The Electric Prunes | Interview | James Lowe
The Electric Prunes burst onto the psychedelic scene like a wild coyote in the desert of the 1960s, bringing a raw and mind-bending sound.
Emerging from Los Angeles, California, in 1965, they blended garage rock with the growing wave of psychedelic experimentation. Discovered by producer Dave Hassinger, they scored their first hit with the 1966 single ‘I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night),’ a fuzzed-out anthem that became a cornerstone of the burgeoning psych-rock movement. Despite early success, creative control struggles with their label led to a shift in their sound, with later albums exploring more experimental rock and orchestral influences. By 1969, lineup changes and commercial challenges led to the band’s disbandment, though their early work had already left a lasting mark on psychedelic rock. After years of obscurity, the Electric Prunes reunited in the late 1990s, embracing their cult status and reintroducing their unique sound to new audiences. Their fuzzy guitars and eerie vocals still resonate, leaving a trail of swirling, Technicolor dreams.
“We were free to record more of what we wanted on Underground.”
What are you working on these days, James?
James Lowe: Funny you should ask! We are working on our last release. We have recorded the albums ‘Sanctions,’ ‘The Electric Prunes,’ ‘Underground,’ ‘Mass in F Minor,’ ‘Stockholm 67’ (live), ‘Artifact’ (reunion), ‘Lost Dreams,’ ‘California,’ ‘FEEDBACK,’ ‘Return to Stockholm,’ ‘WaS,’ and a few others. The last release will be a two-sided 7-inch limited edition single. We have had a good run, and it is time to let my son, Cameron, take over the recording… He has been doing some very interesting things in the studio. No one ever wants to give up the space they have created, but now is the time.
Any new releases of Electric Prunes remasters?
Mark was doing live gigs with Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins, playing bass during a gap in our schedule. One day Mark said, “Billy wrote a song for us.” I thought this was cool and went to Kerry Brown’s studio to hear what he had done. The title was ‘Jesus Needs A Hit’… I thought, oh no, another ‘Mass’ record! But the song was interesting, and we recorded it. My son, Cameron, has a band called “Jesus Mind Glaze,” and Mark and I thought he did need a hit, so it was worth recording. Sadly, Mark died after that, and I thought this would be our last recording as the Electric Prunes. We are releasing it B/W ‘Medicine,’ another Corgan song. I don’t know what my son will say, but this is an offering from our band to his band. And he does need a hit! Most do not know it, but EP has been recording and touring live since our reformation in 1999. This will be our last recording, and it’s a fitting end. We started out recording someone else’s song, and we ended the same way. Thanks, Billy.
How did you meet the other members of Electric Prunes? How did the band get together?
I assembled the band with high school guys: Mark Tulin, Ken Williams, Mike Weakley, and we added Weasel Spagnola later. I had just returned from Hawaii and got a kick out of playing guitar in small clubs with a banjo player. When I got back, I was looking for something to do, and the guys just sort of came my way. We were not friends at first, but we got to know each other better after a few years of playing together. This was in 1965.
Who did the Electric Prunes open for in the early days?
Cream, Nice, Soft Machine, The Move, Steppenwolf, Turtles, Seeds, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Tommy Roe, Peter Lewis of Moby Grape, Strawberry Alarm Clock… It’s been a long time, and a lot is fading away, haha.
What was it like releasing the first album?
We ran into the studio to record the first album after the radio play for TMTDLN. We knew nothing about the record business and trusted our manager and Hassinger. This was not wise, as most of the material fell short of what we wanted. We rectified this on ‘Underground,’ our second offering. Dave Hassinger got a Grateful Dead album to do, so we were free to record more of what we wanted on ‘Underground.’ We considered it a good thing to be able to do an album after just singles. Back then, you had to have a hit to continue recording. When Dave heard ‘Underground,’ he said it was terrible. I did notice he put his name on it, though.
Could you tell us about writing and releasing the song ‘I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)’?
Dave Hassinger (our producer) liked the title. Annette Tucker and Nancy Mantz wrote the song as a ballad of sorts. We were looking for material, and Dave said, “Just make the arrangement different… do it your way.” So what you hear is a bunch of goons twisting the bounds of the then-norms. We played it for record execs, and they said, “Yeah, but who is gonna play something like that?” In spite of the weirdness, we recorded the basic track at American Recording. We tacked the intro sound, recorded by accident at Leon Russell’s house, onto the song, and it really got weird. The next thing we knew, we were on the road somewhere, slapping each other as it came on the radio. A moment to remember!
Why did the band decide to release ‘Mass in F Minor’? What kind of reception did the album receive from fans and press?
The project was the idea of Lenny Poncher (David Axelrod’s manager). He told us Axelrod was looking for a band to record the Mass in Latin. I knew the ‘Latin Mass’ from my altar boy days, and I thought it was an interesting idea. My mom loved it! The band agreed, with some prodding from Mark Tulin and me. All things considered, even with the confusion for the fans (they thought we had “gone religious”), we did the best we could. I still like this album.
Any favorite bands, James?
I like all the bands I have worked with: Sparks, Todd Rundgren, Runt, Hunt and Tony Sales, Ananda Shankar, Grapefruit, as well as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks.
We would like to thank all who listened and supported us through the storm and so many evolutions. Regrets? Yeah, why the hell did I name the band that? Oh well, you probably wouldn’t be asking me any of this if we were Jim and the Lords! Rock on, man!
John Wisniewski
The Electric Prunes Official Website / Facebook / Instagram
Electric Prunes interview with James Lowe
Nice interview, one of the finest groups from that great Garage era.
Man,i love those 2 David Axelrod Prunes albums”Mass In F Minor”&”Release Of An Oath”,for that time,they were very original ideas,but really only The Electric Prunes in name after “Mass In F Minor”as other line ups were put together with connections to West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and Hardwater among others for the final album by The New Improved Electric Prunes titled”Just Good Old Rock And Roll”,which IS a different beast from which had come before as it veers into harder rock territory!
The Jim Lowe era of course with those 2 albums,the self titled and “Underground”i also hugely enjoy,but there ARE some songs that really aren’t on the same level,and do let the side down,in particular on the debut album.
The Electric Prunes also released some fantastic 45s too,which shouldn’t be forgotten about,and the “Stockholm 67″shows what a fabulous live band they were,and it’s a shame their creativity was hijacked by Dave Hassinger and that whole corrupt record business machine,as i’m sure The Electric Prunes had more songs in them,as James Lowe moved into another creative process behind the console!!
ALWAYS good to see members of The Electric Prunes still active,and still here,as many of our garage and psychedelic creators have sadly passed,so thank you for featuring James Lowe in this interview!!