One in a long line of great San Jose groups in the '60s, Teddy & His Patches are probably among the best remembered. Their classic song 'Suzy Creamcheese' has appeared on numerous '60's garage/psych compilations, most recently on Rhino's widely praised Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970 set. Steve Urbani and Steve Marley joined the group after their initial formation, but played on their legendary singles.
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An Interview With Steve Marley and Steve Urbani
60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?
Steve Urbani (SU): I played string bass in grade school until forming a band in middle and high school.
Steve Marley (SM): I started playing drums on a whim in a seventh grade school music program and by high school played in the marching band, pep band and jazz ensemble. From age 14 on, I was always in some kind of rock band outside of school.
60s: Was Teddy & His Patches your first band?
SU: My first band was with my cousin and his friends in high school. We were called The Brahmins, and were together about two-three years in the early-mid '60s. Teddy & His Patches formed as an early '60s band, playing Motown-type music. Basically Teddy started over and we all remade the group and its sound. The band consisted of Teddy Flores, singer/harmonica; Steve Marley, drums; Bernie Pearson, guitar; Dave Conway, keyboards; and Steve Urbani, bass.
SM: My first real group was called Pat 'n Al. They were a folk-duo that also featured electric guitarist and drums. Pat 'n Al were similar to acts like Chad & Jeremy or Peter & Gordon. We played an early brand of folk rock around 1965-1966 and performed at the Santa Clara County Fair, and weekly at Riccardo's, an Italian eatery that was famous for local music. I was the baby of that group, as a freshman at age 15, while the other guys were all seniors or recent high school grads. Pat 'n Al recorded two singles, neither which got any airplay. The first 45 was recorded in Los Angeles at Columbia Records Studio A in the summer of 1966. While I was excited to be recording in a world famous studio, I was unhappy my first record was essentially teen romance slop with a nearly inaudible drum track. The band's second 45 (recorded on the Pleasure Record label at Coast Recorders in San Francisco) had a more "surf music" energy and much better recording of the drums. Sadly, the track never received any airplay. After leaving the band, I played in a couple of other obscure local bands, like The Brahmins, until joining up with The Patches in 1967.
Around 1964 or 1965, Teddy Flores (a singer who'd lost one eye to cancer as a small child) had another group called The Patches, which released a 45 single produced by his father. It went nowhere. In 1967 his father and band manager, Ted Sr., started to recruit a new group of teenage musicians to reform the group. Guitarist Bernie Pearson was added first. I was brought in after they saw me playing at The Continental Ballroom with The Brahmins and fellow band member, Steve Urbani (bass) joined at the same time. I managed to get an old friend. Dave Conway. into the band as the keyboard guy, since Dave was a classically trained musician who had written hundreds of songs. Although Dave was not exactly a rock n' roll kind of guy, everyone realized that he would add a lot to the band.
60s: What bands influenced you?
SU: The Yardbirds, Animals, and even Donovan.
SM: I'm not sure the band had any definitive sound or primary influence. We all liked the post-Rubber Soul Beatles a great deal. Conway preferred romantic Roy Orbison ballads. Bernie was a hard rock and psychedelic rock fan. Steve Urbani and I listened to anything that had a good drum and bass combination, like most Motown and Muscle Shoals tracks. I was also really a big fan of Dave Brubeck and his drummer, Joe Morello.
60s: What was the San Jose rock and roll scene like in the '60s?
SU: It was amazing! There were lots of bands and there was a great music/concert scene. Many "San Francisco" bands were actually from the South Bay.
SM: It was a really exciting and vibrant scene. Just about every neighborhood had one or two garage bands. It seemed like every kid had a guitar, bass or drums in his bedroom and was trying to play. At that time, most high school dances featured live bands rather than the deejays and recorded music of today, and schools had entertainment budgets to actually pay the bands something! The bigger dances (homecoming, proms, etc.) often paid a few hundred dollars. There were several decent venues for the more successful bands; The Continental Ballroom hired local bands to open for national acts. The old Coconut Grove on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Loser's South in San Jose booked bands on the weekends. Then there was the Wutzit Club, and several other youth clubs run by Parks and Recreation Departments around the Bay Area.
