Mashmakhan
- Soundtrack
Pierre Senecal, Rayburn Blake and Jerry Mercer formed their first band
in 1960. They played the Montreal dance circuit for a number of years
under various names such as The Phantoms, The Dominoes and Ray Blake's
Combo. In 1965, under the name "The Triangle," they were signed on for
a tour with gospel/soul singer Trevor Payne. After four years of small
club gigs and relative inactivity, a record producer by the name of Bob
Hahn offered them a deal after seeing one of their praised live
performances. After a name change to Mashmakhan, a rare drug being
pedaled by the local dealer, the group was signed to Columbia. The year
was 1969. Mashmakhan, their debut album, was released the following
year. The lead off single, "As The Years Go By," reached #31 in the US
and #1 in their home turf of Canada. The track was unique because it
was a rock song with no guitars. Followup singles "Gladwyn" and "Days
When We Are Free" did well in Canada but failed to make waves down
south. In 1971, Mashmakhan was asked to contribute a track to the
independent Canadian film "Epilogue:Fieve." The track, "Children Of The
Sun," was also released as their new single. Both the song and film
stiffed. Their sophomore album, "The Family" was released later that
year. The second single, "Start All Over," fared no better then the
first. After an extensive tour, the band finally took a break to
fulfill personal desires. Jerry Mercer drifted off and joined April
Wine. Rayburn Blake became involved with various local groups, as well
as a solo career. In order to fill to the gap made by the two
departures, Pierre signed on Brian Greenway and Steve Laing, both of
which would later join April Wine, and drummer Lornhe Neihring. After a
number of failed Non-LP singles, Mashmakhan disbanded, with Brian
Edwards joining April Wine.