Lothar and the Hand People (psych. rock / USA)

Lothar and the Hand People was a late 1960s psychedelic rock band known for its spacey music and pioneering use of the theremin and Moog modular synthesizer.
The band was notable for being "the first rockers to tour and record using synthesizers, thereby inspiring the generation of electronic music-makers who immediately followed them." Formed in Denver in 1965, Lothar and the Hand People relocated to New York in 1966. The band played gigs with groups such as The Byrds, Grateful Dead, Canned Heat, The Lovin' Spoonful and Chambers Brothers; the band jammed with Jimi Hendrix. Lothar and the Hand People played music for Sam Shepard's play The Unseen Hand, and was the opening act at the Atlantic City Pop Festival.
Capitol Records released two albums by this short-lived band: "Presenting … Lothar & the Hand People" (1968, produced by Robert Margouleff) and "Space Hymn" (1969, produced by Nick Venet).

 A Rolling Stone review described Lothar and the Hand People's music:
"It is electronic country, a kind of good-time music played by mad dwarfs, and it is really good to listen to. There is no tension here, no jarring forces at war with each other. It may be strange that New York, the city which deifies speed and insanity, could produce this music, but it is as if Lothar and the Hand People have gone through this madness and come out on the other side, smiling."

 Lothar & the Hand People, one of the weirder psychedelic groups of the late '60s, took special pride in augmenting many of their tunes with the theremin, a then-futuristic instrument most famous for its use in horror movies (as well as the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations"). Playing eccentric satirical rock, good-time folk-rock, and experimental psychedelia, their material wasn't nearly strong enough to elevate them to the rank of innovators. Although their first album is their best, they are most fondly remembered for the trance-inducing "Space Hymn," an FM radio favorite for many years.

 The band's unusual appellation refers to a theremin nicknamed "Lothar" with the "Hand People" being the musicians in the band. Lothar and the Hand People was the source for a Saturday Night Live skit called "Lothar of the Hill People" and a Boston-area theremin band named The Lothars.


Genres: Psychedelic rock, Psychedelic pop, Space rock
Years active: 1965–1970


Past members: 

John Emelin
Paul Conly
Rusty Ford
Tom Flye
Kim King
Richard Willis
William Wright