It seems pretty clear that this was a very early gig...in fact, one thing that occurs to me is Larry seems to be thinking of one specific date. He has no recollection of them playing there was a full band -- so it seems like he was gone by the time of the later Ballroom dates.
What date does Larry think it was?
As to the Standells, What about Tony Valentino, aka Emilio Tony Belilissimo ? (he supposedly owns a Woodland Hills CA restaurant named Bellisimo's) Seems like maybe he'd know when the Standells formed.
I seriously doubt the BBs gig at the Gardens was any earlier.
Considering I replaced Tony Valentino in the band (well, actually, I replaced the guy who replaced him), I'm thinking he might not be very receptive to an inquiry from me!
I wouldn't put an incredible amount of stock in Larry saying there was 4 of them. I wouldn't say he was sure. The one thing I thought was interesting was I would expect him to say there were 5, since that's the way most people visualize the band, so if his memory was vague, I would expect him to say that.
I'm wondering if it wasn't the very first gig. The reason I say this is we have a very narrow window here. Larry was surprised it was as late as '62 because he was moving into the Standells at that point. He also doesn't remember any other gigs, just the one. We have the possibility of four Beach Boys playing as a non-band (which would make sense if Jardine was gone...they'd need a backup band in that case). And the Mixtures session was in mid-February, correct? In fact, if Larry was on guitar for the Mixtures' live session on Feb. 12 at the same venue, it pretty much guarantees that we're looking at the 16th and 17th dates I would think...a plausible scenario is Larry is around in mid-February and then moves into the Standells around that time, so he's gone by March.
If you have contact info for Tony, Ian might want to talk to him, and if not I'll be glad to! I call and talk to guys from the old surf bands whenever I get info/ chance to call, trying to find BBs concert info.
As to Larry: His remembrance of 4 members is a good thing. But I'm wondering about the "only one date" part. Thinking about it, it seems less likley that they played TWO nights in a row. Couple that with the Bob Eubanks quote of paying them to play on a FRIDAY night, and I wonder where the Badman info for a two nite gig came from. Either way, I'm betting the Standells didn't come along until after the show(s) at Rainbow Gardens.
As to the Mixtures recording, I'm under the impression that their LP was recorded live W/O Larry, and his input was added later in a studio.
Ah. Interesting. I can ask him about that. I bet he'll remember the Mixtures thing.
I'm thinking the Standells may have started immediately after the Rainbow Gardens gig. It all fits to my way of thinking...
Larry never said "one date" specifically but he talked about the recollection as if it was a one-time thing. If there were two gigs I imagine he might remember them as one but I like your theory better.
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