"Psych rock, garage rock, proto-hippy punk ..." The Group Image's, 'HIYA' Community label 45 stood out in 1968. A fantastic B-side clocking in at 6 1/2 minutes, this longer flip side version sounds off like a journey building with speed only to derail and explode beautifully into its' acid-soaked freak-out end.
Through the hundreds of now obscure to rare psych-rock/garage 45s pressed during the mid-to late 60s, New York City's, 'The Group Image,' and their movement in time and place in rock history should be expanded a bit beyond 'HIYA' - the only 45 the group released.
'HIYA' owes much of its' musical journey largely in part to the amazing vocal performance of the group's lead singer-front woman, Sheila Jones aka Sheila Darla.
Sheila Darla's vocal performance on 'HIYA' could place her as a close version to Iggy Pop, Rob Tyner of the MC5, or perhaps the vocal stylings of Patti Smith who would start performing about six years later.
Shelia's vocal here is sort of like a spasmodic speed-fueled Grace Slick crossed with a small dragon or perhaps a wild goose. Her energetic performance and vocal push might be described as exactly where one's head needs to be.
More than just another late 60s acid-rock band, NYC East Village's, 'The Group Image' was really quite literally a "Community."
Their "musical happenings," performances/shows were at the Palm Gardens, the Cheetah Club, the Fillmore East among others.
According to Ray Merry, musician/MC and then director of The Group Image activities from 1967-68, "The Group Image was the first East Coast hippy commune. "
At the height of their popularity the 'Group Image' had somewhere between 25 to 50 members. " Musicians, artists, writers, organizers, technicians, diggers - everyone was included and contributed in someway to their musical happenings, be-ins, public freak-outs, and Group Image Enterprises."
In a tribal sense, The Group Image lead the way, was an integral part or grounding point, to the thousands of hippy kids who invaded New York's East Village during the years 1967-68.
From the Village Voice 'Scenes' column, April - 13 - 1967 :
" THE WHOLE COMMUNAL thing in the hippydelic underground keeps growing and getting stronger. To be " free within the group " is the idea that everyone is responding to. The latest of these loosely knit tribes is the Group Image, who consider sound and light two of the few universal truths.
They probably have no more than 25 actual members, but after a number of highly successful public freak-outs, they are causing a lot of excitement. At these events there is total permissiveness. Each person is allowed to be anyone-musician, frenzy-dancer, flower. It looks a little disorganized at first, but the mass energy being released by everyone doing their own thing loosens up everyone's uptight.
" We say 'yes' to everything," said one Group Image leader. " We are a step-phase organization. We want to turn everyone back on themselves. A lot of people in this thing are bending their minds, and we want to see them bend all the way until they get straight with the world. " "
The Group Image headquarters and workshop was located at 83 2nd Ave & East 5th Street in the East Village.
The Group Image Community Enterprises not only included the band and their own music/record label, but produced light shows, had their own graphics shop, darkroom, boutique shop, and also published their own magazine, 'Innerspace.' They turned out and sold silkscreen prints, posters, paintings, shirts, hats, games, and other psychedelic artifacts.
Not only did they produce graphic work for the band's own publicity, but they did subcontract work for other businesses, including artwork for an ad agency, even a full graphic cover painting for Time magazine's July-7-1967 issue.
The Group Image Community Enterprises even helped fund and sponsor 'Trans Love Energies,' a commune/collective in Detroit, and later in Ann Arbor, Michigan in which the band the MC5 emerged.
Innerspace Magazine - Founded and started in 1966. Published and edited by Group Image member, Linn "Freeman" House - NYC
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'The Group Image' members' cover painting created for Time magazine's 7-7-1967 issue.
Time magazine cover artists and 'The Group Image' members, Roger, Peter, and Jimmy (all Milwaukee to NYC transplants) with friends, and a photograph of an old Indian named Gordon Whitefoot.
Time magazine's 'A letter from the publisher' writes, "They dislike apportioning credit or using their family names..."
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From The Village Voice "Scenes" column - 1967
The Group Image slogan:
"Come to Flushing Meadow and dance on the grave of the Worlds Fair."
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One of the many band announcement ads from their regular music gigs at the Palm Gardens - 310 W. 52nd St. NYC
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Recently came across 'The Group Image's' short bio entry in Lillian Roxon's 'Rock'encyclopedia from 1969:
Interesting and even more curious to find this entry. If 'The Group Image' did "represent American culture" at the Olympics in Mexico - 1968, I've not found any more detailed info. ``````````````````````````````````````````````
'HIYA' is included on 'Mouth In The Clouds,' The Group Image's only LP released circa 1968.
The other nine songs on 'Mouth In The Clouds' have a softer folk-psych sound compared to 'HIYA'.
Never saw them perform live, so always wondered if the songs on, 'Mouth In The Clouds' translate much into how their live shows must have been or sounded? A bit difficult to compare, perhaps more distinct. The other songs on their Community label LP have more of a soft blues folky-psych sound, sort of stripped down whimsy - all a bit less frenzied energy compared to their 'HIYA' 45, but nonetheless still psychedelic.
Their other songs might compare to the sounds of 'Grace Slick and the Great Society' (the early incarnation of the Jefferson Airplane), 'Country Joe and the Fish', or possibly the sounds of the band, 'Elephant's Memory' before 1970.
With their one and only LP, The Group Image were not such a developed LP band, but will be remembered as an all inclusive "live" group or "happening" that was to be experienced in the moment at an exact time in history.
