The International Submarine Band

• Genre: Cosmic American Music

About

Shortly after tuning in, turning on and then dropping out of Harvard University, a young Gram Parsons moved to New York City and formed his first electric outfit, the International Submarine Band. They recorded a few singles that sounded more like Nuggets compiled garage rock than their later twangy sound. After a lineup change the I.S.B. moved to Los Angeles where a friend convinced Parsons to stick with what he knew--country music. Child actor Brandon DeWilde hooked the I.S.B. up with a cameo in the 1967 Roger Corman film The Trip starring Peter Fonda. The film's producers found the I.S.B. too redneck sounding, so they overdubbed a more psychedelic song by the Electric Flag over their performance. But wowed by Parsons' knack for songwriting Peter Fonda later went on to record a single version of Parsons' "November Nights." Finally the band recorded their debut album Safe At Home on the Lee Hazlewood Industries label. But by the time the album was released in 1968, Parsons had already left the band to join up with a new rendition of The Byrds.

- Eric Shea