The Strawberry Statement 1970 (''Φράουλες και αίμα'')

Φράουλες και αίμα του Τζέημς Κούνεν

(γράφει , όπως το είδε ένας
 19 χρονος σήμερα)

Βρήκα πριν κάνα μήνα το βιβλίο Φράουλες και αίμα του Τζέημς Κούνεν ελαφρώς μεταχειρισμένο μόνο με 3 ευρώ. Αρνούμενος να δω πρώτα την μεταφορά του βιβλίου σε ταινία αφού είμαι πεπεισμένος πλέον για το πολυειπωμένο «καμία ταινία δεν είναι άξια του βιβλίου», το αγόρασα αμέσως και το βιβλίο υπάρχει πλέον στο ράφι πλάι σε άλλα πολλά αδιάβαστα ακόμα αφού η συχνότητα που αγοράζω βιβλία είναι κατά πολύ δυσανάλογη με την συχνότητα που τα διαβάζω. Μια ιδιαίτερα ηδονική όμως διαδικασία είναι αυτή που χαζεύεις τα βιβλία που δεν έχεις διαβάσει και βλέποντας τα ανυπομονείς να έρθει η ώρα τους. Μετά κάποιο απ’ το ράφι σου τραβάει για τον τάδε η δείνα λόγο την προσοχή και αρχίζεις να το επεξεργάζεσαι ξεκλέβοντας λέξεις φράσεις ή και αν σου αποσπάσει κατά πολύ το ενδιαφέρον και ολόκληρες σελίδες διάσπαρτες και ξαφνικά συνειδητοποιείς τι μαλακία έκανες … Διάβασες το τέλος. Τέτοια και άλλα πολλά κωμικά συμβαίνουν, όμως οι στιγμές αυτές για όσους δεν το έχουν ζήσει , πιστέψτε με , είναι ίσως καλύτερες πολλές φορές κι από την ανάγνωση ολόκληρου του βιβλίου σειριακά. Κάπως έτσι διάβασα λοιπόν και τον επίλογο του συγκεκριμένου βιβλίου που παραθέτω παρακάτω και θεωρώ ιδιαίτερα γοητευτικό ώστε να διαβάσω ολόκληρο το «φράουλες και άιμα» το συντομότερο δυνατόν:

"Υπάρχουν μερικοί που θέλουν την ένοπλη επανάσταση, αλλά εγώ δεν είμαι από αυτούς. Τουλάχιστον δεν είμαι τώρα. Έχω όμως, κύριοι, μία δήλωση να κάνω."

¨"Εφόσον η Πρώτη Δημοκρατία των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών είναι εκατόν ενενήντα δύο χρονών και εγώ είμαι δεκαεννιά, της δίνω άλλη μια ευκαιρία."

"Αν όμως οι Δημοκρατικοί δεν αναδείξουν τον Αδιάφθορο, που τον αγαπώ , παρ’ όλες τις επιφυλάξεις μου, ή αν τον αναδείξουν , αλλά αυτός αποδειχθεί πως είναι αυτό που υποψιάζομαι και δε θέλω να παραδεχτώ, τότε δεν θα μπορώ να κάνω τίποτα άλλο παρά να πω πως η δημοκρατία πέθανε και όχι μόνο πως πέθανε μα και πως δεν μπορεί πια να αναστηθεί με δημοκρατικά μέσα."

"Εννοείται δεν θέλω να πολεμήσω στο Βιετνάμ. Ούτε όμως μ’ αρέσει να πολεμάω με την Στρατολογία ή με τον νόμο ή με οτιδήποτε είμαι ένας πολίτης δεκαεννιά χρονών και κουράστηκα να πολεμάω."

"Κάποια μέρα θα σηκωθώ και θα πολεμήσω για καλά, για να μην χρειαστεί να ξαναπολεμήσω."
(Πικραλίδα)

Η ταινία βασίζεται στην αληθινή ιστορία της εξέγερσης των φοιτητών στο πανεπιστήμιο της Columbia. Στα μέσα της δεκαετίας του '60 οι φοιτητές πρωταγωνιστούν στο κίνημα ενάντια στον πόλεμο του Bιετνάμ. Tον Aπρίλιο του '68 καταλαμβάνουν το πανεπιστήμιο της Kολούμπια στη Nέα Yόρκη, εκφράζοντας την ολοκληρωτική απόρριψη του ιμπεριαλισμού των HΠA. Παλεύουν ενάντια στα κέντρα κατάταξης στο στρατό που λειτουργούν στο εσωτερικό του πανεπιστημίου και στις φυλετικές διακρίσεις, ενώ κύριο πεδίο δράσης τους γίνεται ο αγώνας ενάντια στο σύστημα και το ρόλο της εκπαίδευσης.

Παλιά ταινία άλλα δυστυχώς παραμένει επίκαιρη και σήμερα.

