Iron Butterfly

History

Formation and Heavy (1966–1968)

The band formed in 1966 in San Diego. The original members were Doug Ingle (vocals, organ, formerly of Jeri and the Jeritones and Palace Pages, Iron Butterfly's forerunner), Jack Pinney (drums), Greg Willis (bass), and Danny Weis (guitar, also of Palace Pages). The group were soon joined by vocalist and tambourine player Darryl DeLoach. DeLoach's parents’ garage served as the site for their almost nightly rehearsals.

Jerry Penrod replaced Willis after the band relocated to Los Angeles in the summer of 1966. Pinney eventually left to return to school. Bruce Morse then replaced Pinney until Ron Bushy (from a group called the Voxmen) joined when Morse left due to a family emergency. A booking at Bido Lito's club in Hollywood soon led to regular appearances at the Galaxy Club and the Whisky a Go Go.

In early 1968, after the band signed a deal with Atco Records, an Atlantic Records subsidiary, the band's debut album Heavy was released. The group was signed and managed by Atlantic's Charles Greene and Brian Stone, who were co-producers of Heavy. All but Ingle and Bushy left the band after completing the album in the late summer of 1967. The two remaining musicians, faced with the possibility of the record not being released, quickly found replacements in bassist Lee Dorman and 17-year-old guitarist Erik Brann (also known as "Erik Braunn" and "Erik Braun") and resumed touring. In a 1986 interview with IB's fan club fanzine, The Butterfly Net, Brann stated that Jeff Beck, Neil Young, and Michael Monarch (who would go on to join Steppenwolf) had also expressed interest in joining the group to replace Weis.

After Brann was chosen, Penrod and DeLoach, uncomfortable with Brann's young age and frustrated with the time it was taking him to learn the band's repertoire, left the group after Weis did. Weis and Penrod went on to form the group Rhinoceros. In 1970 DeLoach formed Flintwhistle along with Jerry Penrod and Erik Brann. They performed live for about a year before breaking up.

Success with In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and first breakup (1968–1971)

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", the 17-minute title track of Iron Butterfly's second album of the same name, became a top-30 hit (edited down to 2:52 minutes) in the United States. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in December 1968 for shipments of 1 million units in the U.S. The album stayed on the Billboard charts for 140 weeks and has been certified 4× platinum by the RIAA for sales of 4 million copies in the U.S.

During this time, the band was represented by the William Morris Agency, which booked all their live concerts. Iron Butterfly played its first national tour in the summer of 1968 alongside Jefferson Airplane. By the end of 1968, the band was back in the studio at work on their next album. Iron Butterfly's third album, Ball, was released in January 1969 and went gold, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The band had been booked to play at Woodstock in August 1969 but got stuck at New York City's LaGuardia Airport. They explained their situation to the concert promoters and asked for patience. Their manager, however, sent a telegram demanding that Iron Butterfly be flown in by helicopter, whereupon they would "immediately" take the stage. After their set, they would be paid and flown back to the airport. According to drummer Bushy, "We went down to the Port Authority three times and waited for the helicopter, but it never showed up". Woodstock production coordinator John Morris claims he sent the manager a telegram reading: "For reasons I can't go into / Until you are here / Clarifying your situation / Knowing you are having problems / You will have to find / Other transportation / Unless you plan not to come." The acrostic formed by the first letter of each line in the telegram made it clear that the band was not welcome.

Erik Brann left the band after a final show in San Diego on December 13, 1969. Brann was frustrated with the band's unwillingness to move towards a harder rock sound. He was replaced in the line-up by two new musicians: guitarist/vocalist Mike Pinera (whose Blues Image had opened for Iron Butterfly's Vida tour) and guitarist Larry Reinhardt (from the Allman Brothers Band forerunner Second Coming). Both Pinera and Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt had been rehearsing secretly with the band since September 1969 after Brann had voiced his objections to continuing. In August 1970 Iron Butterfly released its fourth studio album Metamorphosis. The album managed to get into the Billboard top 20.

