THE CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND:
The Chocolate Watchband, is a psychedelic rock and garage rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1965. The band had finally broken up indefinitely by 1970 but then reunited in 1999 at a 66/99 show Mike Stax organized in San Diego. They continue to play today at garage rock shows in Europe as well as the States with Little Steven and the Electric Prunes. The band's music was largely described as a blend of 1960s-style garage rock and psychedelic rock that was influenced heavily by the Rolling Stones. The group's early music appeared to contain blues influences, and later it developed psychedelic elements through use of instrumental experimentation. Ed Cobb was well known as their producer. The band also appeared in the 1967 films Riot on Sunset Strip and The Love-Ins.
POWDER:
San Mateo, California, 1968 – an office block reverberates with feedback and cymbal crashes as the group known as POWDER coalesces, purveying their own brand of Americanized mod-rock with powerful yet melodic pieces such as “Gladly” and “Turn Another Page”. A lucrative opening for Sonny & Cher give the trio an opportunity to record a full album at Los Angeles’ legendary Gold Star, which sadly remains unissued at the time. The musicians move on, but the music survives, and posthumously resurfaces in the 90s, branding the name POWDER as a powerpop cult.
CELLAR DOORS:
Cellar Doors began in early 2010 in San Francisco. The trio consists of Sean Fitzsimmons (Vocals, Guitar, Bass) Jason Witz (Bass, Guitar, Vocals), and Miro Rogulj (Percussion, Vocals). The band is influenced by various forms of art, ranging anywhere from The Velvet Underground to The Stone Roses, Serge Gainsbourg to Spacemen 3, or Hitchcock to Dali. Their name is derived from a J.R.R. Tolkien quote, stating that the phonetic pronunciation of 'cellar door' is beautiful, dissociated from its sense (and from its spelling). However, the words themselves portray a dark doorway to the underground. With this appreciation for both the beautiful and the macabre they create a unique concoction of reverberating rock & roll that washes over you like a psychedelic tidal wave.
The band has shared the stage with the likes of Roky Erickson, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dead Meadow, The Warlocks, Spindrift, Allah-Las, Asteroid #4, Gringo Star, The Records, and have been known to back local legend Cyril Jordan of The Flamin' Groovies on occasion.
Since releasing their debut EP 'The Melody Haunts My Reverie' in September of 2011 they have been playing throughout the Pacific Coast and are currently recording for their next release.