H αναταραχή διαρκεί δύο μήνες και διαλύεται βίαια από την αστυνομία και την εθνοφυλακή. Tο 1968 το πανεπιστήμιο του Mπέρκλεϊ στο Σαν Φρανσίσκο γιορτάζει τα 100 χρόνια του. Tο Mάη, έπειτα από πορεία συμπαράστασης στους γάλλους φοιτητές, καταλαμβάνεται με αντιρατσιστικά και αντιπολεμικά αιτήματα. Στην κατάληψη συμμετέχουν ο «Σύνδεσμος για τη σεξουαλική ελευθερία» και στελέχη της οργάνωσης των μαύρων «Mπλακ Πάουερ». Στις 15 Mαΐου οι φοιτητές συγκρούονται εκ παρατάξεως με την αστυνομία, που πυροβολεί εναντίον του άοπλου πλήθους. Tραυματίζονται 100 περίπου καταληψίες. H ταινία «Φράουλες και αίμα», βασισμένη στα γεγονόταμ, θα θυμίζει για πάντα το Mπέρκλεϊ. Κλασσική ταινία της αντικουλτούρας της γενιάς του 60, βασισμένη χαλαρά στο βιβλίο του James Simon Kunen όπου περιγράφει τις εμπειρίες του ως φοιτητήςαπό τα πραγματικά γεγονότα της εξέγερσης των φοιτητών το 1968 στο Columbia University ενάντια στην υποστήριξη της πρυτανείας στον πόλεμο του Βιετνάμ και τις πολιτικές φυλετικών διακρίσεων που ακολουθούσε.

Ο τίτλος της ταινίας και του βιβλίου λέγεται ότι προέρχεται από μια απαξιωτική δήλωση πρύτανη του Κολούμπια για την συμμετοχή των φοιτητών στις διοικητικής φύσης αποφάσεις του πανεπιστημίου, οι οποίοι, όπως υποστήριξε, μπορούν να εκφέρουν μόνο ασήμαντες προσωπικές γνώμες όπως αν τους αρέσει ή όχι η γεύση της φράουλας!

Το έργο αφορά τη ζωή ενός φοιτητή που στην αρχή ήταν αδιάφορος για την πολιτική και τα ενδιαφέροντά του ήταν οι γυναίκες και η καλοπέραση και σταδιακά μπήκε για τα καλά στις πολιτικές ζυμώσεις και συγκρούσεις με το κατεστημένο της εποχής και βίωσε σε όλο της το μεγαλείο την ωμή αστυνομική βία ενάντια σε ειρηνικούς διαδηλωτές.

Στην ταινία ακούγονται πολλά τραγούδια γνωστών καλλιτεχνών των sixties (John Lennon, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Thunderclap Newman, Richard Strauss)

(ΑΝΤΙΠΕΡΑ ΟΧΘΗ)

read more ,watch the film  & listen the score here @

tvxs.gr | Φράουλες και αίμα by tvxorissinora

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The Flying Bear Medicine Show - 1969 (Smash Rec.) by request

Flying Bear Medicine Show - 1969
This Lp was recorded at the College of Marin County near San Francisco, CA. The members of the Buddy Miles Express, Sir Douglas Quintet, Linn COunty, McCoys, Shades of Joy and Group Therapy decided to jam between members of the groups. This Lp has the highlight tracks of those jams.

Flying Bear Medicine Show

SRS 67125

Smash Records

Featruring top rock sollists from : Linn County, the Buddy Miles Express,

 Sir Dougles Quintet, McCoys, Shades of Joy, and Group Therapy. Spontaneous jam

sessions recorded live at the traveling   rock festival

The Flying Bear Medicine Show, a live jam from Spring '69 featuring various

members of The McCoys, Buddy Miles Express, Linn County, Shades of Joy, plus

Harvey Mandel and Eddie Hoh.

Apparently recorded one Sunday in Spring 1969 at

an outdoor gig at the "College of Marin" It was issued in 1969 on Fontana 6430

007. Four tracks, including one a drum duet between Buddy Miles and Eddie Hoh.

I also assume that the Martin Fierro of the Shades of Joy who turns up on a

couple of tracks on alto is the same one who was later in the Legion of Mary.

here

U.S. Apple Corps - Let the Music Take Your Mind (1976 US Christian Psych Hard)

U.S. APPLE CORPS - Let the music take your mind 1976



Heavy xian soulful guitar rock band. More loud intense soulful hard rockin’ on this tougher-to-find follow-up. A new male singer takes over most of the lead vocals, pouring it on with a fervency equal to his female predecessor. And while their debut (S/T from 1970) was strictly standards, Let The Music Take Your Mind is comprised mostly of original material. The music is both heavier and more diverse, including some blues-rock moves on the gospelly ‘That’s What My Man Is For’ and the throbbing slow burner ‘Closer To The Man’. The flames rage outta control on the Southern-styled ‘Dead’ featuring slamming triple guitar action. ‘Get High On Jesus’ was also covered on the mega-rare Earthen Vessel monster. Wild colorful psychedelic praying-hands-cross-Afro-head cover. Original sealed copies on PLANTATION Records from 1976 (although the album seems to be from 1970 like their second single on SSS and shelved till 1976).
Enjoy!

