The Human Beinz: My Interviews with Ting Markulin.

 I thought after interviewing Ting Markulin, I should share some of the things he shared with me. Here are some questions I asked him and his answers 

Q- Hi Ting, I just read that nobody but me was the last mono album capitol records ever pressed. (It was released March 2nd) So I wanted to ask if you know when you finished recording and mixing the album, because it was very unusual for capitol to make a mono album in 1968.

A- Nobody album was recorded in the fall of 67 and released before 68. We went on to do evolutions in April of 68 thus the song April 15th was the last song we did before mixing. All I can figure is there may have been more demand for the album because it was released so late in 67 and we were really gaining popularity with the single.

Q-  Can you tell me about this photo and The Premiers

A- This photo was taken at a dance hall called The Old Barn " in 1964. I had just recently replaced the rhythm guitar player. This was my favorite local band and I was shocked when they asked me to join! They were already " The Premiers " when I got in the band! We didn't change the name to "The Human Beingz until 1966 and that was also when we let our hair grow! After I joined the band we quickly became the most popular band in the area! I don't think I had anything to do with it but, I fit in and we developed a tightness that other local bands couldn't achieve!! This picture was kind of the beginning of it all!!

Q- One More question I haven't asked, how  did you get your nickname ting?

A- Here is the true story of how I Joseph Markulin became Ting! I was still in a crib, probably about 6 months old and my father went to the movies with some of his buddies. They watched a war movie that took place somewhere in the orient!! The American soldiers found an orphan baby and they called it "Ting!" Well, when my father got home I was laying in the crib awake and he called me Ting and every time he did I would smile and giggle at him. So, from then on he called me Ting! Well, pretty soon everyone in the family was calling me Ting and as I got older and started playing outside with my neighborhood friends, they would hear my mom or dad calling me to come home to eat or because it was getting dark! They would shout " Hey Ting! Time to come home!" So now my friends called me Ting and as I grew older, they would introduce me as Ting to their friends. So, by the time I was in high school, the whole city knew me as Ting! I never felt like a Joseph and do not like that name for me! The funny thing is that I became very popular as Ting and most people didn't know my real name! And I like it that way!! We'll, that's it!! Hope you didn't fall asleep reading about it!!! 

Q- Looks like you guys were mentioned in billboard magazine on March 2nd 1968 4 times! Nobody but me (single) was at #12 the nobody (album) was in the new releases and there were ads for the nobody album and the album with the mammals (I heard you guys were never given royalties for that album) 

(the following photos are from the march 2nd issue of Billboard Magazine)

A- Another true story from me! Those 4 songs were us using and paying to record for local sales. We never signed a contract or agreed to have those sessions released! So, when "Nobody" became a hit, the snakes at Gateway figured out a way to rip people off!! They put our 4 songs on an album and then they had the mammals record "Nobody" and the other songs they did and if you didn't read the album you thought The Human Beinz were doing it! The mammals stunk and so did their recording of "Nobody" but many people thought it was us and we lost fans over this!! That's what really happened with that album and I will never sign or acknowledge it!!!! We never got royalties, EVER!! If someone ever asks me to sign one, I'll say sure and then I would write on it "A real piece of shit" and hand it back!!! Those 4 songs were the first time in a studio. We weren't that good in the studio yet and thought they were good enough to sell at local clubs and dances but not to sell on a national level Story over!!!!!

-These are just some of the stories I got from Ting, I'll share more stories and photos later. Thanks for reading!