Big Brother and the Holding Company history, part 25: January to June 2013

Posted on July 14, 2013 by J L tagged.

The 11-13 January Autograph show Los Angeles

Laurie Jacobson Elise Piliwale Lauren Dow

Jimmy McNichol had the table next to ours.

Karen Lyberger

Porky’s

Jon Provost (Timmy from Lassie)

Jimmy McNichol and Elise Piliwale

Laurie Jacobson

Ellyn Laurie

Elise Wainani Piliwale

Jimmy McNichol and his sweet mother, the only one who managed to bring an Airedale to the show.

I loved this couple, Valerie Dugan and her attorney.

This artist has a strong, interesting style but no idea of how to do a likeness. Peter looks like Ron Howard.

23 January 2013 Interview for PBS at our old house in Lagunitas.

Amy Berg, Alex Rodriguez and Olivia Fougeirol

Julie Haas

David Niehaus

Here I am rehearsing in this same room forty-seven years ago.

Rita Bergman and I lived in this little cabin out back. The Sons of Champlin later used it for firewood. Thank you, Sons. Well, at least they didn’t cut the redwoods down. I’m going to write about your using my cabin for your firewood.

Elise Piliwale and Bjorn Berg

Olivia Fougeirol

Bjorn

Katelyn

Jenna

24 February 2013 Benefit for Slick Aguilar Great American Music Hall San Francisco

We arrive at two in the afternoon to load an amp in there and get a hotel room.

There was Adrian, already standing in line, happy as could be.

It was so good being with Elise. We loved being in San Francisco for recreation, even though she had worked at St. Francis all night the night before and all night this evening too. I walked her to work right from the gig, after we watched a bit of the Oscars. This was a sweet moment.

The equipment people are already hard at work. This is supposed to be an acoustic gig, but I saw a lot of amplifiers going in there.

The Great American Music Hall is a beautiful place. I believe that Boz Scaggs owns it now. We have played there many times over the years and every time was good.

After loading in, Elise and I walked up Polk Street and looked at the sights.

This is Polk and Pine from our hotel window. In the 1960s, I spent a lot of time at this intersection, because a friend of mine had a clothing store and the Palms nightclub was right across the street… all at this same intersection.

Prairie Prince and Donnie Baldwin were kind enough to propel the band this evening, or as Donnie put it, to add some “color.”

Soundcheck

She was taking a lot of photographs.

Country Joe was the Master of Ceremonies.

Marty Balin sounded so good. His voice is better than ever and his songs are interesting.

Min Min Anderson, helpful and sweet as always.

We’re doing this for Slick and sending him positive thoughts.

I’ve known Keith for so long. We’ve seen each other for about five minutes a time over the last thirty years. He has a great sound on the sax and he played with Tommy Castro for a long time.

I love Darby Gould. She sings so well, she’s a professional, she’s good natured, and, darn it, she’s just a beautiful woman.

This looks like a Frans Hals portrait, doesn’t it? Chris Smith played keyboards with us and he did a great job.

The way the gig looked: Chris Smith, Sam Andrew, Darby Gould, Prairie Prince, Donnie Baldwin, Peter Albin

Old friend Snooky Flowers. Snooky and I were in the Kozmic Blues Band.

I’ve played with Peter Albin for forty-eight years.

We signed a guitar for the benefit auction.

Steve Keyser’s version of Darby and me.

Pete Sears

Great American Music Hall is right next door to this place.

The view from our hotel room.

And a little later…

Next morning, after Elise got off work, we had a little breakfast.

She orders for us.

Then I have an interview at Merle Saunders’ Fenix in San Rafael.

This is for German television with “autor” Claus Bredenbrock who asks intelligent, thoughtful questions.

Sol does the sound for the interview.

1 March 2013 San Diego and Tijuana

There was a very interesting exhibit of board games at the airport.

Elise found us a beautiful hotel, the Westgate, in downtown San Diego.

This was across the street from where I did Love, Janis in 2001.

That’s where I met Kacee Clanton, Sam Monroe, Beth Hart and many other good people. I shot this photo of Kacee in front of a building that doesn’t exist anymore.

It all changes fast. I tried to look for a hotel that my grandfather managed about the time I was born. It was in the old Fox Theatre building, which is no longer there either.

This block is now the Copley Symphony Hall building. My grandfather’s hotel is in there somewhere, but I couldn’t find it.

I used to draw this statue every day when I lived in San Diego twelve, thirteen years ago.

The statue is a copy of an Etruscan motif and it was made and cast in Florence.

Randal Myler wrote and directed Love, Janis, and we all had a good time doing the show.

Especially because Amelia Campbell was doing the “speaking” Janis. She has such a gift for comedy that every line got a laugh. It was like watching Friends.

Elise and I walked up to Balboa Park.

I visited this place with my mother when I was five or six. I’m trying to catch a carp here. Early version of multitasking.

We went to Tijuana then, and Elise and I decided to go this time too.

Tijuana has its arch qualities.

And a tinselly temporariness.

Are you coming or am I going?

The green room for a mariachi band on the corner.

The Mexicans are a very artistic people.

Trompe l’oeil a la mexicana.

22 March 2013 interview at eight in the morning on Friday Sonoma California

I drove up to Sonoma, the original capital of California, to do an interview with Mayor Ken Brown of the Bear Flag Party.

Donna was there and it was fun to talk to her and Ken about a gig that Big Brother would play on 20 April, Marijuana Day, at the Sebastiani Theatre.

Kurt Krauthamer and Roy Blumenfeld put this gig together for Sonoma and Kurt played harmonica with us on I Need A Man To Love.

Ken Brown belongs to the Bear Flag Party which refers to a period of revolt by American settlers in the Mexican territory of Alta California against Mexico.

The Revolt was initially proclaimed in Sonoma on June 14, 1846. Though participants declared independence from Mexico, they failed to form a functional provisional government. Thus, the “republic” never exercised any real authority, and it was never recognized by any nation. In fact, most of Alta California knew nothing about it. The revolt lasted 26 days, at the end of which the U.S. Army arrived to occupy the area.

Once the leaders of the revolt knew the United States was claiming the area, they disbanded their “republic” and supported the U.S. federal effort to annex Alta California.

Sonomans are very conscious of being “the first Californians,” and they take great pride in their town and in the Sebastiani Theatre.

9 April 2013 Today is Elise’s birthday and she has a Director of Staff Development seminar in Lodi, California.

We get a motel near downtown and I walk there everyday to visit the library.

Lodi is an interesting city, named for a town in Italy, a lot of grapes grown here.

We have Elise’s birthday dinner at this place. We were trying to find oysters, but not a lot of seafood this far inland.

The train runs through the middle of town and you can feel Lodi’s agricultural past here.

I like the old downtowns of places like this.

Every morning before going to the library to study I have a double espresso at Tillie’s coffeeshop.

Peace.

There’s a science museum for children at Sacramento and Locust, an interesting place.

Elise and I listen to our hearts beating on this instrument.

We had a wire recorder when I was ten or so. It used the exact reel spool on the left.

So, this is what it looks like inside a computer.

It was interesting watching the kids play with things like this gyroscope.

I was studying technology in China while we were in Lodi, so exhibits like this caught my eye. The Chinese invented a belt drive like this.

Malia and Brett. It was quite a coincidence to see them. Brett framed a lot of my paintings in San Rafael.

The kids stormed through the place.

Elise and Brett

Malia and Maya

Elise doing science.

Brett has a big family.

We see this billboard after we leave the museum. That’s my old buddy Joel Hoekstra on the left.

Goodbye, Lodi.

20 April Big Brother and the Holding Company Sebastiani Theatre Sonoma California

Kristina Rehling and Tom Finch getting their harmonies together.

Michael J. Fox, Esquire, public defender, San Francisco, came to our rehearsal. He lives just down the hill from Kristina’s mother, Lynn Giovanniello.

Lynn plays bass viol with the San Francisco Symphony, the Marin Symphony and numerous ensembles in the Bay Area. She is an excellent sight reader, of course, but also has soul and can jam with the best of them.

Mother and daughter. They play string quartets with other daughters. I first knew Kristina as a violinist.

Sandi and Freddie Herrera. Freddie used to own the Keystones. We worked for him many times.

Sonoma is a beautiful place. The drive from Sonoma to my house in San Geronimo has to be one of the most beautiful in the world. 116 West to Petaluma D Street and then to Nicasio Valley, gorgeous.

Roy Blumenfeld and Elise Piliwale. Roy is getting ready to tour with the Blues Project again.

Steve Keyser took this one.

And this.

30 May Cutting Room NYC

We show up at The Cutting Room on 44 East 32nd Street, and there is Sam Cutler, who will read from his book and tell stories about the old days.

I start signing things right away.

I used to know a guitarist named Josh Kessler, hmmm. I would have asked him to sit in if I had run across him.

Chealsea Dawn is helping Sam with his book and other merchandise. She’s doing some research on Buddy Miles and I promised I would help her.

The Cutting Room is a beautiful place with lots of art, the lighting is good, the people are good, it’s just a great place to play.

Elliot Newhouse, an excellent photographer, is there and I catch him in his identity as Dr. Newhouse.

Ben Nieves played very well on this and all of the gigs.

I walk around and try to see what I can see.

Right before our set, in a typical act of kindness, Ben, observing that I am ill, hands me a huge vitamin pill. Little did I know that it was also “high energy,” which means, I hope, caffeine. I swallowed it whole with no water and it went halfway down my gullet and lodged there. The place was so hot that, two songs into the set, after the pill and the extreme heat, I had to sit down… first time ever in sixty plus years of playing, and we still had a great musical conversation. Dr. Newhouse took this photograph which looks very colorful and rather Renaissance like.

Lisa Mills has sung with me for a long time, but she sounded better than ever on this gig. I think she’s just getting started and she started very well.

31 High Note 136 Broadway Avenue Amityville Long Island

Next day we set out in our van to drive from Staten Island to Amityville, Long Island, which is out there a ways in more ways than one.

There was no green room, so we sat on couches and chairs near the bar for the eight hours until our set began. Such is the life of a musician.

We took plenty of walks and kept up our high spirits.

I should have just rented a motel in this town, which would have been cheaper in the long run than spending on meals and other passtimes.

1 June 2013 The Crossroads 78 North Avenue Garwood New Jersey

Garwood was a charming town, slightly gentrified, reminding me of villages in Connecticut or Ross or Larkspur here in Marin County, California.

We played a late night set here. All of the music on these four gigs was good. The band coalesced and Lisa sang so well.

2 June 2013 The Dugout Bar 1614 Forest Avenue Staten Island

Kerry Kearney came to play with us here, and sounded very good on bottleneck guitar as well as the standard model.

Ann Sullivan, Kerry’s manager, fanned us in the extreme heat of Staten Island.

Good feelings, happy times.

Awards time.

Flying home from Newark to San Francisco.

29 July 2013 Fur Peace Ranch Pomeroy, Ohio

Our honeymoon cabin…

Jorma signed my set lists.

It meant a lot to me to see Jorma thriving and prospering after all these years. John Hurlbut wrote this question and Jorma asked it. Peter Albin and I liked it that we were here with someone who has figured so largely in our history.

John Hurlbut, the factor at the Fur Peace Ranch. Responsible, kind, respectful, capable.

Rabbits a Fur Peace down the road.

Changing strings, getting ready for the gig. Isn’t this exciting?

Don Aters.

Jorma and Don.