U.S. Apple Corps - 1970 - U.S. Apple Corps (US Christian Psych Hard)

Like most Singleton projects, U.S. Apple Corps provided little in the way of performing credits, though the back cover photo showed a motley looking six piece outfit, including a black female vocalist. A couple of internet queries quickly uncovered the band was originally fronted by then 15-year old singer Bryant Sterling (aka Denis Bryant). Bryant and his band had apparently begun to attract some late-1960s interest on the club circuit, when they attracted the attention of Shelby SIngleton who then signed them to a contract with his Nashville-based SSS International label. Unimpressed with the rest of the band, prior to recording the band's debut Singleton dumped everyone but Bryant, subsequently teaming him with a group of Nashville studio musicians including drummer Jeff Pocoro, lead guitarist Tommy Shaw and bass player Jacob Stokes. As an aside, in a brief exchange of emails Bryant mentioned the female singer was recruited from a church next door to the recording studio.

Produced by Steve Singleton (whom I'm guessing was Shelby's son), 1970's "U.S. Apple Corps" offered up an interesting hybrid of Jesus rock, Southern soul and conventional rock. Recorded in three days, Bryant reportedly came up with the idea to re-record a series of classic gospel and religious tracks with contemporary rock and soul arrangements. While the idea may not have sounded all that promising, powered by Bryant's strong voice (which to my ears bore a resemblance to Spooky Tooth's Gary Wright) and some tasty fuzz lead guitar (recalling Delaney and Bonnie era Bobby Whitlock), the performances were all quite impressive. The emphasis was clearly on the music and with a couple of exceptions ('Ride On King Jesus') the material's religious quotient wasn't overwhelming. If you heard most of these tracks on the radio you'd have been hard pressed to identify them as being Christian rock. Highlights included the blazing cover of Edwin Hawkin's 'Peace In the Valley' and the hard rock remake of 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken'. The results were even more impressive when you recognized Bryant was only 15 when he recorded the LP. Like the Box Tops' Alex Chilton you had to wonder where a kid got vocal chops like that! (Promo copies were pressed on blue vinyl and apparently included a large insert.

~ by Badcatrecords.

Good US gospel/psych with Xian content. Probably a blue wax 1971

Heavy soulful guitar rock versions of gospel songs by Edwin Hawkins and others. The debut features a black female belter, while a white male vocalist takes over on the followup. Both LPs are good. The SSS album and Prayer For Peace single were pressed on transparent blue vinyl.

( http://www.one-way.org/jesusmusic/index.html )

Enjoy!

The Mojo Men - 1966-68 - Sit Down...It's the Mojo Men - US San Francisco psychedelic.

The Mojo Men

The Mojo Men were a rock music band, inspired by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, that recorded for the Autumn Records label in San Francisco, California. One of their biggest hits, 1965’s “Dance With Me”, and a number of other records, were produced by Sylvester Stewart, later better known as Sly Stone.

One of the earliest San Francisco rock bands, the Mojo Men had local hits on the Autumn label with "Dance With Me," "She's My Baby," and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Off the Hook" in the mid-'60s. Their early sides displayed a raunchy but thin approach taken from the mold of British Invasion groups like the Stones and Them. In 1966, after female drummer Jan Errico joined from the San Francisco folk-rock group the Vejtables, they moved to Reprise and pursued folky psychedelic pop directions, and had a Top 40 hit with a Baroque arrangement of Buffalo Springfield's "Sit Down I Think I Love You" in 1967. In their later days, they developed more intricate arrangements and harmonies that reflected the influence of the Mamas & the Papas and Jefferson Airplane, although they weren't in the same league as those groups. Their many singles never fully displayed the band's considerable songwriting and vocal talents, and after changing their name to the Mojo and finally just Mojo, they disbanded in the late '60s. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

THE MOJO MEN (US)

Personnel:

JIMMY ALAIMO vcls, bs A B C
PAUL CURICO gtr A B C
JAN ERRICO drms, vcls A B C
DON METCHIK organ A B
SLY STONE keyb'ds, gtr, vcls A

ALBUM:

1 MOJO MAGIC (GRT 10003) 1968

NB: There have also been three compilations:- Dance With Me (Eva 12049) 1984, is a 16 track compilation of their 1965-1966 material; Why Ain't Supposed To Be (Sundazed SC 11028) 1996, concentrates on their period at Autumn, 1965-6, including nine previously unreleased tracks; Sit Down... It's The Mojo Men (Sundazed SC 11032) 1996, similarly concentrates on their period at Reprise, 1966-8 including many previously unreleased tracks.

45s:

1 Off The Hook/Mama's Little Baby (Autumn 11) 1965 -

2 Dance With Me/Loneliest Boy In Town (Autumn 19) 1965 61

3 She's My Baby/Fire In My Hean (Autumn 27) 1966

4 She's My Baby/Do The Hanky Panky (Reprise 0486) 1966 -

5 Sit Down, I Think I Love You/Don't Leave Me (Reprise 0539) 1967 36

6 Me About You/When You're In Love (Reprise 0580) 1967 83

7 What Ever Happened To Happy/Make You At Home (Reprise 0617) 1967

8 New York City/Not Too Old To Start Cryin' (Reprise 0661) 1968

9 Should I Cry/You To Me (Reprise 0689) 1968

10 Sit Down, I Think I Love You/Me About You (reissue) (Reprise 0707) 1968

11 Don't Be Cruel/Let It Be Him (Reprise 0759) 1968

12 I Can't Let Go/Flower Of Love (GRT 5) 1969

13 Candle To Burn/Make You At Home (GRT 8) 1969

14 Everyday Love/There Goes My Mind (GRT 10) 1969

NB: (11) as The Mojo. (12), (13) & (14) as Mojo. There's also a rare French EP with picture sleeve: Off The Hook/Mama's Little Baby/Dance With Me/Loneliest Boy In Town (Vogue INT 18050) 1966.

