Morning Reign Say It Once Again

The Morning time Reign interview

It does non happen very often anymore that unreleased music from 50 years ago surfaces.

This is the story of The Morning Reign, a band of young fellas who could have go famous and mentioned in the same breath as The Doors, Eric Burdon & War, and all the other music legends of the Garage-Rock era – if their songs had been released back in the day. Surprisingly, they accept released only four 45rpm singles during their existence although they had recorded plenty material for an entire album. Guild your re-create from Perfect Toy Records.

Where and when did you lot grow up? Was music a large part of your family life? Did the local music scene influence you or inspire y'all to play music?

Ric Seaberg: Greetings and thank you for your involvement in our newly released music from 50 years agone! I was born in Chicago. Where the weak are killed and eaten. Grew up in Portland, Oregon. Went through grade schoolhouse and high schoolhouse there. I'thou sure my mother, residuum her soul, would agree that my interest in music started at a very young age. In fact, on 1 of my personal CDs, "A Thousand Songs", (2009) there is a short track of an bodily argument by my mother, later on I sing a little ditty, at 2 years old, where she says, and I swear information technology'due south really her, " I thought you'd like to hear what's going on around here all the time. Ricky is always singing songs he makes up out of his head". Back in those days our family had a petty "wire recorder", which was how you recorded before tape. That's how mom's statement was preserved. I cherish it.

When I was in high school, The Beatles bankrupt out. I loved their music. But I was as well a person to exist especially taken in by more lyric driven music, Dylan, Ochs, Barry McGuire, Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell, Janis Ian. Always with the lyrics.

When did you begin playing music? What was your first instrument? Who were your major influences?

Yes I was even crooning as a toddler. Music struck me very early. My mother had a big collection of LPs, some albums from shows, like "Oklahoma", "The Rex and I", Donald O'Connor, tracks, and lots of pop music similar Guy Mitchell, Disney records, and the recordings and lyrics of Johnny Mercer. Johnny was ever a flake of a hero to me. When we started The Reign, of form all these influences came through in my writing. Merely too, bands of the 24-hour interval who really impacted me were rockin' local bands The Kingsmen, Don and The Goodtimes, Paul Revere and The Raiders. On the national scene, I loved The Doors, Crosby Stills and Nash, and stuff coming out of England. And merely for fun information technology'southward notable that I knew Don Gallucci of Don and The Goodtimes in loftier school, his bands were awesome. I looked up to him. Well except he wore those super sharp toed black leather shoes. I started playing guitar at around age 14. I have never been a great guitar player. But I use the guitar to write my songs.

What bands were yous a member of prior to the formation of Morn Reign?

We had a fiddling ring in high school, Village and The Dudes, (I was Village haha!) me 'n Danny Haapala, Bruce Hofer, Eddy Nylander, Ken Holstrom, and a guy from another high school whose name I don't think, and nosotros actually recorded a few songs at a Portland studio, my songs "Brand Her Your Own" and "Second Love". Which fortunately for yous, you will never hear. Another vocal Danny had written, "Take You Been Listening", was the A side. Though these recordings may still exist somewhere at the bottom of my closet, I remember it'southward interesting to note that many many years later on I recorded "Have Yous Been Listening" with my later and awesome guitarist Timmy Ellis, we rocked information technology, hither's a link.

Can yous elaborate the germination of Forenoon Reign?

The booklet that comes with the new Forenoon Reign CD contains a lengthy passage I wrote which pretty much describes the band formation:

"In the summer of 1966, before Ric Seaberg would be entering Willamette University In Salem, Oregon, he was slated to attend a new student "campover" orientation that would final for several days. On the very kickoff day he met Gene Heliker, since he had seen him slingin' a guitar around the campground. It took maybe ten minutes for them to commencement crooning together and from that day and for the next v years, Gene and Ric would be playing music together.

In time Factor and Ric fell in with Willamette students Craig Chastain and Doug Heatherington. The four formed the nucleus of The Morn Reign, and over the years The Reign experienced several personnel changes, closing 1970 with Gene Heliker on lead guitar and vocals, Doug "Shadow" Heatherington on bass, Craig "Cac" Chastain on rhythm guitar and vocals, Jay Steven "Lilliputian Stevie" Tate on drums and vocals, Larry Sieber on organ/keyboards, and Ric Seaberg on guitar and vocals.

