Four O'Clock Balloon - their 2nd CD: unreleased
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Artist:
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Album:More Hot Air
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Track:Wait
(Fourth in a series)
After discovering Four O'Clock Balloon on the Yellow Pills compilation and acquiring their sole CD, I thought I was done. But then through a Google search I found 4 tracks NOT on that CD on some music website. Finally, Tommy Anthony (their leader) filled in the gaps in an e-mail: "Undaunted, we recorded our second cd, "More Hot Air". Again the regional press went nuts, our following continued to grow and we thought this would surely have them at our feet. Nope.
At this point, 2 years in, making marginally more money than the average teenager at a Burger King, the wheels began to come off the cart. We had gotten national airplay at the college level, had a solid fan base and great support from the press, and the labels just wouldn't commit."
He also mentioned yet a third CD. Both of the latter CDs were technically not "releases" as they never were commercially available. Of course, this drove me a little nuts. How could I get these? After I discovered the Balloon, I set up a search on eBay for anything by them. Even their 1st CD shows up on eBay or Gemm only a couple of times a year. I kept renewing the search - for 5 years. Finally, about a month ago, both Hot Air and that 3rd CD Up Up and Away showed up on eBay. I made sure not to be outbid on these and finally, these promo-only copies were in my hands. 
I must admit that the more Beatlesque these guys get, the more I like them. Thus you find Wait attached to this post. And I'm going to go overboard and post FOUR more tracks from this CD in Comments. Even if no one listens to every one of them they will at least be out there SOMEWHERE on the 'net for fans of this band.
Enjoy. You know I did.
And, by the way, Tommy Anthony added a lengthy comment to my last post on FOCB if you want to check that out.
Comments (17)
This cut, Funny Face, does NOT sound like Tommy Anthony is on lead vocal, at least to these ears. Catch the Harrisonesque guitar solo.
And finally, a cut I've posted once before on MOG, but buried in a post about 4 songs with the same title:
That is indeed Tommy singing lead on "Funny Face." Tommy was the lead vocalist on every track recorded by FOB (even songs written by other members). If I recall, that's Tommy behind the drums on this one as well.
When you posted a day or so ago, I assumed that "Jackinvox" (love the name) was another MOG identity assumed by Tommy (who is registered on MOG under BigBack39) but, unless you are referring to yourself in the third person above, you are not. Were you a member of the band or otherwise associated with them?
That's me (John) in the shades (in blue). Tommy is on the left (yellow), Omar (green), and Michael (red).
By the way, any recordings you have from Up Up and Away were demos (with a nicely programmed drum machine but... UGH! It's a machine) that were intended for the band to work out parts. The band broke up before we got around to recording any of those songs. How did a copy make it onto eBay?
Glad you're enjoying the music and thanks for sharing some other good bands.
I have no idea how it got onto eBay. I did ask the seller how he obtained them but received no answer. And his eBay account was shut down before I could offer feedback.
these are great power popping confections
thanks for posting dermahrk
how the hell are you posting tunes in the comment area?
i thought that feature went with the dinosaur version of mog
i have not had success doing so in a while
Glad you like! Here's the link that explains how to do it:
*"How to attach music, video or pictures to a comment":http://mog.com/Q4_der_mahrk/blog_post/134474*
thanks so much, will check it out
Nice Post..Great thread......You Go Mark!
I'm with DM2! Very nice.
In today's digital world, I think they would have no problem making more than your average teenage Burger King worker.
Self Production
Self Marketing
Self Distribution
Maintain your fanbase, and if you've got any chops, you make a tidy little living.
Fun post Mark - thanks!
Yeah, Mark these guys are pretty cool.
dermahrk, I have to salute you for alerting us (the world) about Four O'Clock Balloon and their classic songs. Two of their members came to MOG because of your efforts, right? Wow. I've enjoyed listening to all these songs while I walk my dog. The tune detective in me noticed some links: The first melodic phrase of "Jealousy" resembles "A Lover's Concerto" by the Toys; the organ intro for "Wait" is from "I Am the Walrus"; the "da-da-da" melody near the end of "Tell Me Why" is reminiscent of the Beatles' "She Said She Said"; "Less Tha Nowhere" reminds me of some Beatles George Harrison song whose name I can't recall; and, again, "Angeline" opens with a melodic phrase like Prince's "When You Were Mine."
I KNEW that I'd heard the first few notes of melody from Jealousy somewhere but had not come up with the connection until you named it Spike. You win the MOG detective award. That organ intro reflects more than Walrus. Lennon's piano skills were limited, and he fell back on that pattern (thumb on bass note alternating with a chord played by the other fingers) repeatedly in his solo career as well.
Hey I just posted a new Starbelly song you might like. It was recorded for the new album but probably won't be on it. Hope you like it.