R.J. Stowell's Blog: rjsomeone, page 43

Woodstock - Day 1 - LIVE!

Through the magic of radio, I am able to spend three days at Woodstock, circa 1969. You can hear our broadcasts on the Daybreak USA and iHeartRadio websites. AM thought you, our loyal readers, would be excited about the live coverage, and so, here are the transcripts are from Day 1 at the Aquarian Exposition:
R.J. Stowell - Dateline August 15, 1969 - I hope you can here me. I'm here on Happy Avenue, not making that up, just outside the town of Bethel Woods, New York. We parked the AMEconoline van about a half-mile down the road in a motor lodge parking lot and as you can probably hear, traffic is backing up, no one is getting through. Festival attendees are essentially leaving their cars in the middle of the road. It looks almost like something from a sci-fi horror flick.
There are hundreds of people walking alongside me through the abandoned vehicles. These are the flower children you've read about in the papers. Next to me is a young girl in overalls, a daisy-chain in her hair. She's not wearing any shoes. The young man she's with is far more conservative in his dress in tan chinos and a paisley shirt. There are families with children. There are a boy and girl who could be Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher. It's quite the spectacle…
...Sorry, we lost our audio there for a moment. I'm passing some houses now, what you'd expect in a country town. "Hey, how are you. How's business?"
"It's good." A teenaged girl is selling peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
"How much are they?"
"A quarter."
"How many did you make?"
"'Bout a hundred."
...Sorry about that. I can see the venue down the hill. An estimated 25,000 or so are expected but there has to be more like a hundred thousand up ahead of me, maybe more. It's the largest swell of humanity that I've ever seen. It looks like an old patchwork quilt, or like a shantytown of makeshift campsites. The festival was set to begin with Sweetwater, but traffic has delayed them. If the bands aren't already here, they're not making it through. Ritchie Havens is scheduled to go on in their place. I'm hearing something over the PA, some kind of announcement. And now there's music; maybe you can hear it, Ritchie Havens' distinctive guitar patter and his raspy, truly soulful voice. 
Scheduled today and into the evening are Ravi Shankar, Arlo Guthrie and Joan Baez, who isn't scheduled till 9pm.
...Okay. I'm entering the festival grounds now. You can hear the music in the background. Let me describe this as best I can; I've never seen a spectacle like this, almost like a medieval fair. There's a line of booths selling jewelry and handmade goods, incense and patchouli oil. Someone tells me they're calling it the Bindy Bazaar, and here, this is different, a crude medical facility that looks like something out of a MASH unit, but it's a drug treatment facility for those who may be having a negative LSD experience. While they seem to have their bases covered, I'm not really seeing anything to speak of in regard to sanitation facilities. From here, I'm now estimating well over 200,000, I could be wrong, still, I've seen only about a dozen Johnny on the Spots.


The weather is deteriorating, by the way. I'm feeling a bit of a drizzle, but we're under complete cloud cover now. Yes, it's raining. What you're hearing in the background may certainly be recognizable; that’s Ravi Shankar, the Indian instrumentalist who taught George Harrison to play the sitar on Norwegian Wood.
Well, folks, I am going to meander my way a bit closer and enjoy the opening night festivities. I hope to be back with you tomorrow which promises Country Joe, Santana, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who and The Jefferson Airplane. Reporting live from Woodstock, I’m R.J. Stowell.

Woodstock Schedule Highlights

The Half-Million Begin to Arrive at Woodstock
August 13, 1969 - 7 am - August 15, 1969 - 4 pm
People began to camp-out at Woodstock starting on the 13th. By the 15th, traffic jams reduced the interstate to a standstill.
Day 1August 15, 1969 - 5 pm - August 16, 1969 - 2 am
Richie HavensAugust 15, 1969 - 5:00 pm - August 15, 1969 - 5:30 pm
Havens was asked to play the opening spot at Woodstock after Sweetwater did not arrive on time. Havens would prove a wise choice, in particular, his performance of "Freedom."
Ravi ShankarAugust 15, 1969 - 10 pm - August 15, 1969 - 10:15 pm
Ravi Shankar taught The Beatles' George Harrison to play the sitar on "Norwegian Wood." He was a surprise hit at Monterey. Light rain was a precursor of things to come.
Joan BaezAugust 16, 1969 - 1 am - August 16, 1969 - 1:45 am
Joan Baez provided a relaxing end to a subdued opening day, wishing everyone "Good morning" before beginning her performance. After her set, the first of the heavy rains began. From then on, any semblance of a schedule was put aside due to the inclement weather. Other acts on Day 1 included Arlo Guthrie, Sweetwater and Tim Harden.
Day 2August 16, 1969 - 12:15 pm - August 17, 1969 - 9:30 am

