The Crystal Garden

1967-1968: Walter Dutchover, Lenord Silva, Robbie Seaver and Dave Dietle

Another one of the popular East Bay groups documented in Bruce Tahsler’s The San Francisco East Bay Scene: Garage Bands From the ‘60’s Then and Now book, The Crystal Garden will be performing at the Goodstock Festival in July. Founder and drummer Lenord Silva recapped the band’s genesis, as well as details of some of the best times of his life, in this exclusive interview.

An Interview with Lenord Silva

60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?

Lenord Silva (LS): I started music in the fourth grade in grammar school. I wanted to play the sax, but it was all filled, so I took what was left and that was the drums. I always enjoyed, even as a youngster, listening to music.

60s: Was The Crystal Garden your first band?

LS: My first band was called The Explotions. I was ten years old. We were a two-piece. We played all the music of the bands back then but no originals. We were together for about a year.

The Explotions, 1966: Lenord Leroy Silva, drums and Lenny Prestia, guitar.

It then changed, and a different member was brought in. The band’s name was then changed to The Royalties - a trio playing songs like "Wipe Out", "Louie Louie" and such. We performed at talent shows and a couple battle of the bands. That project lasted for one year.

The Royalties, 1967: Lenord Leroy Silva, drums; Lenny Prestia, guitar; and Danny Seibal, guitar.



I then formed another band after the break up that was called The Carnaby Five. That lasted a short time.

The Carnaby Five, 1968: Lenord Leroy Silva/, drums; Lenny Prestia, guitar; Walter Dutchover, rhythm guitar and vocals; Dave Dietle, bass guitar; and Dave Diaz, vocals.

The next band was called Crystal Garden. The band came out of the San Francisco Bay area (San Leandro). The band was formed in the year 1968. I was the bandleader and founder.

Crystal Garden, 1968: Lenord Leroy Silva, drums and vocals; Dave Dietle, bass guitar; Walter Dutchover, rhythm guitar and vocals; Robbie Seaver, lead guitar and vocals; Dave DeLucca, vocals; Eric Swansick, vocals; Tim Mulgrew, bass guitar; Dave Rose, rhythm guitar; and Steve Ferriera, lead guitar.

60s: Where did the band typically play (schools, parties, etc.)?

LS: The band performed at many local battle of the bands, and high schools. We also were the house band for the U.S.O. for four years. Other performances included the Pleasanton Fair, and a few small local arts and craft shows. That was the first part of the Crystal Garden. It moved on from there to the Fillmore etc.

60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?

LS: The band’s sound was that of that era. We played other people’s material, so we came as close as we could to sounding like them.

60s: What was the East Bay rock and roll scene like in the '60's?

LS: It was very active back then - more so than today. A lot of young talent back then were working hard to get out there. Bands were plentiful. It was the start of a big music movement coming up.

60s: Did you play any of the local teen clubs? If so, which ones? Were there many?

LS: We performed at teen clubs around town, but for the life of me I don’t remember what the names were. It was too long back. We did play at the Boys Club now and then; there must have been a half a dozen places around town.

60s: Did The Crystal Garden participate in any battle of the bands?

LS: Yes. We did our share of the battle of the bands. They all were here in San Leandro. The city used to have the battle of the bands yearly. They would have all the bands performing out side, on the main street, in front of the buisness that was the band's sponsor. There usually were 20 to 30 bands participating. Some of the bands we were competing against were The Post Raisin Band, The Cave Dwellers, The Baytovens, and Peter Wheat and The Breadman to name a few. We won one battle.

60s: Did The Crystal Garden have a manager?

LS: Yes. We had a manager. It was my Father. He was a very good manager as he was totally into us making a good career out of what we were doing. He made sure we never ever missed a practice, always got the band there on time, and promoted us well. He got us into the Fillmore, Chet Helms/Family Dog, and up to rock festival outside of Portland, Oregon called Vortex I - a weeklong festival that had a crowd of 50,000 people. We also performed at many fairs, festivals, and a few clubs. My dad’s name is John Silva, the best manger a band could have had.

60s: How popular locally did The Crystal Garden become?

LS: We became very popular. We had a following of about 100 to 150. The band is still talked about to this day. We are included in two books that were written: One book is about garage bands from the ‘60s and ‘70s (Bruce Tahlser’s book), and the other is a book that was written about the Vortex I rock festival.

60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?

LS: We stayed pretty much local. We did however make it up to that Oregon Festival. A few times we hit the Sacramento area and down to Santa Cruz.

60s: Where did The Crystal Garden record?

LS: We recorded a 45 record (“Flash” b/w “Peach Fuzz Forest”) at a local record company in Hayward, California called Baytown Records. The recording sessions went well as we had all of our material polished when we went in to record. Everything went as planned. The record sold well locally and is still on sale through distributors that have other companies. It is on sale at vinyl stores in Holland, Germany, and on sale online. It was the only recording we ever did.

60s: Did The Crystal Garden write many original songs? Who was the band's primary songwriter?

LS: Yes. We had a handful of songs we had written. I, and the last lead guitarist of the band, Steve Ferreira, were the song writers.

60s: Do any (other) '60's Crystal Garden recordings exist? Are there any vintage live recordings, or unreleased tracks?

LS: No unreleased tracks.

60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances? LS:

LS: No TV appearances.

60s: What year and why did the band break up?

LS: The band broke up in the later part of 1970, right after the rock festival due to personal matters at home.

60s: Did you join or form any bands after The Crystal Garden?

LS: That was the last band that I put together. From there I worked with other artists. I went to work with Eddie Money, Dave Meneketti (Y&T), Coke Escovedo, Francisco Awgwabello, Luther Tucker, Deacon Jones, Al Von Johnson, J.J. Malone, and a slew of local bands. I drummed for them.

60s: How long has The Crystal Garden been reunited?

LS: We first reunited on August 13th, 2006 for a book signing release party. That is the book that came out of the ‘60s and ‘70s garage bands. It was great! Three of the four original members are together and our next gig will be July 19th-21st at a three-day rock and roll festival to be held in Summerville, West Virgina. On the bill: Jefferson Starship, Iron Butterfly, Electric Prunes, Sky Saxon and The Seeds, Quicksilver Messenger Service - bands from all over the states will be there, as well as many local acts and a few tribute bands. For info on the festival visit www.mindgarage.com. Click onto Goodstock. The festival name is "Goodstock Festival 2007".

60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with The Crystal Garden?

LS: Some of the best times of my life!

Carnaby Five: Dave Diaz, Lenny Prestia, Lenord Silva, Walter Dutchover and Dave Dietle

Carnaby Five: Walter Dutchover, Lenny Prestia, Dave Diaz, Dave Dietle and Lenord Silva

Carnaby Five, L-R: Walter Dutchover, Lenny Prestia, Lenord Silva, Dave Diaz and Dave Dietle