It’s still early, but Guerssen Records’ lovingly assembled collection documenting the obscure Los Gatos, CA-based late 1960s outfit Weird Herald is poised to be one of the major archival discoveries of 2025. Just Yesterday is offered as an 11-song LP accompanied with a download card rounding up 11 more selections; the CD corrals 18 of the tracks. Both sets situate Weird Herald as far more than just another hunk of unearthed gristle thrown to salivating obsessives of ’60s psych rock. Kudos to Guerssen for spotlighting this major lost band and expanding the historical landscape once again.
Of course there’s a booklet loaded with info detailing Weird Heard’s unluckiness as a band and detailing relationships to Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, and the Doobie Brothers. Rather than regurgitate the tale in this review, it suffices to simply relate the band’s formation by guitarists Paul Ziegler and Billy Dean Andrus, the latter a high school friend and playing partner of Alexander “Skip” Spence, noted as a founding member of both Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape. For these recordings, bassist Cecil Bollinger and drummer Pat McIntire round out the band.
Weird Herald’s only official release during their existence was a promo single issued by the Onyx label in 1968. The B-side of that 45, a very appealing slice of gentle folk-rock, provides the Guerssen collection with its title. “Just Yesterday” is of a piece with the record’s other track, “Saratoga James,” as both selections thrive on exceptional fingerpicking, although the plug side inches nearer to the then nascent singer-songwriter side of the folk equation.
The single was essentially a managerial decision, with the choice of songs intended to emphasize Weird Herald’s less disruptive side (shortly thereafter they did play a handful of shows opening for the great Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete and his trio), but the band had considerable range, and as Just Yesterday’s highlights “Canyon Women” and “In the Country” make clear, they could lay it down raw and heavy while maintaining a commitment to song form.
Moby Grape was a clear influence, as was Jefferson Airplane to a lesser extent, but Weird Herald wasn’t derivative. Across the band’s existence they cultivated a sound that, had the breaks fallen their way, would’ve brought them sustained success. For one example, “Reapin’ Seasons” is truly splendid country-folk with harmonies that suggest they could’ve cut a record at Bradley’s Barn, and “Burgandy and Yellow” establishes that Weird Herald could productively stretch out, and in a manner subtly reminiscent of Cali contemporaries from the era Spirit.
Likewise, “Untitled” opens as an intense strummer before deftly downshifting into a more contemplative folk atmosphere and then letting it glide for a while. And in terms of vocal harmonies, Weird Herald had the goods. “Help Me Find My Way” is one more slab of acid-tinged but still melodic rocking on what was recorded and outlined to be the band’s proper LP, and the Everly Brothers-ish slow drift of “David of Bijou” is Andrus’ tribute to Skip Spence.
The LP is bookended by “Where I’m Bound” in an intro and an outro that’s considerably more psychedelic in an engagingly handmade way. The song also figures prominently in the bonus portion of the proceedings in a longer version and a reversed edit. Combining extra cuts from the album sessions plus early demos, matters get even more lo-fi, but what’s unswerving is Weird Herald’s consistency of inspiration across Just Yesterday. With just a bit of good luck, the history of the late ’60s Bay Area psych scene would be quite different.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
