Fat Water -

Fat Water was an American soul-rock band from Chicago that released a 1969 album on MGM.

Members: Vicki (vocals), Lance (guitar, vocals), Boris (bass, vocals), Eve (keyboards), Pete (drums, vocals)

Background

Fat Water formed in 1969 from the intersection of multiple Chicago- and Midwest-area bands. Guitarist and keyboardist Lance Massey, originally from Florida, came north with the band Beau Gentry, which also included Doug “Chico” Killmer, Russ DaShiell, and Rick Jaeger — all later associated with Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky. Beau Gentry, managed by Steve Sperry, built a strong following across Wisconsin and Illinois, with regular appearances at Beloit’s Pop House. As the band dissolved, Massey remained in southern Wisconsin following a motorcycle accident, while his bandmates moved to San Francisco.

Still under Sperry’s management, Massey entered the regional circuit with musicians from Chicago Heights. Sperry and rising local promoter Irving Azoff assembled a new lineup from three regional acts: The One Eyed Jacks, The Same (a female-led group fronted by Vicki Hubley), and The Regiment. Bassist Bill “Boris” Schneider, formerly of the Jacks, joined Massey and Hubley, along with keyboardist/flutist Everett Amundson and drummer Peter Milio, both from the Regiment.

Schneider coined the name Fat Water, recalling a line from the “Hey B.C.” comic strip. They workshopped material at Champaign’s Illini Brown Jug (now The Clybourne).

Fat Water (Albums)

Fat Water released their self-titled album in December 1969 on MGM.

The album blends acid-folk introspection, electric soul, and psych-inflected blues-rock into a stylistically restless set marked by layered vocals, tonal effects, and period-specific studio techniques. Boris Schneider wrote “Gimme Your Sweet,” “Only for the Moment,” and most of Side B. Lance Massey composed the remainder, apart from “Joshua,” a sparse, haunted ballad by producer Steve Sperry.

Fat Water opens with the clipped organ-and-guitar interplay of “I Can Be Happy” and moves through shifting terrain: the brittle acoustic balladry of “Joshua,” the bifurcated baroque-rock of “Mistress De Charmaign,” and the downbeat, cracked vocal inflection on “It’s Not the Same.” Massey’s guitar toggles between taut funk phrasing and overdriven blues lines, while Hubly’s voice ranges from subdued to commanding. Shorter interludes like “Amalynda Guinevere” and “Guitar Store Song” lend a fragmentary texture, contrasting the modal pacing of longer cuts like “Only for the Moment” and “Waiting for Mary.” Despite some rhythmic rigidity, the album maintains dynamic range and tonal tension throughout.

A1. “I Can Be Happy” (2:51) – Dual vocals from Hubly and Massey ride a compact riff built on organ and clipped guitar. A shifting phasing effect on Milio’s drums adds a submerged, psychedelic touch to this otherwise brisk opener.
A2. “Joshua” (4:18) – A hushed acoustic ballad with Massey’s spare fingerpicking and Hubly’s exposed vocal, “Joshua” gradually builds into a cathartic plea. The arrangement tightens around her recurring invocation of the title name—a direct address to a vanished companion.
A3. “Amalynda Guinevere” (2:03) – Short-form pastiche drawing on minstrel balladry and vaudeville-era rhythmic accents. The contrast of dulcet fingerpicking and darting electric fills creates tension.
A4. “Gimme Your Sweet” (2:20) – Blunt, clipped riffing and a sharp rhythmic gait back Hubly’s urgent delivery. Schneider’s writing veers toward hard rock but remains tightly reined by the track’s lean structure.
A5. “Guitar Store Song” (0:56) – A skeletal acoustic interlude with bottleneck phrasing and ad-lib vocals, more a transitional fragment than a song.
A6. “Only for the Moment” (3:11) – Boogie-inflected jam with heavy downbeat emphasis and gruff vocal lines. The track moves in stiff, unvaried pulses and lacks the dynamic contour present elsewhere.

B1. “It’s Not the Same” (3:10) – A downcast slow blues where Hubly leans into sustained phrasing and cracked vocal color. Massey’s guitar lines waver between restraint and overdrive.
B2. “Wayback” (1:31) – Tight two-part harmonies and clipped guitar strokes define this brief, forward-leaning number with clear single-side intent.
B3. “Waiting for Mary” (4:10) – Stomp-paced country rocker with flatfooted rhythm and cleanly picked leads. Massey’s fretwork adds sharpness to the otherwise swinging cadence.
B4. “Mistress De Charmaign” (3:10) – Begins in chamber-folk mode with Amundson’s harpsichord and layered acoustic textures, then flips into a brisk mid-tempo rocker. The shift is clean and gives the piece a bifurcated tension.
B5. “Santa Anna Speed Queen” (2:07) – Driven by left-hand piano and paced like a barroom rave-up. Hubly keeps the vocal line steady against the jostled rhythm, though the structure cleaves closely to standard blues-rock form.

Sessions occurred during off-hours at 8-Track Studios, operated by Chicago jingle maestro Dick Marx. Crow soundman Stuart Walder co-engineered Fat Water with Bill Bradley. The album cover presents “Fat Water” as the name of a bourbon brand.

Postlude

Shortly after the release of their self-titled album, Fat Water lost their deal with MGM during a roster purge led by incoming label president Mike Curb, who cited the album’s lyrics as “questionable.” Lance Massey exited the band and was replaced by guitarist G.E. Stinson, who, along with bassist Bob Cody (replacing Boris Schneider), steered the band toward a more progressive blues-rock direction. This lineup played local clubs and regional festivals—including the 1970 Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival in Illinois—but disbanded soon after without securing a new label deal.

Following Fat Water, G.E. Stinson and drummer Stuart Nevitt co-founded the ambient–world fusion group Shadowfax, which debuted in 1976 with the Larry Fast-produced Watercourse Way and achieved broader success in the 1980s with Windham Hill Records. The group won a Grammy for Folksongs for a Nuclear Village (1988). Stinson left Shadowfax in 1990 to pursue free improvisation and avant-garde jazz; Nevitt remained with the band until his death in 2005.

Bob Cody transitioned into audio engineering. Marsha Hubly recorded sporadically, appearing with Otis and the Engineers and contributing vocals to projects by Steve Goodman, Harvey Mandel’s Jive, and Corky Siegel. Lance Massey briefly played with a late-period member of Aorta and other local acts before leaving music to become a carpenter. Greg Milio relocated to California, where he toured with Country Joe McDonald and later joined David LaFlamme (of It’s a Beautiful Day). Boris Schneider became a financial advisor and later returned to painting, which he had studied in college.

Despite its low initial profile, Fat Water has since become a cult classic among collectors of crossover soul-psych.

Discography: