Tarantula -

Tarantula was an American psychedelic rock band that released a 1969 self-titled album on A&M, produced by Chad Stuart of Chad & Jeremy. Bassist Oz Bach hailed from Spanky & Our Gang and Wings.

Members: Tom Grasso (keyboards, vocals), Mike Edelman ([electric] flute, saxophone, vocals), Steve Swirn (drums), Oz Bach (bass, vocals), Thad Maxwell (guitar, vocals)

Background

Tarantula formed when Bach teamed with guitarist Thad Maxwell, keyboardist Tom Grasso, reedist Mike Edelman, and drummer Steve Swirn.

Bach started in comedy and entered music as a backing bassist. In 1966, he formed Spanky & Our Gang, a harmony pop band with singer Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane. After their 1967 self-titled album on Mercury, he departed for Wings, a Bay Area folk-rock band that made a 1968 eponymous album on Dunhill. In Tarantula, he moved into heavy psych-rock territory with four musical newcomers.

Tarantula (the album)

Tarantula released their singular album in October 1969 on A&M. The music bends baroque psych and Zappa-esque motifs.

Side A opens with two songs by Mike Edelman: the lilting, flute-laced “You” and the exploratory jazz-rock suite “Electric Guru,” which cuts between intense vocal passages and a galloping instrumental midsection.

Oz Bach submitted two tracks: the harpsichord-laden “Thoughts for Anne” and the martial-driven “Love Is for Peace,” which blends tape effects and shifting tempos, culminating in a chaotic climax that simulates nuclear war.

Tom Grasso composed the five remaining songs, including the modal raga-like “Poison Dance” and the penultimate epic “Red Herring,” where piano and saxophone converge with avant-garde sound collage.

A1. “You” (3:24)
A2. “Electric Guru” (5:38)
A3. “T.V. Repairman” (2:43)
A4. “Love Is for Peace” (6:37)

B1. “Poison Dance” (6:16)
B2. “Thoughts for Anne” (2:44)
B3. “Peach Fuzz and Peppermints” (3:53)
B4. “Red Herring” (7:40)
B5. “Billy the Birdman” (3:29)

Tarantula recorded the album with producer Chad Stuart and engineer Rick Henke. A&M graphic artist Tom Wilkes designed the Tarantula cover, which shows a tight cluster of black electrical plugs arranged in a radial, tangled fashion on a flat surface. The cords arch outward in all directions like the legs of a spider, evoking the form of a tarantula without depicting the creature itself.

Tarantula lifted an edit of “Love Is for Peace” as a single (3:29, b/w “Billy the Birdman).

After Tarantula:

Tarantula disbanded by decade’s end. Bach joined several groups and worked behind the scenes. Maxwell resurfaced as bassist in Swampwater, playing on three Arlo Guthrie albums (Hobo’s Lullaby, Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys, Amigo) and later joined the country-rock band Sierra. He also appeared on the Gram Parsons/Clarence White tribute album Wheels.

Discography: