tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post8388464977792947645..comments2024-03-16T07:13:50.487-07:00Comments on Lost Live Dead: March 18, 1968: Pier 10, San Francisco-KMPX Strike Rally (also: March 20, 1968 Avalon)Corry342http://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-44762065860276598672023-03-17T09:42:35.562-07:002023-03-17T09:42:35.562-07:00In early '68, Creedence had a regular gig (I t...In early '68, Creedence had a regular gig (I think Monday nights) at a bar called DinoCarlo's. DinoCarlo's was at 750 Vallejo, and later in 68 became the legendary Keystone Korner.<br /><br />The transcription error (by the reporter or his rewrite desk) was to call it "Deno and Carlo's," reflecting "Gino and Carlo." Fogerty knew where he was playing, but the Chron had never heard of it.Corry342https://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-64147852135232486822023-03-14T22:11:29.894-07:002023-03-14T22:11:29.894-07:00I wonder if author Werner wasn’t familiar with S.F...I wonder if author Werner wasn’t familiar with S.F. and misquoted Fogerty. Could the bar he references have been Gino and Carlo at 548 Green Street, which is still going strong after 80 years?Kevin Walshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-12932296818326810652021-10-15T06:34:10.138-07:002021-10-15T06:34:10.138-07:00awesome!awesome!Fate Musichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05648291938690043423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-48310297595300638422021-10-14T21:42:47.079-07:002021-10-14T21:42:47.079-07:00Great find! College papers are often the best sour...Great find! College papers are often the best sources for coverage of rock music at the time.Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-41960129761956928572021-10-14T20:15:05.405-07:002021-10-14T20:15:05.405-07:00Last piece of the puzzle: an account from the CCSF...Last piece of the puzzle: an account from the CCSF Guardsman confirming the Garcia/Traffic jam was Sunday, March 24, 1968. Sons of Champlin opened.<br /><br />https://archive.org/details/guardsman19671968city/page/n37/mode/2upSteven Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11295407183878643977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-82437205998145773532020-05-08T14:32:19.120-07:002020-05-08T14:32:19.120-07:00Thanks for the precise SF geography. The Dead may ...Thanks for the precise SF geography. The Dead may or may not have played at Pier 10 on March 18, but the Andrew Wong photos are surely from March 24. It was in a parking lot near 50 Green Street, apparentlyCorry342https://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-25693508731588892772020-05-08T13:45:43.839-07:002020-05-08T13:45:43.839-07:00No: odd-numbered piers have always been north of ...No: odd-numbered piers have always been north of the Ferry Building (think Pier 39). <br />Actually, this didn’t occur on a pier. The truck was parked alongside a building on the east side of Front Street between Green and Vallejo. This can be deduced from Andrew Wong’s photos looking northwest at Chris Wood (where 1001 Front Street is behind him) and Jeff Blankfort’s photos looking southwest (where the 847 Front Street garage is behind Chris, along with the Broadway offramp of the Embarcadero Freeway). The front of Pier 19 can also be seen in the background of some of Andrew’s photos, placing the event due south of that. The band is facing west, and seem to be in the sun - which implies it’s the afternoon, so perhaps this was the weekend street fair.Kevin Walshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05259296817655720549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-3018925055627298982019-07-28T16:48:31.878-07:002019-07-28T16:48:31.878-07:00Yes, sitting in with Traffic, probably with Bill C...Yes, sitting in