Although this band was based in San Francisco some members originated from Florida. The original band formed in Coral Gables, Florida as The Valiants. Singer Jim Alaimo (cousin of singer Steve Alaimo) had early releases under the names Jimmy Sumers and The Slicks and Jimmy Paris. The Valiants also back Steve Alaimo on his 1961 album Twist With Steve Alaimo. It was pretty much the same line-up that moved to San Francisco in 1964 and became The Mojo Men. For much more info, see the liner notes of the Sundazed compilation Why's Ain't Supposed To Be.

Sly Stone had left the band (to form Sly and The Family Stone) by the time the band signed to Reprise and achieved some success with Steve Still's Sit Down I Think I Love You. Their diminuitive female vocalist Jan Errico had earlier achieved much popularity on the West Coast as drummer and lead vocalist for The Vejtables.

In late 1967 the band became known as Mojo because Jan Errico got tired of being known as a Mojo Man. They also changed labels to GRT so that they could record an album. Released in 1968 it was produced by Dave Hassinger. It contained their New York City 45, which suffered from sounding too much like The Mamas and Papas, and overall contained a number of mildly psychedelic, post-Sgt. Pepper pop rock songs. The band finally split in 1969 when they realised their era had ended.

There remains a lot of unissued material from both eras of The Mojo Men. From their time with Autumn fifteen tracks remained unissued although some of these later appeared on Eva's Dance With Me compilation and the superior Sundazed retrospective Why Ain't Supposed To Be. A further nineteen tracks were recorded but not released during their spell with Reprise. These include the long and experimental What Kind Of Man, which was reputed to be a latter-day venture into psychedelia by the band.

Jim Alaimo later resurfaced in a seventies funk band called Jammer that recorded for the Avco-distributed Honey label. He later died of heart failure.

Compilation coverage has so far included: Sit Down, I Think I Love You and She's My Baby on Nuggets Box (4-CD); Sit Down I Think I Love You on Nuggets Vol. 5 (LP), Nuggets - Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 (Dble LP) and Sundazed Sampler, Vol. 2 (CD); Off The Hook on Sounds Of The Sixties San Francisco, Vol. 1 (LP); Dance With Me on Sound Of The Sixties (Dble LP), Sixties Archive Vol. 1 (CD) and We Have Come For Your Children; Dance With Me and She's My Baby on San Francisco Roots (LP), The Autumn Records Story (LP) and Nuggets, Vol. 7 (LP). All three of their Autumn singles also figure on the Autumn Single Box. More recently much of their material has featured on Big Beat's Nuggets From The Golden State series:- the Dance With Me CD contains Dance With Me plus a demo and six unreleased cuts from 1965 (She Goes With Me, Off The Hook, Something Bad, My Woman's Head, Can't You See That She's Mine, Why and As I Get Older); Someone To Love features four 1966 cuts - She's My Baby, Fire In My Heart and the unreleased Why Can't You Stay and Girl Won't You Go.

(Vernon Joynson / Max Waller / Stephane Rebeschini / Jeff Lemlich)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mojo_Men

Enjoy

The Mojos - 1967 The Mojos

The Mojos - 1967 The Mojos

Biography by Richie Unterberger & Bruce Eder AMG

Known mostly (if at all) in the States for doing the original version of "Everything's Alright" (covered by David Bowie on his Pin Ups album), the Mojos were one of the best Liverpool groups of the British Invasion. Besides "Everything's Alright" — a Top Ten raver in the U.K. — they never scored any other British hits of note, though a couple squeezed into the Top 30.

Bob Conrad (drums),

Keith Karlson (bass),

Stu James (vocals, harmonica), and Adrian Wilkinson (guitar)

had first gotten together in the early '60s as the Nomads — though based in Liverpool, they were a bit different from most of the other Merseyside bands in that their first love was American blues rather than R&B and rock & roll, preferring to cover the works of John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters to those of Chuck Berry or Little Richard.

They did manage to cross paths with the Beatles on more than one occasion, as evidenced by the fact that it was George Harrison, having heard the Nomads' roadie Terry O'Toole play jazz piano at a club, who suggested they make him a member and resident keyboard player. The four became five and they occasioned sometime after that to lay down their first permanent account of their sound, "My Whole Life Through," as part of a live showcase captured for posterity on one volume of Oriole Records' This Is Merseybeat. It was sometime after this that they were forced to relinquish the Nomads name to a London band who had an earlier claim, and they became the Mojos. By then the Beatles had launched the Merseybeat boom nationwide and Decca Records — who'd passed on the latter group — was playing catch-up by signing any group in sight. The Mojos got a contract and were among those bands that actually deserved that honor and effort — their debut single was consisted of "They Say You Found a New Baby" b/w "Forever," the latter an original by guitarist Adrian Wilkinson.

