I was recently on redtelephone.com, and was pleasantly surprised to discover an article on the Peppermint Trolley Co. Although I dug the spirit of the piece, and continue to be delighted at people’s interest in the music, I found that it contained some misconceptions which I run into now and again. I thought I would take the time to respond, and share my first hand knowledge of what took place some forty plus years ago.
The following is my comment to article which you can find here:
This is Danny Faragher. I, along with my brother, Jimmy, was one of the founding members of the Peppermint Trolley Company. Hey, I’ve enjoyed reading the blog, and the comments, especially Cy’s “in-real-time, stream of consciousness” take on the album. It occurred to me, however, that I could add something to the discourse.
I’d first like to correct a couple of errors. The band was from Redlands, not Redding, CA, which is about 70 miles east of L.A. in the Inland Empire. The group evolved through a number of members and names from it’s early formation in 1961. Although Bob Cheevers, a friend of ours, was part of the replacement group after we walked away from our contract with Acta, he was never a member of the authentic band, which consisted of: Jimmy Faragher, bass, Danny Faragher, keyboards, and horns, Greg Tornquist, guitar, and Casey Cunningham, drums.
We came up with the name in the summer of 1966, when it was a bit more hip. This before “Good Vibrations”, before “Ruby Tuesday”, “Sgt. Peppers”, and the Strawberry Alarm Clock. The hippie movement was yet to go mainstream. In the summer of 1967, we moved to L.A. to pursue our recording career full time, moving into a rat infested house in Silver Lake. We didn’t have much to eat, we were broke, and didn’t have a TV to distract us. What we did have was a record contract, access to the studio, and time. Time to write, arrange, and rehearse. Which we did.
We were far from being bubblegumers, Our politics were left wing. We didn’t just talk the talk, either, we literally walked the walk, participating in many anti-war marches, getting in some scary situations, and witnessing police brutality first hand. We considered ourselves part of a rising counter culture, and got our news from the L.A. Free Press, an underground paper. The music reflects this. Our song “Fatal Fallacy” is anti-war, but recognizes the dark side of humanity with its embrace of jingoism, a warrior culture, and the cynical part organized religion serves in propagandizing. “Free” is about racial inequality. “Reflections” deals with the inevitability of death.
Our record company, Acta, whose president, Kenny Meyers, was an old school record man, was geared around the 45 single. We knew the market was changing. LP’s were becoming more important. We really had to fight to get the go ahead to record the LP. Fortunately, our single, “Baby You Come Rollin’ Across My Mind” broke. With a hit record under our belts we got the green light.
We came from musically eclectic backgrounds, and the album shows this. Because we were so young, I think we were more open to being experimental.
Three months after the album’s release, we walked away from our contract, changed our name to Bones, and altered our musical course, rocking a little harder. In 1972 and 73 Bones released two LPs, and had a chart single. After the group broke up, Jimmy and I reinvented ourselves once again to join forces with brothers Tommy, and Davey and from the blue-eyed soul band, the Faragher Brothers, which released four albums.
Speaking for myself, I could not listen to the Peppermint Trolley album for thirty-five years. It wasn’t until people began to contact me a few years ago, and tell me how much it meant to them that I let myself sit down and listen. I was surprised by how well it held up. A bit naive in places? Yea, but, hey, we were still in our late teens. I think above all that it is honest. It’s also unafraid of being vulnerable.
I can now say I am proud of the record.
To read more about the Peppermint Trolley Company, visit the website http://www.dannyfaragher.com/bio/the-peppermint-trolley-company/
Sincerely,
Danny
