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JOSEPH
PUSEY INTERVIEW
Joseph Pusey released a privately pressed LP in California 1977 which has
become a favorite among fans of rare psychedelia. The album, which has not yet been
reissued, could be described as UK-style progressive folkpsych
reminiscent of the Incredible String Band, with the arrangements and playing
displaying a remarkable talent. Earlier in 2002 I hooked up with Mr Pusey
via the Internet, and rounded up some questions for him to ponder.
Q: Could you
say something about your background and early years, with
relation to playing/listening to music, musical training...
JP: Well, I was born and raised in So. California, and mostly lived on the
Palos Verdes peninsula, overlooking the ocean and beaches, and the entire
L.A. basin. I am #4 of 6 kids, with 2 very supportive, intellectual parents
that actually listened to me when I begged them for a guitar from the time I
could first speak. I got my first real guitar when I was 7 and pretty much
played whatever I could get my hands on after that; strings, winds, keys,
you name it... We listened to all different kinds of music and played a wide
variety in the early 60's; my oldest brother John Pusey played in a surf
band, I played Folk, and we played just about everything else at family
gatherings... I was a music junkie from the word go... Being children of the
60's we also experimented with everything else as well...but music of all
kinds has always been my centerpiece, so to speak...
Q: Your LP
seems inspired by traditional British music - is this your main
interest, or something particular to the "In my lady's chamber"
era?
JP: This album was written mostly during 1973, the imagery and some of
the
music inspired from my experiences working the Renaissance Faires in
Northern and Southern Cal. It was also the same year I got together with my
first wife Nickie (aka the Lady Nicolette) and was sort of my love token to
her at the time... Steep heavily in some great acid, and there you are...
Q: Do you
recall any details from the album sessions?
JP: "In My Lady's Chamber" took approximately 100 hours to
record and mix. It was recorded on a Stevens 3-m 16 track on Ampex 2 inch
tape and mixed down to 1/4 inch for post-production.
Q: What type
of (contemporary) music has inspired you, any particular
artists in folk and/or rock music? What qualities do you
look for in music?
JP: My favorite stuff is music that gets my heart and soul right away,
and then I tend to go back and listen again for other more musical,
lyrical qualities, and then even later, the more technical side . My first
instinct, however is emotional, no matter what the genre... I thought I
would answer the first part of the question with kind of a top 10 list
of favorites, some well known, some more obscure, and so on...
1. Twelve Dreams of Doctor
Sardonicus-- Spirit
2. Astral Weeks-- Van Morrison
3. Wee Tam and the Big Huge-- Incredible String Band
4. Long Time Comin'-- The Electric Flag
5. Apocalypse Across the Sky-- The Master Musicians of Joujouka
6. Two Weeks Last Summer-- Dave Cousins
7. Side Trips-- Kaleidoscope
8. Shine on Brightly-- Procol Harum
9. Escalay(The Water Wheel)--Hamsa el Din
10. Passion Play--Jethro Tull
This is really just a small sample
of things I enjoy from the past ...my
collection is fairly weird and diverse and probably stuff that I still
listen to off and on.
Q: Could you
say something about the cover design of the LP?
JP: The front cover was a photo of me and Nickie, shot by my brother
John Pusey,and airbrushed by him to give it the fantasy/psych look.
Originally, the colors were more blues and greys mixed, but was a little too
rich for the budget at the time to print in color. The layout and front
cover lettering were also done by my brother. The back caligraphy and center
disc label were done by David Hurst, although he went by his middle name
Dohn for the credits. We also played in 2 bands together, Twelfth Night (
along with Joy Sassoon and Joel Plimmer ) and another band called Mistress
Quickly, but that's a whole other story for another time...
Q: Were you
involved in any recording sessions (your own or others) prior
to making the 1977 LP?
JP: There are several things over the years from the late 60's
through
the 70's that were recorded in various bands and line-ups...very few things
ever made it to vinyl or got released at all. I'm still in the process of
tracking it all down,and archiving it to digital before the old tapes
completely disintegrate;hence my interest in tracking down folks from those
times...I know you would appreciate the more electric sound since you have
only heard the acoustic side so far...
Q: You
mentioned earlier working with member(s) of Love and Kaleidoscope. Could you
elaborate a bit on this?
