Bohemian Vendetta—now that’s a name whispered in the same swirling haze as the great forgotten freakbeat sages. Their lone self-titled LP, released in 1968 on Mainstream Records, is one of the most beloved cult artifacts of garage-psych and proto-punk chaos. Here’s the lowdown on the strange, shadowy world behind this band:
Bohemian Vendetta (1968): The Mysteries Unraveled
1. The Long Island Underground Bohemian Vendetta hailed from Long Island, New York, where they started out as a raw garage band in the early ‘60s. Their sound evolved into something wilder and weirder as the psychedelic wave crashed ashore. Their original name? The Bohemians. (Vendetta came later—possibly a joke or a statement of artistic revenge.)
2. Signed to the Wrong Label They ended up on Mainstream Records, a label notorious for scooping up psych bands cheap, giving them rushed studio time, and putting out albums with minimal promotion. Mainstream also handled The Growing Concern and The Tangerine Zoo, but never really pushed any of their psych catalog. The result? This incredible album sank almost without a trace.
3. A Band at War with Its Own Record Many of the tracks on the album—like the fuzz-drenched “Riddles & Fairytales” or the lysergic swirl of “Paradox City”—were re-recordings of earlier, rougher versions the band liked better. The cleaned-up versions lack the unfiltered grit of their original demos, which fans have since unearthed and cherish even more.
4. Gothic Garage Meets Mind-Melt Psych Bohemian Vendetta’s sound is a thrilling combo of Farfisa organ freak-outs, crunchy garage fuzz, and haunted vocals that feel just a bit off in a good way—like they’re being beamed in from a B-movie dimension. “Enough” and “Love Can Make Your Mind Go Wild” are standout tracks that would feel right at home on the Nuggets compilation.
5. Lost and Found For decades, this album was a crate-digger’s dream, only whispered about among hardcore collectors. It was finally reissued by Arf! Arf! Records, and that helped reintroduce Bohemian Vendetta to the world as a pivotal link between garage rock’s primal scream and psychedelia’s mind-bending weirdness.
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