 It was a solid effort, probably a little poppier than their stage sound of the time but not jarringly so, and though it failed to chart it was a credit to everyone involved. It was their second single, "Everything's Al'right" b/w "Give Your Lovin' to Me," cut in early 1964 — both group originals — that proved the group's worth, making number nine in England in the late winter of that year and spending 11 weeks on the charts, and even earning a U.S. release. Sad to say, they were never able to follow up that success, possibly because they never found a suitable song or approach. Their next single, "Why Not Tonight," seemed an awkward pop/rock vehicle for the group, the musical equivalent of a man forced into wearing a very uncomfortable suit of clothes (and in this case, the "suit" seemed to belong to either Gerry Marsden or Billy J. Kramer). Much better were the contents of their one EP, which included — in addition to "Everything's Al'right" — "I Got My Mojo Working" and Smokey Robinson's "The One Who Really Loves You."

It was already the second half of 1964 when that four-song platter appeared, and as the group had only scraped the Top 30 since their solitary hit, the label began losing interest around this time. They did make it into a post-Hard Day's Night British Invasion cash-in film, Seaside Swingers, doing "Nobody But Me," but none of their singles from 1965 got anywhere near charting, and it was during this time that Conrad, O'Toole, and Karlson left the band to pursue other opportunities. Stu James kept the outfit running, and among the replacements he recruited were the bassist son of their road manager, a musician with acting aspirations named Lewis Collins, and Aynley Dunbar on drums.

It was this version of the group — although in all probability Stu James was the only one present — that recorded some fairly lackluster songs for Decca in 1966; "Goodbye Dolly Gray" was a pointless cover of a World War I song, and "I Just Can't Let Her Go" is a little too close to Tom Jones territory — which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but was a bad end to an R&B-based band — for comfort, given this group's history. James used the name the Mojos in the studio at least once more, on Liberty Records in 1968, before closing out the history. And had it not been for Bowie's cover of their one hit, that might have been as much as anyone knew or cared about the Mojos.

At times they could be pretty wimpy, with vocals and material that would have been at home with Gerry & the Pacemakers. But at other times, with their electric keyboard-driven sound, they echo the much tougher Manfred Mann. Not quite at the level of the Beatles and even the Searchers in terms of quality, they were, except for the Swinging Blue Jeans and the Merseybeats, the best of the rest in their home city.
info
Enjoy!

The Ivar Avenue Reunion - Ivar Avenue Reunion US 1970

RCA Records – 1970
Neil Merryweather – vocals and bass
Charlie Musselwhite – harmonica and vocals
Barry Goldberg – organ and piano
Lynn Carey – vocals
John Richardson – guitar
Robin Boers – drums
J.J. Velker – organ

Produced by Neil Merryweather and Morey Alexander
Engineers – Peter “Rabbit” Abbott, Richie Schmitt, Rick Ruggier, Dennis Smith, Grover Helsley

01 Mama Ride
02 After While
03 Magic Fool
04 Fast Train
05 My Daddy Was a Jockey
06 Charlotte Brown
07 Run, Run Children
08 Walkin' Shoes
09 Toe Jam

Neil’s manager Morey Alexander received a call from RCA Records asking Neil to put a jam album together like Merryweather’s “Word of Mouth”.

Neil Merryweather, Charlie Musselwhite and Barry Goldberg were reunited again after playing on the Capitol Records album together.

“Merryweather, Richardson & Boers” were the band that jammed with Barry and Charlie. J.J. Velker played on a few tracks.

Neil brought Lynn Carey to the sessions as a guest artist.

The reunion occurred at RCA Studios on Ivar Avenue, thus the name “Ivar Avenue Reunion”.

http://www.theneilmerryweather.com/

Review
The record-consuming public of the '70s was enthusiastic enough about jam sessions to have been offered all kinds of products such as this album, the contents of which beg the question of just what is a jam session, anyway? In this case, the liner notes hint at a casual get-together of various friends, with the cast of characters extending well beyond the confines of the four names listed under the album title. The music these individuals come up with is more like the type of song material rock artists put on a formal album. There is really not much jamming, other than a concluding group improvisation given the title of "Toe Jam," an unappetizing decision seeing how it is preceded by "Walkin' Shoes" and "Run, Run Children" before that. This hint of an obsession with sweaty feet is the only consistent thing about an album that is simply all over the place, depending on who is taking charge of any given song. Charlie Musselwhite can do a shuffle blues, so he contributes that. Barry Goldberg is a familiar hand at jams, but also co-writes songs with vocalist Lynn Carey that require a flutist and French horn player to augment the group. In the former case, hiring one that plays out of tune is not something that benefits the song at all. On the plus side, certain types of grooves are nailed dead-on. The recording aggregation, who collectively pose on the back cover and for the most part do not look like people one would want to invite over for the evening, bite down solidly on an Otis Spann cover entitled "After While." It is the "Smokestack Lightning" groove, with the results actually an improvement over the sound of Musselwhite's own blues recordings. "Fast Train" is a good example of type of joyous but overlong rock-gospel tracks that were popular in the '70s, with solid vocalizing from Carey. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide

Neil on the Island of Corfu, Greece at the 60' s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Merryweather
http://www.answers.com/topic/neil-merryweather
http://www.answers.com/topic/merryweather-band

Enjoy!

V.A. - California Christmas Album (San Francisco Hippie Bands - Live '66~'69)

Artist: Poster advertising the 'Human Be-In' designed by Michael Bowen.



