Bad Liquor Pond is a 4 piece psychedelic rock group hailing from Baltimore, Maryland. Originally
formed in late 2005, the band roster currently sees Dave Gibson on Guitar/Vocals, Poridge Blackwell on Bass, Alex Strama on Guitar and Paul Fuller on Drums.
In 2006 the band contributed a song to the “Turn on Your Mind” compilation released by Psilocybin
Sounds in the U.K. along with other widely known psychedelic acts including The Quarter After (with members of the Brian Jonestown Massacre The Asteroid #4, etc.)
Through the rest of 2006 and 2007 the band constantly played shows and worked on recording and after
releasing their debut album “The Year of the Clam” in August of 2007 on Baltimore’s MT6 Records, Bad Liquor Pond embarked on a small tour of the north east coast and in the following months gained attention from local, national and international outlets.
August 8th, 2008 marked the release of Bad Liquor Pond’s 2nd album “Radiant Transmission”
(Morphius Records / MT6 Records). This album branched off from the drone oriented mystical vibe of the first record and follows the band further along their journey into the depths of modern psychedelic rock and roll.
Bad Liquor Pond’s sophomore offering draws from even more influences, incorporating elements of
rhythm and blues, garage rock, psych pop and Americana. "Radiant Transmission" was met with positive reviews and the band continued playing through 2009 in support of the record, playing with national acts such as Spectrum, Glasvegas, Spindrift and Heavy Hands.
At the end of 2009 the band released the single "Let the River Come" on 7" vinyl b/w "Electric Splash".
January 2012 marked the release of Bad Liquor Pond's most recent full length effort "Blue Smoke Orange Sky" which is available online in physical and digital formats and in fine record stores.
The group released 3 albums, and one 7" by the end of 2012. The next year the band went on an indefinite hiatus with songwriter, Dave Gibson working with new musicians and recording a full length album "MORELS: Drift" (2015). Dave began writing and recording again in 2020, with 2022 marking the release of "American Medicine".
IT'S PSYCHEDELIC BABY MAGAZINE (Interview)
LINE - UP
Dave Gibson - Guitar/Vocals/Sitar
Poridge Blackwell - Bass
Alex Strama - Guitar
Paul Fuller - Drums
BAD LIQUOR POND - The Year Of The Clam 2007
Bad Liquor Pond had laced together a hazy comfortable warm mixture of psychedelic shoegazer and
indie pop that swirled around my head like the aurora borealis, creating a twilight atmosphere of visionary splendor. And while they don’t stray too far from the pioneers of the neo-psychedelic movement, Spacemen 3 and Brian Jonestown Massacre, it certainly was a breath of fresh air to hear a new take on the sounds that were laid down so many years ago.
Bad Liquor Pond – The Year Of The Clam
Label: MT6 Records – MT6065
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. Apparitions 3:02
02. Molten Angel 3:22
03. The Panther's Den 3:48
04. The Begining Meets The End (Verse One) 5:14
05. Black Clouds Rising (Verse Two) 4:00
06. Honeycomb 3:59
07. The Year Of The Clam 1:29
08. Autopilot 4:07
09. Waves Of Nightengales (Verse Three) 5:35
10. Emperor 2:59
11. Hourglass 6:55
Flac Size: 298 MB
BAD LIQUOR POND - RADIANT TRANSMISSION 2008
Just off I-40, where the New Mexico horizon meshes with the sky, there’s a roadside cafe, and at times,
or so I’ve been told, creates a vortex of sorts, where minor manifestations have been said to occur. And while I don’t necessarily subscribe to such notions, I did take notice of the dusty character who walked into the diner, asked the waitress something, and she pointed directly at me. He shuffled down between the counter and the booths, leaned on the corner of my table rubbing the edges of his mouth with his thumb and forefinger, and said, “You need this, it’ll save your wasted soul,” pulling a rather tattered copy of Radiant Transmission out of his pocket, and slapped it on the table, along with a small quantity of mushrooms that were just there for the ride ... and then disappeared into the bathroom. Yeah, you
might say my mortal curiosity was raised, and after a moment or two, I slid aside my bowl of chili, took my fork and pushed at the CD gently. As I sat back, the waitress walked over and refilled my ice-water, saying, “You ought not to be so bold with those things, there are folks who don’t take kindly to substances,” brushing the shrooms into a small brown paper bag. “They’re not mine," I smiled back at her, “that guy who just walked into the bathroom left ‘em.” “What guy,” she asked? “No one here but us.” And she was right, when I looked, there was no one there.
