"THE DAVID - ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER LIFETIME" (KILLER 60s GARAGE PSYCHEDELIC US 1968)

"The David" started life in 1965 as "The Reasons", playing small gigs around the Los Angeles area.
"The David" are "Warren Hansen" (vocals, "Farfisa Compact Organ", 'plasmatar'), "Mark Bird" (lead guitar), "Mike Butte" (rhythm guitar), "Chuck Spieth" (bass guitar) and "Tim Harrison" (drums).
In 1966, the group met manager "Steven Vail" who renamed them "The David" and got them signed to a record contract with "20th Century Fox" label.

In the fall of 1966, "The David" went into the studio for the first time and recorded a debut 7" "40 Miles" / "Bus Token" (20th Century Fox catalog number 6663, 1966), which was released that December and reached #19 locally in Bakersfield, California. A second single "People Saying, People Seeing" / "40 Miles" (20th Century Fox catalog number 6675, 1967) was recorded at the tail end of 1966, but wasn't released until June of 1967.
In mid 1967, "Mike Butte" left the band, "The David" parted ways with "20th Century Fox" and "Steve Vail" formed his own label, the "Vance Music Company" ("VMC"), which not surprisingly signed "The David" as its first record deal.


"The David" immediately began planning an LP around songs written by "Warren Hansen", which eventually included an elaborate string arrangement by "Gene Page".
"Warren Hansen" also invented an instrument he coined the "Plasmatar", which sounds a little like an electric cello and makes an appearance on the recordings.
The album, titled "Another Day, Another Lifetime", was finally released at the tail end of 1967 and includes a slew of excellent tracks like "Sweet December", "Now To You", "So Much More" and "Time M".

The title track "Another Day, Another Lifetime" blends Eastern, chant like overtones with Western orchestration motifs.
Other tracks are often characterized by driving rhythms played alongside oddly spaced melody lines.
Much of the material - which was all written and composed by "Warren Hansen" - is heavily orchestrated.

The David: "I'm Not Alone" / "Sweet December", VMC 716, 1967

"I'm Not Alone" gives the band a chance to do their own 60s Garage Rock stomp without the orchestra getting in the way.
The final track "Of Our Other Days" had considerable commercial potential with a calypso - style melody and hypnotic beat.

I guess this is why "The David" garners a lot of "Left Banke" comparisons.
But in contrast to that seminal Sunshine Pop, the actual members of the band seem to be trying to grind away more like "The Electric Prunes".
To capitalize "Another Day, Another Lifetime", the band well promoted in the L.A. area, which included appearances at the 1968 "Miss Teen Screen Magazine" pageant at the "Hollywood Palladium" and in the local Rock and Roll TV documentary "Gramophone To Groovy".
Even though the record received radio airtime on both sides of the US, it only sold modestly and the band's popularity began to wane.
Recorded at "Sunset Sound Recorders", "Hollywood and American Recording Co", "Studio City", California in 1967.