Psychedelic trio Fingletoad, Strange & Siho formed in the spring of 1965 in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, IL. Bassist Roger Glienke (aka "Nigel Fingletoad") and guitarist Philip Novak ("Siho") first collaborated in the high school garage band known variously as the Philters and the Illusions before settling on the Generation circa the 1966 arrival of drummer and third vocalist Richard LaPointe (the future "Neil Strange"). A staple of local teen clubs and school dances, the Generation recorded a now-rare single featuring their cover of Sam Cooke's soul classic "Shake" before splitting in the fall of 1968 as Novak went off to the University of Notre Dame. As classmates at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Glienke and LaPointe continued their partnership and in October 1969 recruited bassist Bob Cabanban to record an unreleased LP, Fingletoad and Strange. A year later Novak returned to Chicago long enough to cut a second album, dubbed Mazzola and issued in a vanity pressing of less than 100 copies. The trio effectively dissolved soon after, with Glienke later resurfacing in the jazz fusion combo Streetdancer. With the Shadoks label's 2006 double-CD archival release Mazzola, Fingletoad, Strange & Siho finally attracted the attention long due their music, winning critical acclaim for their artful appropriation of West Coast canyon rock and folk-pop idioms.