Twenty Trips Deep and Still Buzzing: Inside the Brown Acid Cult
In a world where music gets forgotten faster than last week’s news, the ‘Brown Acid’ series comes as a serious revelation.
For years now, Lance Barresi and Daniel Hall have been digging deep into the wreckage of late-60s and early-70s hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal, uncovering wild, off-the-radar tracks that should’ve made it but were left to rot in obscurity.
‘Brown Acid’ is a blood-soaked love letter to the gritty underground counterculture, a sound as real as life itself back then. Every volume feels like cracking open a time capsule filled with fuzz, feedback, and pure adrenaline, taking you on a trip through that golden era’s broken utopia, where dreams slipped away amid sweat, distortion, and chaos. These aren’t just old recordings, they’re living snapshots of real people grabbing their moment in a world that didn’t always play fair, packed with a vibe that still hits hard today.
Behind the scenes, there’s serious dedication driving this project. Lance and Daniel aren’t just collectors, they’re a bit like archaeologists piecing together rare tracks that often don’t show up anywhere online, like the Banana Bros’ 7” that’s missing from Discogs. Their commitment means endless digging and a deep respect for the music’s roots and presentation. The artwork, crafted by creative director Jeri Yoshizu, is a crucial part of the magic, tying each volume together with a consistent style and attitude that gives ‘Brown Acid’ its unmistakable identity.
Without the physical vinyl none of this would work. Streaming barely covers the costs, so it’s the love for the craft and the support of passionate music fans that keep this labor of love alive. As Daniel says, “This series wouldn’t exist without the music community that values owning these compilations on wax.” For collectors, crate diggers, or anyone still chasing real music with their hands on vinyl, Brown Acid is a gift — with 20 volumes out and at least a handful more already in the pipeline, it’s clear this journey isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
This interview pulls back the curtain on the maniacs behind the madness, the obsessed hunters who keep Brown Acid alive and kicking. Their passion is contagious, their knowledge encyclopedic, and their mission nothing short of heroic. Believe me, the trip is only beginning.
“Just when you think you have a grasp on it, you open a new door”
Hey guys, congrats on hitting Volume 20! That’s a serious milestone. When you first started this whole Brown Acid adventure, did you ever imagine it would go this far?
Lance Barresi: Thank you! We’re very proud of the work we’ve done over the last 10 years. When Daniel and I first decided to work together, we had high hopes, but we couldn’t have possibly imagined that we’d be putting out 20 compilations of obscure hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal from the late ’60s and early ’70s. It’s been amazing to see how stoked people have been on the series throughout the years. We still press thousands of copies of each Trip as they’re released, and the earlier Trips get repressed regularly! Kudos to Daniel from RidingEasy for being down from the get-go and for keeping all of these records in print for a decade. That’s what I call commitment to the cause!
Daniel Hall: No, haha. I thought we had 3–4 in us and that we would run out of steam. I don’t think anyone would have predicted we’d be doing this series with two releases a year for ten years—and we’re still not done!
Lance, you’ve got such a deep knowledge of these obscure tracks. What’s the thrill of the hunt like for you these days? Are there still some records you’re chasing?
Lance: Thank you very much for the compliment! I like to think of myself as an expert in this particular realm, but I’m still continually learning and discovering deep cuts that I had no idea existed when we first started the series. That’s one of the elements of record collecting—the archaeological element of it… it’s ENDLESS! Just when you think you have a grasp on it, you open a new door and discover a whole world of music you never knew existed. It’s still thrilling to me because I know there are vinyl records that still haven’t been discovered and tapes that have been lost in the sands of time. We are always chasing the next big thing, but we also already have 200+ tracks licensed that we haven’t been able to release yet. There’s no end in sight for the ‘Brown Acid’ series, and there are a bunch of other reissue projects in the works as well. I’m getting excited just writing about it! I can’t wait to share some of these records with y’all!
Daniel, from the label side, what’s been the most surprising thing you’ve learned about these bands and their stories as the series has unfolded?
Daniel: There have been many revelations along the way, but one of the coolest things is that for many of these groups, the first time they ever saw any money for their music was through working with us on the ‘Brown Acid’ compilations. Most of these bands did not go on to bigger and better things—these songs were many of the only things they ever recorded. And if not the only thing, for many it was the first thing they ever did. I’m still shocked at the volume of great songs that we continue to unearth and get access to. It’s truly been a blessing.
Over the years, have your criteria for what makes a track a “Brown Acid” gem evolved at all? Or is that initial gut feeling still the most important thing?
Lance: As Lenny Kaye wrote in the foreword of the book for ‘The 20th Trip,’ “we created a genre.” We didn’t set out to do that, but we had a particular vibe in mind for the series, and that vibe/criteria hasn’t changed. We’ve allowed for slightly earlier and later period recordings to be included than we initially favored, but sonically the vibe has been consistent throughout the series. My gut feeling/instinct for the type of songs that qualify as Brown Acid has essentially remained unchanged.
Daniel: For me, it’s the sound, the vibe, and the tone. There are some things that fall outside the “golden era” of 1969–1974 that we’ve put out, but they sound identical to the releases from that time period. The most important thing is: does it fit within the body of work that has been dubbed ‘Brown Acid,’ which has now become a subgenre—and in some stores, it’s even got its own section. A true testament to the work that Lance and I have had the good fortune of doing.
