Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: GUEST,999
Date: 10 May 11 - 11:12 AM

I recall the Kettle of Fish having had more than a few beer in there. Not Googies, though.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: GUEST,Alan Whittle
Date: 10 May 11 - 10:51 AM

I was there in spirit with you guys.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: GUEST
Date: 09 May 11 - 02:21 PM

Does anyone remember "Googies" on Sullivan Street or "Kettle of Fish"?

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 09:23 PM

Enjoyed the update on Mark Silber. Anybody out there remember a fellow named Axel...short, red haired, bearded, from the Berekley scene, early sixties...played concertina and sang all the sea shanties among other things. Rita

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Mark Roffe
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 01:56 AM

Ginny bought me one of Marc Silber's "K&S" brand Weissenborn-styled Hawaiian guitars last year so I could play while laying on my back for a couple of months (I herniated a disk by lifting a heavy old Standel amp). The K&S is a fun instrument, 'tho a little thin.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 12:43 AM

Mark Silber's store in Berkeley is The Musical Instrument Exchange (I think). Anyway, he is now handcrafting classical, flamenco, and Hawaiian guitars (he says many Dobro players are turning to Hawaiian guitars for the sweeter, less intrusive sound). The store is on Adeline a block or two north of Ashby, on the east side of the street. Lundberg's Fretted Instruments was, of course, owned by the Lundberg family (a daughter, Katy, was in my English class many seasons ago). --seed

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Night Owl
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 12:21 AM

Old "folkies" never die.......they just...??????????

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Allan S.
Date: 18 Mar 99 - 09:16 PM

My God some of us are still alive. What about Sundays in Washington square park.HELP I am looking for Margaret Wagner who sang with Ann Bird Ann was a short Blond girl with long hair in a braid Graduated Yale late 50 early 60's last address was a a PO box Cooper station NYC Does any one remember Her. Need to find her for a reunion of the old Yale Hoot gang Allan.S

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Wally Macnow
Date: 17 Mar 99 - 10:48 PM

I'm pretty sure Bob Gibson recorded "Tell Old Bill" for Riverside sometime around 1960. If not there, then on the Vanguard recordings of the 1960 Newport festival. Odetta recorded it later in a lower key. I've got 'em on LP buried somewhere.

As for music in the village in the late '50s - early '60s, my favorite hangouts were Gerde's on Monday nights and Washington Square on Sunday afternoons. There was also some nifty music at the Henry Street Settlement House on Saturday nights. For a while John Herald was hosting a late night sing at a place on Broadway in the twenties. A lot of us also used to do Billy Faier's radio show from time to time. 'Twas on WBAI from midnight to 6 a.m. on Saturday nights.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 17 Mar 99 - 12:19 AM

Never been to Philadelphia...sorry. The music store in Berkeley was Lundbergs, not Lungren's. Stefan has e-mailed me several times since I found him through this site and reminded me that he worked there summers. We have had fun reminiscing. We both performed at the Troubador in Earl's Court, London in '67 and he said that the whole Kicking Mule clan were standards there for a time...that was after I came back to the states.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 16 Mar 99 - 05:54 AM

This is off the point; but since Art and some of you were performers at the time, you might be able to answer this. I tried a thread on it last year with no luck.

What was the coffee shop in Philadelphia for folk/blues during the 60s. I remember it was on one of those small streets like Sansom and on the other side of the street was "Little Johnny's"--a bar run by the guy who used to say "Call for Phillip Morris" dressed up like a bellhop. They were the only place that had people like Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, and I think it was there that I saw Big Joe Williams for the first and only time live.

Thanks,

Murray

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Mark Roffe
Date: 16 Mar 99 - 01:49 AM

During early '60's high school in NY, I'd run off to the village, but right now I want to hit the W. Coast for a minute to sew something on to Art Thieme's comments above about ED. Besides partnering Kicking Mule, ED was involved in the making of some John Fahey albums, and can be heard on harmonica on a cut of Fahey's The Voice Of The Turtle album - the liner notes say some bizarre things about him. I had the pleasure of accompanying ED on a three-day kayak trip in 1979. ED was writing a whitewater book and was looking for undocumented rivers. ED's web page is at http://www.asis.com/~edenson/edhome.html. He's into some interesting things in N. California now - from folk music on KMUD to saving the forests to giving unofficial legal advise.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 15 Mar 99 - 02:30 AM

Rick & Art...thanks for the info. It's great just hearing about what folks are doing again. You mentioned Berkeley...was it the Fretted Instruments..or was that something else...the music store...Lungren's. I had him do some work one time on my 1891 New York Martin. Maybe I first met Stephan in Berkeley. Neither of us can remember. I hung out there some. The Fifth Fret comes to mind...now it's swirling around and getting mixed up with the Fifth Estate which I believe was a coffee house in Hollywood where I first met Judy Henske. Well anyway...yes the music does get into your blood and when I hear certain songs now or certain singers it triggers so many incredible memories. The 60's & 70's were really something musically. Did anybody out there go to the Monterey Folk Festival in 1963? It was fabulous.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 15 Mar 99 - 02:16 AM

Sandy...I didn't mean to bypass your entry. I think I remember that Bob Gibson did do a rendition of that. Thanks for the tip...gee this is just great. I rediscovered Stephan Grossman and we had a nice time exchanging some memories. I'm so glad to hear he is still doing music. I have been out of the loop for quite a few years.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Art Thieme
Date: 14 Mar 99 - 11:15 PM

Stephan was a co-owner of Kicking Mule Records (with ED Denson) until ED took it over by himself for a long while. Operated out of Berkeley, CA for many years. ("ED" does not stand for erectile dysfunction---that's just the way Mr. Denson chose to spell his first name for some reason.) ED recently sold his entire label to Fantasy Records. My first two LPs were with ED & Stephan on Kicking Mule.

