C.A. Quintet | Interview | Jim Erwin

The C.A. Quintet’s journey to Hades burned hot enough to melt the ice in their frigid Minnesota environs.

---

The C.A. Quintet was a psychedelic rock band active in the late 1960s. They failed to gain national attention during their heyday (all their records were locally produced in Minneapolis and none had national distribution). Their only LP released during the band’s existence, ‘Trip Thru Hell,’ sold fewer than 700 copies and was virtually unheard of outside of their home town, but became a cult classic.

“When the album was released, only the underground stations played it”

What can you tell me about ‘Trip Thru Hell’? What did you think about the album when it was released?

Jim Erwin: For me listening to the album brings me back to Dove studios where we recorded. My brother Ken did a good job of getting people to use their imaginations. When the album was released, only the underground stations played it. ‘Smooth as Silk’ sounded good on your car radio.

What was your main influence at that time?

Ken and myself had a classical past due to school band and church choir. Tom Pohling and I, being a little younger, were really influenced by all the great imaginative guitar work at the time.

Your bass playing is amazing.

Thank you for the compliment. ‘Fortune Teller’s Lie’ did not make the album, but what a great song to play the bass to. It has a lot of one of a kind chord changes and rhythms (a lot like ‘Fresh Garbage’ by Spirit).

700 copies were pressed. Do you own a copy?

Yes, thanks to Ken and my wife. We made the Sunday paper locally about valuable Minnesota recordings. Eight people from our high school cashed in on their old LP’s.

Can you tell me how your life was before C.A. Quintet? What are you doing nowadays?

Before the band, I played a lot of sports, but music was always right there. Ken and I caddied to make money for our first guitars. A friend and I took a bus to see the real Beach Boys with Brian Wilson, and Ken took me to see The Beatles.

After the band, I have worked in manufacturing. I worked for a skyscraper outfit that made a lot of the large buildings in this country. Today I work for a company making gyroscopes. I still use music as my release.

Would you like to add anything?

Ken’s songs really inspired the rest of the group to use our musical imaginations. I think the fact Tom was 16 ,and I was 17 helped with the active imagination thing. Thank you for listening to what came out of our minds so many years ago.

Klemen Breznikar

---

C.A. Quintet YouTube

C.A. Quintet | Interview | Ken Erwin