Whistle Through Your Teeth And Spit

My brother and my son at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley~May 15, 1983

"Aaron's First Show"

Set List:
Touch of Grey
New Minglewood Blues
Ramble on Rose
Cassidy
Brown Eyed Women
Hell in a Bucket
Althea
Looks Like Rain
Deal

Help on the Way
Slipknot!
Franklin's Tower
Samson and Delilah
He's Gone
drums
Truckin'
Stella Blue
Throwin' Stones
Not Fade Away
Encore:
Baby Blue

Grateful Dead/Greek Theatre/Sunday,May 15th 1983

For Nancy

"Dweezil's the MAN "

Wells Fargo Center Santa Rosa, Ca 3-7-2009
1. Cletus Awreetus Awrightus
2. Inca Roads
3. Village Of The Sun
4. Echidna's Arf
5. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
6. Billy The Mountain
7. Flakes
8. Broken Hearts Are For Assholes
9. Bamboozled By Love
10. King Kong - Band Solos
11. Lumpy Gravy
12. G-Spot Tornado
13. Why Dontcha Do Me Right
14. Penguin In Bondage
15. Willy The Pimp.... With Scott Thunes (Frank Zappa alumnus!) On Bass !!!
16. Outside Now (This was stunningly beautiful.)
17. Peaches En Regalia
18. Illinois Enema Bandit
ENCORE:
19. The Torture Never Stops

Here's a 1980 video of "Outside Now"

Brevity

I do realize the picture in the post below is creepy, and the stories that accompany it are worse than that. My intent was not to upset the reader, but to make her/him think about violence in relationships. So many won't. Or can't. Meanwhile, the statistics speak for themselves. One thing that haunts me about the night I had the shit beat out of me... my next-door neighbor was also a friend. I know she heard yelling, crying, and loud noises coming from my place. In fact, I bet it could be heard by other neighbors as well. But nobody came over. That says it all, then and now. Most folks just don't want to deal with it. Neither did I, until I was a statistic. Like most people, I never thought it could happen to me. And it will haunt me forever.

Anyway, Happy weekend. Here's a fine little tune to go with the above poster. Lou!

Rock And Roll (LP Version) - The Velvet Underground

Thoroughly Dubbed

Today has been an autopilot day. My sweetheart and I had another music date last night. A very late date.We saw one of his favorites, Mad Professor. A true dub master.

Dub music is characterized as a "version" or "double"of an existing song, often instrumental, using B-sides of 45 RPM records and typically emphasizing the drums and bass for a sound popular in local sound systems. The instrumental tracks are typically drenched in sound processing effects such as echo, reverberation, part vocal and extra percussion, with most of the lead instruments and vocals dropping in and out of the mix. Another hallmark of the dub sound is the massive low-pitched bass guitar. The music sometimes features processed sound effects and other noises, such as birds singing, thunder and lightning, water flowing, and producers shouting instructions at the musicians. It can be further augmented by live DJs. The many-layered sounds with varying echoes and volumes are often said to create soundscapes, or sound sculptures, drawing attention to the shape and depth of the space between sounds as well as to the sounds themselves. There is usually a distinctly organic feel to the music, even though the effects are electronically created.

We especially like music dates that do not require 2 or 3 hours of driving. This show was mere minutes away. More time to be irie*. Always good.

*irie [ ree ] or irey [ ree ]


adjective
Definition:

great: good, pleasing, or enjoyable ( slang )
[Late 20th century]

Big Ben Gone Wrong - Mad Professor

Take Me To The River

Trestle across the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin.

I refer to my birthplace/hometown often here. And why shouldn't I? I am proud of my San Francisco/NorCal roots. In the previous post, Mrs. G. inquired about my "Wisconsin grandma" because she apparently has one as well. It's true that some of my lineage is undeniably Midwestern, and I did spend about five years in Appleton as a young one. My grandmother was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, and she worked and raised my mom and her siblings in Appleton. Her husband, my grandfather was born in Norway, Michigan. He met and married my grandmother in Wisconsin. Much of my mother's family still lives there.