Elise Wainani Piliwale somewhere in the middle of Ohio.

Don’s Nikon.

Don shot this one.

Life at the Fur Peace Ranch.

It’s a happy place.

Drummer extraordinaire and good friend, Jim Wall.

Kevin Morgan’s inspired painting of Jorma.

What bill would be cooler than Lenny Bruce and the Mothers of Invention?

Don Ater’s superb photo of Levon Helm.

Carla Piliwale, Elise’s mother, at the Fur Peace Ranch.

Carla’s husband Edd Hart.

We’ll see you in part 26 of the Big Brother and the Holding Company history.

____________________________________

I Homologate This Message.

Posted on June 9, 2013 by J L tagged.

Homologate: agree with, approve, approbate, sanction, authorize, warrant, countenance, ratify, confirm, confess, acknowledge.

Janis homologated these images.

To render valid by some subsequent act.

A marriage contract, though defective in legal solemnities, is held to be homologated by the subsequent marriage of the parties.

Homologate is derived from the Greek homologeo (ὁμολογέω) for “I agree”, which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official.

The homologating body may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work from a set of strict rules or standards to determine whether such approval should be given.

The word may be considered very roughly synonymous with accreditation, and in fact in French and Spanish may be used with regard to academic degrees.

Certification is another possible synonym. To homologate is the infinitive.

Products must often be homologated by some public agency to assure that they meet standards for such things as safety and environmental impact.

A court action may also sometimes be homologated by a judicial authority before it can proceed, and the term has a precise legal meaning in the judicial codes of some countries, especially in Scotland.

The equivalent process of testing and certification for conformance to technical standards is usually known as Type Approval in English-language jurisdictions.

Another example of the use of homologate pertains to the biological sciences, where it may describe the similarities used to assign organisms to the same family or taxon, similarities they have jointly inherited from a common ancestor.

So, dear reader, what would this organization, Girls Together Outrageously (GTOs) have to do with the word “homologate?”

In racing, a vehicle must be homologated by the sanctioning body to race in a given league, such as World Superbikes, International Level Kart Racing or other sportscar racing series.

Where a racing class requires that the vehicles raced be production vehicles only slightly adapted for racing, manufacturers typically produce a limited run of such vehicles for public sale so that they can legitimately race them in the class.

These vehicles are commonly called “homologation specials.”

The term homologation is also applicable in the Olympic Games, in venue certifications, prior to the start of competition.

An issue was raised at Cesena Pariol—the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track used for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino (Turin) —over its safety in luge.

This delayed homologation of the track from January 2005 to October 2005 in order to achieve safe runs during luge competitions.

A judge must homologate the plea bargain between the district attorney and the defense.

Gran Turismo Omologato is the origin of the acronym GTO.

“We’ve major issues which appear to be discussed in the press. Decisions are made and then we’re asked to homologate these decisions.”

“What was needed was a more streamlined street car to homologate for racing.”

Now the same amazing race technology is available in fully homologated form for use on the road by drivers who know what satisfaction means.

This protective front headlight grill for use off-road is not homologated for on-road use.

Homologation is the certification of a product or specification to indicate that it meets regulatory standards.

There are companies that specialize in helping manufacturers achieve regulatory compliance.

These homologating companies have services that might include the explanation and interpretation of standards and specifications.

There may be homologatory assistance in plant facility audit and approval, testing and certification of materials, product design consulting, and translation of manuals, legal mandates and other written material.

My friend Melina has a beautiful collection of black and white photographs of blues players and she has tacitly homologated my use of them from time to time, just as she may use any image that I have.

I don’t know why I did it, I don’t know why I enjoyed it, and I don’t know why I will do it again. What do you want? It’s a birthday.

Reason itself is fallible and this fallibility must find a place in our logic.

We started out as opportunistic renegades. By now, we’ve lasted long enough to become American Original Respectable Renegades.

I want it to go on, but I want us to go out on top. Well, so much for that. OK, then, go out on the bottom, yeah, yeah, that’s the ticket.

I don’t miss the rat race, but occasionally I miss the rats.

One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal, or even inability, to be compromised.

The element of surprise is what I look for when I am playing.

We all come into the world not knowing who we are.

Women get the work done, with lesser play of ego.

If anyone thinks I am wrong, I am inclined to agree with her.

You know what would be interesting to see? A film about an Al Qaeda follower from her own point of view, how she became that, what her ambitions are, her name, her family, her petty dislikes, her secret wishes. This would show us more than a thousand state documents.

There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it ill behooves any of us to find fault with the rest of us.

If you want to change your life, change your mind.

Don’t be afraid of failure. Be afraid of succeeding too early.

God limited the intelligence of humanity, but not the stupidity.

One sure way to please a tigress is to let her eat you.

The biggest risk in life is not taking any risks.

A bad temper is a sign of weakness.

They had several car crashes in that film, but none of them killed the right people.

When you see old photographs, it’s lovely to remember being young, but even better to know that you grew up.

Every now and then do something that you think you are really bad at.

Some white people hate black people, and some white people love black people, some black people hate white people, and some black people love white people. So you see it’s not an issue of black and white, it’s an issue of Lovers and Haters.

I like to do interviews where I see that the questioner is pondering his next line while I am answering his last… NOT!

I’m definitely not a shopper. I totally hate the process of researching and then haggling for the price. I wish I could just snap my fingers and it would be there. I would pay extra for that, actually, and, in fact, I suppose I do pay extra for that. Actually, I would pay extra for not having the thing at all.

My family were Democrats. In fact, if one of us children was acting up and being stubborn, my father would say, “Stop acting like a damned Republican.”

Music is irrational. The better it is, the madder it is.

Life is a song, so sing along. Life is a game, it’s never the same. Make it your goal to nourish your soul.

This looks totally posed. They’re probably his cousins.

On two occasions I have been asked, “Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?” I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.

Neither success nor failure is ever final.

The best command of the language is often shown by saying nothing.

To make your dream come true, you need to be wide awake.

Bad politicians are elected by good people who don’t vote.

Look up. When you’re flat on your back, look up.

Don’t worry about what is going to happen. It’s bad enough worrying about what is happening now.

Everybody doesn’t have to get every joke. People really appreciate not being condescended to.

If you have health, friends and enough money to pay the rent and eat, you have a lot.

Legends are all about the past and have nothing to do with the present.

You can’t think clearly when your fists are clenched.

I often play language learning CDs in my car, and I’ve noticed that when I become angry at another driver, I don’t learn anything at all from the CDs. I have to listen to that spot over again. This in itself is educational.

I’m the L word. Liberal.

It’s not so much the taxes we pay as it is the feeling that someone is picking our pockets without our knowing why.

As long as there is one pretty woman on stage, the theatre will live.

When you’re wrong, admit it. When you’re right, be quite. (Or quiet, whichever is best.)

A door is what a cat is always on the wrong side of.

Am I a late bloomer or an early rotter?

Most people would rather be right than be reasonable.

You cannot move others unless you too are moved.

Remorse or reminiscence?

The fruits of our private study should appear in our public behavior.

Sometimes I look at the stars for so long that they seem to move and dance in the sky.

My father seemed to me to know everything, all about the artists in the Renaissance, all about the carburetor under the hood, all about the rocks and how they came to be that way, all about the plants and their histories. If he couldn’t afford something, he would simply make it with his own hands.

Labels are for medicine bottles. Labels are for clothes. Labels aren’t for people.

Whoever said, “It’s not whether you win or lose that counts,” probably lost.

People want to matter. Help them to do that and show them that they do.

For the caterpillar it’s the end of the world. For the butterfly it’s her birthday.

My wife. She makes life come to life.

A professional musician is an amateur who didn’t stop.

If you want something in your life, act as if it’s already there.

Living to the highest standard you know leads to happiness.

A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the word you first thought of.

Learning when to leave is not a negligible part of one’s education.

I have been in the twilight of my career for longer than most people have had careers.

Actually, I’ve been in the twilight of my career for longer than many people have lived.

Music has given me soul.

Talented people are the easiest to get along with.

The simpler it is, the more beautiful it can become.

One must always maintain one’s connection to the past and yet ceaselessly pull away from it.

When you walk into a party, you don’t see someone’s brain right away, although it doesn’t take long to see her soul.

No matter what you do, you can’t live in the past.

I wake up at five every day, even if I went to bed at three. I’m blaming it on my cats.

The optimist says we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears that may be true.

Write the kind of song you would like to hear.

No lady is ever a gentleman.

You begin growing your wisdom teeth the first time you bite off more than you can chew.

People worry more about what they can’t see than what they can.

It is better to create than to learn.

Picture you upon my knee, just tea for two and two for tea.

My ambition is to do a good job. I never plan anything.

Life is accepting what is and working with that, or, as my mother put it, you work with what you got.

Everyone has a story that is worth telling and, if told right, it can be a beautiful song.

Self consciousness, shyness, timidity are all forms of egotism and that’s all right.

People believe quickly what they wish to be true.

You take the truth and you put a little curlicue on the end.

Every language has its own song.

James Gurley.

You can’t teach talent, but you can teach competence and confidence.

I used to be afraid of being normal even though nothing is normal.

Films have the power to change people’s minds. A film can make you a better person. In fact, a film should make you a better person.

Good old days? What good old days? People who wish for the old days have very selective memories.

Life is much shorter than it seemed at first.

For at least a hundred and fifty years, America’s best ambassador has been her music.

Being a musician is just a job, but it can be an interesting job.

I was always shy, timid, introverted, whatever you want to call it, and mortally afraid of going onstage. I bet that is true of many, many performers.

I wrote Flower in the Sun in a bathroom in Bernal Heights, San Francisco. It was the only place I could find any privacy.

I try to live by the Golden Rule. Most of the time that works.

We’re not disgruntled. We’re actually fairly gruntled and couth.

Anybody can succeed, anybody can play, but you’ve got to work hard to do it.

I’m a skilled professional musician. Whether or not I have any talent is beside the point. Main thing is to do the job well.

I read many, many books, but I am careful to to let anything I read influence me.

Many people who are brutally honest are more brutal than honest.

At 53 I got the girl! Now she’s almost 53.

Dying is easy, comedy is hard, as Edmund Kean observed on his deathbed.

Comedy is not only hard to act, but hard to write. As Michael Caine noted, you get one comedy script for every twenty dramas.

Comedy is underrepresented in every actor’s résumé because comedy is very difficult.

English is clipped in speech. Texan is clopped in speech.

Be like a duck, always oily calm on the surface and furiously paddling underneath.

I admire other musicians but I would never think of competing with them. What we do is so different. I compete with myself. I have had so many great guitarists play and sit in with Big Brother over the years. More guitar players have performed with Big Brother than musicians on any other instrument. Even singers, and that’s saying something.

The Jack Benny philosophy: I feel like 39. At 39 you’re old enough to know something and young enough to look forward to what you can do with that knowledge. So I’m staying at 39. It sounds so much better than 40, doesn’t it? It sounds better than 71 too, which is what I really am, and very happy to be 71 too.

Talk low, talk slow, and don’t talk much.

Count your money. I’m not going to retire, so I don’t have to worry about that part, but you always need about three times as much money as you think you are going to need.

The first star I saw was Lash La Rue, and I thought, that’s what I want to do, be Lash La Rue.

If you see money as the solution for every problem, then money is the problem.

You get paid the same for a bad gig as for a good one.

My fan mail is enormous. Everyone is under six.

To an engineer it’s “good enough for government work.” To an artist there’s no such thing as good enough.

