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Meet Magic: Lansing’s lost soulful-progressive rock band

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The year was 1968, and guitarist/vocalist Duane King was fresh off a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he spent ample time in the hostile Demilitarized Zone. With the war behind him, he aimed to start a new life.

“I came home from the war and tried to acclimate myself to not being in the jungle,” King told me in 2013. “It was harder than I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to die over there. When I did come home, I was pleasantly shocked. I was in a daze for a few months, then I finally decided I had to do something.”

That’s when King and his brother Nick (a bassist) moved from Cheboygan to Lansing. The two spent time jamming with a band called The Next Exit, but soon they rebranded as Magic. The soulful progressive rock band, which also comprised drummer Gary Harger, lead guitarist Mike Motz and organist Clyde Hamilton, released its debut: a 1969 self-pressed single.

Soon after, Motz left the band and Florida-native Joey Murcia joined on the band. Murcia was a session musician for TK Records in Miami, so the band left Lansing en route for Miami to record its first proper LP, “Enclosed.” The original record, released in the summer of ’69 on its own Armadillo Records imprint, now sells online for over $225. Songs like “You Must Believe She’s Gone” present a strange brew of blue-eyed soul and psychedelic rock — a sound fitting for the radically changing times.

After a year in Miami, the deal with TK Records fizzled and Magic returned to Lansing in search of a new label. By the summer of 1970, the group signed with Rare Earth, a Motown subsidiary and released its second (and final) LP. The disc was well-received and even featured Stevie Wonder playing keys on a few tracks. At the time of its release, Billboard Magazine gave the jovial record a positive review, stating:

“There is funk, balladry, soul, rock and acid here for the asking. Magic is across the board and should receive heavy airplay at pop stations across the country.”

The band may have never hit nationally, but today the group has earned a cult following. Original pressings of its 1971 album to sell for over $130. Beyond that, due to demand, both of their albums have been re-issued multiple times over the years.

While Magic disbanded in fall of 1972, prior to that, the group played countless trippy shows across Mid-Michigan during its fruitful lifetime. King said outdoor shows in East Lansing were always heavily attended and a blast to perform at.

“They’d have an anti-war protest in the park and they’d ask us to play,” King said. “These were unpaid gigs, but they were fun to do. It was for a good cause and we were against the war. There was a lot of activity with protesting and music. That’s what it was like back then in many cities. They’d have a Vietnam protest and rock ‘n’ roll music.”

Magic had big shows at the Washington Street Armory and even cosmic gigs at the Michigan State University Planetarium, among other local spots. “We’d play Grandmother’s — that was a giant place,” King recalled. “We opened for major groups there, like Sly and The Family Stone and Paul Butterfield Blues Band — it held a lot of people. It was just full of college kids.”

While the band released a couple of well-crafted albums, when Motown Records uprooted from Detroit to Los Angeles, Magic was left behind. With no record deal, the band cut a few more demos before calling it quits. Murcia returned to Miami and landed session work on major-label albums by Joe Walsh and The Bee Gees.

As for Duane King, he is still writing and recording original music via his YouTube channel. In May, he released his latest single, “Ya Gotta Keep Dancin’.” Other perks to visiting his channel, are the rare cuts old cuts by Magic, like 1971’s “Absolutely Free, Absolutely Beautiful.” It’s absolutely epic Michigan rock. 

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