I haven't been in Appleton since 1979, when a friend and I passed through
and visited my family. We were making our way back home to California, after seeing six Dead shows back east. I still think about the place though. We lived above the Fox River, and that train trestle is the very same one we once walked along. Forty years back.

Daybreak On The Land

Here's a link to the Deadheads For Obama show on Monday. On Internet Archive, by way of Irenie.

Phil and Friends/February 4th, 2008/Warfield Theater

Welcome To The Big Room

This is what I was up to, twenty years ago tonight. Shit! Another twenty-year old memory. And those are starting to seem like recent memories. At that time, I was employed at the Civic Auditorium in lovely Santa Cruz, working in the Parks and Recreation Office and selling tickets. Tickets to everything. My friends sure did like me when I had that job. One day in late November, I got a call from a pal who had some prime information. Neil Young would "test drive" his latest metamorphosis at the Cocoanut Grove Ballroom. A classic venue, from the glory days at the Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. Long before it was Beach Flats junkie-land. He was to play three nights in a row, and do an early show and late show every night. This sounded insanely good. It had to be a vicious rumor. Had to.

I was informed that it was being billed as "The Blue Notes" - with no mention of Neil's name. See, he never advertised his shows in Santa Cruz. He'd just show up and play. And the Neil underground always knew, and the shows always sold out. He began a few of his tours there, and has always had a soft spot for the local fans. Lucky us. My friend's prediction proved true. Once tickets were secured, we just had to wait for the second of November.



I've seen the man many times through the years, and every time he gets through to the core a little bit more. For me, there was something about these Blue Note shows that defined them as some of Neil's best live work ever. That's why his "This Note's For You" release was disappointing. It didn't come close to capturing the power of that amazing sound-live. Neil with a full horn section! Unheard of! Even stranger than the Trans tour. Another of his strange excursions to unfamiliar and surprising musical places. His specialty. He played the same songs in the same order-both sets. He called it "The Blue Note Way." Nobody complained. They sucked it up, in wide-eyed amazement. In keeping with my tendency to post videos that mean something to nobody-but-me, here's Neil and his band performing a song from that same tour, about 6 months later. When we saw him, they opened with this song every night, every set. Sure, he was basically practicing his new tunes on us Santa Cruz fans. Ask me if we cared in the least.

The Band:

Neil Young (vocal, guitar, harmonica),Ben Keith(alto saxophone),
Larry Cragg (baritone saxophone), Steve Lawrence(tenor saxophone),
Claude Cailliet(trombone), Tom Bray (trumpet),John Fumo (trumpet),
Frank Sampedro (organ), Billy Talbot(bass),Ralph Molina (drums).

"Welcome To The Big Room"  August 1988 

Irie Time

Seeing young Stephen Marley tonight, with older daughter. Saw his father 27 years ago, and brother Ziggy almost 20 years ago.


"Traffic Jam" LIVE at the Universal Republic Lounge

In My Life...

Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park~ September 2nd, 2007
We prefer the nosebleed seats these days. Less mayhem occurs back here. The backdrop on stage was done by Peter Max... my brother has some nice close-ups. (hint hint)



My brother and my man, sipping their chilled Veuve Clicquot. We were stylin'! I'll be writing more about the experience later this week, as time allows.


Aiko: The next generation. My older daughter and my Aiko bro's only son, enjoying dim sum in the not-so-dim-sun. That is either a Chinese long bean or a pea pod between her chopsticks.


These nutty freaks were selling flowers out of a shopping cart, and here you see them dragging that cart through the crowd, to the other side of the meadow. Notice their porta-potty hanging off the front of the cart. Ready for anything!


Later, that same week... I took an afternoon off and went on a long walk up Big River with my love. It was the last of a series of very warm days on the coast.



Remains of a tree along Big River.



The deadly beauty of "ripe" poison oak.


