Check out this original and complete Texas International Pop Festival set of Event Badges.
It was Labor Day weekend, 1969, two weeks after Woodstock, when thousands of hippies converged on the small town of Lewisville, north of Dallas, for the Texas International Pop Festival
featuring:
B.B.King, Canned Heat, Chicago, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Freddie King, Grand Funk Railroad, Herbie Mann, Incredible String Band, James Cotton Blues Band, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, Led Zeppelin, Nazz, The Quarry, Rotary Connection, Sam & Dave, Santana, Shiva's Headband, Sly & the Family Stone, Space Opera, Spirit, Sweetwater, Ten Years After and Tony Joe White!
North of the festival site was the campground on Lake Lewisville, where hippie attendees skinny-dipped and passed bars of Ivory soap (Ivory floats). Also on the campground was the free stage, where some bands played after their main stage gig and several bands not playing on the mains stage performed. It was on this stage that Wavy Gravy, head of the Hog Farm commune, acquired his name. (At Woodstock, he was Hugh Romney.)
The Merry Pranksters, Ken Kesey's group, was in charge of the free stage and camping area. While Kesey was neither at the Texas event nor at Woodstock, his right hand man, Ken Babbs, and his psychedelic bus, Further (Ferther) were. The Hog Farm provided security, a trip tent and free food.
Attendance at the festival remains unknown, but is estimated at around 150,000. As with Woodstock, there were no violent crimes reported. There was one death, due to heat, and one birth.
High-quality soundboard bootleg recordings of almost the entire festival are circulated on the Internet. Led Zeppelin's set is one of the most popular Led Zeppelin bootlegs due to the high technical and musical quality of the performance.
Just Like Johnny Winter's Own! Gibson's Limited Edition Johnny Winter Firebird V is a part of Gibson's "Inspired By Series," paying its tribute to one of the meanest and most spellbinding slide guitarists. For years, Winter has relied on just one guitar - his Gibson Firbird V. This particular Limited Edition Johnny Winter Firebird V is a painstaking recreation of Winter's own - and the attention to detail pays off in the end result. Not just great-looking, this instrument has a lot of character - complete with a vintage sunburst finish, ABR-1 Bridge and heavy stop-bar tailpiece and signature Banjo tuners. The Limited Edition Johnny Winter Firebird V!
Lost And Found - When Will You Come Through. The 2nd Single From 1968. The Lost and Found were a Houstin band. They previously called themselves the Misfits. Members were Peter Black guitar and vocals, Jimmy Frost lead guitar and James Harrell on bass. John Kearney of the Spades played with them for a brief time after the Spades had split up in 1965, and they went through a succession of drummers, first Norman Blythe, then Mickey Bishop, and finally Steve Webb.
The Misfits played gigs at Love Street and La Maison where they met the 13th Floor Elevators. The Elevators would have a huge impact on their sound, and their friendship with Roky Erickson and Stacy Sutherland would eventually result in a deal with the International Artists label.
At the start of a 6 month residency at Scott Holtzman's Living Eye in Houston, they became the first Texas group busted for LSD. Jimmy Frost remembers Peter, James and Mickey facing charges, and that one of the reasons the band signed with International Artists was because its owners, Bill Dillard and Noble Ginther, were Attorneys who could represent them with the bust.
Supposedly the charges were dismissed because the drug was not yet illegal! However, the notoriety of the bust led to the name change to the Lost and Found, appropriate in any case for the increasingly psychedelic direction of their music.
George Banks, a friend of the band who took over management of the Misfits, remembers this time differently:
"I spoke with James Harrell, just to confirm what I am about to list. First, the MISFITS was a name Micky Bishop came up with, as it was a group he played with in the Navy. He was the first drummer, and to James' recollection, Kearney never played in the group. After Micky, his younger brother Steve also played drums in the band and as I recall then Webb. There may have been the other fella you mention [Norman Blythe], but I do not know him. We all met the Elevators in Austin, before they played the infamous Jade Room gig, and all remain friends to this day."
"I was maybe a try-to-be manager with the original Misfits, after leaving the military; and then later the Lost and Found, but I also assisted (I'll describe it that way) Euphoria, which you rarely see any info about."
