"Stormy Times" Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E)

[Xaffax]

They are among other things a really good Blues Band...really really good. I mean the stones and the blues breakers were pretty good but they never played blues on this level.

[itchiray]

I saw them live in Houston about 1968 in a great club called The Catacombs. I still have the great vinyl LP.

[74LesPaul]

Great name for a Bay Area Band as Pacific Gas & Electric is also the name for the utility service for the area. "PGE" as we call it. These guys had some good stuff but they never seemed to really take flight as I had hoped they would have back in the day.

[psychedelicsam1]

tom marshall is his name



[MrGUITARIC]

THE DRUMMER FRANK CLAYMAN COOK IS PLAYING THE ORGAN BECAUSE HE DID'NT FEEL LIKE BRINGING HIS DRUM KIT SO HE JUST PLAYED ON THE ORGAN. THATS PRETTY BRAVE IF YOU ASK ME. HE'S EVEN BETTER NOW. CHECK OUT THE STELLAR OWLS WITH RANK CLAYMAN COOK & AL ANDERSON @ THE GOOD HURT ON YOU TUBE SO SEE 2009 FOOTAGE OF FRANK @ TOPANGA DAYS AND IS PLAYING ON 6-22-11 @ THE GOOD HURT IN WEST L.A. WITH THE STELLAR OWLS @ 9;00 PM!

[Xaffax]

Hey man this band ain't about stealing it's about sharing! Get rid of them negative vibes!

[TheMJtheGOD]

Stones WANNABE's.

[APACHESKULL]

@TheMJtheGOD How so? the stones were the one's who copied the American Blues Rock bands, they admit it. That goes for mostly all British Bands of that time.

[TheMJtheGOD]

@APACHESKULL EXACTLY!!!!!! The Stones and the Dung Beetles and of course elvis were total culture thieves!!!!! They stole and plundered Black American music!!!!! And these Assholes stole from them!!! Talk about derivative!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[APACHESKULL]

@TheMJtheGOD The King & PG&E were both American based acts of that time. Where did the blues begin? USA! Charlie Allen was black, how much more authentic can it get? Blues is universal, the sound of the blues was evolving more to electric based blues then. The fact is uk acts ridiculously copied the American style, but yet they get most of the credit. pathetic. You can have the stones,overrated clapton,page, dung beatles (i agree)...etc.

[mcleanartists]

KILLER!

[grasseater108]

Why haven't I ever heard this? Wtf? Why isn't the man pushing this on me? I don't care about Kanye West.

[TheMJtheGOD]

@grasseater108 You likely haven't heard this because you are retarded. Very retarded. Best of luck!!!!!!

[grasseater108]

@TheMJtheGOD Wow. What an intelligent comment. Also, adding multiple exclamation marks at the end of your sentence doesn't add anything and is completely incorrect. Monkey's know that.

[jmwydra]

Brent Block plays bass. He was the original bass player. Excellent musician.

[odietc]

Glenn Schwartz alive and well in Cleveland !

[skippierce2]

Anybody got "Thank God for You Baby?". I saw Charlie Allen and PG&E when Jessica Cleave of EW&F was singing with them!

[record1207]

Really great post of a very obscure band (to many peps). Luv it. Got more? Thx 4 shareing.

[BillyJoeVegas]

Thanks for the post, and all the great info ! (guess the PG&E held their moniker a little longer than "the Chicago Transit Authority"...  then Daley wouldn't allow CTA ... and so CTA became "CHICAGO"

[Elmore3141]

The mix is somewhat unusual, with the bass more prominent than either guitar. I used to have the album this song was on, which I bought after I saw the band in late '68. I was 14 and had never seen anyone play "hot" blues guitar like that before.

[CACHOROR]

great song and band

[mightycujo]

PG&E had a reunion in Nashville about 4 months ago. I played keyboards with them in '72-'73. The reunion was composed of Frank Petricca (Bass), Kenny Utterback (guitar), Gary Maier (Drums) and myself Rick Durrett (keys). It was the first time we had played together in 35 years and it came off great. Just like we had never split up.