with Traffic, probably with Bill Champlin helping out on backing vocals (he sang on some song, there's a picture)Corry342https://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-6878023877684583612019-07-28T15:41:48.111-07:002019-07-28T15:41:48.111-07:00Wow, what a collective enterprise here! So, as of ...Wow, what a collective enterprise here! So, as of now we have Garcia sitting in with Traffic --and doing "Dear Mr. Fantasy", per Andrew Wong-- on 3/24/68 at the street fair in a parking lot near 50 Green Street. That right?Fate Musichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05648291938690043423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-61925249614076641522018-09-05T17:22:42.548-07:002018-09-05T17:22:42.548-07:00The San Francisco Examiner reported on the 3/20/68...The San Francisco Examiner reported on the 3/20/68 Avalon benefit: <br /><br />“The Fruminous Bandersnatchers blared many a harmonious musical bar last night in Avalon Ballroom, sounding what may have been the requiem of old style strikes and labor negotiations. <br />The Bandersnatchers were but one of nine long-hair (not in a musical sense), bearded, and sandal-less instrumental groups playing from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. for the benefit of striking staff members of KMPX-FM...<br />Also electronically pulsating for out-of-work KMPXers were Blue Cheer, Charley Musselwhite Southside Sound System, and the Grateful Dead.” <br />(William O'Brien, “Far Out KMPX Benefit,” SF Examiner 3/21/68)Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-73073944328330265372018-08-28T20:57:00.486-07:002018-08-28T20:57:00.486-07:00The 3/29/68 Los Angeles Free Press reported:
&quo...The 3/29/68 Los Angeles Free Press reported: <br />"Two weeks ago, at the Avalon Ballroom in SF, $4500 was raised with the help of headlining group The Grateful Dead, and another benefit is underway in Los Angeles... Last week's effort resulted in a smoothly-functioning, somewhat awe-inspiring gathering at the Kaleidoscope [in Los Angeles, March 24], which succeeded in raising $6000 as well as immeasurable good will for KPPC." <br />("KPPC Strike," LAFP 3/29/68, p.6 - KPMX's sister station in Los Angeles also went on strike)<br /><br />The Berkeley Barb noted, "A recent benefit in LA netted $6,000 [and] last week's Avalon blow-out brought in $2,400... Another massive benefit is planned for Wednesday night at Winterland [4/3/68]," and the Dead were one of many bands invited. "Consult your favorite poster for exact details early next week."<br />(Berkeley Barb 3/29/68, p.9)<br /><br />There's a $2100 discrepancy between the two articles in how much the Avalon benefit raised - presumably a typo in one of the papers. At the time of the Barb article, invitations for the Winterland benefit had gone out but "there are no set confirmations," and it seems there wouldn't be, for no bands were listed on the "Super Ball KMPX 1st Birthday Benefit" posters, and I didn't spot any report on it in the Barb. <br />A 4/5/68 Barb article on the strike just said that DJ Larry Miller joined the other strikers onstage and "was welcomed in grand style by 3000 jammed-in strike supporters at Winterland Wednesday night... The announcement of his return brought enthusiastic applause." (p.3)Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-36518456886342116162018-03-15T10:26:43.958-07:002018-03-15T10:26:43.958-07:00Mickey Hart was present at the Street Fair 68-03-2...Mickey Hart was present at the Street Fair 68-03-24 as pics show, but if he played we don't know – all pics show Capaldi on drumsruppi43https://www.blogger.com/profile/02687238969252856314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-30939048977538303492016-08-22T18:08:33.931-07:002016-08-22T18:08:33.931-07:00According to this webpage, there is no Pier 10.
