Not many
albums can get you in the mood to
blow out your speakers quite
like Kath “1”, the
hideously rare and expensive 1974
low-fi, semi-ramshackle DIY
psychedelic LP made by members of
Maryland
band Badge, recorded in
the home of
band leader Val
Rogolino (and, yes, dedicated
to his girlfriend and their pet
monkey!). What Patrick the Lama said
in Acid Archives about
Kath, is equally applicable to
Badge: “Obscure and impressive
melodic basement garage/psych with a
lo-fi atmosphere that would have
most purveyors flip out… at times
the vibe is almost like Mystery
Meat orIndex,
and that’s not something you
run across every day… Nuts
lo-fi recording quality and
impossible-to-figure production
values gives this a nicely
zonked almost real-people vibe.
Keyboards, fuzz, heap of amateur
avant spirit.”
The fact that Badge had been a going
band for awhile, and that they
released several singles and EPs — written
by Val and his best friend Cheese
Sollers and recorded the same
way, on the same equipment as the
Kath album, seems to have been
overlooked — until now. Here are
those singles and EP tracks,
lovingly remastered and presented as
a coherent LP compilation.
Badge formed 13 March 1970, a
Friday: Cheese Sollers —
guitar/vocals; Jim O’Dell —
bass/vocals; Val Rogolino —
drums/vocals. Badge played on
into the 1970’s with several band
member changes, adding at one point
female vocalists and horn
players. Cheese and Val
remained the core of the group at
all times. “In 1970, Cheese and
I started recording original songs
with two stereo tape recorders,
using PA systems for mixing. That
was the beginning of the recording
bug for us. We purchased a
professional tape recorder, a TEAC
2340 four-track machine. This really
opened up our recording process.”
—Val Rogolino
Comes with an eight page insert with
liner notes by Kath leader and Badge
co-leader Val Rogolino and a bevy of
photos from his personal stash. (And
yes, we will also be reissuing the
Kath “1” album on LP quite soon!)
Track Listing:
Side A
1. As I Look – Pilot single 3:51
2. Keep Tryin’ – Pilot single 2:19
3. She’s Gone – RI 3249A 5:15
4. The Stream – RI 3249B 5:42
5. I Want To Love You – RI 3295A
2:32
6. Haze – RI 3295B 3:56
Side B
1. I Want To Love You – Halloween EP
3:40
2. Lonely Again – Halloween EP 3:02
3. Just Like You – Halloween EP 2:15
4. It Doesn’t Mean – Orinj EP 4:32
5. She – Orinj EP 2:12
6. As I Looked – Orinj EP 4:03
7. Keep Tryin’ – Orinj EP 2:23
Not many
albums can get you in the mood to
blow out your speakers quite
like Kath “1”, the
hideously rare and expensive 1974
low-fi, semi-ramshackle DIY
psychedelic LP made by members of
Maryland
band Badge, recorded in
the home of
band leader Val
Rogolino (and, yes, dedicated
to his girlfriend and their pet
monkey!). What Patrick the Lama said
in Acid Archives about
Kath, is equally applicable to
Badge: “Obscure and impressive
melodic basement garage/psych with a
lo-fi atmosphere that would have
most purveyors flip out… at times
the vibe is almost like Mystery
Meat or Index,
and that’s not something you
run across every day… Nuts
lo-fi recording quality and
impossible-to-figure production
values gives this a nicely
zonked almost real-people vibe.
Keyboards, fuzz, heap of amateur
avant spirit.”