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thens rock lifers Mike and Herb Guthrie
are well known for their decades of dedi
cation to The Michael Guthrie Band. But
theirs is a story that stretches back to
the '60s, back to a band called Arnold
Bean. Now billing themselves as "one of
Georgia's first underground bands," the coun
terculture faves will reunite this weekend for
the first time in 38 years.
When the teenage Guthrie brothers
returned to the U.S. in 1966, after living in
Germany where their father was stationed
in the Army, they were pretty well-seasoned
as musicians. The pair had already started
their first band overseas. The Illusions, and it
wasn't long before they formed their first band
in the States, The Bitter End, in Columbus, GA
with friend Gary Burnette. Their father's accep
tance of a civil service job in the Augusta sub
urb of Grovetown moved the pair briefly, but
it was long enough for their new Augusta-area
presence to have a significant impact on the
band that would become Arnold Bean.
"There was a kid at school that was for
ever saying, 'My brother plays in [legendary
Southern pop group and Roy Orbison's backing
band] The Candymen, blah blah blah' Later,
they came to Augusta, and he introduced us!"
explains Mike. "They knew we were in a band
because we dressed like one—of course we
were in awe because The Beatles had opened
for them with Roy Orbison and they had just
finished a package tour with the Small Faces.
They suggested we get up and play a short
set during their break... We did, and ripped
through some Jimi [Hendrix]-style feedback
jams and made a mark, somewhat."
Fast-forward a year, and The Candymen
were booked for a two-week stand at Mr. K's
Klassic Kat, a Saigon-themed club and, as Mike
puts it, "sleaze hole Columbus nightspot," and
the Guthries' band, now known as Arnold Bean
(a thumbed-nose response to what Mike calls
the then-popular "Bill & the So-and-So" type
of band name), convinced the owner of the
club to let them play the 15-minute intervals
between The Candymen's sets. He went for it
and offered the group S50 a night.
The Candymen remembered Arnold Bean
from the previous year and, impressed
with their sound, suggested they travel
to Valparaiso, FL to play their stuff for
Playground Studios owner and known Southern
producer Finley Duncan. Duncan thought they
had something, and secured a two-LP deal
through SSS International Records, a divi
sion of Sun Entertainment (i.e., Memphis' Sun
Records) best known for releasing Jeannie
C. Riley's "Harper Valley P.T.A." The label's
staff, who didn't seem to have much love for
Arnold Bean, chose the album title Cosmic
Bean instead, and assembled suitably spacey
artwork for the band's 1970 debut without
any input from any of the bandmembers. A
couple friends of the band managed to push
the album steadily to hipper customers at
Columbus, GA record shop Dr. Jive's, but,
needless to say, it didn't catapult the band
to fame. They never recorded that second LP
("The label didn't 'get' my new songs," says
Mike), although Cosmic Bean has become
something of a collector's item in the 41 years
since its release.
In the beginning, Arnold Bean played
school dances, army bases (including a riotous
gig that got them banned from Ft. Benning),
frat parties, etc., but as the era of outdoor
festivals spread across the country and into
the South, the band played more events of
that type. A favorite venue, though, was the
short-lived underground Columbus club The
Electric Toadstool.
"Arnold Bean was very eclectic. We were
counterculture... and it was also the outlet
for my first original songs. [That's] no big deal
now, but in 1971 we would show up and play
hours of unheard originals," says Mike. "We
were a bit radical and ahead of our time, so
trouble often ensued."
When Burnette decided to take a break
from the band in 1973, bassist Ritchie McNally
took his place, and the group evolved into The
Michael Guthrie Band. Although the Guthries
and Burnette (Herb on drums, Mike on guitar
and Gary on bass) were the sole constants
of the group, they also had several keyboard
players (John Aiken, Mike Griffin, Tommy
Lambert, Brad Robertson, Ed Locke and Todd
Christiansen), each of whom are invited to
participate in the upcoming reunion. Barring
the 11 songs on Cosmic Bean, Mike says, "Most
of this stuff was never recorded. [For the
reunion show] I'll try to pull out some that
have never been heard."
Gordon Lamb
HOW MUCH: TB*
CAU FOR DESIGNS
Athens Cultural Affairs Commission is seeking designs for metal panels
and fabric banners to be installed on downtown's newest parking deck.
Entry Peadline Monday, May 23, Z011
*500 awards to selected designers
www.atbenselarkeeoonty.eoiN/SFlOST
or call:
(706) 613-3025
MAY 11, 2011 • FLAGP0LE.COM 15