SantanaAugust 16, 1969 - 2 pm - August 16,1969 - 2:30 pm
Santana was largely unknown coming to the exposition, but their performance was one of the most memorable moments of the festival.
The Grateful DeadAugust 16, 1969 - 10:30 pm - August 16, 1969 - 11:45 pm
Canned Heat would provide a valiant performance while The Grateful Dead's was riddled with complications, including a flooded stage and equipment malfunctions. The band's performance was choppy and not up to their usual standards. Bob Weir said, "It was raining toads when we played."
Jefferson AirplaneAugust 17, 1969 - 8 am - August 17,1969 - 9:30 am
Jefferson Airplane was one of the biggest bands on the San Francisco music scene. This was a shining moment for them and a bit of a swan song.Mountain, The Incredible String Band, Creedence Clearwater, Sly and the Family Stone and The Who would also perform, with the Who playing Tommy in its entirety, a performance that was topped at Leeds.
Day 3August 17, 1969 2 pm - August 18, 1969 - 11:30 am
Joe CockerAugust 17, 1969 - 2 pm - August 17,1969 - 2:45 pm
Joe Cocker was relatively unknown in the States before his performance at Woodstock. His version of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" gained him critical acclaim. After his performance, rain washed out the stage and performances were halted for hours.
Crosby, Stills, Nash, [and Young] August 18, 1969 - 3 am - August 18, 1969 - 3:45 am

Crosby, Stills, and Nash are considered by many the "supergroup," with Stills (and Young) coming from the Buffalo Springfield, Crosby from The Byrds and Nash from The Hollies. Woodstock was one of the first times the band played together.Day 4 (of 3)Jimi HendrixAugust 18, 1969 - 9 am - August 18, 1969 - 11 am
While Jimi's performance at Monterey remains his most memorable, it was during this set that he played a rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" which speaks volumes about the times and the expectations of times to come. It is, indeed, a political treatise without words.Only three bands played on Woodstock's 4th - unscheduled - day (Hendrix, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and oddly, the misplaced Sha-Na-Na). Weather and technical issues delayed many of the sets, with Jimi originally scheduled to headline on the night of the 18th. By the time Hendrix appeared on stage, the crowd that had reached as many as 400,000 had dwindled to less than 30,000, in itself is an interesting commentary about the festival's ideology. Most of the 400,000 had to get back to their workaday routines on Monday, leaving a muddy, litter-scattered field and just 28,000 attendees - among them, of course, was Miles...- Times listed are actual, not scheduled, times.
What may have been had the Woodstock 50 plans come to fruition. While the agenda shows that rock is alive and well, only a handful of artists appeared at Woodstock, including John Sebastian, David Crosby, Santana, John Fogerty, Country Joe and an abbreviated Dead. I'm fine, instead, with the legacy intact.

Rough Draft Bar and Books - Hope You Made It!

Had a great time at Rough Draft Bar and Books in Kingston, New York! 
82 John Street | Kingston, NY 12401




Rough Draft is a bar and bookstore located at Kingston's historic four corners. They are dedicated to providing a fantastic selection of beer, cider, and wine; Counter Culture coffee; DUB pies and local pastries; a curated selection of new books of all kinds, including Miles From Nowhere; and a place for people from Kingston and beyond to come together for reading, drinking, conversation, and nightly events.

Hope you made it to The Local Author Showcase featuring books about Woodstock and the 50th anniversary of the Aquarian Festival.  