h...According to this webpage, there is no Pier 10. <br />http://www.inside-guide-to-san-francisco-tourism.com/san-francisco-piers.html<br />I'm trying to find out if the S.F. piers numbers have been re-figured since 1968. Anyone know?Jerry's Brokendown Palaceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06451361448230329754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-24339020918723899182016-01-28T16:11:38.244-08:002016-01-28T16:11:38.244-08:00Per Michael Kramer, the Carousel Ballroom continue...Per Michael Kramer, the Carousel Ballroom continued to run ads on KMPX during the strike, one of the only businesses that still did so - even though the Dead had asked that "none of the Dead's material be played on the air." (Rolling Stone also said the Dead "requested that KMPX and KPPC do not play their records as long as they are being operated by strikebreakers.")<br /><br />An odd detail. Perhaps the Carousel ads were placed by one of the managers (Rakow, say) who was not aligned with the strike. Kramer attributes it to an "'anything goes' policy [that] lent itself to a laissez-faire, libertarian position on labor disputes...[so] the Dead performed benefits for the KMPX strikers [while] the ballroom...continued to advertise on the station." (Kramer p.92)<br /><br />Actually a similar kind of split would also be seen later, during the 8/1/69 Family Dog lightshow strike, when some members of the Dead proceeded to play a show while Garcia stayed outside to talk with the strikers.Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-7166410581600772062016-01-11T18:43:20.002-08:002016-01-11T18:43:20.002-08:00Fascinating. The Dead had been scheduled for an ou...Fascinating. The Dead had been scheduled for an outdoor concerts in Michigan on March 23 (Detroit) and 24 (Ann Arbor). However, a concert on March 22 had terrible attendance due to a blizzard, and the Dead flew home on the 23rd (confirmed by Vic Briggs of the Animals). So it would make sense that Garcia was home on March 24.Corry342https://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-24691215105939129372016-01-11T18:38:31.661-08:002016-01-11T18:38:31.661-08:00The book continues:
"There were about 500 pe...The book continues: <br />"There were about 500 people assembled in the street outside... Creedence Clearwater Revival started playing at 3:05 am. Blue Cheer was there. The Grateful Dead set up their instruments and played. A group of people associated with the Dead wanted to take over the transmitter and free the airwaves... Residents up the hill complained about the noise and after about 20 minutes police arrived and ordered the crowd to disperse. They tried to relocate at Pier 10 on the Embarcadero but failed to. Someone forgot to carry over the amplifiers. By 4 am, the bulk of the crowd had gone." (p.80)<br /><br />The book conflicts with the Chronicle's report in saying that the Dead had started playing when the police stopped the show. The author used the same Chronicle article, along with several other articles and her own interviews with KMPX workers (see the notes at the end of the book), so I feel she must have had reason to add the Dead to the account. Presumably one or more people said they played and she thought the Chronicle article had just omitted them - which could be the case. Nonetheless, if the police arrived "after 20 minutes" and it was all over by 4, it wouldn't leave much time for the Dead! (None, really.) <br /><br />She fails to mention any continuing jams on Monday morning - I believe it was because there was no more music played that day. <br />She does list the bands at the March 20 Avalon show - not sure what her source was: "Eight local bands performed: the Grateful Dead, Blue Cheer, Jeremy Steig and the Satyrs, Kaleidoscope, Charlie Musselwhite Southside Sound System, Santana Blues Band, Frumious Bandersnatch, and the Clover. Reportedly, $2400 was raised for the strikers." (p.82)<br /><br />"On Saturday and Sunday, March 23 and 24, a street fair was held in a parking lot near 50 Green Street. The fair was originally planned for in front of 50 Green Street but the site was changed when the San Francisco police refused to grant the strikers a permit for closing off the street. Nine bands were scheduled to appear." (p.83) They aren't named, though. <br /><br />The April 3 Superball: "Bill Graham donated Winterland and a half dozen bands volunteered their performances: the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane, Electric Flag, It's A Beautiful Day, Malachi, and Moby Grape." (p.83) <br /><br />The street fair in the parking lot on March 23-24 is of especial interest, although she does not name the bands. <br />The Rolling Stone article I quoted above says specifically that Garcia jammed with Traffic during this fair, NOT on March 18. <br />And we now know that although the Dead were scheduled to play in Detroit with the Animals on March 23, the Dead actually canceled and went back to SF early. So they could easily have been in SF on March 24, which I believe is the most likely date for the Garcia/Traffic jam.