Rock Prosopography 102
a lengthy footnote to 'Rock Prosopography 101 blog'
Saturday, December 11, 2010
LOVE FAMILY TREE - PERFORMANCE LIST
This story is the work of Bruno Ceriotti. Help in putting this together has been provided by Johnny Echols, Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer, Bobby Beausoleil, Michael Stuart-Ware, Ed Toussaint, Michael P Selinsky, Bill Walton, Gerard Daily, Chris Simondet and Mark Smigel, to whom I'm most grateful.
THE AMERICAN FOUR #1 (aka THE WEIRDOS #1) (ca. FEB 1964 - MAY 1964)
1) Arthur Porter 'Po' Taylor (aka Arthur Lee) vocals, organ, rhythm guitar
2) Johnny 'Iceberg Slim' Echols lead guitar
3) John 'Fleck' Fleckenstein bass
4) John Jacobson drums
ca. February - ca. April 1964: Cappy's, Los Angeles, CA
ca. February - ca. April 1964: Beverly Bowl, Montebello, CA
The band played in this bowling alley as house band, six days a week, for several months. Sometimes they were billed as 'The Weirdos'.
THE AMERICAN FOUR #2 (aka THE WEIRDOS #2) (MAY 1964 - APR 1965) / THE GRASS ROOTS #1 (APR 1965 - JUL 1965)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) John Fleck
4) Don Conka drums
ca. May 1964 - ca. January 1965: Cappy's, Los Angeles, CA
ca. May 1964 - ca. January 1965: Beverly Bowl, Montebello, CA
The band played in this bowling alley as house band, six days a week, for several months. Sometimes they were billed as 'The Weirdos'.
ca. February - ca. March 1965: California Club, 1759 West Santa Barbara Avenue, South Los Angeles, CA
Supposedly future Love’s flautist and sax player Tjay Cantrelli sat-in with The American Four a couple of times. Also on the bill were The O’Jays and The Isley Brothers, both with Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Arthur Lee remember (wrongly?) that Jimi Hendrix played there with The Furies (???). Footnote: Jimi Hendrix picked up Johnny Echols guitar.
April - July 1965: Brave New World, 7207 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA
The Grass Roots played there as house band six days a week.
THE GRASS ROOTS #2 (JUL 1965 - AUG 1965)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) John Fleck
4) Don Conka
5) Robert Kenneth 'Bobby' Beausoleil six-string rhythm guitar
July - August 1965: Brave New World, 7207 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house band six days a week.
THE GRASS ROOTS #3 (AUG 1965)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Johnny Fleck
4) Don Conka
5) Bobby Beausoleil
+
6) Bryan MacLean vocals, six-string rhythm guitar
August 1965: Brave New World, 7207 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house, six days a week, sometimes with former The Byrds's roadie Bryan MacLean filling in for Bobby Beausoleil, because at that time the band was just thinking to replace Bobby with Bryan. When they tried out Bryan, Bobby was not on stage, So although they were in the same room together, they never played on stage at the same time as some sources wrongly claimed. They were considering using two rhythm guitars but never did, and after the try-outs they let Bobby go.
THE GRASS ROOTS #4 (AUG 1965 - OCT ??, 1965) / LOVE #1 (OCT ??, 1965 - NOV 1965)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Don Conka
4) Johnny Fleck
5) Bryan MacLean
August - October 1965: Brave New World, 7207 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house band six days a week.
October 1965 - November 1965: Bido Lito's, 1608 North Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house band.
LOVE #2 (NOV 1965)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Don Conka
4) Bryan MacLean
5) Michael 'Mike' Dowd bass
November 1965: Bido Lito's, 1608 North Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house band.
LOVE #3 (NOV 1965)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Don Conka
4) Bryan MacLean
5) Doug bass
November 1965: Bido Lito's, 1608 North Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house band.
LOVE #4 (NOV 1965)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Don Conka
4) Bryan MacLean
November 1965: Bido Lito's, 1608 N Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA
The band played there as house band.
LOVE #5 (NOV 1965 - JAN 23, 1966)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Don Conka
4) Bryan MacLean
5) Kenneth Raymond 'Kenny' Forssi bass
+
6) Alban Pfisterer (aka Snoopy) drums
November - December 1965: Bido Lito's, 1608 North Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house band, sometimes with Snoopy filling in for Don Conka, because the latter was somewhere, high on LSD. One night Jac Holzman of 'Elektra Records' saw the band (with Snoopy) there and after the show signed the band for his label.
January ? - January 2?, 1966: Bido Lito's, 1608 North Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house band, sometimes with Snoopy filling in for Don Conka, because the latter was somewhere, high on LSD.
January ?-?, 1966: The Trip, 8572 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA with Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The band, with Snoopy on drums, filling in unbilled for the advertised The Byrds for a couple of gigs. At one of this show guitarist David Crosby of The Byrds sat-in with Love during the song: 'John Lee Hooker'.
LOVE #6 (JAN 24, 1966 - AUG 2?, 1966)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Bryan MacLean
4) Kenny Forssi
5) Snoopy
January 2? - March 2?, 1966: Bido Lito's, 1608 North Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, CA
The band played there as house band. One night, right before the show, Kenny Forssi, Johnny Echols and their friend Billy Doherty (bass player of The Lost Souls) were talking outside the club when, at some point, they were approched by a guy who looked like an “Hells Angels” that, even without saying a word, put in the hands of Kenny, Johnny and Billy, some flyers and then disappeared. This flyers promoted a show somewhere in L.A. called “Acid Test” and performed by a band that nobody knew at that time called The Grateful Dead. Ah, by the way, the “mysterious” guy who gave them the flyers was the great late Grateful Dead's keyboardist Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan (!!).
February 22 - March 10, 1966: Whisky a' Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, CA with The Leaves
Love were advertised from February 22 but may not have played until February 25.
March 10-11, 1966: Bido Lito's, 1608 North Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, CA
March ??, 1966, Bido Lito's, 1608 N Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA with Sons Of Adam
April 8-9, 1966: Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CA with The Sons Of Adam, The Charlatans "A Dance Concert"
The band was billed as 'The Love' on the poster.
May 12-14, 1966: Brave New World, 1644 North Cherokee Avenue, Downtown Hollywood, CA with The Doors
The club closed sometime after this shows.
May 20-22, 1966: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CA with Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band (20-21), Big Brother and The Holding Company (21) "Hupmobile-8 A Freewheeling Vehicle"
The Sunday (22) show was cancelled due to poor tickets sales.
May 28 - June 1, 1966: Whisky a' Go-Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Stree, West Hollywood, CA with The Doors
June 11, 1966: Earl Warren Show Grounds, 3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, CA with Neil Diamond
Only 765 people were in attendance (!!).
June 18, 1966: 'American Bandstand', ABC-TV, ABC Television Center, Los Angeles, CA with Steve Alaimo (broadcast date)
The band lip-synched: 'A Message To Pretty' and 'My Little Red Book'.
June 23, 1966: 'Where The Action Is', ABC-TV, ABC Television Center, Los Angeles, CA with Keith Allison, Gene Pitney, Steve Alaimo (broadcast date)
The band lip-synched: 'My Little Red Book'.
