GP Series by VapourArt - Official Thread for GP Spheroid, GP PAPS, X, GP Piccolo, GP SnP and more - Part 3

[Spydro]

After a long, cold winter the promise of fun in the sun had preordained what was coming soon after graduation..... California.




Monterey Pop

The best known of the first American rock festivals, it was actually the second. The first a week earlier was the Fantasy Fair in Marin County that officially started the San Francisco Summer of Love. I couldn’t get to California in time for that one, but did get there a couple of days before Monterey Pop.

There were no hotel/motel rooms available, so 10’s of thousands camped on the football field at Monterey Peninsula College. I crashed on deserted beaches instead, started each day free diving for breakfast from the sea.

I was fortunate to have connections at the festival because of a couple of gigs my band had done with big name bands touring the country, at Lagoon and the Terrace Ballroom (where my band played for dances and in BOB’s fairly often). So I was able to meet and talk to a lot of the musicians and celebrities that came to the festival backstage and at private parties. As a lead guitar player and song writer, my easy favorites to meet were Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Pete Townsend, Eric Burdon, Stephen Stills, John Phillips, Paul Simon, Grace Slick and an amazing new lady that after the festival would quickly become as big as any of them and the queen of psychedelic soul, Janis Joplin. As it turned out I would also see many of them again later on in the summer as well, and meet more of the current bands of that era.

There was an “air” about the festival, and I don’t just mean the heavy clouds always rising from the Trip Teepee. I wasn’t a cowboy or a long hair, kind of in between from playing in my band, so I easily fit in. But everybody was welcome there, and there were no prejudices of any kind displayed. Just 10’s of thousands of people enjoying the music, the vibes, and with carefree attitudes. It didn’t matter if you were young or old, a clean cut cowboy, a digger/hippie longhair, a biker/Hells Angel, the local police or whether you used drugs or booze or just got your high from life itself. The hippie chicks (that was not a derogatory term then) took great pleasure in adding flowers and beads to everyone’s attire, including the uniforms of the local police who took it all in stride. It was a magical three days like no other before or since... and set the pace for what was to follow.

There was something like 30 musical acts at Monterey Pop… I have original recordings of many of them. The files are quite large, so I'll only include a couple of them... in MP3 format – Janis Joplin (Down on Me) and Jimi Hendrix (Purple Haze).

Janis Joplin

Jimi Hendrix

More parts to follow (maybe).....

 

[landman2k1]

Awesome stuff Spydro!! Thanks for taking the time...

 

[VapinBill]

After a long, cold winter the promise of fun in the sun had preordained what was coming soon after graduation..... California.




Monterey Pop

The best known of the first American rock festivals, it was actually the second. The first a week earlier was the Fantasy Fair in Marin County that officially started the San Francisco Summer of Love. I couldn’t get to California in time for that one, but did get there a couple of days before Monterey Pop.

There were no hotel/motel rooms available, so 10’s of thousands camped on the football field at Monterey Peninsula College. I crashed on deserted beaches instead, started each day free diving for breakfast from the sea.

I was fortunate to have connections at the festival because of a couple of gigs my band had done with big name bands touring the country, at Lagoon and the Terrace Ballroom (where my band played for dances and in BOB’s fairly often). So I was able to meet and talk to a lot of the musicians and celebrities that came to the festival backstage and at private parties. As a lead guitar player and song writer, my easy favorites to meet were Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Pete Townsend, Eric Burdon, Stephen Stills, John Phillips, Paul Simon, Grace Slick and an amazing new lady that after the festival would quickly become as big as any of them and the queen of psychedelic soul, Janis Joplin. As it turned out I would also see many of them again later on in the summer as well, and meet more of the current bands of that era.

