Mike Lane still seems bemused that anyone would care about his former life as the singer of the Portland-born band Hunger.

“I don’t even have a copy of our record anymore,” he says as he settles into a booth at Saraveza. “I gave the last one away to someone I knew because he wanted it so badly. I don’t think the other guys in the band have any copies either. They’d get calls from people—‘Were you in the band Hunger?’—wanting to buy one from them.”

In spite of his indifference toward it, Strictly from Hunger is one of the rarer artifacts from the psychedelic era. (The sole original copy for sale on Discogs can be yours for $1,500.) But for Lane, the creation of that record—and much of his experience with the band—was colored with bitterness that he’s only recently made peace with.

Every step forward that Hunger made was met with two shoves backward. Originally known as the Outcasts, this gang of teens was a hit on the Northwest club circuit, even winning the 1967 Rose Festival Battle of the Bands. They were soon lured to Los Angeles with the promise of a crash pad and a manager, but the former was a bust and the latter never materialized.

They eventually scored representation and made some inroads to the LA scene, including a performance on the ABC show Happening ’68 and a spot opening for Cream. But at the same time, their gear kept getting stolen and other gigs were often hard to secure. When they finally got into the studio, the sessions were frustrating, rescued only by some judicious editing and overdubs by Strawberry Alarm Clock (and future Lynyrd Skynyrd) guitarist Ed King. When Strictly from Hunger was finally released in 1969, the record flopped. Hunger quickly dissolved.

Helping to heal this disappointment is the exciting new reissue of Strictly from Hunger compiled by LA label Now-Again Records. This multi-disc set, which features two versions of the album and a host of bonus tracks, tells the full story of the band’s short history and gives the music—a spaced out, organ-heavy sound perfect for the “She’s Not There”/“Incense and Peppermints” crowd—its proper sonic due.

More importantly, Lane has a chance to sing these songs with some of his bandmates again. Joined by original guitarists Steve Hansen and John Morton, along with drummer Gene Gunnels, he’ll perform a short set in support of the reissue Saturday at Turn! Turn! Turn!

“We’re really in love with our music again,” Lane says. “We were actually kind of embarrassed by the album. We didn’t respect it. Everybody’s super excited now.”

While some of the former members continued playing music, Lane, for the most part, left that life behind. After moving back to Portland, he spent time as a minister and, until his recent retirement, was a custodian at Mt. Hood Community College. But the reissue and this gig, not to mention reconnecting with his old friends, has clearly sparked something within him.

“I found myself in a place where I had no purpose and nothing to do,” he says. “Then when this came along, it gave us all a purpose. It brought life to everybody. Just for this period of time that we’re getting together to do this, we have a purpose in life.”