Most importantly, the local radio stations were accessible. In the days before corporate media conglomerates became the norm, a, independent deejay could befriend or mentor a band and add their record (or even a taped demo) into the stations playlist rotation. Often these guys would be the emcee at some car dealership or shopping mall opening, where they'd meet bands sharing the stage and become friends.
60s: Where did Teddy & His Patches typically play?
SU: We played everything from high school dances (!) to big concerts: Eric Burdon and The Animals, The Doors and others. We played the most popular small teen club/dance was in Santa Clara. The main concert venue was The Continental Roller Bowl in Santa Clara.
SM: We played mostly schools, teen clubs and as the opening act at larger shows...always paid gigs, too! We played mostly at The Continental Ballroom, The Coconut Grove and a club called Loser's South, in the South Bay.
60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?
SU: Throughout California.
SM: Teddy & His Patches had a state-wide touring schedule. I remember playing shows at The Ice House in Pasadena, The Santa Barbara County Fairgrounds, The Monterey County Fairgrounds, and out in the Central Valley to Sacramento and up north in Chico and Redding.
60s: Did Teddy & His Patches participate in any battle of the bands?
SU: No. By the time we recorded 'Suzy,' we were off and running with concerts, and other things.
SM: We did not enter battles of the bands, which were typically "rigged" or had an obvious neighborhood bias. They were a waste of time.
60s: What other local groups do you especially recall?
SM: The Count Five, E-Types, Chocolate Watchband, Gropus Cackus, Orphan Egg and The Chosen Few were all active bands that played regularly. Decades later, I'm still friends or in contact with the lead guitarist from Orphan Egg, the drummer from Gropus Cackus and the bassist from The Chosen Few.
60s: Did Teddy & His Patches have a manager?
SU: Our manager was Ted Flores, Sr. (Teddy's dad). He did all our bookings and business. He was very active!
SM: Teddy's father, Ted Sr., was the group's manager and took an active role in all the band did, which eventually became a problem.
60s: How popular locally did the group become?
SU: We were #1 on the radio Top 40. We did especially well in Northern and Central California. We did Okay in Southern California, too.
60s: What were the circumstances leading to the recordings of the Chance 45s?
SU: Dave Conway had some friends that built a recording studio in San Jose (TIKI Studios). We 'volunteered' to help them with construction as a trade out for some initial recording time!
SM: Dave Conway and I used to hang out at Grady O'Neal's TIKI Recording Studio in San Jose. We'd do odd jobs for him, like paint walls or staple foam onto sound partitions, and sometimes we'd play for free or small fees on some of his commercial projects, like radio jingles. I remember we also played on some low budget recordings as the house band, mostly for "fading" country and western singers. Over time we developed a really fine relationship with the owners of TIKI and Grady O'Neal seemed eager to record The Patches under his Chance label...even though he didn't care for the loud, psychedelic sound. He knew the band had a growing local following and that Dave and I were good to work with.
Every Teddy & His Patches recording was done at TIKI Studios on 17th Street in San Jose. The first (and most successful single), 'Suzy Creamcheese,' was recorded live in the studio on a four track Ampex, without overdubs. The psychedelic whoops heard on the track were part of the live recording, with Teddy moving from a studio mic to a hand held PA mic that was plugged into an old Fender tape-loop echo feeding back through a PA monitor. The whole thing was recorded without a single overdub or edit...and in just three or four takes total. That record received considerable airplay in California, thanks to helpful independent radio stations and actually charted #1 in Salinas/Monterey and Santa Maria/San Luis Obispo.
The later Patches' recordings were produced more conventionally, with lead guitar parts, vocals and percussion overdubed on multi-track (8 track Ampex) gear. It's still amazing to me that track (and band) has had a life of its own after more than 40 years. It's hard to believe that there are dozens of Web references and a MySpace page dedicated to what five teenagers recorded decades ago. There are dozens of re-release compilation disks (Nuggets and Pebbles, etc.) and 'Suzy Creamcheese' still gets radio airplay in distant places, like Norway, and a few vintage vinyl collectors have paid up to $300 for our 45 disk that sold for a dollar back in 1967. I only have three of those 45s at home!
60: What are your recollections of O'Neal?
SM: He was a kind hearted, country music lover who spent all of his energy trying to make it big in the music business.
SU: Grady and his two partners (I can't remember their names, but I have a 'Suzy' 45 with their signatures on the label!) were great guys. They were very smart with technology, but they didn't understand our sound at all! After so many hours in the studio (we were working on an album), the sound grew on them!
