History

Stagecoach VII was a power trio, and originally a cover band, that grew out of informal jam sessions at Marquita Studios in Dallas. Jim and Kevin split guitar duties, and Michael provided percussion. They shared the vocal duties, and all provided harmony. Their early influences were the Beatles and the Monkees, although they were always trying to stay up with the current music scene.
The band had decided to begin writing their own material after recording their first album, “Live at the Hearth” , which consisted of all cover material. While jamming in the studio, it became apparent the band was drifting apart musically. While Jim tended towards more blues and hard rock, Kevin was beginning to drift towards Celtic music and the spoken word. Michael just wanted more vocals. When they were unable to determine a direction for the band, they split up, while still in the planning stages for their second album. (Kevin and Michael had earlier rejected a suggestion to rename the band “Jim and Two Other Guys.”) While there are rumors of demo tapes from the early sessions (tracks reportedly under development were “Mrs. Owings”, “Bob-o-Link”, “Sondra Driving”, and a cover of the “Colonel Bogey March”) available, in addition to the original master tapes, they have never surfaced.

Tragically, the Live at the Hearth master tapes were lost when they were accidentally sold at a garage sale. They have never resurfaced. Some of the lyric sheets were recently found (and are reprinted here).