Roy Loney

I'm sure I heard a Flamin' Groovies cover before I heard the original band. Great songs like "Slow Death" or "Teenage Head" helped fill out a lot of bands own mediocre output. When I started picking some of the Groovies on releases, I was dissappointed but never really bothered to figure what the best stuff was or anything about their line-up history. Then I picked up this double disc entitled simply "Flamin' Groovies" and thought "what crap!" It turns out that it features recordings made in 1986 and 1987. They did tack on the original "Sneakers" mini-LP and I noticed that all those songs were penned by Roy Loney, the vocalist, who left the band after their third full album. Then, on a whim, I picked up Roy Loney and the Longhsots' "Drunkard in the Think Tank" in 2004 and was duly impressed. Timeless, truely classic rock'n'roll with nods all along the history line of rock all the way back to the earliest '50 hillbilly music. Well-crafted, catchy originals mixed with obscure cover song gems. I was downright shocked that I found myself praising the boppin' Beatlesque (?) "Nobody Does It" as the best song on the album. So after some snooping I found out that Roy Loney continued to put out records after leaving the Groovies (after a short hiatus and being re-inspired by '70s punk) and has amassed quite a discography of which I have only heard a few more albums but they all have a lot of good stuff on them. A handful of his recordings have been put out on the wunnerful Norton Records and they have some choice early Groovies recordings featuring Loney also.

Roy Loney & The Phantom Movers (From "Out After Dark")
Phantom Mover

Roy Loney (From "Rock and Roll Dance Party With...")
Panic To A Manic Degree

Roy Loney & The Longshots
(From "Full Grown Head")
See Jane Goes

(From "Kick Out The Hammmons)
Get Off The Phone

(From "Drunkard in the Think Tank)
You Don't Owe Me
Nobody Does It



Two part interview at the I-94 Bar here and here
Great long interview at Psychotronic Video