Weird Herald (Unreleased 1968-69 Album)

Weird Herald was a San Franciscan acoustic quartet, who mostly played in clubs such as the Matrix from 1968 to 1969. The two most prominent members were Billy Dean Andrus and Paul Ziegler, the two lead guitarists. Andrus was good friends with Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane and (later) Hot Tuna, as well as Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers (after Andrus died of a drug overdose, the song "Black Water" was dedicated to his memory). Ziegler's whereabouts are unknown, but drummer Patrick McIntire and bassist Cecil Bollinger both survive and have provided information about the band.

All in all, Weird Herald's only released material was one 45, "Saratoga James" b/w "Just Yesterday", but more recordings exist which have yet to be seen or heard outside of band members or their families.

The album
Recorded in 1968-69 at the Max Weise studio in San Francisco, the album was never released for unknown reasons. More than one copy still exists: one was apparently owned by Max Weise, one by Paul Ziegler, and one by Bill Andrus (now owned and partially digitized by his family). The owner of the "Rock Archaeology 101" blog apparently heard a snippet of the album in 2010 and reacted favorably, and the Andrus family as well as Patrick McIntire have expressed interest in releasing it to the public.

Other recordings
It is reported that the Matrix's owners recorded every band performance, though the fate of these tapes and their whereabouts are unknown.