For many years now the legend of The Thingies has been cloaked in obscurity. Record collectors would find a release on Casino Records called "It's a Long Way Down" and figure the band was from Kansas. They were. Then up pops a single release on the Sonobeat label of Austin, Texas and sure enough it's by a band called The Thingies. People who lived in Miami in the summer of love recall a fantastic group with a far out light show called The Thingies. How many Thingies were there? The answer is one. The Thingies were a band that knew how to get around. If they hadn't been plagued by bad management in Austin, they would have ended up in San Francisco as another great group on par with The Jefferson Airplane. Unfortunately fate would prove otherwise as the following story will make evident to all those willing to probe into the deep recesses of the 60's. Larry Miller's father was in the Air Force and because of this the family moved around the country every couple of years. By the time Larry was in high school he was living in Abilene, Texas in the late 50's and early 60's. At this time he would sing along to records for hours and dream of being a musician. After high school Larry went into basic training in Chicago. It was there that Larry met a guy who was in Bobby Vee's band and this influenced him greatly in the music scene. He was Larry's roommate in 1962 and his name was John Rotham. After Larry's stint in Chicago he moved to Topeka, Kansas, cause he was in the Air Force an