There are as many ways of loving as there are people in the world.

I sang before I talked, before I had a memory. When my memory began, I was already singing.

I’m a huge shoe person. I only wear shoes that are truly enormous.

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can – there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.

The fact is that great musical pieces take and hold the stage because they provide great emotional experiences.

Success is important only to the extent that it puts one in a position to do more things one likes to do but it’s even more important because it can allow you to help people who truly deserve help.

Music is a process which is successful only if it is achieved by people who love to collaborate.

If you approach a song as though it were something that always went a certain way, that’s what you get. Maybe best to approach a song as though you never heard it before.

We all make mistakes. Best to look at them closely, confront them honestly and learn from them.

Are we not all desperate in one way or another?

I have been the victim of heartless and, worse, pointless malice delivered by stupid people who truly believed that they had something to say.

Giving a phenomenon a name does not explain it.

Even the most malignant gods would not continue to inflict life upon humanity, time without end.

Don’t rush into adulthood. It is not really all that much fun.

The only real failure is one you don’t learn from.

The most important things in life aren’t things.

Promise a lot, and then give more.

Learning is an avenue to happiness, ever open to those who are deprived of honors or wealth.

The worst thing is to get involved with people who aren’t passionate about what they’re doing.

A little nonsense now and then is good for women and good for men.

I wish I could understand why the electoral college is necessary.

The greatest peril to the soul is an answered prayer.

I don’t have everything I want, but I have a lot that I am grateful for.

You can sell out if you want to, but just because you did doesn’t mean they’re going to keep their end of the bargain.

In film there’s just one chance to make something decent. In the theatre, you get to do it over and over.

Don’t worry about being modern. That’s something you can’t avoid.

A miracle can happen at any time.

Don’t be silly and don’t waste your time.

I appreciate the love and respect behind such an award, but I can’t help thinking about people like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, Son House, Skip James, Tommy Johnson, Willie Brown, Geeshie Wiley, Ishmon Bracey, Kid Bailey, Arthur Crudup, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Mississippi John Hurt, Booker White, Furry Lewis, T-Bone Walker and Ike Turner, so I am going to write about them next week.

Thank you for being here.

________________________________________________

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part sixteen. 2004

Posted on July 22, 2012 by J L tagged.

2004

2 January 2004 The Docksider Erie Pennsylvania

See how Pennsylvania made that little portal out to Lake Erie ? Croatia has outlets to the Adriatic Sea much narrower than this, maybe a mile in length.

The Erie Canal, dug in the early 1800s, and connecting the Hudson River to Lake Erie, is what made New York New York. Many other ports, Savannah, Boston, were more important at the time, but with a way to get goods over the Appalachians (Alleghenies) and to Ohio and points farther west, New York City became the dominant Eastern doorway to and from the rest of the country.

Even today transport by barge on the Erie Canal uses a tenth of the fuel of a truck.

I used to sing this song in my folk music days. This printed music, however, is very odd, with B# going into C. Both are the same notes. I’ve never seen anything like this. Anyway, I loved this haunting melody and the history embodied in the song. This song is rather like what The Volga Boatman must have been to the Russians. Minor key, strongly pentatonic, a chant, really, primitive, strong, good for keeping time while rowing.

This version makes a lot more sense. This one’s in E minor. I think I used to sing it in D minor. There is a lot of history in songs, all songs.

Caro Viaggiatore. The title means “Dear Traveler.” It’s a kind of a pun on Caravaggio because this is a copy of his painting. I put Elise and me in there. I learned how to paint by copying painters before me.

Rodney Albin Ellen Cavanaugh Peter Albin

3 January 2004 Sellersville Theatre Sellersville Pennsylvania

Self portraits are invariably serious because the artist is looking so intensely into the mirror.

I bet Ant Knee took this photograph.

Liverpool lad pours a Bud in the Sausalito harbor.

Sharrie Gomez and I in San Francisco.

21 April 2004 Kellogg Foundation Lake Tahoe California At this event, I met Don Graham the neurosurgeon who since has gone from this…

… to this. He and Sarah made Adyson Graham who is impossibly beautiful.

24 April 2004 Wild Hog Festival Helena Arkansas It rained so hard at this event that she could have almost gone swimming in the audience.

We really thought we might be electrocuted. Everything was soaking wet.

Peggy Pettigrew Stewart created this image.

25 April 2004 Rosy’s Jazz Hall New Orleans

Cool New Orleans dudes backstage.

Meanwhile, farther upstream, the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers are flowing together at Cairo, Illinois. “We pronounce it Karo, like the syrup.”

And I am swearing that I will learn how to draw a hand in any position, any lighting.

When I think of Florida, I think of the coasts. Sarasota where Elise used to live and Melbourne, home of my brother Stephen and his family.

Orlando, where the Carol guitar was stored in a vault for a while, is an inland place.

13 May 2004 The Vault Orlando Florida The Carol guitar travels around the country and is in San Francisco now, I believe.

When we played there in Orlando, I took the guitar out of The Vault and put it on stage.

The Musical Instrument Museum near Phoenix.

Mujeres floridas. Flowered women.

The Vault in Orlando.

Elise and I moved into this house where we live now in 2004. It’s a small house on two and one half acres, a hectare.

All of Us (oil on canvas)

I drew these profiles in Pahala, Hawaii.

The Hawaiian archipelago is actually much longer than this, extending some 1,200 miles over the Pacific.

Midway Island, that small two mile long dot there on the globe, is at the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago. It is one third of the way to Tokyo from Honolulu. My family traveled once in a propeller plane that actually refueled at Midway en route to Okinawa. We refueled again at Wake Island too, if I’m not mistaken.

Chad Quist, guitar Kacee Clanton, singer Todd Zimberg, drums

Sam Andrew Elise Piliwale

11 June 2004 Kona Brew Pub Kona Hawaii

Kona Brew Pub

Colin and Wayne and Wayne’s lovely wife. Erstwhile equipment managers for Big Brother, now far richer than we are, PLUS, they get to live in Hawaii. Así es la vida.

James Gurley and I lived on the beach at Makena off and on for a couple of years. I wrote the song Maui there.

Every autumn, humpback whales swim 3,500 miles from Alaska to Maui for their winter vacation in the Au’au Channel between the islands of Maui County. Summer in Alaska, Winter in Maui, not a bad life.

Double Happiness.

Regina and Kacee were with us.

Regina is Austrian. Her name means Queen. Vivat Regina !

Alexandria Virginia

19 June 2004 Red Cross Waterfront Festival Alexandria Virginia Judy and Todd Bolton, so good to see them again.

Tristan Avakian played guitar with us and Todd Zimberg was on drums. Tristan is now with Jennifer Espinoza in some incredible Queen scene.

Jefferson Starship: Slick Aguilar Diana Mangano Paul Kantner Marty Balin Tim Gorman Prairie Prince Jack Casady Photo: Tim Sylvan

30 June 2004 Stop 345 Memphis Tennessee

Right on the mighty Mississippi.

31 July 2004 Magic Springs Theme Park Hot Springs Arkansas

Sam Andrew Elise Piliwale

6 August 2004 Sellersville Theatre Sellersville Pennsylvania

Sellersville is a borough in Bucks County in the Philadelphia-Camden metro area.

7 August 2004 South Park Concert Site South Park Pennsylvania

Eve and Adam (oil on canvas)

13 August 2004 Gray’s Harbor Fair Elma Washington

I always wanted to open for a parrot.

A beautiful place. Actually, when you think about it, the whole world is a beautiful place.

Kate Russo and I passed this one with ease.

14 August 2004 Berbatti’s Pan Portland Oregon

You can see why I decided to learn how to draw hands.

18 September 2004 Tree Frog Music Festival Fairibault Minnesota

Primavera Elisiana.

24-25 September 2004 El Dorado Hotel & Casino Reno

Na’alehu Theatre

Kainani Kahaunaele

2 October 2004

Jessica’s crown.

Chad Quist goes Hawaiian.

Peter Albin Karen Lyberger

2 October 2004 Hamakua Music Festival Honoka’a Hawaii

Chloe Lowery and Elise

The banyan tree downtown Lahaina, Maui. This tree just keeps on going and growing. It’s all one tree and it covers this entire very large block.

4 October 2004 The Landmark Hotel Los Angeles Photo: Howard Sounes

16 October 2004 Largo Cultural Center Largo Florida Wendy Rich

This was a local gig for Wendy. She lives nearby in St. Petersburg.

Peter Albin Photo: Jan Jenson

19 October 2004 The year I set out to learn how to draw hands. I filled notebooks with them.

21 october 2003 The main thing is to draw each joint, each bone in the hand. You can’t slur over it or it’s not going to look right.

24 October 2004

November 2004 Four More Years (oil on canvas)

20 November 2004

31 December 2004 Coco’s in Ko Samui, Thailand. set list This was a happy period of musical adventure for the band.

Señor Blues (oil on canvas)

Sam (I’m so excited I can barely breathe) Andrew

Big Brother and the Holding Company

_____________________________________________________

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part fifteen. 2003

Posted on July 12, 2012 by J L tagged.

2003

18 January 2003 Porterville Auditorium Porterville California

Back to the Beans and Bangers circuit.

13 March 2003 The Brook Southampton UK

Peter Albin Victoria Sidley Sam Andrew

14 March 2003 The Rayners London Harrows UK I asked Kacee Clanton to sing with us on this trip, and she did a good job. I said, “Only thing is, don’t bring anyone with you, and pack extremely light. We only have a small van to travel in. Also, where we will be staying, there are often no elevators and many flights of stairs,” so Kacee showed up with her girlfriend and the largest suitcase I have ever seen. She’s been to Europe many times since then. I bet her luggage was lighter each time.

Once a year we go to Europe. Sometimes twice.

The band this time: Sam Andrew, Chad Quist, Glenn Halvarsson, Kacee Clanton and Peter Albin.

The band with the van.

15 March 2003 Borderline London

16 March 2003 Borderline Diest Belgium Quite a coincidence to play two clubs with the same name in two different countries on two consecutive nights.

17 March 2003 Club Banana Peel Ruiselede Belgium This was a tent in an open field. A happening place, though.

It was fun and educational to be in the Netherlands.

One of the best men who ever lived: Vincent Van Gogh. I read his letters to his brother Theo, and, even allowing for the fact that he is putting on his best face for a dear relative who is going to send him money, comfort and love, still, the piety, honesty, penetration, sheer energy and deep feeling of Vincent are amazing and very affecting. If he had never painted a stroke, he would still be a very remarkable person.

Van Gogh’s birthplace.

He was born in Zundert, in the far south of the Netherlands.

18 March 2003 Stairway To Heaven Utrecht Netherlands

19 March 2003 Rijksmuseum Amsterdam I went to this museum long ago when I was in the Kozmic Blues Band, and back now.

20 March 2003 Wilhelmina Eindhoven Netherlands

My mother’s name was Wilhelmina.

She was named for this queen of the Netherlands.

21 March 2003 Patronaat Haarlem Netherlands This is the hometown of Frans Hals, an extraordinary painter.

Franz Hals visited this home for retired men and painted the inhabitants in the very room where I saw his work. One of the quickest artists ever, he handled all that 17th century lace with verve and accuracy, alla prima, very few corrections. It was a privilege to be in the same room where he did that.

Hals did this painting in this building in about three hours. If you look closely at the original, you can see the almost incredible rapidity of the brushstrokes.

