10 23 07

Psychedelia: 

Psychedelia

Hippies: 

Hippies Subculture that emerged in San Francisco and London by 1965 1967 the “Summer of Love” Not really the beginning of the hippie subculture, but its emergence into the mainstream

What is psychedelia and what does that have to do with music?: 

What is psychedelia and what does that have to do with music? Exploring new ways of viewing the world In 1950s youth culture became distinct from traditional culture By 1960s teen culture became even more separated from adults “Generation gap” Institutions (school, government, church, etc.) were seen as things to not trust

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: 

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide First synthesized in 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann He was researching medical uses for a fungus that grows on grain In 1943 while working on it Hofmann accidentally absorbed some through the skin and discovered LSD’s psychotropic effect In the 1950s the CIA experimented with it as a truth serum and other uses

Turn on, tune in, drop out: 

Turn on, tune in, drop out Timothy Leary (1920-1996) publicly advocated the use of LSD as a means to expand consciousness Many hippies followed his advice and explore drugs, radical philosophy and Eastern religion

Kesey’s Acid Tests: 

Kesey’s Acid Tests Ken Kesey (1935-2001) is best known for his book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest He toured the country selling acid trips complete with light shows, sound effects and rock music The band was a group call the Warlocks, more on them later

Eastern Philosophy: 

Eastern Philosophy In 1967 the Beatles began studying meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi In part inspired by them, hippies started exploring Eastern philosophy (sprinkled liberally with LSD and marijuana) as a means for “spiritual” exploration John Lennon would later write “Sexy Sadie” about their experience with the Maharishi

Psychedelic Music: 

Psychedelic Music Two approaches appear Music to enhance the drug trip Music is secondary to the drug experience, only a “soundtrack” Think Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd Music as an aesthetic drug Music may be enhanced by a drug trip, but the music is the priority Think Beatles, Beach Boys and Doors

Red Dog Saloon: 

Red Dog Saloon Club in Virginia City, NM In 1965 a band from San Francisco called the Charlatans became the house band LSD inspired jams ensue and draw hippies By the fall of that year hippies calling themselves Family Dog put on similar dances in San Francisco

Radio in late 1960s: 

Radio in late 1960s Pop music radio airplay is all on AM stations FM had been available for years, but was dominated by public-service programming Psychedlic rock was too long to fit on pop programs, which focused on 3 minute songs Some FM radio stations started experimenting with free-form programming that began broadcasting psychedlic rock

San Francisco Scene: 

San Francisco Scene Centered around a neighborhood at the intersection of Haight and Ashbury In 1967 a gathering called the Human Be-In was held in Golden Gate Park Attended by 10,000-20,000 hippies Entertainment by local bands, including Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane Media attention spawned copycat events in other areas

Grateful Dead: 

Grateful Dead They started during the mid 60s in San Francisco As early as 1960 Jerry Garcia (guitar/vocals), and Bob Weir (guitar) and “Pigpen” McKernan (keys) were in a bluegrass influenced band called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Band In ‘65 they added Phil Lesh (bass) and Bill Kruetzmann (drums) and renamed themselves the Warlocks

Grateful Dead: 

Grateful Dead By the end of ‘65 they all lived together in a communal house on Ashbury Street and started called themselves the Grateful Dead They were the house band for Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests LSD was legal at the time (for about 1 year) They performed for tripping hippies, and their music sometimes was called “acid rock”

Grateful Dead: 

Grateful Dead Starting in 1966 they signed with a couple of different record labels, but their studio albums usually didn’t go well They discovered that they couldn’t capture the feeling of a live show in a studio, so they concentrated instead on concerts Recording live albums went much better for them In ‘67 they added a second drummer, Micky Hart

Grateful Dead Live: 

Grateful Dead Live Seeing the Dead live was an experience into itself The mythologist Joseph Campbell noted that their name comes from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and their concerts were like Dionysian festivals from ancient Greece Improvisation, particularly by Garcia, was a huge part of their shows One tune could last 30 minutes or longer Fans were encouraged to record live shows, prompting fans to trade copies of their favorite concerts

Grateful Dead: 

Grateful Dead By 1970 they had figured out how to record in the studio better and released two acclaimed albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty Contained one of their first “hits,” Truckin’ Although the band had extremely loyal and devoted fans, they never really broke into the pop charts like other important rock acts

Grateful Dead: 

Grateful Dead In 1987 they released their one and only music video to Touch of Grey They first performed this in concert in 1982 Made the Billboard Top 100 in 1987 Somewhat ignored by many younger audiences, Touch of Grey introduced the Grateful Dead to a whole new generation of fans

Grateful Dead: 

Grateful Dead In 1995 after struggling with drug and alcohol addiction for decades, Jerry Garcia died Band members continue to perform today as solo acts or as members of various bands, including “The Dead”

Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970): 

Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) A left handed guitarist who played a right handed guitar, Hendrix was fascinated by and absorbed the blues, including Robert Johnson and B.B. King He picked up work backing up Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, the Isley Brothers, and more

Jimi Hendrix: 

Jimi Hendrix Sometime around late 1965 or early 1966 Hendrix decided to finally break out on his own He heard Bob Dylan sing and figured if Dylan could go far with a lousy voice, so could he At the advice and management of Chas Chandler, bassist for the Animals, Hendrix tours England and forms the Jimi Hendrix Experience

Jimi Hendrix: 

Jimi Hendrix Upon returning to the U.S., Hendrix records Purple Haze The original “guitar wizard,” Hendrix developed a number of original techniques that guitarists are still mystified by Distortion, Univibe (simulates a rotating speaker), and a wah-way pedal Manipulating the tremolo (“whang” or “whammy”) bar Feeding back on a couple of strings while playing lead on other to sound like 2 guitars at once Much of the rest of his techniques still elude the grasp of guitarists

