In the 1970s era of rock’s theatrical excesses, Sorcery delivered next level performances in which a battle ensued on stage between illusionists portraying Merlin versus Satan.

These Los Angeles hard rockers integrated live magic, theatrical drama and fourth wall breaking performance for new heights in musical storytelling. While Sorcery consists of professional musicians — the core group being guitarist Richard “Smokey” Taylor, vocalist Greg Magie and bassist Richie King — two magicians also perform on stage when they play live. The band’s nearly immediate local popularity from their debut in 1975 also made them in demand for film and TV. Enter: ‘Stunt Rock’.

The 1978 low budget, high concept B-movie integrated hard rock, magic, dangerous stunts and an early form of mockumentary filmmaking into an epic feature film about an Australian stunt man reunited with his American cousin (and Sorcery member) in L.A., and all hell breaks loose.

Sorcery composed the soundtrack — which also served as the band’s debut album — and were shown performing songs throughout the film.

‘The Stunt Rock’ soundtrack highlights the sweet spot between the playful, campy occult imagery of the 70s before Satanic Panic and the religious right’s kayfabe outrage pushed bands to tone things down in favor of glam pomp.

How did it all start for you? Was there a certain moment when you knew you wanted to become a musician?

Richard “Smokey” Taylor: I started playing music when I was 5. It took until I was 12 before I got my first guitar. It took another couple of years to fall in love with it, but it became my true passion. I really enjoy playing guitar. I still play at least 6 days a week.

“Seeing Jimi Hendrix live was the turning point for me”

What are some of the most important influences?

Early on it was Les Paul and The Ventures. Then Buddy Holly and finally Jimi Hendrix. Seeing Jimi live was the turning point for me. I was in college getting my degree in Business Administration and I knew when I graduated I was going to play guitar for the rest of my life. I’m very lucky, here I am all these years later and I still love what I do. I write, record and play loud aggressive heavy metal music.

I’m sure you were in bands before Sorcery, tell us about those early bands and what kind of material did you play?

I started playing parties and in bars and clubs when I was 15. In fact, that’s how I put myself through college, playing music. The Harmonic Sponge, Westwood Smoke and The Obsessions were just a few of the many early bands I played with. In the early days our music was Top 40, surf music and R&B. By the time I was 19 I was writing and recording music that was not that different from the music Sorcery does now. Lets just say, no one has ever asked me to play a little louder.

Can you elaborate on the formation of Sorcery?

Our lead singer Greg Magie and I were in a band called Legs Diamond before Sorcery. He and I both left that band a few weeks apart. We independently wanted to start a band that did a magic show. We ran into each other on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood and started talking. We decided to form Sorcery right then and there. Greg knew a couple of magicians and we got together and it was, as they say, magic. Greg knew a drummer but we needed a bass player. That’s when Sorcery was complete, when we found our bass player Richie King.

How much original material did you have before starting to work on the soundtrack?

We had been performing for several years and had written all the songs on the ‘Stunt Rock Soundtrack’ except for ‘Stunt Rocker’. We wrote that especially for the film. One of the songs that didn’t make ‘Stunt Rock’ is a song called ‘Whales’. When we would walk on stage our fans would start screaming “Whales Whales”. The good news is it’s being released on a compilation album called ‘Scrap Metal 2’ by our label RidingEasy Records in November.

While working on a TV show in Los Angeles, famed Australian stuntman Grant Page helps an up-and-coming fantasy-themed rock band develop special effects and dangerous stunts for their act. Tell us how you start with the idea for ‘Stunt Rock’?

Brian Trenchard-Smith wrote and directed ‘Stunt Rock’. He had originally wanted Foreigner to do the soundtrack but they were busy. He had heard about us and when he saw us live he totally changed directions. He asked us if we would do the soundtrack and perform our magic show in the movie. That made us and our show an integral part of the movie. No camera tricks or special effects, he just filmed us doing our live show.

Where was the album recorded and what kind of equipment did you use?

We recorded the soundtrack in Burbank at the Warner Brothers Studio. It was recorded on a state of the art 24 track analogue tape recorder. As far as the equipment I personally used, I pulled out all the stops. I played several Gibson Les Paul, several Fender Stratocaster and an acoustic 12 string. I played through a Marshall Stack, an Ampeg V4 stack, a Fender Bandmaster and a Leslie speaker cabinet usually used for a Hammond Organ. I used an Echoplex, Fuzz Face, Wah Wah pedal, Graphic EQ, a harmonizer and a ring modulator.

Did you have freedom when it came to songs for the soundtrack?

We submitted our 14 favorite songs. We had written many more but we had to take into account the film. They ended up being a combination of songs where we performed a magical illusion and songs where the band took center stage. After we recorded the rhythm tracks we chose the 9 songs that we felt had come out the best. The problem was they all sounded really great, it was tough to choose.

