Chameleon - Rising (1973-78/2013)

In 1969 while still in high school, brothers Rick and Mike HUEY ~ bass and drums respectively ~ got together with their buddy guitarist/singer Spencer CLARK to form EVOLEPOH, a not-yet-progressive garage band based in Houston, Texas. Later they would be joined by keyboardist Craig GYSLER in '70 and change their name to LORIEN. Rehearsing intensely and writing original compositions, they played in and around Houston and landed gigs supporting Captain Beefheart, the Amboy Dukes, and MC5.

In 1975 the well-practiced unit, now CHAMELEON, shared bills with other Texas groups as Eeze, One Hand Clapping, and Oz Knozz whose drummer Marty NAUL would replace Mike Huey in '78. At that point CHAMELEON became fully committed to being prog rock artists and recorded the music found on the 'Rising' release, known as the Barn Tapes because of the converted barn outside Houston in which they rehearsed.

By 1981 the band had exhausted itself and Prog was in recession. Texas's Shroom Records released the restored material in 2013 as 'Rising', a magpie of Brit-styled art/symph, fusion, and heavier rock-outs, revealing a long undiscovered Texas prog band that held much promise.