Comments on: The Sons of Champlin - Fat City

By: Eugene Evon

Eugene Evon — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:50:34 +0000

Thanks for posting that hot Sons track! They had some incendiary moments, and like many SF bands of the era, their magic was often the energy of the live show over the studio work. I’m based in the SF Bay Area, and can tell you that Sons of Champlin guitarist Terry Haggerty is still crankin’ out tasty guitar work, and often plays with his brother and son. I did some work with him in Fact or Fiction about 6 years ago, a short-lived band he put together with SF sax legend Martin Fierro (Sir Douglas Quintet+, Mother Earth, Shades of Joy, Legion of Mary, Grateful Dead, Zero, James Cotton Blues Band, Steve Kimock & Friends, who just passed away 3/13 from lung cancer — http://www.martinfierromusic.com). Fact or Fiction was deep into the funky — their Hammond-meister, Arlan Schierbaum (http://arlan.us/index.html) was gigging with the Pointer Sisters. Yes We Can Can is one of my favorite grooves to crack mainstream. But I digress . . .

Terry’s website: http://www.terryhaggerty.com/
Great guy and quite the character, as you might imagine.

By: W

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:36:32 +0000

Wow! Another great tune. Thanks!

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:12:15 +0000

Boy was I messed up. With all the San Fran references I was thinking “Fat Angel” by Donovan; the song that name checks, and was of course later covered by, Jefferson Airplane. “Hmm…” I say to myself, “why isn’t he putting this on Iron Leg?” Now I know. My Bad! Love the tune anyway.
Thanks!

By: Vincent the Soul Chef

Vincent the Soul Chef — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:31:38 +0000

I’m sold too… and after the rather stressful day I had today, a bit of full on aural assault will help immensely!

By: Planet Mondo

Planet Mondo — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:46:29 +0000

Woah !!! - that’s unrelenting all the fuzz and hammond - tip top reminds me a bit of ‘Nobody But Me’- The Human Beinz

By: Walknthabass

Walknthabass — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:14:42 +0000

Wow! I mean WOW!

This is so different from the Capitol releases (and I love those)!

Thanks! Now I gotta go find the Trident stuff.

By: slystonebio

slystonebio — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:29:16 +0000

Thanks for mentioning Sly and the Family Stone among the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane - two bands he crossed paths with before any of them made it big when they were all working with Tom Donahue at Autumn Records. I write about this and more in my book about Sly. Check it out at http://www.lulu.com/content/1412956

By: funky16corners

funky16corners — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:50 +0000

GG
I don’t know how much of the Sons Trident material is as good as ‘Fat City’, but I’ll surely be on the lookout for the LP (it’s been reissued on CD as well).
L

By: Grocery Grimm

Grocery Grimm — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:44:35 +0000

Hi Larry. Man was I both thrilled and miffed at this posting. I’d seen Sons of Champlin LP’s frequently out here on the West Coast for years, and received encouraging nods and words from friends at their mention. Then, I was at this great little record store in ‘downtown’ Auburn, CA (about an hour and a half north of SF) called Cherry Records while visiting a friend. He had a bunch of Champlin LP’s. Based on what I’d already heard and what the proprietor of Cherry said about them, I just went ahead and purchased their debut, whose title, “Loosen Up Naturally,” struck me well. I was excited about it, and that much more deeply disappointed later that week when I realized I didn’t like it. At all. I played it through a few times, thinking I might feel differently the third time around, but no. I think I was a little pissed off cause I had had high hopes, I liked the cover art and a sense prior to hearing it that this was going to be a keeper. I ended up selling it a few weeks later in frustrated disdain. Maybe the timing was just not right.
Now I hear this track and am bowled over. I should have explored further, but I was just so mad that my first stab at the group didn’t work out. Goes to show persistence pays. Thanks for this, now maybe I’ll go back through and give them another shot. Funny, I just saw some of their records at an estate sale the other week and grimaced. I thought for a brief moment about trying another, but couldn’t pull the trigger on account of the still-lingering bitterness from the inital disappointment.
By the way, out here in Seattle, there’s a Pho joint on nearly every block. Such a rejuvenating, delightful treat. Perfect for hangovers too, but more importantly just generally delicious!
Thanks for the track!

By: Steve M.

Steve M. — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:44:27 +0000

Pho 75 in Arlington, at the serendipitously named Seven Corners. Mmmmmmmm.