"Euphoria did come into Houston about high times for the Elevators and others of the IA time frame. They were a sizzlin' three piece group. Wesley Watt, David Potter, drums and Pat.. I forget his last name.. on bass (early on, in CA, Pat was with a surf group, pre-Beach Boys, and they were very successful in their locale.)"
"Euphoria and the guys from the Misfits got along quite well and ... through some differences .. all together left for LA, minus Frost, who having married early on and was with their first child, did not travel to CA with everyone else."
"We played around out there got a recording contract. I brought the first release [Hungry Woman / No Me Tomorrow 45 on the Mainstream label] back to Houston and presented it to Larry Kane. It didn't really take off, Euphoria hadn't stuck around town long enough to really develop any notoriety, or following."
"The band in LA went through a lot of emotional changes in part due to the fact that Wesley and David were married (and drugs). The times got tough, to even feed ourselves. James, Pete and I headed back to Houston, the rest kind of picks up with the bust after we had been back a month or two."
"Micky was not included in the bust in '66, it was his younger brother Steve and another fella, a writer, Roger Hamilton (deceased) aka William West, and James. Their arrests were dismissed, we each served 10 year probation sentences."
"I don't believe that the signing with International Artists had anything to do with there being attorneys in the head office. If I am mistaken, well, I don't know every minute detail of all these guys lives, but we did live and recreate together often."
"It was not the notoriety that changed the bands name (I don't think). But having returned from CA and playing with/as Euphoria the group was rejoined with Jimmy Frost. So I felt the absence from and the reunion, as it were, with the whole band, it was .. well .. Lost and Found."
Check out these three Shiva's Headband videos. I met Spencer July 4th, 2005 when he played the Saxon Pub in Austin. They were filming some documentary. I hope to see it someday.
Another one of Texas' wealth of interesting late '60's psychedelic bands, Christopher came together in 1968 in the Houston area. Doug Tull (drums), Doug Walden (bass, vocals), and Richard Avitts (guitar, vocals) were the original members of the band, which was originally known as United Gas.
Tull and Avitts, at the time playing in a series of RB and soul-leaning groups, first met in 1966 when Tull sat in on drums with one of Avitts' bands. Tull, however, was not as serious about the music as Avitts, leading to an eventual split.
Tull developed a friendship around this time with Jefferson Airplane guitarist and Texas native Jorma Kaukonen, and, in 1967, invited Avitts to jam with them. Certain that they had the makings of a band, the two went searching for a bassist who could sing, eventually finding Doug Walden. It was not long before United Gas developed a following in and around Houston, playing local clubs such as Tangerine Forest, whose owner, Nick Lee, developed an interest in the band, eventually becoming their manager.
Walden and Avitts began writing their own material and recorded a demo that Lee had circulated around Las Vegas and Los Angeles by his connections in those cities. United Gas moved to Las Vegas for a brief time and then to Los Angeles after L.A. record label Metromedia offered them a two-year contract.
At the behest of Metromedia, the band changed their name to Christopher so that they wouldn't be confused with similarly monikered California band Pacific Gas Electric. Walden and Avitts felt Christopher to be a religious band-the name is derived from Saint Christopher-and wanted to convey this through the music.
Recording of their first album started in early 1969; however, it was hampered by Tull's drug use and his failed suicide attempt. He was fired (later returning to Houston and joining Josephus) and the sessioins were completed with drummers John Simpson and Terrence Hand. The result was Christopher's self-titled debut album, released in a single 1970 pressing of a thousand LPs by Metromedia. Walden and Avitts remained in Los Angeles playing as Christopher until Avitts returned to Houston later in the year.
Doug Walden was an original member of the Texas Psych group. He is greatly missed. Doug was a great guy!
Check out this rare IA 8-track. Recording for International Artists Records, the crazed Texas label that brought the world such acid-damaged visionaries as the 13th Floor Elevators, the Red Krayola, Lost & Found, and Electric Rubayyat, the Bubble Puppy seemed by comparison to be a beacon of semisanity -- a rather typical psychedelic band of the period who seemed more interested in having a good time and cranking up the amps than in reimagining the size and shape of the inner cosmos.
