Biography
Originally hailing from Kansas, the rock outfit Bulbous Creation fused downbeat psychedelia with hard rock, yet recognition beyond their immediate locale arrived only long after the ensemble had disbanded. Bassist Jim “Bugs” Wine and guitarist-vocalist-songwriter Paul Parkinson, both raised in Prairie Village roughly ten miles outside Kansas City, established the group. Parkinson began playing guitar during early adolescence and appeared in several impromptu combos throughout high school, many of them featuring his close friend Wine on bass. In 1966 Wine entered military service; upon completing his term three years later he settled in Kansas City, Kansas. Eager to assemble a band, Wine placed a newspaper advertisement that connected him with guitarist Alan Lewis and drummer Chuck Horstmann. Still requiring stronger original material, Wine reconnected with Parkinson, who accepted an invitation to supply lyrics and vocals. Keyboardist Lynne Wenner periodically augmented the lineup in live settings. Lewis favored the name Bulbous, a choice initially resisted by the others; appending Creation produced a compromise acceptable to everyone.
Relying almost entirely on original compositions made securing engagements at Kansas City clubs challenging, so the band remained largely an underground concern. During a single day in 1971 the musicians booked time at Cavern Sound in Independence, Missouri, laying down eight tracks sufficient to fill an LP. Before funds could be raised for pressing, however, Parkinson departed to pursue a solo career performing his own songs, and Horstmann likewise exited. Wine and Lewis subsequently reshaped the project as Creation, adding guitarist Roger Sewell, drummer Tommy Ward, and vocalist Wayne Austin. The Bulbous Creation recordings stayed unreleased until 1995, when collector and archivist Rich Haupt discovered the session tapes and issued them without authorization on his Rockadelic Records imprint. That modest release gradually cultivated a devoted following for the band’s lean yet potent, doomy sound and evocative lyrics. Alan Lewis succumbed to cancer in 1998, and Paul Parkinson died of leukemia in 2001. In 2014 the album finally appeared under the official title You Won’t Remember Dying via the reissue label the Numero Group, which also placed one track on the compilation Local Customs: Cavern Sound gathering rare material recorded at the studio and originally issued on its custom imprints.
Relying almost entirely on original compositions made securing engagements at Kansas City clubs challenging, so the band remained largely an underground concern. During a single day in 1971 the musicians booked time at Cavern Sound in Independence, Missouri, laying down eight tracks sufficient to fill an LP. Before funds could be raised for pressing, however, Parkinson departed to pursue a solo career performing his own songs, and Horstmann likewise exited. Wine and Lewis subsequently reshaped the project as Creation, adding guitarist Roger Sewell, drummer Tommy Ward, and vocalist Wayne Austin. The Bulbous Creation recordings stayed unreleased until 1995, when collector and archivist Rich Haupt discovered the session tapes and issued them without authorization on his Rockadelic Records imprint. That modest release gradually cultivated a devoted following for the band’s lean yet potent, doomy sound and evocative lyrics. Alan Lewis succumbed to cancer in 1998, and Paul Parkinson died of leukemia in 2001. In 2014 the album finally appeared under the official title You Won’t Remember Dying via the reissue label the Numero Group, which also placed one track on the compilation Local Customs: Cavern Sound gathering rare material recorded at the studio and originally issued on its custom imprints.
Albums