Jody Grind -

Jody Grind was an English psychedelic organ-rock trio that released the albums One Step On and Far Canal on Transatlantic in 1969/70.

Members: Tim Hinkley (organ, keyboards), Ivan Zagni (guitar, 1968-69), Martyn Harryman (drums, 1968-69), Barry Wilson (drums, 1969), Pete Gavin (drums, 1969-70), Bernie Holland (guitar, bass, vocals, 1969-?), Louis Cennamo (bass)

Background

Jody Grind was formed in November 1968 by keyboardist Tim Hinkley. The name was inspired by a recent Horace Silver album, The Jody Grind. The phrase combines the pejorative “Jody” (slang for a man who sleeps with the wives and girlfriends of servicemen away for duty) and “grind” (a slang term for sex).

Hinkley (b. 1946) first performed at youth events in a series of beat groups (The Copains, The Freeman Five). He passed on an invitation by The Konrads, which featured a young David Jones, later known as David Bowie. During the mid-1960s, Hinkley did stints in The Bo Street Runners and Patto’s People with singer Mike Patto, later of Timebox, Patto, and Boxer.

As groups like The Nice and Brian Auger & Trinity brought the organ to the fore in rock combos, Hinkley formed Jody Grind as a vehicle for his Hammond playing. He enlisted guitarist Ivan Zagni and drummer Martyn Harryman.

On March 4, 1969, Jody Grind opened for Rory Gallagher and Taste at the famed blues club Klooks Kleek in West Hampstead. On May 9, they played Parliament Hill Fields as part of the Camden Fringe Festival, which also featured sets by Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, Roy Harper, Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments, and the Italian group Musica Electronics Viva.

Jody Grind landed a deal with Transatlantic Records, an independent folk-specialty label that was now expanding into post-psych. Drummer Barry Wilson replaced Harryman, who surfaced in Dada.

1969: One Step On

Jody Grind released their debut album, One Step On, in October 1969 on Transatlantic (UK, France) and United Artists (US). Side one consists of a title-suite (18:47) divided into four pieces: the Hinkley/Zagni numbers “In My Mind,” “Nothing at All,” and “Interaction,” linked with an organ-psych arrangement of the Rolling Stones classic “Paint It Black.” Side two contain four Hinkley/Zagni numbers: the brassy “Little Message,” the jazzy “Night Today,” the bluesy “U.S.A.” and the Chuck Berry send-up “Rock ‘n’ Roll Man.”

One Step On was produced by Hugh Murphy, whose contemporary credits include Sweet Thursday and the debut singles by Justine and Alan Hull (pre-Lindisfarne). The arranger, David Palmer, was a longstanding sixth-wheel of Jethro Tull. Bassist Louis Cennamo (Renaissance, Steamhammer) plays on “In My Mind,” “Little Message,” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Man.” Hinkley plays bass pedals on the rest of the album.

One Step On is housed in a gatefold cover designed by Mark Hanau. It has a blue-tinted photo of Hinkley as a madcap wizard (front) with the name in pink Blackletter font, backed with a fish-eyed view of the group in body paint. The inner-spread has a vertical cartoon illustration of a topless, yellow Medusa-like female between mandala cogs and a flaring striped backdrop. Hanau became the manager of Curved Air and designed their debut album, Airconditioning, as a picture disc (the first of its kind). He later managed Saturnalia and designed an even more elaborate picture disc for their album, Magical Love.

In Germany, One Step On appeared in 1970 as Conception with an alternate cover: an inverted cone billowing steam with bold red letters. The German Metronome label issued “Paint It Black” as a single (b/w “Little Message”). The a-side appears on Rock, a 1970 Hörzu Diskothek comp with cuts by Al Kooper, MC5, and The Stooges.

Festivals and New Lineup

In April 1970, Jody Grind played the Pop Promos, a six-night string of multi-bill events at London’s Roundhouse that featured sets by Bronco, Fairport Convention, Fleetwood Mac, Fotheringay, Juicy Lucy, If, Mighty Baby, Mott the Hoople, Spooky Tooth, Traffic, and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Jody Grind played night six (Saturday the 25th) on a bill with Ginger Baker’s Air Force and Toe Fat.

On July 10, Jody Grind appeared at Eissportstadion in Munich for the Euro Pop ’70 A-Z Musik Festival, which also featured sets by Amon Duul II, Atomic Rooster, Black Sabbath, Black Widow, Brinsley Schwarz, Deep Purple, East of Eden, Edgar Broughton Band, Free, Golden Earring, Hard Meat, Out of Focus, Savoy Brown, Status Quo, Steamhammer, and Van Der Graaf Generator.

