Philip Topps, Greenwich Village 1965

by Philip
(Leeds Point, New Jersey.)

My band, the Islanders, was the house band at Rick Allman's Cafe Bizarre for the whole summer of '65, when the Spoonful were at the Night Owl. We all used to go to Googie's on Sullivan between sets. Zal was a character! Was so sorry to hear of his passing. He was as talented as they come, and a nice guy to just sit, have a drink with and shoot shit about the music scene.


The Spoonful, The Blues Magoos and others I knew all made it, and we felt good about that.
That summer was probably the best assembly of talent in the Vil music scene ever.
Wouldn't go back and change a thing, except still wish that my lead guitarist and best friend Steve Prescott had taken the audition with the Yardbirds. He ended up dying in Viet Nam in May of 1968. It haunts me still.

Philip Topps

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