THE BUDDHAS - LOST INNOCENCE / MY DREAM Vinyl 7”

The Buddhas were from Bakersfield, a hundred miles north of Los Angeles in California's San Joaquin Valley. They were active in 1966-67, playing many events sponsored by the dominant "boss" radio station in the area, KAFY, including opening for big name acts at the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium such as the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane, and Sonny & Cher. A KAFY show at the Civic on June 2, 1967 was promoted with the slogan Flower Power is Coming, and saw the Buddhas playing alongside the Avengers (of "Be A Caveman" fame), the Words, the Donnybrooks, the Reptyles, and the Black Glass to raise money for the March of Dimes. While some of that Flower Power pollen had evidently permeated the Buddhas' sound, they remained essentially a hard-driving, dance-inducing rock n' roll band, short-haired and smartly-dressed in matching double-breasted suits.