Pavlov's Dog
was originally from St. Louis, Missouri. The band was formed by Mike Safron and David Surkamp. Members of the original band were: David Surkamp - lead vocals, guitar, David Hamilton - keyboards, Doug Rayburn - mellotron, flute, Mike Safron - percussion, Rick Stockton - bass guitar, Siegfried Carver - violin, vitar, viola, Steve Scorfina - lead guitar. The band's debut Pampered Menial was briefly released in 1975 on ABC Records but then quickly re-issued by Columbia Records. The result was that both versions appeared in stores at nearly the same time. On their second album At the Sound of the Bell (1976), Tom Nickeson was added to the line-up on guitar and he took over Hamilton's keyboard position after the album had been recorded as Hamilton left the band. Safron was still a member of the band but did not appear on the second album; drummer Bill Bruford played as a guest musician. The band recorded a third album in 1977, but due to poor sales of the first two albums, Columbia refused to release it, and the band split up. The band has reformed in 1990 and several times since, sometimes releasing new material.