Batch
1970’s pop/rock band with emphasis on vocal harmonies and recording and playing original songs
Contents:
History
The Batch
Summer, 1966: Barry Thomas Goldberg and Gary Paulak decide to put a band together called The Shambles. The lineup is: Barry Goldberg on rhythm guitar and vocals; Gary Paulak on lead guitar and vocals; Jay Lee on bass guitar; and Jerry Newman on drums. Unlike most garage bands of the era who play mainly cover songs, The Shambles play all original songs written by Barry and Gary. Among the original songs are: “Look at Me Now,” “7:30 Sunset,” and “Black Spiders and Black Robes.”
The band plays live mainly at private parties. At one party, local WDGY DJ Johnny Dollar happens to be present and hears the band perform a song called “Underneath the Rug.” Johnny encourages the band to make a record. The band goes into Dove Recording Studios in Bloomington and record “Underneath the Rug” however, the studio co-owner and engineer, Daryl “Arv” Arvidson, is not impressed with their musical abilities and tells them to take their tape and go home and come back another time. Daryl does not charge the band for the recording session. The song is pressed on an acetate only and never released.
Summer, 1967: Jerry Newman leaves the band and Gary Lane (a friend of Gary Paulak) becomes the new drummer for the group. Barry does not want two guys in the band with same first name so he comes up with a nickname for Gary Lane… “Whip” Lane.
July, 1967: The band returns to Dove Recording and meet Pete Steinberg who is the house producer at Dove. The band records “Black Spiders and Black Robes” and “7:30 Sunset” and Pete Steinberg and Dale Menten try to get the two songs pressed on a major record label based in New York, but no record deal emerges. Pete and Dale are partners in Candy Floss Productions.
Fall, 1967: The Shambles record additional original songs at Dove including “Lights of Rome” and “World War 11 in Cincinnati.” Singing background on the two songs are two local singers, Mike Flaherty and Mike O’Gara. Pete and Dale “shop the songs” in New York for a record deal and obtain a contract with ATCO Records, owned by Atlantic Records.
Winter, 1967: The 45 is released and the record is played on local radio station WDGY. Shortly after recording the two songs, Jay Lee joins his parents in leaving Minnesota to move to California. As a result, Barry and Gary decide to focus on writing songs for Candy Floss Productions, working with Pete Steinberg and Dale Menten. Bass guitar parts are played on the demo songs by Dale Menten or Larry Hofmann.
Late, 1967: Barry, Gary, Pete and Dale write a song called “(Twenty Years Ago) in Speedy’s Kitchen. Gary sings lead, however Pete and Dale want a different lead singer and Freddy Freeman, the lead singer for local band TC Atlantic ends up singing the lead vocals. The song is picked up by Parrot Records for a national release (as TC Atlantic) on the Parrot label and the record does well in the Twin Cities market.
Gary, Barry, and Pete team write a new song, specifically for Freddy Freeman to sing called “The Countess” which comes out on the Sire label under a fictitious name originated by Pete Steinberg: Eric Marshall and The Chymes. Performing on “The Countess” are: Freddy Freeman on lead vocals; Gary Paulak on piano; Gus Dewey on guitar; Larry Hoffman on bass guitar, Barry and Gary on backing vocals, and Whip Lane on drums. On the B-side of the record is an original song called “I Can’t Love You Anymore.” For the B-side, Barry sings lead vocals, and local singer Arne Fogel joins Barry and Gary singing backing vocals. Arne had become known to the band members when Arne and Steve Longman recorded a song at Dove called “I Once Had A Dream.” Arne and Steve began interacting with the guys at Candy Floss Productions during the recording. Steve eventually became head engineer at Dove and Arne joined The Batch.
September, 1968: Pete Steinberg comes up with an idea to put together a new band called The Puddle, to be a promotional vehicle for Candy Floss Productions. The band rehearses with: Pete Steinberg on vocals and tambourine; Barry Goldberg on guitar and vocals; Garry Paulak on guitar and vocals; Steve Longman on bass guitar; Arne Fogel on vocals, trumpet, and percussion; and Whip Lane on drums.
At the urging of Pete Steinberg, The Puddle record a bubblegum style song at Dove called “Red Rover, Red Rover” based on the children’s backyard game. The writers are Barry, Gary, and Pete. Barry wanted Gary or Arne or himself to sing lead but was over-ruled by Steinberg who chose a singer from another band, Chris Skilman from 20th Century Fox, because he sounded like the singers from Ohio Express/1910 Fruitgum Company. Barry, Gary and Arne sing backing vocals on the song. The B-side of “Red Rover, Red Rover” was a song called “Happy Like This” (also written by Barry, Gary and Pete) with Freddy Freeman (from T.C. Atlantic) on lead vocals and Barry singing backing vocals.