But that's not to say they weren't a good psychedelic band -- the band's best known tune, "Hot Smoke and Sassafras," was a charging guitar-heavy rocker that deservedly became a hit single, and its flip side, "Loney," was nearly as good. Truth to tell, those two songs are the most interesting tracks on the Bubble Puppy's first album, A Gathering of Promises, but the rest of the material is certainly more than just filler -- softer tunes such as "It's Safe to Say" and the title cut show off the band's surprisingly strong harmonies and folk-rock influences, while the interlocking guitars of Todd Potter and Rod Prince drive "Beginning," "Hurry Sundown," and the epic "I've Got to Reach You."
The Bubble Puppy could write and play like seasoned pros, and with the exception of "I've Got to Reach You" they had the sense to wrap up their tunes in three or four minutes, so that this album actually manages to end before it wears out its welcome. It's not exactly a work of life-changing genius, but A Gathering of Promises is still a noticeably stronger and better crafted album than most bands of their time and place were turning out, and if it had enjoyed wider distribution (and another song or two as good as the single) who knows where they could have ended up.
Check out this Vulcan Gas Company handbill. The performers were blues / folk legend Mississippi Fred McDowell and local band Texas Rangers. The dates were April 18 & 19, 1969. It measures 7" x 8 1/4" , and is in Excellent Near Mint condition.
Usually put with with "Delta Blues singers," McDowell actually may be considered the first of the bluesmen from the N. Mississippi region - parallel to, but somewhat east of the Delta region - to achieve widespread recognition for his work. A version of the state’s signature musical form somewhat closer in structure to its African roots (often eschewing the chord change for the hypnotic effect of the droning, single chord vamp), the North Mississippi style (or at least its aesthetic) may be heard to have been carried on in the music of such figures as Junior Kimbrough and R. L. Burnside; as well as the jam band The North Mississippi Allstars, while serving as the original impetus behind creation of the Fat Possum record label out of Oxford, Mississippi.
I have a copy of this handbill. It is awaiting framing.
Check out this original Vulcan Gas Company Poster known as Head to Head. The Shows took place on 11/19-20/68 and featured Texas Blues Legend Mance Lipscomb and the Conqueroo. This is the first Poster in the Vulcan Gas series to list Jim Franklin (JFKLN) as the artist.
Jim Franklin is an artist renounded for his poster art created for the Armadillo World Headquarters. In the late sixties Jim Franklin partnered with musicians and artists to open a psychedelic music hall in Austin, called the Vulcan Gas Company. Franklin lived upstairs in the club and was the lead poster artist for bands such as Shiva's Headband, 13th Floor Elevators, Conqueroo, and Mance Lipscomb. Jim began drawing armadillos in 1968 and it became a symbol of the Texas psych movement. Franklin also wrote Underground comic books and created Armadillo Comics.
I personally know Jim Franklin and am proud to call him "friend". He's still producing outstanding art too!
Check out this two sided Vulcan Gas Company handbill. This Handbill is known as Indian & Phonograph (VG-8) and Bust Benefit and is listed as VG-8-OHB-B in Eric King's Revised Poster Guide. Gilbert Shelton designed the Indian & Phonograph side which promoted a 12/15-17/67 series of shows at The Vulcan Gas Company by Lost & Found, Conqueroo and Shiva's Headband. Charlie Loving designed the Bust Benefit side which promoted the 12/17/67 show for the Hippies who were arrested on the other side of the border. The handbill measures approx 8 1/2 X 10 1/2 and is in Great Condition with just a horizonal crease and edge handling.
Here is a REAL piece of shit to stay away from! It's known as the 13th Floor Elevators Unreleased Masters Collection. This piece of shit isn't even for the "fans only", NOBODY should buy this! Don't get me wrong, the music is immortal but the quality of the sound, packaging and everything is so shoddy and poor that you just need to give this a wide berth.
Bits and pieces were salvaged to be put on various Roky CD Club discs. Everything else is found in better quality elsewhere. "Contemptables" is the name the fans give this label. It's horrible. Horrible. Look at the track listing below but do not be fooled into buying this absolute turkey, piece-of-shit, crapola release. This label should be shot for putting out a piece of crap like this.
Disc three isn't even the 13th Floor Elevators! It's Roky and Jack Ortman playing Dylan and Donovan songs! This was a private tape of Jack's that this label acquired somehow. They used it to pad this turkey out. They outta be put out of business.
