Red Temple Spirits
Formed in early 1987, Los Angeles quartet Red Temple Spirits skillfully mixed tribal post-punk influences such as mid-period Cure and fellow Californians Savage Republic, with a loving dose of lysergic psychedelia, early Pink Floyd and Roky Erickson being particular touchstones. The latter's song "Two Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)" inspired the band's name.
Brilliant guitarist and Alabama native Dallas "Spartacus" Taylor and bassist Dino Paredes (a former UCLA philosophy major of Apache ancestry) coaxed entrancing drones and pulses from their instruments with judicious use of echo and other effects, layered atop Thomas Pierik's skillful drumming, while shamanistic frontman William Faircloth (a colorful immigrant from Britain's original Sixties psychedelic movement) delved into mysticism (Native American on the first album, Tibetan on the second) with a grace and passion rarely seen before, complimented by his distinctively tremulous pagan wail.
Red Temple Spirits soon developed a large and extremely devoted cult fanbase on the West Coast, converted by their stunning concerts at California clubs (Limbo Lounge, The Krypt, Lectisternium), often paired with compatriots Savage Republic, where their music's hallucinogenic aura was amplified by the shaking of rattles, the scent of incense, and the glow of fluorescent body paint on bead and loincloth-clad bodies. The whole became more than the sum of the already impressive parts, as during their performances, an otherworldly presence seemed to be invoked, something few who saw the Spirits live ever forgot.
Translating this live magic onto tape was a daunting task, but 1988's Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon rose to the challenge, proving to be an astonishing debut album. The luxurious packaging (double LP/single CD, both on the Nate Starkman & Son label) mirrored the care put into the music, which tastefully incorporated flutes, bells and natural sounds (water, birds) to create a heady atmosphere of ritualistic ecstasy. Shorter, more intense compositions ("Dark Spirits," "Dreamings Ending") alternated with languorously dreamlike gems ("Lost in Dreaming," "Liquid Temple"), spiced by a powerful cover of Pink Floyd's "Nile Song," the whole bookended by two long, complex two-part epics ("Exorcism/Waiting for the Sun" and "Light of Christ/This Hollow Ground"). Versions of four of these tracks had previously been heard on the Spirits' 1987 five-song demo (the fifth, the chiming "New Land," did not make the album).
1989's followup If tomorrow I were leaving for Lhasa, I wouldn't stay a minute more... was far more direct, both in the melodic music and the lyrics, which turn towards external/environmental stimuli. While in some sense, things took a decided turn toward darkness and dread (the aptly titled "Confusion" and "A Black Rain," nuclear nightmare "Meltdown," the haunted urban loneliness of "City of Millions") the Spirits' theme of hope for the magic and beauty of life in the face of despair remained, as crystallized by the gorgeous "Dive in Deep," their rousing version of Erickson's "Rollercoaster," and another Floyd cover, the incandescent "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun."
By the time of the second album's release in November 1989, drummer Pierik had exited the group, replaced that September by Scott McPherson, who made his recorded debut on magnificent new track, semi-instrumental Tibetan freedom anthem "Exodus from Lhasa," also released in November 1989 as the b-side to the "New Land" 7-inch (the a-side was the 1987 demo outtake), issued in deluxe letterpress sleeve on Independent Project Records as a benefit single for Tibet House. Such activism was nothing new for the Spirits, who had previously arranged a charity concert to help Native American organization Big Mountain Land Resistance Force.
The latter part of 1989 and the beginning of 1990 marked the peak of Red Temple Spirits' impact on the wider music culture outside of the LA scene. A promotional video for "City of Millions" was shot, and aired on MTV’s "120 Minutes," and the band made their New York City debut with a stunning performance in October 1989 at the CMJ Festival. That night they launched into "Exodus from Lhasa" in total darkness, as Faircloth flung glowing flecks of paint all over the Under Acme ceiling, creating a panoply of stars that enraptured the audience. A buzz began, and four months later, the Spirits undertook a 17-date East Coast tour, beginning with a masterful LSD-fueled gala at Boston's Ground Zero, sparking a near riot in Burlington, VT, then down to NYC (where they wowed a packed house at Ron Wood's club Woody's) and a stellar set at Philly's Khyber. These shows featured an rousing cover of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and a passel of promising unrecorded material (including the haunting "Yeti," the hopeful "Smiling," "Village of Reeds," and "Going Home"), and both local and national music press began to notice the Spirits, leading to features in Alternative Press, B-Side, and Reflex among others.
A four-song demo was recorded later in 1990, including "Yeti" and "“Smiling," plus "We Need You" and "Revolution of the Heart." 1990 also saw the release of compilation LP Taste Test 1, featuring another 1987 Red Temple Spirits outtake, "The Alchemist's Stone."
Unfortunately, tragedy struck on the way back from a gig in San Francisco, as the band's tour van crashed, seriously injuring several members. They eventually recovered, and Red Temple Spirits limped on for a time, but the damage was done. Their powerful momentum had been halted, and this original edition of the band would do no further touring or recording. After several California concerts in summer and late 1992 (featuring newer and as-yet-unreleased songs "The Rape of Celine," "The Hand of God," "Engines of the World," "The Beast," and "Over Nepal"), Red Temple Spirits disbanded, with William Faircloth and Dallas Taylor moving to Sedona, AZ.
Before he joined Red Temple Spirits, bassist Dino Paredes played in a late lineup of Perry Farrell's pre-Jane's Addiction goth combo Psi Com (and claimed to have written the famous bassline of Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song"). During his tenure with the Spirits, Paredes had worked as art director for music labels such as Triple X, Priority, and Chameleon (his numerous design credits range from John Lee Hooker and Ice Cube, to Celebrity Skin and Shadow Project), and after the Spirits broke up, he joined Rick Rubin's American Recordings, where he eventually rose to become American's Vice President of A&R. He signed numerous bands to the label, most notably System of a Down and the late Wesley Willis.
Prior to the Spirits, William Faircloth had lent his vocal ululations to the similarly psychedelic Ministry of Love, a trio that included guitar wiz Mark Nine (formerly of Voodoo Church). Although lacking the Red Temple Spirits' brilliant chemistry, there were some great moments on the band's 1987 five-track EP Wide Awake and Dreaming (Underworld), including Faircloth's touching ballad, "You're Not on Your Own."
After settling in at Sedona, Faircloth (who worked as a printer at Independent Project Press, which had also moved to Sedona) and Taylor continued to make music, originally under the new name Invisible Opera Company of Tibet, releasing one audiocassette The Alien Host in the mid-1990s via Parasol .
In 1998, Faircloth and Taylor briefly revived the name Red Temple Spirits. Keyboardist and Kurt Weill great-nephew Alex Koffler (who later issued a 2004 EP Lust under the name The Beauty Above) was a member during this second edition of the band, which did not release any new material or perform outside the Southwest.
Almost a decade of dormancy went by until 2007's surprise reformation, when Faircloth and Taylor were joined by original drummer Thomas Pierik, for the band's third incarnation. All three members are in the process of relocating to Hawaii, where they plan to record the third Red Temple Spirits album. The first two albums will be reissued shortly by Independent Project Records.
DISCOGRAPHY
Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon LP (1988, Nate Starkman & Son)
If tomorrow I were leaving for Lhasa, I wouldn't stay a minute more... LP (1989, Nate Starkman & Son)
"New Land" 7-inch single (1989, Independent Project Records)
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