June 25, 1966: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA with The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Lovin Spoonful, Chad & Jeremy, Percy Sledge, The Sunrays, Neil Diamond, The Leaves, Sir Douglas Quintet, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, The New Motown Sound "Beach Boys Summer Spectacular"
The show was promoted by Irvin Grantz and radio station KRLA. The attendance figure is 12,400 and the box office gross is 51,000 dollars. The Beach Boys net 16,000 dollars for the show, while the rest of the bands split the remaining 12,000 dollars after venue rent, police fees, and Irving Grantz are paid. About that show Johnny Echols remember: “I won a hundred bucks from Percy Sledge.... He thought he could play poker, he tried to bluff Iceberg Slim with a pair of fives. That's a non starter!”.
July 3, 1966: Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CA with Grateful Dead, Group B "Independence Ball"
July 15-16, 1966: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CA with Big Brother and The Holding Company
The shows were cancelled but the reason/s are unknown to me.
July 22, 1966: Rollarena, East 14th Street, San Leandro, CA
There certainly would have been other local acts on the bill, but they are unknown to me.
July 23, 1966: Strand Theater, 10th Street, Modesto, CA with Them, The Immediate Family, The Grassroots, The Ratz, The Canadian Fuzz, The Nimitz Freeway, Peter Wheat & The Breadmen
August 5-6, 1966: Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CA with Everpresent Fullness
August 10-21, 1966: Whisky a' Go-Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Stree, West Hollywood, CA with The Doors
The band was originally advertised from August 10-27. Arthur Lee and Love’s manager Ronnie Haran convinced Jac Holzman of 'Elektra Records', to sees The Doors during the Wednesday (10) show.
August 19-20, 1966: Marigold Ballroom, Fresno, CA
August 27, 1966: Longshoremen's Hall, 400 North Point, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA
Summer 1966: Fifth Estate (?), northwest corner of Curry Road and Scottsdale Road, Tempe, AZ
Love turned down an invitation to play there because Arthur Lee said: "Tempe, Arizona? It's so fucking hot there".
unknown date, 1966: It's Boss, 8433 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA
unknown date, 1966: Pierside Pavilion, 300 Pacific Coast Highway, Downtown Huntington Beach, CA
LOVE #7 (AUG 2?, 1966 - DEC 2?, 1966)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Bryan MacLean
4) Kenny Forssi
5) Snoopy keyboards, organ, harpsicord, tamburine
6) Paul Michael Stuart-Ware (aka Michael Stuart) drums
7) John Barberis (aka Tjay Cantrelli) sax, flute
October 19-30, 1966: Whisky a' Go-Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, CA with Sons Of Adam (19-21, 23-30), Buffalo Springfield (22)
November ?-?, 1966: Hullabaloo, 6230 Sunset Boulevard, Downtown Hollywood, CA with The Seeds
Two-days shows: the first night a film crew filmed the band first set but the video footage remain unreleased, while the second night guitarist Randy Holden of The Other Half (and also Michael Stuart's former bandmate in the Sons Of Adam) filling in for Johnny Echols, because the latter was sick with the flu.
November 2?, 1966: grand ballroom, U.C.L.A. (University of California in Los Angeles), 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA "UCLA Homecoming Dance"
November 23, 1966: Civic Auditorium, 135 West San Carlos Street, San Jose, CA with The Leaves, Chocolate Watch Band, The Giant Sunflower, The Tijuan Rejects, Ray Columbus
December 2-4, 1966: Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CA with Moby Grape, Lee Michaels
December 9, 1966: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA with The Turtles, Gene Clark, The Seeds, The Standells, The Count Five
December 23, 1966 Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA "Folk Rock Festival"
December 2?, 1966: Dallas Convention Center, 650 South Griffin Street, Dallas, TX
December 2?, 1966: 'unknown title', ?-TV, Dallas, TX
The band lip-synched: 'My Little Red Book'. The show was taped live in the afternoon and broadcasted that same evening.
LOVE #8 (DEC 2?, 1966 - JAN ??, 1967)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Bryan MacLean
4) Kenny Forssi
5) Michael Stuart
6) Snoopy
December 31, 1966: Teenbeat Club, 4416 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV with Scatter Blues
January ?-?, 1967: LaCave (?), 10165 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH with unknown group (two nights)
January 6-7, 1967: Whisky a' Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, CA
LOVE #9 (JAN ??, 1967 - AUG 1968)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Johnny Echols
3) Bryan MacLean
4) Kenny Forssi
5) Michael Stuart
February 11, 1967: Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Road, San Jose, CA with Mojo Men, Chocolate Watch Band "Big Abe’s 158th Birthday Party"
Love were the main attraction of the show, so, as usual, they should have been the last to perform, but for a reason unknown to me, something must have happened in the backstage right before the show, so finally they played first, as opening act (!!).
February 14 1967: Hullabaloo, 6230 Sunset Boulevard, Downtown Hollywood, CA with Strawberry Alarm Clock, Pubblic Bubble
Arthur Lee asked flute played Steve Bartek of the Pubblic Bubble to sat-in with Love for their entire set.
February 18, 1967: Valley Music Theatre, 20600 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA with Canned Heat Blues Band (maybe canceled), Iron Butterfly, East Side Kids, Morning Glory
March 3, 1967: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CA with Grateful Dead, Moby Grape, Loading Zone, Blue Crumb Truck Factory "The First Annual Love Circus"
March 4, 1967: Earl Warren Show Grounds, 3400 Calle Road, Santa Barbara, CA with Sons Of Adam, Jackie Lee, The Renegades
2714 people were in attendance.
March 21-26, 1967: The Rock Garden, 4742 Mission Boulevard, San Francisco, CA with Big Brother and The Holding Company, C.I.A. (Citizens For Interplanetary Activity)
April 6, 1967: Skating Rink Arena, Modesto, CA with The Doors, Infinity and (possibly) Eisage
April 23, 1967: Cheetah, 1 Navy Street, Venice, Santa Monica, CA with Chambers Bros., Iron Butterfly
Spring 1967: Valley Music Theatre, 20600 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA with The Yellow Balloon, Iron Butterfly, International Submarine Band
Spring 1967: Reno Memorial Coliseum, Reno, NV (two nights)
May 19-20, 1967: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CA with Moby Grape, P.J. Proby, Young Giants, Carousels "Rock Revolution"
May 22-27, 1967: Bido Lito's, 1608 North Cosmo Street, Downtown Hollywood, CA
June 2, 1967: Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA with The Doors, Canned Heat, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
The show was cancelled at last minute, apparently because of a delay in the completion of extensive renovations in the auditorium, which then opens the next night with a concert by The Seeds. However, some argue that in fact the show finally took place and only The Doors cancelled.
June 16-18, 1967: Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey, CA "First Monterey International Pop Festival"
Love turned down an invitation to play there.
June 24, 1967: Valley Music Theatre, 20600 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA
July 5-7, 1967: Cheetah, 1 Navy Street, Venice, Santa Monica, CA
July 16, 1967: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA with The Doors
Love turned down an invitation to play there and I think the show was finally cancelled.
