An interview show with Jimmie Jersie of the Queen's Nectarine Machine, originally broadcast June, 2004, on "Turn Me On, Dead Man" on Live365.com.
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Background
Jimmie Jersie was a member of the Queen's Nectarine Machine, who recorded the 1968 psychedelic album The Mystical Powers of Roving Tarot Gamble. The Queen's Nectarine Machine were based in Garfield, New Jersey, and released only the one album during their run.
front cover
back cover
inside the gatefold sleeve
I was fortunate enough to get a copy of it from singer Jimmie Jersie, but it is otherwise extremely difficult to find. One track from the LP, "Mysterious Martha Garoo," has appeared on Psychcosis from the Thirteenth Dimension. According to Jimmie, the trippy band name and the occult theme of the LP were the idea of their production company, Super K. The band was much more of a rock & roll band, influenced more by the Rascals, Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Still, this album is a prime example of late-1960s psych—as is the band's appearance.
Jimmie, who identified himself as "the wierdo in the flowered pants," did his part in establishing the band's look. The flowered pants? Imported from Italy. In fact, all of the shirts that the band members are wearing are Jimmie's.
Jimmie was also for a time a member of the Del-Aires, a band with a career as interesting as the Queen's Nectarine Machine. The Del-Aires appeared in the movie The Horror of Party Beach, which aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000. The website Bad Movie Planet called the Del-Aires "The Greatest B-Movie Band Ever?" The Del-Aires also were playing in the Angel Lounge in Lodi, New Jersey, on the night of the infamous killings that left two police officers dead, chronicled in David Stout's book Night of the Devil.
Update: Summer, 2007
I talked to Jimmie a number of times on the phone around the time that we taped the interview and we continued to correspond off and on after that. He loved talking about his days with the Queen’s Nectarine Machine, as it was a real high point for him, but our conversations ranged over a variety of topics. It was clear that Jimmie was not in good health, but he was always in good spirits whenever we talked. Recently, a member of Jimmie’s family contacted me to let me know that he had died a few months ago. I was saddened to hear the news and I wanted to express my condolences to Jimmie’s friends and family.
Podcasts of shows originally aired on "Turn Me On, Dead Man" on Live365.com
