Mr. Yates

For more online information about The Reekers and The Hangmen check out check out these links:
YOUTUBE CLIPS AN SONGS:

Reekers "Don't Call Me Flyface"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KteuoFJPL8

The Hangmen (The Reekers) "What A Girl Can't Do"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4996rWJwLJs

"I Can't Believe" The Omegas (The Reekers)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPsIs3hWnwo

The Reekers "The Girl Who Faded Away"
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=CqrxPVVrW2M

"What A Girl Can't Do" The Lyres
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH1ZcjyAj6I

"what a girl can't do" the woggles:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=38367792

"What A Girl Can't Do" The Customs
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=35802687&searchid=1915f82d-dd2e-48d6-8b53-d936e6563d1f

"What A Girl Can't Do" The Customs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3PjZNCfAws

"What A Girl Can't Do" 40 dollar fine #1
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=yvT-XXTytcU

"What A Girl Can't Do" 40 dollar fine #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc0FmD8nLZo

"What a girl can't do" (the primitive things)
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=47243517&searchid=ef56dd45-6fde-4b1b-9d2d-788dd7f5ff7d

the hangmen/ "bad goodbye"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uohp096rZnA&feature=channel_page

The Reekers: "Grindin'" (hit "enter" by "grindin"....ignore picture and scroll down..."grindin' is 4th from the bottom...great review!
http://www.tittyshakers.co.uk/jukejoint.htm

Hangmen on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=437000725

"what a girl can't do" the nighthawks
http://www.myxer.com/ringtone:1674733/

tom guernsey/reekers interview in"tittyshakers...the sleazy sound"
http://www.tittyshakers.com/reekers.htm

tom guernsey/ reekers & hangemen interview from garagehangover.com
http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=Reekers

tom guernsey/ reekers interview from 60sgaragebands
http://www.rimpo.com/reekers.html

tom guernsey/ hangmen interview in "60's gargagebands"
http://www.60sgaragebands.com/hangmen.html

the hangmen on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=86557710879&view=all

"…..while The Reekers never achieved more than cult status in the mid ‘60’s Washington, D.C. rock scene, their version of 'WHAT A GIRL CAN’T DO' hit the #1 spot on the D.C. charts in 1967 and the group’s members went on to such well known Washington bands as The Hangmen, Nils Lofgren & Grin, Claude Jones, The Newports, and The Rosslyn Mountain Boys. Propelled by dynamic lead singer Joe Triplet’s searing vocals, Bob Berberich’s rock solid time, Sam Goodell’s impeccable bass, Tom Guernsey’s primitive guitar licks and Mike Henley’s frantic hammering piano style, the group undoubtedly left it’s mark on the D.C. rock scene.....unfortunately it was a question mark.”

Page 427, I Never Promised You A Rock Band by I.M. Peened
Copyright 1998 Detroit Free Press (Quoted by permission)

“…..One gray and dreary December afternoon in 1964 Joe Triplet, Tom Guernsey, Mike Henley, Richard Solo, and Jim Daniels sat in a Maryland recording studio and listened with smug satisfaction to the playback of the surf instrumental Tom had just written. It was their first time in a recording studio, and their uncertainty had been transparently and awkwardly manifest at the beginning of the session. But now, five hours and one finished instrumental track later, the boys felt like old studio pros. ‘Man, that sound’s great’ said veteran engineer Ed Green, ‘What’s it called?’ What indeed, Tom thought to himself, and silently began to mull over the list of possible titles he had prepared before the session, when he was abruptly, and rudely, interrupted by a loud, grating voice. ‘Hey!!' Tom turned towards the sound of the voice. As usual, it was perennial hanger-on, self-appointed arbiter of cool, and general all around pain in the ass ‘butt-in-ski’ Jack Cheeseburo. ‘Call it DON’T CALL ME FLYFACE!!' Jack continued as he moved closer and poked his index finger on Tom’s chest in time with the cadence of his words. Drop dead you zero, Tom thought to himself but only said, 'Shit, I dunno…what do you guys think?’ ‘Son, its KEY said Joe. 'Suffer!' A smirking Mike Henley chimed in, sensing correctly, much to his own private amusement and satisfaction, that Jack’s suggestion would carry the day, actually any day, over Tom’s objections. And so the song was named and shortly thereafter released on the now defunct RUJAC RECORDS label. And thus began the convoluted, secretive, incestuous, sordid, and frankly boring forty-plus-year saga of Washington D.C.’s most inscrutable and yet enduring rock band….. The Reekers…....”

