Symbol

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In early fall, (possibly late summer) of 1970, I was asked to join a band that hadn't yet settled on a name. Probably in a break from rehearsing original songs, there was a meeting where members were invited to toss in ideas about what to call the band. My idea was inspired by something I had noticed on records put out by the English group, Traffic. There was an abstract design that appeared on their album covers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On their final record, the design was purposefully shown to be broken. I proposed that the group be identified primarily by a visual design. Surprisingly, my idea was accepted, with the practical amendment that there had to be some kind of sound to identify the band in the event of radio play. So Symbol was designated as the aural placeholder for group's actual means of identity.