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myoungish
Fifth Love
USA
264 Posts |
 Posted - 13/09/2007 : 06:51:18
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Other than the fact that DC passed away a few years ago, does anyone know much about his life? I know Arthur held him in high regard to the very end, and Mr. Conka even made it to a few rehearsals and concerts in '02 or '03 (I believe there used to be some photos of this reunion on this site.) Anyone got anything else on the late Love drummer?
Michael Young |
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kdion11
Old Love
USA
552 Posts |
Posted - 13/09/2007 : 21:42:53
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quote:
Originally posted by myoungish
Other than the fact that DC passed away a few years ago, does anyone know much about his life? I know Arthur held him in high regard to the very end, and Mr. Conka even made it to a few rehearsals and concerts in '02 or '03 (I believe there used to be some photos of this reunion on this site.) Anyone got anything else on the late Love drummer?
Michael Young
KD: Hey Mike. I did hear that he may have been incarcerated (again, The LOVE curse !) at The Men's Colony at San Luis Obisbo, CA at one point. Not sure of the time frame or the charges though.
Free the charges !
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myoungish
Fifth Love
USA
264 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2007 : 00:08:19
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The Love curse, ideed. And if I'm not mistaken I believe he did finally OD almost forty years after that song was written. I think I remember hearing or reading that he was clean for long periods at a time, though.
Michael Young |
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SignedRW
Fifth Love
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2007 : 00:52:11
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I may have posted on this topic before, but while attending college at Cal
Poly, San Luis Obispo, in 1972, both my girlfriend and myself were on the
air at the campus station, KCPR. She worked under the air-name Margaret
Meatball, and regularly received fan mail from Don Conka, who was indeed
at the California Mens Colony in SLO. He dug her show because he could
tell by her voice that she was hot (she was) and because she always played
plenty of Love. As Program Director and boyfriend, I'll take a bit of the
credit for that. In his letters, he explained in detail the meaning and
origin of numerous early Love songs. What stands out, still to me, was his
explanation of the fact-based lines, "Owe it to Johnny, owe it to Conka, one
of them told me that he was holding." And also "He had a shoebox behind his icebox." All true, according to Don, back in '72. Here's the coolest
part of the story; when I spoke to him at the Hollywood House of Blues show,
where he'd drummed on the "Smokestack Lightning" encore, he absolutely,
definitely remembered writing those letters. He said, "Yeah, sure. She had a funny radio name, right? Man, that was a long time ago!" Over thirty years, actually. A cool guy, and a good, solid drummer... |
Edited by - SignedRW on 15/10/2007 22:49:14 |
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SignedRW
Fifth Love
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2007 : 18:45:23
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Okay, just a typo in the previous post; it's not "A shoe box because
his icebox," of course, but rather "BEHIND his icebox." Which, as
Don Conka explained, was where a certain band member back then kept the old top secret stuff (in the shoe box, behind the ice box). |
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myoungish
Fifth Love
USA
264 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2007 : 18:55:57
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Nice, RW. Thanks for adding another piece to the crazy and strange Love puzzle. I kinda miss those..uhh...shoe box behind the icebox days.
Michael Young |
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ed the bear
Fourth Love
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2007 : 21:40:28
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quote:
I kinda miss those..uhh...shoe box behind the icebox days.
You mean the days when the phrase "he had a shoebox because his icebox" almost made sense, but you weren't sure exactly why? |
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astrolobe33
Fifth Love
USA
381 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2007 : 22:00:33
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quote:
Originally posted by ed the bear
quote:
I kinda miss those..uhh...shoe box behind the icebox days.
You mean the days when the phrase "he had a shoebox because his icebox" almost made sense, but you weren't sure exactly why?
<snicker>
...and thanks RW, neat story, I wonder if those letters are still laying around somewhere in some old shoebox. That would be an interesting read! |
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LeeRob
Fifth Love
397 Posts |
Posted - 15/09/2007 : 07:05:34
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| "Donny was a very nice guy," this from someone who was very close to him in the beginning. |
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rockstar
First Love
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 13/10/2007 : 10:49:32
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Ceci est de votre admirable interprétation de "Owe it to Johnny, owe it to Conka, one
of them told me that he was holding." And also "He had a shoebox because his icebox."
(Okay it is great idea if you would copy those letter RW, and emil them to Torben so we could all see them.)
I am certain vous êtes mépri s. Don had to been telling you that Mr. Lee’s lyric is absolutement;
I went to Johnny
I went to Conka
One of them told me
That he was holding
As we know le "shoebox” was perfect pour tamiser les seeds from the shake and the icebox was the name of the kind of weed.
Sorry for le français .
