The Rainbow Press -

The Rainbow Press was an American psychedelic rock band from New York that released the 1968/69 albums There’s a War On and Sunday Funnies on Mr. G Records.

Members: Dave “Joe” Groff (lead vocals, tambourine, maracas, recorder, oboe), Marc Ellis (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals), Dave Troup (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals), Larry Milton (electric piano, acoustic guitar, vocals), Charlie Osborne (organ, vocals), Bill Yergin (drums, percussion)

Background

Guitarist Marc Ellis assembled the Rainbow Press in early 1968 at the encouragement of his father, Ray Ellis, an indebted industry figure in need of a tax write-off. Their name was a slang term for the sensational media.

Famed arranger Ray Ellis initiated the project as a favor to his son, guitarist Marc Ellis, unaware that it was part of a tax shelter scheme. Audio Fidelity owner Herman D. Gimbel was seeking a write-off in the range of $15,000–20,000 and needed a deliberately unprofitable release.

Marc, unaware of this, accepted the offer and reached out to drummer Bill Yergin (formerly of his high school band, The Specs), bassist Dave Troup (a college friend), lead singer Joe Groff, keyboardist Larry Milton, and organist Charlie Osborne.

With Milton and Ellis handling the songwriting, the Rainbow Press rehearsed extensively and recorded their debut at a four-track studio inside Radio City Music Hall.

There’s a War On

The Rainbow Press released their first album, There’s a War On, in October 1968 on Mr. G Records.

The album balances harmony-laden sunshine psych with political themes and baroque instrumentation, exemplified on the fuzz-laden “Step Aboard” and the satirical “Our Country’s Still O.K.” Tracks like “Cyclic Epic (Song of the Barnegat Mosquito)” showcase the band’s knack for quirky surrealism and unconventional song structures.

Guitarist Marc Ellis composed everything apart from three songs (“Cyclic Epic,” “Lightning Streak,” “No One Follows the Daytime”) by keyboardist/singer Larry Milton, who co-wrote “I’ve Found Someone” with Joe Groff and Dave Troup. Gross sings most of Ellis’s songs

A1. “Step Aboard” (3:10)
A2. “A Simple Way” (2:33)
A3. “Cyclic Epic (Song of the Barnegat Mosquito)” (4:10)
A4. “Better Way” (2:38)
A5. “The Girl That Cannot Love” (4:49)

B1. “There’s a War On” (4:20)
B2. “Lightning Streak” (2:41)
B3. “I’ve Found Someone” (3:14)
B4. “Our Country’s Still O.K.” (3:51)
B5. “No One Follows the Daytime” (3:38)

There’s a War On was produced by label owner Herman D. Gimbel and engineered by William Hamilton. Initially pressed in a quantity of 500, the album unexpectedly sold out in San Francisco within days, prompting multiple reorders. In a few weeks, There’s a War On sold 20,000 copies in that market alone. Despite the grassroots success, Gimbel remained uninterested in turning a profit. He agreed to fund a follow-up album, but with no intention of promoting it.

Sunday Funnies

The Rainbow Press released their second album, Sunday Funnies, in August 1969 on Mr. G Records.

The album ranges from emotive piano ballads and fuzzed-out covers to dramatic organ epics and baroque psych-pop. Tracks like “Sightseeing” and “Definitions” showcase a matured songwriting sensibility, while more intense numbers such as “The Lost Platoon” and “Have You Ever” unfold with ornate piano lines, urgent melodic shifts, and a sense of mounting, cinematic tension.

Marc Ellis composed the first three songs and co-wrote two (“The Lost Platoon,” “Smitty’s Rainfall”) with Larry Milton, who wrote the bulk of Side B. Sunday Funnies includes covers of The Beatles (“I’ll Cry Instead”) and Bob Dylan (“As I Went Out One Morning”).

A1. “Sightseeing” (3:15) has piano ballad verses with an arching motif (in A and G) and a swelling, emotive, tambourine-laden chorus.
A2. “Great White Whale” (2:35)
A3. “The Lost Platoon” (4:30) is an epic number with distant fade-in, ominous organ passage, and rising pre-chorus.
A4. “I’ll Cry Instead” (3:28) transforms the Hard Days Night song from a baroque jazz-pop number with a circular bassline to a heavier fuzz/organ piece with intense vocals.
A5. “You Warmed Up My Life” (3:45)

B1. “As I Went Out One Morning” (3:44)
B2. “Have You Ever” (3:11) is an uptempo baroque song with a hi-hat-driven piano melody (in G with suspended thirds), a spinning pre-chorus, and a roaming ivory middle (in C minor).
B3. “Sing Your Song” (3:22)
B4. “Definitions” (3:59) is a slow, melancholy ballad (in D minor) of piano and voice with light bass and gradual organ sustain.
B5. “Smitty’s Rainfall” (3:41)

Sunday Funnies received no label support, fulfilling its role as a loss-generating asset. The Rainbow Press disbanded shortly afterward.

Discography: