They’re Not From Detroit, Part 2: These Vizitors of Miami, Florida
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Their Sunshine Pop classic, “Happy Man” b/w “For Mary’s Sake,” from May 1968, brings the Sunshine State quartet to the Motor City
July 10, 1968 at the Silverbell with locals Tea, opening.
“I remember this show, hanging out with the Curtis brothers. Two really great musicians with an incredibly tight band. Tight. And great songwriters. You could see why they were signed and on a national tour. We, the guys from Tea, were nevertheless jealous they had a deal with Capitol and wanted that for ourselves. That was the one time I didn’t mind being the opener, instead of headlining the Silverbell, which we did, often.”
— Jerry Zubal of Tea, when asked about the flyer from his personal digital archives
It’s funny how the turntables spin in the “record room” of the Francis abode. . . .
As result of my meeting and interviewing Stan Burger, drummer of Detroit’s the Revolvers¹— and learning of his next membership in Roy Rouse’s the Roustabouts, which released their lone single under the Shaggs² moniker — that lead to us discussing the Shaggs of Miami, Florida, as the history of the two bands converge by way of their common management by Miami-bred Ray Skop.
Then, after reflecting with Stan Burger of his days on the Silverbell Hideout stage in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and researching the Miami Shaggs-connected Florida bands the Invaders and the Birdwatchers, I remembered discussing These Vizitors during my many conversations with Jerry regarding his career with the Kwintels and Tea.³
Then, there’s that Canadian connection, again — remembering our essay on another oft-Detroit visiting Canadian band, Stallion Thumrock⁴ — as the history of These Vizitors ties into not one, not two, but three Candian bands: Sound System, Natural Gas, and Motherlode. Even Neil Young’s Crazy Horse — remembering his own Toronto, Ontario, roots — figures into this tale.
Sure, the Curtis Brothers — especially Richard Curtis — are digitally document by others . . . but with their Detroit connection, and with Canadians bands crossing the Detroit River for shows, let’s give These Vizitors our own, unique Motor City spin — as you are more than likely learning about a band you’ve never heard of prior . . . which is always my goal: to turn you on to “old,” new bands. . . .
Indiana Wants Me . . . but I’m Going to Florida
A family concern formed in 1965 in Goshen, Indiana, by the Curtis family, teens Mike, Rick, and Tom, their sister Patty, and drummer Travis Rose, with assistance from their radio DJ father booking them in high schools and various local functions, came to land a deal with Capitol Records, recording at A&R Studios in New York.
While budgeted for a single, courtesy of the enthusiasm for the material by the session’s then 21-year-old Richard Kaye, an independent producer with Capitol, with assistance by a then unknown Phil Ramone (later of Billy Joel fame) as his recording engineer, the equivalent of a 5-song EP was completed.
Richard Kaye met Goshen, Indiana, native Richard Curtis at the Brill Building: the world-famous songwriting hub on 1619 Broadway in New York. Impressed by Curtis’s songwriting, guitar playing and vocals, Kaye paid several visits to Goshen to assist the band’s preparations for a New York City audition with several record companies: Capitol signed These Vizitors.
While forming in Indiana, These Vizitors are considered a Florida-based band — courtesy of their relocation to West Palm Beach shortly after those New York sessions. Being the only local band on the South Florida scene with a record deal had its perks: prior to their 1969 demise, These Vizitors transitioned from local clubs — such as a standing gig at their new home town’s the Kandy Bar, and Gigi’s Can Can Lounge — for an opening slot on one of rock ’n’ roll’s earliest festivals: The 1968 Pop & Underground Festival held on May 18 and 19, 1968, at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida (south of Fort Lauderdale/north of Miami).
A “dry run” for promoters Richard O’Barry and Michael Lang for their later, infamous Woodstock Festival, an estimated 25,000 people watched the Capitol upstarts opening a concert featuring Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker, Blues Image (from Tampa), Blue Cheer, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Goodbye, Miami. Hello, Canada!
