Grok - Grok the Anthology (1964-2014)

During a (Keith) Moonian finale of a 1972 summer concert by Grok on Korvette's parking lot in Towson, MD., this audient witnessed the band's locomotive drummer hurl his Rogers' drums into the 4' of standing water of an above-ground display pool. Equally surprising was their immediate retrieval by loyal roadies Jim Fallows and Ginny Kaufman. Now THIS was a rock and roll band. No one could then have predicted the following February, that his same audience member would ride a freight elevator as Grok's singer and 2nd guitarist with his bandmates and a quintet of then unknown Bostonians, Aerosmith. We shared billing with them and Bruce Springsteen (E Streeter David Sancious experienced an organ malfunction, forcing his band to bail) for Happening '73 at Baltimore's Civic Center, a venue reverberating with the sonic residue of performances by The Beatles, Stones, Byrds, DC5, Animals, The Who, et al. "Grok," a verb coined by sci-fi author Bob Heinlein, means "to understand completely/intuitively" and "to communicate sympathetically." A "4-letter word," it's spelling includes an anagram of the word "rock;" and this band's sympathies resonate with the "tough love" of their Brit/Yank hybrid style of hard rock, executed with such enthusiasm and conviction as to satisfy 2 of life's implied directives: to "let it rawk" and to "let it matter." Founded upon the solid melodo-rhythmic deployment of Del Vikings/Verdicts bassist, Robert (Boz) Funk with drummer Don Henritz; and fronted by vocalist extraordinaire, Bill Joy, a chance 1971 encounter at Bill's Music (Catonsville, MD.) introduced the trio to multi-instrumentalist Dale German (Cherry Smash) who subsequently weaved his wrenching riffage through the fabric of the rhythms and rests his team mates rolled out before him. The quartet honed their unique sound at local clubs like The Rhapsody where, rising out of the smoky din, they soon found their "black magic woman." The Grok pentagram wanting it's 5th panel, singer Colette Kelly (Status Quo) raised her hand. Ms. Kelly's soulful warbling merged with Joy's voice in close harmonies, octaves and in alternating solos, forming the composite, archetypal voice of Tiresias (s/he, the woman/man), heard when the tonic and it's harmonic sound simultaneously in a balance of treble and bass. Grok shared stages with Traffic's Dave Mason and Long John Baldry (Painters Mill Music Fair), Buddy Miles (U.M.B.C.); they performed in the Pimlico infield at the 1972 Preakness Stakes and at historical yet soon-to-vanish venues like Gwynn Oak's Dixie and Baltimore's Famous ballrooms. By year's end, Bill and Colette both resigned to pursue other interests. The undersigned's tenure (01-06/73) teemed with performance and recording activity prior to our pausing for what turned out to be a 4 decade sabbatical. And so we arrive at this compendium of available Grok recordings from 1971-73, including "The Pepsi Generation," 5 rare rehearsal tracks, a "live" 1973 concert selection (replete with dueling Gibsons and the then de riguer drum solo)...AND both sides of Grok precursor, The Verdicts' 7" platter of "Turtle Neck Sweater" b/w "Love In Vain" (1964, O'Dell Records), the "A" side inspired by a Jackie Kennedy poem in The Ladies Home Journal, published not long after her husband's tragic demise. Fast forward to 2014 when the concept of this anthology occurred to us, resulting in the CD you hold in your hand. We celebrate and document our musical history in a combination of the aforementioned, along with 4 re-mastered, 70s vintage studio mixes, augmented with new music composed and performed by the surviving members (Don passed away in 2000; Colette's whereabouts remain unknown, though the grapevine has it she thrives somewhere in Florida). This music was written and is intended to be in accord with the band's artistic aesthetic, incorruptible and relatively unchanged for over 40 years. Crown this with the bonus of Don's son, Garrett, pounding out rhythms in his father's stead, and we bring Grok's legacy into the realm of "now." Crank up the volume for maximum impact and...enjoy!