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The Painted Ship
Little White Lies / Frustration - 7"
London (Canada) - Mercury (USA) - 1966
Michael Panontin
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Vancouver's Painted Ship first hit the water in the summer of 1965. That was when singer and budding poet William 'The Captain' Hay teamed up with guitarist Rob Rowden out at the University of British Columbia, with the pair originally dubbing themselves the Wee Beasties. After adding drummer Barry Rowden (Hay's brother) and keyboardist Ken Wain to the crew, they rechristened themselves the Painted Ship and started making regular splashes at Jerry Kruz's Afterthought club at the Kitsilano Theatre throughout much of 1966.
By late '66 the band had delivered these two tracks to the execs over at London Records. Hay had originally intended 'Frustration' to be the a-side, but his choice was nixed by both the band and the suits, who wanted something with more commercial potential. As Hay told CM, "One of the musicians hated the song and the other two thought it was too weird." The hard-hitting 'Little White Lies', with its hefty organ and strident sneer, did well enough on the regional charts. But Hay had other ideas.
So with 'Little White Lies' hovering in the mid-twenties on many charts, Hay stuck to his guns, imploring local deejays to play the flip side instead. Of course, everyone thought he was nuts. "They tried to talk me out of it, saying I would be crazy to ask them to stop playing a song that was charting," he recalled. "I persisted and they finally agreed. The musicians, the manager and the record company were not amused...until 'Frustration' broke into the top 10 on several charts!"
These days, that decision doesn't seem so crazy. 'Frustration' is an amazing track, kicking off with that dark and mysterious Farfisa organ and those subtle hi-hat rhythms and then building to its powerful finish. Both sides were produced by Doug Hawthorne, a local hippie who supplied lights for the group as the Trans-Euphoric Express and ran The Psychedelic Shop (the first of its kind in Vancouver), but who strangely seems to have never produced another record.
'Frustration' topped CFUN's All-Canadian Top Ten chart for nine weeks and peaked at #7 on the station's Funtastic Fifty list on January 7, 1967 (in all staying five weeks in the top ten). It also got to a healthy #20 position the same day on CKLG, Vancouver's other top-forty station. The record was picked up by Mercury down in the US, with 'Frustration' wisely placed on the top side, and scored a top-ten slot in nearby Bellingham, WA.
Things went especially well down in Salt Lake City, with the local Deseret News reporting that KCPX deejay Bill Terry "selected it as a 'Preview Record' and it soared to the number 8 position after only two weeks," adding that "Mercury Records flew in 1,000 copies to local record stores". 'Frustration' ultimately rose to the top spot at KCPX, reached #5 across town at KNAK and, according to the newspaper, was "picking up in popularity in such towns as Denver and Philadelphia".
'Frustration', along with the Ugly Ducklings' 'Nothin' and the Haunted's '1-2-5', is one of the best-known Canuck garage singles around the world, and collectors are willing to pay up. Mintish copies have pushed well over the $200 (USD) mark these days, but you can add 100 dollars more for a UK pressing, which seems to be a lot tougher to track down.
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