Page 23 - the NOISE February 2013

It’s time you started thinking inside your head that you should stand up and fight
Oh just where will you be when your freedom is dead fourteen years from tonight?
— Spirit, “1984”
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the Rising Sons
lage scene. British pop stars like the Animals and the Rolling Stones were showing up in the audience. The vibe was changing. Randy was headed to a gig one day when he heard a loud commotion behind him. A group of people zipped by, all of them running like hell and screaming their heads off. It was Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards being chased down MacDougal Street by a gaggle of female admirers.
Jimmy James’ onstage antics infuriated the purists, but the Britons discovered him and flipped out. He met Chas Chandler, for- mer bassist for the Animals, who was looking to break into management. Chas promised to make Jimmy a star if he would relocate to Lon- don. Randy always thought Jimmy was des- tined for bigger things than the Village could offer, he just wished it wasn’t so soon.
Jimmy invited Randy to move to London with him: “C’mon man, let’s go find Jeff Beck!” But Randy knew it was more for companion- ship than his playing. Nevertheless, the invi- tation excited him until his mother and step- father vetoed the idea. Both agreed Randy should finish high school first. Jimmy tried to convince Chandler that the scruffy kid was integral to his sound, but Chas wanted Jimmy only.
The point ended up being moot. Chas had a hard time securing a work visa for Jimmy, and a quick check of Randy’s papers revealed he was too young to even apply for one. Ran- dy was crushed. In September 1966, he said goodbye to Jimmy James. They shook hands and Jimmy said, “Don’t worry, man. You’ll do fine, just keep playing. I’ll see you soon.” And then he was gone.
After the Blue Flame’s breakup, Randy brief- ly joined a local Queens garage band called the Tangerine Puppets (two of their later members were future Ramones Tommy Erde- leyi and John Cummings). He was invited into the group by Walter Becker, a classmate who lived in Randy’s apartment building. A few years later, Becker met a fellow weirdo named Donald Fagen at Bard College in upstate New York. The two would enjoy a long career as Steely Dan. Walter Becker cites Randy Califor- nia as a major influence on his guitar playing.
Ed, Randy and Bernice returned to Los An- geles in January 1967. Cassidy and his step- son immediately set about forming a group. They ran into some of their ex-Red Roosters
at the end of the day, but they were in the middle of one of the most exciting scenes in America. Nearly all of the clubs in the Village were centrally located. In between sets, they would run down the street to catch Dave Van Ronk or Richie Havens or Mississippi John Hurt or the Butterfield Blues Band. The latter featured Jimmy’s current idol: Mike Bloom- field, who had played with Dylan. Jimmy and Randy would sit and watch Bloomfield in qui- et awe, then dash back to the Cafe Wha? just in time for their next set.
Like Ed Cassidy, Jimmy James was a com- pletely unique individual to Randy. Jimmy lived in Harlem, but felt more at home with the bohemians in the Village. His favorite singer was Bob Dylan, a strange choice for a black man. He was sweet and shy and a bit cosmic, not a loud jive-talker like many of the brothers on the scene. He seemed to be on a different wavelength than everyone else.
Then there was his guitar playing. Randy thought he was hot shit but when he heard Jimmy wail, he realized how far he had to go. Jimmy would stand in front of his amp with the volume cranked to 10, and let his guitar feed back. He would then harness the feed- back, control it with his whammy bar and cre- ate sounds not of this earth. He played with his teeth, an old trick he learned on the road. He humped the guitar, stuck it between his legs, and flicked his tongue at the ladies pres- ent. It was some show.
The crowd at the Cafe Wha? were mostly tourists, slumming it in the Village with a taste for some nice authentic folk blues. They weren’t prepared for a funky sexual trip around the galaxy loud enough to drown out all conversation. The band had a knack for driving patrons away.
Most of the Blue Flame’s repertoire con- sisted of blues and R & B covers, but they also did a soulful version of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone”, a slow take on the folk chestnut “Hey Joe,” and a heavy treatment of the Troggs’
“Wild Thing.” Randy listened and learned.
The group went through a succession of drummers and bassists. At one point, Jimmy hired a bass player also named Randy. To tell the two apart, Jimmy dubbed the bassist
“Randy Texas” and his guitarist “Randy Califor- nia.” The nickname stuck. Randy Wolfe/Randy Cassidy was now and forever Randy California.
The word spread about the Greenwich Vil-
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