Lance, you’ve mentioned DJing these tracks originally. How does it feel to see these forgotten songs connect with a whole new audience through the compilations?
Lance: It feels incredible! I’ve loved this kind of music for a long time, and I’ve been blown away since ‘The First Trip’ by the response to the compilations—especially from seminal figures in our world like Lenny Kaye! ‘Brown Acid’ caught on quickly worldwide and hasn’t lost any steam throughout the years. It’s truly remarkable, and I’m humbled and honored that people dig the compilations I curate.
“Without the music archived in the Brown Acid series, there would be no modern bands.”
Daniel, RidingEasy has such a great reputation for heavy music. How does the Brown Acid series fit into the overall vision of the label?
Daniel: The Brown Acid stuff is the precursor to all of the current bands that we work with. Without the music archived in the Brown Acid series, there would be no modern bands. The Brown Acid bands laid the groundwork for the heavy bands that we work with today. I love that we’re able to work with the roots of the music from the early days and see where it’s taken us with bands on the label like Magick Potion, Early Moods, Mondo Drag, etc.
Are there any particular tracks or bands from the earlier volumes that you feel deserve a second listen or maybe even a deeper dive?
Lance: I think all of them do! Twenty volumes is a lot to listen to, and if you haven’t listened to the earlier Trips anytime recently, I highly recommend doing so. Like fine wine, they get better with age!
Daniel: For me, Crossfield – ‘Take It’ (‘Second Trip’), Luke and the Apostles – ‘Not Far Off’ (‘Eighth Trip’), Spiny Normen – ‘Bell Park Loon’ (‘Second Trip’), and Gold – ‘No Parking’ ‘Sixth Tri’) are a few standouts that really just crush it.
You guys have unearthed so many incredible stories behind these records. Any teasers about some of the backstories on Volume 20 that you can share without giving too much away?
Daniel: I’ll let Lance fill you in on this one. Particularly, the Banana Bros 7” has quite a backstory—how it was found, and that it’s literally absent from any sites like Discogs, etc. Otherwise, this volume has nine first-time Brown Acid artists on it, showing that we are in no way running out of steam.
Lance: For most of the history of the tracks on ‘The Twentieth Trip,’ I recommend listening to the Vinyl Guide Podcast Episode 493: 20 Trips of Brown Acid w/ Daniel, Lance and Lenny Kaye! We talked for well over an hour about the series and shared a bunch of stories about the tracks on the series.
The artwork for the series is always killer and really sets the vibe. How much thought goes into the visual presentation of each volume?
Lance: Daniel and Jeri at RidingEasy take care of this side of the production. I think they’ve done stellar work, and I’ll leave this question to them.
Daniel: The artwork is done by our creative director, Jeri Yoshizu, who is also the visual genius behind all the Riding Easy releases. Without her, none of this would be possible. There is quite a bit of thought that goes into every volume. We definitely wanted to keep a consistent theme, and the hardest part was coming up with the first trip. Once the format was ironed out, we used that same formula for the rest of them. I definitely took some visual cues on consistency from one of my favorite compilation series of reggae and dancehall by Soul Jazz—the 100% Dynamite comps. The consistency they put out with quality tracks, without reinventing the wheel with each release, really made it easy to identify another one of their comps I needed in my collection. With ‘Brown Acid,’ it’s a brand, and brands need strategy and thought. This is where Jeri thrives, and we are lucky to have her in our corner.
With the rise of streaming, how do you see the role of physical compilations like Brown Acid in helping people discover new (old) music?
Lance: Without ‘Brown Acid,’ none of the tracks on our compilation series would be streaming. Prior to us tracking the band members and licensing these tracks, the only way one could hear them was from an original copy of the record (or a bootleg rip on YouTube). Not only do our compilations shine a new light on these tracks, they put them into the proper context and allow people to stream them with ease on all of the digital streaming platforms—and download them as well.
Daniel: Without the physical, there is no way we could afford to do this. Streaming royalties are pretty dismal for this kind of stuff, and it takes us putting physical products out to cover the costs and our time for these comps. As you know, this is a labor of love that takes a TON of work. I think streaming eventually leads people to buy the physical if they are real music fans. This series would not exist without the support of the music community that values having the physical compilation for their collection.
Looking beyond ‘Volume 20,’ what’s the future looking like for the Brown Acid series? Any hints about where you might be taking us next on this sonic journey?
Lance: The future is bright! There’s no end in sight for ‘Brown Acid’! We have over 200 more tracks licensed, and we plan on releasing them as steadily as we have since we started this thing in 2015. On the next sonic journey, you can expect more obscure hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal joints that’ll blow your mind! We also have a bunch of LP reissue projects in the same vein lined up this year and beyond. Stay tuned, heavy heads—you won’t be disappointed!
Daniel: We are definitely good to go up to 25 volumes if we stopped finding stuff right now, but that’s still a few more years out, so I don’t see this ending anytime soon. We’ve been blessed with tons of material we haven’t let out of the bag yet. As long as people keep showing interest, we will keep doing the work.
Klemen Breznikar
Headline photo: Osage Lute, 1974
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As much as i appreciated the series abd the publisher’s merit, i would like to raise one critical point. It’s the extremely short playing time of each cd – 30 min. It’s stretched out like chewing gum to make more profit.