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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
 Posted - 21/08/2009 : 01:20:20
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In his excellent musical/spoken memoir entitled West Coast Revelation, John York (of The Byrds)tells of the time he arrived (during 1965) in Los Angeles from New York and how Love were one of the first bands to make an impression on him. He mentions especially John Echols' double neck guitar and how it was the first one anyone had ever seen. He goes on to explain the 'Renaissance Spirit' that pervaded the city at that time and how it must all have been similar to Liverpool a couple of years before. He prefaces all this with a wonderfully poignant song entitled Flower Girls:
"The flower girls have all grown up and their blonde hair turned to grey
But the flower girls are all still alive in a dream of yesterday" |
Edited by - John9 on 21/08/2009 01:24:12 |
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 21/08/2009 : 02:50:11
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i'm gonna haveta get that book! well.....I, a L.A. NATIVE, having grown up here and still here, agree, it was a renaissance , tripping on the Sunset Strip in '67, seeing Love at Hullubaloo ,1966, and Byrds, Springfield, Doors in '66,'67 here in L.A. I think it was happening all over America ,besides England. A renaissance, indeed!
politics, arts, spirituality, science, we had a big BOOST! a BIG-BANG........WE WERE THRIVING! breaking free from our shackles of stupidity and fundamentalist conservatism. 
...what the world needs now... |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 21/08/2009 : 08:59:55
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Hi Bob - West Coast Revelation is actually a CD. There is more information about it at:
http://www.myspace.com/johnyorkwestcoastrevelation
It is all supposed to be downloadable at this site, but I have ever only seen the streaming. An alternative way of getting it would be to contact John through his own website:
http://www.johnyorkmusic.com/
I know exactly what you mean about all the creativity in LA in 65/66. The whole thing almost has a kind of 'back to the future' about it! Of course, I managed only to get tantalising glimpses of it through our pop music mags - and of course when The Byrds first toured here in that magical year of 1965. Come to think of it, Renaissance Fair was one of their most groundbreaking songs. |
Edited by - John9 on 21/08/2009 09:58:35 |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 21/08/2009 : 15:04:45
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| You know when I look at two covers..The Byrds' first album and Love's first it immediately sets off so many associations about that time in the ways bob noted. "Mr. Tambourine man" and its first few guitar notes sure epitomizes that time of great FREEDOM in this country and in others. And when i read Arthur was influenced by the Byrds and Beatles well that did it for me. The "old" ways were passing man. A great time of change. The you had people like Love who pounced on that change and brought their own riff on it. Even though LA was kind of alien to me since I was on the East Coast, I looked at it as a great shining star with those great bands doing their stuff. Everything seeemed to come together all at once and music just exploded. all that creativiy being released. Awesome. I don't know if we will ever see it again. |
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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
Posted - 21/08/2009 : 17:54:34
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Folks forget, or never knew, that LA was REALLY the starting point
for the best of the 60's psych folk rock/rock...NOT S.F.!
I still get chills thinking of "Like A Rolling Stone" and the rim shot
heard 'round the world....more than any other song, that is where
it began for me.....Then the Byrds and everything made sense....
we knew it wasn't just a fluke!
 ....it was a movement.....speaking of movements, time for
some "Alice's Restaurant" in 6 part harmony....."I'm not proud...
or tired..."
Every Thanksgiving!!!
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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe. --Albert Einstein |
Edited by - lemonade kid on 21/08/2009 17:56:09 |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 21/08/2009 : 20:29:15
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You know it makes me want to do a dvd or something and ask hey what was it that did it for you regarding the "song" that's still with you and will never ever ever ever go away!...
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 21/08/2009 : 21:41:24
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quote:
Originally posted by lemonade kid
Folks forget, or never knew, that LA was REALLY the starting point
for the best of the 60's psych folk rock/rock...NOT S.F.!
I still get chills thinking of "Like A Rolling Stone" and the rim shot
heard 'round the world....more than any other song, that is where
it began for me.....Then the Byrds and everything made sense....
we knew it wasn't just a fluke!
