Universal Underpass - Bosstown Sound

This page is the story of Galen Rossop and it is written by him. He was playing music and on the scene during the Bosstown Sound era. He was involved with many rockers, club owners and clubs.
His first group was Orphan - not to be confused with the Boston group The Orphans. They changed their name to Universal Underpass because of that confusion.
He was involved in and has a good insight into the Catacombs club especially and has posters from there. He also states:

"I still own the original 200-watt Kustom PA used at the Catacombs and Psychedelic Supermarket and every Sunday afternoon at the "Summerthing" Concerts in Harvard Square for two years. Jimi Hendrix and a host of rock n' roll legends played through this amp."

Universal Underpass 1966-1968
Galen Rossop - Singer, Songwriter, Harmonica, Percussion
Renee Rossop - Drummer 1966-1967
Daniel “Little Red” Guerard - Drummer 1967-1968
Peter Craig - Keyboards, Bass Machine, Guitar, Songwriter
Keith Murphy - Guitar, Songwriter 1966-1967
Mark Larlee - Guitar 1967-1968
Charlie Leland - Bass Guitar, Songwriter 1967-1968

Galen was born in Exeter and grew up in Hampton Falls NH. His mother was a Dramatic Contralto and valedictorian at the Boston Conservatory while his great uncle was a baritone and villain with the New York Opera Company. His grandfather was a 1930’s big band leader while his uncle was the guitar player with Woody Herman’s Band. Another uncle played country and western music. His sister, Renee, played drums in Galen’s early bands before moving on to work with acts including the Grateful Dead.

Galen recorded his first professional session at Rick Tinory’s Recording Studio in Cohasset Massachusetts. Rick Tinory’s was Frank Sinatra’s Recording Studio.

Galen was 16. He had written or co-written all the songs for the band. Peter, Paul, and Mary had just finished their recording of “Leaving On A Jet Plane” before the teen band called Orphan arrived at the studio. After the usual jitters on the first night, things went smoothly. They had put together 6 tracks in a short period of time. Aerosmith was the next act up to bat after the young band finished their first sessions at Rick’s.

Orphan
1964-1966
Galen Rossop - Singer, Songwriter, Harmonica, Percussion
Renee Rossop - Drummer
Peter Craig - Keyboards, Bass Machine, Guitar Songwriter
Edmund “Eddie” Findlen - Guitar, Songwriter 1964-1966
Keith Murphy - Guitar, Songwriter 1966

Orphan

Orphan
Practice Room 1966

Spin Art 1965
Orphan
Poster By Galen

Galen 1966
Orphan

Orphan
on the Road 1965

Practice Practice Practice
Orphan 1965

Orphan
On The Road 1966

Renee & Galen
Orphan on the Road 1965

MGM Studios offered their last Star Maker’s Contract to Galen and his sister, Renee after Rick Tinory played the label their original music. Their parents refused to sign with the label and the Carpenters took their place with MGM. Orphan then played their first gig at the Hampton Beach Casino after getting local radio airplay.

Orphan became the House Band at the Seagate during that summer at Hampton Beach.

Galen was a founding member of the Universal Underpass.
The Universal Underpass was the first house band at the legendary club, “the Catacombs”. The Catacombs was a coffee house that was 3 floors down from street level. It was located near the Berklee College of Music. The Universal Underpass alternated gigs with J. Geils and Van Morrison. They once closed the club and jammed and partied all night with the Doors, Andy Warhol, Nico from the Velvet Underground, and the Incredible Eatable Blonde Squad from New York City.

Matchbook Cover 1967 picked-up at Universal Underpass's first gig at the Electric Circus

The Universal Underpass hosted the weekly free Sunday “Summerthing” Concerts at Cambridge Common on Harvard Square from 1967 through 1968. They opened for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Janis Joplin, the Jefferson Airplane, the Young Bloods, Pacific Gas & Electric, MC5, the Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Fugs, Seatrain, Phulf, the Velvet Underground, the Paupers, the 3rd World Raspberry, the Left Bank, Earth Opera, the Rascals, the Corwell Winfield Blues Band, Grand Funk Railroad, Johnny Compton, James Taylor, Blue Cheer, Sly and the Family Stone, the Minute Men, Linda Ronstadt & the Stone Poneys, Canned Heat, Country Joe & the Fish, The Grateful Dead, and everybody else that went through Boston during that time period. Galen was the MC, he announced the acts; he wore a bright yellow top hat and had hair to his waist. New England Associated Talent managed the Universal Underpass. The group also worked as a house band at the Surf (Frolics) Ballroom at Salisbury Beach.