September 29, 1967: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA with Spirit, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Linda Ronstadt (Love cancelled at last minute)
December 15-17, 1967: The Blue Law, 19840 South Hamilton Avenue, Torrance, CA with Canned Heat, The Hook (Love maybe played only on day 15)
December 28-30, 1967: Whisky a' Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, CA
March 8-10, 1968: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CA with Congress of Wonders, Sons of Champlin, Blue Cheer
April 6-14, 1968: Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA with Big Brother and The Holding Company, Blue Cheer, Country Joe and The Fish, Steppenwolf, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Canned Heat, James Cotton Blues Band, American Breed, Iron Butterfly, Hook, The Box Tops, Sweetwater, Electric Flag, Sunshine Company and many more "Teen Time USA"
Love played at one of this nine-days event, but I don’t know the exact day.
April 18, 1968: Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CA with The Staple Singers, Roland Kirk, Lights by Holy See
April 19-20, 1968: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CA with The Staple Singers, Roland Kirk, Lights by Holy See
April 2? or May ?, 1968: unknown college, Catskill, NY
May 3, 1968: Gym, S.U.N.Y. (Stony Brook University in New York), 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY with Janis Ian
May 8-9, 1968: New Generation Club, 52 West 8th Street, New York City, NY
May 1?-1?, 1968: LaCave (?), 10165 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH (two nights)
May 14-16, 1968 Steve Paul's The Scene, 301 West 46th Street, New York City, NY
May 18, 1968: Gulfstream Park, 901 South Federal Highway, Hallandale, FL “Miami Pop Festival" (Love cancelled at last minute)
May 31 - June 1, 1968: Grande Ballroom, 8952 Grand River At Beverly, 1 Block South Of Joy Road, Detroit, MI with Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (31-1), Wilson Mower Pursuit (31), Psychedelic Stooges (1)
June 7-9, 1968: Electric Theatre, 4812 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL with Chicago Slim Blues Band
June 14-15, 1968: Kaleidoscope, 6230 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA with Rhinoceros, Taj Mahal, Loading Zone
Supposedly on the Saturday (15) show, former Buffalo Springfield’s Neil Young sat-in with Love during the song: 'Revelation', traded guitar solos with Johnny Echols.
July 19-20, 1968: Kaleidoscope, 6230 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA with Rhinoceros, Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
LOVE #10 (AUG 1968 - SEPT 1968)
1) Arthur Lee
2) George Paul Suranovich drums
3) Frank Fayad bass
4) James Lewis (aka Jay Donnellan) lead guitar
August 28, 1968: Swing Auditorium, 689 East Street, San Bernardino, CA with Iron Butterfly, Don McCoy (MC), Jim Conniff (MC)
August 29 - September 2, 1968: Whisky a' Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, CA with Black Pearl
Love had been originally booked for the week of September 4-8, but ended up playing the week before exactly.
LOVE #11 (SEPT 1968 - OCT 1968)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Frank Fayad
3) Jay Donnellan
4) Drachen Theaker drums
LOVE #12 (aka #10) (OCT 1968 - AUG 1969)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Frank Fayad
3) George Paul Suranovich
4) Jay Donnellan
November 9, 1968: Shrine Exposition Hall, 665 West Jefferson Boulevard and 700 West 32nd Street, South Los Angeles, CA with Buffington Rhodes, Procol Harum, Chicago Transit Authority
November 15-17, 1968: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CA with Lee Michaels, Saloom Sinclair & Mother Bear
December 6-7, 1968: The Bank, 19840 South Hamilton Avenue, Torrance, CA with Three Dog Night (6-7), Fair BeFall (6), Middle Earth (7)
February 28 - March 2, 1969: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CA with Mad River (28, 1-2), Zephyr (28, 1-2), Pulse (28, 1), Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band (2)
April 23-27, 1969: Whisky a' Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, CA with Mondo Santanegro
May 30-31, 1969: Rose Palace, 835 South Raymond Street, Pasadena, CA
June 21, 1969: Devonshire Downs, Northridge, CA with Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jethro Tull, Steppenwolf, Eric Burdon, Buffy St. Marie, Friends Of Distinction, Charity, Sweetwater, Lee Michaels, Albert Collins, Brenton Wood “Newport Pop Festival (aka Newport ’69)”
July 2-6, 1969: Whisky a' Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, CA with Smokestack Lightning
July 7, 1969: Aquarius Theater, 6230 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA with Lonnie Mack
August 1, 1969: Elk's Temple, 614 Southwest 11th Avenue, Portland, OR
August 2, 1969: Oracle Arena & Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA with Blood, Sweat and Tears, Lee Michaels (Love refused to play!!)
LOVE #13 (AUG 1969 - NOV 22, 1970)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Frank Fayad
3) George Paul Suranovich
4) Gary Rowles lead guitar
August 16-18, 1969: Max Yasgur's dairy farm, White Lake, Bethel, Sullivan County, Woodstock Valley, NY "Woodstock Music & Art Fair presents An Aquarian Exposition - 3 Days Of Peace & Music (aka Woodstock or Woodstock Festival')" (Love turned down an invitation to play there)
August 23, 1969: Paradise Valley Resort, 3501 Paradise Valley Road, Squamish, BC, Canada with Alice Cooper, Chicago (C.T.A.), Strawberry Alarm Clock and many more "Vancouver Pop Festival"
September 13, 1969: Balboa Park Bowl, 1549 El Pedro, San Diego, CA with Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks
November 2, 1969: McDonough Memorial Gymnasium, Georgetown University, 1201 New York Avenue Northwest, Washington D.C.
November 21 or 28, 1969: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA
Love reunion gig with their “classic” line-up of Arthur Lee, Johnny Echols, Michael Stuart and Kenny Forssi.
December 31, 1969: Grand Olympic Auditorium, 1801 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA with Lee Michaels, Youngbloods, Taj Mahal, Southwind & Wolfgang
January 1-4, 1970: Whisky a' Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, CA with Kaleidoscope
February 9, 1970: San Diego Sports Arena, 3500 Sports Arena Boulevard, San Diego, CA with Beautiful Day, Frank Zappa, Sweetwater, Penrod
February 11, 13-14, 1970: Fillmore East, 102 2nd Avenue, New York City, NY with Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Joshua Light Show
February 19, 1970: Speakeasy, 48 Margaret Street, London, UK
February 20, 1970: Goldsmiths College, Lewisham Way, New Cross, City of London, UK
February 21, 1970: University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire, UK
February 24, 1970: Manchester Polytechnic, All Saints Building, All Saints, Manchester, Greater Manchester, UK
February 27, 1970: Waltham Forest Technical College and School of Art, Waltham Forest, City of London, UK with Skin Alley
February 28, 1970: The Roundhouse, 100 Chalk Farm Road, London, UK with Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Matthews Southern Comfort, May Blitz, Jody Grind, Stuart Lyon "Roundhouse Spring Festival"
March 3, 1970: Imperial College, London, UK
March 5, 1970: Lanchester Polytechnic, Priory Street, Coventry, West Midlands, UK
March 6, 1970: Leeds Polytechnic, 2 Great George Street, City Centre, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
March 7, 1970: Bath Pavilion, North Parade Road, Bath, North East Somerset, UK (cancelled)
March 7, 1970: The University of Sheffield, Western Bank Norton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK
March 8, 1970: The Greyhound, 151-153 Greyhound Lane Croydon, City of London, UK
March 10, 1970: Town Hall, Victoria Square, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK with Colosseum
March 11, 1970 (?): Rhein-Main-Halle (?), Rheinstraße 20, Wiesbaden, Germany
The show was filmed by a German television troupe.