Here is the place I was this weekend, kid-sitting.


Outside the kitchen door, in the early morning dampness.


Another view of their lovely place from the yard.


The kid I looked after and his pal, ping-ponging in the foggy dew.



Weekend Bonus! I got to meet Joe Spado for a cup of coffee. We talked for about an hour, and it felt like we were old friends. Aaarghhh... Peace, matey!


When I returned to my duties at the house, my daughter was playing the piano. It sounded terrific.

The sun was shining out in the yard, so I stretched-out in the hammock and her sweet piano music filled the air.






... More to share-later.

Sex in the Sixties

Mt.Tam in the 60's

A few things... we are scheduled to drive to the city again this weekend, for the Summer of Love concert in Golden Gate Park. It coincides with the three-day closure of the Bay Bridge. In both directions. Not since the Loma Prieta earthquake has this occurred. The reason for the closure has to do with the massive bridge overhaul, which was brought on by the aforementioned quake.( Which was now almost 20 years ago.) The project is over-budget by millions, and years behind schedule. No matter what, this will NOT be pretty. Why am I so certain and cynical? Because the bay area already deals with never-ending gridlock on the freeways. This will only add to the insanity that is a part of living there. Or any metropolis, really. It's just that people keep flocking here, to this state. In droves. No matter the cost-of-living. Why? They want their California dream, dammit! It's going to be ugly, I just know it. So... I am thinking about this trip south in a more logistical manner than usual. The time that we travel is key. I am thinking early morning on Sunday. Coming home to the coast that night, later. Three hours of drive-time each way, at least. The fact is, it will be a magical weekend in the park. Older daughter and I are scheduled to work backstage for a bit, helping to prepare food that will be served to the performers. The people-watching will be splendid! AikoJim and his son will be there. Good times are just around the bend.

Posting the above photo got me thinking. (Get your minds out of the gutter!) That picture was taken in the sixties. So those "kids" are about sixty now, right? Why is it so hard to comprehend that "seniors" (57 years and up) enjoy healthy sex lives? Look at how some of those old timers used to live---like in this photo, for example. Of course they enjoy sex. Why-the-hell- not? I guess the recent study about these findings doesn't gross me out. In fact, I find it heartening, to know that people continue to feel passionate as they age. Nothing wrong with love-forty years ago or present-day. (Except in our screwy, hung-up western culture, of course!)

Artifact

Not long before Winterland was to be demolished in 1979, (and condominiums went up on the site.) I went on a mission with two friends.. One of the them was my good pal, Aiko Jim. The venue had been a San Francisco landmark for many decades, long before becoming home to many historic rock concerts. On the front of the building were several of these fancy, framed boxes. They typically held posters of upcoming shows. The hastily-written sign you see was an exception to the norm. This sign was made for the last concert that ever ocurred there, on December 31st, 1978. It was a last-ditch effort (by BGP) to defray those who did not have tickets. They still showed-up. I'll bet some of the scalpers did well that night.

Close to a year after the final concert, we heard that the demolition was mere days away. We decided that we needed something to show for our years spent behind those music-saturated walls. We waited for darkness. In Jim's nondescript Chevy Nova, we rolled up in front of the beloved, doomed venue. We grabbed the crowbar in Jim's trunk, and proceeded to pry loose one of the old boxes. Into the trunk of the car it went, and we sped off into the night. (Laughing like mad, of course.)

It has lived the last almost thirty years with Jim. It weighs too much to hang on any typical wall. The locked glass door has never been opened. We have always wondered whether the sign was written on the back of a concert poster of some sort. (?) To us silly deadheads, this is a sacred artifact, from a hallowed place in musical history. I asked Jim if he'd take a picture of it when we visited last weekend. He did. Is it vandalism, when they're going to bulldoze it anyway?

Every Picture Tells A Story

Early concert advertising. The bands I can read on his sandwich board are The Grateful Dead and Lee Michaels. I never made it to the Avalon Ballroom, but my dad did.