22 March 2003 Iduna Drachten Netherlands

Some of these towns were so destroyed in World War Two that they are brand new and even strip mallish today.

Hengelo is almost due east of Amsterdam, close to Enschede.

23 March 2003 Kleine Kunst Hengelo Netherlands “Kleine Kunst” means “little art.”

Janis Joplin

Now we drive far south to Velden am Wörthersee, Austria.

Gúðrun Kofler (center above) has brought us here to her place many times now.

25 March 2003 Bluesiana Rock Café Velden am Wörthersee Austria

Velden is way down in the south of Austria between Villach and Klagenfurt, very close to Italy and Slovenia.

This marquee greeted us on entering Velden which has aspects of Tahoe and Santa Barbara.

In old Germany the catchphrase was Kinder Küche Kirche (Children Kitchen Church). Here it’s Konzert Keller Kofler, something like that: Concert Cellar Kofler, Gudrun’s surname.

Chad can not only bowl, he can also rock and roll.

We had fun. I apologized for George W. Bush, but otherwise we had a wonderful night.

Monika Pabst ! ”Papst,” exactly the same pronunciation, means “pope,” and I think she would make a great pope. Papst Monika Pabst.

Glenn Halvarsson, sommelier for the Swedish tap water tour.

Chad giving his Victory salute.

One of the all time great guitar players. Clean, intelligent and always interesting.

Die Freundlichkeit. Austrians are light, witty, schpritzy like Mozart’s music.

An example of this is down the street at the Stehbar (the stand bar). You think a US bar would advertise this way ?

26 March 2003 Planet Music Vienna

28 March 2003 Colos-saal Aschaffenburg Germany The name of the club is a Wortspiel, a pun. Koloss (Colossus) is a giant, and Saal is an auditorium (like French Salle).

29 March 2003 Alter Gasometer Zwickau Germany The old gasmeter or the old gas company. I like the reuse of these buildings. This one is a beauty.

“East” Germany was under Soviet domination for a long time and there was not a lot of money under Communist rule, so, paradoxically, many places were left “unimproved” and as they were in the 1930s. Indeed, Prague in many places looks much as it did in Mozart’s time, which is why they filmed extended portions of Amadeus there instead of in Vienna. Communism had the inadvertent virtue of preserving an older way of life.

When I stay in an old hotel room in eastern Germany, I think a lot about the lives lived there under Communism. The faded walls, ancient appliances and creaky floors speak to me of all the people who simply tried to make it through those parlous times.

The “cookwash.” Laundromats are great places for guitar playing. Somehow they filter out the mistakes.

The Sword of the East. Don’t get me wrong. There were a lot of beautiful ideas in Communism. The rights of women, for example, were recognized under that system, and in old Soviet films you see women engineers on locomotives, women doctors, a real gender equality only beginning to be seen in the West.

Communism, though, had the misfortune to be directed by human beings and we all know how selfish and venal they can be, and how even a little power can pervert the finest ideals.

So, in the former East Germany, I see much evidence of the wreckage of hope and ambition and comfort. This can be dispiriting.

The times, though, as someone once noted, are a changin’. All of these old buildings and old lives have a new lease now. Suddenly former East Germany is hip. The people in the DDR were “hillbillies” not so long ago. Now they are “authentic” and preserved from the olden times. This is a familiar scenario. Social regentrification, I suppose you could call it, and it’s worth a lot more than nothing.

It’s just that, when I am in those old hotel rooms late at night, I think of the ones who didn’t make it, the ones who died shortly before the Wall came down and thus lived their entire lives in desperate hope, cramped conformity and, sommetimes, in terror.

We are the people.

Vacation in the DDR, the Orwellian named Deutsche Demokratische Republik. Now that it’s over, everyone wants to reëxperience life under Communism. The “Ford” in the East Germany of that time was called the Trabant (the Trabi) and now everyone wants to have one and especially that little tent that was erected on top of the car. It’s so chic, don’t you know ?

How quickly we forget and how easy to remember the “good old days,” which, of course, never were. Nostalgia for neuralgia.

Brezhnev and Honneker, the East German leader, certainly seemed to be feeling the love, but there wasn’t a lot of trickle down. There never is. There never will be.

31 March 2003 Objekt 5 Halle Germany

1 April 2003 Musiktheater Rex Lorsch Germany

Albert Ellis made this button.

2 April 2003 Rockfabrik Ludwigsburg Germany

It’s funny to me, because “Rock” in German means “skirt,” and fabrik could be cloth, but it really means Rock Factory. Rock und Blouse could be a skirt and blouse, or it could be Rock and Blues. Depends on how good your spelling is.

4 April 2003 Fismo Einsiedeln Switzerland My room was right across from this monastery.

Fismo is an acronym: Fédération Internationale des Sports Mécaniques Originaux.

The CH = Confoederatio Helvetica The Helvetic Confederation. In his book The Gallic War, Julius Caesar used the word “Helvetica” for what is now Switzerland.

6 April 2003 Albani Music Club Winterthur Switzerland

My niece Emily Bullis Rollins came to see me in Winterthur. We had such a good time. I wish I would have had her sing a jazz standard or two.

From Winterthur to Dallas… culture shock.

Cathy Richardson sang with us and Joel Hoekstra played guitar, two hot Chicagoans.

9 May 2003 Wildflower Arts & Music Festival Richardson Texas

28 June 2003 Jenner By The Sea California

17 July 2003 Point Breeze Webster Massachusetts

18 July 2003 Ocean Beach Park New London Connecticu

19 July 2003 Vetrock Mason Field North Attleboro Massachusetts

Elise Piliwale midtown Manhattan.

27 July 2003 Central Park Summer Stage New York City Simone and Elise.

Diane Lotny and the fabulous Rob Clores.

Ashley Kahn and friends.

This is where we met the beautiful and talented Sophia Ramos. Sophia sang Ball & Chain and she stopped the show.

Couple Number One : Carrie and Rob Clores.

There was an embarrassment of riches that day: Annisette, Baby Jane Dexter, Chan Marshall, Christine Ohlman, Caron Wheeler, Diane Lotny, Genya Ravan, Judith Owen, Kate Pierson, Lene Lovich, Little Queenie, Milini Khan, N’Dea Davenport, Phoebe Snow and Simone.

Judith Owen.

Kate Pierson was her usual charming self.

Miz Happiness and Joy, Milini Khan.

Brad Campbell and Snooky Flowers came, and we pretended we were the Kozmic Blues Band with Rob Clores and Maury Baker, the original drummer.

Milini Khan belongs to Chaka, and Simone belongs to Nina, so we had some royalty there.

Liz Getz and Elise Piliwale.

Phoebe Snow came by and sang Piece of My Heart. It was so good to see her… and hear her.

Diane Lotny, Kate Pierson and Elise Piliwale.

Chan Marshall.

Chan sang Down On Me.

Cat Power.

Ry Cooder came to Central Park because he was playing with some Okinawan musicians.

My first oil painting, 2003.

18 September 2003 Sky Church Experimental Music Project Seattle

19 September 2003 The Kenworthy Performing Arts Center Moscow Idaho

20 September 2003 First Orcas Island Music Festival Orcas Island Washington

I did these paintings in three hours… and they rather look it.

25 September 2003 Justin Herman Plaza San Francisco

4 October 2003 The Landmark Hotel bathroom sink, room 105 Los Angeles Photo: Howard Sounes

Yes. We still think of her all the time. Photo: Didier Richard

12 October 2003 Avalon Ballroom San Francisco

Wendy Rich sleep learning.

6 November 2003 Skihuette Oberwangen Switzerland

Oberwangen is very close to Bern. We often play also in Rubigen (in the l0wer righthand corner of this map).

7 November 2003 The Krone Bar Einsiedeln Switzerland

8 November 2003 Baden Halle 36 Baden Baden was a famous spa. Dostoyefsky set a novel there, Der Spieler, The Gambler. This word “Messe” can mean “a mass” or a “tradefair.” You see it a lot with city names. ”Messe” can merely mean “town center” or something to that effect, since the fair, and the mass, were usually held in the center of town.

9 November 2003 Albani Music Club Winterthur Switzerland Lovely people here.

Wendy Rich Glenn Halvarsson Glenn is Swedish, don’t you know. In fact, he’s a big Swedish meatball.

Sound checks. I love them so much. (That is an example of irony.) During this one, which was actually pleasant, we performed Blue Bossa and Cry Me A River, which Wendy Rich sang to perfection. The jazz ballad is really her strong point.

Wendy with that dazzling smile.

Wiedersehen !

11 November 2003 Hirsch Nürnberg Germany To some, this town connotes trials of World War Two gangsters. To me, it is the home of Albrecht Dürer.

Typically restrained crowd at one of our, pardon the expression, concerts.

I visited Dürers house in Nürnberg, and pulled this print on his own press upstairs. Big thrill for an artist.

Dürer was a very successful artist. He was the Norman Rockwell of his time, in that his art was instantly understood and very popular.

I love his work too, and have made many copies of it.

13 November 2003 Das Movie Bielefeld Germany

Bielefeld doesn’t exist! For some reason, internet users in Germany write this a lot. I know it exists. I’ve played there a couple of times.

Michael Spörke is writing a very interesting book about Willie Big Mama Mae Thornton and I am helping him with translation and editing. Maddie Fields wrote Ball & Chain and Big Mama sang it so memorably. Big Mama was big, in every way. She looked like a truck driver. When she and Nick Gravenites were together, it was like two truck drivers. The rest of us would cower in the corner when they were holding forth backstage.

Michael published the German edition of his book Big Brother and the Holding Company, Die Band, die Janis Joplin berühmt machte, in 2003 or so. This title in German has a double meaning that is impossible to translate into English. It can mean either “the band that made Janis Joplin famous,” or “the band that Janis Joplin made famous.” Rather a neat ambiguity there.

Elaine Mayes took this interesting photograph.

14 November 2003 Alte Mälzerei Regensburg Malz = malt, so this could mean The Old Maltery, a brewery.

Da läuft was. Something’s going on (t)here.

The Cotton Club Zug Switzerland

Zug is a little south of Zürich. “Zug” means a train or a column (of, say, marching soldiers) or a procession, so it’s an odd name for a town.

Katy Did Did and Peter Bilt. Peter, good guitar player, used to play with Pearl Harbor and the Explosions about the same time that I played with Pearl Heart.

Ellen Janet Deible-Stachurski Dan Andrew

30 December 2003 Sudsy Malone’s Cincinnati Ohio

31 December 2003 The Rose Medina Ohio

See you next week !

Sam Andrew

Big Brother and the Holding Company

Hey ! Little Richard !

______________________________________________________

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part fourteen. 2002

Posted on July 8, 2012 by J L tagged.

2002

19 January 2002 Turlock California

28 January 2002 Chanhassen Minnesota

31 January 2002 Area 22 Newport Rhode Island

1 February 2002 Bank Street Café New London Connecticut

Every time I play at the Bank Street Café, someone asks me about my brother Dan who went to the Coast Guard Academy in New London.

Study for a painting.

2 February 2002 The Company Theatre Norwell Massachusetts

After playing in Norwell, we fly over the amazing Atlantic Ocean to England.

13 February 2002 The Astor Theatre Deal UK I feel as if Charles Dickens may have written about this place.

Right on the English Channel. Dover is a bit farther south down the coast and Southampton more so.

14 February The Brook Southampton UK

Beth Hart played many of these same places just before us. We once followed Yngvie Malmsteen all over Europe in a similar fashion.

