Painted Ship

Alumni of Vancouver, BC's largely unheralded '60s music scene, this quartet consisted of buckskin-clad Bill Hay (vocals), Bob Rowden (guitar), Ken Wain (keyboards) and Barry Rowden (drums). The band cut two late-'60s singles with the London label: "Little White Lies" b/w "Frustration" and "Audience Reflections" b/w "And She Said 'Yes.'" "Frustration" seethes with primal angst. Its structure recalls the Castaways' "Liar Liar," with organ runs from Uzbekhistanm -- or the Hindu Kush. "Lies," Hays said, was "a parody of a swaggering rock star." The band was told to record "something more commercial than 'Frustration.'" They did just that. Frat-house rhythms and sneered, snotty vocals make "Lies" a true punk classic. A monster hit in BC, the single met with less acclaim internationally, despite U.S. airplay. The Painted Ship floundered -- the Rowdens later affiliating with Vancouver group the Look. Both "Lies" and "Frustration" were featured on the 1983 Vancouver Record Collectors' Association rerelease History of Vancouver Rock and Roll, Volume 3.