There was an “air” about the festival, and I don’t just mean the heavy clouds always rising from the Trip Teepee. I wasn’t a cowboy or a long hair, kind of in between from playing in my band, so I easily fit in. But everybody was welcome there, and there were no prejudices of any kind displayed. Just 10’s of thousands of people enjoying the music, the vibes, and with carefree attitudes. It didn’t matter if you were young or old, a clean cut cowboy, a digger/hippie longhair, a biker/Hells Angel, the local police or whether you used drugs or booze or just got your high from life itself. The hippie chicks (that was not a derogatory term then) took great pleasure in adding flowers and beads to everyone’s attire, including the uniforms of the local police who took it all in stride. It was a magical three days like no other before or since... and set the pace for what was to follow.

There was something like 30 musical acts at Monterey Pop… I have original recordings of many of them. The files are quite large, so I'll only include a couple of them... in MP3 format – Janis Joplin (Down on Me) and Jimi Hendrix (Purple Haze).

Janis Joplin

Jimi Hendrix

More parts to follow (maybe).....

This is way to cool, Spydro. When I was in this classic rock band, my favorite bass line to play was from the song, Monterey.

 

[anavidfan]

Thanks Spydro, a few years ago , when I worked at a photolab, we had a customer that was of your Era. He was a photographer and he would bring in negatives and have prints done. I had the pleasure of scanning many of his negatives and slides.

He had so many photographs of singers, actors and just plain amazing people of the time. This is one of my favorites. Janis Joplin was a very sad soul from what he mentioned. He got to speak to her and had some informal photo sessions with her. THis was from one of those sessions. I told him that it was the nicest shots of her, she looked happy compared to most photos of her. He let me keep the images I wanted. He said he didnt care what we did with them.

I of course never sold or printed any I just share the image here and there where I feel I can trust those I share with.

 

[anavidfan]

Hey Spydro, Is that Candice Bergman on the lower right hand corner, it sure looks like her, thank you for the post and the music......

 

[faitaccompli]

Man! You guys are OLD!! lol.

anavidfan: My mom would really get a kick out of that pic. She used to do photography and prints, and she's always liked Joplin. She used to get in negatives from photographers taking pictures of the shuttles taking off in FL, even some night time close ups and such, and would make enlarged copies to frame and put in my room for me. Not really related... but your story kind of reminded me of that.

Totally ...... at myself... I left this house this morning without my spare batteries and the ones I have in my mods are running a bit low. That's what I get for messing up my usual battery rotation.

 

[Idaholandho]

Monterey Pop

The best known of the first American rock festivals, it was actually the second. The first a week earlier was the Fantasy Fair in Marin County that officially started the San Francisco Summer of Love. I couldn’t get to California in time for that one, but did get there a couple of days before Monterey Pop.

I was fortunate to have connections at the festival because of a couple of gigs my band had done with big name bands touring the country, at Lagoon and the Terrace Ballroom (where my band played for dances and in BOB’s fairly often). So I was able to meet and talk to a lot of the musicians and celebrities that came to the festival backstage and at private parties. As a lead guitar player and song writer, my easy favorites to meet were Jimi Hendrix

There was something like 30 musical acts at Monterey Pop… I have original recordings of many of them. Jimi Hendrix (Purple Haze).

Very cool Spydro! very cool. Wow.

All I heard was Monterey Pop and Jimi Hendrix, lol.

Please tell me you witnessed the guitar burning after his set. I do know he was smart enough to swap the Fender for a lesser guitar prior to the lighter fluid....but, that is irrelevant to me as it makes the story even better .
'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky is a fantastic book for anyone interested.

 

[faitaccompli]

Very cool Spydro! very cool. Wow.

All I heard was Monterey Pop and Jimi Hendrix, lol.

Man, you CANNOT hear Jimi.

 

[anavidfan]

I love taking photos and collecting and just looking.

I have more scans from that photographer, some of Hendricks, Jim Morrison, and others.

My specialty was restoration , so he gave me a disc to work on for him, but he never came back in.

We did a lot of scanning for many artists including Chuck Jones and Pilar Wayne.

Ot was so amazing to hold original drawings and paintings by Chuck of Bugs snd originals of the Chuck Jones of the Grinch.

I even did some privately owned drawings of Frazetta.

I got to see early shots of a teen Scarlett Johansen .