....it was a movement.....speaking of movements, time for
some "Alice's Restaurant" in 6 part harmony....."I'm not proud...
or tired..."
Every Thanksgiving!!!
____________________________________________________________
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe. --Albert Einstein
On that whole LA era, this looks worth buying...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-Action-Angeles-Nuggets-1965-1968/dp/B002DGLDZK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1250883450&sr=1-1 |
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kdion11
Old Love
USA
552 Posts |
Posted - 21/08/2009 : 23:11:47
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quote:
Originally posted by John9
I know exactly what you mean about all the creativity in LA in 65/66. The whole thing almost has a kind of 'back to the future' about it! Of course, I managed only to get tantalising glimpses of it through our pop music mags - and of course when The Byrds first toured here in that magical year of 1965. Come to think of it, Renaissance Fair was one of their most groundbreaking songs.
KD: Hey J9 - I agree. Coming from SF, I've always thought that the
LA based 1960's groups had it all over the SF based groups from the
same time period. No comparison ! Celebrity Death Match:
LA: Love, The Byrds, The Doors
vs.
SF: The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service
LA by a Knock Out in the second round !
Free the bells !
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 22/08/2009 : 02:12:27
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plus the Buffalo Springfield! The Seeds! Brian Wilson!
Canned Heat, Flying Burrito Brothers, CS&N, Linda Rondstadt.
...what the world needs now... |
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 22/08/2009 : 02:42:22
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 there was the San Fransisco sound! and it can't be explained.
but...you know it! the only way to understand the 60s renaissance in L.A.,San Francisco, is to recall your experience. it was all good and
stoned-out cool FUN! no.... i'm not talking about today's stupid "rave"
"DJ"- "techno"- computor "music"!
it was about The MUSIC! THAT'S RIGHT! heart and soul!!! with some special effects!!!!
...what the world needs now... |
Edited by - bob f. on 22/08/2009 02:43:56 |
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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
Posted - 22/08/2009 : 17:59:09
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quote:
Originally posted by bob f.
there was the San Fransisco sound! and it can't be explained.
but...you know it! the only way to understand the 60s renaissance in L.A.,San Francisco, is to recall your experience. it was all good and
stoned-out cool FUN! no.... i'm not talking about today's stupid "rave"
"DJ"- "techno"- computor "music"!
it was about The MUSIC! THAT'S RIGHT! heart and soul!!! with some special effects!!!!
...what the world needs now...
When I pull a record from my collection, I really don't think ...hmmmm......LA vs SF band. The whole sixties scene WORLDWIDE was phenomenal. Whether it's Love/Byrds, Beatles?Stones, Fever Tree/Airplane, Kinks?Yardbrds, Buffalo Springfiled/Blues MaGoos, Animals/PrettyThings......how can we pick the greatest "home" for our 60's music? They always talk about the advent of "World Music" in the 70's and 80's.....what could be more music-of-the-world than Arthur, John & Paul, Dylan, Grace, Janis, Jim, Jimi, Country Joe, Neil & Steven, Roger & Gene.......
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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe. --Albert Einstein |
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 22/08/2009 : 20:20:25
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quote:
Originally posted by lemonade kid
quote:
Originally posted by bob f.
there was the San Fransisco sound! and it can't be explained.
but...you know it! the only way to understand the 60s renaissance in L.A.,San Francisco, is to recall your experience. it was all good and
stoned-out cool FUN! no.... i'm not talking about today's stupid "rave"
"DJ"- "techno"- computor "music"!
it was about The MUSIC! THAT'S RIGHT! heart and soul!!! with some special effects!!!!
...what the world needs now...
