Effective period / Period of releases: 1997

Members: Debra Dickey, Timothy Gassen, Howie Salmon, Sean Randel, Alan Ostreicher

American fuzz garage band from Tucson, Arizona formed in 1991 as "side group" of The Marshmallow Overcoat.

Timothy Gassen - vocals, congas, keyboards and tambourine
Debra Dickey - Vox & Farfisa keyboards
Alan Ostreicher - DanElectro & Rickenbacker guitars
Sean Randel - Fender bass

Guests:
Bryan “Itchy” Merkin - drums
Dylan Smith - drums
Howie Salmon - drums
Randy McReynolds - guitar
Al Perry - guitar

"In 1991 The Marshmallow Overcoat was preparing for a European tour and recording a new album. So to keep in touch with his 1966-garage-roots, bandleader Timothy Gassen hatched a “side group” and named them The Purple Merkins.
The Marshmallow Overcoat would continue on their quest for more sophisticated psych-pop sounds with bigger budgets in real studios, the Merkins would record crude ’66 fuzz garage, mainly in a band member’s living room.
The Purple Merkins (named in honor of a pubic toupee Gassen saw in Canada during an Overcoat tour) would use essentially the same line-up as the Marshmallow Overcoat, and managed to spit out four seven-inch vinyl releases and two compilation appearances from 1992-1998. All the tracks, and unreleased songs, were assembled into the limited edition “Merkinmania!” vinyl-only album in Italy.

The Merkins and Overcoat were so intertwined that Misty Lane Records mistakenly issued the Purple Merkins’ version of “My Flash On You” as The Marshmallow Overcoat on the 1996 “Transworld Garage Scene Vol. 2 - Usa Vs. Europe!” compilation.
Conversely, the Overcoat issued “A Song For Steven” as a bonus cut on the 1996 CD "Marshmallow Overcoat"; the track was actually recorded in the WaterWorks session by the Merkins".
Liner notes by Marcus Tybalt, Jr.