Lots of fun stuff and some of touch ups for very adult glamour shots too..., some things that were hard to look at with co workers coming by to "look"

 

[faitaccompli]

Lots of fun stuff and some of touch ups for very adult glamour shots too..., some things that were hard to look at with co workers coming by to "look"

I do some amateur photography. I started a couple of years back (lately I haven't had time to shoot... I miss it) and did a bunch of photowalks and other stuff with more experienced photographers. One time, this couple invited me to go to a portrait shoot with them and try my hand. So I show up, and low and behold... it was a boudoir shoot. Not wanting to seem unprofessional and inexperienced. I rolled with it... Now, keep in mind, my wife knew that I was going to go take portraits. But neither of us knew it would be of this variety. So you can imagine her surprise... and litany of questions when she saw me doing my edits in LightRoom. Needless to say that I haven't done one of those since. lol. I honestly had a good time with it, and some of the photos came out really well.

I have heard a lot of stories of developers keeping copies of stuff like this. I don't know if all of them do... but I do know some do. I, luckily, have a local shop that has a very trustworthy lady doing the developing... and if you let her know that there are photos of a personal nature in there, she will ensure that they are developed discreetly. She complimented some of the shots. Admittedly, I was a bit uneasy developing them... but the customer wants what the customer wants. I probably blushed a bit picking them up (no small feat as I generally have no shame), but really I took the compliment to heart. If a developer says it's good... it's good. They see TONS of professional and personal shots. They should know.

I'd love to see some of those scans, if you're willing to post 'em. Jimi was my intro to rock when I was a baby. Apparently I lit up when his music was played.

 

[Spydro]

This is way to cool, Spydro. When I was in this classic rock band, my favorite bass line to play was from the song, Monterey.

Like many other muscians there, Eric Burdon reinvented himself at the festival. The Animals did this song after it relating to their experiences at it.

Thanks Spydro, a few years ago , when I worked at a photolab, we had a customer that was of your Era. He was a photographer and he would bring in negatives and have prints done. I had the pleasure of scanning many of his negatives and slides.

He had so many photographs of singers, actors and just plain amazing people of the time. This is one of my favorites. Janis Joplin was a very sad soul from what he mentioned. He got to speak to her and had some informal photo sessions with her. THis was from one of those sessions. I told him that it was the nicest shots of her, she looked happy compared to most photos of her. He let me keep the images I wanted. He said he didnt care what we did with them.

I of course never sold or printed any I just share the image here and there where I feel I can trust those I share with.

That's a really great picture of her. Better than any I had of her and one I'd have on display to enjoy every day. Thank you for sharing it with me (us).

She was on a high when I first talked to her, no doubt some from drugs. But she was also supercharged to be doing the Monterey Pop, so in a pretty happy mood. With a long history using drugs, then alcoholism, then back to drugs for years before the festival I'm sure they contibuted to her demeanor, along with unhappy times growing up and the pressure she put on herself to carry the load. So yes she was terribly unhappy... a large part of why her music was what it was, just like with some of the other best ladies of music had been that came and went before her. It's been said that some people know when to die. She died two and a half weeks after Hendrix did - two of the greatest that can never be replaced. They're gone, but we will always have their music. I saw her a couple more times that summer. She took my heart, I still smile when I think about her.

Hey Spydro, Is that Candice Bergman on the lower right hand corner, it sure looks like her, thank you for the post and the music......

Yes it is. Quite a few of the Hollywood crowd where there. In part as I learned later because they also lived or had homes there, and with some of them in part to be "noticed" to advance their careers. Nice lady though. I met others, including Eastwood. When I lived in Carmel a few years later I was on the BOD of his private gun club in Carmel Valley. Nice man.

 

[anavidfan]

I will look thru my hard drives. I have many multiple terabyte drives full of images and find them and share.

 

[darksparkle13]

My all time favorite movie in the world!

 

[Spydro]

Very cool Spydro! very cool. Wow.

All I heard was Monterey Pop and Jimi Hendrix, lol.

Please tell me you witnessed the guitar burning after his set. I do know he was smart enough to swap the Fender for a lesser guitar prior to the lighter fluid....but, that is irrelevant to me as it makes the story even better .
'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky is a fantastic book for anyone interested.

