The two night affair was a total gas, but the whole deal went into rapid overload with the appearance of the Mysterians on stage at 3:15 in the morning.They started out with the instrumental intro workout to Do You Feel It, in the midst of which the insanely gorgeous Question Mark came bolting out like the perfect brat spawn of James Brown and Ronnie Spector Oh, my lord.
Formed in Saginaw, Michigan in 1964, Question Mark joined up with friends Bobby Balderrama (guitar), Robert Martinez (drums) and Larry Borjas (bass), taking as a band name the title of a 1957 Japanese sci-fi movie, The Mysterians. There was a change in the ranks thanks to the draft grab of Robert and the enlistment call of Larry, leaving Question Mark () and Bobby (X) momentarily groping in the wilderness for a rhythm section. Drummer boy Eddie Serrato, bassman Frank Lugo, and organ grinder extraordinaire Frank Rodriguez were reeled in as the magic combination. Their first recording session, contrary to popular conception, was not the March session which netted their hit. Actually, their first studio session came a month earlier, on Feb. A single acetate was cut of two cool numbers, Are You For Real first called (Hey Little Girl) Are You For Real and Ill Be Back. Question Mark The Mysterians Full Color SleeveNorton issued both sides recently (Norton 45 083) is a boss full color sleeve boasting a couple dozen unpublished pix of the guys. There, it caught the ears of Cameo-Parkway talent scouts who promptly nabbed the young band. ![]() The Cameo re-release of 96 Tears entered the charts in August of 1966, peaked at. November, just in time for the release of their debut album. They were a top act wherever they travelled, and understandably so. The contents of that first LP, which included Up Side, I Need Somebody, 8 Teen, Dont Tease Me are so flat out perfect, that no one could come within a mile of what the Mysterians were putting down a wildly flawless combination of soul and garage and rhythmic, lilting angst, all laced with a teen dream pulchritude and poppy images with severely demented undertones. Indeed, the mean arrogance and the pop flamboyance of Question Mark has absolutely never been duplicated. This is ultimately evident on ACTION, their second album, released in June of 1967, where Got To, Smokes and Cant Get Enough Of You, Baby certainly elevated the insights of any misguided pre-teen transistor sisters The Mysterians to this day purvey the same garage band snottiness that virtually every band of their generation promptly outgrew or discarded. Question Mark is working on a book about exercising with peanut butter, and spends quiet hours training his 25 pedigree yorkie pups, of which he is a professional breedertrainer. He is active on the internet and is very busy writing new songs, and being a general renaissance man about town.
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