City Lights Publishing. Not the bookstore, on Columbus Avenue. This establishment was once on the corner of Filbert Street and Grant Avenue. Across the street from my uncle and favorite aunt's place. Long gone now, but the bookstore lives on. That's Larry Ferlinghetti, in the cap.

Jerry and Mountain Girl, early-on. Jim Marshall's photos are awesome.



Another shot of a favorite subject-The (old) Cliff House. Sutro Baths is visible in this one.



Here's another poster for the Summer Of Love Anniversary. September 2nd, in Speedway Meadow. It's gonna be fun-city!

The latest line-up:

CONFIRMED ACTS INCLUDE (as of July 15th):

• Country Joe McDonald
• Taj Mahal
• Lester Chambers (from The Chambers Brothers)
• Canned Heat
• New Riders of the Purple Sage
• Jessie Collin Young (From the Youngbloods)
• Banana (From the Youngbloods)
• Jerry Miller Band (from Moby Grape) featuring Tiran Porter (from the Doobie Brothers) and Dale Okerman (from the Doobie Brothers)
• Michael McClure, Rob Wasserman and Ray Manzarek (from the Doors)
• San Francisco’s First Family of Rock (TBA)
• Brian Auger
• Nick Gravenites Band with David Laflamme
• Dickie Peterson of Blue Cheer
• Chris and Lorin of the Rowan Brothers
• The Alameda All Stars (from Gregg Allman Band)
• Terry Haggerty (from the Sons of Champlin)
• Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks
• George Michalski - Pete Sears Dueling Keys
• Freddie Roulette
• Ron Thompson
• The Charlatans
• Leigh Stephens (Blue Cheer) and Greg Douglass (from Steve Miller) and Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship) and Melissa Olsen
• Essra Mohawk (from the Mothers of Invention)
• Brad Jenkins
• Barry “The Fish” Melton
• The All Night Flight featuring David Denny and Steve McCarty (from Steve Miller), Jack King (from Cold Blood)
• Merl Saunders (supporting the effort)
• Squid B. Vicious
• Jim Post (Friend and Lover, Siegel Schwall Blues Band)
• Fayette Hauser and the Cockettes
• Terrance Hallinan (former SF DA)
• Ruth Weiss (Beat Poet)
• Richard Eastman (marijuana initiative)
• Lenore Kandel (Beat Poet)
• Paul “Lobster” Wells (MC)
• Dr Hip MC (Eugene Schoenfeld)
• Artie Kornfeld (Producer of Woodstock)
• Wavy Gravy
• Mouse man (Bagpipes)
• Leigh Davidson (Haight Ashbury Medical Clinic)
• Bruce Latimer (Bruce Latimer show)
• Rabbi Joseph Langer
• Bruce Barthol (Mime Troup)
• Doug Green (MC)
• Howard Hesseman (schedule permitting)
• Benjamin Hernandez (Harts hands and Elders)
• American Indigenous people’s, Agnes Pilgrim and 13 Grandmas (schedule permitting)
• Lakota War Pony’s and Harry Riverbottom (Chippewa), Merle Tendoy (6 th generation of Sacagawea ) Shonie
• Chief Sunne Reyna
• Fishbone
• Iroquois Tribe
• Dakota Tribe
• Emit Powell and the Gospel Elites

Many more artists are currently in discussion for appearances at the event. We are not able to pre-announce certain San Francisco heritage musicians that may have been listed previously due to their having other gigs within the usual 60-mile/60-day blackout areas.

Friday At Ocii

This is the poster for tonight's performance in Amsterdam, at Ocii.

(Nostalgic, yes?)

You can check out this venue and what goes on there by clicking here.

Ripple In Still Water

My pal enjoying the Grateful Dead at the Greek Theatre, U.C. Berkeley in May, 1982. His son turns twenty today... which means we are all just plain OLD.

This is my pal's son. Congratulations and Happy Birthday, guys.