In 1967 Frank DiAngelo, upon returning from military service, teamed up with old friend and former Henchmen bandmate Lou Campagnoli to try imitating the exciting new sounds he heard while on the west coast.
At the time former Ebb Tides guitarist Jim Mays along with two other former Henchmen Harvey Aviles and Bill Higgins (Bill’s Music House) had a pick-up band going. The other participating members were drummers Lou Donnelly and John Hoyle along with guitarist Tim Murray. They joined forces and assembled one powerful band.
L-R: Raymond, Campagnoli, DiAngelo, Higgins, Mays, Aviles. Photo courtesy of Jim Mays
Next step was to decide on a name. Since Harvey always wore his Panama hat and sported a mustache, the guys joked that he looked like Juan Valdez – the TV coffee commercial character, so Juan Valdez & the Colombian Coffee Beans were born. The line-up eventually became DiAngelo, Campagnoli, Aviles, and Mays, with former Jetsons / RaVons drummer Warren Raymond. Starting with their gigs at the Lantern Lounge on Frederick Avenue in early 1968, the band became known simply as the Koffee Beans.
The Koffee Beans took over the house band position at the Lantern. The Beans continued as house band at the Lantern for several more months. Playing in a progressive club, they were able to play album cuts, hard rock, and originals penned by Frank and Lou. Eventually the Beans took over the house gig at Judge’s after the Progressions traveled to New York. Judge’s always featured two bands and the stage was shared with bands such as Heavy Duty, the Heard, and A Taste (formerly the Progressions). At one point the band made the trip to New York with the promise of a recording contract. Things did not pan out and the band returned to Baltimore and to Judge’s. Soon both the Koffee Beans and A Taste were sharing the stage as house band. Aviles eventually decided to leave, later becoming a member of Raintree. Marc Latham joined as the new lead guitarist. In 1969 they released their first single “Been A Long Time” b/w “All My Life.”
Rear L-R: Mays, Raymond, Latham. Photo courtesy of Jim Mays
In 1970 Judge’s other club, the Mardi Gras, had an opening as their house band was splitting up. The Beans filled in continuing as the house band for two years. The group’s second single “Orange Colored Penguin” was also released in 1970. Both singles were produced by Bollon and Plato. Late in 1971 Marc left the band, being replaced with ex-Urch Perch guitarist Gil Reinhardt.
1972 saw the band play gigs at the Latin Casino, Rhapsody, Act III, Dixie Ballroom, and a stint as house band at the Eastern Lounge. Also that year Mays left the band and was replaced with Dale Pfeiffer. Campagnoli soon decided to persue other interests and the band decided to call it quits.
It wasn’t long before a reunion of sorts took place under the name The Shadows. Aviles had left Raintree, while Mays, Bill Higgins, and drummer Ray Mack began playing a few gigs. This eventually led to the re-formation of the Beans. DiAngelo joined on keyboards, and Campagnoli joined this time on drums. Higgins and Mack soon left, and Raymond eventually rejoined. The band began playing local one-nighters. Frank again quit in 1974 being replaced with keyboard player George Walters (ex-Barbara & the Yellow Pages, Jeremiah). Guitarist Harold ‘Heime’ Whitwer (Jeremiah, Pandemonium, Tommy Vann’s Professionals) also came on board. Seen in 1974-75 frequently at the Club Brandy in Elkridge. The band continued playing mostly top 40 until about 1980.
George Walters went on to play in Bandit, Murphy’s Law, Shooter…
The Beans released two singles. They were recorded at Bradley Studios and produced by Plato Theopolous. The first single “Been A Long Time” received some airplay on WCAO and WKTK and the band performed the song live on the Kerby Scott Show.
Record releases by the Koffee Beans:
1969 Format 1001 Been A Long Time / All My Life
1970 Format 1002 Orange Colored Penguin / Ad Man
