BOB SHAD
Bob Shad (born Abraham Shadrinsky; February 12, 1920 – March 13, 1985) was an American record producer and record label owner. He produced the first album by Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin). Among his more successful labels were Time Records, Brent Records, and Mainstream Records. (More from Wikipedia)
Bohemian Vendetta recorded demos of several more songs and came to the attention of Bob Shad’s Mainstream Records. His company was famous for releasing albums by unknown bands for the nascent “underground” FM radio market and is known for their pedestrian production values and minimal promotion efforts. Mainstream Records does have some prominent albums to its credit, however, including the first album by Big Brother and the Holding Company (not long after Janis Joplin joined up) and the first three albums by the Amboy Dukes, Ted Nugent’s early band (including their big hit “Journey to the Center of the Mind”).
Bohemian Vendetta had already recorded demos of most of the songs on the album for Mainstream, but Bob Shad insisted that they re-record them in early 1968; and the results did not capture the feel of the demos, which were more representative of how the band actually sounded. Nearly all of their material was written by the band, but Shad wanted them to record the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”.
(April 2011)
