Finally by The New Arrivals

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Sean O'Callaghan

SF Bay Area radio legend

From The New Arrivals

Dedicated to Larry Mitchell of KLIV & KYA and Leo Kulka of Golden Sate Recorders. You were our inspirations and musical pals. We miss you as much as ever and wish you were here sharing in the fun.

"Finally" was a CD Baby home page feature when first released. Listen to it and see why it captures an era of fun and honest music which comes through even today. Makes sure you hear our second re-release on TAJ Stone Records "Let's Get WIth It, Baby!" which is linked from this site. It has some of the tunes not available for "Finally" from the early era plus later 70's & 80's studio sessions. We are working on a new CD with all original songs written by the original guys. Thanks for taking the time to check us out......Tom Muller, Andre Meschi, Shorty Syres and Rick Leachman(The New Arrivals reunited '04).

This review was recently written at zhopkarecords.com by Paddygav about "Finally". We appreciate this objective positivity. Check out their site.

"..........................Finally by the New Arrivals.

The disc starts off with an interesting combination of fuzz guitar and multi part vocal harmony with "Scratch your Name". Sort of a strange concept, wanting to scratch a gal's name above his bed so thoughts of her will come and fill his head.

The New Arrivals sort of touch on a few different styles, all pop, but touching a bit of almost everything. According to the liner notes, they started as an instrumental group [ala Ventures], and their twangy assed version of "Goldfinger" shows that they were adept at this, regardless of how essentially simple twangy assed guitar can be. It does strike me as odd that they harmonize as well as they do as an instro outfit. Perhaps there is more to it than I know, but the vocals are good here.

Other highlights include "Wake Me Shake Me" ,"Funny Feeling", and a pretty good [a little nicer perhaps] cover of "Time Won't Let Me", which itself is no small feat. "God Help the Teenager" is good for a laugh, being one of your real hip pre-protest songs [though it was dated at 1967], and "When I Needed You" is a real nice love song,

"Hey Little Girl" [not the one by another San Jose band, the Syndicate of Sound] sounds like a bit of a Beach Boys rip, but why wouldn't someone want to borrow the early sound of Brian Wilson and Co.? At least it isn't about a car or surfboard.

The cd is rounded out by "Just Outside My Window", which is damn near worth the price of admission by itself. Some tasty McCartney bass runs, primitive electronic keyboards, and lots of drum fills make this one of the best overlooked sugary pop gems of the 60's."

The next was written about The New Arrivals' 45 rpm releases in Fuzz Acid and Flowers by Vernon Joynson availabe at borderlinebooks.com. It reflects the historical signifigance involved with The New Arrivals.

"The New Arrivals

45s:

1

Take Me For What I Am / You Know You're Gonna Be Mine

(South Bay SBM 102)

1966 (actually 1965 ed. note)

2

Scratch Your Name / Just Outside My Window

(South Bay SBM 103)

Nov 1966

3

Just Outside My Window / Let's Get With It

(South Bay SBM 104)

1967

NB: (3) also issued on Macy's 7-UP (104) 1967.

The second 45 is a superb stompin' fuzz - punker in a folk - rock vein, from the San Jose area, complete with a great rave-up outro in the Count Five Psychotic Reaction style for good measure. The 'B' side is lighter pop, but is still good harmony 'n' jangle folk - rock full of California sunshine vibes. Recorded at the now - legendary Golden State Recorders, this is a nugget of some pedigree. Scratch Your Name was written by Tom Talton - yes, he of We The People fame, confirmed by Alec Palao: "the bands manager was a friend of We The People's producer Tony Moon, hence their access to the song".

Compilation appearances include: Let's Get With It on Acid Dreams, Vol. 3 (LP).

(Max Waller/Alec Palao) "

Note: All these tunes are available on "Finally" or The New Arrivals' second release "Let's Get With It, Baby" (link on this page)

The next review is from www.torpedopop.com in Sweden

"The New Arrivals WERE what their name says, way back in 1966, and it still took more than 35 years for the world to take notice.

An article (found on the back cover of the CD) called them "good looking, clean-cut, sharp dressers, collegiate, talented ..." wondering "how they've never made it, with all that going for them"... if the writer only knew how wrong he was, because they had never actually made it ... until now ... kind of.

