Deep Six

Biography

From Southern California, this obscure five-man, one-woman pop-folk-rock group issued a self-titled album on Liberty in 1966. From the sounds of things (and the look of the group on the cover), they were a pop-oriented folk group hastily adapting to the folk-rock craze, with their white bread folk roots showing far more strongly than any newfound rock sensibilities. In this sense, as well as the all-over-the-place repertoire of the LP, they recalled the We Five, although they weren't as good and there was a glossier Los Angeles sheen to the production. The harmonies and their bent toward bittersweet melodies also bore some similarities to the Mamas & the Papas and the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, though they weren't even remotely the same league as the Mamas & the Papas and not nearly as rock-oriented as the Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Their best song, the original "Rising Sun," had an uncharacteristically gutsy fuzz guitar line, played as if the guitarist was afraid of burning fingers if the tone was sustained too long, and saw some regional airplay. The Deep Six started out as a San Diego folk trio, evolving into a bigger folk-rockish band after they became the house band for the La Mesa folk club the Land of Oden, co-owned by their co-manager, Ken Mansfield. "Rising Sun," according to the liner notes to the expanded Rev-Ola CD reissue of Deep Six, included a young Jim Messina on guitar, and made number three in Los Angeles, where the group based themselves for part of their short career. Much of the music on their records (which, in addition to the LP, included a few non-LP singles) was played by top Hollywood session musicians, including Glen Campbell, Carol Kaye, Mike Deasy, Al Casey, Larry Knechtel, Ray Pohlman, and Barney Kessel; David Gates contributed some arranging. Neither the album nor the follow-up singles to "Rising Sun" sold well, and the group disbanded shortly afterward, with Barry Kane (who had been in the New Christy Minstrels and a duo with Barry McGuire) joining the lineup as the replacement for original member Dave Gray near the end. After Deep Six, Ken Mansfield went on to work for Capitol Records and served as the first U.S. manager of Apple Records. Bassist Dann Lottermoser joined Stone Country, which did one album for RCA, and included noted country-rock singe/-songwriter Steve Young. The Deep Six album was reissued on CD, with all five of their non-LP songs added as bonus tracks, by Rev-Ola in 2003. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide