The Imposters - Inside My Head

A. Inside My Head


B. King Of America


IMPOSTERS (Sonoma County, CA)
Inside My Head b/w King Of America
Dublab (DS-003), 1983

The Imposters formed as a three-piece in Sonoma County in 1978. They built a strong following in the Bay area, playing alongside bands like Crime, the Avengers, Dead Kennedys and the Dils. Their first release was the "Night Time TV" EP on 415 Records, which was followed up in 1980 with the "Don't Get Mad" single on the same label.

1980 also saw the release of a compilation album called Alive! Rock City that featured two Imposters tracks. Then another song, "Sounds On The Street," appeared on a 1981 compilation called Rising Stars Of San Francisco. The band spent their time touring up and down the west coast and even made their way out to Texas, playing Austin and Dallas.

1983 marked the release of their first LP, Mask. Two songs from the album were released as a single. The A-Side, "Inside My Head," is an infectiously poppy track that is sure to get stuck inside your head, while the reggae-twinged flipside, "King Of America" sways more in the direction of "Watching The Detectives."

The record received heavy air play across the States, but the band ended up splitting in November of that year.

The Singles - Play It!

A1. Lookin' Round For You


A2. Nicole


B1. Sheena's Got A New Hero


B2. Just Another Girl


THE SINGLES (Santa Cruz, CA)
Play It! EP
Big Cheese, 1983

Rick Gallego grew up listening to the Beatles, Beach Boys and Motown. He got his musical start playing bass in a couple community college jazz bands and rock n roll cover groups before switching over to guitar. In 1982, not long after moving to Santa Cruz, CA, he began putting his own original band together. He wanted to emulate artists like Elvis Costello, The Plimsouls and Paul Collins' Beat, while incorporating 60s-style pop.

Through ads in BAM magazine and bulletins in a local music store, he formed The Singles with Marque Kelsey on guitar, Al Vergara on bass and David Townley on drums. After only a few gigs, Shawn Andrews took over on bass. Rick would primarily write the songs by himself, hoping they'd be as good as those from the artists he loved.

The Singles typically played 4-5 times a week around the Bay area. They built a small but loyal following in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Jose, and San Francisco. In 1983 they went in the studio and quickly recorded four songs for a 7" EP. With financial help from David's dad, they pressed up a batch of what they believe was less than 500 records, with the possibility that it was only 100 or 200. The records were housed in oversized sleeves and came sealed. They sold the records at shows and gave a lot of them away. The local papers gave it good reviews and "Nicole" even got a couple spins on local San Jose station KWSS.

By early 1984 Jeff Smith took Marque's spot on guitar and Joe Laub replaced Shawn on bass. With the new line-up in place, they won a Battle of the Bands competition which helped them get a slot opening for Elvin Bishop at the Halloween Ball later that year.

By 1985 interests started to change and the band split up. Marque and Shawn went on to play in a band called Romp while Jeff and Joe started the Missionary's. Rick went on to form a band called Rickardo's Bandolero's that included a horn section as well as background vocals from Darby Gould who would later replace Grace Slick in Jefferson Starship. Rick then moved to LA to become an R&B songwriter, but that didn't quite pan out. He later recorded and produced music under the name Jiffipop, then later Cloud Eleven. He's also released five CDs of his own music.

Great Buildings - Combat Zone

Combat Zone


Hold On To Something


GREAT BUILDINGS (Los Angeles, CA)
Combat Zone b/w Hold On To Something
Columbia (11-02008), 1981

This single has two songs taken from Great Buildings' sole LP, Apart From The Crowd. The band features former Quick members Danny Wilde on guitar/vocals and Ian Ainsworth on bass. The band formed in mid-1978 but didn't release this single and their LP until 1981. Despite touring and having major label support, they never received critical acclaim and dissolved a year later. Several years after that, lead guitarist Phil Solem and Wilde started up the Rembrandts and had much success with their #1 hit and Friends theme-song "I'll Be There For You."

Both cuts on this single are great power pop intended for the commercial consumer. You could definitely hear how this is the transition between The Quick and The Rembrandts. My copy has the band's name misspelled on the label as Great Building, singular, on both sides. I've only ever seen other ones as promo copies which feature the same sleeve, but "Hold On" is on both sides and the band name is spelled correctly. A 12" also exists that has these two songs along with "Maybe It's You," which is another cut featured on the band's Apart From The Crowd album.

Last week, after nearly 30 years in the vault, the band's sophomore effort, Extra Epic Everything, was finally released on CD, along with a bonus track originally intended for the first record. Also, Mondo Deco, the monumental Quick LP from 1976 was recently reissued by Radio Heartbeat on vinyl!