Richard Smokey Taylor as the Prince of Darkness

How did you like the movie?

I saw it for the first time at the premiere. I still watch ‘Stunt Rock’ regularly on my big screen. It isn’t Oscar material, but it’s a really fun movie. For all of us in Sorcery, it was amazing to finally be able to see what the audience had been seeing all along. Our show was very structured and there wasn’t time to just watch, we were in constant motion.

Did the band perform any live shows?

We played multiple shows all around the Hollywood area. When we first started play shows, it was just the group doing all the setup and then performing that night. After we were done we had to tear it down and move it. Luckily we became popular very quickly and we were able to play multiple nights from the same venue. We started to grow and we were able to hire a road crew. That’s when Van Halen was our opening act for several shows in the LA area. In the film ‘Stunt Rock’ all Brian did was film Sorcery doing the show we always did live.

Richard Perry backstage at Sorcery concert

You were signed to EMI. How did that come about and how many copies were pressed?

That’s a hard question to answer because I don’t know. Brian and Grant are both from Australia and the branch of EMI that released ‘Stunt Rock’ is probably also Australian. I’m pretty sure there is a connection.

RidingEasy Records will reissue ‘Stunt Rock’, what runs through your mind hearing it again after so many years?

When Daniel from RidingEasy Records and Sorcery inked our agreement I submitted the ‘Stunt Rock’ album to the label. It was sent to a mastering lab and they discovered there has a technical issue with the reproduction of the music.

<a href="https://sorcerystuntrock.bandcamp.com/album/stunt-rock-soundtrack">Stunt Rock Soundtrack by Sorcery </a>

They were able to correct the issue and to be honest, I’m thrilled. All these years I felt that Sorcery was not being properly represented. We are a very loud and powerful band. The original ‘Stunt Rock’ album did not sound loud and powerful. Because the flaw was corrected, the reissue ‘Stunt Rock’ soundtrack album sounds like Sorcery.

You also recorded your second album in the 70s, which was released many years later. How come it didn’t get released in time?

Actually we recorded the second album in the early 80s. We had been fortunate enough to get help from Dick Clark. He had been instrumental in getting the VHS version of ‘Stunt Rock’ to the American market. He also featured Sorcery on two of his Television Rock Specials. We did a lot of recording during that period. The album was an afterthought. We were never your average rock band, we are rock theater. The visual performance is what makes us unique. Our label really wanted to release it so we finally gave in.

What about ‘Rocktober Blood’? How did that come about?

The film makers for ‘Rocktober Blood’ already knew about Sorcery. They approached us about doing the movie and we said yes. All of our music in the film was written specifically for that movie. Richie and I agree that ‘I’m Back’ is still one of our favorite Sorcery songs.

What would be the craziest story that happened to the band?

When you do a Rock Magic Show, crazy stuff is always happening. Since this is about ‘Stunt Rock’, I’ll share a moment of comedy. We started shooting the pool scene at daybreak. In the movie business you learn to “hurry up and wait”. The setup was a party and it included real food to be used as props. Sorcery is a rock band, so we acted like one. We wandered into the room where all the food had been set up and we proceeded to eat all of it. The director, Brian, was really mad at us because they had to take the time to cook up a bunch of new prop food. He very sternly told us not to eat it.

Looking back, what was the highlight of your time in the band?

I mentioned that Dick Clark had really helped us. I was in Dick Clark Productions working on the first special we did for them. I was walking down the hall and I heard someone say “Hey Smokey”. I didn’t see anyone in the hall but when I looked into the office to my right there sat Dick Clark. He looked at me and said “come in and close the door”. He told me to sit down and asked me if I liked doing the special. He then just started talking to me like he knew who I was. Apparently, he actually did know who I was and that was the highlight of my entire career.

You recently reunited, are you excited to play those songs live again?

We didn’t really break up as a band or as friends. We stopped playing music together around 1989 but by 1992 we were very active on the internet. None of us liked the way the ‘Stunt Rock’ soundtrack sounded, so we moved on and continued to write new music. When we heard the “repaired” version of the album, it truly lit a fire under us. One of the things I like about Sorcery is the songs are so much fun to play. I’ve been in a lot of bands but I’ve never had more fun. We have all started playing along with the new version of the album and it’s as though we did it yesterday.

What currently occupies your life?

I am very happily married. My wife and I spend a great deal of time together and that fills up my life. In between, I play guitar and/or drums pretty much every day. I don’t do it to become a better guitar player, I do it because I love playing music. I had a dream when I was first starting out as a professional musician. I wanted to learn how to play the drums and I wanted a fabulous home recording studio. My wife must be a saint, I have guitars, basses, amps and drums all over the house. I play loud, really loud. My studio is fabulous. She never complains, she just wears earplugs.

Thank you for taking your time. Last word is yours.

SORCERY!!!

Klemen Breznikar

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