By 1965, Bogus Slogan had built a large local following in Southern California.  But underneath the success was a revolution in formation.  A couple of years earlier the Beatles and the British Invasion had moved the music needle from American pop stars like Del Shannon, Sam Cooke & Bobby Vinton to British groups who played rock, rhythm & blues. 

Though Bogus Slogan’s roots were as a show band with a horn section, BS quickly embraced the beach, surf and car culture of SoCal.  In the early 1960s, the success of the Beach Boys was impossible to ignore.  “Wipeout”, “Surf City”, “Pipeline” and others only added to the magical new sound.

The horns were left behind and the guitar was sent to the front. Musically this was not a problem, but ego-wise the house was on fire.  Every member now wanted top billing.  For several days the argument raged – stopping rehearsals, dinners, car trips, etc.

Finally a compromise was reached.  A fictitious name would be used for lead guitarist’s Piers Hansen’s alter ego: Robert Soelberg, guitar phenom, was created, promoted and featured on posters  Actually, Soelberg was the band’s producer/recording engineer.

The media never cared for an explanation.  But for years and years, Soelberg would get requests to play on other artist’s albums even though no one had ever heard him play one note.