Welcome to the official myspace page of the real, original, Golden Dawn from Austin, Texas in the Sixties.
The mastermind behind the band, George Kinney, is watching here occasionally. Give him a shout!
Better still, you can go over to The Golden Dawn Group on Yahoo! to join the messageboard that George frequently posts in (you have to join, but it's free, and totally painless and easy) and correspond with him directly. (Note that that's a different group from the affiliated Texas Psych Group that you can also join, right at the bottom of this bio).
Beside those two messageboards, keep an eye on the developing webpage, The Texas Psych Ranch , that will feature a page for the band, and... if that's not enough, The Texas Psych Group is on MySpace now at www.myspace.com/texaspsychedelic , at an early stage of construction.
All of these links are affiliated.
Currently--decades after release of the seminal debut album "Power Plant"--the second ever Golden Dawn album, "Texas Medicine" is in the can, waiting for a record deal.
SOME HISTORY
The Golden Dawn started out in the murky time and space of Austin, Texas in late 1966, along with many other wild groups now holding legendary status, but most notably with the kings of the Texas Psychedelic scene, the 13th Floor Elevators. George Kinney and Roky Erickson of the Elevators grew up together and played in high school bands with each other, and by the time of the Great Mind Expansion, the Elevators and the Dawn were in close contact.
On Power Plant, you find lyrics that are aligned with similar subjects as those approached by the 'vators Tommy Hall, yet all original in Kinney's inimmitable style. Possibly it was relative to this similarity that led, unfortunately, to the two bands' record company, the infamous International Artists label out of Houston, to make a decision that seems to have um, "shafted," the career of the vibrant Golden Dawn.
This is what happened: a few months after the release of the 13th Floor Elevators' "Psychedelic Sounds" debut, the Dawn had finished "Power Plant" in mid 1967, and were ready to let it fly. But, by that time, the Elevators were beginning to record their second album (and magnum opus) "Easter Everywhere," which the record company management thought, for whatever reason, should come out first.
And so it went... much to the dismay of George Kinney (voc, guitar), Tom Ramsey (lead guitar), Jimmy Bird (rhythm guitar), Bill Hallmark (bass), and Bobby Rector (drums)--collectively, the Golden Dawn. When "Power Plant" was finally released, in 1968, it was largely panned as the work of an Elevators knock-off band, and it was unjustly snubbed in a big enough way to discourage the development of this excellent and unique band.
The thing is, you ultimately cannot stop something that is as great as "Power Plant," so naturally, through the years it climbed in "cult" status, to the point where recognition of this great music drew out George Kinney once again to reform the band in 2002, and perform live all over the States. And now, we have an all-original album of fresh music from the enigmatic Golden Dawn.
Texas Medicine!
