Mashmakhan

Mashmakhan

Mashmakhan. Montreal rock band. It evolved from a succession of groups in the 1960s - eg, the Phantoms, the Dominoes, and Triangle, the last backing R&B singer Trevor Payne - that included the songwriter Pierre Sénécal (vocals, keyboards, flute), Rayburn Blake (guitar), and Jerry Mercer (drums). On leaving Payne, the trio made their debut in February 1969 at a Montreal club, the Laugh In, and soon after gave the first rock concert heard at the NAC. The bass guitarist Brian Edwards was added, and the name of an exotic hallucinogen adopted, prior to the release in 1970 of the band's first LP, Mashmakhan (Col ELS 365).

The international success of the single 'As the Years Go By,' a pop song atypical of the band's venturesome, improvisational style, led to concerts in the USA and Japan, including a Tokyo appearance in 1971 before an audience of 40,000. A second album, Family (Epic E30813), was issued in 1971. Mashmakhan disbanded soon after. Efforts to revive the group during the mid-1970s involved, variously, Sénécal, Allan Nichols (vocals), Brian Greenaway (guitar), Steve Lang (bass), Lorne Nehring (drums), and others, and further singles were issued by Aquarius Records.