VARIOUS ARTISTS :
GATHERING OF TRIBES
(aka THE CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS ALBUM)
DOUBLE LP
LABEL :
PENGUIN

REFERENCE : EGG6/7
DATE OF RELEASE : 1981

This Bunch of Flowers , collection from various concerts and locations ,such The Fillmore West, Avalon Ballroom and Carousel Ballroom ,captured alive the spirit of the Summer of Love.San Francisco Area, during '65~'69

Tracks by :
Quicksilver Messenger Service,
The Charlatans,
Jefferson Airplane,
The Steve Miller Blues Band,
Moby Grape,
Country Joe & The Fish
The Grateful Dead with Janis Joplin

The Byrds

Some info about the front cover of this compilation:

The Human Be-In was a happening in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the afternoon and evening of January 14, 1967 ....see here

Gathering of the Tribes - Human Be-In

History of the hippie movement

Enjoy!

R.I.P. SKY SAXON 1946-2009

Sky Saxon dies

founder of 1960s band the Seeds
The lead singer, who was known for his Mick Jagger-influenced vocals, was believed to be in his 60s. The Seeds' garage-band sound was popular with the flower-power generation.

Sky Saxon, lead singer and founder of the 1960s band the Seeds, which had a Top 40 hit in 1967 with “Pushin’ Too Hard,” died Thursday at a hospital in Austin, Texas, after a brief illness. He was believed to be in his 60s.Publicist Jen Marchand said in a news release that Saxon died of heart and kidney failure after an "undiagnosed infection of his internal organs. ''

The Seeds sprang up in Los Angeles in 1965, and their garage-band sound became a favorite of the flower-power generation. Another hit single of 1967 was “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine,” and their song “Mr. Farmer” was included in the soundtrack for the movie "Almost Famous."Saxon's Mick Jagger-influenced vocals dominated the sound of the band that was rounded out by guitarist Jan Savage, keyboardist Daryl Hooper and drummer Rick Andridge.A 1967 Times review of their album "A Web of Sound" noted that the Seeds had "been adopted by the hippies -- the flower children -- because of their open-ended songs which generally skirt neatly plotted thoughts and didacticism."

The album included a 14-minute song called "Up in Her Room" that featured a lengthy improvisational jam session.

The Seeds disbanded in 1969, and the eccentric Saxon recorded with other musicians over the years. He joined a commune called the Source Family and moved to Hawaii for a time, but in the last several years he performed with retro psychedelia shows at the Knitting Factory and other Southern California venues.

from the film Psych-Out
Various sources cite conflicting birth dates for Saxon, who was born Richard Marsh and grew up in Utah. He moved to Los Angeles and recorded first as Little Richie Marsh, then fronted the bands Soul Rockers and Electra Fires.Saxon had recently moved to Austin, where he played with his new band, Shapes Have Fangs. He had been planning to perform this summer with the California '66 Revue, a tour featuring a lineup of California bands from the 1960s.Saxon's survivors include his wife, Sabrina. His ashes will be scattered in Hawaii. Related stories
From the L.A. Times
Details released on the passing of the Seeds’ Sky Saxon
From other L.A. sources
Sky Saxon of the Seeds also Died Yesterdaygothamistllc.com
Sky Saxon was member of the Seedspresstelegram.com
Around the Web
Obituary: Sky Saxonguardian.co.uk

from Los Angeles Times

Devil's Kitchen Band - US Psych San Francisco 1968 ~ 1970.

The short story:
Devil's Kitchen Band was a four piece rock and roll band that lived and performed in San Francisco from the Spring of 1968 through the Summer of 1970.

We were the "house band" at Chet Helm's "Family Dog Ballroom on the Great Highway" opening for, and often jamming with, many of the most well known groups of the times. We performed at all of the major West Coast venues from San Francisco's Fillmore West to L.A.'s Whisky A Go Go.
During the summer of 1970 while in the midst of a Midwest tour, the band fell apart when a series of gigs at colleges and universities was cancelled in response to the Kent State shootings. Our last big gig was Labor Day weekend 1970 at the Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival in Hayward, IL.

The Name:Devil's Kitchen Band

Everybody wants to know about the name: Devil's Kitchen... No we weren't a devil-worship-motorcycle-gang-heavy-metal-band... That wasn't what we were called when we formed and for the first year or two we were playing. We started out as "Om", the Hindu word/concept (click on the symbol to learn more about the meaning)... but when we got to San Francisco there were two or three other bands named that or some variation of spelling (most notably, AUM) playing in the Bay Area. We had spent a couple months practicing at the lakeside vacation cabin of one of our good friends and roadies, Rolf Olmsted. We had fond memories of our time there and named the group after the lake - Devil's Kitchen Lake, an 810-acre lake about 8 miles from Carbondale (home of Southern Illinois University).

Formation :

How did the band start? The full version could be a very long story, but the short version is that Brett, Robbie, Bob, and Steve knew each other from playing in different groups. Bob had been a driving force as the bassist in a local blues rock band called the Nite Owls and also played multiple instruments in various groups as part of the Folk Arts Society, perhaps most notably, the bluegrass group, the "Dusty Roads Boys". Steve had been the standout drummer playing with a local psychedelic rock group, "Hearts of Darkness" where he picked up the nickname "Naz". Robbie had gained notoriety as the exceptionally talented young lead guitarist and band leader in a series of local high school bands, most recently the "Viscounts". Brett played in various folk groups and was an active in the Folk Arts Society, and was the band leader, vocalist and guitarist for a typical college party band, "Om", whose personnel changed from semester to semester. One semester, they decided to re-form "Om" with the best players from the best local groups.
Early days...