I suppose you could call it the Beans and Bangers Circuit.

15 February 2002 The Point Cardiff Wales As we were entering Wales, our driver said, “Do you have your passports?” I started and replied, “No, no one told us to… ” He smiled. We fell for it. I fell for it… and her.

The French call Wales the pays de Galles. It’s a land of singers, poets, actors.

Bards

People of the voice.

Charlotte Church

The Point used to be St. Stephen’s Church and it still felt like it.

16 February 2001 The Flowerpot Derby

Derby is in the north and center of England.

It’s pronounced “darby,” as in Darby Slick.

I asked a Black Country man how he pronounced the name of this big city and he said, “BUH min ghum.” Rather different from “Birming hayam,” as they say in Alabama.

17 February 2002 The Stables Milton Keynes UK Cleo Laine, the American singer, lives here and she and her husband built this place.

Chad Quist Sam Andrew Lisa Mills Todd Vinciguerra Peter Albin

20 February 2002 The Limelight Crewe UK

Crewe is in the northwest of England, in Cheshire, where the cat lives. Crewe is the home of the Bentley automobile.

And the Limelight.

21 February 2002 Picture House Beverley UK This is such a beautiful place.

Beverley is near Hull on the Humber river.

Brierley Hill is in the West Midlands, the Black Country.

Brierley Hill is in Dudley. Samuel Johnson grew up in the town of Lichfield on the east side of Birmingham, the other side.

22 February 2002 Robin Hood Brierley Hill UK This is where Robert Plant came and stole Lisa Mills away from us. Hood Robin.

Oh, well, I have stolen and I have been stolen from, and so it goes. Paul Kantner paid me the compliment of stealing Cathy Richardson from me.

And then once or twice they took Sophia Ramos also.

I’ll just take it as a salute to my good taste in singers.

Just call me the unpaid talent scout for the Jefferson Starship. But I have stolen many a musician from them, and Jimmy Page saved my life once, so, eh?, we’re even.

23 February 2002 The Boardwalk Sheffield UK

24 February 2002 The Mean Fiddler London

27 February 2002 Piesel Fulda Germany

28 February 2002 Theater Rex Lorsch Germany

We took this photo in Liverpool, but I’m using it for Lorsch.

Laura Albergante Visconti took this photograph.

Then we went to Schwerin, Germany, way up north. It felt like going to the end of the world.

1 March 2002 Speicher Schwerin Germany

2 March 2002 Blues Garage Hannover Germany

This is where we met Michael Spörke who wrote a book about our band called: Big Brother and the Holding Company, Die Band, die Janis Joplin berühmt machte. I translated this book and in English it is now called: Living With the Myth of Janis Joplin. Michael is writing a new book about Willie Mae Big Mama Thornton and I am doing some light translating and editing on that one too. It’s an interesting story. We played many times with Big Mama and she was a fascinating character, so Michael’s book is well worth reading.

“Alte Weberei” could mean “the old weavery.”

3 March 2002 Alte Weberei Cottbus Germany

Cottbus is very far east, almost in Poland, and it feels like it.

4 March 2002 Hahn (which means “hen”) is the other airport near Frankfurt, smaller, a lille easier to negotiate. It’s like La Guardia compared to JFK.

Our friend Elena Lichtenberger (upper left) is from Kaiserslautern.

Saint Anthony (San Antonio) praying over my head.

Muddy Waters and his wife. She’s playing an A and he’s making it play.

I stole the Muddy image from Jessie Brawer. Jessie, thank you.

23 March 2002 The Powerhouse Pub Folsom California

6 April 2002 Center for the Arts Grass Valley California Drew (great name for an artist, right?) Friedman did this drawing.

20 April 2002 The Majestic Theatre Streator Illinois

Alex Call and I wrote a couple of songs together. I recorded one of them with Mary Bridget Davies, Ben Nieves and Jim Wall just last December.

At that same recording session, we did a couple of songs that Wendy Rich and I wrote just about the time this photograph was taken.

3 May 2002 Avalon Ballroom San Francisco

23 May 2002 Melba Theatre Batesville Arkansas

Beverly Ambort

Thank you, Rona Walstra.

Beverly Ambort Chad Quist Help ! Chad has a giant Bud growing out of his head. No, not that kind of Bud.

An illustration from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam, artist Edmund J. Sullivan.

Some singers sound like they have a microphone in their throat. She sounds as if she has the whole PA in there.

24 May 2002 Pop’s Sauget Illinois

26 May 2002 The Waterfront Covington Kentucky

From my fingerpainting period.

“Tatemae honne,” the title of this painting, is Japanese for the public face and the private self.

Sam Andrew Lisa Mills

1 June 2002 The Thirsty Ear Columbus Ohio

One of my first sculptures.

2 June 2002 Motown Harley Davidson Taylor Michigan

14 June 2002 Constable Jack’s Newcastle California

Two good friends of the band: Judy and Todd Bolton.

15 June 2002 Lake County Fairgrounds Lakeport California On the west shore of Clearlake.

Sam Andrew senior year Kubasaki High School Okinawa Japan

29 June 2002 Tussey Mountain Amphitheatre Boalsburg Pennsylvania

7 July 2002

Musicians for Love, Janis in San Diego.

12 July 2002 Festival Grounds At The Pier Buffalo New York

27 July 2002 Kronberg Germany In a gemütliches Gasthaus. Very typical post gig scene.

31 July 2002 Woodstock Swiss style

8 August 2002 Point Breeze Webster Massachusetts

9 August 2002 Fall River Celebrates Fall River Massachusetts

10 August 2002 Ocean Beach Park New London Connecticut

15 August 2002 Coeur d’Alene Casino Worley Idaho

16 August 2002 Whitehorse Mountain Amphitheatre Darrington Washington

17 August 2002 Grant County Fair Moses Lake Washington

4 October 2002 The Landmark Hotel, room 105 Los Angeles

12 October 2002 Avalon Ballroom San Francisco I was watching Manhattan (Woody Allen) in this cinema when Alan Weiss approached. “Recognize the place ?” I looked around and it slowly dawned on me that this was the Avalon, a place where I had been caught in the broom closet with Dany and a joint. I swallowed the joint and tried to swallow Dany too.

Sign for our road when we lived in Lagunitas, California.

19 October 2002 Center For The Fine Arts Grass Valley California

20 October 2002 Spirit of Peace San Francisco Civic Center

26 October 2002 The Brookdale Lodge Brookdale California

Marie-Hélène Castelain

Françoise Hardy When I lived in Paris, Françoise Hardy and Johnny Hallyday were the king and queen of the scene.

I was barely aware of them, but in restaurants I would see them on Scopitone, a kind of proto MTV, video jukeboxes that would play a song for a franc.

27 November 2002 When musicians play snatches of other melodies during a solo, they are said to be “quoting.” These are some of the quotes I use when s0loing on Blindman.

Next week, part fifteen. Thank you for being here.

_______________________________________________________

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part thirteen. 2000-2001

Posted on July 1, 2012 by J L tagged.

2000 – 2001

2000-2001 Lisa Mills. You think she looks good, you should hear her sing.

El Ciego is Blindman and No Te Gusto is Down On Me, but that seems like not such a good translation. No Te Gusto means you don’t like me, and the song means much more than that. Well, No Te Gusto means I Don’t Please You, if you please, but “looks like everybody in the whole round world… DOWN on me” is a whole different kettle of fish. More, kozmic, cosmic, universal… beyond YOU don’t like ME. More like the whole damn world don’t like me. And stronger than that, is DOWN on me.

There IS another meaning to Down On Me, as I was to learn with Marilyn Chambers.

We were going to go on the road together and she asked me to play Down On Me and she was going to sing it. She took the song literally and began acting out the down on me part. That was interesting.

22 January 2000 Six Rivers Brewing Company McKinleyville California

Elise Piliwale in Hawaii, sweet baby.

26 January 2000 Paradise Lounge San Francisco

10 February 2000 Halley DeVestern

Simone Mo took this photograph of my tuner at the Koko Live Club in Biella Castelletto, Italia.

Doing Love, Janis at The Bay Street Theatre Sag Harbor New York

Funny writer. I wish I could remember his son and the circumstances.

Elise and I. Village Theatre, Love Janis.

Rob Clores, and there is Joe Stefko in the back.

James Gurley

I spent February-March in Paris writing songs and recording with Janice de Rosa and Martyn Ingle.

Elise self portrait charcoal and strings.

Elise’s favorite self portrait.

2 April 2000 Record Convention Pittsburgh

My handsome brother Dan Andrew.

John Till Good guitar player, good man.

Elise at the Acropolis.

In Austria, I sometimes stay in a town called Klagenfurt where Gustav Mahler had a Komponierhäuschen, a little composing house, on Lake Wörther.

Don Aters took this photograph.

26 May 2000 The Valley Grill Great Valley New York

27 May 2000 AM JAM Biker Festival Cobleskill Fairgrounds Cobleskill New York

28 May 2000 Joyous Lake Woodstock New York

17 June 2000 Medicine Park Music Hall Medicine Park Oklahoma Lance Dresser

Lisa Mills

24 June 2000 Cuesta College San Luis Obispo California

15 July 2000 Burg Herzberg Open Air Festival Hof Hühnstadt Germany

31 July 2000 Writing about Jerry for Relix Magazne.

19 August 2000 Westover Winery Castro Valley California

Elise Piliwale Sam Andrew Westover Winery Castro Valley Gig 2000

25 August 2000 Kelsey’s New Albany Indiana

26 August 2000 Motown Harley Davidson Taylor Michigan

Sam Andrew Peter Albin

29 August 2000 The Combat Zone Toronto Ontario

30 August 2000 The Ottawa Bar Windsor Ontario

31 August 2000 The Village Inn Leamington Ontario

1 September 2000 Classic Fest 2000 Windsor Ontario

2 September 2000 Rockin’ Rhythm & Blues Fort Erie Racetrack Ontario

3 September 2000 Roach Roast Festival Rainbow Farm Vandalia Michigan

8 September 2000 State Capital Steps Sacramento

22-23 September 2000 Alturas Night Club Reno

4 October 2000 The Landmark Hotel, hallway to room 105 Los Angeles Photo: Howard Sounes

7 October 2000 Schnepf Farms Festival Site Queen Creek Arizona

Tim Robbins Joel Hoekstra

Joel has a large “extra” part in Rock of Ages. He holds his own with Russell Brand in the Strip being destroyed scene, and that is saying something because Russell is very talented and he has the divine spark of energy in him… something that cannot be taught or learned, but is innate. And Joel holds his own. He commands as much attention in that scene as Russell does.

Another Englishman who could be destined for greatness. I hope so anyway. He deserves it.

Joel Hoekstra is probably the best guitarist I have ever known. Not the retiring type either. He did it the easy way. He practiced eight hours a day for twenty years. Anybody can do that, right ? OK, let’s see you do it. It’s time for him to stop doing that hand gesture, though.

OK, full disclosure. Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand fall in love and KISS ON THE MOUTH in this film. Since Brokeback Mountain, all the Hollywood dudes have to do this. It’s right at the top of their resumé: Am willing to kiss same sex on mouth. Actors are such hams. They’ll do anything for a little exposure, or cash, or, preferably, both.

Reminds me of Brezhnev and Honneker, but at least they have the excuse that they’re commies and godless fellow travelers. I bet no one paid them for this. Shame, shame. Oh, well, that’s life under communism for you. You never get paid for having fun.