[GoldenGondolier]

@mightycujo did you know Kim Gardner?  he played bass with PG&E for a bit in the 70s

[mightycujo]

@GoldenGondolier

Sorry. I didn't know Kim. He was with the band before I joined. I was playing with Odetta at that time and Frank Petricca was playing bass when I joined. I had heard the name, though.

[bluesfunky009]

@GoldenGondolier if its the english kim gardner he played in creation and the birds w ith ronnie wood too i think

[GoldenGondolier]

@bluesfunky009 Yep he's the one. He's my father :) I've got a promo

pic of him with PG&E that's pretty cool

[imajeepster]

@mightycujo

do you know what happened to charlie allen? he died so young. a terrible shame, he was such a great singer!

[mightycujo]

@imajeepster

Not sure, but I believe it was from an overdose.

[imajeepster]

@mightycujo that's really sad...and apparently the guitarist ended up on the skids. 

[mightycujo]

@imajeepster

Kenny Utterback took his place and is alive and well in Nashville. He also played on the reunion.

[vintageguitarworld]

@imajeepster Nope, the guitar player was Glenn Swartz who is still alive and playing in a bar in Cleveland Ohio every Thursday night. He was in the original James Gang.

A friend of mine owns that guitar which is lengendary in C-Town.

It's a '66 Epiphone Rivera. The stickers and stuff are gone, buts it's still essenially the same as it was in this video. Nice guitar.

[imajeepster]

@vintageguitarworld

one of them ended up homeless...can't recall which, but anyways, it was very sad.

[progjazzfusion]

@vintageguitarworld - not swartz, but tom the other guitarist is homeless. says so on the pg&e website made by ex members.

[TheSanityInspector]

Never knew this band other than their name, glad to hear them, finally. Thanks for posting!

[TheHelgeland]

oh this was awesome, what a great blues band they where

[6749er]

Saw them quite a bit in SF during the Fillmore Avalon days-Always dug PG & E.

Great to see this-Thanks

[miller4819]

Saw them one time with the Byrds and Joe Cocker at FM. Are they still around?

Ron from Seattle

[6749er]

I saw that same show. I don't know about PG&E haven't heard anything about them.

I sure liked them. Another show w/ them when they really tore it up was Avalon Flying BBro's & The Dead.

You must be SF Bay Homie..:)

[miller4819]

Lived in Seattle all my life, been a deadhead for 40 years. Do you know about 40th Woodstock anniversary in Winthrop,WA on August 21st and 22nd? I was at opening weekend of the 'Family Dog' and the last 5 nights at Winterland both times.

[6749er]

You showed up down here for some good ones bet more than a few.

No I didn't I'll goggle it & check it out,

Couldn't see going cross country to see the first one with all the bands that either lived in or had been coming to play in SF for years. Both times?

WL didn't twice that I know of.

Other one The Deads before the break when they made the movie?

Was there then.That was fun!

Or some other one?

Last Last night was on the radio

where I was at another party.

John Cip w/ that night?

[judyablake]

I knew all the guys in the band. I used to buy Charlie cigarettes, Think he smoked Winstons. I read somewhere that Frank Cook, the drummer was in a bad car accident. Does anybody know what he is doing today? He had told me he was going to retire---I forget what he wanted to do.  And whatever happend to Tom Marshall and Brent Block? I had heard how Charlie died but forgot---he was ill. It was a shock when I learned it. My favorite song was "Wade in the Water".

[cb3961]

Charlie came up to me and my friend in the lobby after PG&E opened for Jefferson Airplane in '68 in Cleveland, and asked us if we had a cigarette...lol...true story...

[ShelbyDelynn]

How did charlie Allen die?

[frankieruiz88]

Está muy bueno el tema, donde lo puedo encontrar en DVD?