March 12, 1970: Tivolis Koncertsal, Tietgensgade 20, Copenhagen, Denmark
The show was filmed by a Danish television troupe and a little part of Love performance, plus an Arthur Lee’s interview in the backstage, was broadcasted in Denmark on July 17, 1970 in a TV special titled: 'Love Live Tivolis Koncertsal'.
March 13, 1970: Stockholms konserthus, Hötorget 8, Stockholm, Sweden
March 14, 1970: K.B. Hallen, Peter Bangs Vej 147, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
March 21, 1970: Gym, S.U.N.Y. (Stony Brook University in New York), 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY with James Taylor, Pig Iron (Love cancelled)
May 22, 1970: Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey, CA with Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Canned Heat, Gypsy, Lion
June 12, 1970: Municipal Auditorium, 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, TX with Touch Stone, Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention
June 13, 1970: Braves Stadium, 755 Hank Aaron Drive Southwest, Atlanta, GA with Funk, Inc., Sun Country, Shelly Issacs Sabudi, It's A Beautiful Day, Traffic, Allman Brothers, Mothers of Invention, Mountain, Ten Years After (canceled), Sweetwater (canceled), Ike & Tina Turner (canceled), Albert King (canceled) "Cosmic Festival"
Love was scheduled but did not play.
June 13-14, 1970: Portland Civic Auditorium, 222 Southwest Clay Street, Portland, OR with Ravi Shankar, B.B. King, Delaney and Bonnie, Little Richard, Flying Burrito Brothers, Country Joe & The Fish, Roxy, Nick Gravenites, Albert Collins and the Icebreakers, Big Brother And The Holding Company, Illinois Speed Press, Bo Diddley, Buddy Miles, Eclipse, Notary Sojac, River "Portland Music & Art Fair"
July 18, 1970: The Terrace Ballroom, 464 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT with Blue Mountain Eagle (filling in for Blue Cheer), Fever Tree
November 19-22, 1970: Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CA with Black Sabbath, James Gang, Lights by Spontaneity
The band was billed as 'Love with Arthur Lee' on the poster. George Paul Suranovich left (again) the band right after this shows.
LOVE #14 (NOV 23, 1970 - DEC 1970)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Frank Fayad
3) Gary Rowles
4) Don Poncher drums
December 4-5, 1970: Fillmore East, 102 2nd Avenue, New York City, NY with Kinks, Quatermass, Lights by Joe’s Lights
The band was billed as 'Love with Arthur Lee' on the poster.
LOVE #15 (aka #13) (DEC 1970 - JAN 1971)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Frank Fayad
3) George Paul Suranovich
4) Gary Rowles
December 17-19, 1970: Boston Tea Party, 15 Landsdowne Street, Boston, MA with Sugar Creek
December 25-26, 1970: Eastown Theatre, 8041 Harper Avenue, Detroit, MI with Alice Cooper, The Frut
LOVE #16 (JAN 1971 - FEB 1971)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Frank Fayad
3) Michael Stuart
4) Gary Rowles
January 24, 1971: Long Beach Arena, 300 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA
January 29, 1971: Valley Music Teatre, 20600 Ventura Boulevard, Woodlands Hills, CA
LOVE #17 (FEB 1971 - DEC 1971)
1) Arthur Lee
2) Frank Fayad
3) Don Poncher
4) Craig Tarwater guitar
February 14, 1971: P.N.E. (Pacific National Exhibition) Coliseum, 100 North Renfrew Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
February ??, 1971: unknown venue, St. Joseph, MO
October 4, 1971: Milwaukee Civic Arena, 400 West Kilburn Avenue, Milwaukee, WI with Grand Funk Railroad
Monday, May 02, 2011
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
On Tour with "Love"
First-time concert promoter and D.C. lawyer Patrick Hand is learning the ropes of the music business as he spends his summer vacation promoting the "California '66 Revue." The tour straight out of "Spinal Tap," after one musician died and another band pulled out. The single remaining band, Love, continues to tour, losing loads of money along the way. We caught up with Hand and Love at the Double Door nightclub in Chicago.
By J. Freedom DuLac
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 16, 2009
At the intersection of rock-and-roll fantasy and the realities of life, Washington lawyer Patrick Hand is the guy in the black T-shirt emblazoned with the hippy-trippy logo for the 1960s band Love.
THIS STORY
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
On Tour with "Love"
At 51, with a wife, three children and a successful private practice, Hand is spending half of August -- and, as it turns out, a healthy sum -- promoting a summer concert tour featuring a psychedelic folk-rock band that once appeared on TV's "American Bandstand" but over the decades became an obscure combo with a cult following.
It's everyone's fantasy: With the years slipping by, successful career man decides he must live his dream, in this case liberating the rock fanatic within. Who among the middle-aged doesn't dream of chasing a passion, even if it means cracking the nest egg in the process? How could Hand have known that he would end up sitting in an empty concert hall, wondering whether anyone else shared his dream?
"Some people choose to spend lots of money to go to Antarctica or to climb Mount Everest," Hand says. "I get to go on the road with a great rock-and-roll band that's almost Hall of Fame quality. I get to spend time with a great group of guys and see a great show every night. I've enjoyed every minute of it. Well, almost every minute of it."
Hand's California '66 Revue tour is not going well. At all. The other night in Chicago, 55 people came to a club that holds 473. Several shows have been canceled, including the tour finale, which had been scheduled for Tuesday at the Birchmere in Alexandria.
Birchmere manager Michael Jaworek sympathizes with Hand's passion but had to pull the plug. "It doesn't do anybody any good financially or aesthetically to see 50 people in the music hall," he says. "It just wasn't selling at all. At some point, someone has to be the voice of sad, painful, brutal reason and say that this is not going to work."
Tuesday's concert has since been rebooked at the Velvet Lounge, a U Street NW club that's one-fourth the size of the 500-capacity Birchmere. The show will go on. Will anybody show up? (If they do, Hand isn't putting them on the comp list, no matter how close they may be. Even his wife and her friends must pay for their $12 tickets.)
His summer of Love started with the Electric Prunes, the psychedelic garage-rock band that Hand considers, as he wrote in a news release announcing the tour, "the best rock band in the world right now. The Electric Prunes are the only band from the 1960s who are putting out better music now than then."
After he saw the Prunes in concert last year, Hand realized that "this is just something I wanted to do. I've never wanted to be defined just as a lawyer."
In the real world, Hand represents clients in serious criminal cases, some of them high-profile. On the floor of Love's tour van -- a customized Dodge Sprinter 2500 outfitted with oversize leather seats, a flat-screen television and Hand's name on the rental agreement -- there's an enormous file marked "JACKS, BRITTANY." (Hand represents the estate of the 17-year-old girl whose mother, Banita Jacks, was convicted in D.C. Superior Court last month of killing Brittany and her three sisters.)
Now, many thousands of dollars into his summer adventure, Hand insists it's all "pretty exhilarating." But the Prunes backed out a week before the first show after a series of disagreements over logistics and finances. It was a crushing blow. As personally thrilling as the experience might be, the California '66 Revue isn't much of a revue anymore.