Tom Cruise can do anything… except stay married… ooh, ouch, no, I didn’t say that, praise god, no, I didn’t say that. This Rock of Ages film is extreme, excessive, poppy, ridiculous and silly, of course, and it has NOTHING to do with being a musician and playing rock and roll for living, but it’s stupid and dumb and I love stupid and dumb movies, so I’m a fan, definitely. Oh, yes, did I mention TOO LOUD.

Whatever happened to the guy in the suit singing “I’m In The Mood For Love” to the simpering young girl ? Ahhh, those days may be gone forever… Moonlight becomes you, it goes with your hair, you certainly know the right things to wear… They just don’t write’em like that anymore. I had to sing these lines in a play once. I thought, wow, someone got paid for writing this ?

Elise and I saw Rock of Ages in the theatre too, before we saw the film, and that helps. How, I’m not quite sure.

13 October 2000 Mississippi Coast Harley Davidson Anyway, Joel was on this gig with us in BillLUCKsee, Biloxi, Mississippi.

People from the Northeast say “OreGON” and “BiLOXee,” probably thinking that here on the Gulf Coast there are lox to be found. Lachs is the German word for “salmon” and that’s where “lox” came from. BUT, in the West they say ORegon and in the South they say BiLucksee.

Sam Andrew Lisa Mills

Wendy Causey Elise Piliwale Biloxi Gig

25 November 2000 Paper Song Oakland

Daphne Graham

25 November 2000 Swan Marketplace Oakland

3 February 2001 Paradise Beach Inn Grover’s Beach California Clams from Pismo Beach.

23 February 2001 Bio tuner ? I love that. It’s so Variety. Slang from the 1940s.

25 February 2001 We put a lot of work into this one.

24 March 2001 Schnepf Family Farm Queen Creek Arizona

Janis Joplin.

26 March 2001

Chet Helms

Musicians in the New York version of Love, Janis.

6 April 2001 New York Daily News

23 April 2001

Larry Etkin Joel Hoekstra Dan Cipriano 23 April 2001

26 April 2001 The after party for the New York Love, Janis.

27 May 2001 Ashkenaz Berkeley

1 June 2001 Sedgwick County Zoo: chimpanzee division Wichita Kansas

2 June 2001 Medicine Park Music Hall Medicine Park Oklahoma

Bill Ganaye.

4 June 2001 Heathrow, what a great name..

16 June 2001 Starlight Amphitheatre San Diego This is in Balboa Park, a lovely place

17 June 2001 Pine Knob Auburn Hills Michigan

Elise Piliwale 1996.

20 June 2001 Experimental Music Project Sky Church Seattle

22 June 2001 Keswick Theatre Philadelphia

23 June 2001 B.B. King’s Blues Club New York City

1 July 2001 Battlefield Harley Davidson Festival Gettysburg Pennsylvania

13 July 2001 Riverside Ballroom Green Bay Wisconsin

14 July 2001 Angel’s Saloon Hamler Ohio

Mimi Fariña

15 July 2001 Motown Harley Davidson Taylor Michigan

18 July 2001 The Borderline London

Peter Albin Chad Quist Sam Andrew Lisa Mills Todd Vinciguerra

19 July 2001 The Masque Liverpool Anthony Edman took this photograph.

You can tune a guitar…

… but you can’t tuna fish.

20 July 2001 The Brook Southampton with Anthony Edman

21 July 2001 Open Air Festival Burg Herzberg Germany

Lisa Mills.

11 August 2001 Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City New Jersey

12 August 2001 Gathering On The Mountain Blakeslee Pennsylvania

17 August 2001 The Thirsty Ear Tavern Columbus Ohio

Don and Sarah Graham.

Addyson Graham

18 August 2001 Lapeer Days Festival Lapeer Michigan

Clark Walker.

Jan Sullivan Elise Piliwale

19 August 2001 Emerald Queen Casino Tacoma Washington

24 August 2001 The Orbit Club Boynton Beach Florida

26 August 2001 Rockstock Toole Utah

14 September 2001 Elks Lodge Chico California

16 September 2001 Westover Winery Castro Valley California

Kikeriki, unsere goldene Jungfrau ist wieder hie.

20 September 2001 Beth Hart, Jon Nichols standing behind her, Todd Vinciguerra on drums. I never had Beth sing in Big Brother. She’s the only one I missed.

Beth Hart, we would love to have you come sing with us if you ever have the time.

Doodling, always doodling.

I drew Kacee Clanton and Jon Nichols at the Love, Janis rehearsal.

And Todd Vinciguerra, the drummer.

28 September 2001 San Diego opening of Love, Janis.

Dana Anderson Jon Nichols I wish I knew her name.

I met Kacee Clanton on this show. Oh, happy day.

Randal Myler, good friend and straight shooter, wrote this play based on Janis’ letters home to her family.

Iz Mi Hope DeBorse

29 September 2001 Redwood Empire Fairgrounds Ukiah California

2 October 2001 Elise and I are married in Las Vegas. Smartest thing I ever did.

When she was very young, Mary Bridget Davies sent me this photograph of her Hallowe’en costume, little realizing that she would spend a great deal of her time dressed this way while we were doing Love, Janis.

4 October 2001 The Landmark Hotel, room 105 Table by the window Los Angeles Photo: Howard Sounes

17 November 2001 Fox Theatre Redwood City California

21 November 2001 Cyndee-Sue’s Saloon East Bethel Minnesota

23 November 2001 On Broadway Springfield Illinois Clark Walker’s home town.

Clark Walker

I hope your week is a happy and successful one.

Sam Andrew

Lisa Mills

____________________________________________________________

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part eleven. 1998. 17 june

Posted on June 16, 2012 by J L tagged.

1998 Kate Russo, Kacee Clanton, Andra Mitrovich, Cathy Richardson, Lisa Mills, Lisa Battle, Kathi McDonald.

23 January 1998 Six Rivers Brewing Company McKinleyville California

6 February 1998 Bay Brewing Company Milwaukee Wisconsin

7 February 1998 Marquette University Milwaukee Wisconsin

Margaret Gurley.

10 February 1998 Tuxedo Junction Danbury Conneticut “See ya, James.” “Not if I see you first.” Typical Gurley exchange.

20 February 1998 The Emelin Theatre Mamaroneck New York

Tom Finch, Carl Peachman, Catherine Cavalieri, Sam Andrew, Lisa Battle, Peter Albin, Dave Getz, Judy & Todd Bolton at The Emelin Theater.

Peter Albin.

21 February 1998 The Call Providence Rhode Island

22 February 1998 Bodles Opera House Chester New York ”James, you’re a great guitar player.” “Takes one to know one.”

26 February 1998 Manny’s Car Wash New York City Oh, man, I love being in New York and meeting people like Kate Russo.

27 February 1998 Mexicali Blues Teaneck New Jersey Catherine Cavalieri and Carl Peachman took LSD tonight. That was interesting. We all drove home together. To show you how stoned they were, I was doing the driving. I performed admirably and noticed a still, meditative feeling in the car. Rather different from 99 Bottles of Beer On The Wall.

Having passed her acid test, Catherine begins booking the band. Typical sweet, helpful note from her.

28 February 1998 Van Dyck Schenectady New York Don Wilcock was a jazz writer attuned to the passing scene.

Lisa Battle.

1 March 1998 Khyber Philadelphia

2 March 1998 Letter from Jack Ortman.

Jeannie Anderson James Anderson Elise Piliwale Sam Andrew Margaret Joplin

Dusty Street Gilbert Klein

7 March 1998 Bammies

Koko Dree.

14 March 1998 Cocodrie San Francisco

22 April 1998 Dave’s CC Club Tallahassee Florida This was a real juke joint out in the woods. The owner Dave is a good man.

24 April 1998 Ray’s Downtown Club West Palm Beach

25 April 1998 Cheers Fort Lauderdale

26 April 1998 Mr. Pub Ocala Florida

1 May 1998 Trader’s Lakeland Florida May Day ! May Day ! This pilot’s distress call from World War Two was originally “M’aidez !” Help Me !

2 May 1998 Sebastian Beach Inn Sebastian Beach Florida

12 May 1998

15 May 1998 President Casino Biloxi Mississippi

16 May 1998 Tipitina’s New Orleans

The Mt. Tabor Theater was named after an extinct volcano located within the city boundaries of Portland. The theatre was operating prior to 1941 and was still open in 1950. Although it closed and fell on hard times, it still displayed the name on the marquee and some unique neon tubing. It is situated across and down S.E. Hawthorne Street from the Bagdad, which has fared much better.

12 June 1998 Mount Tabor Portland Oregon

The colorful gentlemen wh0 used to build, finance and own these places in the 1950s called them “carpet joints.”

13 June 1998 Reno Hilton Reno

19 June 1998 Six Rivers McKinleyville California

Peter Walsh Sam Andrew George Michalski

20 June 1998 Altamont Speedway Livermore Caliifornia Speedway ?

25 June 1998 Manny’s Car Wash New York City Look at the people who played here in one month’s time: Kerry Kearney, Susan Tedeschi, Jimmy Vivino.

Talking to Daniel Aloi.

26 June 1998 West Strand Grill Kingston New York

Kingston is on highway 87 almost due north of Manhattan. Woodstock is a little to the northeast of Kingston.

Buffalo is in the western part of the state between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, where the Falls are.

27 June 1998 Mohawk Place Buffalo New York Someone made such a great recording of us here, including a fugue that Tom Finch and I played.

28 June 1998 Stanhope Blues Fest Stanhope New Jersey

1 July 1998 Kingsbury’s Elmira New York Mark Twain’s wife Olivia Langdon grew up here.

The Clemens family lived in Hartford, Connecticut, but they summered at Quarry Farm, Elmira, New York.

Livy’s sister Susan Crane built a study in the form of a pilot house for the author. He wrote his best known books here. Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and The Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. He would breakfast in the main house and then walk down here to the study to write all day.

…since we have perched away up here on top of the hill near heaven I have the feeling of being a sort of scrub angel & am more moved to help shove the clouds around, & get the stars on deck promptly, & keep all things trim & ship-shape in the firmament than to bother myself with the humble insect-interests & occupations of the distant earth.

Twain’s study in the form of a pilot house out in back of the main house where Susan Crane, Livy’s sister, lived.

3 July 1998 Godfrey Daniel’s Bethlehem Pennsylvania

4 July 1998 Burke Estate Hastings-On-Hudson New York

19 July 1998 Uncle Henry’s 90th Birthday Celebration Guerneville California Peter played stand up bass, and I sang How Long Has This Been Going On at this event.

24 July 1998 Atom Club Tokyo

26 July 1998 Shizuoka Royal Hotel Shizuoka Japan Our hotel is at the ‘H.’

28 July 1998 Rag Club Kyoto

31 July 1998 Casanova Makawao Maui Hawaii

1 August 1998 Hapa’s Kihei Hawaii

2 August 1998 Anna Banana’s Honolulu This is Fort Street, about 1930.

Anna Banana’s.

15 August 1998 St. Paul’s River Feast St. Paul Minnesota

16 August 1998 The Twisters Kenosha Wisconsin

19 August 1998 Mad Frog Cincinnati

20 August 1998 Wilbert’s Cleveland I liked this place. Friendly people

22 August 1998 B.B. King’s Los Angeles

23 August 1998 House of Blues West Hollywood

11 September 1998 Teatro Metopolitan México, D.F. One of the best gigs ever. Kate Russo came along and sang and played so beautifully.

