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Topic: Woodstock, Then & Now |
Dayna Wills
From:
Sacramento, CA (deceased)
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Posted 19 Aug 2009 9:09 pm |
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Did any of you guys or gals actually attend the festival? I saw this show on TV the other night and I got to thinking about how creative the music of the 60s was. Rock, blues, funk, folk. I didn't go to the concert. I was way too square and non-political. I was singing in Las Vegas lounges. The rock stuff I did in the late 60's was the Four Tops, Sly & the Family Stone, BS&T, (White Rabbit) Wilson Pickett, Aretha, stuff like that.
PS Maybe the quesion should be, "Do any of you guys or gals REMEMBER attending Woodstock?" HA! |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 19 Aug 2009 9:32 pm
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| One of the managers in our bands' office in Champaign Illinois flew to New York and rented a car, but when he got close to the festival, he turned around and came home because it looked like it was gonna be too crowded and uncomfortable. |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 19 Aug 2009 9:34 pm Re: Woodstock, Then & Now
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| daynawills wrote: |
| I was way too square and non-political. I was singing in Las Vegas lounges. |
When I was broke and soaking wet at a rock festival, I was thinking how glamorous it must be to play in Las Vegas and actually make some money. |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 19 Aug 2009 9:36 pm
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Watch out for the brown acid.........
_________________
Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Danny Naccarato
From:
Burleson, Texas
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Posted 19 Aug 2009 11:15 pm
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I was 13 at the time and 15 min away in a summer bible camp. Some friends were going there on Sat to hand out "leaflets". I decided to stay and water ski on the lake. Also, there was a 14 year old "older" girl I had the hots for and she was not going out there. Bottom line, she never showed up, the water skiing was nice, but the stories my buddies brought back were priceless. I'm still trying to learn that lesson  |
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Marc Friedland
From:
Fort Collins, CO
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 3:34 am
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YES, I was there and remember most of it.
I've told some stories over the years, but I don't have any of it written down. If I get a chance I'll post again with some of my experiences of the "magical" event. In the meantime here are some pictures. They're actually taken a couple years after Woodstock, but I think are symbolic of the times. That was what we looked liked then, and the Joy Bus, Oogy Ahgy, was one of our main means of transportation.
Marc
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Larry Miller
From:
Dothan AL,USA
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 4:07 am
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The question begs to be asked "Did Hippies Hurt or Help American Music?"  |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 4:52 am
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| Larry Miller wrote: |
| The question begs to be asked "Did Hippies Hurt or Help American Music?" |
Neither...they were just a part of it.
What do you consider the standard to judge whether that standard has been helped or hurt??? |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 5:21 am
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Given the direction that Dion and Annette Funicello were taking rock 'n' roll, and the countrypolitan trend in Nashville, my vote is "help." Where would we be without thirty-minute drum solos....  |
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Bob Blair
From:
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 6:13 am
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Did shag carpet help or hurt American Hippies?
Great bus! |
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Chris LeDrew
From:
Canada
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 6:19 am
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I bet stucco could hurt hippies if it lined the ceiling of that bus and they hit a bumpy road!
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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John De Maille
From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 1:51 pm
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| I was there before the festival, during the festival, and after the festival. I helped set up and take down the sound towers and all the speakers and cables, being a rigger. It was a time, I'll never forget. It was wet, uncomfortable and dirty. But, I ate and drank OK. The music was legendary in all aspecs. I'll probably never experience a "Happening" like that, again, in my lifetime. |
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Chip Fossa
From:
Monson, MA, USA (deceased)
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 2:04 pm
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I was there.
It was incredible sitting alongside the main road that led to the big field on Thursday (day before the event) and watching the endless stream of humanity amble in.
People would stop by and listen to me and Sid picking away (acoustics). Maybe offer some sacraments and best wishes.
There were 6 or 7 of us in my brother's VW bus. During the many downpours, we took turns sleeping under the bus.
On Sunday, we all were so famished, that I traded a very warm can of "Bud" for a bologna sandwich from a dude who seemed to be heaven-sent and set up a small concession stand.
The sandwich was 1 slice of bologna and 2 slices of Wonderbread. No mustard, no nothing else; but it tasted wonderful.
Maybe in part to "wonderfulbread".
I still laugh at all the past and present attempts to capture Woodstock. It's magic. It's spirit.
Never to be. Thank God.
Like the latest media docu's espouse, Woodstock wasn't a place at all. It was a state of mind; you can't re-create spontaniety; and that was the essence of Woodstock.
It was so 'heavey', because many folks actually believed that we could actually change the world.
Looking back, probably did, but in a smaller way.
Thank you; thank you very much.
_________________
Chip
Williams U-12 8X5; Keyless; Natural Blonde Laquer. |
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Clete Ritta
From:
San Antonio, Texas
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 2:51 pm
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| I was 6 and my family had a summer home in Woodstock, NY. We didnt go to the concert, but I remember all the parked cars and people walking on the side of the NY Thruway (which they closed down) on our way there. We had to get off the highway and take the back roads to get there. Yasgurs Farm is near Bethel, NY, which is actually quite far from Woodstock. I cant imagine how long it took to walk there from the Thruway! |
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Chip Fossa
From:
Monson, MA, USA (deceased)
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 4:46 pm
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Absolutely correct Clete.
To this day, I just have nothing but the dearest admiration for Max Yazgur.
How could a relatively sane and conservative farmer decide to open up his pastures and cattle ponds to unknown kids; longhairs; hip-eyes; riff-raff; bikers; and worst of all, musicians?
But garsh-darn he did it.
