Here's part 2 of the article/interview included with the Misty Lane Dovers' compilation, We're Not Just Anybody. This section highlights the two singles they cut for Miramar Records in 1966.
In The early months of 1966, a shake up in the Dovers lineup occured. Seems the two clean cut guys had had enough of the drug scene and agreed to bail on the group together. Both Goosey and Rick have told me via phone interviews done back in 1995 that it (the band) wasn't fun anymore, and that there were a few scrapes with the law that almost got the whole band in trouble. It was the emergence of LSD, thanks to Robbie, who encouraged everyone to 'trip on out for the good of the band', or something like that. Bruce, always the curious one, took his first hit, and was blown away.
Throwing a Ravi Shankar LP on the hi-fi, Bruce began fleshing out a psychedelic tune that told of his trip: 'magic curtains of green and blue light pass by moon and sky' and 'no wings for my flight, I drift through the night' were two of the lyrical lines which became what Bruce titled 'The Third Eye'. Musically he borrowed the Ravi Shankar style of middle eastern tones, and created the 'tripadelic' riff played as a hypnotic, trance-like break following each verse. Bruce showed it to the band, who were concurrently getting settled with their new drummer, Randy Busby, who vacated his seat in Ernie And The Emperors so that he could, in Bruce's words, "get wasted with his buddies." "I knew Randy from high school, as I've said. he wanted in our band bad, cuz the Orosco brothers were all straight as an arrow. I remember when he came to sit in with us for the first time - we got him loaded, and he still kept perfect time!" A few more suggestions were added and the Dovers had another stellar original, completely unlike anything they had attempted musically to date. Tim came up with another jangly love song, 'Your Love', for the next Dovers 45. But something very strange happened. The radio began playing a song in a similar vein to 'The Third Eye'. Though not as wild, the tune 'Eight Miles High' featured that Ravi Shankar type middle eastern break. Though not anywhere near an exact copy of his tune, Bruce was shocked when he heard the song for the first time: "We had already worked on the tune and everything. A few weeks later I'm in the car and 'Eight Miles High' came on. I was crushed, I thought I had something unique. Oh, well..." And speaking of the Byrds, Bruce did actually come in contact with one caped crusader, or should I say caped egomaniac, David Crosby, during the time of the Dovers. "David Crosby actually was a friend of Robbie Ladewig. Crosby saw us play, since his hometown was Santa Barbara." I had to ask Bruce if Crosby was (in my words) the &*%$@#) people say he was/is, to which Bruce replied, "you bet."
April of 1966 saw the release of 'The Third Eye' / 'Your Love' on the Mirimar label, but this time, the record didn't do as well as the previous two releases. Mysteriously, copies of the single show no writers credit for either tune, probably Cary's shortsightedness rising to the fore again. Gigs were still only once a week "if we were lucky" lamented Bruce. One good show saw the Dovers driving down to Oxnard, the closest venue they ever got to Los Angeles. (Note: Assertions have been made that the Dovers played in LA, and on the Sunset Strip, but Bruce assets that is not the case: "We did go down to check things out from time to time, but we never played in LA. We don't know if Cary tried to get us booked in down there or not either." The Oxnard gig had the Dovers on a bill with a very professional group called the Rising Sons, featuring the soon to be guitar wunderkind Ry Cooder. Perhaps they played 'The Devils Got My Woman', their lone single recorded for the Columbia label. But the stars of the show, recalled Bruce: "...were a bunch of 10 to 12 year old black kids. They were great. They were better than us!" The Dovers also found themselves playing in a big battle of the bands gig at the University of California at Santa Barbara. they finished either third or fourth, depending on who you talk to. "Battles were never good to us, we never one any of those," laughed Bruce.
With 'The Third Eye' never really getting off the ground, the Dovers worked on what was to become their final opus, the astounding 'She's Not Just Anybody', which to the author's ears, showcase the penultimate Dovers tune. Another minor-key melody, featuring Bruce's blonde 12-string Rickenbaker ("A rare bird, they didn't make too many of the model I had") and his reverberated jangly lead on the break that builds to a crashing crescendo, while Randy Busby kicked the skins double time to keep up with the frenzy. Robbie snaked down a fuzz riff on his bass (It didn't sound good with the guitar, so we tried it on the bass" recalled Bruce.), and Tim again emits a haunting vocal which would make the Dovers famous twenty plus years after the fact. Tim also penned another original for the flipside of the single, the defiant 'About Me', which again features his trademark vocal quaver. Bruce also uses the 'harmonic' technique of plucking the strings on the tune, giving it a ringing 'doorbell' like chiming effect.
Released in late May, 1966, 'She's Not Just Anybody' sold better than 'The Third Eye', but failed to match earlier record sales or interest. By this time Bruce was growing disenchanted with the group: "the drugs, while fun, were starting to become a serious hazard toward whatever momentum we would have going. Robbie and Tony began doing hard drugs, which I didn't really know about at the time - I still had a full time job, plus a family. I knew we had something, but Cary started to grow real distant. Neither he or Robbie would show up for rehearsals, stoned out of their gords. I began to cause trouble to vent my frustrations".
No one was more surprised than Bruce when he himself got the boot at the end of the summer: "They decided to kick me out, because I was causing trouble, getting aggravated with the situation and all. So I decided to quit playing altogether. Nick Hoffman replaced me". (Note: This is the same Nick Hoffman who recorded the rollicking 'King of The Moon', and 'Blind And Leaving Blues' on the Miramar label in 1965). Nick says that the band changed the name at this point, but did not really last for any given length of time. A sad end, but oh so typical of the times.
Fast forward to recent years - I confirmed the home base of location for the Dovers as Santa Barbara in 1995 via research, after years of guesses and speculations. A reclusive, hoarding record collector found Tim Granada in the late 1980's and interviewed him for his recollections on the Dovers, but neither I, or anyone else could get this vilified collector to share his findings. I spoke with members of Tim's family, all of whom informed me that Tim had gone through rough times, and had not contacted anyone in a long time. Attempts to reach him have failed. I finally found Bruce after a few years of digging, and after a brief contact, we fell out of touch until the dreaded Napster brought us together again: "I was going through Napster, and I fell out of my chair when I saw Dovers songs up there! I couldn't believe it!" Bruce contacted your friendly proprietor of the Misty Lane record empire, who in turn sent him onto me. We spoke at length for a planned interview, which comprises the basis for this Dovers retrospective.
Thanks again to Bruce for his time, Nick Hoffman for his memories, as well as the other guys I spoke with many moons ago, Tony Rivas, and Rick Morinini. Robbie Ladewig passed away in 1988; Tony Cary died of an overdose in the early 1970's. And Tim Granada continues to elude all who wish to acknowledge his contributions as a member of Santa Barbara, California's folk rock icons, The Dovers.
Mike Markesich
June, 2001
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