Thanks to everyone who came to the event. We'll talk about the event on the AM radio broadcast on iHeart Radio today, Tuesday, August 13.

Update: A Woodstock Interlude

On Sunday, with the 50th Anniversary just a few days away, I once again had the opportunity to get to Woodstock for a book signing, and more specifically to Bethel Woods where the festival actually took place (some 50 miles away). I wasn't there in '69, I would have been 8 years old (wouldn't that have been a hoot?), still there was a great sense of emotion that I shared with those at the museum and in town, and those who had been there or more readily experienced the era. Not to mention the ability to share that emotion, or the awe of it, with my son. As a Californian, I would have been much more likely to gravitate to Monterey Pop, but honestly, despite its immensity and my California bias, Monterey was a concert; Woodstock was a life-altering event, even for those us who weren't there. When you read Miles From Nowhere, you'll get that sense of wonder as well.*
A man with a long white beard sat next to my son on a psychedelic school bus made to emulate the Merry Prankster's Further. During a short film inside the bus, the man said, "That was the music they were playing when I came home from Vietnam." "So you didn't get to Woodstock?" my son asked. He said, "My country had something else in mind." It was the kind of buzz that permeated the building. I would maintain that many of the performances - Jefferson Airplane, Hendrix, Janis - were better in Monterey, but if that kind of vibe was evident in a museum on a chilly fall day, 48 years hence, I can't even imagine what it was like to have been there.





One of the museum's key attractions is a 40-foot film screen surrounded by scaffolding reminiscent of the stage at the Aquarian Exposition. The festival's history is told through interviews of concert goers, locals and promoters. Joe Cocker’s cover of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends," which turned the lightweight Ringo ditty into a bluesy, cataclysmic rocker, is featured prominently. His soul-baring version of the song was arguably the highlight of the generation-defining festival, rivaled only by Jimi Hendrix' electric version of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Interestingly, Cocker was a virtual unknown before his performance at Woodstock, at least in the U.S., despite a successful debut LP. No one knew of his quirky stage presence, and few were prepared for the emotional aura that Cocker would create that day.

Joe Cocker's voice has always been highly praised or even more severely chided, but one cannot overlook the musicianship of the Grease Band. Alan Spenner (bass), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Henry McCullough (lead guitar), Neil Hubbard (rhythm guitar), and Bruce Rowland (drums), all as obscure as Cocker at the time, sound like an R&B Symphony. Spenner and McCullough's fretwork is raw, Stainton fills the gaps with his B-3 and Wurlitzer piano, and Rowland covers the job of a full percussion section. It is possibly the best performances by a band no one knew, in a time when there were plenty of those (Big Brother and the Holding Company come to mind).
Having been on the road and touring, Joe and the Grease band were well-rehearsed, with incredible arrangements of Dylan's, "Just Like A Woman" and "I Shall Be Released" that have intense emotional overtones few young singers could match (Dylan included). His take on the classic "Let's Go Get Stoned," is far superior at Woodstock to even the fine version on the live album, Mad Dogs & Englishmen. "I Don't Need No Doctor," the hit, "Feeling Alright", and tunes like "Dear Landlord” made for a set that was far superior to any of the parts, magnificent as many of them were. The set ends, of course, with Cocker’s majestic take on "With A Little Help From My Friends," a performance that essentially stole the show and put Cocker on the map as a major rock 'n' roll draw. When one thinks of Woodstock, Joe Cocker, in his multi-colored tie-dyed t-shirt, is the most enduring symbol of a historic musical event. I can hear him now in my head.  

AM is supported through the sales of Miles from Nowhere and from Jay and the Americans. Read both for free on Kindle Unlimited, or get the Kindle edition (Miles - $2.99; Jay - $5.99) or the trade paperbacks (Miles - $10.99; Jay - $12.99) by clicking the link in the sidebar.

And remember to listen to AM on Daybreak USA and iHeartRadio!

*I must have been six when my mother and her beau, a studio musician, took me to the KFRC Fantasy Faire in Marin County. I proceeded to get lost among the hoards and my mother spent the day frantic, looking for me. I wasn't lost at all, in my book, just on a journey. My mother tells that story all the time, never once mentioning that during her search, The Doors were playing in the background. That she says she doesn't remember.