Art

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 14 Mar 99 - 02:28 PM

Never met Stefan before the concert (and haven't seen him since) The concert was held at a rock and roll!? venue in an old theatre. (on Danforth ave. here in Toronto)I was hosting it and also on the bill was Larry Coryell. Remember John Renbourne (who I hadn't met before as well) as being very friendly and laid back, Stefan was friendly and not so laid back, and Larry practiced what I thought were scales for a half hour before going on. Then He went on and performed scales for another half hour! (gotta remember, he's the jazz guy.) Funniest memory from the concert: After the show, a very attractive woman came backstage, raced by us folkies and cornered Larry. They spoke for about ten minutes, and then Larry said in a fairly loud voice. "Yeah that'll be great! I'd love to go somewhere and meditate with you." Stefan turned to me and said "He means it too!"

Anyway Rita, as to what I do. I'm one of those folks who got hooked early on singing and picking folk songs, and never realised I was gonna become a "lifer". It does get in your blood though.

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 14 Mar 99 - 11:48 AM

Gee thanks Rick & Murray...I remember Izzy...The Folklore Center...that might be it. I think Marc had something to do with Sing Out Mag. So Judy Henske did do Tell Ole Bill. It's not on the album I have of hers. Rick what kind of stuff do you do. Tell me about the concert with Stephan.(if you care too). I have forgotten a lot of the details of those years...a friend of mine from London, Miles Mabbett...he documented the Pink Floyd from those years forward...said, ..."if you remember the sixties, you weren't there!" How true. I was there. Singing in the Village and in London, although my home was in Big Sur and most of my folk music involvement was local. There was a folk festival every year at the Hot Springs, now known as Esalen. It was exciting, everybody came from everywhere. I sang in about 4 of them, I think there were 7. One I did solo with a fiddle player named Hank Bradley, the rest were with a group called the Big Sur Choir (all 5 members)which is also the name of an album we recorded. Dick & Mimi Farnia and then after Dick's death just Mimi, Joan Baez, Blood Sweat & Tears, Taj Mahal, Mickey Newbury, Kris Kristofferson, John Cooke, Tom Jans, many more...that might have been where I first met Stephan. Anyway, thanks and thanks Murray...I found Stephan's site and shot off an e-mail immediately. This is all so terrific. How do you come to know Stephan. I remember now that he had the greatest collection of blues of anyone around at the time. Rita

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 09:18 PM

Sorry about the multiple and wrong postings. I won't try to figure out what I did wrong--I'll just post Grossman's site again.

Click here.

Murray

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 09:14 PM

Stefan Grossman actually has a website click here. He wound up in England in the 70s and is now in Woodstock, NY.

The site has a lot of interesting things besides trying to sell you viedow.

Murray

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 09:06 PM

Stefan Grossman actually has a website click here. He wound up in England in the 70s and is now in Woodstock, NY.

The site has a lot of interesting things besides trying to sell you viedow.

Murray

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 08:53 PM

In my mind's ear, it's Bob Gibson. Don't know whether or not he recorded it, though. Odetta woulda sung it lower ****how do you make those little grins?**** with Bill Lee, Spike's dad, supplying the bass.

Sandy

Subject: RE: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 04:34 PM

Wow, you're goin' back indeed. The Folklore Center was run by Izzy Young, and may have been taken over by Marc after Izzy ran off to Sweden, to start the same kind of store there. I did a concert in Toronto a couple of years ago with Stefan Grossman and John Renbourne, and to the best of my knowledge Stefan is still involved with recording, teaching videos, and touring. Best recording of "Tell Ol Bill" I've heard was by Dave Van Ronk on Folkways. But I'll bet it's the Henske one you remember.

Subject: Memories of NY in the 60's folk/blues scene
From:
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 03:52 PM

Been trying to remember the name of the music store in the Village in the early sixties. Mark Silber was the proprieter I think. Ran into somebody recently at Tassajara who knows what he is doing now..but neither of us could remember the name of the store. Anyone know what happened to Stephan Grossman? Terrific blues guitar player. The Even Dozen Jug Band members? They all stayed at my house in Big Sur one night. Who recorded Tell Ole Bill...probably many, but who did the definitive version? Odetta...Barbara Dane??? I thought it might have been Judy Henske, but I can hear in my memory a very strong bass line that makes me think more of Odetta or Barbara.