A sample of some obscure – and maybe not obscure – tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.

Today’s selection: Insect Trust – “Declaration Of Independence” 1968

Today’s selection was inspired by several of Jean’s poems.

A New York band of sorts, the core of the band to be left for San Francisco in ’66, singing for gas and food along the way as the Solip Singers. They gave up heading west, the Solip Singers broke up, and returned to Memphis. The Insect Trust congealed in 1966 in Memphis and bounced back and forth between Memphis and Hoboken. During their “success” time, they fronted for bands such as Santana and the doors but eventually, personnel problems – drugs and business didn’t mix well – led to the final breakup in Hoboken.

This cut is from their first, self-titled album. As one critic put it: “The album did nothing, sales-wise … But what was really remarkable was that, somehow or other, the Insect Trust got a second chance a year later with “Hoboken Saturday Night. After the 2nd release, the band quietly fell apart bit by bit.”