<br /><br />In short: <br />The Dead were present at the strike by 3am on March 18, and might have started to play after Creedence's set, but if so it was only briefly. <br />The music was not continued at the Embarcadero later that day. <br />Garcia appeared at the street fair the next weekend on March 24. (Whether the rest of the Dead aside from Hart came is still unknown.)Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-59245083555505699742016-01-11T18:37:55.141-08:002016-01-11T18:37:55.141-08:00A 1979 book on the early years of KSAN, Hip Capita...A 1979 book on the early years of KSAN, Hip Capitalism by Susan Krieger, is on googlebooks and goes into great detail about KMPX and the strike: <br />https://books.google.com/books?id=5UofAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ViewAPI#v=onepage&q&f=false <br /><br />The scene at 50 Green Street early Monday morning, March 18: "Bands out front, a crowd of people, signs, pickets, a light show, the Dead were playing." (p.74) <br /><br />But were they? The book includes a transcript of the DJs' statements before starting the strike. <br />Bear: We're going out on strike at 3:00. We're going to have, I don't know, did the Dead say they're definitely coming? <br />Voco: Right. <br />Bear: Anybody else? <br />Voco: The Dead will be here, Allmen Joy will be here. <br />Bear: Anyway, there's going to be a dance... There have been announcements in the Fillmore and the Carousel and the Avalon, for people if they want, if they care about the station...[to] hang out at about 3:00. There will be music. There will be us all picketing... <br />[Later:] <br />Voco: There's a light show going on downstairs. The groovy people from the Family Dog, the Avalon Ballroom, brought their light show. The Ace of Cups are here, missing one ace. Denise, if you're nearabouts and you'd like to fall on by, the girls are here and they'd dig to play. The Dead are going to be here and Blue Cheer is going to be here... <br />[Later] We're going to split downstairs. The Grateful Dead are here. Ace of Cups are here... Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-7033578019438480102014-11-07T17:32:42.093-08:002014-11-07T17:32:42.093-08:00In case you're interested, here's a docume...In case you're interested, here's a documentary about the 1968 San Francisco Student Strike. Enjoy! http://jonathancraig.org/1968-san-francisco-student-strike/jon in realityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07749651247228297791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-85955333627327983912014-02-01T14:36:05.208-08:002014-02-01T14:36:05.208-08:00Kewe, the April 3 show was organized by the Strike...Kewe, the April 3 show was organized by the Strikers. The idea of a celebration of the first year of KMPX was to remind the listening community of what KMPX radio meant to the local scene.<br /><br />A recent book by Michael J. Kramer, The Republic Of Rock (Oxford Press 2013), has the most detailed analysis of the KMPX strike that I have ever read. Among many other things, he discusses the April 3 Superball Benefit. I highly recommend the book (after all, where else would you find out about the Fillmore Far East, in Saigon during the Vietnam War?).Corry342https://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-48975676959865209732014-02-01T10:10:54.955-08:002014-02-01T10:10:54.955-08:00The April 3 event has a poster that lists it not a...The April 3 event has a poster that lists it not as a strike benefit, but a celebration of KMPX's first year http://www.deadlists.com/posters/1960s/19680403a.htmlkewehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03583858036569681517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-44798856015843269002013-06-17T23:57:48.922-07:002013-06-17T23:57:48.922-07:00There is another account in the Rolling Stone arti...There is another account in the Rolling Stone article "FM Workers Strike For Rights" (April 27, 1968).<br /><br />"At 3:00 on the morning of Monday, March 18, the entire staff of the nation's best rock & roll station walked out on strike - and right into the midst of an impromptu block party."