Treat Her Right was an American rock group, formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1985.[2] The band originally featured Mark Sandman on "low guitar," Billy Conway on cocktail drum, David Champagne on guitar, and Jim Fitting on harmonica. Singing and songwriting duties were shared by all but Conway. Champagne and Fitting reformed the band in 2009 with new members Steve Mayone and Billy Beard.
Treat Her Right was the forerunner to the successful indie rock band Morphine. Critic Ira Robbins described Treat Her Right as "[n]ot quite a blues band, not exactly swamp trash and too stylized for basic rock'n'roll."[3] The Rough Guide to Rock later used the label "punk-blues" to describe the band. However, "punk" was not a characteristic associated with the band while it was active.
Sandman stated the band's aesthetic: "Keep it simple at all costs. Resist the temptation to add. If you're going to do something to a song, subtract."[4]
History[edit]Career (1985–1991)[edit]The band derived its name from the 1965 international smash hit by Roy Head and the Traits, "Treat Her Right." Their instrumentation was unusual, with Sandman's "low guitar" mimicking a bass guitar and Conway eschewing a full drum kit. Conway later observed, "When we started that band, one of the parameters was that everyone had to be able to carry their equipment into the gig in one trip. We wanted to keep things small and simple."[5]
From the beginning, the band espoused a "back to basics" approach. Champagne said the idea was to start with the same building materials as the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin, but to come up with something of their own. A key factor was leaving much space in the music, which came about by circumstances as well as design. Soon after forming, the band got a gig at The Plough and Stars, a small bar in Cambridge whose owner wouldn't let them bring in drums, so Conway played a railing and stamped a trap door to the kitchen. Not long afterward, he acquired the cocktail drum.[6] They intentionally wanted not to have a big kick-snare drum, which at the time was pervasive in rock music production.[7]
The group's self-financed and self-titled debut was released on a small Boston record label in 1986 before being issued in the UK by Demon Records. The group signed to RCA Records, which reissued the debut in the United States. Their first recording attempt was a modest success – Champagne's "I Got a Gun" and Sandman's cover of James Blood Ulmer's "Where Did All the Girls Come From?" received some play on college radio. "I Think She Likes Me" describes Sandman's experience in a Fairplay, Colorado bar where a woman came on to him. Critic John Dougan described the debut as "slick, intelligent, sly, and well worth your while."[8]
Tied to the Tracks was issued in 1989. Sales did not meet RCA's expectations. In the notes for their third record, the group wrote, "RCA decided that if our little basement tape could do so well, why not spend fifty times more money and it will be fifty times better! (They think everything works like that.)" Treat Her Right were dropped from their RCA contract.
What's Good for You, their third album, was issued on Rounder Records in 1991. The ragged, live-in-the-studio sound was partly inspired by the model established by Chess Records, which had released many classic blues and early rock and roll records. Shortly after this third release, Treat Her Right disbanded.
Treat Her Right was the forerunner to the successful indie rock band Morphine. Critic Ira Robbins described Treat Her Right as "[n]ot quite a blues band, not exactly swamp trash and too stylized for basic rock'n'roll."[3] The Rough Guide to Rock later used the label "punk-blues" to describe the band. However, "punk" was not a characteristic associated with the band while it was active.
Sandman stated the band's aesthetic: "Keep it simple at all costs. Resist the temptation to add. If you're going to do something to a song, subtract."[4]
History[edit]Career (1985–1991)[edit]The band derived its name from the 1965 international smash hit by Roy Head and the Traits, "Treat Her Right." Their instrumentation was unusual, with Sandman's "low guitar" mimicking a bass guitar and Conway eschewing a full drum kit. Conway later observed, "When we started that band, one of the parameters was that everyone had to be able to carry their equipment into the gig in one trip. We wanted to keep things small and simple."[5]
From the beginning, the band espoused a "back to basics" approach. Champagne said the idea was to start with the same building materials as the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin, but to come up with something of their own. A key factor was leaving much space in the music, which came about by circumstances as well as design. Soon after forming, the band got a gig at The Plough and Stars, a small bar in Cambridge whose owner wouldn't let them bring in drums, so Conway played a railing and stamped a trap door to the kitchen. Not long afterward, he acquired the cocktail drum.[6] They intentionally wanted not to have a big kick-snare drum, which at the time was pervasive in rock music production.[7]
The group's self-financed and self-titled debut was released on a small Boston record label in 1986 before being issued in the UK by Demon Records. The group signed to RCA Records, which reissued the debut in the United States. Their first recording attempt was a modest success – Champagne's "I Got a Gun" and Sandman's cover of James Blood Ulmer's "Where Did All the Girls Come From?" received some play on college radio. "I Think She Likes Me" describes Sandman's experience in a Fairplay, Colorado bar where a woman came on to him. Critic John Dougan described the debut as "slick, intelligent, sly, and well worth your while."[8]
Tied to the Tracks was issued in 1989. Sales did not meet RCA's expectations. In the notes for their third record, the group wrote, "RCA decided that if our little basement tape could do so well, why not spend fifty times more money and it will be fifty times better! (They think everything works like that.)" Treat Her Right were dropped from their RCA contract.
What's Good for You, their third album, was issued on Rounder Records in 1991. The ragged, live-in-the-studio sound was partly inspired by the model established by Chess Records, which had released many classic blues and early rock and roll records. Shortly after this third release, Treat Her Right disbanded.