Track listing DISC 1: 1. Dust 2. You Don't Know (How Young You Are) 3. Thru the Rhythm 4. Roller Coaster 5. Monkey Island 6. Fire Engine 7. Tried to Hide 8. Fire in My Bones - (previously unreleased) 9. Don't Fall Down 10. You're Gonna Miss Me 11. She Lives (In a Time of Her Own) 12. I've Got Levitation 13. Reverberation 14. Roller Coaster 15. Don't Fall Down 16. You Don't Know (How Young You Are) 17. Levitation Blues - (take #1) 18. Levitation Blues - (take #2)
DISC 2: 1. Levitation 2. Roller Coaster 3. Fire Engine 4. Reverberation (Doubt) 5. Don't Fall Down 6. Tried to Hide 7. Splash 1 8. You're Gonna Miss Me 9. Monkey Island 10. Kingdom of Heaven 11. She Lives (In a Time of Her Own)
DISC 3: 1. Ballad of Hattie Carroll, The 2. Chimes of Freedom, The 3. Catch the Wind 4. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down 5. Colors 6. Honey, Give Me One More Chance 7. One Too Many Mornings 8. I'll Sing For You 9. Lay Down Your Weary Time 10. I'm Gonna Free Her 11. Bermuda 12. Splash 1 13. May the Circle Remain Unbroken 14. Right Track Now, The 15. For Brian Jones
Are you tired of searching, searching, searching the Internet for information about Texas Psych? Don't worry, the Texas Psych Google Group has done the work for you! Click here: http://groups.google.com/group/Texas-P/web?hl=en
By going to the above you will find a large database of Texas Psych articles. Enjoy!
Here's some news about the Golden Dawn gig last Friday from, none other, than George Kinney. I'll try and get that Facebook page address that he is talking about.
From George Kinney Golden Dawn:
Hey everybody, some good news regarding the Golden Dawn. The gig Friday night was awesome, we kicked ass. I was amazed by the enthusiasm of thecrowd. There were over 500 people there, and they were standing during the whole show. It was great, lots of young folks and some old hippies as well. Roky even made the gig and was seen clapping and cheering us on, although hewas not present when I got off stage. All in all a good night. And yesterday, Nancy created a Facebook page for me and uploaded "Think ofTonight" from Texas Medicine on the site. By midnight last night, there had been 224,223 hits on the site worldwideand a few hundred downloads of the song. I think that means I am officiallyfamous. Gotta go, Nancy says I have to get my famous ass up to the store for bread.
Original audio by The 13th Floor Elevators - She Lives In A Time of Her Own.Video footage of Condoleeza Rice making a fool of herself.Condoleeza you should be promoting peace not tyranny!
She lives, no fear doubtless in everything she knows. Through time unchecked, the sureness of her flows. She leaves herself inside you when she goes. She lives in a time of her own. You have always heard her speaking, she's always been in your ear. Her voice sounds a tone within you, listen to the words you hear. Her time has no past or future, she lives everything she sees. Her time doesn't spin outside here, it's in every breath she breaths. She lives in a time of her own. Her love whips hard like wind and stands in eager pain. She wins your thoughts and drives your inner planes. She clears and shares a love that never strains. She lives in a time of her own. You have always heard her speaking, she's always been in your ear. Her voice sounds a tone within you, listen to the words you hear. Her time has no past or future, she lives everything she sees. Her time doesn't spin outside here, it's in every breath she breaths. She lives in a time of her own. Her eyes like light reflect the aura of her hair. She sends, attends, behind an alpha stare. She seeks the stars and spirals up their stairs. she lives in a time of her own. she lives in a time of her own. she lives in a time of her own. she lives in a time of her own
13th Floor Elavator's song Rose And The Thorn from their Bull of The Woods album. This has a pretty cool kaleidoscope video. I've really come to appreciate the Bull of the Woods LP over the years. Luckily, the Roky CD Club has put out the definitive versions: Attack of the LP's and Attack of the 8-Tracks. Check out a complete Roky CD Club Discography by following this link: http://groups.google.com/group/Texas-P/web/roky-cd-club-discography?hl=en
Golden Dawn tribute done by Hi-Rize at The Lago Vista Music Hall October 23, 2004. "Seeing is Believing" off the 1967 Texas Psych Cult Classic "Power Plant" by the Golden Dawn.