Yes I was there, no way I'd miss his performance. I didn't miss any of the big names there.

It was the Fender Stratocaster with a psychodelic paint job he painted on it himself and performed Wild Thing with that he destroyed at the end of the song BTW. I didn't hear about this until later that summer, but there were "words" between Hendrix and Pete Townsend because Hendrix was scheduled to perform before The Who and Hendrix was going to upstage his classic act of destroying guitars, and his drummer Keith Moon destroying drums. Townsend was the first rocker who started smashing guitars 2 or 3 years before Monterey Pop. In the end they flipped a coin and The Who performed first, with The Who typically destroying instruments, including Townsend his guitar. Hendirx took it a step further by burning his guitar before he destroyed it.

 

[jpcwon]

Good Morning all you fellow GP'ers!!

I am here at work enjoying some Mother's Milk that I have loaded up in my Heron....yummy stuff indeed! Anyway I hope everyone here has a fantastic Wednesday!

View attachment 358512

 

[darksparkle13]

What's up Gp family? I'm super stoked, expecting my first piccolo tomorrow am in the vape mail.

Did you get it in the classies? Congrats

 

[darksparkle13]

Spydro, amazing story! And what a killer festival it must have been, to meet so mant legends! Wow

 

[darksparkle13]

Anavid what an amazing photo! This is def one of those to treasure!

 

[VapinBill]

Like many other muscians there, Eric Burdon reinvented himself at the festival. The Animals did this song after it relating to their experiences at it.

Monterey ...

I had recently joined a band that plays mostly classic rock. The members were all veteran musicians and had played together as a band for over 30 years. I had to get used to being the youngster in the group at age 52.

They got together after my audition and decided to bring me in and make it a project to get me up to speed. I am very grateful for that. I am also proud to have occupied the space of their former bass player, who had died recently. He was a dear friend to them all from what I am told. I saw his picture with the other band mates on the wall right above the bass amp every time I plug in for practice. I was told the picture was taken over 25 years ago. There were nine members at the time, including a full horn section and one lead singer.

We practiced the songs we played the previous week and added a couple of new ones that I was to learn. Well it being such a busy week for me, I did not get a chance to practice one of them; Monterey by Eric Burdon. I informed the band before practice of this and we decided to practice it last if time permitted.

The lead guitarist, who has been playing almost as long as I have been alive, asked if his cousin, who is a bass player, could come to this week's practice and see my Alembic. He said his cousin has never seen one in person and would love to come by and hear it. The lead guitarist's cousin came by at the beginning of practice and chatted a few minutes before we got started. He saw the MK5 on its stand and gave a quick nod of approval and sit on the couch directly in front of me. We started practice and I gave my 100%.

We got to our last song for the night, Monterey. We decided to take a break before getting started on the last song. Everyone left the practice room except the bass player.

He walked over to where I was and we started to chat. He informed me of his recent heart surgery and we discussed his recovery class and hospital urgent care facilities in our area. He then paused and stared at the MK5. He new a lot about Alembic's history and told me he always wanted to play one. I asked him if he wanted to play it and he said yes.

He appeared to be about 20 years my senior and a little fatigued. I informed him of the weight of the bass and he did not mine. I helped him strap the bass and turned on the amp. He quickly went over the tuning and began to play. His finger movement reminded me of a ballet dancer as he glided over the fret board. His gentle approach was awesome. He asked me about the controls and I explained them to him the best I could. He made a couple of quick adjustments and began to teach me the bass line to Monterey. His explanation was informative and direct. He explained the note sequence, the rhythm, and why it fits so well in the entire score. By the time the band members came back I was ready to play the main bass line. He stood there with me and talked me the through the movements.

After practice was over, he complimented my sense of tone and listening to the rest of the band as I played. He thanked me for letting him play my Alembic. I thanked him for the life's lesson.

 

[Newfdog]

Did you get it in the classies? Congrats

Yes i did get it from classies. Came with extra switch that i had no idea would be with it
here it is