The Marshmallow Overcoat is an American
garage rock band, formed in
Tucson, Arizona, in 1986 by lead singer Timothy Gassen under his "Randy Love" persona.
They are considered an essential part of the
paisley/
neo-psychedelia bands that formed the 1980s.
History
The Marshmallow Overcoat's first recording deal was with Dionysus Records in Los Angeles who released their first LP, ''The Inner Groove'', in 1987.
They received international attention for their brand of "modern psychedelia",
and for generating the "Arizona sound."
Influenced by
The Chocolate Watchband,
The Doors,
The Beatles,
The Byrds, Fuzztones, early Miracle Workers,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
The Electric Prunes, 1960's
garage/
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
music, their sound incorporates traditional fuzz with elements associated with these other genres, such as the use of the
Farfisa organ and 12-string
Rickenbacker guitars,
re-created without clichéd regurgitation.
Subsequent releases on
Skyclad/Get Hip Records and two European labels, Music Maniac (Germany) and Psych-Out (France), and an international tour, earned them a fan base in Europe as well as the US.
Their music videos received airplay on more than 50 video shows
on the top cable channels in the 1980s.
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's
"120 Minutes" aired the music videos for the songs "Suddenly Sunday" and "Thirteen Ghosts."
SuperStation WTBS also aired the music video "Suddenly Sunday" on their show "
Night Tracks".
For a brief time, between 1991–1993, the band shortened their name to "Overcoat."
The band stopped touring in 1996, but re-formed in 2000 to record through 2011. Although the band played its last concert in 2008, many contemporary garage bands have cited The Marshmallow Overcoat as a chief influence.
In addition to nine full-length album releases, singles and vinyl EPs, The Marshmallow Overcoat appear on compilation albums released in the US, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Greece and Germany. Their recordings have received airplay on radio stations in the US and abroad.
In 2013, Timothy Gassen ran a successful
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign to release a 30-song "best of" audio collection as a 2-LP colored vinyl set.
[*]
The band's name, The Marshmallow Overcoat, was inspired by dialog in
Martin Scorsese's 1978 film
The Last Waltz.
Members
Timothy Gassen is lead vocalist and band leader. Other members include Scot Gassen (drum kit), Dan Magee (bass), Chad White (guitars), Matt Rendon (guitars, bass, drum kit), Bill Kurzenberger (keyboards), and Debra Dickey (keyboards).
Selected discography
Albums
*''The Inner Groove'' (1987) Dionysus Records (USA)
*''Try On...'' (1988)
Skyclad/Get Hip Records (USA)
*''Three Chords... And A Cloud Of Dust!'' (1991) Dionysus Records (USA)
*''Fuzz, Screams & Tambourines!'' (1991) Kinetic Vibes Records (France)
*''A Touch Of Evil'' (1993) Music Maniac Records (Germany)
*''All You Need Is Fuzz'' (1993) Collectables Records (USA)
*''The Baroque Sounds Of'' (1995) Misty Lane (Italy)
*''Marshmallow Overcoat'' (1996) 360 Twist! Records (USA)
*''The Light Show'' (2008) Purple Cactus Media Productions (USA)
*''Goodnight.Goodbye.'' (2009) Purple Cactus Media Productions (USA)
*''The Complete Sound'' (2011) Garage Nation Records (USA)
*''The Very Best Of'' (2014) Garage Nation Records (USA)
Singles