...parties, protests and teen clubs... Besides playing the usual campus parties and local teen clubs and campus gigs, we were the "house band" for a new teen club aka rock emporium in nearby Murphysboro called the Hippodrome. Early song lists were mostly covers of Folk-rock, blues, Brit-rock and classic American rock and roll - "Purple Haze", "Sunshine of Your Love", "Rock Me Baby", "Mr. Fantasy", "I Can See For Miles", "Johnny B. Goode", etc... As we continued to play, we started adding more and more original songs to our repertoire until we were ready to start doing sets of mainly original material.

Brett, who was from the Bay Area, had visited San Francisco for the "Summer of Love" the previous summer and wanted the band to go there to live and play. The band practiced intensely for a month and then hit the road - everybody and our equipment packed up in Brett's Blue VW bus. The first time we only got as far as Freeport, IL before burning out the motor. After getting a new motor, we set out again and drove cross-country to San Francisco...
San Francisco...

...practice, practice, practice... When we got to San Francisco, we rented an old auto garage in the Mission District across the street from a pie factory and set up a practice space surrounded by improvised living space. We played for anyone who would let us perform in front of an audience, getting several gigs in small local venues and doing benefits for the SF Mime troupe, etc. (see the Photos/Posters for some of our earlier gigs) Eventually we started getting the occasional opening slot in local concert halls.
The Haight-Ashbury Years...

sex, drugs, and rock & roll... not necessarily in that order... Yeah, we did the whole rock and roll band life style with all that involves, but it wasn't all just one big party...
After a while and with a growing coterie of roadies, girlfriends and just friends of the band passing through San Francisco, we needed a better living space and found a roach infested but huge 12-room apartment on the second floor of the building on the NE corner of Haight and Ashbury, right in the heart of "the scene". Janice Joplin lived around the corner and we were close to Golden Gate Park and the weekend concerts where we played several times. We got more and more paying gigs all around the Bay Area, auditioned at the Fillmore where Bill Graham took an interest in us and helped us get more gigs and sent us into a studio to learn how to record.
Eventually we hooked up with a new manager, Harvey Morrison, who knew the local music scene well and who moved us to an old rooming house on Fell Street across from the panhandle of GG Park. He also got us in with Chet Helms who was in the process of opening a new venue

after the Avalon had been shut down. We opened the Family Dog Ballroom with the Jefferson Airplane and the Amazing Charlatans, and played there on a regular basis as sort of the "house band" for the next year and a half.
We did one LA tour, playing the Golden Bear, the Brass Ring, and the Whiskey a Go Go, where we opened for Savoy Brown. Mostly though, we played the Bay Area at places like Keystone Korner, the San Francisco Art Institute, Santa Rosa, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Palo Alto, San Jose, Boulder Creek, Monterrey, etc. while living in the Fell St house. One of our favorite gigs was a week playing every evening at a Ski Resort, Bear Valley... skiing all day, party all night...
The End

The Midwest tour and the trip back home...
During the summer of 1970 while in the midst of a Midwest tour, the band fell apart when a series of gigs at colleges and universities was cancelled in response to the Kent State shootings. We had played Cincinnati again and had returned to Carbondale where we were performing at many of the local clubs. First Steve and then Bob left, heading back to the West Coast with no intention of re-forming the band back in San Francisco.
For several months, Robbie and Brett continued to play as Devil's Kitchen in and around Carbondale. They formed a trio with Robbie on guitar, Brett on bass and a new drummer, Randy Bradle. They also started jamming with some old friends who had a group, Coal Dust (Carla Peyton and Bob Pina). Eventually, the groups merged to become "Coal Kitchen". Shortly after that, Brett dropped out of the group. Robbie and Randy stayed with Coal Kitchen for a little while, but eventually Robbie, Randy & Bob Pina broke out to form another band, "Rolls Hardly". Robbie later returned to the West Coast where he performed with Mickey Hart and Robert Hunter on their solo albums and played bass with the Quicksilver Messenger Service,.
Some of the venues we played:

Family Dog Ballroom on the Great Highway (Magic at the Edge of the Western World)
Fillmore West, SF
Keystone Korner, SF
Whiskey A Go Go, L.A.
Golden Gate Park, SF
Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival, IL
Some of the groups we played with:
Grateful Dead
Jefferson Airplane
Santana Blues Band
Big Brother & the Holding Company
Creedance Clearwater Revival
Allman Brothers Band