Zagni left for Aynsley Dunbar‘s Blue Whale and later surfaced in New Zealand. Wilson recorded briefly in a British–Australian band called The Collection. Hinkley hired guitarist/bassist Bernie Holland (ex-Bluesology) and drummer Pete Gavin (Poet and the One Man Band).

1970: Far Canal

Jody Grind’s second album, Far Canal, appeared in October 1970 on Transatlantic. It contains three songs apiece by Holland (“We’ve Had It,” “Jump Bed Jed,” “Vegetable Oblivion”) and Hinkley (“Bath Sister,” “O Paradiso,” “Ballad for Bridget”) and two co-writes (“Plastic Shit,” “Red Worms & Lice”). Half the tracks are in the seven-minute range. “Plastic Shit” was recorded live at the Roundhouse.

Murphy produced Far Canal with Transatlantic’s John Whitehead, who coordinated the self-titled 1969 album by Circus. Hinkley plays piano, electric piano, and vibraphone in addition to Hammond. He also wrote the liner notes on the back cover (dated July 7, 1970), announcing that Gavin had already jumped ship to a major group. (In reality, he remained part of Poet and the One Man Band, which changed its name to Heads Hands and Feet.)

The Far Canal sleeve was designed by Peter Thaine, who also did covers for Tea and Symphony (An Asylum for the Musically Insane) and T2 (It’ll All Work Out In Boomland). Far Canal depicts rows of clustered industrial cityscapes with apparent smog and a green riveted nameplate. The group shot on back was taken by Barrie Wentzell, the photographer on 1970/71 album covers for Barclay James Harvest, Elton John (Tumbleweed Connection), Forever More, Jade, John Kongos, Trapeze, and Yes (Time and a Word, US version).

In Spain, Transatlantic issued “Plastic Shit” as a single (b/w “Bath Sister”). The b-side appears on Gettin’ Higher, a 1971 Metronome comp with cuts by Alice, Ame Son, Birth Control, Caravan, Marsupilami, and Stray. It’s also included on the Transatlantic comp Heads and Tales along with tracks by Gerry Rafferty, Mr. Fox, Pentangle, Peter Bardens, and Storyteller.

After Jody Grind

Tim Hinkley played on Al Stewart‘s 1970 release Zero She Flies. In 1972, he joined Vinegar Joe for their self-titled debut album and also appeared on albums by Alexis Korner and singer Graham Bell (Skip Bifferty, Every Which Way, Bell + Arc). The following year, he played on Stewart’s Past, Present and Future and notched credits behind Alvin Lee, Esther Phillips, and Peter Sinfield.

In 1974, Hinkley surfaced in Beckett and played on albums by Claire Hamill and the team of Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney for their first post-Family release, Streetwalkers (the name of their subsequent band). He continued to back Lee and played on the 1975 final albums by Snafu and (for the time being) Humble Pie. In 1976, he reteamed with Patto in Boxer for their second-recorded album, Bloodletting (released as their third album in 1979 after Patto’s death.)

During 1977/78, Hinkley played on albums by Dr. Feelgood, Joan Armatrading, Peter French, Racing Cars, ex-Vinegar frontwoman Elkie Brooks, and the first three albums by ex-Deep Purple singer David Coverdale, the third marking the debut of Whitesnake.

He played uncredited electric piano on three cuts (“Miss You,” “When the Whip Comes Down,” “Some Girls”) on the Rolling Stones’ 1978 comeback album Some Girls. After playing on one track (“Didn’t I”) on Thin Lizzy‘s 1980 release Chinatown, Hinkley joined Chapman’s backing band Shortlist for a ten-year run.

Bernie Holland played on 1970 albums by Welsh singer-songwriter Meic Stevens and Scottish duo The Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty. In 1973, Holland joined Rafferty’s Stealers Wheel for their second album, Ferguslie Park, and remained for the followup.

During 1974/75, Holland earned credits with Armatrading, Back Door, Harvey Andrews, Linda Lewis, Stomu Yamash’ta‘s East Wind (One By One), and joined Hummingbird, beginning a two-album stint that culminated with the 1976 release We Can’t Go On Meeting Like This. That same year, Holland played on one track (“Carnival”) on Go, the collaborative project between Yamash’ta, Michael Shrieve, and Steve Winwood with additional help from Al Di Meola and Klaus Schulze.

Jeff Beck recorded Holland’s “Diamond Dust,” an eight-minute piece that concludes the guitarist’s 1975 album Blow by Blow. Holland co-wrote “You Make Me Feel So Good” with the Ian Gillan Band for their 1976 release Child In Time.

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