By“Tampa” Earl Burton
Rock Doc of the Month – Remembering “America’s Lost Band”
One of the things that I pride myself on is my knowledge of rock music and, especially, the history behind it. I rarely come across something I didn’t at least have an inkling of, a sliver of knowledge in the seventy-plus years of rock and roll history. Thus, imagine my surprise when I came across this documentary that told a story of a band that Jon Landau, he of the immortal Bruce Springsteen quote (“I have seen the future of rock and roll…”), himself said, “They were how you told a stranger about rock and roll.” The rock documentary (“rock doc”) “America’s Lost Band” was released in 2008, commemorating a “what if” in the annals of music’s history. The documentary, directed by Michael Stich and produced by Fred Cantor, followed a band known as The Remains. The Remains – guitarist/vocalist Barry Tashian, bassist Vern Miller, keyboardist Bill Briggs, and drummer Chip Damiani – were all in college in 1964 when they came together as a band. They played locally around the Boston area, but stardom seemed to beckon to the quartet.
The Remains abridged documentary “America’s Lost Band” will be available on several streaming apps, including YouTube, starting on April 8th.
After reaching a significant amount of success in the Northeast (in the Sixties, regional success was a big deal), the band was asked to do something that few had done – open for a little band out of Liverpool called The Beatles. Over three weeks in 1966, the band wowed crowds who had come to see the mop-headed lads from England, earning kudos for The Remains as their rocket to the top continued…
Or so it seemed.
What was not known for those three weeks in 1966 was that Damiani had left the group before the tour even started, replaced by N.D. Smart (who would go on to man the kit for Mountain). Although they were riding high on their success from opening for The Beatles (side note: it would also prove to be the last time The Beatles toured the U.S.), the band broke up in late 1966 and a self-titled album that had been completed (on Epic Records) was released to little notice from the audience.
But The Remains had made their impact known. Ever since the demise of the group in the late Sixties, there had been moments where the group was hailed as one of the “what if” stories of rock history. The documentary follows the four original members as they came together in 2006 for a reunion around the Los Angeles area. Interspersed with the memories of the band hitting the stage with remarkably crisp and fresh-sounding music even today (it would be interpreted as “garage rock”) are the stories from the men of The Remains and those who followed their meteoric rise – and unglamorous fall.
“After the tour (with The Beatles), the fire had gone,” Tashian says during the documentary, but it couldn’t be seen by the way the men attacked their instruments and songs in “America’s Lost Band.” It was also refreshing to see that these men continued with their musical career, albeit not together. Tashian went on to work with Briggs in The Flying Burrito Brothers and would also work with Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris; Miller worked with a band called Crow and a young ingenue by the name of Donna Summer; Chip would work with The Barbarians. While they channeled their talents in different directions, they never forgot the magic they worked as The Remains.
And that was something that I found quite refreshing too. As I explained earlier, I have an extensive background in the world of rock. Imagine my astonishment – and enjoyment – to find out about such a linchpin of rock history as The Remains! The half-hour documentary was chock-full of information that I had to quickly add to my mental musical repertoire while I was simultaneously enjoying receiving more of an education in the history of rock.
Unfortunately, the men who made up The Remains have gotten older. Damiani passed away in 2014 from a cerebral hemorrhage and Briggs in 2024–while the other members are closing in on eighty years old. These men do not have anything to lament, however; to capture in a couple of years, or a three-week burst now sixty years ago, the memories they have are something that most anyone involved in rock and roll would love to have. “America’s Lost Band” will be airing on local PBS stations after April 8th. You would be doing yourself a favor to check out this priceless documentary, not only for the education it provides but also just to celebrate a band that could have been much bigger than what they were – and you know what? The members are OK with that…
Please note: Filmed in August 2006. Premiered in 2008 at the Boston Film Festival.
VIDEOS
SOCIAL MEDIA
Please note: Filmed in August 2006. Premiered in 2008 at the Boston Film Festival.
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