Live Concert Recordings:
Live concerts available for listening or purchase at Wolfgang's Concert Vault:
Family Dog Ballroom - March 21st, 1970
Things on My Mind (Incomplete)
3:38
You’ve Got Your Head On Right
4:15
Route 66 ***
3:39
Earthfields
5:30
Farm Bust Blues
8:46
Family Dog Ballroom - March 22nd 1970
Feel So Alone
3:57
Mellow Pot Blues
5:58
All In A Day's Existence
7:03
Bullfrog
7:17
Chlorine
3:58
Muddy River Flatboat (Floating On Down)
3:37
Dream Green, Red And Gold
2:19
Farm Bust Blues
11:19
EL Hasho (El Basho, El Crasho)
28:46
Muddy River Flatboat (The Quality of Life is Fine)
4:01
Keep Yourself Around Me, Woman
3:11
Chlorine
4:12
IGot A Lotta Things On My Mind
4:39

http://www.devilskitchenband.com/

For licensing or information about Devil's Kitchen Music, write to Old Kitchen Music:

Email us: info@devilskitchenband.com

V.A. Celebration - The Big Sur Folk Festival 1970(AM Records - ODE 70)

V.A. Celebration - The Big Sur Folk Festival 1970(AM Records - ODE 70)

The Big Sur Poster Of 1970



Seventh Big Sur Folk Festival
Saturday, October 3, 1970
Held at Monterey County Fairgrounds
1:00pm Concert:
Beach Boys (Sloop John B, Riot in Cell Block 9, Good Vibrations)
John Phillips
Joan Baez
Merry Clayton and Love Ltd. (soul music; hour, with 25-minute instrumental set)
Kris Kristofferson (with Chris Gantry and Vince Matthews) (hour)
John Hartford (half hour)

8:00pm Concert:
Beach Boys
John Phillips
Linda Ronstadt, with Swamp Water
Mimi Fariρa & Tom Jans
Mark Spoelstra
Country Joe McDonald ("drew the strongest support of the evening show")
Tom Ghent
Joan Baez
Finale: All sing "You Ain't Going Nowhere"

Joe Cocker and Leon Russell were scheduled but not announced in order to keep audience small. Both canceled.



The Big Sur Crowd

Celebration - The Big Sur Folk Festival 1970

Recorded live at Monterey, California 1970.

Performers and tracks:

Joan Baez:The night they drove old Dixie down
Joan Baez: Let it be
Linda Ronstadt with Swampwater:The only Mama that'll walk the line
Linda Ronstadt with Swampwater: Lovesick blues
Merry Clayton: Bridge over troubled water
Merry Clayton: The times they are a changin'
The Beach Boys: Wouldn't it be nice
Country Joe McDonald: Entertainment is my business
Country Joe McDonald: Air algiers
Kris Kristofferson: The law is for the protection of the people
Kris Kristofferson: To beat the devil


The Big Sur Poster Of 1970

Big Sur Coast
Celebration at Big Sur
Big Sur Folk Festival September '69

REVIEW
by Lindsay Planer(AMG)
REVIEWby Lindsay PlanerWhile issued as Merry Clayton's (vocals), the live set included on Celebration (1970) features a host of additional luminaries from the October 3, 1970 Big Sur Folk Festival. The LP jacket proclaims that "...the money that ordinarily goes to the artists and producer, will go to the institute for the study of non-violence, Palo Alto, California to be shared with the united farm workers and war resisters international." That in itself is a major political (if not somewhat financial) statement by those involved in both the event and this long-player. Suitably commencing the affair is Joan Baez, who is joined by Clayton and other backing vocalists for rousing readings of Baez' concurrent hit, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and a heartfelt acoustic remake of the Beatles' "Let It Be," which is both poignant and spiritually hopeful. At the time, Linda Ronstadt (vocals) was a relative newcomer to the scene. She ably pulls off a pair of C&W classics with "The Only Mama That'll Walk the Line" and "Lovesick Blues." These spirited performances recall her country/rock leanings and the authority in her pre- rock & roll days. Ronstadt was part of the tight-knit coterie of musicians who were influenced by the likes of the Flying Burrito Brothers, or the post-David Crosby Byrds. With Clayton's heady entries of "The Times They Are a Changin'" and the equally emotive "Bridge Over Troubled Water," it is easy to understand why the platter was released with Clayton at the vortex. Arguably, the rest pales in comparison, although Country Joe McDonald and Kris Kristofferson provide a balance of original material. McDonald's comedic "Entertainment Is My Business" is a well-placed parody that takes a few direct digs at a business whose adage concurs that "the show must go on." At the time, Kristofferson was undoubtedly the least-known act on the concert bill or this recording. Ironically, his songs are among the best of the lot. Both "The Law Is for the Protection of the People" and "To Beat the Devil" keep in touch with his no-nonsense political stances
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A musical documentary of the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival, filmed in a chaotic style reminiscent of Woodstock. It features performances by Joan Baez, John Sebastian, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Combs Sisters.Some of the finest folk singers and musicians in the world positioned themselves on the edge of some of America's most glorious scenery for a farewell to summer and a celebration of nonviolence in mid-September. It was the sixth annual Big Sur Folk Festival.The festival, held on the tree-shaded lawns of Esalen, also differed from other recent celebrations in that here the "scene" did not eclipse the music, but merely served as a complement. According to its producers, Nancy Carlen and Paula Kates, Big Sur was designed as a "performers festival," an opportunity for artists to come together after a hectic summer on the festival circuit for some peace and solitude.Crosby Stills Nash and Young played the final set, as on Saturday, repeatedly bringing the thinning crowd to it's feet. For a finale - with the audience pushed forward around the pool, closer to the performers now - everyone at the festival reprise "Oh Happy Day".