Pete Steinberg gets The Puddle a number of jobs called “Pepsi Pop Hops” at high schools, sponsored by Pepsi who provide the band with free equipment. By this this time, Steve Longman has left the group and Jay Lee has returned to Minnesota and joins the band on bass guitar. The band dresses up in unique stage clothes: Pete wears an Indian head dress and buckskin; Barry wear a black cowboy outfit; Gary wears a 1920’s bathing suit; Whip Lane wears a sailor outfit; Jay Lee wears a ballerina outfit with combat boots; and Arne wears a wild Nehru jacket with love beads. The band played the National Anthem and did a Psychedelic version of ”Yummy, Yummy, Yummy.” Since KDWB was promoting the “Pepsi Pop Hops” they played “Red Rover, Red Rover” on their radio station.
The Puddle decides to change their name to P.R.E.T.T.Y. B.L.U.E. B.A.T.C.H. at the suggestion of Dale Menten. The phrase originates from a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. The name stands for: Philadelphia Regular Exchange Tea Total Young Bells Letters Universal Experimental Bibliographic Association To Civilize Humanity.
Pete Steinberg leaves the group and the band drops the unique stage costumes. In addition, the band switches music styles, as they are heavily influenced by The Beatle’s “White Album.” Other bands that influence the group are Spirit (California) and Procol Harum (UK). Barry, Gary, and Arne divide up the lead vocals and many songs feature three part harmonies. The band is first booked by Magnum and then by Alpha Productions. Some of their first live jobs are at the Coffeehouse Extemporare, located in the West Bank area near the University of Minnesota. At certain venues (like the The Extemp), the band performs all original material. At dances and bars the group performs a lot of cover songs. As the band gains in popularity they also play at the Home Bar and CC Tap in Minneapolis, in addition to the upper Midwest ballroom circuit (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North and South Dakota).
1970: Pretty Blue Batch shortens their band name to The Batch and in the summer they begin recording their songs at Sound 80 in Edina. Prior to this, the group recorded demo songs on their own equipment.
1971: The group continues recording their songs, this time at Micside (formerly Kay Bank, followed by Universal Audio).
1972: Barry and Arne Fogel make a trip to Los Angeles to pitch The Batch to Elektra Records, A & M Records, and Liberty Records. The two bring a demo tape with five songs:
Song 1. “Running Scared”
Song 2. “You’re Only a Name’
Song 3. “Storyman”
Song 4. “Wild-Eyed Beauty Queen”
Song 5. “Shade Tree”
The meetings with the record executives do not result in a record deal for The Batch. Elektra Records shows the most interest in the group and have several meetings with Barry and Arne. After it becomes clear to Elektra that the group was not interested in relocating to Los Angeles, Elektra loses interest in the band.
Dale Menten purchases Micside and changes the name of the studio to Cookhouse. The band records at Cookhouse through 1973 and complete a large number of original songs and are still hoping to get a record deal, but no deal materializes.
Cookhouse features a sixteen track recording machine, giving the group an opportunity to be creative with instrumentation and vocal harmonies.
The Batch release a 45 on Dale Menten’s record label called Groove Soup with “Hot Summer Nights” on the A-side and “Golden Sun” on the B-side. Barry sang lead vocals on both songs. KQRS plays the single, however, they “flip” the 45 and play the B-side “Golden Sun.”
1973: Columbia Records offers to release a single by The Batch with “Pop and Ice” on the A-side, however the band is advised to turn down the deal by Lew Futterman who told the band that he was confident the band would likely get an offer from Columbia to put out an album. No album deal with Columbia is obtained.
1974: With no interest in a record deal from any major labels, the band decides it is time to make a move and head West to Colorado with the idea that the band could make a national name for themselves from that location. The group stays in Breckenridge for the first half of their time in Colorado and then move to Evergreen for the remainder of their time out West. The goal was to stay in Colorado for awhile and then move to California. The band plays at Tollogy’s in Boulder, House of Draft in Denver, and the West Bank Club in Breckinridge.
By the summer, the group concludes that trying to launch a national band out of Colorado is not a good idea and on top of that, they are having issues with their band manager. The members decide to return to Minnesota and “re-charge” and then move out to Los Angeles after a month. Discouraged by their general situation, the band does not make the trip to Los Angeles and the band breaks up in August, but fulfill a couple of commitments on the books. One job is playing a live concert from Cookhouse that is broadcast over the air on radio station KQRS, as part of a series called “Cookin’ at Cookhouse.”
January, 1975: The group plays a month long job as the house band at Duff’s on 8th Street in downtown Minneapolis. After the job at Duff’s is over The Batch officially comes to an end.