*''Groovy Little Trip'' b/w ''Stop It Baby'' 7" (Dionysus Records) 1986 (USA)
*''Suddenly Sunday'' b/w ''Tomorrow Never Knows'' 7" (
Skyclad/Get Hip Records) 1988 (USA)
*''Season Of The Witch'' b/w ''1000 Years Ago'' 7" (Face Records) 1991 (Italy)
*''Fly Away'' b/w ''Can't Stop Thee Hands Of Tyme'' 7" (Sound Effect) 2005 (Greece)
EPs
*''Alive'' (Dionysus Records) 1989 (USA)
*''Beverly Pepper'' (
Skyclad/Get Hip Records) 1990 (USA)
*''Psilocybic Mind'' (Psych-Out Records) 2003 (Italy)
Contributions
*(1987) ''Raw Cuts Volume Six: American Psych Wars'' (Satellite Records, UK) - ''I Can Only Give Your Everything'' & ''Psilocybin Explosion''
*(1987) ''Kaleidoscope Presents: The Exploding Underground Compilation'' (Direct Hit Records, USA) - ''Suddenly Sunday''
*(1989) ''Here Ain’t The Sonics'' (Popllama Records, USA) - ''Maintaining My Cool''
*(1990) ''Ptolemaic Terrascope'' (Ptolemaic Terrascope Magazine, UK) - ''Cinderella''
*(1991) ''Psychedelic Psauna (Delerium Records, UK) - ''13 Ghosts''
*(1991) ''Ruta 66'' (Capote Records, Spain) - ''Tried To Hide''
*(1991) ''Who Are Them'' (Face Records, Italy) - ''
The Good's Gone "The Good's Gone" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by their guitarist Pete Townshend. Initially recorded and sequenced as the third track of their debut My Generation (album), ''My Generation'' in December 1965, it was released as the ...
''
*(1992) ''Fun With Mushrooms'' (Delerium Records, UK) - ''13 Ghosts''
*(1992) ''Kinetic Vibes 7” (Kinetic Vibes Magazine, France) - ''Soapy''
*(1992) ''Abus Dangereaux'' (Abus Dangereaux Magazine, France) - ''Inside Tonight''
*(1992) ''Larsen'' (Larsen Magazine, France) - ''I Need You''
*(1992) ''Try One Of These'' (Moxie Records, USA) - ''Baby You’re Wrong''
*(1993) ''55 Miles From Mexico'' (EFA, Germany) - ''Beverly Pepper''
*(1993) ''A Web Of Mystery'' (Misty Lane Records, Italy) - ''7 & 7 Is''
*(1995) ''For Your Long Hair Party'' (Aishna Records, Spain) - ''Bitter Heart''
*(1996) ''Transworld Punk'' (Misty Lane Records, Italy) - ''My Flash On You''
*(1996) ''Ochre Sampler'' (Ochre Records, UK) - ''A Song For Steven''
*(2001) ''The Knights of Fuzz'' (Purple Cactus Media Productions, USA) - ''(We’re The) The Knights of Fuzz''
*(2002) ''Illbilly Records compilation #2'' (Illbilly Records, USA) - ''(We’re The) The Knights of Fuzz''
*(2004) ''Lost in Tyme'' (Lost In Tyme Fanzine, Greece) - ''Come Today''
*(2004) ''Garage Bands Revisited'' (GBR Fanzine, France) - ''Psilocybic Mind''
*(2005) ''Tribute to the Fuzztones'' (Sin Records, USA) - ''Skeleton Farm''
*(2005) ''Ansia De Color compilation'' (Ansia De Color magazine, Spain) - ''A House Is Not A Motel''
*(2005) ''Peace Frog compilation'' (Peace Frog fanzine, Greece) - ''I Looked At You''
*(2006) ''The Knights of Fuzz: Garage and Psychedelic Music'' (Purple Cactus Media Productions, USA) - ''(We’re The) The Knights of Fuzz''
*(2014) ''The Knights of Fuzz'' (Purple Cactus Media Productions, USA) - ''(We’re The) The Knights of Fuzz''
Video
* ''Stop It Baby'' 1986
* ''Suddenly Sunday'' 1988
* ''13 Ghosts'' 1990
* ''The Mummy'' 1991
* ''Bones Crack'' 1993
* ''26 Ghosts'' 2005
* ''Psilocybic Mind'' 2006
References
External links
*
''Discography''AllMusic.comoverview
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshmallow Overcoat
American psychedelic rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1986
Musical groups from Tucson, Arizona
Garage rock groups from Arizona
Rock music groups from Arizona