According to Dave Mitchell, Doug Tull, seemed to care more about the business side of things and less about the music and became somewhat of a dictator amongst the group. Due to this friction, Josefus decided to split in December of 1970. Pete Bailey and Ray Turner began playing with a group called Stone Axe (who only released a lone single, but it is fantastic and absolutely recommended as well) and Doug Tull would join the band Christopher to utilize his percussion skills. However in 1978 the band attempted a reunion with all the original members other than Tull who was replaced by Stone Axe drummer, Jerry Ontiberoz. Unfortunately the reunion only lasted about a year or so as the disco infection had already spread throughout the country and made success for a band like Josefus more than difficult to obtain. The band has reunited several times since though, and has released many live recordings, re-recorded versions of old material, and new material; along with the 1993 archival release of the band’s first album as mentioned earlier. Son Of Dead Man was released in 1990 and features ten newly recorded songs that had originally been written in the 70’s, plus a cover of The Zombies’ She’s Not There. Following this Dead Man Alive was released which contains recordings from the band that would become Josefus, United Gas. It also contains several tracks recorded by the band during their heyday, as well as some songs recorded during the 1978-1979 reunion. Other releases include Not Dead Yet, which is comprised of more live material from ‘78-’79, the self explanatory album Halloween 2004 Live, and an EP (I think) from 2013 entitled Black And White. Currently the only member still regularly playing music is Ray Turner who is involved with a soul band in Houston. Dave Mitchell is currently employed as a computer programmer and Pete Bailey still occasionally plays music when he’s not pursuing his favourite pastime, fishing. He has also written a book called Josefus: The Inside Stories. And sadly Doug Tull reportedly committed suicide in his prison cell after being arrested for speeding in 1990.
Dead Man (1970) - Josefus’ Dead Man is another absolutely essential gem of proto-doom rock that more than keeps up with the bigger acts of the day. Side one contains the majority of the tracks, with the second side being reserved for the band’s magnum opus song, Dead Man; along with a quick, but nice little ditty entitled Situation. And darkness abounds all throughout this record. Crazy Man, a groovy Zeppelin-like rocker, starts us off and from there we’re propelled into the cosmos of a Texas fuzz trip of doomadelic proportions. I don’t even really know what that last sentence means, but I do know that the second and third tracks kick things way into the next gear. I Need A Woman shows that this band isn't planning on playing nicely with it’s aggressive and macho fuzz riffing. They then present to us their version of Gimme Shelter (spelled Gimmie on the sleeve) and give it some far out, new spices to create something to rival the Stones’ classic.
The last two songs on the first side continue the groovy vibe and do many pleasant things to the head as well. However once you flip the record over (or wait several seconds if listening to a CD) you’ll realize it’s soon time to die. You’ll have just under two minutes before the album’s main attraction kicks in. The title track is 17 minutes of pure doom and gloom and a relentless barrage of stoned to high heaven jamming. This song is where this album and this band gets their reputation from and is worth the admission price alone. “Josefus...A strong group...A heavy sound...Emitting from the darkness of obscurity, bursting forth with the drive and impact of a celestial happening...Josefus come alive with “Dead Man” making this album a genesis of sound...One you’ll never forget.” That is what’s written on the back of the record sleeve and it says it all. This record is an absolute must-have for fans of this type of music.....10/10
Josefus (1970) - Dead Man is tough act to follow. And that’s why this album suffers and just does not leave the same lasting impression as its predecessor. However don’t pass this one up because it is still a worthy record....just not compared to their first. The first half is full of nice, bluesy jams and all the songs have that awesome Josefus feel. They just don’t have the same power or energy this time around it seems. And although the quality of the tracks remains consistently high for the entire first side, nothing really stands out or remains extremely memorable after it’s over. Side two shakes things up a bit for better and for worse. Jimmy, Jimmy, starts it off and at first glance seems like a goofy, throwaway song and sounds fairly out of place. But when you pay attention to the lyrics you’ll see that they’re singing about a pretty dark and disturbing subject.
This completely changed my opinion of the song and I now consider it a highlight of the album thanks to the lyrical content. Following this they return to some standard, but still highly enjoyable heavy blues jams, which entertain but don’t stick with you once again; except for I Saw A Killin’ which is pretty menacing and fuzzed up. Unfortunately the final track is just not my cup of tea though. I guess if soft country rock is your thing you’ll probably dig it, but it definitely doesn’t float my boat. They’ve certainly mellowed out a bit on this one and the songs aren’t as memorable, but in the end it is still a damn fine listen and shouldn’t be missed......8/10
This is a band that gets mentioned a lot when discussing these proto-doom gems and for good reason. Dead Man is a must-listen and the following album, while not quite as fantastic, is worthwhile as well. This band also thankfully has a lot of unreleased recordings and live material to check out which is a nice change considering all the forgotten, obscure bands out there that only have one or two albums of material to listen to. So waste no more time and see what else Texas has to offer other than huge belt buckles and chainsaw massacres- Dark, heavy, bluesy, doomy, psych going under the moniker Josefus.
Recommended tracks:
-I Need A Woman (Dead Man)
-Gimmie Shelter (Dead Man)
-Proposition (Dead Man)
-Situation (Dead Man)
-Dead Man (Dead Man)
-Jimmy, Jimmy (Josefus)
-I Saw A Killin’ (Josefus)
Words: Brian