PsychepediA

From: Los Angeles, CA, USA

Not that much is known about this Los Angeles based outfit that formed in the late 60s and gigged around the local area as well as Dallas, TX and the southwestern United States. Members of the group included L.A. natives Antonio "Tony" Francesco Raphael Peluso (lead guitar) and Henri Mario Dondini Jr. (organ), along with Pierre Armand Vigeant (bass) originally from Montreal, Canada and Michael Thatcher (drums) originally from Dallas, TX. Peluso, Dondini and Vigeant has known each other since they were kids, and picked up Thatcher after watching him win a local area "Battle of the Drums" competition and then inviting him to join the Abstracts that day.

In the fall of 1968, the band released a self-titled LP and one supporting single on the somewhat obscure Pompeii label (a division of Atco Records), but unfortunately it didn't sell that well. The album is quite good however and contains some imaginitive "psychedelic crooning" tracks written by Peluso, along with the unique, hard-driving 'See The Birdies' by Vigeant and a very respectable cover of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's 'Smell Of Incense'. After the group split up, Peluso went on to work with former Paul Revere & The Raiders member Mark Lindsay in his backing band Instant Joy, and then later played with the Carpenters and Seals & Croft.

If you have any further information on this group, please e-mail to paulmaze@techwebsound.com.

Artist information sources include: The book, 'Fuzz, Acid, and Flowers Revisited' by Vernon Joynson.