When my friend first pulled Anthology '64-'67 out some 25 years ago from his record shelves, I thought it was a Swedish ‘60s band like the Tages. The trio actually conspired with Greg Shaw to throw many for a similar loop with their playful ploy. Co-conspirator Terry Tutor certainly did the leg work for Anthology '64-'67 and made sure influential college radio stations like Loyola Marymount’s KXLU had the 1983 release by patiently braving the 405 and taking it directly to the station himself. As Terry wisely stated, “You do the things you have to do, in order to do the things you want to do.” The record ended up spreading all over the world-mostly by word of mouth. The Numbers can now be added to acts like the Things and the Point who were on the periphery of the L.A.'s Paisley Underground scene, but are finally receiving belated reconsideration and recognition in the 21st century. In fact, Anthology '64-'67 is slated to be reissued by Bachelor Records in 2026. Their surging sound is actually a great encapsulation of stripped-down breakaway power-pop with striking melodies and wrap-around choruses that match up to the Nerves and the Beat along with their undeniable mid-'60s influences.
Anthology '64-'67 L to R: Terry Tutor, Larry Dill, Larry Tutor
Their new recording, Mad Day Out, is immediately appealing from the first play and their years of playing combined with life experiences lends a blanketing sagelike quality. Their current sound can best be described as upbeat sparkling ‘60s influenced guitar-driven pop with bittersweet inflections. As might be expected, they are totally conversant with the masters: the Beatles, Beach Boys and the Byrds. In addition, they have retained their Texas twang and those Everly-esque brotherly harmonies. It’s competently played pop with absolutely no pretensions, which is as refreshing as it is reassuring. The uncluttered and dynamic production, masterfully mixed by Gregory Krueger at Krueger Sound in Sunland, CA, captures and layers their glorious guitar tones. Larry and Terry’s heartland roots pop songwriting, frequently upending clichés, is evocative of Jules Shear-namely "If We Never Meet Again" that was recorded by Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers and Roger McGuinn. The proficiency of the musicianship leans towards pure pop acts like Bill Lloyd, Walter Clevenger & the Dairy Kings and the Spongetones. It’s a sound you don’t hear too much these days, but it certainly has its place in both the congested and contested power-pop scene and the nebulous realms of pop-rock.
Their racing tempos have been obviously tempered by time and circumstances, but their opener “If I Didn’t Have You” is an early indicator that they have retained their rich melodies and harmonies. Be sure to catch those Del Shannon inflections on “At The Speed of Darkness.” It’s hard to name other active bands influenced by Del these days besides the Smithereens and that was actually some 40 years ago. “Autumn” features one of their most indelible melodies and ranks with the best of Roger McGuinn’s solo phase spanning from Back from Rio to Sweet Memories. “Winter's First Green Is Gold” somehow evokes fellow Texans the Sprague Brothers as well as the Beau Brummels, the Cyrkle and poet Robert Frost. The standout backing harmonies on “Until Now,” veers them in the direction of ‘70s bands with streaks of AM radio catchiness in their sound like Orleans with “Still the One" or even Starry Eyed & Laughing. “A Little Time” reflects the big bang of the Beatles and Beach Boys and a little Bach.
On Side B, the album quickly goes from rousing Barry McGuire-ism (“Mad Day Out”) to the fragility of the Left Banke with a lovely guitar solo (“She Is Everything”) before returning to that to that crisp and ringing Roger McGuinn folk ‘n’ roll sound on the outstanding “Postcard.” The album then reaches the beach and moves towards the golden light. “The Coast Is Clear” is a fitting song for the year that Brian Wilson has left us and its gentle sunlit sounds are not too far removed from those of kindred soul Jeffrey Foskett. The last wave is caught with “Billy,” a rousing surf instrumental written for his son (who is the cover star of Mad Day Out). In other good news, they are in the process of recording new material and setting up some live dates to bring their formidable talents back to the stage. Who could have predicted this fortuitous turn of events-whatever year it is!
Top Left-Terry Tutor, Top Right-Voyce McGinley Bottom Left-Greg Krueger, Bottom Right-Larry Tutor
No, it’s not one of those new fangled spellings of Riley that is spotted on a desk during an elementary school open house or even a typo of RIYL. They simply take their moniker from the first initial of each member. From the strike of the first note to the ring of the last, Ryli draw listeners back to a halcyon time that might have never really existed or maybe for just one Unrest song out of 120 Minutes. Yea-Ming’s distinctive voice is complementary to the layers of arpeggiated guitars that are evocative of early R.E.M.-when the Athens quartet connected bucolic country to mid-sixties influenced pop & garage like on Reckoning and Dead Letter Office. Ryli’s jangly pop not only encompasses early-R.E.M., Paisley Underground and Flying Nun sounds, but also sonically overlaps with the vibrant Spanish indie-pop scene of the early 2000s led by bands like Nosoträsh on Elefant Records.
