Glass Harp. Live Sausalito 1971" Pacific High Recorders".KSAN FM 95.5 SF.
Supernova (soo'per-no've)n. 1.A rare celestial phenomenon involving
the explosion of most of the material in a star, resulting in an extremely bright, short lived object that emits vast amounts of energy. 2.The brief but intense career of Glass Harp.In the late '60s and early '70s a power rock trio from Youngstown, Ohio
called Glass Harp reached for the stars. They must have made contact, as references to stellar events seem to pervade much of their music. As a reviewer of their debut album observed,"...no fewer than five songs mention the sky, and three of the remaining ones talk about things like stars, rainbows, and the moon."They were a bare bones group in the tradition of Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and fellow Ohio band, The James Gang. But Glass Harp developed a signature sound of their own-a progressive one that allowed the members, collectively and individually, to stretch beyond the confines of standard form; breaks in songs for guitar, bass, flute, and drum solos were de rigueur, as extended improvisations that would take the bands performances into the late hours.While the band dissolved on the cusp of achieving mainstream rock
stardom, they garnered a large and loyal regional following. National
notoriety followed as they toured with the likes of Traffic, Yes, The
Kinks, Humble Pie, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, and Grand Funk Railroad. "They were just the warm-up group," recalls a journalist of the day, "But it was the first time I had heard a local group and felt that I had heard the headline concert."
With the release of their first album came more national attention,
and even more enthusiasm back home, none of which was lost on the
record company advertising execs, who exploited their burgeoning
popularity with such ad copy as:"The Glass Harp epidemic began about two weeks ago in Ohio and has been spreading so rapidly it has already affected some 36,000 in Cleveland alone. There is conclusive evidence to suggest that a new rock group Glass Harp is responsible for this epidemic. The release of their LP coincides almost exactly with the outbreak of this phenomenon. Contact your MCA Distributor today and become a carrier of the Glass Harp epidemic."In all, the band's recorded output consisted of three critically acclaimed LPs, all released on the Decca (MCA) label: 'Glass Harp',
'Synergy', and 'It Makes Me Glad'. In spite of their short lived life, the
band managed to imprint an indelible mark on the history of rock 'n'
roll, performing with some of the biggest bands of the day on stages
ranging from the Fillmore to Carnegie Hall.
John August Schroeter