When I pull a record from my collection, I really don't think ...hmmmm......LA vs SF band. The whole sixties scene WORLDWIDE was phenomenal. Whether it's Love/Byrds, Beatles?Stones, Fever Tree/Airplane, Kinks?Yardbrds, Buffalo Springfiled/Blues MaGoos, Animals/PrettyThings......how can we pick the greatest "home" for our 60's music? They always talk about the advent of "World Music" in the 70's and 80's.....what could be more music-of-the-world than Arthur, John & Paul, Dylan, Grace, Janis, Jim, Jimi, Country Joe, Neil & Steven, Roger & Gene.......
____________________________________________________________
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe. --Albert Einstein
I always thought 'World Music' was a pretty daft term as all music is from the 'World'!! However, the term, of course, referred to music that was 'non-western' as, prior to the, so-called, 'World Music' boom, most of the music listened to in the 'Western' world was from the 'Western' world, including all those bands/acts you listed |
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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
Posted - 22/08/2009 : 20:38:10
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Right...I'm aware of "world music's" definition in the world....but what is it really? Latin, African, Asian.....everything has to have a label for people to feel comfortable. Right...it's all music of the World. They were thinking that there is "Western" music, which Europe is also lumped into, and the rest of the World--Eastern/Asian/SOuthern Hemisphere music I guess. But Western Music is not a part of the world, I guess...All pretty silly. When Paul Simon was labeled as finally doing "World Music" it sounded like latin/South American fusion to me......what could have been more "World Music" than Lennon's Imagine"??!!
Imagine there's no countries.....
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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe. --Albert Einstein |
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caryne
Old Love
United Kingdom
1520 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2009 : 00:29:03
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quote:
Originally posted by lemonade kid
Right...I'm aware of "world music's" definition in the world....but what is it really? Latin, African, Asian.....everything has to have a label for people to feel comfortable. Right...it's all music of the World. They were thinking that there is "Western" music, which Europe is also lumped into, and the rest of the World--Eastern/Asian/SOuthern Hemisphere music I guess. But Western Music is not a part of the world, I guess...All pretty silly. When Paul Simon was labeled as finally doing "World Music" it sounded like latin/South American fusion to me......what could have been more "World Music" than Lennon's Imagine"??!!
Imagine there's no countries.....
____________________________________________________________
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe. --Albert Einstein
That's ok, I agree with you, 'world music' is a daft term as all music is of the world!! That's until there is some 'Martian Music' of course!! |
Edited by - caryne on 23/08/2009 00:29:54 |
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LeeRob
Fifth Love
397 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2009 : 04:17:48
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This is an interesting discussion. I stayed in Los Angeles right after I got out of the service in '65. I moved back there to live for a year or so in '66. Coming out of the Marines was like coming from another planet anyway, but, I remember feeling the high in the air. LOVE was all there was; big, beautiful, kick-ass LOVE. They were everywhere and still aloof somehow. Da Capo was the ONLY album I played. Most of what I experienced that would be of any interest to this conversation was, like the Strip on warm nights where everyone was pretty groovy, and the girls had big, happy smiles. The grass was very good, the music had a lot of bass in it, haha, like Lou Rawls was kickin' it back then too. I moved to Haight next and felt the same charge in the air up there, but it was more subtle; L.A. was already flying. When I saw LOVE at the Hullabaloo it was a swirling mass of sound, and I stood up and had great delusions of grandeur about how cool I was being there. It was hot to see Arthur Lee doing his thing. We all give the band members equal due for their individual, musical energy given to the band, but Arthur was the one you watched most of the time. It's too bad the L. A. of those days was so far separated from Haight Ashbury, it would have been a trip to take in both scenes on a regular basis.
All misspellings are purposeful... |
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2009 : 06:28:07
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Hi,LeeRob ! the scene on The Strip, and Griffith Park (Love-ins)
were two places for hanging out and tripping in public in L.A.
The Renaissance Spirit even gave some color to the more conservative San Fernando Valley where the Valley Music Theater hosted great concerts! there was no escaping the Renaissance. it was a free-flow THRIVING, a rebirth from darkness, as in all Renaissances.
...what the world needs now... |
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Early Love ..........and the Renaissance Spirit