Update:
In 1995, Barry and all but one original member of The Batch reformed under the name The Ironweeds. Barry, Gary, Arne, and Jay Lee teamed up with new drummer, Scott Homan. The band was the house band for the Classic Motor Company on Excelsior Boulevard in St. Louis Park from 1995 to 1998 (off an on). The group also played at 5 Corners in Minneapolis and various clubs in Hopkins.
In 1997, The Ironweeds released a cassette tape of eleven songs, recorded at Gary Paulak’s home studio in Bloomington.
In 1998, The Ironweeds came to an end.
In 2008, The Batch released a CD called “Transistor” with 21 of their demo songs recorded in 1968, 1969, and 1970. The songs were recorded by Arne Fogel on a two-track Panasonic reel to reel player and by Gary Paulak on a four-track Teac 3340.
In 2009, a record label out of Greece called Anazitsi, released a vinyl album by The Batch called “Wait Til Tomorrow.” On the album are 11 demo songs (all are on the Transistor CD) recorded by The Batch between 1968 and 1970. The songs were recorded by Gary Paulak and Arne Fogel. The album includes a four page color insert with band photos and the history of the band as well as a promo poster of the band. On the back cover is a photo of The Batch playing live at Coffman Union at the University of Minnesota. The album was pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
In 2009, The Batch released a CD called “Blue Sky Day” with 21 original songs recorded from 1970 to 1973. The songs were originally recorded at Sound 80 and Micside/Cookhouse.
As of April, 2016, Barry Thomas Goldberg continues to write and record songs.
As of April 17, 2016, Arne Fogel has performed for 40+ years as a singer in concerts, recordings, nightclubs, film and TV broadcast. In addition, Arne has also had a career in broadcasting (40 + years).
The Batch Band History was written by Tom Campbell.
Version 1. February 12, 2016
Version 2. February 14, 2016
Version 3. February 16, 2016
Version 4. March 8, 2016
Version 5. March 24, 2016
Version 6. March 26, 2016
Version 7. April 2, 2016
Version 8. April 17, 2016
Version 9. April 20, 2016
Version 10. April 21, 2016
Version 11. April 24, 2016
Copyright by Thomas R. Campbell, 2016
Photos (Click a photo to see it full-screen, then click the arrows to see the next one.)
Recordings
Hot Summer Night – Time = 3:05
Golden Sun Time – Time 3:42
Recordings by The Batch (and The Ironweeds)
The Batch 45
Year of Release: 1972
Label: Groove Soup
Produced by: Dale Menten
Recorded at: Cookhouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Side A: “Hot Summer Nights”
Barry Thomas Goldberg: lead, background vocals, rhythm guitar.
Gary Paulak: Background vocals, lead guitar.
Arne Fogel: Background vocals, piano.
Jay Lee: bass guitar.
Whip Lane: drums.
Dick Reese: saxophone.
Side B: “Golden Sun”
Barry Thomas Goldberg: lead, background vocals, rhythm guitar.
Gary Paulak: Background vocals, lead guitar, and organ.
Arne Fogel: Background vocals, piano.
Jay Lee: bass guitar.
Whip Lane: drums.
Both songs written by Barry Thomas Goldberg and Gary Paulak.
Dr. Wormwood’s Monkey Theater (The Ironweeds)
Year of Release: 1997
Label: HIJ (cassette tape)
Produced by: Barry Thomas Goldberg and Gary Paulak
Recorded at: Gary Paulak’s home studio in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Engineered by: Gary Paulak.
Musicians:
Barry Thomas Goldberg: lead, background vocals, rhythm guitar.
Gary Paulak: lead, background vocals, lead guitar, and keyboards.
Arne Fogel: lead, background vocals, keyboards (and drums on “Crime of the Century”).
Jay Lee: bass guitar.
Scott Homan: drums.
Song List:
- “Martian Summer”
- “Cydonia”
- “Inject Me”
- “January Ice”
- “Christmas Robbery”
- “House of Trouble”
- “Streets of St. Paul”
- “Foreign Affair”
- “One Ain’t Enough”
- “December Candy”
- “Crime of the Century”
All songs written by Barry Thomas Goldberg or Barry Thomas Goldberg and Gary Paulak.
Transistor – Lost Basement Recordings – 1968 – 1971 (The Batch)
Year of Release: 2008
Label: HIJ/Becca (CD)
Musicians:
Barry Thomas Goldberg: lead, background vocals, rhythm guitar.
Gary Paulak: lead, background vocals, lead guitar.
Arne Fogel: lead, background vocals, keyboards, and percussion.
Jay Lee: bass guitar.
Whip Lane: drums.
Recorded by Arne Fogel (two-track Panasonic reel to reel player) and Gary Paulak (four-track Teac 3340).
Remixed and mastered by: Gary Paulak.
Digital transfer from original tapes: Arne Fogel.
