Wizard were an American

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 ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band, which formed in 1970 in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

and disbanded 16 months after the formation. Wizard released just one studio album which went unnoticed but, according to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, "…their sound was considerably more imaginative and interesting than much hard rock from the period, including many of the similar bands who earned far more commercial popularity than they did".

Band history

Wizard formed in spring 1970 at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

when singer and bassist Paul Forney and guitarist Ben Schultz met through a mutual friend, jammed together and formed a short-lived rock trio, Brother. Prior to their first gig, their drummer walked out on soundcheck and was promptly replaced by roadie Chris Luhn, who proved to be a competent instrumentalist. The new band changed their name to Wizard. The band was touring in Florida,

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, and

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, opening for

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. ...

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, and

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, among others. At the Goose Lake Festival, outside Detroit, they caught attention of

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' Bob Fletcher who took the group to Atlanta's LeFevre Sound Studiosfor a recording session. As a result, ''The Original Wizard'', the band's first and only album, released in 1971 on Peon Records. Wizard continued to perform, including a gig the next winter at an indoor festival at the Hollywood Fairgrounds in Florida, but not for long: sixteen months after forming, the band called it quits. Forney went on to put over one million miles on the road with R&B big hitters such as Timmy Thomas ("Why Can't We Live Together"), Little Beaver ("Party Down"), Gwen McCrae ("Rockin' Chair") and later toured and recorded six albums with the

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. Still an accomplished bassist and vocalist, he continues to perform with jazz and R&B artist Rob Mullins. Schultz went on to do live and studio work for

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, and

, among others. More recently, Schultz was a co-founder of the power group, ''Barefoot Servants'' (now on extended hiatus). Luhn went on to finish college and, later, law school. He is now a personal injury and divorce trial lawyer in Albany, NY.

Members

* Ben Schultz – lead and rhythm guitars, vocal * Paul Forney – lead vocal, bass * Chris Luhn – drums

Discography

* ''The Original Wizard'' (Peon Records, 1971)

References

{{Authority control American psychedelic rock music groups Hard rock musical groups from Florida Musical groups established in 1970