H. P. Lovecraft was an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, (1967-1969) and named after the horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Much of the band's music was possessed of a haunting, eerie ambiance, and consisted of material that was inspired by the macabre writings of the author whose name they had adopted. Combining elements of psychedelia and folk rock, the band's sound was marked by the striking vocal harmonies of ex-folk singer George Edwards and the classically-trained Dave Michaels. In addition, Michaels' multi-instrumentalist abilities on organ, piano, harpsichord, clarinet and recorder provided the band with a richer sonic palette than many of their contemporaries.
When Charlie Storer said the the Trebor Mansion Inn looked like something from H.P. Lovecraft even if he was from Providence, Biff Thorvald corrected him stating H.P. Lovecraft originated in Chicago but did most of their work in San Francisco. After the confusion over the two was straightened out, Justin Nachman asked how he had heard of the band since they were from before he was born and never got big. Thorvald shamefully admitted his dad got him onto the band and that his dad said he lost his virginity while "White Ship" played on the stereo.[1]
In May 1968, HPL were performing at the Fillmore in San Francisco. However, an iceberg deposited a swarm of shoggoths in the city during the band's performance. One shoggoth attacked the Fillmore, causing the building to catch fire, and forcing the band to evacuate.
Literary comment[]
Despite the vague name, the story makes clear that "HPL" is the same as the historical band H.P. Lovecraft. The members of HPL share first names with the historical band, and the band plays several OTL H.P. Lovecraft songs.