All of the artists except Love have dropped off -- or dropped dead. Sky Saxon, the singer from the '60s garage-rock band the Seeds, died of heart and kidney failure in late June, which in retrospect wasn't a particularly good omen. Nor was the van accident before the tour opener in Hoboken, N.J., where Hand's friend backed the Sprinter into a parked Prius -- then told Hand he didn't have insurance.
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
First-time concert promoter and D.C. lawyer Patrick Hand is learning the ropes of the music business as he spends his summer vacation promoting the "California '66 Revue." The tour straight out of "Spinal Tap," after one musician died and another band pulled out. The single remaining band, Love, continues to tour, losing loads of money along the way. We caught up with Hand and Love at the Double Door nightclub in Chicago.
"It's almost like every night you're putting on a party," Hand says. "Except you're not just concerned about whether people are going to have a good time. You're worried about how many people are going to come and about whether you're going to make any money, or at least not lose any. It's obvious that I'm going to lose money on this. But I'm still having fun." It is also, he says, "my tale of woe."
Hotel rooms in Chicago, via Priceline: $75 each.
Rented band gear: $2,800.
Two-week van rental: $4,200.
Living the dream: Priceless?
Hand won't say how much the tour will wind up costing him, only that "I didn't put in more than I can afford to lose."
His wife, Katie Griffin Hand, says she loves her husband's passion and gumption. And the money? "Oh, that," she says. "Every 10 days, I'd say: 'Listen, honey: I'm so glad the tour's going well. Can we have the money talk now?' " She laughs.
After the Prunes bailed out -- and with advance ticket sales abysmal -- venues began canceling. The tour opener in Philadelphia was scrapped, as was a show in Foxboro, Mass.
"I've never been involved with a tour that's had this much tsuris [distress]," says Cary Baker, the Los Angeles music business veteran who is doing publicity for the Revue.
"Patrick came at this as a music fan," says Prunes bass guitarist Mark Tulin. "He didn't try to cheat us or take advantage of us. We still like Patrick. He's a really well-intentioned guy who had this belief of how it would go, and part of it was based on his belief in the bands, which is really heartwarming."
Tulin adds: "Patrick just thought it would be fun. Go on the bus and hang out with the band as they travel. I hope he doesn't lose too much; I feel sorry for him."
More dropped dates: One in Detroit, and another in Montreal. Instead of that trip to Canada, Hand drove the band to Vermont for a barbecue at his parents' house. They spent the night at his brother's vacation home. More dropouts, too: Saxon's replacement in the lineup, former Moby Grape guitarist Jerry Miller, bailed last week, the day before he was to have joined the tour. Hand wanted Miller to revise his contract, "but he didn't want to do that, so I bought him out. In essence, I paid him not to play because it saves me money."
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
VIDEO
On Tour with "Love"
First-time concert promoter and D.C. lawyer Patrick Hand is learning the ropes of the music business as he spends his summer vacation promoting the "California '66 Revue." The tour straight out of "Spinal Tap," after one musician died and another band pulled out. The single remaining band, Love, continues to tour, losing loads of money along the way. We caught up with Hand and Love at the Double Door nightclub in Chicago.
"I went through a midlife crisis back around '93 and '94, when I got sick of practicing law and wanted to be a writer," he says. "I never thought when I started this tour that I'm going to give up the practice of law to become a rock-and-roll promoter. I've been around long enough and been to enough concerts to know that there's not enough money to be made, at least not by me."
A quarter-century ago, at a club on Connecticut Avenue NW, he went to see members of the Band and the Byrds, "and there were about 14 people in the venue," Hand says. "I counted them. I was 26 years old at the time, a year or two out of law school, and I remember thinking: Practicing law may not be a bad gig."
Hand yawns incessantly. It's Tuesday afternoon in Milwaukee, and the two-week tour is at the midway point. Hand has taken over driving duties after sending the tour manager back to England in another cost-cutting move. The show is booked at Shank Hall, a rock club named for a venue in "This Is Spinal Tap," the 1984 rock-and-roll mockumentary about a fictional heavy metal band suffering a disastrous concert tour. Tickets are $25.
Hand, who negotiated the deals with the clubs despite having never booked a concert in his life, will collect 70 percent of the gate, with no guarantees. He wonders about ticket sales: "We were at 29 yesterday; did we sell any more?"
Maybe, he's told, but with Miller backing out after the loss of Saxon and the Prunes, maybe not. A sign at the door advises that the lineup is down to Love alone, with full refunds available. While Hand is at the bar, staring at the stage, a man comes in and returns five tickets.
Would the California '66 Revue have been a hit if the tour had gone off as planned, with the Prunes and Saxon joining Love in flashing back to an important time in youth culture? "I don't think so," Hand admits. "There's just not enough interest in the genre and these acts. The whole is not greater than the sum of its parts." Ah, hindsight.
Steve Baenen, wearing a Deep Purple concert T-shirt, approaches the table where Hand has set up shirts, CDs and posters. His long hair pulled back in a ponytail, Baenen has made the two-hour drive from Green Bay, because "it's hard to find a trippy show anymore." He buys $30 worth of CDs. Hand gives him a concert poster that still lists the three original acts.
"What happened to the Prunes?" Baenen asks.
Hand: "Not enough advance sales. Not enough money to pay for everything."
Baenen: "That's a bummer, man."
Hand: "It is a bummer."
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
VIDEO
On Tour with "Love"
First-time concert promoter and D.C. lawyer Patrick Hand is learning the ropes of the music business as he spends his summer vacation promoting the "California '66 Revue." The tour straight out of "Spinal Tap," after one musician died and another band pulled out. The single remaining band, Love, continues to tour, losing loads of money along the way. We caught up with Hand and Love at the Double Door nightclub in Chicago.
Hand knows what you're thinking: midlife crisis. You're thinking: "Dude, it would have been easier -- and cheaper -- to lease a new Porsche." But Hand says he had already come to terms with his age.
"I went through a midlife crisis back around '93 and '94, when I got sick of practicing law and wanted to be a writer," he says. "I never thought when I started this tour that I'm going to give up the practice of law to become a rock-and-roll promoter. I've been around long enough and been to enough concerts to know that there's not enough money to be made, at least not by me."
A quarter-century ago, at a club on Connecticut Avenue NW, he went to see members of the Band and the Byrds, "and there were about 14 people in the venue," Hand says. "I counted them. I was 26 years old at the time, a year or two out of law school, and I remember thinking: Practicing law may not be a bad gig."
Hand yawns incessantly. It's Tuesday afternoon in Milwaukee, and the two-week tour is at the midway point. Hand has taken over driving duties after sending the tour manager back to England in another cost-cutting move. The show is booked at Shank Hall, a rock club named for a venue in "This Is Spinal Tap," the 1984 rock-and-roll mockumentary about a fictional heavy metal band suffering a disastrous concert tour. Tickets are $25.
Hand, who negotiated the deals with the clubs despite having never booked a concert in his life, will collect 70 percent of the gate, with no guarantees. He wonders about ticket sales: "We were at 29 yesterday; did we sell any more?"
Maybe, he's told, but with Miller backing out after the loss of Saxon and the Prunes, maybe not. A sign at the door advises that the lineup is down to Love alone, with full refunds available. While Hand is at the bar, staring at the stage, a man comes in and returns five tickets.
