Seatrain was an American roots fusion band based initially in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and later in Marblehead,

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. Seatrain was formed in 1969, subsequently drawing some members from the

Blues Project The Blues Project is a band from the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967. Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artfu ...

when it broke up. Seatrain recorded four albums and disbanded in 1973.

Band history

Flutist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...

Andy Kulberg Andy Kulberg (April 30, 1944 – January 28, 2002) was an American musician notable for his bass playing with the groups Blues Project and Seatrain. He was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Amherst, New York. In 1965, he became a ...

and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

Roy Blumenfeld of

formed the band with Jim Roberts, ex-Mystery Trend guitarist John Gregory, former Blue Grass Boy and Jim Kweskin Jug Band violinist/fiddler Richard Greene, and saxophonist Don Kretmar. Seatrain recorded their first album, ''Planned Obsolescence'', in 1968, but had to release it as a Blues Project album for contractual reasons. In 1969, they released a self-titled LP ('' Sea Train''), but faced a major change in membership a few months later. The group's second self-titled album was released in late 1970 under the single-word name '' Seatrain''. By then, Blumenfeld, Gregory, and Kretmar had been replaced by drummer Larry Atamanuik, keyboardist Lloyd Baskin, and Earth Opera guitarist and former Blue Grass Boy Peter Rowan. The album's "13 Questions" was released as a single and became a minor hit in the US, reaching #49 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

s national chart in 1971.

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

produced the album, marking the first time he had acted in that capacity with a rock act since his work with the Beatles. He also produced Seatrain's much-anticipated 1971 follow-up album, '' The Marblehead Messenger''. In September Seatrain toured

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

for the first time, usually performing as a support act for

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

. However, Rowan and Greene left the band soon after to form Muleskinner, while Roberts and Atamanuik joined the backing band of

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, includin ...

. Kulberg and Baskin replaced these members with guitarist Peter Walsh, keyboardist

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racin ...

, and drummer Julio Coronado, but released only one more album, 1973's ''

Watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached ...

''.

Line-ups

Source:

1968–1969

* John Gregory – guitars, vocals * Don Kretmar – saxophone, bass * Richard Greene – violin *

– bass, flute * Roy Blumenfeld – drums * Jim Roberts – lyricist

1969

* Don Kretmar – saxophone, bass * Richard Greene – violin *

– bass, flute * Jim Roberts – lyricist * Red Shepherd – vocals * Teddy Irwin – guitars * Bobby Moses – drums

1969

* Don Kretmar – saxophone, bass * Richard Greene – violin *

– bass, flute * Red Shepherd – vocals * Elliot Randall – guitars * Billy Williams – drums

1969–1972

* Richard Greene – violin *

– bass, flute * Peter Rowan – guitars, vocals * Lloyd Baskin – keyboards, vocals * Larry Atamanuik – drums

1972–1973

– bass, vocals, flute * Lloyd Baskin – keyboards, vocals * Peter Walsh – guitars *

– keyboards * Julio Coronado – drums

Discography

* '' Sea Train'' (1969) * '' Seatrain'' (1970) * '' The Marblehead Messenger'' (1971) * ''

'' (1973)

References

External links

Seatrain Discography

(The Blues Project and Seatrain)

{{Authority control American jazz ensembles Marblehead, Massachusetts A&M Records artists Capitol Records artists Warner Records artists