Making a Name for Themselves Ryli quickly separates themselves from the nondescript or “samey” out there with their command of melodies, harmonies and arrangements. (Samey is how we described numerous college rock bands in the ‘80s that jangled like R.E.M., but lacked the captivating melodies needed for memorable songs.) Upon first learning of Yea-Ming’s newest foray, all I was hoping for was for Ryli to merely be like early R.E.M. with better vocals (ha). However, they have vastly exceeded my expectations. Each song delivers top-tier pop brimming with copious hooks and imbued with Yea-Ming’s resonant vocals. With their years of collective experience, they are so far ahead of the fly-by-night bands that receive internet hype-day in and day out. Their varied pathways have converged on this debut record where they have combined their strengths to create a world and sound entirely of their own.
L to R: Ian McBrayer (drums), Yea-Ming Chen (vocalist/guitar), Luke Robbins (bass), Rob Good (lead guitar), photo by Corey Poluk
Green Grow the Rushes
Ryli is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Yea-Ming Chen (Yea-Ming and The Rumours), lead guitarist Rob Good (The Goods), bassist Luke Robbins (ex-Latitude, RE Seraphin), and drummer Ian McBrayer (ex-Sonny and The Sunsets, ex-Healing Potpourri). This lineup quickly coalesced into a band adept at building up and carrying out a guitar-forward sound that catapults Chen’s vocals. In other words, they wield their instruments in an economical, yet evocative way with their instant rapport. “Medicine Speed” is hypotonic, upbeat and unabashed crash pop with the joyous appearance of a bobbing organ solo that appears 3/4th through the song and sustains into the fade. In a way, Ryli's sound resembles the still unheralded Slumber Party debut album from the turn of the century, but sped up and surging ahead with a greater sense of urgency.
First-Call
Yea-Ming’s highly competent and melodic compositions are enhanced by the involvement of Rob Good. The entire band provides the arrangements for Yea-Ming's characteristic yearning and bittersweet vocals that rise from earthy registers to soaring heights. The talented musican is finally receiving overdue recognition from influential outlets like Chickfactor and her mesmerizing vocals are in high demand in the Bay Area for musical projects like Organi as they add lush layers of depth and dimension that enhance the allure of any musical pursuit.
Second Guessing Their solid sound is mainly ‘60s and ‘80s influenced, but with dashes of ‘70s Power Pop & Post-Punk and nods to the messed-up ‘90s when Lush would play in the searing sun-when they should have been headlining American pavilions. Besides the aforementioned influences, hints of Arts & Leisure, Housemartins, Modern English, the Primitives. the Jesus & Mary Chain, Cast, cub, the Cure, the Church and Cinerama can be detected. From these UK and US starting points, their sound follows slightly different paths along their decidedly California-based musical sensibilities. On the pastoral pop title track “Come and Get Me” the coda recedes across the Beach Fossils to return out to the expanses of the sea. Not only do they express the shifting atmopherics of the greater Bay Area, but they also capture the churning rhythm of breaking waves that is undeniably coastal Californian.
Falling into Place
“I Think I Need You Around” is bathed in echo and first-rate melodies like “I Want You Around” by the Ramones. Their melodic arrangements come to the fore on what was their first single and highlight their collective capacity to compose sweeping melodies and instantly catchy songs. Yea-Ming continues to take the sound to unexpected places as “Downtown” radiates charged atmospherics that reminds me of “Havalina” by the Pixies with her Kim Deal-ish delivery. Guitars jangle and twangle radiantly throughout “Friend Collector.” Perhaps this song title is hinting at “Star Collector” recorded by the Monkees (and composed by Goffin and King)? Nonetheless, this dashing song, featuring intersecting & intertwining guitars and strong melody lines, is certainly topical for these distracting times.
Harmonic Convergence
Long time listeners (both of the Hawaiian Getaway and Dreamdate variety) have always known that Yea-Ming has what it takes to write, sing and play stunningly melodic and memorable songs that are attuned to the moment, while also echoing the fleeting and best moments of the past. Now the rest of the world can catch up to this band that is just getting started, but already sound fully-fledged and a step ahead.
