Starting from the beginning ...
"Hi, My name is Matt, I would like to correct a few things about
the Chayns from San Antonio.
First off, Wayne Gustafson was an original founding member of this great
group. Wayne and I met while he was working as the night watchman for
a swim club behind the apartment complex that my parents and I lived in.
I used to visit with him all night long and help clean the pool .
We started discussing forming a band in the summer of '66 ( if memory
serves). He would bring his guitar (an acoustic) and he and I would play
and sing (after the work was done). Wayne was a student at Sam Houston
High School, and his friends, Miles Wells and Edleman, were also from
Sam Houston High. Wayne and I came up with the name "The Chaynes"
for the group, being southsiders, we were accustomed to a little rough
living and the name Chaynes was created because we were going to wear
Beatle Boots with a dog chain around our ankle. The idea was that we could
use the sound of the chains in our music, as we tapped our feet to the
beat, or danced around on stage. It also reflected that we were southsiders
and ready for a fight. (Get it?) The spelling had the obligatory "Y"
that represented the revolutionary spirit of psychodelic music.
I was never granted an official membership in the band, as they wanted
me to play keys and my parents weren't about to put out that kind of money
on me to have fun. Anyway, as I remember it, at least three members of
the group were from Sam Houston High, the drummer was from Oliver Wendell
Holmes High. The band did change membership through the years, they recorded
for IA (Leland's lbl out of Houston, but recordings were done and pressings
were done at TNT Studio's in SA; thanks to Mr. Bob Tanner, a man who should
be well remembered by anyone in the music business in South Texas.)
The Teen Canteen was owned by Sam Kinsey, and he was also the Teenage
Musician Association, so most SA bands were members of his organization
and were booked by him. I did make several appearances with the Chaynes,
different Catholic school dances that they played, at one particular gig,
They had forgotten the mike-stand, and I ended up holding the mike for
Myles as he played guitar and sang, I wa known as the "singing mike-stand"
after that night. Another time, at an Incarnate Word High School dance,
I was invited up, sang a little with the band and helped to hang Myles
upside-down on the basketball hoop as he wailed away on lead.
Wayne played rhythm guitar. I later was lead singer in several bands,
including the Undecided Mynd, which included a 15 year old Jimmy Spacek
on lead, and he was killer. This band played as the Official Friendship
Band of HemisFair '68. We opened for most the groups who played Project
Y, and we played in several different locations around the fair. We had
a group of kids called the Friendship Corp, and they would start dancing
as we played to encourage visitors to join in. It was a great year! We
never recorded but we did play all across the area.
My singing career was cut short by an invitaion to protect my nation
in '69, but every chance I get, I form some kind of group to play special
events. Last one was for my 35 High School reunion. I graduated from Central
Catholic H.S. in '67. I attended San Antonio College and hung out in the
Fine Arts area where most the other band members from SA hung out (McFarland
Building).
Some of the forgotten groups I played with were, The Breakaways, we did
surf covers, Thee Eyndd, we began to delve into the new punk and psych
scene, and the Undecided Mynd, Spacek played Hendrix covers like a pro.
Members from these bands included Stanley Teel, Brenden Fluitt, Terry
Thompson, Yankee and Ronnie Coleman, Wayne Goertz, me Matt Farrar, and
Jimmy Spacek. Stanley stills kicks on bass and guitar, Jimmy is a living
legend in blues guitar, I still sing up a storm, play a little rythm guitar,
drums, harmonica. I own a record shop in SA at Windsor Park Mall Bazaar,
I still see Jimmy and Stan occassionally. Hope I was helpful to your list,
may add some more info later concerning Bubble Puppy, Sweet Smoke, The
Mysterians (not Sam Samudio's group)".
- Matt G Farrar - May, 2003