Two Bands Named Christopher + Josefus (1969/70 Texas) | Heavy Psych | Vinyl Stream

For today's psychedelic trip this morning I'm spinning three records - two completely unrelated bands with the same name, and then the band that one of them fed into. 00:00 Intro 9:04 Christopher (SC) - What'cha Gonna Do? (1969) 54:30 Christopher (TX) - Christopher (1970) 1:42:31 Josefus - Dead Man (1970) 2:06:14 'Dead Man' by Josefus 2:23:42 Closing First up is What'cha Gonna Do? by Christopher from Columbia, South Carolina on Lion Productions LION LP-101D, 2019 deluxe reissue. 100 copies pressed on Chris-Tee Records in 1969 as a demo. No deal came. Frank Smoak on lead guitar, Steve Nagle on rhythm, Bill McKee on bass, Gary Lucas on drums. Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte, $62 an hour. The engineer introduced himself by saying "This is the first 8-track stereo recording of an acid rock band I've ever done." Original copies sell for over $8,000. No connection to what comes next - just the same name, same era, same obscurity. Then the Houston Christopher on Out-Sider OSR082, 2020 reissue of the 1970 Metromedia original. Richard Avitts on guitar, Doug Walden on bass, Doug Tull on drums - evolved from United Gas, a Houston band that played alongside the 13th Floor Elevators and Moving Sidewalks. Metromedia signed them and told them to change their name to avoid confusion with Pacific Gas & Electric. Recording started at Sound City in Van Nuys. Then Tull's drug use and a failed suicide attempt shut the sessions down. He was fired. And here's where the real connection happens. Tull walked straight back to Houston and into Josefus - Dead Man, Hookah Records H-330, original 1970 pressing. Dave Mitchell on lead guitar, Ray Turner on bass, Pete Bailey on vocals and harmonica. Recorded in one day in Phoenix in March 1970. Too psychedelic for International Artists - the label that put out the Elevators. Pressed 3,000 copies on their own Hookah label and outsold Let It Be locally in Houston. Side two opens with 90 seconds of hillbilly intro and drops into 17 and a half minutes of proto-metal that one reviewer called a blueprint for stoner rock before stoner rock existed. Two bands named Christopher. No connection. Then Houston Christopher drummer Doug Tull walks into Josefus. One morning. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinyl_piper/ Full vinyl rips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9pEOi1yCUyAZikNmWVdz8Hn Shop: https://vinylpipershop.com/ #Christopher #Josefus #DeadMan #HeavyPsych #VinylStream #VinylPiper #MorningStream #TexasPsych #PrivatePress #RareVinyl #AcidRock #HoustonTexas