Would the California '66 Revue have been a hit if the tour had gone off as planned, with the Prunes and Saxon joining Love in flashing back to an important time in youth culture? "I don't think so," Hand admits. "There's just not enough interest in the genre and these acts. The whole is not greater than the sum of its parts." Ah, hindsight.
Steve Baenen, wearing a Deep Purple concert T-shirt, approaches the table where Hand has set up shirts, CDs and posters. His long hair pulled back in a ponytail, Baenen has made the two-hour drive from Green Bay, because "it's hard to find a trippy show anymore." He buys $30 worth of CDs. Hand gives him a concert poster that still lists the three original acts.
"What happened to the Prunes?" Baenen asks.
Hand: "Not enough advance sales. Not enough money to pay for everything."
Baenen: "That's a bummer, man."
Hand: "It is a bummer."
When the band takes the stage, there are fewer than 50 people in the room, including bartenders, waitresses, the sound guy, the door guy and the musicians.
"This show is not about who's not here; it's about who is here," guitarist Mike Randle tells the audience. (Offstage, Randle says he once performed in front of a single ticket-holder, in 1993. )
Love performs for 90 minutes, and Hand watches most of the set alone from a table at the side of the room. He has plenty of space to play air drums along to the music.
He decides later that it's the best show the band has played on the tour. The final count: 25 presale tickets and 15 walk-ups. But 10 of the presold tickets weren't used, meaning they are likely to be returned for refunds. For now, Hand's take is $525, which won't come close to covering the hotel rooms, per diems, publicist, van rental, gas and equipment rental, let alone the six band members. Hand says he has averted what "could have turned into a financial disaster for me" only by trimming expenses and dropping some shows. So, next summer: a nice trip to the beach with the family? Not necessarily.
"We've been talking about going to South Africa during the World Cup," he says.
We?
"Yeah, with Love maybe opening for a bigger band. Hopefully, we can do it. But that's only with guarantees. I'll have to do it a lot differently. But I think it would be cool."
His wife isn't so sure about that. "He loves music so much," Katie Hand says. "If you can't support your spouse, I don't know whom you can support. But you know, we're not going to do it again next year."
First-time concert promoter and D.C. lawyer Patrick Hand is learning the ropes of the music business as he spends his summer vacation promoting the "California '66 Revue." The tour straight out of "Spinal Tap," after one musician died and another band pulled out. The single remaining band, Love, continues to tour, losing loads of money along the way. We caught up with Hand and Love at the Double Door nightclub in Chicago.
By J. Freedom DuLac
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 16, 2009
At the intersection of rock-and-roll fantasy and the realities of life, Washington lawyer Patrick Hand is the guy in the black T-shirt emblazoned with the hippy-trippy logo for the 1960s band Love.
THIS STORY
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
On Tour with "Love"
At 51, with a wife, three children and a successful private practice, Hand is spending half of August -- and, as it turns out, a healthy sum -- promoting a summer concert tour featuring a psychedelic folk-rock band that once appeared on TV's "American Bandstand" but over the decades became an obscure combo with a cult following.
It's everyone's fantasy: With the years slipping by, successful career man decides he must live his dream, in this case liberating the rock fanatic within. Who among the middle-aged doesn't dream of chasing a passion, even if it means cracking the nest egg in the process? How could Hand have known that he would end up sitting in an empty concert hall, wondering whether anyone else shared his dream?
"Some people choose to spend lots of money to go to Antarctica or to climb Mount Everest," Hand says. "I get to go on the road with a great rock-and-roll band that's almost Hall of Fame quality. I get to spend time with a great group of guys and see a great show every night. I've enjoyed every minute of it. Well, almost every minute of it."
Hand's California '66 Revue tour is not going well. At all. The other night in Chicago, 55 people came to a club that holds 473. Several shows have been canceled, including the tour finale, which had been scheduled for Tuesday at the Birchmere in Alexandria.
Birchmere manager Michael Jaworek sympathizes with Hand's passion but had to pull the plug. "It doesn't do anybody any good financially or aesthetically to see 50 people in the music hall," he says. "It just wasn't selling at all. At some point, someone has to be the voice of sad, painful, brutal reason and say that this is not going to work."
Tuesday's concert has since been rebooked at the Velvet Lounge, a U Street NW club that's one-fourth the size of the 500-capacity Birchmere. The show will go on. Will anybody show up? (If they do, Hand isn't putting them on the comp list, no matter how close they may be. Even his wife and her friends must pay for their $12 tickets.)
His summer of Love started with the Electric Prunes, the psychedelic garage-rock band that Hand considers, as he wrote in a news release announcing the tour, "the best rock band in the world right now. The Electric Prunes are the only band from the 1960s who are putting out better music now than then."
After he saw the Prunes in concert last year, Hand realized that "this is just something I wanted to do. I've never wanted to be defined just as a lawyer."
In the real world, Hand represents clients in serious criminal cases, some of them high-profile. On the floor of Love's tour van -- a customized Dodge Sprinter 2500 outfitted with oversize leather seats, a flat-screen television and Hand's name on the rental agreement -- there's an enormous file marked "JACKS, BRITTANY." (Hand represents the estate of the 17-year-old girl whose mother, Banita Jacks, was convicted in D.C. Superior Court last month of killing Brittany and her three sisters.)
Now, many thousands of dollars into his summer adventure, Hand insists it's all "pretty exhilarating." But the Prunes backed out a week before the first show after a series of disagreements over logistics and finances. It was a crushing blow. As personally thrilling as the experience might be, the California '66 Revue isn't much of a revue anymore.
All of the artists except Love have dropped off -- or dropped dead. Sky Saxon, the singer from the '60s garage-rock band the Seeds, died of heart and kidney failure in late June, which in retrospect wasn't a particularly good omen. Nor was the van accident before the tour opener in Hoboken, N.J., where Hand's friend backed the Sprinter into a parked Prius -- then told Hand he didn't have insurance.
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
First-time concert promoter and D.C. lawyer Patrick Hand is learning the ropes of the music business as he spends his summer vacation promoting the "California '66 Revue." The tour straight out of "Spinal Tap," after one musician died and another band pulled out. The single remaining band, Love, continues to tour, losing loads of money along the way. We caught up with Hand and Love at the Double Door nightclub in Chicago.
"It's almost like every night you're putting on a party," Hand says. "Except you're not just concerned about whether people are going to have a good time. You're worried about how many people are going to come and about whether you're going to make any money, or at least not lose any. It's obvious that I'm going to lose money on this. But I'm still having fun." It is also, he says, "my tale of woe."
Hotel rooms in Chicago, via Priceline: $75 each.
Rented band gear: $2,800.
Two-week van rental: $4,200.
Living the dream: Priceless?
Hand won't say how much the tour will wind up costing him, only that "I didn't put in more than I can afford to lose."
His wife, Katie Griffin Hand, says she loves her husband's passion and gumption. And the money? "Oh, that," she says. "Every 10 days, I'd say: 'Listen, honey: I'm so glad the tour's going well. Can we have the money talk now?' " She laughs.
After the Prunes bailed out -- and with advance ticket sales abysmal -- venues began canceling. The tour opener in Philadelphia was scrapped, as was a show in Foxboro, Mass.