Bad Liquor Pond – Radiant Transmission
Label: MT6 Records – MT6086
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2008
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock
TRACKS
01. Rabid Ashes 2:57
02. Motor Shake 3:15
03. Pain Killer 4:34
04. She Came In Heavy 4:36
05. Sun Fingers 3:54
06. Soothsayer 6:04
07. Rolling Hills 2:11
08. Collision 3:31
09. Prayer Song 3:20
10. Skylab 4:19
11. Saccharine 3:12
12. Village Of Kings 4:05
13. The Golden Tooth (In God's Crooked Smile) 7:48
Flac Size: 360 MB
BAD LIQUOR POND - BLUE SMOKE ORANGE SKY 2012
Complete with layers of dreamy vocals and off the wall lyrics that are held in check with jangling blues
influenced guitars, harmonic, jaw harp and etherial organ ... their presentation is fresh and flawless. It's like a lost treasure. It's one of my favourite neo-psych albums, along with the People's Temples, 'Sons of Stone' , another fantastic record (which is at least available on vinyl).
Bad Liquor Pond – Blue Smoke Orange Sky
Label: MT6 Records – mt6128
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2012
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock
TRACKS
01. The Crescent Ship 3:52
02. Hallways 4:47
03. New Reality 3:49
04. Apocalyptic Love Jam 4:59
05. Great Planes 4:17
06. Silence In You 1:59
07. Down With Barrel Fever 3:01
08. Blue Smoke Orange Sky 3:40
09. Electric Splash 3:39
10. Echos In Amber 4:40
11. Nothing Surreal 6:18
Year of the Clam ... Oh, Kostas, we're dying over here ... of laughter. What a name! Like Year of the Cat? Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat band, excellent post! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAlso a GREAT band and unfortunately far too unknown, which hopefully changes with this entry. I was looking for the third one, very rare, for almost 2 years until i got it from the USA.
ReplyDeleteFor my opinion their third album is the best. An absolute Psycho gem!
DeleteI can't say anything about that now.
DeleteI would have to listen to all three again.
All i know is that i liked the band overall
and found it very likeable.
For me, in addition to the main thing, it is always important whether the band correspond to my aesthetic ideas. Nothing disgusts me like an ugly band. The English bands mostly are. How they look, whether they have charisma etc....my first impression....
ReplyDeleteBesides everything else music is of course the most important thing which is what i wanted to say in the last entry. But when i look at the photos of people from the old bands who have done reunions over the years, it's just terrible. Not only is the music terrible, but so is her apperance. A single embaressement. There is no shame in getting older. The only question is how. Once you get to a certain age, you should stay away from the stage. And it's also true that today's bands don't look nearly as good as they used to.
ReplyDeleteAdded to this is today's audience. Old geezers next to the grandchild who love the same music. That i had yet to experience that. ( well the last time i went to a concert was in1987). Then stage, lightning....enough there would be no end to my tirades
ReplyDeleteThe Zombie do-cd singles was in Erwin's collection. Was surprised how good it is.
ReplyDeleteI have singles they are scalled and not in the same quality. A very nice edition.
Wow! Thank you for turning me on to this group.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you find these bands but I love it. Your blog is one of the best music sites out there, I've discovered a lot of artists I'd never heard of before.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
I love your blog, it's introduced me to a lot of good music I'd otherwise never hear about.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you find these obscure bands but keep it up. Thank you!