    The Universal Underpass went on to become one of the house bands at the Psychedelic Supermarket in Kenmore Square. It was a converted warehouse. The club was a giant open parking lot type room with two stages on two sides and eventually some hippie shops that were set-up along the other two walls and sides.
    Some of the greats of Rock ‘n Roll played at the Psychedelic Supermarket.
    The Universal Underpass was honored to have opened for some of them.

Galen and Keith Murphy (glasses) at the Psychedelic Supermarket

Little Red Universal Underpass
- Summerthing September 1968

Eddie Orphan/Universal Underpass
In Memory of Edmund G. Findlen 1949-1970
Artwork by Galen for my best friend 1967

“Thank God, after the haircut you look like a civilized human being.”
Universal Underpass 1968
Photo By Dawn Rossop

Galen sits with a stack of Earth Magazines on the steps of the Administration Building at MIT while the “Stop The War Research” protestors storm the Dean’s office.
Universal Underpass 1968
Photo By Dawn 1968

“Never dare me or I’ll throw a Fireball at you!” The red fireball showed up on the photo when the film was developed.
Universal Underpass 1968
Photo By Dawn 1968

Galen Self-Portrait
The Universal Underpass 1968

Little Red Illuminated by the Light Show at the Boston Tea Party
Universal Underpass 1968

Can You Hear The Trees?
Poster By Galen
The Universal Underpass 1968

All Hallows Eve
Poster Art by Galen
The Universal Underpass 1968

The Universal Underpass was the featured band at the Old South Church Sanctuary and Protest for the draft resistors, which was WBCN’s first simulcast with Peter Wolf as the DJ. It was a daytime event. Thousands of kids had gathered to protect the draft resistors who’s numbers had come up in the lottery. The cops raided the church at 4 am long after the crowd had thinned out. They dragged the draft resistors away by their hair.

The Universal Underpass at Boston Common

Our first and very short lived business card.

Galen with Harp Guitar - Universal Underpass

Galen back to us at Hampton Beach - Universal Underpass

Ticket from a Universal Underpass Show 1968
Promoters had a hard time getting the use of a hall or gym big enough to hold a counter-culture rock n’ roll show. Many towns refused to allow hippie happenings. The promoters took whatever venue they could get to book a hot underground show.

“Kubla Khan Revisted” was the song that the Universal Underpass usually closed their show with. It was a prehistoric trance song that most people called Acid Music. The song featured a poem that I wrote in about 15 minutes during a High School Literature class.

KUBLA KHAN REVISITED

Schizophrenic undertones gnaw inside
The perverted psychoanalysts with whom I confide
About a purple land of cotton clouds in the sky
The paradise of Kubla Khan, which floats to my eyes.
A damsel with a dulcimer sings on a sweet song
In her garden of listful life free of human wrong
Taste from her flowing fountain the sparkling mead
And waltz across the poppy fields in the flowery weed.
This angel’s terminal opens to the moon bridge of ‘lore
As we dance across the meadow and onto Heaven’s shore.
Pan and his nymphs wave gently from their petals
As our minds intertwine without the band of soft metal

Oneness is the goal
To be part of each other
And to start a new race of ideas
With her - as our mother.

The Universal Underpass played the Café Wha, the Electric Circus, the Fillmore East; they briefly toured with Steppenwolf and played a lot of college gigs.

Galen held the banner and marched with the ladies on the Equal Rights Equal Pay March in Boston in 1968. He can be clearly seen on film included in the PBS classic series “The American Experience” holding the center of the banner as they marched.

Galen worked with the Boston Arts Project on the creation of Boston After Dark, the Phoenix, Avatar, and Earth Magazines. Galen’s a published poet and author.

Keith Murphy & Galen Rossop of Orphan and the Universal Underpass 1964-1968 reunited for a single set at Gypsy Sweethearts in Ogunquit Maine on a warm Summer afternoon in 1978.

Galen also performed as a singer/harmonica back-up player with B.B. King, Frank Zappa, Chic Corea, Donovan, and Hot Tuna to mention a few.

    Galen’s 1980’s band, the Bankers, had a number of songs engineered and produced by Jack-Stack-A-Track. Jack-Stack-A-Track is a Rock ‘n Roll icon and legend.
    Jack engineered the Beach Boys, Johnny Cash, and more people than we can count.
    The Bankers have a hundred song catalog. Many are well produced and are well worth listening to. Galen co-wrote and performed all the songs with his band.

