Sopwith Camel's first gig was with the Charlatans in an old firehouse on Sacramento St. in February 1966; opening act was a black Labrador named Pot Pan.

"The Camel" was the first of the "San Francisco Psychedelic Ballroom Bands" to get a hit and go on the road later in '66, playing large concerts with major acts including: The Who, The Byrds, The Beachboys, Buffalo Springfield, The Animals and The Rolling Stones. They also appeared on numerous TV shows with other acts such as: Marvin Gaye, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and The Stone Poneys. Sopwith Camel regarded their hit "Hello Hello" as a greeting from the San Francisco scene from which they'd come.

In '66 when they did a tour of big college concerts with The Lovin' Spoonful, the promoters still thought New York was where the music came from and would introduce the Camel with: "And now di--rect -- from-- New--York--City---Sopwith Camel!! When "The Camel" took the stage one of them would always say: You know, actually we're from San Francisco, Hello! And the audience would erupt with deafening applause.

The band's first album "Sopwith Camel" was released in early 1967 on Kama Sutra. It had the first great op-art cover by Victor Moscoso, and the first infra-red band photo on the back by Jim Marshall. A second album "The Miraculous Hump Returns from the Moon" came out on Reprise in 1974, with a cover by Satty and the first video-feedback band photo.

The current Sopwith Camel, still from San Francisco, consists of: Martin Beard bass, Peter Kraemer, lyrics and saxophone/synthesizer, Mike McKevitt, guitar and Bruce Slesinger, drums. Bruce is the famous member of the band having once been AKA "Ted" original drummer of The Dead Kennedys.

The band's repertoire includes songs from six decades! One song "Counting" was on the original 1966 demo that got the record deal with Kama Sutra, but was not on the album. Some of the songs are not quite finished now; but that would be hard to tell because the band never plays anything the same way twice. Enough of the tunes are from the Sopwith Camel albums however, that were the band not called Sopwith Camel, it would have to be billed as "A Sopwith Camel Tribute Band" and that would be ridiculous.

For those who are familiar with the band, some of the songs to be expected are: Fazon, Coke Suede and Waterbeds, Frantic Desolation, Dancing Wizard and occasionally even "Hello Hello".

~Peter Kraemer: 2012~

“Describing Sopwith Camel”

This version of Sopwith Camel has power and punch. Describing music requires the use of many adjectives and at times comparisons. The music is unique and at times hard rock n’ roll, it is very danceable, full of energy, packed with wonderful vignettes about odd characters and incisive social commentaries. There are moments of subtle exotica, fantasias in space-time and some very modern electro-instrumentation as Kraemer plays his many saxophones through synthesizers.

In terms of comparisons (which can be somewhat inaccurate) you will hear the guitar shredding crunchiness of The Mekons, storytelling akin to Ray Davies (The Kinks) Laurie Anderson or Lou Reed, the Euro-cool of Roxy Music (Bryan Ferry) along with bits of the original San Francisco loopy pop-psychedelic sound of early Sopwith Camel. Mix in some New Order pulse, shake, stir, and add a dash of John Coltrane plus a veteran stage presence similar to Los Lobos and you will be getting close to what words cannot perfectly describe.

In his piece, “About the Band” Peter notes that the drummer, Bruce Slesinger (Dead Kennedys), is the, “famous” member of the band. No argument there as Bruce is a great drummer (the other members are Martin Beard on bass, an original member and Mike McKevitt on guitar are both fine musicians in their own rights) yet Peter Kraemer and the rest of this ensemble should be somewhat more famous. Peter is the main writer, plays all sorts of horns, synthesizers, sings in a unique voice and is basically the creative genius behind this band.

Beyond all this; the important thing is that Sopwith Camel has returned with a bang. This band is vital, plays with a fiery zeal and has something to say about the current state of affairs in America. So, I suggest you do yourselves a musical favor, learn about the band, come out and support them as we accrue gigs (concerts) and discover a Bay Area treasure, reborn.

~Keith Keller: 2012~