60s: What happened to the album? Why wasn't it ever released?
SU: We were working on the album over many months, and eventually the group broke up before having enough recorded/finished. I'd guess we had 8-10 songs recorded. I don't know what happened to the masters. Grady at Tiki Studios must have kept them.
SM: The Patches recorded as many as eight songs in preparation for an album release if 'Suzy Creamcheese' or 'Haight Ashbury' broke nationally.
60: Did Teddy & His Patches write many original songs? Who was the band's primary songwriter?
SU: Yes, we wrote several, and were working on the album. Dave would come in with a melody and we would all write our own parts.
SM: The Patches performed mixed sets of originals and covers. At larger shows (opening for major acts, etc.) we played all originals. Everyone contributed to the Patches sound, but Dave Conway was the primary songwriter in the group.
60s: Do you have a favorite song by the band?
SU: Actually, my favorite two songs we did live were (and I think recorded also) 'It's My Life' by Eric Burdon & The Animals and 'Sunshine Superman' by Donovan. Of our recordings, I'd say 'From Day to Day'.
60s: Do any other '60's Teddy & His Patches recordings exist? Are there any vintage live recordings, or unreleased tracks?
SU: Yes there are...somewhere. I've tried to locate Grady, as he must be the one with the masters. I'm sure he is the one that 'released' the recordings to all the labels that have included us in their compilations.
SM: I had a live tape made at some teen club, but it was lost decades ago. The unreleased TIKI recordings might have survived in Grady O'Neal's archives, but I doubt it.
60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances?
SU: Yes...one time on a local dance show (like American Bandstand).
SM: Yes, once on an American Bandstand-type of TV show. We lip-sync'd to the record.
60s: What year and why did the band break up?
SU: In 1967. There was some disagreement about management and money!
SM: Dave Conway and I all left the band over a money dispute with manager, Ted Sr. We accused him of skimming profits and under-reporting our receipts. I was talked into briefly rejoining the band to play a couple of important "showcase" shows using a new keyboard player, Bob "Uncle Waldo" Armithnot. The financial arrangements did not improve, as promised, and the band broke up within a month or two later.
60s: Did you join or form any bands after Teddy & His Patches?
SU: No. I sold my guitar and amps, bought a car and went off to college. Once at college, I realized I made a mistake selling the equipment!
SM: Dave Conway and I went into TIKI Studios after The Patches brokeup and produced another 45 single under the Chance label, 'Time Traveller' and the B-side 'Things Aren't What They Seem To Be' using the band name The Change. Neither track failed to catch on.
I was in a few bands after Teddy & His Patches folded. In 1968-1969 I was in a trio, called Ivy, with guitarist Bill Hullett, who's now an "A" list session player in Nashville. While in college, I played with Nucleus, a jazz fusion ensemble that performed at a number of university jazz festivals. I was also in a funk band (with a horn section) called Farber's Retreat at the end of my musical run in 1972. By that time, I was making very little money and realized that since I wasn't a singer or songwriter my future depended on others, so I gradually abandoned my plans to make drumming my career. I should add that the expanding drug culture had already claimed a few former bandmates, caused the schools to give up on live bands for dances, and forced the closing of many teen clubs, making the overall music scene in the South Bay increasingly bleak.
60s: What keeps you busy today?
SU: I never again pursued music, except for a career in radio. I've been a deejay, program director, station manager, and more. I then worked in television and now for a company that sells video servers to cable TV companies.
SM: I traded the drumsticks for a career in magazine journalism and, later, high tech advertising. My youngest son, a drummer/percussionist, is very active in music and will be attending The University of North Texas next fall as a music major. My wife and I enjoy hearing his school concerts, and all his local jam sessions and coffee house gigs. I get to play the part of an unpaid roadie/drum tech and some days I'll sit down at the drum kit in his room and have at it . Only time will tell if his own musical adventure will be productive and sustainable, but he's getting a great start and we're encouraging him to go for it!
60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with Teddy & His Patches?
SU: The '60s was a great time and it was a great time in my life. I have great memories.
SM: We had fun while it lasted and flirted with rock 'n roll fame but, like so many kids out there, we found that pure luck plays a huge part in making it.
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