For those in the Tucson area, Marshmallow Overcoat has an extra groovy Halloween treat for you:
This Saturday the band will be donning their paisleys and strapping on their Rickenbockers for one legendary performance to mark their 30th anniversary- a Halloween shindig at Tucson’s Screening Room, complete with psychedelic light show. Benefits from the show go to Tucson’s Downtown Radio KTDT 99.1 FM. Costumes are encouraged for all attending, and CD copies of 2014’s Very Best Of Marshmallow Overcoat will be given away for all you groovy trick or treaters lucky enough to attend.
For me Marshmallow Overcoat and Halloween go hand in hand- back in high school when I played in a band, one of the standards of our Halloween setlist was Marshmallow Overcoat’s 13 Ghosts. It was one of my favorite organ lines to play- psychedelic and spooky, while still definitively garage.
This unique sound, combined with the unmistakable vocals of singer Timothy Gassen (dubbed “The Guru of Garage”), set the Tucson, AZ garage rockers apart from other bands during the garage rock revival and paisley underground of the 80s. Formed in 1986, Marshmallow Overcoat released “The Inner Groove” in 1987, and have since become one of the longest enduring acts in modern psychedelia. Over the past 3 decades, the band released 9 albums along with numerous singles and compilations, and have always remained true to their signature sound. Though the band hasn’t regularly played shows since 2008, members of the group are still prominent in the music scene, and 2014 saw the release of the group’s first ever “best of” collection.
The Very Best of Marshmallow Overcoat, released as a 2 LP set on colored vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, is a collector’s dream. The album includes rare photographs, and extensive liner notes detailing the band’s impressive history. The 28 tracks are presented in chronological order, with the essential tracks from each of the band’s albums, psyched-out covers of classics from The Beatles, Love, The Doors, and Tommy Jett, plus 7 tracks never-before released on vinyl. This is a best-of collection which truly captures the legacy of the band and is a perfect compilation of their finest contributions to the modern garage and psych scene over the past 30 years. The LP set was released as a limited edition of only 500 copies, however fans can still purchase a CD copy or digital download here: https://marshmallowovercoat.bandcamp.com
-Written by Sheena Salazar for POW Magazine
sheenacheyennesalazar@gmail.com
