Foghorn Finds America

Some more History Stuff

2007-05-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

Check out the billboard above
This dead one from 1978 is the newest one Ive got.

Just some more scans of stuff from my collections.

Janis and Pigpen in history files

2007-04-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is the only pic of Janis I can find.

Ive posted some of Pig before but heres my favorite. Phil's old lady Rosie McGee shot this in like 1969.

Watkins Glen

2007-04-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

More History. Airplane Stuff

2007-04-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Winterland Poster from 1966

Airplane Pic from my friend Lars in the Netrherlands from 1968.

Pic below of Grace I stole from Rolling Stone from interview when Spencer Dryden died. She still looks great right?

More History

2007-04-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Jorma and Jack Hot Tuna in 1970 at the Fillmore West. Photo by a guy I knew named Joe.

I had tickets for Fillmore and Winterland for New Years Eve in 69. Obviously I went to the Winterland show.

tHE wHO August 1968

2007-04-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

AT THE REQUEST OF PONDERING PIG I CAME BACK WITH SOME PICS FROM FILLMORE WEST. THE WHO AUGUST 15 1968.

Pete Townsend

After the show.

Funny?

2007-03-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

WINTER IS GETTING TOO DARN LONG

DON'T YOU THINK?

It's a Joke, Son

2007-01-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here's one for all the survivors from the Human Be-In, the Anniversary of which we celebrated a couple weeks ago. I just heard this joke from a young friend.

Q: What do you do if you encounter a dancing bear?

A: Play Dead.

HEY BrOTHERS AND SISTERS!

2006-12-30T17:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a long week kids and a hecktic week. Hanukkah was festive. The grandkiddos had lots of fun and lots of presents. We do some Christmas too as Gwen's family is Lutheran. That's fun too.

I don't know what to blog about these days. Lots up at the center but nothing I can write about. Privacy and all that. Give me some ideas topics. tell me some jokes.

חֲנֻכָּה

2006-12-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

My young friend Bulli and his Kosher VW Thing.

HAPPY HANUKKAH TO ALL MY FRIENDS! A GREAT MIRACLE HAS HAPPENED HERE IN MY LIFE AND I PRAY MIRACLES IN YOUR LIVES AS WELL!

GOD BE PRAISED!

LOOK WHO GOT ON THE BUS!

2006-12-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

"The bus came by and I got on, that's how it all began..."

NOW. On the downhill side of his second term Mr. Bush starts thinking about another career move. Oil, Baseball, President, Now Rock Icon!

GET ON THE BUS GEORGE! ROCK ON!

Maybe you collect or maybe you pay

Still got to work that eight hour day

Whether you like that job or not

You'd better keep it on ice while you're lining up your long shot

Which is to say, hey hey

Keep your day job

Whatever they say

Keep your day job

Don't give it away

Keep your day job

Till your night job pays.

Daddy may drive a V-8 'vet, Mama may bathe in champagne yet, God bless the child that's got his own stash, Nine to five and a place to crash.

Keep your day job

Whatever they say

Keep your day job

Don't give it away

Keep your day job

Till your night job pays.

Hey! That's Me!

2006-11-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Got this pic from my old boss Lem Brinkhurst in email this morning. Believe it or not that's me from 11 years ago, 1995, when I was employee of the Year at Brinkhurst and Associates. Long way from the tie-dye and it has been a long way back to it. I looked pretty good on this pic but Peg reminds me that I had hi blood pressure and an ulcer back then. Now Im just old and falling the hell apart but happy doing it.

Last June

2006-11-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

We had a party last June 2005 up here in Toronto. Got a couple old friends here from Florida who we haven't seen in many moons. That's me on the right and Peg is next. That's her sister Judith next to her and her guy Norm next to her. Last is my cousin from Michigan, Mort. The kid in back is Sly Stone (Sylvia Stone). We had Kool-Aid, but it wasn't dosed. I don't think we could have handled that. Photo was by son, Kelley.

Heres a pic of Gwen (daughter in law) taken by Peg 1n 2005 summer.
Just another thought to brighten your day.
OOPS. Guess I blew that one.

2006-11-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

Dan Hicks on Nightmusic

This is Dan Hicks from a couple years back but this is one of his old songs "I Scare Myself" one that Leo mentioned in the Charlatan's posting a couple of days ago.

2006-11-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)

This is Tex Williams from around 1947. He was a big influence on Dan Hicks who I talked about the other day, and Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. Commander Cody was really George Frayne and he was from Ann Arbor Michigan, where I lived for a while when I got out of High School. I knew his brother, but George was a lot younger than me. I met George again in 1969 when the Airmen moved to San Francisco. I remember seeing them in like 1970 at the Fillmore with the Doors and Doug Kershaw the fiddler.

