number 91. The other members of the band were Rob Landes on keyboards and woodwinds, Dennis Keller on vocals, John Tuttle on drums and E.E.Wolfe ll on bass. They released their debut, self titled album on MCA subsidiary UNI Records in 1968. This album reached number 156 on the US charts and they also appeared on the soundtrack "Angels Die Hard" at this stage. Their second album, "Another Time, Another Place", equally as good as their debut, was released in 1969, but from then onwards, they went on a decline and their last two albums were poor in comparison. They split in 1970 and reformed in 1978. At this stage, Knust was joined by Pat Brennan on vocals and keyboards, Robbie Parrish on drums and Ken Blanchet, who'd been with the band in the early years, on bass. They never recorded any new studio material, but they did record this excellent live album in 1978. This was probably the best album the band ever recorded and it's a great pity that they never went any further. Highly recommended stuff.

(If you have more info on this band, please e-mail us)

Biography by Richie Unterberger
A minor, if reasonably interesting, late-'60s psychedelic group, Houston's Fever Tree is most famous for their single "San Francisco Girls," with its dramatic melody, utopian lyrics, and searing fuzz guitar. Most of their best material, ironically, was written by their over-30 husband-wife production team, Scott and Vivian Holtzman, who had previously written material for Tex Ritter and the Mary Poppins soundtrack. These odd bedfellows produced some fairly distinctive material with more classical/Baroque influences and orchestral string arrangements than were usually found in psychedelic groups. Their pretty, wistful ballads (enhanced on their first album by arranger David Angel, who had also worked on Love's classic Forever Changes) endure better than their dirge-like fuzz grinders, which epitomize some of the more generic aspects of heavy psychedelia. Releasing four albums (the third of which, Creation, included guest guitar by future ZZ Top axeman Billy Gibbons), their records grew weaker and more meandering with time, and the group disbanded in 1970.

Rob Landes
Dennis Keller
John Tuttle
E.E. Wolfe
Michael Knust

Crow
Blues Magoos
The Litter
Odyssey
The Centurys
The Music Machine
The Count Five
006
Steppenwolf
Strawberry Alarm Clock
Bubble Puppy
Moby Grape
The Chocolate Watchband
The Chambers Brothers