{"product_id":"johnny-farfisa-the-sky-is-falling-lp","title":"Johnny Farfisa - The Sky Is Falling - LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecordings from 1965-1968, most previously unreleased, by The Individuals, The Tokays and Euphorian Railway, bands that featured Andy Cahan (Johnny Farfisa) as organist and principal songwriter. During those three years, Cahan and his bandmates recorded a set of exceptionally high-quality R\u0026amp;B\/garage\/blue-eyed soul tracks, brought together here for the first time.\u003cbr\u003eGrowing up in New Rochelle, New York, young Andy Cahan enjoyed making horror movies with an 8mm camera and a Wolensak recorder. But Cahan also had a talent for playing the piano and a good musical ear. Like thousands of other young Americans, his life changed on February 9, 1964, the day the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. “I was impressed to see those four boys who sang and played perfectly and had great haircuts, matching suits and really cool boots.” His first surf band, The Jaguars, became The Tokays, after a Hungarian sweet white wine brand. The band began playing some songs written by Andy, inspired by the Beatles and other British bands such as the Zombies and The Dave Clark Five. One of those tracks, the ballad “Where Young Lovers Go,” is included here—a surprisingly mature song for a handful of 17-year-old boys. “Reno Franze and Richie Struts were the lead singers, Sandy Reiner played drums, Larry Kramer played guitar, and I played piano and organ. There was no bass.” Shortly after, Andy made a major change. “The Beatles played guitar, so I had to learn to play guitar or, since I already played piano and organ, imitate Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five on his red Vox organ. That’s when I traded in my old Thomas organ for a brand-new red Farfisa Combo Compact. After opening the box on the living room floor and assembling it, I immediately adopted Mike Smith’s pose. I bought myself some Beatle boots, just like my bandmates, and we changed our name to The Individuals.” By then, Richie Struts had left the band. The Individuals worked hard and soon began to make a name for themselves. “We rehearsed every day until we got so good that we won three different Battle of the Bands competitions in New Rochelle and other cities in Westchester County.” The band also had time to get into the studio in 1965 and 1966 to record demos—most of which can be heard on this album. The hard-driving garage rock track with the Farfisa, “She’s Gone Away,” is one of their finest moments. With its great guitar, catchy organ and compelling vocal melody, “I Don’t Play” is another of the band’s best tracks from this period. In the studio, they tried several versions, one with a 12-string guitar and another—designated the “soul version”—with a darker vocal performance by Reno. Another track worth noting is the powerful “The Sky Is Falling.” The Individuals broke up in 1967 when Larry Kramer decided to go to college instead of pursuing music full-time. Andy, Sandy and Reno stayed together as The Boys In Dutch, adding Jerry Delesio on guitar, and played around the New York area during 1967. After that band ended, Andy decided to start a new project, Euphorian Railway, with Reno as lead singer, Vinny Derminity on guitar and vocals, and Frank McConville on drums. Euphorian Railway entered the studio in March 1968 and, in a five-hour session, recorded material for an entire album. Five tracks are included here, including a powerful reworking of “The Sky Is Falling,” along with great new material such as “She Showed Me.” The influence of the Rascals is evident, especially in Reno’s passionate, Eddie Brigati-style vocal performance, but Andy’s harpsichord adds a distinctive touch, especially on the psychedelic “On My Way To The Sun.” The band did not last long. In the summer of 1968, Cahan moved to Los Angeles, where he soon became known as a keyboardist and arranger, working with people such as Graham Bond, Dr. John, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Harry Nilsson and Flo \u0026amp; Eddie of the Turtles. He was also a founding member of Geronimo Black, along with former Mothers of Invention members Jimmy Carl Black, Denny Walley, Bunk and Buzz Gardner, and Tjay Contrelli, who had been in Love. As for the nickname Johnny Farfisa, it was the brainchild of David Gibson of Moxie Records, who in 1980 released an EP of The Individuals’ mid-60s recordings titled “Johnny Farfisa’s Greatest Hits”: “He gave me the name Johnny Farfisa—the idea came from combining Johnny Rotten and my Farfisa organ!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e\u003cp\u003eLabel: Munster Records\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EL BEASTO","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55792572432711,"sku":"ELBEASTO-9380909842769","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0805\/0475\/0407\/files\/01_33a74fea-09a6-47ff-ad90-4f071bfedd46.jpg?v=1794282862","url":"https:\/\/hcpunk.com\/en-us\/products\/johnny-farfisa-the-sky-is-falling-lp","provider":"Música Autónoma","version":"1.0","type":"link"}