I did several interviews in Spanish and they seemed to understand me, which is good, because they often don’t understand me in English.

Danny Uzilevsky came along and played some great guitar.

We were here with Fito de la Parra and his merry men, and that is always fun.

Elise was with me and she made everything so much more memorable, as she always does.

¡ Saludos a México !

Kate Russo.

9 October 1998 The Call Providence Geri Verdi sang these gigs with us.

10 October 1998 Harpers Ferry Boston

11 October 1998 Consolati Performing Arts Center Sheffield Massachusetts

14 October 1998 Ram’s Head Annapolis Maryland

15 October 1998 Friar Tuck’s Norfolk Virginia

16 October 1998 Jaxx Springfield Virginia

17 October 1998 Stanhope House Stanhope New Jersey

18 October 1998 The Schoolhouse Croton Falls New York

22 October 1998 Milestones Rochester New York

23 October 1998 The Van Dyck Schenectady New York

24 October 1998 Sandy’s Glen Falls New York

25 October 1998 Riverstreet Jazz Café Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania

27 October 1998 Hard Rock Café Atlantic City New Jersey

This is when “the Carol guitar” entered the Hard Rock system. She now travels all over the world visiting all the Hard Rocks.

28 October 1998 Khyber Philadelphia

30 October 1998 Mexicali Blues Teaneck New Jersey Kate Russo.

We did these tunes and many others as well.

With Jerry Miller and Bob Mosly at Wetlands, New York City.

27 November 1998 19 Broadway Fairfax California I love the Russell brothers. These guys can burn the house down in fifteen minutes.

5 December 1998 Boulder Theatre Boulder California

Part twelve next week. See you then.

Sam Andrew

Big Brother and the Holding Company

_______________________________________________________________________

Big Brother history, part eight, 1990 – 1992

Posted on May 24, 2012 by J L tagged.

Watching

1990 – 1992

This is the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park 1895. The Museum still looked a lot like this when I first visited there in 1960.

1990-1992

Michel Bastian and I did a lot of gigs together in Big Brother and also in The Sam Andrew Band.

24 May 1990 Chi Chi Club San Francisco

Elise Wainani Piliwale.

25 May 1990 River Theatre Guerneville California

James Gurley always called me mon jumeau malveillant, or, when he spoke English, my evil twin. When he broke out into German, I became der Übelzwilling.

James very modestly called himself Saint James.

In the 1960s, he called himself The Archfiend of the Universe, a much more interesting appellation, not necessarily more accurate, just more interesting.

26-27 May 1990 Caspar Inn Caspar California

Photo: Polly Belinda Rendall

28 May 1990 Live Wire Grass Valley California

Tara Coyote-Finch

Peter Albin

14 February 1991 Sam Andrew Band Paramount Theatre Seattle This is a beautiful old theatre.

Our guitar player on this gig was Mick Taylor, and he did a great job. Veronica Vitti came and sang beautifully.

The always inventive Rob Moitoza played bass and Chris Leighton was on drums.

When Chris plays, I always feel like a Klieg light went on somewhere. It’s like, “OK, we’re in the big time now.”

23 March 1991

23 April 1991 I-Beam San Francisco

21 May 1991

Once when we were playing Piece of My Heart (Pizza My Heart?) in Lake Arrowhead, California, Eric Burdon came in, sat in the front row and ordered a pizza to be delivered. Here he is talking to an old friend of mine.

1 June 1991 The Cannery San Francisco

20 July 1991 I-Beam San Francisco

2 August 1991 Anna Bananas Honolulu

Elise’s aunt Shirley Piliwale’s stage name was Varoa Tiki. She was a very good singer and she played every instrument.

Silver Piliwale is Elise’s grandfather. Many places in Hawaii are named Piliwale after him.

The Queen of the Nile

27 September 1991 The Queens of Denial Seattle

24 October 1991 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Cleveland Ohio

Nothing like misspelling a performer’s name on a poster. It does make it extra collectible, I suppose.

Dusty Springfield and Ronnie Spector

How many Cokes have you drunk in your life? Can you imagine anything worse for you? Loaded with sugar and other harmful ingredients. Empty calories.

25 October 1991

Todd Bolton.

7 November 1991 I-Beam San Francisco

In Tacoma with Chad Quist who did some beautiful playing with us.

Especially on the Hold Me CD.

Cheryl Little Deer made this business card.

Elise Piliwale with Sheba.

13 April 1992 Sam Andrew Band White Rabbit Austin

16 April 1992

23 April 1992

12 May 1992

9 October 1992 One Family Festival Golden Gate Park San Francisco

28 November 1992 An invitation.

4 December 1992 Linda, an old friend of ours, introduced us to her husband at this event.

So, to celebrate the occasion, I threw a party at The Troubadour.

Adolfito de la Parra was the drummer.

Larry Taylor played bass.

Mark Riley played guitar. And just to show you that he’s not always that serious, he also plays with hairstyles.

Our old road manager John Byrne Cooke came back for this one, and he made everything run smoothly.

Lotus Mahon was with me this weekend which made everything extra special.

Linda and David LaFlamme came to the party.

Lester Chambers was there with his brothers.

Deborah Morrison sang back up with us.

Robby Krieger played.

Carl Gottlieb was there…

… and Howard Hessman.

And a cast of thousands.

Willie Chambers.

Darby Slick was there. Hey, he wrote a book and a song. Well, many songs actually.

Peter Albin playing my guitar. John Byrne Cooke took this photograph.

31 December 1992 Pescadero California This was a fun gig. We had Peter Albin on bass and Spencer Dryden on drums.

Rich Kirch played guitar.

Peter Albin and James St. Pell.

with Kathi McDonald. Can a blue man sing the whites ?

Some people have made a career out of playing nothing but the pentatonic scale.

Alton Kelley, square deal, always real.

Thank you and I’ll see you next week.

____________________________________________________________

Big Brother history, part seven, 1972 to 1989

Posted on May 16, 2012 by J L tagged.

1972-1989

I only have eyes for you.

Big Brother crashed in 1972 or 1973. I was the only original member in it for a long time, and finally Kathi McDonald and I decided that it was time for a break.

Some of the grim events of the late sixties began to be repeated in a minor key in the seventies. In 1968, there were those horrible assassinations. In the 1970s, Lynette Squeaky Fromme (Manson family) and Sara Jane Moore (SLA) make an attempt on Gerald Ford. Instead of Viet Nam, there’s the failed Mayaguez rescue operation. In place of the Moratorium to End the War, we had Chevy Chase on Weekend Update.

My girlfriend Carol Cavallon decided to move back to the East Coast and attend Windham College in Putney, Vermont.

I went with her and we lived in a little cabin in Grafton, near where this schoolhouse stands.

Later, we moved to Manhattan, first on the Upper East Side with her parents who were wonderful people.

Later, Carol and I moved to 278 West 11th Street between West 4th and Bleecker Streets. I lived in that apartment longer than I have lived anywhere else in my life.

The loudest sound I heard all day long was children playing in the gardens out in back, which was good because the time had come for serious study.

I went to the New School for Social Research over on Twelfth Street. I had always read music, but I mainly played by ear and wrote music intuitively. Now I wanted to study composition formally.

Frank Wigglesworth, winner of the Prix de Rome, taught me counterpoint, the art of putting two or more independent melodies together so that you can hear them all at the same time.

James Gurley and I had often played two different melodies over the same harmonic background but we had done this by trial and error, of course, notably on Summertime and Hall of the Mountain King, but generally throughout our playing. I now began a classical study of this technique.

The top line is the fixed song, the cantus firmus, the original melody, and then you learn how to put a second melody with the first, one note against one note.

Then, you move on to two notes against one… (I see a “mistake” here, but let it pass.)

Then you learn to put four notes against one and so on until you arrive at a fugue with complex rhythms and four or five voices.

I used two classic works to learn counterpoint: One was Fux’ 1725 treatment Gradus ad Parnassum. (In 1994, Big Brother were to go to Moscow to play an event called Steps To Parnassus, a translation of this title.) Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers used Fux’ book in their contrapuntal practice.

The second book I profited from in the study of counterpoint was by Knud Jeppesen who interpreted Fux and put him in a historical context. Just looking at this book takes me back to that intense time of study. I wrote hundreds of exercises in this discipline.

This was a lot of fun and very educational. Something like three dimensional chess perhaps. Or four dimensional, because time, rhythm, is also an essential part of this technique.

The rules for counterpoint are like the rules for perspective in art. They can be a principal or an ancillary study. Some artists, some composers, will make counterpoint and perspective their main focus.

Two of these counterpoint/perspective masters come to mind: J.S. Bach and M.C. Escher.

In 1975, I met Laura Gomez and my motto that year became “Alive in ’75.”

Laura and her daughter.

I was writing a lot of music at this point, inventions, fugues, string quartets, a symphony that I heard performed exactly once. (Too bad it wasn’t in the Royal Albert Hall where I could have at least heard it twice.)

Sometimes I wrote cereal music, sometimes it was serial music and sometimes it was traditional music. Snap, crackle, pop.

I knew a lot of characters in New York. Ronny Sunshine was one of them. Here he is photo bombing the Pope.

4 February 1974 Café Wha ? Ronny put me on the same bill with Richie and Yoko.

David Amram, serious composer, showed up at the Wha? and played flute with me on this gig.

Recording at Atlantic.

4 July 1976 The tall ships came sailing into the Hudson and I was there on a pier mere blocks from my apartment enjoying the spectacle along with thousands of other people. This was such a great moment.

25 July 1977 There was a blackout in New York City. I walked the streets enjoying the silence. I could actually hear conversations four or five floors above me. It made me feel as if I were living a hundred years earlier. There was a camaraderie during this emergency, despite all the alarmist stories one hears. You don’t realize how noisy modern life is until the electricity goes out for some reason.

1 October 1978 Tribal Stomp Greek Theatre Berkeley

Judy Davis and Patrisha Vestey worked hard on this event.

Look at that phone. You did something called “dialing” with it. Patrisha Vestey.

The Tribal Stomp was a big deal. I had been living in New York for ten years. Now I was coming home.

Big Brother and the Holding Company would start playing again.

We could work with Kathi McDonald and continue some of the good ideas we began after Janis left.

So, imagine my surprise when everyone said good bye and so long after the gig. They were all going back to their private lives.

James was going back to the desert. Peter was going back to his model shop.

There was no interest in doing Big Brother again.

I had finished my New York life and left my apartment on the East Coast. Now what to do ?

I had to learn how to paint, sculpt, play the saxophone and do a variety of other activities to keep busy for the next eight years.

19 April 1980 Snooky Flowers and I formed a band with a gay man Joey Amoroso who called himself Pearl.

Pearl had more than a little in common with Louis XIV.

19 April 1980 Pearl Heart Oakland Auditorium

Playing with Frank Alsing from the Pearl band.

Pearl was very flamboyant. He sang Janis’ songs in the same key that Janis did, something that very few of the Big Brother singers have done since. Pearl was a natural contralto.

1980 We played the Gay Day Parade at the Civic Center.

I played clarinet in one of the gay day parades up in Seattle, but this one in San Francisco was a whole other thing. We played on a stage right in front of City Hall to thousands of people.

July 1980 I also performed with a band called Little Bumps Garden at The Haight Street Fair. Jym Fahey Lenny Kobiela

I miss New York.

November 1981 Bringing home the pumpkin.

I begin to sculpt some very large heads.

