Were you able to hoof your way to New York last month when Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan of the San Francisco-based face-meltingly fantastic rock group the Flamin Groovies — backed by the ever-capable A-Bones — reprised their appearance at the 8th annual Ponderosa Stomp with a pair of gigs at Maxwell’s and Southpaw? The concerts marked the first time the Groovies got onstage together in the NYC environs since 1971!

I missed the shows, but I dug this crash course in the Groovies’ history, via this post on A-Bones/Norton Records co-founder Miriam Linna‘s blog, Kicksville 66.

Linna begins, “In Ohio days of yesteryear, the common denominator was, more than the Stooges or the 5 (MC and DC), the Flamin’ Groovies. I’ve tried to nail down the reasons why, and can’t. Other than to think that there was something in their sound and style that made us feel like one of them. Over other combos that we dug to pieces, there was a sense of joy and good humor to the hard ass blasts which made them front liners for the defense. But you know that. If you’ve managed to tread water through the world’s longest sentences and have made it thus far, you KNOW THAT. For a band that sprang from the bayside bowels of San Francisco at the height of the British Invasion to persist for one decade at the same magnamity, let alone four, is something worth perpetual notice. In the 70’s, you just couldn’t trust anyone without the Groovies in their personal stash. This was understood. Flamingo and Teenage Head were absolute staples in any hard driving collection, and when Supersnazz and Sneakers were found alongside the others in any given home habitat, you knew you were in the presence of a fellow genius.”

Her words are riveting, and she’s right. Go here for the rest of the story.