2 Bostonians recording the VU before 1967.October?

[mangue]

Just came across an article in the 1967.Oct.15 Boston Sunday Herald Traveler, titled "Two Young Men Who Are a Part of the Times".

It's about Harry Miller [24] and Al (Booper) Arnold [23], who then just had started a recording studio on 304 Columbus Ave.
Earlier Harry Miller was "an unpaid road manager" for The Barbarians [group from Boston] and had taped shows when he traveled.
Miller: "We know the music and we know a lot of the people. There isn't a place around that the groups really can relax as they play. We're trying to get away from the New York studio idea where some guy who doesn't know the music will tell you what to do." [probably as experienced with The Barbarians!]
Booper: "There is a lot of talent in Boston that has no way of exploiting itself. There aren't that many showcases for them and few places where they can rehearse. At least, now there is a place where they can be taped to hear how they sound to themselves."
So far, they have taped several groups who are meaningful in today's music - The Velvet Underground, The Hallucinations, The Crows, The III Winds and others.

source: http://public.maximus.newsbank.com/imag ... ACDBEA.tif

Does anybody know anything more about the mentioned studio and/or the two men?
Could the mentioned VU recordings be unknown studio/rehearsal recordings or rather live tapes [note: from before 1967.Oct!]?

[peppergomez]

Nice find, boy That would be fantastic if that surfaced

If either of those two guys are still alive somebody should contact them to see

[hkmartin]

@SheilaKlein are you still in touch with (Boston music expert) Ryan Walsh? Seems like he'd be the one to ask.

I'm not sure if this is directly from Ryan, but it's a map of locations from his book on the late 1960s scene in Boston (which I recommend). The National Express Recording Studio is on this map.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewe ... wY_KYDRNgo

In the early months of [Van] Morrison's Boston residency, he and his band used a rehearsal room at the National Express Recording Studio in the South End. June Benson, who lived above the studio, remembers hearing Morrison before she saw him. “The music was daily. ‘Brown Eyed
Girl’ played almost endlessly that summer,” she says. “We would try and talk over it, clean the house with it blaring, eat with it blasting. It was just never ending when Van was there.”

Also found this reference to "Booper" on Facebook page of Black Pearl, a late 60s band that Booper appears to have managed. https://www.facebook.com/OriginalBlackP ... LTK1M&_rdr

Booper! Al "Booper" Arnold. Fall of 67, Boston. A call came from Leonard Lookner of Galena St East needing a band for a couple of weeks in Aspen, Booper quickly put the question of a vacation to an out of work group of Musician's from different bands. Stealing the name from Al and Harry Millers studio the "National Express Company" we went to Aspen. Al "Booper" Arnold was the manager. Within a couple months, we became Black Pearl and disbanded in June 1969. Thanks to Harry, Al, Lenny et al.

[mangue]

The text of my original comment was posted in the FB-group "Who Remembers The Boston Tea Party, 1967-1970"
see https://www.facebook.com/groups/1180065 ... 038210434/

The most interesting/promising comment [for me at least] came from Dick Iacovello:
"I heard from Harry Miller a couple months ago. He's working on a book about everything he was involved with back in those days."


I have been thinking more about the original 1967.Oct article, and came to three opions:
--the info that the VU used that studio is just not true
--the VU were taped by Harry Miller not in that studio, but live, e.g. in Boston at the BTP [shows before 1967.October]
--the VU rehearsed [and recorded] in that Boston studio as preparation prior to the real WLWH recordings [1967.Sep, Mayfair Studios, NY]
NB: in that 3rd option, could it be that the WLWH acetate demos [PSAS disc 3, track 1-5] are actually recorded there [VU web states: "The actual place and date for these recordings remain unclear."]

[iaredatsun]

I can't help wonder whether this refers to the Boston Tea Party Audition tape in the NYPL Lou Reed archive. When I first saw it in the database there was no further information about it.

560540. Tea Party Audition. 1967 October

Last time I mentioned this on the forum, member hkmartin responded to say that it was not available for public listening.

[peppergomez]

I can't help wonder whether this refers to the Boston Tea Party Audition tape in the NYPL Lou Reed archive. When I first saw it in the database there was no further information about it.

560540. Tea Party Audition. 1967 October

Last time I mentioned this on the forum, member hkmartin responded to say that it was not available for public listening.

I hope they do make it available, if it's live material from that era that for me at least would be holy grail. They must have sounded fantastic at that point

[iaredatsun]

I hope they do make it available, if it's live material from that era that for me at least would be holy grail. They must have sounded fantastic at that point

I agree. It sounds to me like these two men had a studio space and recorded the bands in there, so if it exists it should sound good and may be a good reflection of live sound at the time.