THE SHAMEN
The Gravedigger Five – often shown as Gravedigger V – was a garage rock revival band formed in 1984 in San Diego, California. The band was part of the Paisley Underground, a musical movement centered on Los Angeles, California, which referenced 1960s West Coast pop and garage rock. The members of the Gravedigger Five began playing together around 1983, practicing under the name “The Shamen” in bassist Chris Gast’s garage. The name “The Shamen” was abandoned after the group discovered that the name was already in use by another band; and so after a night of brainstorming, purportedly at a local Bob’s Big Boy, the group renamed their band the Gravedigger Five, a take-off on the old “Monster Mash” backing group The Cryptkicker V. (More from Wikipedia)
Mike Stax joined with Ray Brandes, Bill Calhoun and David Klowden of the Mystery Machine in creating the Tell-Tale Hearts, along with Eric Bacher who had been in a band called Freddie and the Soup Bowls. Their first gig was in September 1983 at a yard party; Gravedigger V made their debut at the same event, though they were known as the Shamen at that time. The Tell-Tale Hearts seemed to hit San Diego at just the right time and quickly became a fixture in several local clubs, serving as the house band for Studio 517 for a time.
(September 2017)