"I've never been involved with a tour that's had this much tsuris [distress]," says Cary Baker, the Los Angeles music business veteran who is doing publicity for the Revue.
"Patrick came at this as a music fan," says Prunes bass guitarist Mark Tulin. "He didn't try to cheat us or take advantage of us. We still like Patrick. He's a really well-intentioned guy who had this belief of how it would go, and part of it was based on his belief in the bands, which is really heartwarming."
Tulin adds: "Patrick just thought it would be fun. Go on the bus and hang out with the band as they travel. I hope he doesn't lose too much; I feel sorry for him."
More dropped dates: One in Detroit, and another in Montreal. Instead of that trip to Canada, Hand drove the band to Vermont for a barbecue at his parents' house. They spent the night at his brother's vacation home. More dropouts, too: Saxon's replacement in the lineup, former Moby Grape guitarist Jerry Miller, bailed last week, the day before he was to have joined the tour. Hand wanted Miller to revise his contract, "but he didn't want to do that, so I bought him out. In essence, I paid him not to play because it saves me money."
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
VIDEO
On Tour with "Love"
First-time concert promoter and D.C. lawyer Patrick Hand is learning the ropes of the music business as he spends his summer vacation promoting the "California '66 Revue." The tour straight out of "Spinal Tap," after one musician died and another band pulled out. The single remaining band, Love, continues to tour, losing loads of money along the way. We caught up with Hand and Love at the Double Door nightclub in Chicago.
"I went through a midlife crisis back around '93 and '94, when I got sick of practicing law and wanted to be a writer," he says. "I never thought when I started this tour that I'm going to give up the practice of law to become a rock-and-roll promoter. I've been around long enough and been to enough concerts to know that there's not enough money to be made, at least not by me."
A quarter-century ago, at a club on Connecticut Avenue NW, he went to see members of the Band and the Byrds, "and there were about 14 people in the venue," Hand says. "I counted them. I was 26 years old at the time, a year or two out of law school, and I remember thinking: Practicing law may not be a bad gig."
Hand yawns incessantly. It's Tuesday afternoon in Milwaukee, and the two-week tour is at the midway point. Hand has taken over driving duties after sending the tour manager back to England in another cost-cutting move. The show is booked at Shank Hall, a rock club named for a venue in "This Is Spinal Tap," the 1984 rock-and-roll mockumentary about a fictional heavy metal band suffering a disastrous concert tour. Tickets are $25.
Hand, who negotiated the deals with the clubs despite having never booked a concert in his life, will collect 70 percent of the gate, with no guarantees. He wonders about ticket sales: "We were at 29 yesterday; did we sell any more?"
Maybe, he's told, but with Miller backing out after the loss of Saxon and the Prunes, maybe not. A sign at the door advises that the lineup is down to Love alone, with full refunds available. While Hand is at the bar, staring at the stage, a man comes in and returns five tickets.
Would the California '66 Revue have been a hit if the tour had gone off as planned, with the Prunes and Saxon joining Love in flashing back to an important time in youth culture? "I don't think so," Hand admits. "There's just not enough interest in the genre and these acts. The whole is not greater than the sum of its parts." Ah, hindsight.
Steve Baenen, wearing a Deep Purple concert T-shirt, approaches the table where Hand has set up shirts, CDs and posters. His long hair pulled back in a ponytail, Baenen has made the two-hour drive from Green Bay, because "it's hard to find a trippy show anymore." He buys $30 worth of CDs. Hand gives him a concert poster that still lists the three original acts.
"What happened to the Prunes?" Baenen asks.
Hand: "Not enough advance sales. Not enough money to pay for everything."
Baenen: "That's a bummer, man."
Hand: "It is a bummer."
A '60s Tour With Few Takers Is Still a Rock-and-Roll High
VIDEO
On Tour with "Love"
First-time concert promoter and D.C. lawyer Patrick Hand is learning the ropes of the music business as he spends his summer vacation promoting the "California '66 Revue." The tour straight out of "Spinal Tap," after one musician died and another band pulled out. The single remaining band, Love, continues to tour, losing loads of money along the way. We caught up with Hand and Love at the Double Door nightclub in Chicago.
Hand knows what you're thinking: midlife crisis. You're thinking: "Dude, it would have been easier -- and cheaper -- to lease a new Porsche." But Hand says he had already come to terms with his age.
"I went through a midlife crisis back around '93 and '94, when I got sick of practicing law and wanted to be a writer," he says. "I never thought when I started this tour that I'm going to give up the practice of law to become a rock-and-roll promoter. I've been around long enough and been to enough concerts to know that there's not enough money to be made, at least not by me."
A quarter-century ago, at a club on Connecticut Avenue NW, he went to see members of the Band and the Byrds, "and there were about 14 people in the venue," Hand says. "I counted them. I was 26 years old at the time, a year or two out of law school, and I remember thinking: Practicing law may not be a bad gig."
Hand yawns incessantly. It's Tuesday afternoon in Milwaukee, and the two-week tour is at the midway point. Hand has taken over driving duties after sending the tour manager back to England in another cost-cutting move. The show is booked at Shank Hall, a rock club named for a venue in "This Is Spinal Tap," the 1984 rock-and-roll mockumentary about a fictional heavy metal band suffering a disastrous concert tour. Tickets are $25.
Hand, who negotiated the deals with the clubs despite having never booked a concert in his life, will collect 70 percent of the gate, with no guarantees. He wonders about ticket sales: "We were at 29 yesterday; did we sell any more?"
Maybe, he's told, but with Miller backing out after the loss of Saxon and the Prunes, maybe not. A sign at the door advises that the lineup is down to Love alone, with full refunds available. While Hand is at the bar, staring at the stage, a man comes in and returns five tickets.
Would the California '66 Revue have been a hit if the tour had gone off as planned, with the Prunes and Saxon joining Love in flashing back to an important time in youth culture? "I don't think so," Hand admits. "There's just not enough interest in the genre and these acts. The whole is not greater than the sum of its parts." Ah, hindsight.
Steve Baenen, wearing a Deep Purple concert T-shirt, approaches the table where Hand has set up shirts, CDs and posters. His long hair pulled back in a ponytail, Baenen has made the two-hour drive from Green Bay, because "it's hard to find a trippy show anymore." He buys $30 worth of CDs. Hand gives him a concert poster that still lists the three original acts.
"What happened to the Prunes?" Baenen asks.
Hand: "Not enough advance sales. Not enough money to pay for everything."
Baenen: "That's a bummer, man."
Hand: "It is a bummer."
When the band takes the stage, there are fewer than 50 people in the room, including bartenders, waitresses, the sound guy, the door guy and the musicians.
"This show is not about who's not here; it's about who is here," guitarist Mike Randle tells the audience. (Offstage, Randle says he once performed in front of a single ticket-holder, in 1993. )
Love performs for 90 minutes, and Hand watches most of the set alone from a table at the side of the room. He has plenty of space to play air drums along to the music.
He decides later that it's the best show the band has played on the tour. The final count: 25 presale tickets and 15 walk-ups. But 10 of the presold tickets weren't used, meaning they are likely to be returned for refunds. For now, Hand's take is $525, which won't come close to covering the hotel rooms, per diems, publicist, van rental, gas and equipment rental, let alone the six band members. Hand says he has averted what "could have turned into a financial disaster for me" only by trimming expenses and dropping some shows. So, next summer: a nice trip to the beach with the family? Not necessarily.
