1960s Northfield Garage Rock: The Night Crawlers

I was having a chat with an old guy the other day and we came to the subject of local bands that were active in the 1960s. A former student of Carleton College in the ‘60s, he brought up a band that I hadn’t heard of yet–The Night Crawlers. 

The Night Crawlers were a band formed in Northfield, MN in 1965 made up of students from Carleton College and evidently Owatonna High School, too. The lineup consisted of Marc Reigel (Class of ‘67) on piano and organ, Mark Headington (Class of ‘67) on bass, Mike Jines on guitar, Bill Redeker on drums, and Barry Gillespie on vocals.

 

Image taken by David Gray during 1965-1967 uploaded by Carl Grad on Flickr

They released only one 45 in 1966 with the songs “You Say” written by Barry Gillespie and “Night Crawlin’” written by Marc Reigel and Mark Headington. It’s not bad garage rock at all, though it leans more toward folk-rock and has a jangle-pop quality that makes this single stand out a bit more stylistically compared to the other Twin Cities garage bands of the time. 

The Night Crawlers also have a Facebook page and despite having disbanded have gotten back together multiple times throughout the years. There's also a great album of pictures from then and now of the band taken by David Gray and Ken Wedding uploaded on Flickr. 

You Say/Night Crawlin’ (1966)

1960s New Ulm Garage Bands: The Fabulous Depressions and The Shags

I’m not sure how great of a name “The Fabulous Depressions” is for a band, but it’s memorable! 

The Fabulous Depressions

The Fabulous Depressions were a band out of New Ulm (which is small now and was even smaller then) that formed in 1964 and presumably played until around the late ‘60s with their first and only 45 being released in 1967. The original lineup consisted of Phil Groebner on lead guitar, Peter Kitzberger on organ, Jim Dauer on bass, Tom Lindsay on vocals, and John Tretault on drums. Greg DeBerry was also the band’s drummer for some time in 1966, but both he and Tretault left that year and were replaced by John Ginkel of The Shags. Randy Evans was also a vocalist for some duration of time.

“Can’t Tell You / One By One” is a pretty typical ‘60s garage record. Side A looks like it’s an original written by lead guitarist Phil Groebner and bassist Jim Dauer. Side B is a cover of the song “One by One” originally by the Blues Magoos.

Can't Tell You / One By One (1967)

The Shags

The Shags, not to be confused with the many other garage bands across the country that performed under the same name, also hailed from New Ulm and released one 45 in 1966. It contains a cover of “Louis Louis” with not much singing and more of a focus on the guitar. It sounds like they had fun at least, the energy is good despite it being a bit of a slower cover than what you’d typically hear or expect. Side A is a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues,” which I haven’t found or heard yet. I can imagine that they brought a good energy to the tune, likely with more of a focus on the guitar response to the vocals.

Louis Louis (1966)

The Good Idea, Thundertree, and Billy Hallquist

Here’s a single released by The Good Idea, a garage rock band from St. Cloud that formed in 1967 and disbanded in 1968. I couldn’t find too much on these guys, and they only released one 45 in 1968. The Good Idea featured saxophonist and lead vocalist Bob Blank, guitarist Dave Linder, keyboardist John Miesen, drummer Rick LiaBraaten, and guitarist Billy Hallquist. I was unable to find the first track off of the 45, “Patterns in Life,” but did find “Inside, Outside,” which is a pretty solid garage/psychedelic tune. 

Inside, Outside (1968)

Billy Hallquist, Rick LiaBraaten, and John Miesen continued on in the psychedelic rock band Thundertree from 1968 to 1971. They released one album in 1970, produced by the organist/keyboardist John Miesen and with a cover illustration by Ely Besalel, who has had quite a prolific design career. Side two of the record (starting with “1225”) is perhaps a bit more exciting than side one. It ends on a good note with “The Sun is Shinin’ for Me.”

Thundertree

Thundertree (1970)

After The Good Idea and Thundertree, Billy Hallquist released two folk albums in 1972 and 1976. They’re pretty typical ‘70s acoustic folk records and not as exciting as his previous work. The final track off of Persephone titled “Persephone” is good, so if you just listen to one of his songs go with that one. It could be seen as a bit more of a psychedelic folk tune. It wraps up the album in a similar way “The Sun is Shinin’ For Me” wraps up that Thundertree album. The first track “Desert Rats” could be a good listen on a road trip, leisurely stroll, bus ride, or day in the park. 

I’m not as big of a fan of his second album Travelin’, so I’m deciding not to include it here. It’s available on Spotify and YouTube. “Ballad of a Poor Man” is decent, Hallquist is at his best making those longer tracks. You’ll especially notice the religious themes.

Bill Hallquist

Persephone (1972)