By 1972, that Capitol connection put Michael Curtis, as its chief songwriter and lead vocalist, in touch with the remnants of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada’s Sound System (formed in 1966) that — with an intake of members from the more established, charting Canadian bands Natural Gas and Motherlode — transformed into the horn-driven, jazz rock collective, Truck. To promote their Michael Curtis-penned debut single, “October in Canada” b/w “Rain,” from their self-titled debut album (1973), the group opened tours for ELP, Deep Purple, and Fleetwood Mac. Meanwhile, Richard Curtis contributed “Don’t Mess with a Woman” as the B-Side to fellow Canadian Helen Ready’s chart-topping Capitol single, “Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress),” from Long Hard Climb (1973).
Goodbye, Canada. Hello, Los Angeles!
Brad Goodman, the drummer in Roger McGuinns’s solo band, recalls in interviews that Lindsay Buckingham cohabited (or just visited and jammed) with Michael and Richard Curtis in a house on Valleyheart Drive in Sherman Oaks, California. Eric Clapton, Delany and Bonnie Bramlett were frequent jam-visitors, with Goodman himself spending time there during 1974. Goodman himself, then 19 years old, met Clapton, twice, in 1968, as part of the Laurel Canyon scene.
A fan of Michael’s writing and acoustic guitar playing, Brad Goodman offered words of encouragement — Michael asked, since Goodman’s cousin worked in the publishing and A&R Departments at A&M Records — when Michael felt intimated by his upcoming recording sessions with famed producer, Richard Perry.
Giddy Up!
As the progressive jazz-rock genre ran its course, Michael Curtis took an opportunity to be part of the burgeoning county rock scene, courtesy of an offer — along with his brother Richard — from drummer Ralph Molina to replace a departing George Whitsell and John Blanton in Crazy Horse. Richard’s “We Ride” served as the A-Side for their debut single, while the brothers’ co-penned, “Love Is Gone,” was the B-Side of the second single from the band’s Epic Records’ debut and third album overall, At Crooked Lake (1972).
All three Curtis brothers worked on the Polydor-backed Buckingham Nicks’ demos cut at Sound City Studios — for a never-released second album (as the duo absorbed into Fleetwood Mac) — as Buckingham and the brothers both had development deals with the label. One of those Curtis-penned songs, “Blue Letter,” appears on Fleetwood Mac’s eponymous album (1975). A second not making the cut, “Seven League Boots,” was reworked as the Crosby, Stills and Nash hit, “Southern Cross,” from Daylight Again (1982). The brothers’ version features Lindsey Buckingham as producer with Rick Curtis and Tom Curtis on guitars, Michael Curtis on bass, and Thom Mooney (ex-Fuse, the Nazz, Fleetwood Mac’s Bob Welch’s power trio, Paris) on drums, along with Patty Curtis and Stevie Nicks on backing vocals.
Then, along with drummer Brad Goodman as part of the backing band for ex-Byrd Roger McGuinn on a 1975 tour, the Curtis brothers, aka the Vizitors (to a degree), finally released an album proper with Polydor’s The Curtis Brothers (1976). As with the stellar Buckingham Nicks effort, Polydor’s lackluster promotion resulted poor sales and lesser airplay; a sophomore effort (1978) for International Artists was never released.
In addition to touring 12-years with Hoyt Axton (in which John Neff of the Ascots also toured as its bassist), Michael’s connection to the Byrds continued: he toured with Gene Clark, as well as Dewey Martin’s reconstituted Buffalo Springfield in the 1990s (and Dewey Martin’s Buffalo Springfield’s reimaging as Blue Mountain Eagle in the early ’70s ties back to the career of Richard Bowen and the Source⁵).
While Richard Curtis died from a seizure in his home in California in 1995, Michael took residence in the songwriting capitol of the world: Nashville. The three brothers’ last shows — known as “Reunion Jams I, II, and III” — were held in 1992, ’93 and ’94 at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds where it all began: Goshen, Indiana.
END
Credits/Sources:
45-rpm single, Discogs
These Vizitors band image by Patty Curtis/These Vizitors Facebook
Silverbell Hideout Flyer courtesy of Jerry Zubal and The Hideout Tribute Page Facebook.
Kandy Bar, Gigi’s, and Tape Reel via Bill Thomas Facebook
Additional Sources:
Indiana Bands Blogspot (’60s Indiana Band Szene)
Quora
Wikipedia
You Tube (two-part Richard Curits podcast interview)
