Did anyone from this board attend the Music Festival at Woodstock, in the 60's? If not, did you ever see the Documentary about it? Who were your favorite performers there?

This post has been taken from The BRONX/USA by Avenger/MikeD

From: -JX (Original Message) Sent: 3/1/2003 12:44 PM
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Did anyone from this board attend the Music Festival at Woodstock, in the 60's? If not, did you ever see the Documentry about it? Who were your favorite performers there?

I went and I saw the documentary. After 30 years, I can't remember seeing any of the performers. I got wet and muddy. It was the first time I remember seeing nude women cavort outside, though.

I missed it, as I was in Viet Nam. But I have the vhs of the documentary. Pretty good stuff. I especially liked Jimi Hendrix's "National Anthem" and Country Joe and the Fish's "Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" preceeded by the "Fish Cheer". "Gimme an F".
Great stuff.

Belmont female, I just told my folks I was going camping (I was 17). I rode there with three friends, driven by a girl's mom. The mom took one look at the crowd, turned around and drove her and her daughter back. I met a few friends there, pulled a girl out of a drainage ditch and dodged the bikers who rode thru the crowd. This was before Altamont, I think.

What a difference between that and the most recent incarnation. And our parents thought the first festival was bad, lol...What a disgrace that was, guess it's just another sign of the times.

I have a telephone of Woodstock (Charlie Brown). Do I get any credit for that?

I think Altamount ended a lot of the tone of the days of love and understanding. It was never really the same after that. We had the Manson trials, Patty Hearst, Fred Hampton asassinated and Watergate. Everything got real serious.

BG, the thing about Woodstock was that all the guys I was with, who knew about it, wished we could have been there. We had a job to do, but we loved to party too. That would have been pure party time. If we'd have been stateside, we'd have hitched there and home as we all had 30 leave coming to us and at least 6 months of combat pay. Those really were the days. Troubled, but actually a lot less complicated. We had Iron Butterfly's "Ina Goda Davida" (SP)on reel to reel tape and we'd listen to the 17 minute long version with the drum solo with headphones on. What a great listen. You didn't need to be high or drunk to enjoy it either. They certainly don't make music like that anymore.

Micky Dolenz once made the remark that Jimi Hendrix was the opening act for THE MONKEES!!!! The fans were booing him, not appreciating his brand of music, and screaming for the Monkees to appear!

I cracked up when I heard him tell that story. Can you imagine???? Little did anyone know then what a legend he would become....surpassing the Monkees, surely, by far.

Well, I couldn't do that as I had to go back to work for the Santa Fe Railroad. I had to wear a tie everyday. But I did let my hair grow down to my shoulders and kept it there until they ordered me to cut it. I had to cut my hair and shave my beard. What a bummer, man!! When I was in Australia in 1968, February, some of the top songs down there were "Build me up Buttercup", "Judy in Disguise" and Linda Rhondstat and the Stone Pony's doing "Different Drum". That's also the first place I ever heard Cat Stevens. He had just released his first album called "Matthew and Son". We were pretty much up on the music and the other happenings. Most of us received letters from home pretty regularly. When we stopped in Kaoshung, Taiwan, we could by current albums for about $1.00 each. They weren't black. They were blue and red and yellow and green and they were illegal as hell. We'd usually play them once to make sure they played OK, then we'd record them on our reel to reel tape recorders, then we'd take them out and throw them over the side of the ship into the ocean. When on the way home, we'd stop in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to refuel and a customs agent would move onto the ship and ride to San Diego with us. Six days. One time they found some of those Taiwanese records in a guys locker and was fined $500.00. Came out of his pay, he didn't have a choice. Anyway, it was scary at times but it was pretty fun too. Coming home to Kansas, I wasn't subjected to all the protesters like they had at the larger universities and on the coasts. My friends and family were glad I made it home. My fiance was especially grateful. I played around for two weeks then went back to work at the railroad.

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Originally posted by BelmontGirl:
Frank, You've led such an interesting life! Has your family been in Kansas a long time (ie, did you grow up there?) I loved your story about the records (in different colors) and heaving them over the side of the ship after you taped them! HAHAHA!! But why were they so illegal?

My family moved to Kansas in Sept of 1962 right before my sophomore year at Cardinal Hayes. During the summer they had found my aunt's nephew (she lived below us at 2880 Morris Park Ave) dead in a car in front of our house from a heroin overdose. My dad was looking for a way out as that hit too close to home. So when we were in Kansas the summer of 62 on vacation, he found he could get reinstated with the Post Office as he worked there during college. So we went back home, packed our bags and moved to Topeka, Kansas. My mom was from Kansas. The story goes, my dad was the All New York City fullback from Evander Childs in 1936 and ended up playing football on a scholarship at Washburn University in Topeka. While in Topeka going to college, he worked various jobs during the summers just to keep busy and so he wouldn't have to go back home to the Bronx. He spent one summer working for the Post Office, he spent another summer working as a Deputy Sheriff, and another summer at a Morell's Meat Packing plant. Morell's was where he met my mom. She was the youngest of 17 children of German immigrant parents, raised in Ness City, Kansas. They got together and I was born in Topeka, but my folks moved to New York right after my birth. So, all my formative years were in the Bronx. I graduated from Hayden High School in Topeka in 1965, started working for the railroad in August of 65 and left for the Navy in May 1966.
As far as the colored records go, they had copywrite laws even in the 60's and these albums they sold in Taiwan were bootlegged copies of the orginals. Japan was a partner to the international copywrite laws, but Taiwan was not. They would make a copy of the original then use it to make thousands of bootlegged copies. They all cost $1.00, but whatever shop you went into to buy them, the record had that shop's label on them. No money went to the original artist or the original record label. That's why they were illegal and we had to throw them over the side.
As for your work, I think the idea a mini skirts and hip hugger jeans would definitely improve the atmosphere at work. Keep in mind when we move here in 62, I was coming from Cardinal Hayes High, that had, what, 5000 boys. When I got to Kansas I had to sit in the same room with girls, cheerleaders even. Very short skirts, black and white saddle shoes and bobby sox. Definitely hard to concentrate. I showed up for the first day of school in an olive green, double breasted suit, with matching gold tie and socks, and my pointy toed, zipper up the side, Italian boots. My friends here called them Puerto Rican Fence Climbers. What a sight I was. They couldn't wear jeans to school, but it was like chino's and madras shirts and no tennis shoes. Talk about culture shock. I was even carrying a brown briefcase for my books. One of the kids thought I came to audit the books. I looked pretty funny and it took me most of my sophomore year to rid myself of that image.

Yes Frank you have a wonderful story, and I too have enjoyed it. Funny one has different images of one another when you read the postings that have been posted.

We're all pretty much the same. It's our life experiences that seperate us. You never know how an experience will change your life. We've all taken several trips around the block, some of our blocks are just longer than others and in some cases, someone is chasing us around the block. Thanks for the kudos, ladies. Sometimes life just happens.

I didn't go to Woodstock too many filthy hippies for me.

Well, Mikey, I guess at least 400,000 folks felt differently than you. How filthy could they be? It rained.

Good for them. A drug fest is all it was.

I have been fun since I was born. No really..I have been !! Just ask my family and friends.

Come on now, Mikey, I spent 6 months in the shipyards in San Francisco in 1968 with my ship in dry dock. Let me tell you Haight & Ashbury was a wild place in the 60's. Free love was the rule, but if you weren't careful that wasn't all that was free.

In spite of your sarcasm..I am brimming with fun ! Always have been ! My autograph is no more ball breaking that that of Dennis.