Update: BETHEL Woods – As you already know, Miley Cyrus and Jay-Z were to perform at the Woodstock 50 commemoration, scheduled at a racetrack in upstate New York, then Maryland, IDKm was canceled and I'm a bit relieved. I don't believe those entertainers, dismissing my tastes for music, fit the ideology, but there are many who would argue. Nonetheless, it was destined to be another Firefly of Bonaroo and why? Luckily, we're spared but we can still get up to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts to see a 50th celebration more in tune with the original spirit. Santana and John Fogerty are among those scheduled. 

Rough Draft Bar and Books - Hope You Made It

Had a great time at Rough Draft Bar and Books in Kingston, New York! 
82 John Street | Kingston, NY 12401




Rough Draft is a bar and bookstore located at Kingston's historic four corners. They are dedicated to providing a fantastic selection of beer, cider, and wine; Counter Culture coffee; DUB pies and local pastries; a curated selection of new books of all kinds, including Miles From Nowhere; and a place for people from Kingston and beyond to come together for reading, drinking, conversation, and nightly events.

Hope you made it to The Local Author Showcase featuring books about Woodstock and the 50th anniversary of the Aquarian Festival.  

Thanks to everyone who came to the event. We’ll talk about the event on the AM radio broadcast on iHeart Radio tomorrow, Tuesday, August 13.

Come to Woodstock - Rough Draft Bar and Books - TODAY!

Don't miss out on a fun Woodstock event, Today at 4pm
Rough Draft Bar and Books in Kingston, New York! 
82 John Street | Kingston, NY 12401




Rough Draft is a bar and bookstore located at Kingston's historic four corners. They are dedicated to providing a fantastic selection of beer, cider, and wine; Counter Culture coffee; DUB pies and local pastries; a curated selection of new books of all kinds, including Miles From Nowhere; and a place for people from Kingston and beyond to come together for reading, drinking, conversation, and nightly events.

Today is The Local Author Showcase featuring books about Woodstock and the 50th anniversary of the Aquarian Festival.  

Come meet me and a crew of writers and groovy folks as we celebrate these iconic times. I'll be there signing your books and (if you don't yet have a copy, they will be there for purchase). We can chat, take pics and reminisce. Love to hear your stories. I will be compiling your tales for future posts on AM and we'll talk about the event on the AM radio broadcast on iHeart Radio.

So, join us for an afternoon celebrating local authors and their recently published books all about Woodstock - the famous 1969 music festival and the town it's named for. This month's event features John Kane, Graham Blackburn, Joanne Michaels, Sharon Watts, and me, R.J. Stowell. Can't wait to meet you all!

Come to Woodstock - Rough Draft Bar and Books

Don't miss out on a fun Woodstock event, Tomorrow at 4pm at 
Rough Draft Bar and Books in Kingston, New York! 
82 John Street | Kingston, NY 12401




Rough Draft is a bar and bookstore located at Kingston's historic four corners. They are dedicated to providing a fantastic selection of beer, cider, and wine; Counter Culture coffee; DUB pies and local pastries; a curated selection of new books of all kinds, including Miles From Nowhere; and a place for people from Kingston and beyond to come together for reading, drinking, conversation, and nightly events.

This Sunday is The Local Author Showcase featuring books about Woodstock and the 50th anniversary of the Aquarian Festival.  

Come meet me and a crew of writers and groovy folks as we celebrate these iconic times. I'll be there signing your books and (if you don't yet have a copy, they will be there for purchase). We can chat, take pics and reminisce. Love to hear your stories. I will be compiling your tales for future posts on AM and we'll talk about the event on the AM radio broadcast on iHeart Radio.

So, join us for an afternoon celebrating local authors and their recently published books all about Woodstock - the famous 1969 music festival and the town it's named for. This month's event features John Kane, Graham Blackburn, Joanne Michaels, Sharon Watts, and me, R.J. Stowell. Can't wait to meet you all!