    “If there’s a world on a speck of dust, it’s probably on the needle of an old jukebox
    If there are more stars than men on Earth, then how much is a single dream worth?”
    Lyrics from “Play My Record” by the Bankers Rossop/Grochmal

The Bankers
Galen Rossop - Singer, Songwriter, Harmonica, Percussion
Steven “Zip” Grochmal - Bass, Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter
Francis “Fran” Gigli - Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter
Gary Cobb - Guitar 1980-1982
Charles “Charlie” Swift - Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter 1982-1986
Richard “Rich” Pellerin - Drums 1980-1982
Carter Berking - Drums 1982-1986

Bankers

The Bankers in their practice room upstairs at the Boston Music Complex in Cambridge. During this period, the Bankers where asked to be the house band at Jack's but had to pass because of scheduling problems with Jack-Stack-A-Track.

Galen in the studio with Jack Stack and the Bankers

The Bankers were one of the best 1980’s bands that most people never heard about. Jack-Stack-A-Track, the legendary engineer and producer of the Beach Boys, Johnny Cash, and a musical army of other artists; engineered and produced 4 tracks of the 9 tracks featured on the Money Talks CD. We are truly grateful for the teamwork and quality of this production and thank Jack for everything.

Galen In The Realm Of The Red Sun
Bankers 1980 Photo By Dawn Rossop

Two Song Birds Galen & Pretty Boy
Bankers 1980 Photo By Dawn Rossop

Cloud Boy Arizona
Bankers 1980 Photo By Dawn Rossop

Galen and Dawn
Dawn (my wife) is an important part of my story. That’s obvious. She has been my photographer from the Universal Underpass period to the present day.
She also co-wrote a number of Banker and key other songs over the decades.
Dawn was the Markswoman of Maine when she was 12. She was the Down Hill Ski Champion of Maine when she was 16 and was part of the US Biathlon team that previewed at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1966.
Dawn was a Gucci model, an actress, and a jeweler.
She missed being the final replacement angel on the Charlie’s Angels TV Show by one day.
Bankers 1980

Dawn on Frog Rock
Bankers Period 1980 Photo By Galen

Renee, Galen, and Dawn
At Renee’s House In Florida
Bankers Period 1980 Photo By Jim

Renee & Galen digging for gold
Hampton Beach 1956

THE ROCK N’ ROLL HALLOWEEN CIRCUS
At the Lowell Auditorium 1981
For one night only the Bankers became 3 acts that played three short sets each:
The Bankers

The Uncle Sams were the headlining act.
Galen and Zip were dressed in short Uncle Sam suits while the rest of the band were dressed as army men. Their fake hit song was, “Money Talks”.
Photo By Dawn Rossop

The Kojaks...
...were dressed in horrifically matched golf gear and full-sized Saturday Night Live Coneheads. Their feature kickass anthem was, “Who Loves Ya Baby”.
Photo By Dawn Rossop

Dick & the NixXxons had Galen in a Nixon mask and the rest of the group in the same generic plain plastic face and clothing. One of their shameful contributions to the show was, “Watergate Heartbreak”.
There were three sideshow acts strolling through the crowd:
A sword swallowing, fire breathing, chainsaw juggling madman that had been on the Johnny Carson Show.
A clown on roller-skates making strange balloon animals for the crowd.
And an amazing slight-of-hand pickpocket street magician named Paul.
It was a true Halloween Party.

    After Jack’s influence, Galen became an audio engineer.
    He has just written, performed, engineered, and produced his first solo Cd, “Red Robot” by the Robots from Mars.
    It’s a tour de force of musical styles woven with rich harmonica and outstanding vocals.

Cover New CD of Red Robot
by the Robots from Mars
Artwork by Ian Pyper

My new CD, “Martian Radio” by The Robots from Mars
Why did we kidnap Frank Zappa and take him to Mars?
Cover Art by Ian Pyper

Ian Pyper is Robots from Mars unofficial artist. He has contributed a number of artworks to our cause. Ian works out of London England. He has exhibited his Science Fiction based comic art in galleries from Europe to Asia to Rockland Maine.

“Martian Radio” by the Robots from Mars. A totally unique Cd complete with Martian Music and a robot rant against the Human race.

“Two Tales from the Magic Isles” by Galen Rossop. There are 10,000 islands in the Gulf of Maine and some are more than what they seem. Children’s Audio Book with a wide range of character voices. The music is totally unique to the production, which includes the Robots from Mars song, “Smiley Town”.

Two Tales from the Magic Isles
Audio Book by Galen Rossop
Cover Art by Galen Rossop & Sabine Hope

My new Children’s Audio Book
“Two Tales From The Magic Isles”
by The Robots from Mars
Updated Cover Art by Galen Rossop & Sabine Hope

Galen is in the process of publishing his first eBook on Amazon in the Kindle format,

    His next upcoming Book on Kindle is “Hannah Screecher’s Ghost”
    A New England Tale of ghosts and treasure and a family’s one chance at survival.
    Galen works and resides in Maine.

Galen Rossop

Orphan / The Universal Underpass / The Bankers / The Robots from Mars