Thanks to band member Tom Muller getting hold of the original tapes, San Jose's New Arrivals recorded legacy has finally been compiled onto one album, showing that they SHOULD have made it, even though their looks wasn't suggesting so (?!?!).

To hear both sides of their second South Bay single (Scratch Your Name / Just Outside My Window) is enough a reason for this and there's also enough unreleased material for a chart-topping album.

The sunny side of the mentioned single is a Tom Talton (of We the People) written combination of fuzzy garage riff and an authentic west-coast harmony pop, complete with the psyched-out rave up finale, while the b-side finds them "searching" for the perfect 12-string jangle in a Brummel-ish way.

God Help The Teenager continues the "search" in the similar folk-rocking vein, Wrong Slant Óf Life takes it back to the garagey r'n'beat, Funny Feeling is another piece of sunshiny harmony pop of the highest order, the way it was done by The Cryan' Shames or The Buckinghams, trying to warm up the "windy-city".

Hey Little Girl is a surfy little love song, shooting the same curves as Jan & Dean and the heartbreaking beat-ballad When I Needed You is another Tom Talton "gift".

The New Arrivals have "finally" arrived ... again. Make them feel more welcome than the first time!"

Goran Obradovic POPISM

Our thanks to Goran and torpedopop.com for their support. Maybe we can gig in Malmo, Sweden or Croatia or wherever sometime.....in summer.

From a recent issue of Ugly Things Magazine reviewd by David Bash of the International Pop Overthrow Festival:

The New Arrivals

Finally

(TAJ Productons-CD)

Ugly Things readers, we've heard this tale all too many times before. Band records many good songs, label is very interested, album is slated for release, and then...either a) label folds, b) band breaks up or, and this one is particularly pertinent to '60s bands, c) band gets drafted. The last scenario was the unfortunate fate of The New Arrivals, a San Jose-based band who recorded several fine sides in the mid '60s and was able to get one of them released as a single, only to have several members whisked away to Vietnam. Fortunately, there is a happy ending, with which Ugly Things readers are thankfully becoming more familiar. New Arrivals main man Tom Muller has resurrected these recordings and compiled them for release on the appropriately titled Finally, and although it's been almost 40 years since these songs were originally recorded, it was definitely worth the wait!

Finally is a nice blend of originals, covers, and songs written exclusively for The New Arrivals by established songwriters like Tom Talton (of We The People) and Sal Valentino. The CD opens with the song that had been released as a single, "Scratch Your Name," and with its fuzztones and groovy, Choir-esque harmonies, it could have fit perfectly on the Highs In The Mid Sixties series or any of the Cicadelic compilations. The same could be said of band originals like "Funny Feeling," and "Wrong Slant On Life", as well as the disc's other Talton-penned tune "When I Needed You" and the Sal Valentino (credited under his real name, S.W. Spaminato) gem "God Help The Teenager" (what a great title!). The band also does a credible job on their cover of The Blues Project's "Shake Me, Wake Me," and with a cool surf instrumental take on "Goldfinger," and while their versions of "The Nazz Are Blue" and "Time Won't Let Me" are a bit lightweight, they're certainly pleasant enough.

In tandem with the release of Finally, The New Arrivals have made definite plans to get back together. So you better get ready, they may be coming to your town!

 

And now our story:

The New Arrivals band was formed in 1962 originally as The Preps from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose California, the home of everyone from The Doobies to Smash Mouth. They started in a garage which was really converted into a family room and by the time 1963 rolled around they had produced a minor instumental hit in the West called PAM PAM distributed by Amy Mala. Then in 1964 they released Ray Peterson's NIGHT THEME on Dot Records and caught the ear of promoter Irving Granz who signed them as a back up band for the tour with the Beach Boys......after hearing them perform with them........our guys first real concert. Actually they opened for the first Beach Boys concert in the Bay Area and debuted their vocal act by singing 3 Beatle songs. As a stunt they wore Beatle wigs which Capitol Records had been giving out to radio stations such as the fabled KLIV promoting the Beatle Invasion. The crowd thought they WERE the Beatles and actually went semi crazy. The band was on its way to becoming a rock-solid vocal group as well as great instrumentalists.

