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Ghosts of Jam Bands Past

Editor's note- this month our journey into the past does not carry us to 70's Gaermany but rather to 90's New England, as we close our eyes and recall Shockra. If you know of a band that you would like to profile in this section, please contact Sister Mary Carmen- mchimato@ic.sunysb.edu

Shockra Loss
By John R. Zinkand

One mind-altered, hazy, college evening in early 1994, I stepped into a bar called Pearl St. in North Hampton, MA. The music I heard inspired me, made me think, and made me get up and dance. The band was called Shockra, but they disbanded only months later. I packed in as many Shockra shows as I could that winter, which entailed driving all over New England. Boston, Central Maine, Vermont... It didn't matter.

Shockra was the best live bar music around at the time and I was going to catch as many shows as possible. The music, as described by founding member and guitarist Felix Rentschler, was a heavy 'psychedelic funk.' It made you groove. Many elements made up the Shockra sound, however, which could be very complex. Felix could shred a high- energy guitar solo over whatever lilting groove was being laid down at the time. Edwin Hurwitz (AKA Edwin the Bass God) would often lay down loops and play solos over them through sound altering pedals. Dave Watts held down the beat with his funky style of drumming, although John Abel was the original drummer. 'Spaceship' Dan Coutu played the keyboards/organ/synthesizer in a swirling, psychedelic way. He often used voice sound samples over tunes, which helped to make up Shockra's signature sound. Jeff Grove was the original saxophonist/ lead vocalist. He had a deep, syrupy voice that was instantly recognizable. In the final months of the band, however, they lost Jeff and picked up a young and extremely talented saxophonist/ vocalist from Pittsburgh, PA named Korel Tunador.

The band started out playing in 1988 and criss-crossed the New England area for 6 years until they broke up in the early spring of 1994. While their sound could hardly be called diverse, you could count on them for a relentless groove. Their lyrics were always thought provoking and relevant in a down to earth way. They could joke around in a song that asked 'What Makes Ya Feel Good' or comment on the sad state of society today in a song called 'Question Air.' 'Cherokee' was about the plight of the Native American people while 'Underground People' was about powers that be and how they affect the everyday citizen. But their sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful, always funky journey ended in 1994 when drummer Dave Watts said he wanted to call it quits due to personal problems and start anew in Hawaii. Felix reflected on the breakup saying, 'It really crushed me. I tried to get the other guys in the band to agree to find a new drummer, but they said no. It was really frustrating to me.' Since then, the band has reunited twice in the Boston area to play two stellar gigs, the second including some help from a band called the Heavy Metal Horns.

When asked what he does now, Felix says 'I play guitar with the Heavy Metal Horns.' Their new album '4:20 in the Land of Plenty' is due out very soon and contains one rearranged Shockra tune called 'Live Wire'. Edwin and Dave went on to create a short-lived band called 'Skin,' which based itself in Colorado. That band broke up due to Dave calling it quits again. Dan plays with a long named African world beat sort of band in the Boston area, but is currently starting up a more groove oriented project in the vein of Medeski, Martin and Wood. Korel still wails on the sax in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

I asked Felix what were his most memorable events with Shockra. 'I liked opening for Phish in Port Chester, NY in 1991, She said. 'We played at The Front in 1988 as we were starting out, and Mike Gordon happened to be in the bar at the time. He introduced us to a booking agent named Brian Ross and we got involved with Family Tree (booking agency). When Phish wasn't touring, we would go up to Vermont and hang out, party, and play music with those guys. That was great.' Felix thinks pretty highly of Phish saying, 'The thing that really hits me is that the Dead established it [jam band music]. But then Phish came along and blew the door wide open for acceptance of different styles and approaches. I think every jam band owes Phish for that.' When asked about his musical influences, Felix rattled off the names of guitarists like John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, and Alan Holdsworth and then went on to give credit to Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Carlos Santana. Currently Felix listens to MMW, ARU, Phish, and The Slip most often. Although Shockra is gone, you can still see Felix play with the Heavy Metal Horns in the Boston area. He also plays with Jiggle the Handle's Gary Backstrom and Another Planet's Charlie Carozo on RPsychedelic TuesdaysS at Harper's Ferry in Allston, MA.

For more on Shockra- in particular to take a gander at the Shockra musical archives- visit Edwin's site- www.indra.com/~edwin