Kaleidoscope (originally the Kaleidoscope) was an American psychedelic folk who recorded four albums and several singles for Epic Records between 1966 and 1970. The band membership included David Lindley, who later released numerous solo albums and won additional renown as a multi-instrumentalist session musician, and Chris Darrow who later performed and recorded with a number of groups including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The Kaleidoscope's genre-bending style drew from blues, country, acid rock, ragas and Arabic folk music, among other styles. History Formation The group was formed in 1966. The original members were: David Lindley (born March 21, 1944, Los Angeles, California) Solomon Feldthouse (born David Earle Scaff; January 20, 1940, Pingree, Idaho, died December 12, 2021) Chris Darrow (born July 30, 1944, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, died January 15, 2020) Chester Crill (a.k.a. Max Budda, Max Buda, Fenrus Epp, Templeton Parcely) (born Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) John Vidican (born Los Angeles, California) Lindley was an experienced performer on a variety of stringed instruments, notably the banjo, winning the Topanga Canyon Banjo Contest several years in a row in the early 1960s. While studying at La Salle High School in Pasadena, California, he formed his first group, the Mad Mountain Ramblers, who performed around the Los Angeles folk clubs. There, he met Darrow, who was a member of a rival group, the Re-Organized Dry City Players. Soon afterwards, around 1964, the pair formed a new group, the Dry City Scat Band, which also included fiddle player Richard Greene (later of Seatrain), but Darrow soon left to set up a new rock group, the Floggs. Lindley also began forming his own electric group. In the course of this he met Feldthouse, who had been raised in Turkey and, on returning to the US, had performed flamenco music and as an accompanist to belly dancing groups. Lindley and Feldthouse then began performing as a duo, David and Solomon, when they met Chester Crill. They invited him to join their band, and by the end of 1966 added Darrow and drummer John Vidican, so forming the Kaleidoscope. Recording and performance career The group was founded on democratic principles – there was no "leader". They soon began performing live in clubs, winning a recording contract with Epic Records. The first single, "Please", was released in December 1966. It was produced by Barry Friedman (later known as Frazier Mohawk), as was their first album Side Trips,