Reunions (1974–2011)

In 1974 Brann was contacted by a promoter about reforming Iron Butterfly, so he reunited with Ron Bushy to form a new version of the group, signing with MCA Records and joined by Bushy's friend, bassist Philip Taylor Kramer, and keyboardist Howard Reitzes, a friend of Brann's who worked in a music store. Brann, who had done occasional lead vocals during Iron Butterfly's original run, served as the band's main lead vocalist this time. Their first album for MCA, Scorching Beauty, was released in January 1975, and Reitzes was replaced by Bill DeMartines just after its release. The new lineup toured throughout the year and released Sun and Steel in October 1975 with DeMartines now on keyboards. Both albums were criticized for bearing little resemblance to the original tone of the group and sold poorly compared to their earlier releases.

In 1977 the Bushy/Brann/Kramer/DeMartines grouping wound down after being plagued with bad management and tour dates that had started off in theaters but ended up in bars and clubs. Bushy, Kramer and DeMartines formed Magic and Lee Dorman put together a new IB lineup with Rhino that contained British singer Jimi Henderson, Larry Kiernan on keyboards, David Love on guitar and Kevin Karamitros on drums. This grouping toured mostly in the South. By 1978 the lineup was Dorman, Karamitros, Pinera and John Leimseider on keyboards.

In the late fall of 1978, a German promoter made an offer for the band to tour. The Metamorphosis lineup (Ingle, Bushy, Dorman, Pinera and Rhino) made preparations, but just before they were to depart for Germany, Dorman's father took ill and another bassist, Keith Ellis (formerly of Boxer), was brought in to cover for Dorman in case he had to suddenly return to the US. During the tour, Ellis died in Darmstadt, Germany, on December 12, 1978.

After their return to the US, the Metamorphosis group played a few homecoming shows in early 1979, joined by Erik Brann for guest appearances. Later in 1979, Bushy returned to his other group, Gold, and the next IB lineup was: Mike Pinera, Lee Dorman, Doug Ingle, a returning John Leimseider and Dorman's Captain Beyond band-mate, drummer Bobby Caldwell. Still later that same year, Bobby Hasbrook, from Hawaii, joined the band as lead guitarist and lead vocals alongside Dorman, Pinera, Caldwell and Leimseider.

IB's lineup was in a constant state of flux from late 1979 on as exhibited in the following groupings: Brann, Dorman, Leimseider, Caldwell and Hasbrook (1979); Pinera, Brann, Dorman, Hasbrook, Caldwell and Nathan Pino – keyboards (1979); Dorman, Brann, Hasbrook, Tim Kislan – keyboards, Zam Johnson – drums and Starz Vanderlocket – vocals, percussion (1980); Dorman, Rhino, Leimseider, Randy Skirvin – guitar, Jimmy Rock – drums and Luke – vocals, percussion (1981–1982); Pinera, Dorman, Rhino, Guy Babylon – keyboards and Jan Uvena – drums (1982) plus Pinera, Dorman, Rhino, Babylon and Bushy (1982).

Deaths of Reinhardt and Dorman, and inactivity (2012–2014)

Former guitarist Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt died on January 2, 2012, at the age of 63, due to cirrhosis of the liver. Bassist Lee Dorman, who had a history of heart trouble, died on December 21, 2012, at the age of 70. Both Reinhardt and Dorman were also founding members of Captain Beyond.

Following Dorman's death, Iron Butterfly dissolved once more. Charlie Marinkovich revealed in 2013 that he had departed the band altogether and that Ron Bushy was very ill, shrouding the band's future in doubt. At times during his recovery in 2014, Ron Bushy entertained the idea of putting a new Iron Butterfly band together, possibly with Martin Gerschwitz returning on keyboards and lead vocals.

Third reunion/tribute band and deaths of Ron Bushy, Doug Ingle and Mike Pinera (2015–present)

In late 2014, reports surfaced of the band reforming, with a lineup consisting of Bushy, Mike Pinera, Doug Ingle Jr. on keyboards and an unnamed bassist. However, this reformation did not come to fruition and in 2015 the band unveiled a lineup consisting of Bushy and returning guitarist Eric Barnett, along with new members Mike Green (vocals, percussion), Dave Meros (bass), Phil Parlapiano (vocals, keyboards) and Ray Weston (drums). Meros, Parlapiano and Weston had all previously played with Iron Butterfly as substitute musicians; Meros for Dorman (in 2006) Parlapiano for Gerschwitz (in 2012) and Weston for Bushy (in 2010) respectively. Gerschwitz came back to replace Parlapiano on keyboards in 2018.