Song List:
- “Ha La La”
- “Pretty Mary”
- “Make the Morning Come”
- “Caveman Clubs”
- “Drifting”
- “Wait ‘Til Tomorrow”
- “Untangle Your Mind”
- “Livin’ a Smile”
- “So Sad
- “Feather in My Hat”
- “Winter of My Discontent
- “Lord I’m So Tired”
- “Maggie Brown”
- “Goodbye Lana”
- “Freddy Coolchick”
- “See the Time Go”
- “Plastic Happy World”
- “Running Scared”
- “You’re Only a Name”
- “Storyman”
- “Wild-Eyed Beauty Queen”
All songs written by Barry Thomas Goldberg and Gary Paulak, except for “See the Time Go” which was written by Arne Fogel.
Wait Til Tomorrow (The Batch)
Year of Release: 2009
Label: Anazitisi (180 gram vinyl album, Greece record label).
Recorded at: Gary Paulak’s home studio in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Recorded by: Gary Paulak, and Arne Fogel.
Remastered by: Barry Thomas Goldberg.
Musicians:
Barry Thomas Goldberg: lead, background vocals, and rhythm guitar.
Gary Paulak: lead, background vocals, lead guitar. .
Arne Fogel: lead, background vocals, and percussion.
Jay Lee: bass guitar.
Whip Lane: drums.
Song List:
Side One:
- “Ha La La”
- “Drifting”
- “Winter of My Discontent”
- “Freddy Coolchick”
- “Livin’ a Smile”
Side Two:
- “Wait Til Tmorrow”
- “Untangle Your Mind”
- “So Sad”
- “Feather in My Hat”
- “Lord I’m So Tired”
- “Maggie Brown”
All songs written by Barry Thomas Goldberg and Gary Paulak.
Blue Sky Day (The Batch)
Year of Release: 2009
Label: Weekend/HIJ/Becca (CD)
Produced by: Dale Menten
Recorded at: Sound 80 in Edina, Minnesota and Micside/Cookhouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Engineered by: Tom Jung, Scott Rivard, Dik Hedlund, and John Calder.
Remastered by: Dale Menten and Gary Paulak.
Musicians:
Barry Thomas Goldberg: lead, background vocals, rhythm guitar and lead guitar.
Gary Paulak: lead, background vocals, lead guitar, and keyboards.
Arne Fogel: lead, background vocals, keyboards, and percussion.
Jay Lee: bass guitar.
Whip Lane: drums.
Dale Menten: guitar and/or keyboards, and backing vocals on Tracks 1, 5, 16, 17, and 21.
Dale Menten: lead vocals on Track 21.
Song List:
- “Mr. Onawalla”
- “Roadside Manner”
- “The Night is Gone”
- “Trying to Make It”
- “Show It”
- “Pretending”
- “End of the Road”
- “I Can’t Take It”
- “Crazy”
- “Don’t Be Wrong”
- “Blue Sky Day”
- “Don’t You Turn Away”
- “Aramanth (The Eternal Flower)”
- “Pop and Ice”
- “Daddy’s Coming Home”
- “They All Went Down”
- “You Can Still Be My Woman”
- “Blue Boy”
- “Golden Sun”
- “Hot Summer Nights”
- “Hold Me Now”
All songs written by Barry Thomas Goldberg and Gary Paulak, except for “I Can’t Take It” written by Arne Fogel and “Hold Me Now” written by Barry Thomas Goldberg, Gary Paulak, and Dale Menten.
Bandtree
Barry Thomas Goldberg
Shambles
Puddle
Pretty Blue Batch
Batch
Highway 52
Ironweeds
Solo Artist
__________________________
Gary Paulak
Shambles
Puddle
Pretty Blue Batch
Batch
Ironweeds
___________________________
Arnie Fogel
Longman and Fogel
Puddle
Pretty Blue Batch
Batch
Ironweeds
Solo Artist
___________________________
Jay Lee
Shambles
Puddle
Pretty Blue Batch
Batch
Ironweeds
____________________________
Gary “Whip” Lane
Shambles
Puddle
Pretty Blue Batch
Batch
______________________________
Where are they now?
Barry Thomas Goldberg: Living in Minnesota, writing and recording songs, solo artist.
Gary Paulak: Living in Minnesota, no longer active in music.
Arne Fogel: Living in Minnesota, working as a record producer, promoter, manager, solo artist.
Jay Lee: Living in Minnesota, no longer active in music.
Gary “Whip”Lane: Living in Florida, working in the financial services industry.
Interview
Arne Fogel and Barry Thomas Goldberg at Sunrise Sound – Interview – April 17, 2016
Interview PART
Interview Part ONE – Time = 19:42
Interview Part TWO – Time = 17:04
Interview Part THREE – Time = 17:57