Over the next three years they toured or performed with notables such as Sonny and Cher, Glen Campbell, Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Dave Clark Five, The Beau Brummels, The Righteous Brothers, The Ventures, Jr. Walker and The Allstars, Cannibal and the Headhunters, The Paris Sisters, The Angels, Sam the Sham and the Pharohs, Noel Harrison, Dobie Gray, Timi Yuro, The We Five, The Surfaris, and on and on. Going back to Golden State Recorders they released MOONRACERS by Herb Alpert on Southbay Records in 1965. Then they changed their moniker to The New Arrivals since they had graduated from the fabled Bellarmine "prep" school by this time. In 1965 they released TAKE ME FOR WHAT I AM(which was not available for this CD but can be linked through Let's Bet With It baby on this site}) on Southbay and this marked their debut as a five voice vocal group with influences from many of the people and bands they toured with or accompanied.

At this point they started doing national radio spots and TV commercials for corporations such as Macy's and Seven Up. In 1966 they toured and recorded SCRATCH YOUR NAME on Southbay Records written for them by Tom Talton of WeThe People. Then in early 1967 a big chance came when Mike Post and Reprise Records wanted to sign them. An album had just been completed and there was no stopping their fate. Except within days of the audition three of the five members were drafted. That was it. The band was in limbo. No, the band was disbanded.

During the 70's and 80's they were in and out of the studio trying to create a new sound but never a live performance group.In the late 80's they reunited to back Chuck Berry in what some reveiewers called the best rock 'n roll concerts of all time and played a few stints with The Coasters, Bobby Rydell, Martha and the Vandellas and San Jose's Syndicate of Sound. Until now this album has never been available or heard. In 1984 producer Dick Hanahoe gave the tapes to Tom Muller in hopes something might be done someday. This is the original 4 track mix that has been transfered to digital domain and only edited to make playable for CD. The reverbs, voices, guitars, vox organ and more are the real thing that Leo de gar Kulka engineered. It is as if time has given us the opportunity to listen in on another era with a fresh sound that perhaps will FINALLY be appreciated .

Update 12/29/03

The New Arrivals have reunited and are preparing a third CD which will consist of mostly new material. They have been in rehearsal since August after playing the IPO in LA during July without the fifth and final member....Rick Leachman who has re-joined the band. So now it is Bill Smith on guitar, Andre Meschi the drummer, Shorty Syres plucking bass,Tom Muller on keys and Rick, guitar, collectively writing music for the project. They ALL sing !!! They also will be performing soon so please keep checking here for what is next.

Update 03/06/04

We have the new material working. There is too much for one CD so....editing has begun. It looks like we'll make the studio by early May. Those day jobs get in the way.

Update 04/09/04

New Arrivals fans should be aware that we got to the studio early have recorded four new songs thusfar in our battle back to be a band. They are"Black Devil Rain" and "Rockin in Zayante" by Rick Leachman, "Show Time For Rock and Roll" by Tom Muller and "I Gotta Run" by Shorty Syres.

Update 05/01/04

You know things are progressing however the day jobs do get in the way at various times of the year. We are committed to making this happen and promise that you will be able to hear some new demo tracks soon on one of our other sites. Email us if you have any question if you have read this far. Once again, thanks for your support of 60's Rock and Roll and our road back to playing new music from today's creative inventory. This is a good time to reflect upon the fact that after so many years we are fortunate to be able to have this project moving along even though it becomes tedious at times. If you are in San Jose we will be booked at Lou's Village for New Year's Eve. www.lousvillage.com

Update 08/20/04

The album project is still moving forward. Andre's daughter and Shorty's son are getting married in the near future (but not to each other...that would be too much band stuff) so we are creeping toward the completion. The usual propblems of interpretation arise when you have five guys writing songs and five guys who are producers. However we are still united and dedicated to the goal of finishing this project and then performing whenever we can. By the way, let us know what you think of all this if you have read this far. Email address is to your left. Thanks.

Update

01/10/15

Award winning designer Willy Magee has subitted his first concept for the CD/album package. The release date is mid April as the band is busily finishing up eleven original songs plus the remake of one from FINALLY. Soon you will hear what they've been creating at Open Path Studios in San Jose and Rancho Digital in Santa Fe. And believe it or not there is enough material being written for a new album afther this.

04/04/05

Boy did that take a lot of work, but the album is finished and being manufactured as you read this. Now the emphasis will be on putting the performing act together which means intensive rehearsals and planning. The work has begun!

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