At that time, Ron Bushy was still involved with Iron Butterfly, but was retired from performing due to his health concerns. This left Weston as the only active drummer in the band at all appearances from the 2015 reunion through the end of 2019. In the summer of 2018, Bushy made a rare guest appearance with the band at a gig in California. This turned out to be his first performance on stage with Iron Butterfly since 2012 and his very last one with the band.

Former Butterfly keyboardist Larry Rust died peacefully at his home near Los Angeles on November 25, 2016, at the age of 63. Founding bassist Greg Willis died on November 11, 2016. A tribute concert was staged November 30 at Nicky Rottens in El Cajon.

On January 15, 2020 the Official Iron Butterfly website and their booking agent announced the lineup of the band for 2020: Eric Barnett (guitar, vocals), Dave Meros (bass, vocals), Bernie Pershey (drums, percussion), Martin Gerschwitz (keyboards, vocals), with occasional guests or fill in musicians being Ron Bushy (drums, percussion), Ray Weston (drums, percussion) and Michael Thomas Franklin (keyboards).

On August 29, 2021 Iron Butterfly issued a statement that Bushy had died that morning at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica following a battle with esophageal cancer, at the age of 79. Shortly after his passing, the band disbanded.

Personnel

Classic lineup

Doug Ingle – organ, vocals (1966–1971, 1978–1979, 1983–1985, 1987–1988, 1994–1999; died 2024)

Ron Bushy – drums, percussion (1966–1977, 1978–1979, 1982, 1987–1988, 1993–2012; 2015–2021; his death)

Erik Brann – guitar, vocals (1967–1969, 1974–1977, 1978–1979, 1979–1980, 1982, 1987, 1987–1989; died 2003)

Lee Dorman – bass, backing vocals (1967–1971, 1977–1978, 1978–1985, 1987–2012; his death)

Current touring lineup

Eric Barnett – guitar, vocals (1995–2002, 2015–2021, 2024–present)

Bernie Pershey – drums (2020–2021, 2024–present)

Dave Whiston – bass, vocals (2024–present)

Jawn Star – keyboards, vocals (2024–present)

Other members

Jack Pinney – drums, percussion (1966)

Danny Weis – guitar (1966–1967)

Greg Willis – bass (1966)

Darryl DeLoach – tambourine, vocals (1966–1967)

Bruce Morse – drums, percussion (1966)

Jerry Penrod – bass, backing vocals (1966–1967)

Mike Pinera – guitar, vocals (1970–1972, 1978–1979, 1982, 1987, 1993; died 2024)

Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt – guitar (1969–1971, 1977–1978, 1978–1979, 1981–1984, 1988–1993; died 2012)

Philip Taylor Kramer – bass, keyboards, vocals (1974–1977; died 1995)

Howard Reitzes – keyboards, vocals (1974–1975)

Bill DeMartines – keyboards, vocals (1975–1977, 1987)

Kevin Karamitros – drums (1977–1978)

Jimi Henderson – vocals (1977–1978)

Larry Kiernan – keyboards (1977–1978)

David Love – guitar (1977–1978)

John Leimseider – keyboards (1978, 1979, 1981–1982)

Keith Ellis – bass (1978; his death)

Bobby Caldwell – drums, percussion (1979, substitute 1984)

Discography

Compilation albums

Evolution: The Best of Iron Butterfly (1971)

Star Collection (1973)

Rare Flight (1988)

Light & Heavy: The Best of Iron Butterfly (1993)

Box sets

Unconscious Power: An Anthology 1967–1971 (2020)

EPs

"Iron Butterfly Theme" b/w "Look for the Sun", "Possession"

Radio EP: "Iron Butterfly Theme", "Possession" b/w "Get Out of My Life Woman", "Unconscious Power"

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", "Flowers and Beads" b/w "My Mirage"

Videography

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Rhino Home Video, R3-2215) 1995

(Contained video performances of "Easy Rider" (3:21), "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (17:03) and "Butterfly Bleu" (19:51))

Rock 'N' Roll Greats In Concert! (Passport Video) 2004

(Contained video performances of the full concert at Itchycoo Park in 1999)