They worked hard, attempting to make a go of it. For several years, with nearly non-cease gigging beyond the Pacific Northwest and California, even venturing every bit far as Aspen, Colorado, they each nerveless a paycheck on Monday, written by their leader and banker, Cac. During their last couple years, with the players mentioned above, they lived in Seattle and proficient almost everyday they weren't on the route, learning covers, and writing, arranging and recording original songs."

When and where did Morning Reign play their first gig? Do you retrieve the kickoff vocal the band played? How was the ring accustomed past the audition?

After we Willamette University students formed the ring, we practiced in the basement of "Delta Tau Delta" fraternity for a short while, then I am pretty sure we played our get-go dance in The Willamette U. gym, which was well attended past students, doing songs similar "Gloria" and "Louie Louie". Then, after nosotros formed a friendship with Oregon Music Hall of Fame promoter Ed Dougherty, we began playing dances and concerts all over the northwest, in armories, high schools and colleges, bars, halls, yous name it. Once we played a costless afternoon concert for Ed, at an Oregon school/ habitation for women who had been in trouble with the legal system. The stage was shut to the audience and the hall was crowded. That was the beginning fourth dimension I ever saw 2 women buss passionately. It was awesome.

What sort of venues did Morning Reign play early on? Where were they located?

We played in every armory and Odd Fellows Hall and Elk's Club and on and on for our first couple years. We were traveling every weekend and sometimes during the week. Going to college at the same time was difficult to say the least. Cac (rhythm guitar and vocals) was slightly older, and would presently graduate, which he did! Doug (bass) was a year younger than Cac just he also graduated before we hit the road total time. Merely Factor (we were even younger!) and I eventually left college at that time. Cuz rock'n'roll!

So I gauge every ring is different as far as what kind of show they have, or how they behave while playing a gig. I do not remember 1 could describe The Reign on phase every bit "reserved". I think perhaps a better term would exist, hmmmm, "an explosion of motion and sound". Nosotros got into information technology. We had a boom performing and playing. Raucous. Loud. Electric. I think that's fair.

How did you determine to employ the proper noun "Morning Reign"?

Cac came up with the name. Nosotros had some other possibilities on the tabular array, simply they all paled in comparing. ("Peanuts and the Warm Puppies"?!!:). Later, peradventure a couple years into it, we discovered that there was a pop band in California going by the name "Mourning Reign" spelled with a "u". We had heard they were damn good. However, in a rockin' boxing of the bands, jus' gonna say correct here, we would kicked their distressing ass.

What influenced the band'south sound?

We were 6 musicians from dissimilar backgrounds, all coming of age in the 60s. We all had our personal favourites, but the affair we all had in common was a love of a stiff backbeat and solid rhythm. Whether we were playing a cover or an original, we were rockin' the house. Our "original sound" was due to and then many influences, not just other bands. By the time we quit playing live nosotros were doing effectually 75% original tunes. As the main lyricist I was influenced by everything from a bad human relationship to a bad pizza.

Yous released four singles. Would you like to tell us about those 4 singles?

When recording covers, similar "Anyhow That Yous Want Me", and "Lucille", we tried our all-time to give the vocal our ain special treatment that emphasized our strengths, change upwards the arrangement, maybe add together some vocal harmonies. The commencement single we released featured 2 originals, "Please Cease" and "Say It One time Again", both written by Geno and I, and recorded at a modest Salem, Oregon studio.

Nosotros released it in Salem on our ain characterization and it received some airplay in the Pacific Northwest. Sales were brisk at gigs. In 1968, we traveled to LA to practice some recording, and while at that place, played a gig for Casey Kasem. When we were on break, Casey came into the dressing room and said "Guys, I heard you do that song "Anyway That You lot Want Me". Guys, that is a hitting correct there. You need to record that vocal ASAP!" And so he says, "The last time I told anybody to tape a song I told Cannibal and the Headhunters to record "Land of a Grand Dances!", which, you may be able to imagine, pretty much blew our commonage minds off the map. So we rushed domicile to Salem where we withal lived and recorded that song immediately. The B side was our own strange psychedelic version of The 4 Tops "Reach Out I'll Be There". My belatedly son Blaine, who was an expert on all things Motown, used to beloved to tease me about how we had bastardized that vocal haha! To which I would reply STHU! Turns out, our recording of that song has received many positive reviews over the years. Next upwardly we covered a couple more songs, at Garland Recording Studio, in 1969, putting our own twist on J.J Jackson's "But It's Alright" and Tommy Roe'south "Everybody". Both sides garnered some airplay in the Northwest. Call up, this was in the days where a band could arrive in a town in America to throw down a gig, but before yous become to the venue to set, you stop by the teeny radio station in Colfax, Washington, or The Dalles, Oregon, or Smashing Falls, Montana, or Pochatello, Idaho, shake the disk's paw, requite him a 45, and then you exit the station. But before you get to the hall, you're listening to the damn record on the radio! Those were the days!! Our fourth unmarried "Can I Believe in You?" was a Dennis Lambert ("Ain't No Woman Like The One I've Got", "Rhinestone Cowboy", "One Tin can Soldier", many others) penned song. We were asked by Dennis to piece of work with him, and got ourselves to 50.A. pronto. Factor sang lead on that record, and did a great job. I sang the flip side of that record, "Tomorrow Morning's Beloved".

