The Mirrors

Not to be mistaken for the Cleveland proto-punk/new wave outfit of the same name, the psych-rock Mirrors from League City, TX, were the first band of Greg Ashley, who later recorded equally trippy music on his own and as the leader of the Gris Gris. Singer/guitarist Ashley formed the band with his high-school buddies, guitarist Alan Harrison, bassist Tre Turner, drummer Tom Lee, and keyboardist Chad Robinson in 2000, when the other garage-punk bands they were playing in disbanded. As the Mirrors, the quintet melded their garage-punk roots with the deeper psych influences of the Electric Prunes, Syd Barrett, and the 13th Floor Elevators. While playing local gigs, the band recorded its debut album, A Green Dream, which was released by POPQuiz in 2001 on vinyl only; the following year, 13 Patient Flowers arrived on Fleece Records. Ashley began working on solo material while still in the Mirrors, and while the band was in Oakland, CA, on tour, he found a kindred spirit and collaborator in Oscar Michel, bassist for San Francisco's Rock & Roll Adventure Kids. Though Ashley's solo work and the Gris Gris effectively spelled the end for the Mirrors, the band's swan song arrived in 2004 with the release of the Medication #1 single on Birdman Records, which was also the home of Ashley's later releases. The label gave A Green Dream its first CD release early in 2005. ~ Heather Phares