JP: Living in the L.A. area back then, I use to run into all sorts of
people,played with lots of folks,but my main associate from Love is Gary
Rowles who was there lead guitarist on the European tour and the False Start
album, the period of there involvement with Jimi Hendrix...Gary's
father,Jimmy Rowles, incidentally, was a famous jazz session player (piano)
that played with the likes of Billy Holiday, Charlie Parker,ect...Anyway,
Gary lives here in Corvallis,Oregon and owns a studio here.We work together
off and on and he has engineered many live shows,recordings,and played
fretless and acoustic bass guitar on some of my stuff...Great
person,wonderful talent and resource...
I first heard Kaleidoscope back in the 60's in L.A. I loved the sound and
their inventive way of combining instruments and mixing influences. It's too
bad they never got the true credit they deserved... I got to know Sol
Feldthouse off and on from the mid-east dance scene and music camps in
California, played at various fairs and festivals, true character, soulful
musician, multi-faceted person. David Lindley is also a friendly
acquaintance..
Q: You also
worked a lot with Gary Creighton of Yellow Autumn...
JP: Gary Creighton from Yellow Autumn was my best friend for many years and
we shared many magical times, played in several bands and co-wrote many
songs together as well. I am sad to say that he passed away in 1982 from a
congenital heart problem... He was a truly unique poet and great person, and
is sorely missed by all who knew him...
Q: What is
your association with Fischbach & Ewing, who did "A Cid
Symphony"?
JP: I've known Ernie Fishbach since the
late 70's, wonderful musician, great person. Played folk and world, lot's of
mid-east dance stuff. I talked to him the other day and he thought it was
cool that the music from those times was being re-discovered and released
again. Always have a wonderful time when we get together and play... From
what Ernie told me,I gather that the A Cid Symphony record was a series of
jams that they would stop afterwards and say, "OK, what do you want to
call that one?"
Q: Looking
back, do you have any general impressions/thoughts of the late 60s/early 70s
psychedelic era on the west coast, both in terms of music and culture?
JP: I think if you lived in those times, it's somewhat gratifying to
realize how much of the music and the positive side of culture owes to that
era. The music ,no matter how unknown or obscure influenced even those who
did not necessarily understand or approve of what was going on; not to
mention some of the great explosion of art and poetry by so many... The
spirit still lives on actively with many of us, some in disguise, some
not...
Q: Let's move
on to your post-1977 career...
JP: In early 1978 we moved from So. California to Oregon, mostly to
get away from the the big city and try out a more rural lifestyle. I kept
playing small solo gigs around, and eventually was approached by Michael
Beach, and Brothers of the Baladi was launched... After 12 years, 3
(released) albums, and quite a rollercoaster ride, I had had enough and left
in 1990 to pursue other interests... All during this time, I also played
solo, worked on various projects with my brother John, and wrote lots of
songs... I met my wife, Kameal in 1982 because of the Belly dance scene, we
got together and the rest as they say is "herstory"... Anyway, we
produced 5 shows at Majestic Theatre here in Corvallis in the 90's, with
Robaire Nakashian on drums. Portions of these became Sands of Night and
Sands of Night II.
Q: How do you
feel about your "Lady's chamber" LP today?
JP: I think it holds up as its own thing, although I've been down so
many musical paths, before and since. Recording that album taught me a lot
about focusing my energy in the studio and integrating the studio itself as
part of the sound... Hal Hellerman made all that possible and was the best
engineer for the project... I feel very lucky and grateful to everyone
involved... truly a magical time...
In early February 2004, Joseph Pusey
passed away "in his sleep, with a smile on his face". He was only
48 years old. Hopefully his music will become more widely available in the
near future. Rest in peace, Joe.
- Patrick
Band timeline, courtesy of Joseph Pusey:
* The Strawberry Roan - 1968-69 Folk-rock-blues-psych
* Creiseypughton- 1971-72
Folk-rock-psych-band, with Gary Creighton, Joseph Pusey and John Pusey
* Yellow Autumn Orchestra- 1972 2nd
version of this band, the 1st in the late 60's had Gary Creighton on drums,
and had a record deal that never went anywhere. The 3rd you know about
already...
* Ribbongrass-1973-75
Folk-rock-psych with John Pusey, Joseph Pusey and Gary
Creighton
* Mog Ruith-1974-76 Very eclectic
and strange folk-psych band with myself, Gary Creighton, Erb Swanigan, and
Joy Sassoon ...
