My hippie contributions in pictures

Marc Friedland · Post by **Marc Friedland** » 2 Feb 2008 12:39 am

I decided not to participate in the other post about the contributions hippies made to music, and instead thought it was more appropriate to start my own, so here goes.

I feel extremely fortunate to be of the right age to have experienced the “hippie movement” first hand.
I was 18 years old when I attended Woodstock in 1969. Perhaps, some of you that were also there remember seeing me. I was the one with long hair wearing jeans, and experiencing the “high” of the magical event.

I was tempted to go into great and lengthy detail expressing my displeasure at how the media has erroneously portrayed the hippie generation, leading to many people’s misconceptions, but instead I’ll simply offer some personal pictures and explanations I hope you find entertaining. -- Marc

Picture 1: 1967, I was 16 years old, and didn’t cut my hair again for over 10 years.

Picture 2: 1969, in my bedroom – notice the records on the bureau in the background

Picture 3: 1970/71, we opened up Natures Door, the first organic natural restaurant to be open 24 hours a day

Picture 4: 1970/71, a picture taken of some of the crew connected with the restaurant

Picture 5: 1971, our band was called “Joy”

Picture 6: 1971, this is how the inside of our bus, Oogy Aghy looked on the inside

Picture 7: 1972, we had just performed a concert in front of over 10,000 people – I’m on the right

Picture 8: 1972, Yes, I also lived on a commune and this is how I looked at that time

I have plenty of others, but I guess that's more than enough for now.

Mike Winter · Post by **Mike Winter** » 2 Feb 2008 2:50 am

Cool Marc.

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 2 Feb 2008 7:33 am

thanks for the excuse Marc... here's mine

1973:
The quintessential barband Hippie PSG

the whole picture:

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 2 Feb 2008 7:38 am

Wow, that brings me back.
I almost fell off,
while staggering down memory lane.

I'm a bit young, but I was a studio rat as a child,
so I saw a lot.

Frank Freniere · Post by **Frank Freniere** » 2 Feb 2008 11:48 am

Love the pix, Marc - keep 'em coming!

Hi Dave -

This isn't a hippie picture from '73 - I hadn't started on steel yet - but when I saw your band picture, it reminded me of an Elvis-impersonator backup gig from the mid'80's.

Will Houston · Post by **Will Houston** » 2 Feb 2008 1:16 pm

Ahh the good old days. Love it.

Chuck Thompson · Post by **Chuck Thompson** » 2 Feb 2008 3:52 pm

far out man!!

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 2 Feb 2008 4:12 pm

I remember that period well. Well, most of it anyway.

How about that Starfire III in the first pic? I have one just like it

Jeff Evans · Post by **Jeff Evans** » 2 Feb 2008 4:13 pm

Good job getting out the goat.

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 2 Feb 2008 6:22 pm

Va Beach 1965. The Fabulous Mustangs...
Note my dangling Maestro Fuzztone.

Russ Tkac · Post by **Russ Tkac** » 2 Feb 2008 7:19 pm

Are those Beatle Boots?

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 2 Feb 2008 7:27 pm

Mike was this BEFORE Jimi?

Marc Friedland · Post by **Marc Friedland** » 2 Feb 2008 8:41 pm

I'm glad so many of us are having fun with this post.
Here's a couple more.

Pic 1: 1966, The Coconut Conspiracy, I was playing keyboards on this gig at the drummer's cousin's Bar Mitzvah. I was the oldest in the band, but still wasn't old enough to drive yet.

Pic 2: 1977, Performing as an acoustic Duo called It's All Right. I finally cut my hair for the first time in over 10 years about a year later. I can't believe that's over 30 years ago!

Marc

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 2 Feb 2008 9:02 pm

Almost cut my hair
Did just the other day
Guess it was getting
Kinda long

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 2 Feb 2008 11:04 pm

Come on, Marc, no holding back! Tell us who's your friend in Picture #7!!

Marc Friedland · Post by **Marc Friedland** » 3 Feb 2008 1:56 am

OK Jim,

That’s Michael Bolotin (Bolton) on the left and me on the right, but I think you already knew that or thought so anyway. I never thought I would talk about this portion of my musical life on this Forum, since it has no direct relationship to steel guitar, but since you asked again, and it is in the Music section talking about hippies, I guess it’s all right. Now that I think of it, Michael has seen me perform pedal steel on a few different occasions, and I did perform a song with his brother Orrin on vocals & rhythm guitar and me on psg at my 50th birthday celebration.
Picture # 7 from my original post was actually taken in your neck of the woods.
Michael and I had flown back from California in June of 1972 to be the opening act at a concert by Leon Russell at The Philadelphia Civic Auditorium.
JJ Cale was originally slated for that slot, but then cancelled, and there was no opening act scheduled. All 10,000 people in the audience had no idea Michael and I would be performing, and as a matter of fact until Denny Cordell of Shelter Records called us the DAY BEFORE, we had no idea we would be doing anything like that. We were figuring out what songs we would play as we were flying back to Philadelphia. Michael sang and played guitar and I played one of the 2 grand pianos that were on stage. We did a mixture of originals and covers.
In my humble opinion, about 80% of the people there couldn’t wait for us to stop playing so the “real show” could begin, and most of the rest of the people liked us even less!
I have numerous pictures of us that night, and I even have the entire concert taped on a little cassette recorder by my mom and dad who drove there from CT, along with about 30 seconds of 8mm filming as well.
This was the first of a 3 gig mini tour, which also took us near Chicago IL, and Flint, Michigan.

