In early 1965, a band formed at Texas Tech called The Embers. Most of the band members were around 18 years old. During the summer break the group shifted to Dallas and changed their name to The Briks. Their rehearsals consisted of covers of the then popular British sound as exemplified by The Beatles, Kinks, Zombies, Stones, and Animals. As the band improved, they began to play at popular clubs in Dallas, becoming the house band at The Studio Club and Louanns.
At the start of 1966, The Briks entered the studio to record a couple of original songs ("It's Your Choice" and "I'm Losing"). Although not released commercially, the tunes displayed the bands versatility in tackling both folk-rock and hard-rock (on par with The Stones). In the spring of 1966, The Briks once again went into the studio, this time to cut two more originals for a single release ("Foolish Baby" and "Can You See Me"). The songs were released on Bismark Records (#1013). Although the band wanted "Foolish Baby" as the A-side, the local. radio stations preferred "Can You See Me". On KLIF(AM) it rose to #15 on the top 40 hit list. Final sales were around 5,000 copies, but The Briks only received a $16.00 royalty check from Dot records who bought the master from Bismark and released it nationally.
The success of "Can You See Me" led to The Briks appearance on The Sump 'N Else TV show, a couple of times. Their first appearance came a day after Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention (Zappa didn't think much of the show and it's host, later insulting him at a concert that night). Once on the show, The Briks lip synched to "Can You See Me". On their next appearance they did "Baby Let Me Take You Home" (Animals song) and "I'm A Man" (Yardbirds style). In Houston, The Briks appeared on The Larry Kane TV show. A big moment for the group was opening for The Beau Brummels at Louanns.
In the summer of 1966, The Briks original lineup was disrupted by Uncle Sam as lead singer Cecil Cotten, drummer Steve Martin, and manager Reggie Lange left for the Air Force. They were replaced by lead singer Paul Ray, and drummer Chris Vandercolt. With this new lineup the band cut the manic "Keep Down" and "From A Small Room" (which would later surface as the b-side to The Briks second. single).
In January of 1967, Cecil re-entered The Briks and took over his original task of lead vocals. Paul Ray went on to form his own band The Cobras. Later in 1967 a live tape was made of The Briks performance at the Northwood Country Club in Dallas. Needless to say the bands high voltage energy is perfectly captured on this live tape. 1967 was also the year Cream released their first album, "Fresh Cream", and it influenced The Briks to release another single on the Bismark label (#1020). It was a cover version of Creams NSU. Sadly this single failed to have the same success as their first one and the band began to split up by 1968. Fortunately, The Briks phenomenal sounds are captured on this release.
The In Cave
Tracks
1. Over You (Jamie Herndon) - 2:40
2. Can You See Me (Cecil Cotton, Richard Borgens) - 2:28
3. Foolish Baby (Cecil Cotton, Richard Borgens) - 2:43
4. Baby, Let Me Take You Home (Traditional) - 2:08
5. Keep Down (Unknown) - 2:18
6. N. S. U. (Jack Bruce) - 2:25
7. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Bert Berns, Jerry Wexler, Solomon Burke) - 3:38
8. Till The End Of The Day (Ray Davies) - 2:19
9. The Nazz Are Blue (Chris Drega, Jeff Beck, Jim McCarthy, Keith Relf) - 2:59
10.Heart Full Of Soul (Graham Gouldman) - 3:11
11.I'm A Man (Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman) - 4:09
12.N. S. U. (Jack Bruce) - 2:29
Tracks 7-12 recorded live at Northwood Country Club, 1967.
The Briks
*Cecil Cotton - Lead Vocals
*Richard Borgens - Lead Guitar
*Steve Martin - Drums
*Lee Hardesty - Rhythm Guitar
*Mike Maroney - Bass
*Chris Vandercolt - Drums
*Jamie Herndon - Lead Guitar
*Paul Ray - Vocals (Track 5)
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