<br />It's a fairly lengthy article that goes into a lot of detail about the issues between the workers & KMPX management, which I'll skip here, for these details: <br /><br />"The community turned out in force for a benefit at the Avalon Ballroom on March 20, where music was provided gratis by the Grateful Dead, Charley Musselwhite, Kaleidoscope, and three other bands. The Family Dog made the hall available without charge - even the light show was donated - and the strike fund netted $1800. Even more successful was the KPPC-strikers' benefit at the Kaleidoscope in Los Angeles with Jefferson Airplane, Tiny Tim, several local bands and Sioux Indian war dancers. <br />"There was also a weekend fair (not to be confused with the first-night party of 500 people dancing in the street) outside the KMPX offices near North Beach, which was highlighted by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead jamming with Traffic. It was supposed to be a street fair, but the San Francisco city fathers refused the strikers a permit, ostensibly because an announcement read over the air before the strike had caused an unauthorized closing of Haight Street two weeks earlier, so the action took place in a nearby parking lot."<br /><br />The Grateful Dead are also listed among many bands who "requested that KMPX and KPPC do not play their records as long as they are being operated by strikebreakers."<br /><br />One remarkable aspect of this is that the closing of Haight Street on March 3 directly led to the authorities refusing the KMPX strikers a street permit (so they claimed). <br /><br />The details of the Garcia/Traffic jam seem slightly different than in other accounts - it's odd that a Monday event would be called "a weekend fair," but the writer specifies that it was a distinct event from the first-night party, and that it took place in a parking lot outside the KMPX offices. <br /><br />This doesn't seem to match an impromptu move to Pier 10 on Monday morning, since the "fair" sounds like a preplanned event involving a request for a permit. In fact, this article seems to imply that the Garcia/Traffic jam took place on the following weekend! <br /><br />The Dead, of course, were in Detroit the next weekend, so this leaves something of a mystery. It makes me wonder if Traffic's street concert was on another date than the 18th, and two different events have been conflated by later memories. Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-33298539301111049872013-06-17T23:45:09.025-07:002013-06-17T23:45:09.025-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-43340486765694303502010-09-04T18:43:00.754-07:002010-09-04T18:43:00.754-07:00The demos that KMPX played were usually only a son...The demos that KMPX played were usually only a song or two. My speculation was that there was a rough mix of "Born Cross Eyed" or something like that, not the whole album, and particularly not the live stuff.<br /><br />Although I suppose its distinctly possible that they gave KMPX a song or two from the "Great Northwest Tour." Perhaps that might explain some of the surviving fragments--they were spliced out to give to KMPX, and Garcia got them back after the strike. It's a thought.Corry342https://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-86955972175092918472010-09-04T18:25:56.517-07:002010-09-04T18:25:56.517-07:00Hmm, that's an interesting thought...
As it h...Hmm, that's an interesting thought... <br />As it happens, we do have a couple circulating tapes of Anthem studio rehearsals (mostly instrumental, usually dated Nov '67) - although I find it hard to believe anyone would've given them to a radio station to play; in fact that seems quite unlikely. No 'rough mixes' of Anthem ever circulated that I know of.<br /><br />There's also the question of how far along with ANY mixes the Dead were in early March '68. As far as I know, there's no Dead sessionography, so I don't know how long they tinkered with the Anthem mix, or just when the main live/studio combination work was done. (Knowing the Dead, it would've taken quite some time.) <br />I had presumed most of the mixing wasn't done til after the March Carousel runs were done - at least til after 3/17, the last show I know was used in the final mix. The Dead had quite a few shows in March '68, which might've cut down on studio time (although, they may have done some work with Tom Constanten that month, since he was with them at the March 11 show). Early April is a much emptier period for shows - and they still tried out a studio in Miami!<br /><br />This is an area for further investigation, unless there's a studio-sessions rundown already somewhere I haven't seen.Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493557313410969282.post-68110995344880415182010-09-04T10:23:38.585-07:002010-09-04T10:23:38.585-07:00KMPX was well known for playing demo tapes, which ...KMPX was well known for playing demo tapes, which was all many bands had in the 67-68 period. I know they played a Blue Cheer demo, which accounts for how that band became well known around the Bay Area.<br /><br />I wonder if KMPX had been playing a studio demo from the Anthem sessions? It would fit in with what they had done for other bands, and it would explain what Jerry was preventing them from playing. It would be very interesting if some rough mixes of Side 1 of Anthem had been played on the radio.Corry342https://www.blogger.com/profile/08049035074121231425noreply@blogger.com