"We've been talking about going to South Africa during the World Cup," he says.
We?
"Yeah, with Love maybe opening for a bigger band. Hopefully, we can do it. But that's only with guarantees. I'll have to do it a lot differently. But I think it would be cool."
His wife isn't so sure about that. "He loves music so much," Katie Hand says. "If you can't support your spouse, I don't know whom you can support. But you know, we're not going to do it again next year."
California Revue: Through
California Revue: Through
Posted on Tuesday August 18, 2009 at 09:01 AM 1 |
The Seeds with Sky Saxon were expected to venture out on a package tour including the Electric Prunes and Love this summer, but that has reportedly fizzled. And, by that, the Washington Post means fizzled.
The Post recently published an exposé on the tour by pop music critic J. Freedom DuLac – a story about an attorney with a dream to be a concert tour promoter. But much like the dreams of attorneys who want to become restaurateurs, and like so many other first-time promoters, the dream became a financial nightmare.
Washington lawyer Patrick Hand wanted the country to take another look at the Electric Prunes – a band some consider the forefathers of psychedelic rock. In a press release announcing the tour, Hand said the Prunes are “the best rock band in the world right now. The Electric Prunes are the only band from the 1960s who are putting out better music now than then.”
He also landed Love, which is synonymous with leader Arthur Lee, who died in 2006. Hand also got Sky Saxon and The Seeds to come along for the California ’66 Revue tour.
But the Prunes backed out because of logistical and financial agreements a week before the tour started, according to the Post. That was followed by the death of Saxon. Former Moby Grape guitarist Jerry Miller was to take Saxon’s place, but that fell apart at the last second.
Hand wanted to revise Miller’s contract, he told the Post, but “he didn’t want to do that, so I bought him out. In essence, I paid him not to play because it saves me money.”
Which means the August tour was Love, minus Lee. A visit to Chicago had 55 people in a 473-capacity room. The tour finale at the 500-capacity Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., was canceled. Plenty of venues dropped out along the way. DuLac attended the Milwaukee, Wisc., show, which had “fewer than 50 people in the room, including bartenders, waitresses, the sound guy, the door guy and the musicians.”
It got to the point where nobody got comps, with even Hand’s wife, Katie Griffin Hand, paying the $12 cost to get in. Although Hand said he has not lost money that he can’t afford to lose, it went away at a pretty good clip. Wife Katie chuckled at the situation.
“Every 10 days, I’d say: ‘Listen, honey: I’m so glad the tour’s going well,’” she told the Post. “‘Can we have the money talk now?’”
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Ghost tour comes to Lee's Palace
http://www.nowtoronto.com/daily/story.cfm?content=170782
MUSIC
Ghost tour comes to Lee's Palace
A CONCERT BILL THAT INCLUDES MANY DEAD MUSICIANS
BY JASON KELLER
The grim spectre of death will be at Lee Palace’s this Friday in the form of a 60s nostalgia psychedelic rock tour called the California 66 Revue.
When the revival tour was announced in mid-June it boasted three of the best Cali psych rock combos from back in the day – Electric Prunes, Love and Sky “Sunlight” Saxon of proto-punk LA garage rockers the Seeds.
Tragically, Saxon died about a week later – June 25 – in an Austin, Texas hospital from an undetermined internal infection but the news was greatly overshadowed by the untimely death of another, far more famous musician hours later.
Best known for a couple Top 40 hits, Can’t Seem to Make You Mine and Pushin' Too Hard, the Seeds, with their inclusion on the legendary Nuggets compilation, eventually became a cult band garage rockers will always namecheck because the Stones are too obvious.
The California 66 was already on shaky ground before Saxon’s death by trumpeting a modern configuration of another cultish psych pop band from the LA scene – Love – which debatably has no business existing without deceased frontman Arthur Lee, the voice, main songwriter and face of the group in all its various incarnations over the last 30-plus years.
Lee passed away in 2006 and now original guitarist John Echols and some players going by the very hippy-dippy name of Baby Lemonade (Lee’s backing group for about a decade before his death) are touring as Love.
Echols did play in the original Love lineup up until their near breakthrough Forever Changes, which is cited as one of the most overlooked records of the late 60s, but was given the boot along with the rest of the band by Lee soon after Changes’ release.
To see Love without Lee is difficult to wrap your head around. It’s like going to see ELO without Jeff Lynne.
To make matters worse for the troubled tour is the recent cancellation of the band originally responsible for putting the tour together - obscure psych combo the Electric Prunes. The influential feedback rockers, now fronted by Mike Tulin and James Lowe, pulled out at the last minute due to irreconcilable differences with promoter Patrick Hand.
The Prunes biggest success came from what many describe as a religious concept album called Mass in F Minor. The head trip album contained psychedelic versions of prayers, and a tune called Kyrie Eleison which made it onto the Easy Rider soundtrack.
Yet this show somehow still goes on.
Filling in the deep vacant hole left by Saxon and the Prunes is Jerry Miller, one of three guitarists from San Francisco psych crackpots Moby Grape, a group better known for wild Canuck frontman Skip Spence, also deceased, then any other their unheard records.
Despite all the problems, fatalities, cancellations, the California 66 Revue, unlike many of the unsung musicians associated with it, lives on.
Check the Lee’s Palace website for more ticket information on the California 66 Revue.
Aug 11, 2009 at 12:06 AM
Copyright 2009 NOW Communications
Saturday, March 07, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTHUR
MARCH 7 sunrise
i miss you so much. love always,...noon Forest Lawn & a good Merlot
Sunset 5:55
i miss you so much. love always,...noon Forest Lawn & a good Merlot
Sunset 5:55
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
HE BIDS HIS BELOVED BE AT PEACE
HE BIDS HIS BELOVED BE AT PEACE
by: William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
HEAR the Shadowy Horses, their long manes a-shake,
Their hoofs heavy with tumult, their eyes glimmering white;
The North unfolds above them clinging, creeping night,
The East her hidden joy before the morning break,
The West weeps in pale dew and sighs passing away,
The South is pouring down roses of crimson fire:
O vanity of Sleep, Hope, Dream, endless Desire,
The Horses of Disaster plunge in the heavy clay:
Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat
Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast,
Drowning love's lonely hour in deep twilight of rest,
And hiding their tossing manes and their tumultuous feet.
"He Bids His Beloved Be at Peace" is reprinted from The Wind Among the Reeds. W.B. Yeats. London: Elkin Mathews, 1899.
by: William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
HEAR the Shadowy Horses, their long manes a-shake,
Their hoofs heavy with tumult, their eyes glimmering white;
The North unfolds above them clinging, creeping night,
The East her hidden joy before the morning break,
The West weeps in pale dew and sighs passing away,
The South is pouring down roses of crimson fire:
O vanity of Sleep, Hope, Dream, endless Desire,
The Horses of Disaster plunge in the heavy clay:
Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat
Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast,
Drowning love's lonely hour in deep twilight of rest,
And hiding their tossing manes and their tumultuous feet.
"He Bids His Beloved Be at Peace" is reprinted from The Wind Among the Reeds. W.B. Yeats. London: Elkin Mathews, 1899.
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