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SignedRW
Fifth Love
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 13/10/2007 : 18:31:26
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Nice effort, as far as detective work, Rockstar, but the actual facts regarding Don Conka's explanation, back in the summer of 1972, as to the lyrics of "You I'll Be Following" are as follows;
Don's letter went into a fair amount of detail about how Arthur
always "owed" the other band members as a result of his continual
"borrowing" of herb, because he was so frequently empty handed,
but rarely unbuzzed, due to said "borrowing" and "owing." Don was
very clear in his explanation that the lyric was "Owe it," not
"I went." He went so far as to say that nobody in the band was
ever really annoyed or bugged by Arthur's constant "borrowing" and
"owing;" that they all just took it in a pretty good natured way,
as in "That's just how he is." This particular letter was also
absolutely clear that the shoebox that served as a stashbox was
behind Johnny's refrigerator. And that is where the "icebox"
line comes into play. Nothing whatsoever to do with "Icebox" as
a particular strain of herb. Remember what decade it was when we first came across "Icebox" ganja; it was many, many years after 1966. In L.A. back in '66, as with the most of the rest of the
country, about the most exotic branding of herbal strains was the
classic Acapulco Gold. Icebox didn't show up for a great many more years; hence the "shoebox behind the icebox" line meant
simply enough, just what it said. Much as I now wish that my girlfriend had hung onto those letters from Don, this was thirty-five years ago, and he was only one of a number of prisoners who
regularly sent her fan mail. I remember that in reading those
letters from Don, she and I both found it pretty sad, but still
mildly interesting, that a guy who'd been an early member of one of our favorite bands ever (though not having appeared on their
recorded work) was incarcerated so near us, and had spent so much time behind bars. Both in his letters, and meeting him in person years later, when he acknowledged remembering having written her, he did seem to be a genuinely nice person, there was no question about that. |
Edited by - SignedRW on 15/10/2007 22:47:18 |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 15/10/2007 : 14:51:59
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interesting take on the lyrics...and speaking of lyrics, I managed to take a listen to "Laughing Stock"..one, not your "typical" rock song in construction and who is reading those well kind of strange lyrics?..... ..was something "burnin'" while they did that one????? |
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Lizzyb
Fifth Love
United Kingdom
470 Posts |
Posted - 15/10/2007 : 15:41:35
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and..it refers to another love song 'I just got out my little red...'
like all you need is love goes into she loves you
and there's another love song that does it too, but forgotten which one. now that'll keep me awake.
Keep on shining |
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jellybean
Fifth Love
316 Posts |
Posted - 15/10/2007 : 19:08:25
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| is there a love song that goes into instant karma...or did i just imagine that? |
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SignedRW
Fifth Love
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 15/10/2007 : 22:44:45
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Arthur used to segue into "Instant Karma" in his live performances of "Everybody's Gotta Live" for many years. I'd guess that's the
song you're thinking of... |
Edited by - SignedRW on 15/10/2007 22:46:32 |
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rockstar
First Love
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 22/10/2007 : 07:01:39
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I have now accomplish more work du detectif. Insant karma is here now. and no don’t not doubt in the slightest you histoire about le recollections of the merveilleux D.C. - from his recooperative Summer of 1972 - regarding "YOU ALL Be Following" - which he had nothing to do wis.
Not to disparage D.C.’s histoire of how Arthur owed others resulting of his borrowing herb when he was dry. D.C. wasn’t drumming for Love even when the song was written and did he really think those were the words when he heard the song? Peut-être. Or was he putting the world on as he loved so much to do. Or both. Flip a coin. Maybe the coin land straight up and down eh?
“YOU ALL be following” thats how they talk in Memphis so now we know it have been misspelled on the record labels. The song written about 7 years before you conversation with D.C., C.R.C. ‘72, and when Love held forth in two adjacent rickety wooden pads of paisley Karma on Kirkwood; two rickety ol hillside canyon house side by side owned by the owners who owed the Brave New World.
Winding up Kirkwood street a the gauche stood the rickety old stairs to the rickety wooden pad, the one on the gauche where lived the seamstresses making groovy threads - et plus tard engagé par Charlie Green et Brian Stone to dress their imitation hippy clients Sony and Cher. This of course not to take away from Vito’s seamstress wife Sue whose gypsy fashion d’hippie spread worldwide immediately after their troupe of crazy danseurs were paid by Jim Dixon and the Byrds to tour cross country with them in the year “YOU ALL be following” was written.
But lest I digress, there were these two pads… in the gauche, les couturières and in the right the band formerly known as Les Grass Roots. The house on the right was rented by Arthur and Johnny. Bryan lived elsewhere et Kenny avec Snoopy. Although all of them, they all crashed on Kirkwood, in both houses, with the girls on the left crashing to le droit, et avec Arthur ou Johnny ou les autres membres de bande et les amis often catching up on a little sleep in either house. That’s the way it was in the canyon in 1965.
The house on the right was where the infamous old fashioned 1930’s “icebox” was located that had the motor below and refrigerated unitfor food above. It wasn’t a real icebox like the ones from 60 years before because et had a motor.. et The Loose Screw
The back of the thing had a grille that was attache with screws - and in a fit of paranoia, yes paranoia, Arthur pulled the machine out from the wall and screwed the communal stash up inside.
That was what they had to go through when they wanted to turn on. Towards the end of their tenure, by the time people had begun calling the grass ”icebox” weed, yes where icebox weed the name “ice box weed started”, the boys get a little lazy and the grille was held on by only one loose screw.
In those days everybody was very paranoid about holding. There were the horror stories of people getting locked up forever for just a roache. Véritablement vraiment. People believed in that Reefer Madness **** back then. There was discours in le canyon d'un FBI secret “Morals Squad” that was feeding info to the cops about the underground people of the canyon. Not to mention all those of the canyon’s communist persuasion who were constantly monitored. Yes the boys in Love truly felt in their hearts that someone would be coming to get them one day. And they were right.
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questions about DC ( Don Conka)