L to R: Rob Good (lead guitar), Luke Robbins (bass) Ian McBrayer (drums), Yea-Ming Chen (vocals, guitar) photo by Bobby Martinez
Along with groups like Action Now and the Things, the Point are still one of the more unheralded bands that were on the outskirts of the Los Angeles scene in the early to mid-‘80s. Their overall sound can be slotted somewhere between garage rock revival, power-pop and those Willfully Obscure college rock bands. In fact, their bass player Greg Edwards was a UCLA pre-med student during the time of the band.
Century City Rag
In 1979, the boys from Livermore, arrived in Los Angeles in pursuit of their Golden State dreams. They accomplished step one as they were able to land their 5-song cassette demo in the hands of Greg Shaw. As might be predicted, Kim Fowley then tried to get involved and intervene in their affairs. What’s more, Stiv Bators loved them to the point of even trying to join the group or was it that Fowley wanted Tom Alford and Jon Stebbins to be guitarists & writers in support of Stiv Bators? Nonetheless, a 4-song 10’’ recorded at Mystic Sound Studio reached Joe Nolte of the Last, who shared the recording with friend and bandmate Vitus Mataré. Vitus was in the process of putting together the rakish WarfRat Tales compilation. They landed an appearance on that comp, however it was unfortunately their polarizing jam “Pothead” which would have been better kept to band practice. Their Magic Circle album took shape in spring and summer 1983. It was produced at Radio Tokyo Studio in Venice by Vitus Mataré and recorded by engineer Ethan James.
The Last (Steve Andrews, Vitus Mataré) The Echo-Echo Park, Los Angeles WarfRat Tales (Unabridged) release show-Sept. 2005
Little Brother & Sister Bands of the Last
The Three O'Clock and the Bangs (The Bangles) were typically the openers for the Last. When those two bands broke through and went on to be national touring acts, the Point and Wednesday Week were ushered in as new openers for the Last. Fault Lines Their first and only long player has them all over the stylistic map, which actually may have limited them. Further listens reveal the many striated layers of L.A. scene seeping into their music: folk-rock, rockabilly, garage, roots rock, power-pop, punk, new wave and what went on to be known as Paisley Underground. While they reflected the diversified and sprawling nature of Los Angeles, the lack of an overall consistent sound might have hindered them as a recording act. On the other hand, their malleability might have helped them on the live circuit and cross over to different audiences.
After the so-so mid-tempo title cut, they cover the Sonics’ album cut “Strychnine” which probably stirred up small riots when they shared shows with the Unclaimed and the Crawdaddys. Tom Alford's composition “You’re the Fix I Need” combines the economy and effervescence of Uni-Boys with the dB’s angularity. This is stripped-down canvas sneaker power-pop that could have been a single. Their knack for vocal arrangements and harmonies begin to shine through on this number that also features Wednesday Week’s Kristi Callan on backing vocals. Jon Stebbins would later go on to achieve renown for his well-regarded books on the Beach Boys. Further, the intertwined guitars on the solo explore the territory between Younger Than Yesterday and The Notorious Byrd Brothers.
“All My Life”
In a way, the Point are the consummate compilation band. I first heard the glorious “All My Life” on the Rebel Kind comp. that I found used at Flat, Black & Circular in East Lansing in the early ‘90s. They also appeared on the aforementioned WarfRat Tales and Rhino's Children of Nuggets box set. I do wonder if the welcomed inclusion of the flute in “All My Life” was suggested by producer Vitus Mataré. His flute playing can also be heard on some Last songs as a nod to both the Association and Jethro Tull. You can also hear the song’s possible influence on later UK bands like the La’s and the Lightning Seeds along with the Optic Nerve from New York City. “All My Life” would go on to be heard by ensuing generations and also reach its largest audience when it was somehow included on an episode of the Gilmore Girls television program.
Stampede of Sound Side 2 continues with their version of “I Like Girls” which is a cover of a Gary Valentine (ex-Blondie) song that he recorded with his band the Know. “Someday” starts with doo wop and builds to a dynamic peak to witness an expanse illuminated by lightning flashes and the sound of Love’s “Seven and Seven is” still thundering in the distance. Its rough hewn production makes it sound like it was recorded in a Kleenex box, but it works in context. This song and the adjoining “Street of Warsaw” were recorded at Lyceum Sound. Overall, their only album is an uneven affair, but it does have its shining moments. There has been mention of some unreleased recordings from the Point that were done under the auspices of Vitus Mataré. Perhaps one day, the wider world will be able to hear these additional aspects of the Point.
The Point in Century City, L.A. (L-R) Greg Edwards (bass-vocals), Mike Alford (drums) Jon Stebbins (guitar-vocals), Tom Alford (guitar-vocals)