Busy Sunday? Rough Draft Bar and Books

Don't miss out on a fun Woodstock event, this Sunday at 4pm at 
Rough Draft Bar and Books in Kingston, New York! 
82 John Street | Kingston, NY 12401



Rough Draft is a bar and bookstore located at Kingston's historic four corners. They are dedicated to providing a fantastic selection of beer, cider, and wine; Counter Culture coffee; DUB pies and local pastries; a curated selection of new books of all kinds, including Miles From Nowhere; and a place for people from Kingston and beyond to come together for reading, drinking, conversation, and nightly events.

This Sunday is The Local Author Showcase featuring books about Woodstock and the 50th anniversary of the Aquarian Festival.  

Come meet me and a crew of writers and groovy folks as we celebrate these iconic times. I'll be there signing your books and (if you don't yet have a copy, they will be there for purchase). We can chat, take pics and reminisce. Love to hear your stories. I will be compiling your tales for future posts on AM and we'll talk about the event on the AM radio broadcast on iHeart Radio.

So, join us for an afternoon celebrating local authors and their recently published books all about Woodstock - the famous 1969 music festival and the town it's named for. This month's event features John Kane, Graham Blackburn, Joanne Michaels, Sharon Watts, and me, R.J. Stowell. Can't wait to meet you all!

The Catalyst of Woodstock

Miles From Nowhereis a novel about a young man whose teen years were often spent in the hospital. Miles at 17 finally gets the kidney transplant he needs, and at 19, after the death of this father, Miles heads out on a 3000-mile trek from California to Woodstock; like everything, it's about the journey. 

Woodstock and this the fascinating country of ours do more than just provide a backdrop to Miles' story, they become characters within the journey. Of course, my research for the novel, which I wrote over the better part of the past three years, includes everything from Woodstock to Kidney Transplants to the American subculture, weaving a story to connect them all.
They say if you were at Woodstock, you don't remember it. Miles remembers. But let's put it into perspective, let's go back to the beginning, not of Miles' story, but the story of Woodstock itself.
In Early 1969, 50 years ago, music entrepreneurs Joel Roseman and John Roberts were the financial backing for what would become Mediasound, a state of the art recording studio in Manhattan that would over time produce artists like Stevie Wonder, Blondie, and Talking Heads. The pair, still in their mid-20s, printed an ad in the New York Times that read, "Young men with unlimited capital looking for interesting, legitimate investment opportunities and business propositions," In February, Michael Lang, considered the impetus behind Woodstock, and his partner, Arthur Kornfeld, approached Roberts and Roseman about funding a studio in the Catskill Mountains near Woodstock New York, the home of Bob Dylan and The Band, Paul Butterfield and Donald Fagan. Instead, Roberts and Roseman proposed a concert festival featuring those same artists. And with that, Woodstock Ventures was born. Told you Bob and The Band were the catalysts of Woodstock).

At this point in time, no one knew what Woodstock would become, indeed, Lang and Kornfeld couldn’t find anyone who wanted to participate until April 1969 when Creedence Clearwater signed on agreeing to play for $10,000, roughly the equivalent of a 100 grand today. CCR’s signing led to the interest of a myriad of others from unknowns like Joe Cocker to Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Interestingly, the event that would host the half-million

strong was a muddy mess from beginning to end, the concert didn’t even take place in Woodstock but some 50 miles away at Yasgur‘s Dairy Farm in Bethel Woods, expected crowd? Just 50,000. First order of business? The Fab Four of Woodstock printed tickets for what they called The Aquarian Festival, Three Days of Peace and Music. One day, $7, just twice what a movie cost at the time; two days $13, all three days, $18. Split four ways, Lang and Kornfeld figured they’d clear enough to build their recording studio.

But things slid downhill from there. Downhill in the mud. Fast forward to July 2, 1969, just six weeks prior to the festival, when the town of Wallkill, just outside the Woodstock city limits, passed an ordinance prohibiting the concert. It wasn't till mid-July that Max Yasgur offered up his 600-acre dairy farm fifty mikes down the road. Now on a timeline of less than a month, there was barely time to build the stage, the outbuildings, the ticket booths or the perimeter fence. The fence wasn't completed and the ticket booths were never even started. Woodstock was now a free concert. 
And here's a bit of a spoiler for the novel; Miles doesn't make it to the three-day concert until day four! Rain, lightning, overcrowding, a lack of facilities turned the three days of peace and love into four days of mud. Miles would make it for Hendrix, though, to see the guitarist iconic performance in front of a skeleton crowd of just 25,000; the other 475,000 had already gone home.

