Joined: 08 Aug 2003 Posts: 943 Location: Terra Firma, Ether Sea
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:53 am Post subject: Re: Sixten years old and...
charliebrown wrote:
...tickets to see Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane at the original Filmore Auditorium (pre-Filmore West days)...mom surprised me and she took me and the other two girls...Bummer was that Grace Slick was ill... her dislike for rock music ended that evening
Along similar lines, Charlie, the only time I ever saw Hendrix was one night at Winterland. My dad, one of his co-workers, and I were on a multi-day job in Marin when I managed to talk dad into driving me from the hotel to Winterland to see Jimi after work one night.
My dad did not particularly care for the music (especially the volume) but he WAS highly impressed with Jimi's "creative expertise" on the guitar.
As for the Jefferson Airplane, they actually performed at my high school in Stockton, outdoors on our 'senior glade' one afternoon in '67. There are pictures of the event in my Class yearbook and I can actually be seen sitting about 4 rows back from the band. 'Twas pretty cool I must say.
Maaaaannnnnyyyyyy years later, when I briefly worked with Kantner's Starship, I mentioned to bassist Jack Cassidy a story I had related to many thruout the years....
After the performance, the students stormed the stage for autographs (sadly, 'groping' brought Grace to tears and forced her to hide in their van which was parked in the glade behind the backdrop).
At one point, while standing with friends near this van, I noticed Jack sitting crosslegged on top of the van silently watching the surrounding mayhem.
As I watched, our grouchy, panicky principle ran up to the van, looked up at Jack and yelled, "I'm Mr. Wellenbrock, the principle of this high school. Get your freaky friends and your equipment and get the hell out of here now!!".
Jack just silently stared at him for a minute thru his dark sunglasses and then calmly replied, "I'm Jack Cassidy, bassist for the Jefferson Airplane... go get f****!"
Mr W., red faced, flustered, and comically sputtering, stormed off thru the crowd of students trying to get them to return to class.
As a burgeoning hippy radical wannabe, I always remembered Jack for that display of rebellion against the system.
Jack of course, when I told him the story, didn't remember the incident, but laughed and said that totally sounded like something he would have done, tho he "remembered very little from those stoner years". _________________ B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 173 Location: Santa Barbara
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:34 am Post subject:
Great story Daved! You must've attended a pretty hip school to bring in the Airplane. We were spinning 45s.
Sounds like this came from a typical teen movie, where the figure of authority gets it in the end. All that was missing was a food fight where he gets a pie in the face.
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 3:06 pm Post subject:
Uh oh ... more memories coming back. I recently bought a copy of the latest Guitar Player Magazine with it's "40 Greatest Guitar Albums of 1967" (or something like that) story. My wife and I then got a kick reading the article together, and remembering a lot of stuff that went on. (She went to Monterey Pop with her older sisters, and, indicative of the times and culture, she claims not to remember a thing -- questions from me about Hendrix's amp set-up drive her nuts. Maybe I could take her to a hypnotist, or one of those "recovered memories" psychologist quacks and get the info.) It was cool to confirm that at least 25 of those 40 albums are in my vinyl collection in a closet. Too bad we no longer have a turntable. Anyway, I still recall that I was really taken aback when Signe Anderson, who I loved, left the Jefferson Airplane, and was replaced by this "newcomer," Grace Slick. 40 years later I still think of her as a Grace-come-lately. And yes, you young folks, those now-famous bands really did play high school gigs around Northern California. Quicksilver Messenger Service played an after-basketball-game sock hop at my high school, and Credence Clearwater played a gig in a Masonic Temple basement put on by my high school's car club, etc. etc. And yes, they really were all loud, threatening, and an anathma to the powers that were, i.e., those guys that had the starched white shirts, narrow ties, crew cuts, BCD-style glasses, and grey slacks belted up around their hearts a la Pee Wee Herman. Daved: I assume your Vice Principal for Discipline wore that exact same uniform!
40 years. Wow. In the blink of an eye. _________________ - BlueRunner
Around about 1970 my older brother took me to a show. Jefferson Airplane was headlining and The Byrds and B.B. King were also on the bill. It was outdoors at the Univ. of Indiana @ Bloomington.
35 years later my brother finally got around to taking me to another show (as a present for my 47th birthday). It was the John Mayall Blues Review w/ our hero in Toledo, OH. I gotta say, my brother's got pretty good taste. I got to speak briefly with Robben and had a nice chat with Buddy Whittington in the lobby afer that Toledo show. My brother has always been a Mayall fan and we got to say hello to him as well.
Marty Balin was missing from the Airplane lineup at that '70 show because he was in jail in Columbus, OH on some sort of possesion charge. It was the Volunteers tour.
For the record, the best drum solo I've ever seen was Corky Lang w/ Mountain in '72 or '73. I feel as though I've had a good Life ! I've seen everyone on Johnny Z's list. Hell, I even got to see Christina Aguilera in Cleveland last weekend. :-)
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 2:14 pm Post subject:
tonemaster2_11: I just finished reading Phil Lesh's "Searching for the Sound." A lot of fun history on the Grateful Dead's early years, with mention of lots of concerts around the U.S. with other San Francisco groups. My bet is that you'd really enjoy the book. _________________ - BlueRunner
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Uh oh ... more memories coming back. I recently bought a copy of the latest Guitar Player Magazine with it's "40 Greatest Guitar Albums of 1967" (or something like that) story. My wife and I then got a kick reading the article together, and remembering a lot of stuff that went on. (She went to Monterey Pop with her older sisters, and, indicative of the times and culture, she claims not to remember a thing -- questions from me about Hendrix's amp set-up drive her nuts. Maybe I could take her to a hypnotist, or one of those "recovered memories" psychologist quacks and get the info.) It was cool to confirm that at least 25 of those 40 albums are in my vinyl collection in a closet. Too bad we no longer have a turntable. Anyway, I still recall that I was really taken aback when Signe Anderson, who I loved, left the Jefferson Airplane, and was replaced by this "newcomer," Grace Slick. 40 years later I still think of her as a Grace-come-lately. And yes, you young folks, those now-famous bands really did play high school gigs around Northern California. Quicksilver Messenger Service played an after-basketball-game sock hop at my high school, and Credence Clearwater played a gig in a Masonic Temple basement put on by my high school's car club, etc. etc. And yes, they really were all loud, threatening, and an anathma to the powers that were, i.e., those guys that had the starched white shirts, narrow ties, crew cuts, BCD-style glasses, and grey slacks belted up around their hearts a la Pee Wee Herman. Daved: I assume your Vice Principal for Discipline wore that exact same uniform!