Picture #5, in the group shot of Joy in 1971, that’s Michael Bolton, Marc Friedland, Glenn Selwitz, Orrin Bolton, and Hilly Michaels in back.

In the picture below, it shows what a difference 35 years can make.
This was taken at Pebble Beach in CA, where Michael was participating in the famous ProAm golf Tournament a couple of years ago, and did quite well.

As a general rule, I don’t usually post any music on the Internet with Michael on it, but if you’d like, feel free to visit the YouTube link below. It was taken on my 50th birthday celebration 7 years ago that Michael called “MarcStock” If you pay close attention you might notice that everyone who was in the Joy photo #5 is on stage performing Bring It On Home To Me. Michael joins in after a minute or so, and then Orrin does a couple of minutes after that. This reminds me, that I should transfer the song I played pedal steel on with Orrin from that day onto YouTube as well, as that’s really more appropriate for The Steel Guitar Forum.

Marc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvbO5AowVc

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 3 Feb 2008 3:37 am

Yup Beatle boots. And yup before Jimi.Playing behind your head was a cheap trick which came out of vaudeville and later jump swing guys like T-Bone Walker and Chuck Berry. I first saw it done live in R&B Shag Beach Music bands in North Carolina/Virginia around 1960.I'm sure Jimi learned it on the Chittlin curcuit.
I replaced that built-in cord with an input jack at some point but I couldn't solder worth a damn and it was always kinda intermittant after that.That fuzztone went bye-bye one night in 1966 when I loaned it to Jeff Beck on a gig where I opened for the Yardbirds.Here he's playing a Tele thru his AC30 and my Bandmaster on that gig.

It started cutting in and out in the middle of "Heart Full Of Soul" so he unplugged it and kicked it into an audience full of screaming girls - never to be seen again.Thanx Jeff...

This is me on the right during our opening set.
Yeah our mystifyin blues and syncronized geetar humpin used to drive the hippie chicks wild.

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 3 Feb 2008 7:33 am

Glenn Selwitz? How is he doing Marc? I met him around 1992. He was living in his car with his bass rig here in Sonoma County. He told me the Michael Bolton story. Great bassist and singer. Tell him hello if you should talk to him.

Sorry, I don't have any hippie stories or pics to share. I was 4 years old during the summer of love! I was and still am a big fan of the 60s music though. In my Jr. high years when Kiss, Rush and The Eagles were big, I was listening to old Stones, Dead, Syd's Pink Floyd, Zappa Buffalo Springfield and Beatles records.

Love those pics MJ. Keep 'em coming everyone!

dz

Mike Shefrin · Post by **Mike Shefrin** » 3 Feb 2008 8:46 am

Me at sixteen in Martha's Vineyard. Pass the scissors please!

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 3 Feb 2008 12:32 pm

Oh, fergoodnesssake, cover up, wouldja??

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 3 Feb 2008 12:39 pm

Don't y'all wish you could still grow hair like that?

Drew Howard · Post by **Drew Howard** » 3 Feb 2008 2:17 pm

I have a hippie era once a decade.

1979

1990

2008

Marc Friedland · Post by **Marc Friedland** » 3 Feb 2008 2:41 pm

Michael Johnstone -- excellent contributions to this post.
Everyone, thanks for looking, your support, posting your cool pics & comments and keeping this going!
Drew, Wow! I hope we're all around 10 years from now to see what you do next.

I'm adding another picture below from 1974/5. It's a group photo taken in Fallbrook CA, and I think it's a neat example of our hippie lifestyles from that era.

Thanks again everone,
Marc

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 3 Feb 2008 5:01 pm

Taking a fashion risk....
Summer 1967 playing lead guitar with "Keith".
Keith had a big hit with "98.6" on Mercury Records that year.

We were based out of NYC but on the road most of that year.Here's a poster from one of our NY gigs.

A couple of pix I copped of some of the bands I bumped into that year.

Moby Grape at the Fillmore East. Jerry Miller w/the V and Skip Spence with the Ricky. Skip was a madman.

Jimi

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 4 Feb 2008 2:26 am

Michael, i got to hang out w: Moby Grape when they played the fillmore east (nyc)
the whole friggin' band was nuts !
i dug their musik & still listen to it today man

here's a pic of my bad self when i was a roadie back in 69
(shoulda kept some of that mop to make a toupee)