I was practicing the saxophone wherever I could. You have to play saxophone loud to learn it. With almost every other instrument there are ways to play quietly. With an electric guitar you can simply leave it unplugged and practice to your heart’s content. Even with a trumpet, you can mute it. Drummers can work with practice pads. Not saxophone. You can stuff a sock in the bell, but that’s about it and it won’t make it much quieter. You simply have to blow into it with passion and dedication for it to work, so saxophonists are notorious for playing in some strange places.

Sonny Rollins practiced on the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s perfect because the traffic seems to filter out the mistakes, and no one is complaining about the noise. It’s a bit like singing in the shower. Only bigger, louder, freer, more spacious.

So, I practiced anywhere I could that wouldn’t bother anyone.

Empty buildings were good.

Lots of space, natural reverb, freedom.

Playing saxophone seriously, scales, arpeggios, memorizing Charlie Parker solos.

This was a long saxophone meditation and it introduced me to some great players.

Players like Joe Henderson, Jack Montrose, Dexter Gordon, James Moody, Mel Martin and Cannonball Adderly who played with technical proficiency and intense emotion.

I loved Cannonball, his technique, his sense of humor, his precision, his soulfulness, everything about him. Still love him.

I started making assemblages and hope to get back to that some day.

I decided to form a group of musicians to play some of these three or four hundred ballads and jump tunes from the 1920s, 30s, 40s that I was memorizing on the saxophone.

I had the opportunity to hire musicians who were a lot better than I was.

I learned that if you get the gig, you can get the musicians and the audience.

The gig comes first and everything else will flow from that. It took me a long time to learn this. I thought that if you practiced real hard and seriously, then the gigs would come to you. Uh, uh. You get the gig and practice on the gig.

The Sam Andrew Quartet slowly morphed into The Sam Andrew Band and I switched between saxophone and guitar for a while.

We played all over the USA, including many places where Big Brother would later play.

People seemed to like what we were doing.

Snooky Flowers, Peter Walsh, Robin Sylvester, Scott Matthews.

This was a good outfit, maybe the best ever.

Relaxed, swinging, accurate, sympathetic vibrations. Great players.

I was still sculpting, painting and photographing.

Not “finding myself,” but creating myself.

Let’s see, how can I get Big Brother and the Holding Company together again?

I know. I’ll build a rehearsal studio.

They’ll get a good laugh out of that.

1986 Then it happened. An agent called and asked if we would like to play again.

The occasion was a special anniversary, the Summer of Love.

The Summer of Love was always a rather suspect phrase.

It smacked of commercialism.

They used to sell Love burgers on Haight Street as attested in this Baron Wolman shot.

I wonder how the cows felt about those Love burgers. Did they feel all that Love ?

Anyway, we decided not to play that Summer of Love gig, but it started us to thinking, Maybe we should get together again.

20 August 1987 Cotati Cabaret Cotati California

27 August 1987 New George’s San Rafael California

I loved her singing, and her mom’s, and her aunt’s. In fact, I used to rehearse down the hall from Dionne Warwick in New York.

29 August 1987 Fillmore Auditorium San Francisco Our new singer’s name is Michel. That’s the name she likes and that she was born with.

2 September 1987 WOW Hall Eugene Oregon

3 Septembeer 1987 Pine Street Theatre Portland Oregon She is Michel Bastian. She has a warm gospel voice right out of Oakland.

4 September 1987 Seattle Center Exhibition Hall Seattle

5-6 September 1987 Alaska State Fair Borealis Theatre

9 September 1987 Parker’s Seattle

12 September 1987 Twentieth Anniversary Summer of Love Polo Field Golden Gate Park San Francisco

24 September 1987 Sweetwater Mill Valley California

17 October 1987 The OMNI Oakland California

I was once playing saxophone in the Omni with a cordless set up and I wandered off the stage out into the traffic at this intersection, blowing away. That was fun.

20 October 1987 The Church San Francisco

Sam Andrew Band, Texas division. Lips played bass. Gloria Meehan sang backing vocals. Good band.

9 December 1987 Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco

12 December 1987 Cotati Cabaret Cotati California

1988 With my brother Dan in Austin.

19 February 1988 Catalyst Santa Cruz

21 May 1988 Golden Gate Park San Francisco

22 July 1988 The Backstage Seattle

23 July 1988 Pine Street Theatre Portland Oregon

7 August 1988 Molson Park Barrie Ontario

8 September 1988 Alice’s Champagne Palace Homer Alaska

The Kenai Peninsula is a beautiful, beautiful place.

18 November 1988 “Living in Seattle is like being married to a beautiful woman who is sick all the time.”

Herb liked that.

19 January 1989 Port Arthur Texas

20 January 1989 Rockefeller’s Houston

27 January 1989 Psychedelic Summer of Love Universal Amphitheatre Universal City California I was trying to chat up Debbie Harry at this gig and a very persistent fan came between us.

The moment was lost.

April 1989 Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Santa Rosa California

With Joe Healey

23 April 1989 IBeam San Francisco

Michael Dolgushkin did that poster.

22 April 1989 Club Lingerie Hollywood with Vala Cupp and Michel Bastian

Sam Andrew Band Washington chapter KK Ryder Mark Riley Todd Zimberg

7 June 1989 Rexville Grange Washington

Bainbridge Island Washington

27 July 1989 Great American Music Hall San Francisco

18-19 August 1989 Wetlands New York City

26 November 1989 Earthquake Benefit Kaiser Auditorium Oakland

Downstairs at The Fez under Time, New York City, with David Peel, Dorothy Rothschild and Lenny Kaye.

The Four Stooges at four in the morning. New York

Sam Andrew

_______________________________________________________________________

Big Brother history, part four, January to June 1968

Posted on April 26, 2012 by J L tagged.

This is the story of Big Brother and the Holding Company.

January to June 1968

Linda McCartney took this photograph when she was Linda Eastman. Linda and I and quite a few other people became vegetarians at this time, not for our health, as Isaac Bashevis Singer might say, but for the health of the chickens.

Hey, I get to be Kermit the Frog.

5 January 1968 Rainbow Ballroom Fresno California

6 January 1968 Sacramento State College Steve Brown captured this lovely image of Janis.

12 January 1968 Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles

13 January 1968 Barnes Park Bandshell Monterey Park California

16-21 January 1968 Golden Bear Club Huntington Beach California

25 January 1968 Fillmore Auditorium San Francisco

26-27 January 1968 Winterland San Francisco John Byrne Cooke, son of Alistair Cooke. John studied Romance Languages at Harvard. He was our estimable road manager and has remained a good friend.

I don’t want to say that John is tall, but here he is hovering over Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Mimi Fariña and Joan Baez.

John writes western novels, he’s a photographer, he sings Louvin Brothers songs and he introduced us to a whole new world.

John is now writing a book about his days with Janis in Big Brother, the Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt.

John took this photograph of Debbie Green and Mimi Fariña.

28 January 1968 Avalon Ballroom San Francisco

We’re playing Oh, Sweet Mary.

Chet and Lori Helms with Bill Graham. Bill is doing the talking. Imagine that.

2 February 1968 The Cheetah Los Angeles

3 February 1968 Earl Warren Showgrounds Santa Barbara

9 February 1968 Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Santa Clara California

10 February 1968 Community Concourse Exhibit Hall San Diego

16 February 1968 Palestra Philadelphia

A palestra was originally a wrestling school in Greece (palaistra). In Italian, the word now means gymnasium.

17 February 1968 Anderson Theatre New York City

This restaurant was right next door to where we played so we spent a lot of time there.

Tastes, feelings, colors, smells, enthusiastic people who were personal, direct and kind, the people we encountered were the opposite of the stereotype of New Yorkers.

Ukrainian easter eggs, Afghan coats, secondhand shops, it was like a giant bazaar.

23-24 February 1968 Psychedelic Supermarket Boston I walked into a store in Boston, asked for yoghurt and the grocer almost spat at me. Yes, folks, there was a time when yoghurt was seen as exotic, something that only a Democrat would eat.

25 February 1968 Rhode Island School of Design Providence Rhode Island

I lived in Paris 1962-1964 and a friend there was feeding yoghurt (yaourt) to his baby. First time I tasted it. Delicious. Tastier then… and there. We often had it with meals in the student cafeteria at the Sorbonne.

1-2 March 1968 The Grande Ballroom Detroit Michigan

8 March 1968 Fillmore East opens. Linda Eastman (McCartney) made this poster.

We were living in the Chelsea Hotel.

Jane Fonda lived in the Chelsea at that time. So did Julie Christie.

Combination of the Two

9 March 1968 Wesleyan University Middletown Connecticut

15-17 March 1968 Electric Factory Philadelphia

22-24 March 1968 The Cheetah Chicago

2-6 April The Generation New York City

7 April 1968 Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Richie Havens, Paul Butterfield. B.B. King inspired us that night with his sacred words and music.

10 April 1968 Anaheim Convention Center

11 April 1968 We play Summertime on ABC-TV Hollywood Palace.

11 April 1968 Fillmore Auditorium with Booker T and the MGs and Iron Butterfly

12-13 April 1968 Winterland San Francisco

14 April 1968 Carousel Ballroom

19 April 1968 Selland Arena Fresno

20 April 1968 University of California Santa Barbara

24 April 1968 Straight Theatre San Francisco

26 April 1968 Foothill College Los Altos California

27 April 1968 San Bernardino California

1 May 1968 College Field Chico State College Chico California

2 May 1968 Carousel Ballroom San Francisco

1968 3-4 May The Shrine Expo Center Los Angeles

3-6 May 1968

10 May 1968 Cal-Poly State University San Luis Obispo California

Sam Berdofsky drew this poster for our gig in Santa Rosa.

11 May 1968

12 May 1968 San Fernando Valley State College Northridge California

15 May 1968

Fairly typical set list at this time.

16 May 1968 That doesn’t look like one of James’ usual guitars.

17 May 1968 Freeborn Hall University of California at Davis

18 May 1968 Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Santa Clara Northern California Folk Rock Festival

This was a special gig, quite memorable. The weather was beautiful and there was a spirit of togetherness.

19 May 1968 Civic Auditorium Pasadena James singing Easy Rider. “And I will even buy you some cardboard fruit.”

21 May 1968 Bermuda Palms San Rafael California One dollar seemed to be the going rate for these Angels affairs. Would be about $10 now.

I used to play saxophone in this building with a big band.

Five errors ? Dave, Janis, Sam, James and Peter. That was easy.

24-26 May 1968 Carousel Ballroom with the Clara Ward Singers

31 May 1968

9 June 1968 Whisky-A-Go-Go Hollywood

13 June 1968 Fillmore Auditorium

14-15 June 1968 Winterland San Francisco

16 June 1968 Fillmore Matrix Benefit

22-23 June 1968 Carousel Ballroom

Owsley Stanley put us on tape many times. SONY released his recording of this engagement.

24 June 1968 Burlingame Country Club Burlingame California

26-29 June 1968 Denver

Janis Joplin

See you next week?

Sam Andrew

___________________________________________________

Big Brother and the Holding Company history, part 25: January to June 2013

I Homologate This Message.

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part sixteen. 2004

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part fifteen. 2003

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part fourteen. 2002

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part thirteen. 2000-2001

Big Brother and the Holding Company, part eleven. 1998. 17 june

Big Brother history, part eight, 1990 – 1992

Big Brother history, part seven, 1972 to 1989

Big Brother history, part four, January to June 1968

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