[blackbeltpatriotism]

is that Glenn Schwartz?

[zalenka]

Zat a mellotron with drum tapes?

[7646man]

Skoop Hes fa real! I drive from Akron once a month to see him. You gotta sneek in to Hooples. Where a fake mustache or somthing, because he may not be here when your legal.

[skooper10]

Dude Glenn Schwartz is the crazyest guy ive ever met but prob. the greatest guitarst ive ever seen! im only 14 and he now lives in cleveland with his brother Gene. He plays every thursday night at a bar called The Hoople but im not 21 so i cant get in. But about every month he plays at a little consert hall called the Beachland Ballroom so i go and see him when ever i can. hes amazing!

[lastdaysguitar]

You've got a good ear!  Listen and absorb as much as you can, while you can.

Glenn Schwartz's one of the last true masters of american electric blues rock guitar... and also is a man who serves The Lord.

[urtime59]

THE BASE GUY IS MY STAGE BAND TEACHER.. lmfaoo talia?

[thesquish55]

THE BASE GUY IS MY GUITAR TEACHER!!!!!

[lastdaysguitar]

it's spelled "bass"

not "base"

But that's pretty cool!

[Discfiend69]

A twelve-pack,a stick of Haze hybrid,and the

GET IT ON lp...I'm ROCKIN'OUT!!!

Great music right here people...DIG IT!!!

[cb3961]

Charlie Allen asked to bum a cigarette from me and my friend in the lobby after the PG&E/Jefferson Airplane show in Cleveland,Oh-1969...we were 15 y.o. kids waiting for my mom to pick us up...lol...TRUE !!!...we thought it was pretty cool anyway...

[lordritchie]

I saw them in 70 or 71 after Glenn had left and they were sort of dissapointing.Still decent and rocked pretty good but nothing like the original . Charlie Allen was quite the showman. Don Mcclean (Yawn) was the opening act. By the way Glenn was the original guitarist in the James Gang before Walsh. Thanks for this post.

[Kendra6180]

Where is Kenny Utterback? I want to see a PG&E video with the REAL guitarist!!

[FeitenFan]

You are kidding!?! Glenn Schwartz was miles ahead of Utterback and most other guitarist at that time. Glenn was one of the best guitarist I ever saw and I saw him a lot in the late 60s.

[Boudreaux641]

Very true! Glenn Schwartz was miles ahead of many of his peers in this era. Kenny U. is a hell of a great guy, but Glenn was one hell of a blues player!

[pauljsabre]

Epiphone Sheraton, actually  :)

[timecat23]

Get your facts straight.

[v1cbitt3r]

Yes the hunter,or long handeled shovel,both great.could someone please post more.

[cb3961]

saw this line up open for JEFFERSON AIRPLANE in Cleveland,OH in '68,KILLER show...PG&E smoked that nite. Can still see Glen play at a bar in Cleveland every Thursday night with his Brother Gene

[sharp1972]

which one is glen in this video...when ever im in cleveland i try to see the shwartz brothers ..ive met glen,,,to sum it up..he is quite the character..lol!

[cb3961]

red pants...2nd from left,BIG Gibson I believe that is there.

[sharp1972]

wow,,thats the quickest response ever cb...thanx

[pauljsabre]

It's an Epiphone Sheraton, actually

[stkilda4ever]

Great band. Loved their hit 'The Hunter' but I think it was only a hit in Australia and in particular in Melbourne. Would love to see a clip of that.

[v1cbitt3r]

who cares it is soooo cool.please show me a band that sounds as good

[v1cbitt3r]

too cool

[buriedverydeep]

thanks for the upload...

rip Charlie

[Jenscool]

Love the image over the band, not many like that! An old house band in S.F. Venues!

[rockolga]

3 years later I saw this band in Stockholm Sweden Live on Students Ballroom "Kåren"

Tanks allot for thisone !!

[progjazzfusion]

this is lipsynched along to the recorded version