Music From Big Pink - Including a Rental Update - The Seeds of Woodstock 2

Americana was in its infancy with the Dead's Anthem of the Sun. If that is indeed the case, then The Band's Music from Big Pink was when Americana got up and ran (yeah, yeah, I get it, they're Canadian). In the current age of bands like Lord Huron and The Fleet Foxes, among the best of Americana in 2018, it's interesting to trace its history all the way back to 1968. To say the least, Music from Big Pink was unexpected. Here was the definition of electric folk: guitars, a stand-up bass, a Farfisa pump organ and the brass of a Salvation Army band. Music from Big Pink was as if Sergeant Pepper really had a lonely-hearts band.
When the album's producer, John Simon, tried to interpret what the band was after, Robbie Robertson said he wanted it to sound just like it did "in the basement," referring to the practice sessions with Dylan. Oh, the Big Pink, by the way, was a house in the Catskills in New York not far from Woodstock, and also the home of The Basement Tapes.
My wife always surprises me at Christmas. Of course, as a collector, she will always include in my stash an LP, something I'd never dream of getting for myself. Last year it was a mint, mono Pet Sounds. This year it was a "Very Good" Beatles White Album, with the poster and the portraits. Somehow, though, she knew (telekinesis) that I wanted Music From Big Pink from The Band, coincidentally released 50 years ago this month.
What's interesting about the Big Pink is the fact that you either love it OR you've never heard of it. Eric Clapton said he listened to it every day and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd put it right up there with Sgt. Pepper as the most influential record in rock. He went on to say the album was fundamental to everything that happened after it.
The Band, of course, was Bob Dylan's backup for the controversial electric tour, but when they went off on their own, Dylan stepped to the side. When it was first thought that Dylan would add to the band's incredible harmonies, instead his contribution was merely the wonderful cover art, the painting distinctly Dylanesque. Interestingly, there are six men in Dylan's painting, not just the five members of the band. And there's an elephant. Big Pink is masterful and brilliant for everything it's not: overly long, drug-addled, pretentious or silly. 50 years later it maintains a laid-back simplicity that still sounds fresh (and my copy is mint).
Al Kooper, the founder of Blood, Sweat and Tears, in a rave review for Rolling Stone, said the album was recorded in approximately two weeks and that there were "people who would work their lives away in vain and not touch it." If you've heard it, you already know; if you haven't, what are you waiting for?
"It was a complete evolution of our musicality," Robbie Robertson said. "It was the point we came to very naturally after starting out playing the Chitlin' Circuit down south, all the way up to Canada with Ronnie Hawkins, and then backing Bob all over the world on that crazy tour. It was our collective musical experience that was a gathering of music that we made, of the places that we went, of characters that we saw." Maybe that's the key to the LPs longevity: it's real, tangible, it's about the things we do for love and because of it. It's about living in a big pink house. It's about discovering who we are through who they were, and it still works today.
Interestingly, you can stay at Big Pink today. Located at 56 Parnassus Lane (formerly 2188 Stoll Road) in West Saugerties, NY. (Available for $471 per night at http://www.bigpinkbasement.com/rental_main.shtml). The house was newly built when Rick Danko, collaborating with Bob Dylan at the time, found it as a rental. It was to this house that Bob Dylan would eventually retreat to write and experiment with new material in the home's huge basement. The house became known locally as "Big Pink" for its pink siding. 
Music From Big Pink truly enhances my vinyl collection, but it is, of course, all about the timelessness of an LP that just turned 50.

Dylan's association with Woodstock and The Band's Big Pink were the indirect catalyst for the three day Aquarian festival but truly inspired its locale, despite the concert ultimately taking place 50 miles south in Bethel Woods.