Ultra

ULTRA was formed out of the ashes of Homer, when remaining members Galen Niles and Don Evans (who was strictly the vocalist in the new band) added Larry McGuffin (guitar), Scott Stephens (bass), and Tom Schleuning (drums).  As a departure from the Homer sound, Ultra was an old-fashioned hard rock band with twin lead guitars trading solos and playing in harmony.  Some might describe it as heavy metal, but I wouldn’t.  Their sole release was a 5-song promotional EP with just 100 copies and a plain white cover. 

Much as Homer had often done, Ultra was conceived as a touring band that would open for national acts, rather than playing in small clubs, and this was in keeping with their big sound.  Galen Niles has mentioned as examples that they opened for Be-Bop Deluxe and Pat Travers.  (Frequent touring was difficult financially though; often the roadies collected what little money remained after expenses were paid).  Their sound was clashing with the growing popularity of disco and punk rock; and in fact, their most high-profile moment came when they opened for Sex Pistols at Randy’s Rodeo on January 8, 1978.  Niles stated recently:  “We most definitely had no business being on the same bill as the Sex Pistols, as we were not in any musical sense of the word a ‘punk’ outfit.” 

A remarkable reunion and awards ceremony for 1960’s and 1970’s San Antonio bands is scheduled to take place this Sunday, September 4, 2011.  Besides the Outcasts and Ultra, bands that are scheduled to appear include Bubble Puppy (who had a national hit song called “Hot Smoke and Sassafras” that I haven’t heard in ages), Swiss Movement, the Laughing Kind, and Stone Soul Clique, whose members include Chris Gerniottis, formerly of Zakary Thaks.  Should be a great time! 

Although there is a decent write-up on Homer in Allmusic, there is nothing in Wikipedia on either that band or Ultra.  Homer would have made a good choice for Under-Appreciated acolades, except that I don’t have any of their music yet.  Ultra’s archived tracks though have been re-released twice – on Monster Records in 2000 and on Vintage Records in 2007.  I picked up the latter collection, called Ultra last year; it features 16 fine tracks that were recorded in 1975-1977. 

 

 

Items:    Ultra 

 

 

It is amazing how often I will mention a past UARB or UARA in the article on this month’s entry, only to find that they come up in the Flashback or the Picture Gallery.  Maybe these really are flashbacks!  In this case, Galen Niles of the Outcasts – who performed the furious psychedelic guitar on “1523 Blair” – was one of the founders of the Texas hard-rock band Ultra. 

YouTube has several videos by Ultra; this audio-only recording is of “Mutants”, the opening song on the collection that I have – simply called Ultra:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzblyTnm1Zg .  There are also live performances by Ultra:  “Mutants” again at Sunken Garden Theatre in San Antonio – www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBlcCH098Tk – and another song (not sure of the name) at Six Flags in Arlington, TX – www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNFm0k_QN1g .  Methinks that the studio recordings have been dubbed over the concert performances, but the video footage is nice to watch anyway.  At a 2011 reunion concert, Ultra played “Mutants” yet again at Floore’s in Helotes, TX, but this one really is a live recording:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YjxhBGrpgU .