* Mistress Quickly-1974-77?
Prog-rock-psych - Led by Tom Kelly from the original Yellow Autumn, Gary C.
and I were members off and on and good friends. Dave Hurst played keys and
drums...
* Twelfth Night-1976-78
Prog-folk-rock-psych-This band included Joel Plimmer, Joy Sasoon. Gary Goss,
and Dave Hurst off and on. Good times and great music, formed at the same
time I was working on "IN MY LADYS CHAMBER", played at the album
release concert party, Dec-23 1977...
Here are a few more words on what Joseph has done since the 1970s, from a record
label website promoting a recent CD of his:
"Joseph Pusey is truly an amazing musician. His multi-instrumental
talent spans the globe. From a solo acoustic traditional folk set, to exotic
string and wind instruments from Turkey and the Middle East, all the way to
a complete Middle Eastern experience with his partner of many years, dancer
Kameal. Pusey is one of the most diverse musicians on Unisun's roster.
Schooled and trained in music from childhood, he spent many years honing his
craft, driven by the fascination with Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and
other exotic rhythms and their subsequent instruments. An accomplished
multi-instrumentalist and percussionist, he can take his audience wherever
they wish. An experienced performer, he knows how to read a crowd and posse!
sses the repertoire to adjust accordingly. Over the years, he has performed
both solo and with full bands. His current efforts focus on promotion of his
recent CD release, as well as recording and performing his original solo
material due to be released on CD this year. For an up-beat, crowd-pleasing
experience, Joseph Pusey, Kameal and Friends can't be topped."
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THE LADY NICOLETTE SPEAKS
This
is "the lady" of Joseph Pusey's 1977 album, Joseph's then wife
Nicolette. Below are some of her memories of the era in her own words, along
with reflections regarding the Yellow Autumn LP, which she hadn't heard for
many years when I sent her a CD-R of it. "Joe" is Joseph Pusey,
Gary is Yellow Autumn band leader Gary Creighton.
Joe
and Gary used to do "Mithril Melon" as an intro, often starting
from the back of a club with Joe playing two recorders simultaneously.
And I especially enjoyed hearing "Wooden Table Fable" again,
my personal favorite of the recording (it also shows their strong
influence by the American Kaleidoscope in the intro part). This was a song
that would have been typical of Joe and Gary playing together, with the
raga-like feel of the intro and Tony Selvage's playing is so lovely on it.
And of course, Gary was a great poet and the excellence of his craft
really is highlighted here, I think. "The Druid" and "Keeper
of Fantasy" were always played together, The Druid being a kind of
intro. "The Keeper of Fantasy" was played in many
variations, from Joe and Gary as an acoustic duo to a full on ensemble piece
with Mistress Quickly.
I didn't remember that "Erb" was on the recording. He worked with
Joe and Gary, moved with us up to Chico, CA in about 1975. His given name
was Herb, of course shortened to "erb," a nice guy and talented,
too. We opened up a coffee house (so far ahead of our time!) that we called
"The Oracle Of May," which was the title of a poem that Gary had
penned and received numerous accolades from. Joe may remember the poem
verbatim (Gary's nickname for him was "Joseph Brainchild.")... The
poem opening was:
somebody ate the fork in the road
and now there is only spoon-fed madness, the home-spun, blood-let kind
When we were in the process of
opening the coffee house, we serendipitously ran into this guy that turned
out to be Bob Thompson, who we promptly dubbed, "Ob, Son Of Thomp,
Who-Lost-His-B." I'm sure that "Captain Thompson" was done in
Ob's honor.
Gary additionally had a lovely song,
called, "Mary," that he used to perform with Joe (and
incidentally, with Mistress Quickly). He used to do quite hilarious takes on
this and other songs, twisting the words, spontaneously and totally off the
cuff.
Tony Selvage was a violinist who
used to paly at the Renaissance Faires in Southern California. He would
accompany a woman, who I remember only as "Carol," who played the
harp and who inspired me to take up the same instrument. Their
collaborations were truly magic.
A
couple of items on "In My Lady's Chamber" that are fun are that
"A Cotton Tale" was about my coyote/dog, Cotton and "Blue Jay
Preacher" was partially inspired by my great aunt up near Mendocino who
used to call blue jays "preacher birds," because they were
always screeching, like old-fashioned fire and brimstone type preachers, she
said. And inspired also by the Renaissance Faires.
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