The rocking, rolling, psychedelic grooves of The Blues Magoos will be altering the vibes at Johnny D’s on Thursday, May 21.

The Blues Magoos: bringing it all back in style
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By Jim Clark

The Blues Magoos are too often regarded as relics of the psychedelic era in the popular culture, but for the many fans of the genre who look for gems among the dross, the group is in fact seen as one of the finest practitioners of the form.

The band’s most successful single release, 1967’s We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet, may have branded them as “one hit wonders” in the annals of rock history, but what a hit it was. “It was such a groundbreaking record,” founding member Peppy Castro observes. “Every guitar player had to learn that lick. You can’t play guitar unless you learn this riff.”

And 40 years after the iconic song made its mark, Castro and fellow original members Ralph Scala and Geoff Daking have reformed, releasing a new album, Psychedelic Resurrection, and taking their hard rocking sound on the road again for a limited touring schedule. One stop on that new ride will be Johnny D’s on Thursday, May 21.

The Blues Magoos, circa 1967.

Psychedelic Resurrection contains re-recorded takes on some of their earlier numbers, including We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet, along with some new compositions. “It was fun to do the remakes,” said Castro. “Number one, there’s not an artist back there that owns their masters [recordings]. In essence, if you even want to go out and play a gig and sell merchandise you gotta go and buy your own stuff back at wholesale just to sell them.”

Castro knows all too well the realities of classic rock properties in the hardscrabble world of the recording industry. “One of the things that took so long is that I got in touch with an attorney and ended up hiring somebody to get all our copyrights and publishing back after not even ever owning them. At least we now have the peace of mind that we are the masters of our destiny, that we own our copyrights again.”

With copyrights and permissions secured, the band is once again reaching out and inviting fans to see and hear that they can still deliver the goods. “It’s like a fact-finding mission,” according to Castro. “We’re scouting it out. I’m under no illusions. Is there fun in going back and having a reunion? Going back and rekindling a love that you’ve always had with the music? That is definitely there.”

“It’s not like I’ve been beating it to death for 47 years. It’s fresh. When you do it and you don’t need it there’s no false pretense. Don’t do it if you’re not going to have fun. That is the bottom line,” Castro affirms convincingly. “If it’s fun, I’m in. If it’s not fun, I’m not in. Because I don’t want to cheat anybody, most of all myself.”

Be sure to check them out as they take the stage at Johnny D’s on May 21 and do it for the right reason: pure and simple love of the music.

The band’s newest release, Psychedelic Resurrection, is a collection of new songs and favorites freshly recorded for aficionados of the group’s groundbreakings work.