The Return of Bubble Puppy

I'm excited to hear that Bubble Puppy - 3/4 of the classic line-up, anyway - is reuniting at this year's Austin Music Awards. Although their legacy has long been in the shadows of fellow International Artists like the 13th Floor Elevators and the Red Krayola, "Hot Smoke and Sasafrass" was actually the Houston-based label's best-charting single, clocking in at #14 on the Billboard chart in 1969. Their sole album, A Gathering of Promises, is also worth seeking out.

Back in 2004, I interviewed Bubble Puppy guitarist Todd Potter and drummer David Fore on the occasion of Fuel 2000's rerelease of Promises. Their description of the band's up-and-down history was the stuff of movies. While writing the story, I actually drove over to Riverside Farms Road with Promises on the disc deck and tried to imagine what it was like in 1967, when the band lived and practiced in an old house on that street. To hear Potter and Fore describe it was positively idyllic.

One quick note about that story - the Municipal Auditorium where Bubble Puppy opened for the Who was in San Antonio, not Austin.

And finally, here is a very rare video of the band performing "Hot Smoke and Sasafrass" at an undated reunion show. I'm guessing it's from their mid-80s reunion, but it could be older.