Jimi Hendrix: 

Jimi Hendrix In 1967 Hendrix hits it big after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival He plays after the Who, a tough act to follow He plays with his teeth, behind his back, humps his guitar - all while playing like a madman He finishes off his show by lighting his guitar on fire He died in 1970 of an overdose of sleeping pills

Jefferson Airplane: 

Jefferson Airplane In 1965 San Francisco was enjoying the folk music boom Marty Balin (vocals) organized Paul Kantar (guitar and vocals), Jorma Kaukonen (guitar), Signe Anderson (vocals), Jerry Peloquin (drums), and Bob Harvey (bass) They formed a group they called Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane: 

Jefferson Airplane A “Jefferson airplane” was 1960s slang for for an improvised clip used to hold a marijuana joint that had been smoked to short to hold without burning your hands Jorma Kaukonen denied that this was the inspiration for the band’s name, claiming it was a play on blues names like “Blind Lemon Jefferson” Sure, Jorma, I believe you…

Jefferson Airplane: 

Jefferson Airplane In 1965 they played the Matrix Club in San Francisco, a good gig for an up-and-coming band Personnel changed quickly Jerry Peloquin got fed up very quickly with all the drug use and quit the band He was replaced by drummer Skip Pence Bob Harvey was replaced by bassist Jack Casady because Harvey played accoustic bass Signe Anderson was replaced by singer Grace Slick

Jefferson Airplane: 

Jefferson Airplane In 1967 they got national attention at the Montery Pop Festival Other national appearances followed, such as the Ed Sullivan Show By 1970 they recorded 5 albums, but membership was shifting again Jefferson Starship was founded by Kantar and Slick Kantner sued because he wanted to keep using Jefferson Airplane, so they became simply Starship

White Rabbit: 

White Rabbit Written by Grace Slick, it was a hit single in 1967 Fitting within the AM music format, it also contains some ambitious musical experimentation Lyrics refer to “Alice in Wonderland” with psychedelic drugs Musically similar to Maurice Ravel’s Bolero and Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaboration Sketches of Spain AABA form See page 274 for listening guide

Big Brother and the Holding Company: 

Big Brother and the Holding Company San Francisco based band formed in 1965 They experimented with classical and avant-garde music Rock arrangements of classical music Bacon, which lasted as long as it took to fry a plate of bacon on stage Manager Chet Helms, who was part of the Family Dog Productions, met a blues singer in Texas and recruited her to sing with the band

Janis Joplin (1943-1970): 

Janis Joplin (1943-1970) Joplin had sung around Texas and San Francisco through the early and mid 1960s, but she had been living in Port Arthur, TX She modeled her style after early blues singers like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith Her style is not really “psychedelic,” but Big Brother is associated with this movement

Joplin/Big Brother: 

Joplin/Big Brother With the addition of Joplin as their lead singer, Big Brother began to gain attention Their 2nd album, “Cheap Thrills” hit number 1 album in U.S. in 1968 Piece of My Heart as a single hit #12 With success Joplin moved on to a solo career

Janis Joplin: 

Janis Joplin In 1969 Joplin’s debut album, “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!” went to #5 Struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, she died of an overdose in 1970 “Pearl” was released posthumously and went #1 Me and Bobby McGee

The Doors: 

The Doors Formed in 1965 by Jim Morrison (vocals) and Ray Manzarak (keyboards) Robbie Krieger (guitar) and and John Densmore (drums) Took their name from Aldous Huxley’s book The Doors of Perception which quotes a William Blake poem

If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite: 

If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite

The Doors: 

The Doors Their sound was unique in that they usually didn’t use a bass player That role was played by Manzarak on the Fender Rhodes Bass Keyboard While Morrison and Krieger seemed to be most involved in song writing, completed tunes were a collaboration by the whole band The Doors’ music often explored the darker side of emotions and drug use

The Doors: 

The Doors They released their debut album in 1967 Contained Light My Fire, their first number 1 hit Shorted from 7 to 3 minutes for the radio single The End deals with Oedipal complex and Break On Through with bad trip experiences

The Lizard King: 

The Lizard King Morrison developed an on-stage persona to convey the alienation, depression, and other negative issues of their songs First introduced in an album in 1968 Waiting for the Sun Paved the way for other alter-ego rock stars

Woodstock Festival: 

Woodstock Festival Rock fest held in NY in 1969 Actually held in Bethel, NY nearby Woodstock Attended by around 50,000 hippies 3 deaths (1 by overdose, 1 by falling off a scaffold, one run over a tractor after passing out in a nearby field) 2 unconfirmed births Inspired lots of other festivals to follow

Woodstock Festival: 

Woodstock Festival Some of the most influential rock artists of the time performed Jimi Hendrix The Who Grateful Dead Joan Baez Santana Janis Joplin Jefferson Airplane Ravi Shankar (sitar, Indian classical music)

Woodstock Trivia of Dubious Origins: 

Woodstock Trivia of Dubious Origins Hendrix broke his E string about a quarter of the way through his 2 hour set and played the rest of the gig on 5 strings John Sebastian wasn’t scheduled to perform, but traffic delayed other performers and he was asked to perform last minute Promoter Michael Lang’s original idea was to close the festival with Roy Rogers singing Happy Trails

London Psychedelic Scene: 

London Psychedelic Scene In 1965 Alan Ginsberb organized a poetry event at Albert Hall The 5,000 member audience was largely under the influence of LSD or marijuana This event inaugurates the London psychedelic underground