Page 12, The Good, The Bad and The Reekers by Helen Hudnut & U.R. Sturnt Copyright 2007 Switzer Brothers Press Dullsville, Missouri (Quoted by permission.)

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO
“THE REEKERS”??
Associated Press Dec 26, 2009.
by John Halprin_______________________________________

LOS ANGELES, CA In this month’s issue of Rolling Stone, rock critic Dave Marsh chronicles the history of ‘60’s garage rock band “THE REEKERS” from Garrett Park , MD, who knocked THE BEATLES out of the #1 slot with their 1966 hit record “WHAT A GIRL CAN’T DO” ( released under the name of THE HANGMEN). In a rare glimpse into the reality behind the glitter of rock & roll, Marsh re-visits some of the still un- resolved and puzzling aspects of the band’s 42 year history, and reveals a few previously unknown conflicts within the band. Marsh said he tried unsuccessfully to involve Reekers Mike Henley, Joel Triplett, Bob Berberich, and Tom Guernsey in the article, but was “stone walled”. “They just would not discuss the band” Marsh said. “Very simply, they didn’t return any calls or e-mails”. Marsh makes it clear early on in the article that while he still has an almost reverential respect for THE REEKERS version of “WHAT A GIRL CAN’T DO”, he has, at best mixed feelings, both musically and personally, towards the band. He does concede that “WHAT A GIRL CAN’T DO” is among the top singles to be “covered” between the late 60’s thru 2006. (Besides being re-recorded by THE HANGMEN after THE REEKERS version hit the charts in 1966 under the name of THE HANGMEN, the song was covered by D.C. bands THE SLICKEE BOYS , 1976 -- THE NIGHTHAWKS, 1981 --THE ROSYLYNN MOUNTAIN BOYS, early 70’s --(never released), BOB BBQ and the CANNED PIG ALL STAR BAND, 2001-- and the Boston based band, THE LYRES, in 1981.

The band, still touring on the “oldies” circuit, with very limited success has been notoriously guarded about their private lives and the inner workings of the group. “I thought with the impending April 1st release of their first album in 27 years ‘THE REEKERS (& FRIENDS)’, and their lack of visibility in today’s corporate rock world, that they would speak out--if only to promote the album. But true to their past they once again opted for ‘a shot in the foot’ and continued obscurity.”

Marsh was able to confirm through sources close to the group that
it was not true that during the mid ‘70’s, THE REEKERS wore guns at rehearsals. “It was a tense time” said one roadie, who wished to remain anonymous, “but no guns were ever involved.” Marsh rehashes the persisting story of an “unusual and unnatural” relationship
between the keyboard player and one of the guitar players during the late ‘60’s, but doesn’t really shed any new light on the subject. It was a different time with changing social mores and values. “Best to let sleeping dogs lie” Marsh concludes, but he does note that despite several controversial and detailed tabloid articles published at the time,
the group steadfastly refused to comment on the rumors. Marsh makes no mention of the fact that despite Guernsey’s present circumstances (he is homeless, divorced, and frequently seen picking thru a McDonalds dumpster in southeast Portland), neither Guernsey or piano player Henley have ever taken advantage of the probable easy money that legal scholars have said almost certainly awaits them by initiating legal action against Jimmy Hatlo’s syndicated comic strip, “The Secret Life of No Chops & Bundini”, a thinly disguised commentary on life in THE REEKERS.

THE REEKERS frequently lived up to their name, and Marsh recalls in painful detail THE REEKERS “truly dreadful” performance at the original Woodstock in 1969. “I have never heard a band so out of tune” said guitarist Keith Richards of the ROLLING STONES (a band not well known for its own intonation). “My guess is they’ll never change, and God only knows where or when they’re playing next” says Marsh, “ let alone what they will sound like!” Yet Marsh does give “THE REEKERS (& FRIEND’S)” 4 stars. “They were, and still are, the world’s oldest and (sometimes) most dangerous garage band.”

(reprinted by permission)