Who would have thought the Temple High School Stage Band "The Highlighters" would be so damn funky? This is their 1974 3xLP release, and I'm only upping the Pick Up the Pieces track for now. Which is a Bobby Timmons song that Average White Band made pretty huge, if I am remembering correctly. But the album has quite a few winners on it, including the synth backed Epitaph of a Dying Planet, a complex big band jazz fusion with amazing intensity. If you know central Texas well, of all places, Temple was the last I thought would have such left field and complex funk rhythms. Check the saxophonist and Drummer's mad high school band talent. Also, this track is much better at really high volume, because it was probably recorded with only 1 or 2 microphones. Yes they start getting a little bit loose toward the end, and I have heard a few tighter high school bands, but over all for this not getting any blog time or internet/collector appreciate, it MUST be brought to the masses!
Pick up the pieces! Alright! Pick up the Pieces! Alright!
6 comments:
this one is good ! I like your high school band. thank you for this preview. Any chance to get the all LP ?
thank you for enjoying this bad ass piece of highschool funk. I cant give out the whole album at this moment because for one thing i aint got the whole albu, its 3 discs, and also its pretty much under the radar still and im trying to source it. yes im an idiot for putting it up at all i know, cause now anyone can look for it, but whatever, i liked that track so much i had to do it. so for now be happy. the link should still work and yall need to jam this 'un.
My brother Ed played keyboards on this album. I was in the "jv" stage band at the time. Fun stuff. They had a great director who was a total pot head. He had just taken over the band from the stodgy old fart music director at the high school. They made jazz band fun again!
Hey if you have any copies of highliters stage band stuff I would love to talk to you, I am around Temple TX about once a month, so please let me know if you know where any LPs are at. Thanks,
Transpac Jackson
Just discovered your blog. Really like your writing style and all the tuff bad ass stuff you share. This version of Pick up the pieces' is nuts! Love it.
Hahaaaaaa! We tied Houston Kashmere at the stage band competition in Brownwood. I played guitar on that album.
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