Although you had recorded plenty fabric for an entire album, back then you didn't manage to release it.

You know I am just gonna say there'due south 2 reasons. The showtime is, in the 60s and 70s, it price a lot of coin to do a full diddled LP projection. And then a band liked the Reign, basically living from paycheck to paycheck, and without any twenty-four hours jobs, was probably going to have to get a sizable record bargain from a company similar Capitol Records to practise an LP project, and that just never happened. When our fourth single release "Can I Believe in You?" was picked up by Paramount, we were pretty shut to getting an LP project deal. But the single, though it reached 'bubbling under' condition in Billboard, was not a major hit. And we never got that record bargain. Also, to have financed an entire xv vocal LP project by ourselves, dorsum then, would simply be too costly!

All of us in the Reign are a bit awestruck and even emotional about the fact that Perfect Toy discovered this music and has been then enthusiastic most it. To us, information technology's nada short of a phenomenon!

How do you lot experience that later so many years your music will be available?

We are all so very grateful to Perfect Toy. We think the songs that they selected and the mastering work is just splendid. They've taken our one-time tapes and dusted squad off and turned them into gold as far as we're concerned. Nosotros couldn't be happier!

Would yous share your insight on the albums' tracks?

For starters, Geno and I were the main songwriters in the group. For sure, my main contribution was the writing. When I listen dorsum to the songs afterward all these years, I know exactly which lines I wrote. And I volition never be able to thank the guys enough for like-minded to acquire my songs and play them with such creativity, enthusiasm and conviction. And soul. OMG listening back to these music tracks, those dudes could blow. With the ear buds on, I am transported right back onto that stage, standing solid with my brothers, dancing, working hard for our audition. And killin' it.

What happened after the band stopped? Were you still in touch with other members? Is any fellow member still involved with the music?

Yes, still in bear upon with the guys, we occasionally discover a manner to get together to talk, get something to consume, attend a concert. Both of our keyboard players, our start, the astonishing Bob Baker, and our later keys player, Larry Sieber, accept slipped this moral curlicue. V of us communicate regularly past email or messaging. It's corking!

Looking dorsum, what was the highlight of your time in the ring? Which songs are you most proud of? Where and when was your most memorable gig?

Tough question. I retrieve the guys would hold with me that, coming of age together, traveling together, rehearsing, creating and doing shows together, all of it. Wow. Information technology was an amazing time for all of united states. Hither is a list of the bands nosotros opened for or shared the stage with in the 6 years we were together:

The Dave Clark Five

The Immature Rascals

The Doors

The Buckinghams

Buddy Miles Express

Iii Dog Nighttime

The Turtles

Dino, Desi and Billy

Spencer Davis Group (with Winwood)

The Gauge Who

Vanilla Fudge

Rick Nelson

1910 Fruitgum Company

The Liverpool 5

The Hudson Brothers

Albert Collins

Elvin Bishop Band

The Box Tops

Th American Breed

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart

Chad and Jeremy

The Kingsmen

Paul Revere and the Raiders

The Sunrays

Don and the Goodtimes

Jay and the Americans

Gary Lewis And the Playboys

The McCoys

Thank you for taking your time. Concluding word is yours.

To me, the best thing nigh being in The Reign, during our 20'south, was how much we loved and supported each other in our work, traveling together, living together. Nosotros had a mission, a mutual goal, to be a great rock band. Forth the mode nosotros experienced so much together, created original music together, broke staff of life together, played the lowliest venues in the Northwest, and the biggest. We all think dorsum in our time together with total fondness. These guys are my brothers. To have our music finally put out on an international label is an amazing feeling. We shall forever be grateful.

– Klemen Breznikar

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