PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Sunbury Press has released the The BANG Story: From the Basement to the Bright Lights by Lawrence Knorr and Capital recording artists BANG. About the Book: In the summer of 1971, BANG, a trio from the Philadelphia area, decided to take a road trip to Florida to try their fortune. While buying some rolling papers in the Sunshine State, they learned about a Small Faces and Deep Purple concert nearby in Orlando. They showed up at the venue and brazenly declared they were ready to go on stage. The concert organizer asked them to set up and play for him. After a couple songs, he told them they were opening for Rod Stewart and Small Faces. Before they knew it, BANG was playing with Bachman Turner Overdrive, Deep Purple, Three Dog Night, Fleetwood Mac, Ike and Tina Turner, The Doobie Brothers, and even Black Sabbath. Capitol Records signed them, and three LPs were released. Join Frank Ferrara, Tony Diorio, and Frankie Gilcken, as they recall their rapid rise to fame, playing with numerous Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Excerpts: “Those were the days when everything was experimental,” said Karl Richardson, the engineer. “We were looking for something more reverberant. We didn’t want BANG to sound like everybody else. In those days, records were more like paintings, than photographs. The studio was a palette, and we were always thinking about art—not just taking a picture.” “As the raucous sounds of rock band music slammed across a broad meadow on the tree-lined peninsula, hundreds of youths openly smoked marijuana and drank beer and wine. Some of the drug-sickened youths had injected directly into their bloodstreams bleach crystals they had purchased at the festival site in the belief they were amphetamines. Medical personnel were treating youths suffering drug overdoses on the average of one every five minutes. A man, about 30, stood on the platform for several hours warning fans that the ‘green and blue acid is bad—but the sugar cubes are good.’” -- account from the Erie Canal "Soda" Pop Festival