"Corporate American & The Destruction Of The Age Of Aquarius"
Once upon a time in the annals of contemporary music, the venues were as noted and vital to the genre as the iconic bands of the day that often frequented these known establishments. The obvious recollections of famed marquees would be west coast haunts, predominantly amidst the backdrop of “flower power” and the hippie capitol known as San Francisco, i.e., Haight Ashbury. There is no mystery to why this area would become the epicenter for the masses as it had been the clandestine neighborhood for the artisans and Bohemian souls of prior generations and now the tie-dyed metropolis of the sixties. The evolution from “pop” rock to psychedelia permeated the airwaves and the doyens of the acid oriented bands would grow to staggering numbers of nomadic youth of the day in search of personal growth, using the melodies of fabled musicians as a means of unification... Fuelled by the neoteric groups of the era and augmented by the stunning visuals of poster artists like Mouse & Kelley, Victor Moscoso, Wes Wilson and Rick Griffin, (The Big Five of poster art soon to be followed by Lee Conklin, Bonnie McLean David Singer and others) the commonality that seemed to exude from places like The Fillmore West, The Avalon Ballroom and The Matrix would last but a brief number of years and be replaced by the esoteric metal of the next generation.
How tragic that corporate “rock” and the banality of idiosyncratic, meandering lyrics would catapult one-hit wonders into universal stardom and subsequent fodder for musical trivia while the music that defined a generation and has transcended like fine wine has been relegated to specific FM radio stations around the country. The fascination for instant gratification and air time of “power pop”, grunge and “hair bands” would be the impetus that engulfed and ultimately be responsible for the loss of the arcane lyrics of classic tunes like White Rabbit, Piece Of My Heart or other anthemic tunes of the counter culture repertoire. These were the minstrels that created an ambience by catering to the cult followings of the bands and played for the love of the music and not for the dollar value. How critical was the ambience of The Avalon Ballroom & The Fillmore’s? The bland songs of commercial artists and corporate involvement can easily showcase the disparity during performances at selected venues of today and the lost spirit that was the juxtaposing trait of the worshippers of sacred halls on Sutter & Van ness or Fillmore & Geary Street.
Business acumen by those who were the visionaries of the day wasn’t exactly stellar but who would have dreamed that these Guru’s of yesteryear could foresee the darkness on the horizon. Greed has a strange way of showing the public what the priorities of the 21 st century truly are. The memories remain as do the meadows of Golden Gate Park where once the musicians, the fans, the curious and other Bohemian characters of the day would gather for no other reason than the love of their peers and they music provided by those we most emulated and admired.
I doubt that scenario can ever be restored and or replicated but, there is always the eternal hope and the remnants of the groups who rose to international prominence during the sixties and early seventies.
Cheers to all who have become the survivors of the most decadent, violent and productive decade known to man, “The Golden Age” of “rock n roll”. Strange how all the fabled abodes of the “movers & shakers” have drifted into the distant memories of those who were there and basically forgotten by the politicians of today, a stark reminder of our own “Boulevard of broken dreams”.
Cheers
Don Aters – Haight Street Music News
(houses of known fame that haven’t been noted with plaques in the bay area, i.e., Country Joe & The Fish apartment on Ashbury, one of the Janis Joplin apartments on Ashbury, The Hell’s Angels Club House on Ashbury, The Grateful Dead house, 2400 Fulton Street, 1090 Page Street, The Avalon Ballroom, The Fillmore West, Winterland and others)