TheLANCE

Volume I -April 1966 to December 1966:$14.95 plus $3.00 shipping and handling within USA. All other countries , add an additional $ 7.00
Volume II-December 1966 to December 1967 :$45.00 plus $3.00 within USA.All other countires, add an additional &7.00.

Each combined order of The Lance Volume I and Volume II comes with a free news video about the Knights' 1998 re-emergence which was produced by a major Albuquerque T.V. station. -
 

Aside from the reprints of the original '60s Lance issues, Dick's fab biography chaptered intriguingly with the titles, "Starting Point," "TheRelease," "The Promotion," "The Letdown," "The Shift," and "The After effects" coupled with special sections on '60s Arizona psychedelia,some '60s Texas rock bands (that almost made it big), and the story of Goldust Records from Las Cruces, New Mexico etc., make these two volumes a
must for reading.
To order : Mail to Dick lancerecords@hotmail.com
 
 
 

Quotaion of   Preface of  Volume II (by Dick Stewart)

 In compiling the infonnation for this second volume, I began to discover how dramatic the changes had become in the way rcck'n'roll was being expressed by the end of 1964. For nearly a decade it had ccntered itself almost exclusively around one the me... teenage crushes. Rock'n'roll was born in 1954 and from that year through 1963 the conservative philosophies ofthe moral 50's ruled. Those generations of rock'n'roller didn't give much thought to their government's handlings of the affairs of the state and its lack of environmental concerns; nor did they care enough to make a stand against the outrageous discriminatory practices so deeply imbedded in our societies during that time. No, none of that stuff. The focus was almost exclusively on scoring with "chicks" who were gorgeous physically but certainly not philosophically or, in the girl's case, meeting a handsome guy who had a cool-looking, customized 8-cylinder Chevy or Ford lowered in the back with six-inch shackles and decorated with shiny moon or Oldsmobile flipper hubcaps and extended chrome exhaust fittings. Materialism was an inspiration and pre-1964 rock'n'roll reflected that image.
  But when The Beatles invaded the U.S. in February l964 with their strange-looking Vox guitars, distinctive four-part harmonies, and mop-top hair styles, traditional American rock'n'roll groups that specialized in predictable three,chord progressions and overused puppy-love terminologies began to fall rapidly by the wayside. The popularity of the Beatles not only opened the doors of America to a flood of British bands, but, with the advent ofthc Victnam War and LSD, it paved the way to an anything-goes, outspoken, philosophical approach. Suddenly there seemed to be everything to play and sing about. And although romance was still one of the primary topics of the day (and always will be), it took on a more earthy relationship with a no-hang-up sexuaI openness. Overall, however, the new message was about the destructive, dependency on materialism that had been preventing us from finding out the who, the why, and the what about our very existence on this earth. That translated into an unwillingness to sit idle and say nothing about the government's involvenent in Vietnam in which many believed numerous lives were being lost only because that country's political structure was in danger of becoming unfavorable to that of the Western world. All these new- fashioned ideologies had become the principal subjects that were expressed musically by a mass of new British-influenced American rock bands and they delivered these messages in a manner that had always been considered taboo by the radio stations before 1964. There were folk protest singers who rambled on for better than six minutes with few chord changes (Bob Dylan's "I'm a Rolling Stone") as well as mind expanding, drug-influenced vocalization"and musical arrangements from San Francisco that cxpressed nearly every concern of the American youth (Jeffepson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish and so forth).
  By 1966, there was an explosion of rock'n'roll garage bands not only in the United States but worldwide and most were eagerly jumping on this psychedelic musical bandwagon. Only a few of the lucky ones (not necessarily the most talented) became stars. But for everyone that made it,there were thousands of groups of borderline genius that never went beyond their rcgional popularity.
  This volume is an historical accounting of one of those regions strengthened by the recovery of most of the issues of a newsletter I had published from April 1966 to December 1967 which specialized in the coverages of local and nationnal rock'n'roll events of the time but not exclusively so. There were also some indepth reports on other fields of music such as jazz, country, and Mexican-Amencan. Known as The Lance, its primary focus was devoted to the artists of the Southwest, especially those from Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces. Many of its writers were aspiring musicians themselves turned promoter who used their columns to further their own musical careers. But then that was the primary motivation for their editorial contnbutions because The Lance couldn't afford to pay them. Fortunately, they were nearly all name droppers and because of that, the indcx of this volume is packed full of bands, record labels, recording studios, and radio personalities of both local, regional, national and worldwide fame. Today, big or small, most have faded into obscurity but they were major players during a time when rock'n'roll experienced its greatest transformation. If you had a band or were involved as a record promoter or disc jockey especially in the Southwest between l961 and l967, chances are your name and/or name of your group or record label is indexed in this volume. Take a look.
  Every band. whether of local or worldwide fame, has an interesting history from beginning to end.
The rise and fall of King Richard and the Knights is my story and it begins a few years before the era psychedelia when rock'n'roll was stiu in its infancy. And, of course, we, just like the other bands of our time, believcd our group was one step away from making it to the top. But the Britsh invasion and the ultimate shift from the innoccnce of basic pop-rock to the full-blown, electrified, mystical, philosophical expressions that began to intensify by the mid-60's put an end to that dream.
  But I have no regrets. It was and still is a great ride for me and my wife, Judi, who I've been married to for 35 years. I've been successful in busincss (unrelated to music), Judi and I have raised a family, and I continue to play guitar professionally as of this writing.
  And I too once jumped on the psychedelic musical bandwagon (minus the mind-altering drug) in the 80's and early 90'S during a time when my two sons (Jason - lead guitar and Richard Todd - bass) and I played together under such names as Knee Deep, the Mountain , Riff-Raff and the Jyck Monkey Band. But when they moved to Austin, Texas in the mid-90's  to further their musical careers, I hooked up once again with one of the Knights, original bass palyers, Gary Snow and we began to play what we know best... surf rock instrumentals of the early 60's. We no longer have any aspirations of making it into the big times and, as a result Gary and I enjoy our performances much more now. Funny how some of us can never get playng out of our systems. Judi, who jokes about being a band widow, says, "Old musicians never die. They just go on and on and on and...*