The Hello People- (AS, I WENT DOWN TO) JERUSALEM

I did not know anything about this single or band, but its one of my staple garage/psych groove tracks. Little did I know that the band dressed as mimes and mimed in between songs, which probably killed any chance of success (but makes them that much more venerable now, right?). This track comes from their 1968 s/t release, and is a rollicking blues lead by distorted e-bass and bongos. The original line-up was::>
The original Hello People were:
W. S. "Sonny" Tongue - vocal, guitar (stage name "Country")
Greg Geddes - bass, vocal (stage name "Smoothie")
Bobby Sedita - guitar, vocal (stage name "Goodfellow")
Larry Tassi - keyboards, vocal (stage name "Much More")
Michael Sagarese - flute (stage name "Wry One")
Ronnie Blake - drums (stage name "Thump Thump")

Here is a great bio/discog link to learn more about this anomaly that gets collectors' (far more involved than me) panties in an uproar. Also the video for "Teen Time" hosted by Del Curtis is more than amazing as is this blog entry about making fun of mime rock as a youth (from floweringtoilet.blogspot.com). I have not heard their albums and don't know the extent of their exploration, but this is a rockin track that gets everyone (dressed in denim) up and dancing.

The Hello People "(As, I Went Down to) Jerusalem"