He oughta get some kind of medal or monument.
Why? Cuz, I think down deep inside, Max was against that ruinous Vietnam fiasco, too. He too had enough and maybe said to himself, "let me do a small part here to put it to an end and bring my beloved Bethel and the rest of this great land back together again; maybe.
It's the least I can do."
Just my take.
_________________
Chip
Williams U-12 8X5; Keyless; Natural Blonde Laquer. |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 5:56 pm
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3 cheers for Max, Michael Lang and the whole production/working gang, the performers, and all them dirty worthless hippies that cared and dared to hope for a better world or to just get stoned and rock out!
Last edited by Ron Whitfield on 20 Aug 2009 6:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 5:57 pm
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We, my band, lived about 4 hours from Woodstock. We talked about going but we were playing 5 nites a week and decided we'd rather not risk any problems by not being there to play them. You could say we were the Hippie type back then. Still don't know if that was the right decision.
_________________
heavily medicated for your safety |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 5:58 pm
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| And let's not forget the one person who died unceremoniously while asleep in a bag, run over by a tractor, 17 year old Raymond Mizak. |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 7:15 pm
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Max did it for the money. I think he was paid $75,000, which in todays dollars would be around $450,000. Sadly, he died only a couple of years after Woodstock.
_________________
Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 7:30 pm
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We drove there, about 3 hours, in my battered 1962 Ford Falcon convertible, bald tires, slipping clutch, bad brakes, $20 in my pocket and a couple 6-packs of beer. What more did we need?  Nowadays if I go to a concert, which is very seldom, I want to walk right in, no waiting, get a good seat, quick out, no traffic. I guess that why I don't go to concerts anymore. 
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel |
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Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 20 Aug 2009 10:37 pm
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My doctor (Stephen Patt, MD--later guitarist with the Chambers Brothers and others, Vintage Guitar Magazine contributor, now a/k/a the "Rock Doc") was paymaster and had the unenviable task of handing the artists--including Jimi Someone--their rubber checks.
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"Gopher, Everett?" |
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Chip Fossa
From:
Monson, MA, USA (deceased)
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Posted 21 Aug 2009 9:32 pm
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OK, I'm gonna try to keep this post going.
I was there. I have many more moments if you want to hear any.
Darvin, yup. You could be right. Max did it solely for the money. And you even GUESSED in your post that it was around $75,000.
Hmmm. And in today's finite-equivical-instant tabulationism, that 75 grand comes out to just under a half-million bucks.
I'm sure Max was offered an admirable sum. Isn't this a given? I'm glad he got it, if indeed, he did. Nobody, in a way, MADE-OUT on Woodstock. Everyone financially involved, artists too, took a hit. BUT, after everything calmed down and reality set-in, we all were one. Finally, we at this event realized the true essence of what it was all about; monetary gain being the last on anyone's list.
Hard to believe, but nobody cared any more; only in the vibe/essence. All what we were living for; the ideals and dreams were happening right in front of us.
Nobody who wasn't there, will ever understand Woodstock. Period. Just believe, it was and will always be MAGIC. As Emeril LaGasse always espouses, "Kick It Up A Notch".
Max Yazgur kicked it up.
And see, Darvin, this is where your thinking falls short. After things got rolling, and out of hand, in the best of ways (thank God), anybody that had a stake in this venture, simply & in true counter-culture, anti-establishment, hippie,
free love, and in the true spirit of the festival, just resigned themselves to the fact that what they wished to create unfolded right in front of their eyes. And thank God, they had the coolness to 'Let It Be'.
I really think Max, up until Woodstock, was a pretty successful and "happy" farmer.
His beautiful pastures and ponds testify to the fact that his land was well tended, with a farmer's touch, of which I respect immensley. Farmers keep all of us fed.
I'm sure Max just looked at the $75,000(?) as just a nice money-under-the-table. Why not? He said.
I don't begrudge him, the fact he was "cashing-in". So what?
The man still had heart. I still believe this.
I still believe he saw the light.
Happy Trails
_________________
Chip
Williams U-12 8X5; Keyless; Natural Blonde Laquer. |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 21 Aug 2009 9:37 pm
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I had several press passes for Woodstock for my paper, The Kudzu, in Jackson, MS. But we decided it was too far to go. I had just been to the Miami Winter Pop Festival at the Gulfstream Park horse track in Hollywood, Fl., near Ft. Lauderdale. It had a lot of the same performers as Woodstock, but the weather was beautiful, and the facilities very comfortable and convenient. There were two stages with simultaneous acts. One was in front of the main stands, where you had a comfortable seat, shade, and decent restrooms. The other was on the grounds, where there was a nice grassy lawn.
Soon after Woodstock I went to the Atlanta July 4 Pop Festival (Hendrix played his famous version of the National Anthem there too). It was the more typical festival experience - dusty field, foul mass make-shift potties, no rain, but parching sun and heat, stranded for days at the mercy of price-gouging, poorly stocked vendors.
I really don't think Woodstock was any better than these two festivals around the same time. But Woodstock had a much bigger crowd, and happened near the NYC media center. One thing Atlanta had that Woodstock didn't - a huge nude swimming lake - or maybe that was the second Atlanta Pop Festival - don't remember which, but I definitely remember the nude swimming, and still have some of the photos.
Were the hippies good for society. A big hell yes! If you were around in the '50s, you know we are a much freer society in every way because of the hippies - music, dress, hair, recreation, sex, politics, race, everything. Of course it hasn't been all good - but that's human nature. If you have the freedom for the good stuff, you end up with freedom for a lot of bad stuff too. That's why it's called freedom. |
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