The Loading Zone was an American
rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They issued two albums worth of material, with differing band lineups, before disbanding in 1971.
Career
They were formed in
Berkeley,
California in 1966 by singer-keyboardist Paul Fauerso, following the dissolution of his jazz group The Tom Paul Trio. The original lineup was Fauerso, bassist Bob Kridle, drummer Ted Kozlowski (replaced by George Newcom), and guitarists Peter Shapiro and Steve Dowler, both formerly of
Berkeley psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
band
The Marbles, who had supported
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...
at the historic "Tribute to Dr. Strange", the inaugural
Family Dog promotion concert held at San Francisco's Longshoreman's Hall in October 1965.
The Loading Zone's first major
concert was the
Trips Festival
The Acid Tests were a series of parties held by author Ken Kesey primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area during the mid-1960s, centered on the use of and advocacy for the psychedelic drug LSD, commonly known as "acid". LSD was not made illegal ...
at the Longshoreman's Hall in January 1966.
[Andrew Gilbert, "Loading Zone Reloaded"](_blank)
'' East Bay Express'', 13 August 2008 Although primarily an
R&B band, The Loading Zone added contemporary psychedelic influences and soon became a popular attraction on the burgeoning
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
music scene. The Loading Zone was based at the Berkeley venue The New Orleans House, but performed numerous times at major venues including the
Fillmore West.
Although The Loading Zone occasionally headlined, the group is better known for supporting some of the biggest acts of the period including
Cream,
The Who,
The Byrds,
Big Brother & the Holding Company,
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
,
Howlin' Wolf,
Sam & Dave,
Chuck Berry and
Buddy Miles.
In 1967 the band placed an advertisement in the ''
San Francisco Chronicle'' seeking a new lead vocalist, which led to the recruitment of
Linda Tillery, who joined just prior to the band's signing with
RCA Records. Despite their live popularity, the group lacked a strong base of original material; their self-titled debut
album was poorly received, and was criticised for its excessive production and its reliance on
cover versions. The Loading Zone was unable to garner support from radio, and eventually split in 1969.
In 1969, Fauerso re-formed the group with new members- guitarist Steve Busfield, bassist Mike Eggleston, and drummer George Marsh, and initially with previous horn players Todd Anderson (tenor sax) and Patrick O'Hara (trombone). Anderson was replaced after a few months by Ron Taormina. The new Zone also recruited old friend and drummer Frank Davis to play with the group for a while. During this brief period, the band performed with two drummers at the same time - Davis and Marsh - with some exciting results. The band recorded their second LP ''One for All'' for their own label, Umbrella, before disbanding in 1971.
Tillery released her solo debut album ''Sweet Linda Divine'' on
CBS Records in 1970. It was produced by
Al Kooper of
Blood, Sweat and Tears fame. Fauerso went on to produce the unreleased
Mike Love solo album ''First Love'' and more recently, a second entitled ''Only One Earth''. Fauerso went on to make
recordings
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
of
new-age music
New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation technique, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecs ...
and also to compose and produce award-winning commercials for radio and TV. Tillery resurfaced with the jazz fusion group Cesar 830 before embarking on a solo career.
In 2005, Fauerso reconnected with Eggleston and Marsh to record a new Loading Zone CD entitled ''Blue Flame''. The album contained five new tracks and three cuts from the second Zone album, ''One For All''.
George Newcom died from a
heart attack on July 1, 2010, in
Red Bluff, California. He was 63 years old.
Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
- accessed July 2010 Trombonist Pat O'Hara later worked with Buddy Miles on ''Cold Blood'' and others, and died in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
Discography
Albums
* ''The Loading Zone'' (RCA Records, 1968)
*'' One for All'' (Umbrella Records, 1970)
References
External links
*
*
* Roxon, Lillian: Lilian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia (Grosset and Dunlop, Universal Library Edition, 1972) p300
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loading Zone, The
Musical groups established in 1966
Musical groups disestablished in 1971
Musical groups from San Francisco
Psychedelic rock music groups from California
RCA Records artists
1966 establishments in California