DC Share Revival: Psychedelic Jukebox: [1967] Perpetual Motion Workshop

At the center of the project stood Simon T. Stokes and Dave Briggs, both credited with producing and arranging the songs. Stokes penned the A-side, “Infiltrate Your Mind,” while Briggs wrote the B-side, “Won’t Come Down.” The publishing details offer some intriguing clues: “Won’t Come Down” was published by Brigg Songs (ASCAP), and the flipside under T. Stokes Music (BMI)—indicating independent publishing control and hinting at personal investment in what may have been a deeply private recording endeavor. According to Discogs and data on vinyl labels, the release took place in September 1967, likely recorded in Los Angeles, though no studio, engineer, or session musician names have ever been confirmed.

The label itself, Rally Records, was a short-lived West Coast operation. The gap between its known releases—its most active period was in 1965—suggests that by 1967 it had ceased being a formal imprint. This makes the Perpetual Motion Workshop single particularly anomalous, appearing over a year after any previous Rally 45. According to Garage Hangover, a digital archive of forgotten garage and psych bands, the single’s appearance on the label may have stemmed from a revival, a vanity imprint resurrection, or simply a re-use of the Rally brand by its former operators for one last unpromoted issue. There is no evidence of advertising in trade papers like Billboard, nor does the record appear in any regional charts, local gig listings, or radio station tip sheets from the era—rendering its visibility at the time essentially nonexistent.

The sound of “Won’t Come Down” is as telling as its paper trail is opaque. The track is characterized by heavy fuzzed-out guitar leads, drenched in reverb and tape echo, aligning it sonically with the likes of The Music Machine, The Litter, and certain more obscure efforts by bands such as Zakary Thaks or The Human Expression.

The song has drawn comparisons to the “heavy psych” and “acid punk” subsets of garage, yet it lacks the overt distortion and studio trickery of, say, The Monocles’ “Psychedelic (That's Where It's At)” or The Calico Wall’s “I'm A Living Sickness.” Instead, “Won’t Come Down” is curiously restrained: it’s a song about inner turmoil that communicates via limitation—compressed sonic space, reduced structure, and a sense of emotional stasis. This minimalist ethos was not uncommon in 1967, a year that saw a sharp divide between high-concept psychedelic albums like “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and the rawer, more fragmentary voices of garage bands across the U.S.

Who exactly were Simon T. Stokes and Dave Briggs? Simon Stokes, later known for his outlaw biker rock stylings and association with Captain Beefheart, had already begun developing a distinctive sound marked by grimy distortion and dark lyrical themes. His early output, such as “Voodoo Woman” (1965), shares textural similarities with the A-side of this release. Dave Briggs, however, remains almost entirely undocumented outside of this single. It is unclear whether he was a session musician, local songwriter, or simply a pseudonym. The ASCAP registry confirms his authorship, but offers no further links to other published material under his name.

The B-side, “Won’t Come Down,” was likely the conceptual nucleus of the single. Its more emotionally resonant tone and starker arrangement suggest it may have been the true artistic statement, with “Infiltrate Your Mind” serving as the more conventionally psychedelic cut. The division of writing credits between Briggs and Stokes further supports this theory, hinting at distinct artistic roles within the duo.

The single’s afterlife has been equally ghostlike. It was never repressed, issued on LP, or compiled on any of the mainstream psychedelic box sets of the 1980s or ’90s. It eventually surfaced on rare private compilations such as “The Psychedelic Experience Vol. 4” and “Garage Psychedelia Uncovered,” but in lo-fi form, sourced from collector vinyl. No studio tapes are known to survive, and no official remaster has been attempted. The only accessible versions today are from fan uploads on platforms like YouTube and SoundCloud, often from worn 45s with substantial surface noise.

The fact that no interviews, liner notes, or retrospective credits have emerged points to the possibility that Perpetual Motion Workshop never existed as a performing band. Rather, it was likely a one-time studio configuration, possibly recorded in a few takes with minimal overdubs. This was not unusual for the Los Angeles scene in 1967, which hosted a dense network of independent producers, session musicians, and songwriters floating between temporary outfits. For instance, The Other Half, Clear Light, and The Sons of Adam all shared musicians with overlapping projects, often producing obscure 45s that have since become cult items. In that context, Perpetual Motion Workshop might have been another node in that ephemeral network, with its members never intending more than a single pressing.

Adding to the mystique is the complete absence of visual artifacts. No known photographs, gig posters, press kits, or label ads survive. Even collector-focused databases such as Popsike, MusicStack, and eBay archives only reference the 7-inch in transactional terms—grading quality, matrix numbers, label wear. Some auction listings have described the song as “lost heavy psych,” with prices ranging from $40 to over $120 USD, depending on condition. This suggests that, despite its total lack of mainstream visibility, the record has achieved something akin to cult relic status among genre completists and DJs specializing in obscure late-’60s sides.

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Monday, July 28, 2025

Psychedelic Jukebox: [1967] Perpetual Motion Workshop - Won't Come Down

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