Rock and Roll (1967-1969)
My best friend Guy had insisted on us meeting at our favorite slice place, Hav-A-Pizza. He wanted me to hear something. We ordered a slice and drink, sat down at the counter, slipped a dime into the countertop jukebox, flipped through the song list, and pressed the B and the 5 buttons in unison. Out of that small, tinny speaker came those first musical notes….and my ten year old mind was blown away. The song was I Want to Hold Your Hand by the Beatles, and my life going forward would never be quite the same again.
I've always felt blessed to have come of age in the 1960's during an era of such incredible music. It was mind expansive, political, social, experimental and often drug influenced, and the concerts of the time often featured mind altering light shows the likes of which we had never seen before.
I began attending rock shows in high school and I would often bring my camera with me. I saw Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream at Hunter College, and free shows on weekends at the bandshell in Central Park. But the primary venue that I went to was Bill Graham's Fillmore East. Many of the Fillmore shows featured a three band lineup, as well as the Joshua light show, a liquid light extravaganza projected on a screen behind the bands while they performed. I remember the pot smoke in the basement bathroom, the usher’s green Fillmore jerseys, and that tickets were always available at $3.50, $4.50 or $5.50, depending on where you wanted to sit and how much money you were willing to lay out that week. Every Fillmore show I attended seemed amazing and unique to me; Jethro Tull, opening for Blood Sweet and Tears on the day their first LP came out, The Who performing their rock opera Tommy, The Grateful Dead beginning their first set at Midnight.
I had no idea how important a role the music and bands I was listening to and seeing at that time would always play in my life. And I certainly didn’t realize that just by being in attendance at these shows with my camera, I would be capturing a small part of musical history.
(For image data, click thumbnail and hover cursor over enlarged photographs)