Next I'll post a dan hicks or a Cody. Thanks to Ponder Pig for the video tips.

Almost Winter

2006-10-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

It's a chilly one and threatening to rain. It's about 40 degrees so maybe snow?
Peg took this pic last week but now all the leaves are gone.

THE CHARLATANS

2006-10-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

I used to listen to the Charlatans back in the day, as pig suggested in his comment on the Warlocks post they were going to be the big thing. They lasted until around 70 and went their own ways. They used to play a lot at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada (above) Thats where they would woodshed their material. The Dead and Big Brother used to play there sometimes too. Probably most famous from the Charlatans was Dan Hicks. He cut many albums with the Hot Licks and still preforms.
This is Dan in 2004 promo pic.

Warlocks in 1965

2006-10-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

This is somewhere in Palo Alto in 1965. These lads were pretty raw but they had spirit and a lot of energy. I dont know who was younger Bobby or Billy. Pig was only 19 and they were like 17. Jerry and Phil were 23 or 24. I was the old man at the show at 29. I had short hair and was just out of the Airforce by about 6 months.

Pig where was this? do you know the hall?

Missed a Birthday

2006-10-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

I was sick and missed a birthday. Sorry Ron.

Ron McKernan was my brother. He would be 61 this year. He was younger than me by most of 10 years but he was like my peer. He had the voice and the authority of an old blues man. He used to sing LOVELIGHT like he wrote it when he was hardly 20. I was almost 30 but he was the boss.

Ron's birthday was September 8 and I always think of him. He was the presence of the Grateful Dead even though he wasnt the beginning. Jerry started the ball rolling and was the heart but Ron was the soul of what I think was and still is the worlds greatest band. Not always rock and roll because they were already way passed that. The dead were the best because nobody was like them and nobody ever has been like them since.

When I moved to San Francisco there was a radio show on with a guy named COOL BREEZE and he played blues and R and B stuff that I loved. I was in the Airforce for a few years and met a lot of black guys from Oakland while I was at Edwards afb. They told me about Cool and I was inpressed a lot. I loved James Brown and Bobby Bland and they all thought I was a brother. I was I guess but not black. Thats Ok. Brothers be brothers no matter what.

It was later in like 65 when I found out that Cool Breeze was Rons dad. I knew Ron from then when he played that screeachy organ for the Warlocks. They begame the dead and the rest is history.

I dont think Ron ever fit in all the way. He and Jerry were tight but Pig was always somewhere else, usually chasing tail or singing with whoever would give him a mike to sing into. He was the main man for the dead in those days but would sing whenever he got the chance. Pigpen was the man. Pigpen made the band.

Ron didn't like the drugs so much . He would smoke some but the acid was no no. I think he started drinking young and it was what killed him even though he stopped. Sometimes life gets you even when you give up the bad stuff. COnsequences I guess are always there no matter what.

I remember Palo Alto Acid test and everyone was dosed like bigtime. Except for Pigpen. He was maybe dosed but never showed it because he was usually always on the wine edge which always worked for him. It was a wierd night and me and my old lady Tina were screwed up and fighting. Then Ron pushed us outside and talked us down. Everybody inside was getting strange and ron was making us cool down outside even though he was drunker than sin. About an hour later or longer he went in again and talked down about a hundred people who were freaking from their dose.

Then Ron did one of those historical "LOVELIGHT" raps that makes history. He slammed on everyone and brought everybody even the band back to earth. It was like 3am and we were ready to go home but the band and lot's of folks stayed until dawn. I woke up at Tinas house the next day around 1 and either of us knew how we got home.

We used to hang in the kitchen at 710 sometimes and Pig would play these perfectly superb acoustic blues. There would be like 10 of us there and he would be on and I mean ON. it was the Pigpen show. there were Hippie's and Black Panthers and street folk and we were all grooving and dancing . It was Perfect.

Then the Dead took off and became huge it seemed. They played New York for Janis in 1969 and the story was that Janis got pissed off because they played so good. I wish I was there.

After that, things got too big for life I think. I was getting straight and Ron was getting sicker. He never really showed it outside, but the booze was killing him inside out. I think he felt outside the band even though the guy's all treated him like a brother always. He just got so far away from them musicallly and couldn't keep up any more maybe.

The sad part of Rons life was that he died when he was getting straight. I mean he was already straight but the damage was done and it was too late. Blue Ron died on March 8 in 1973. I have a tape of the solo album he was working on when he died that I got from a friend but I still never listen to it.

Back home again...

2006-10-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

It's really fall now. It's cooling fast and the leaves they are a changin'. This is my first day out since I got back home. I don't want to write about it here but write to me at foghornguy@hotmail.com for the whole story.

My son took me out for Breakfast yesterday and we went here. The Center Diner used to be called Digger's Diner and for us old coots it still is. It was owned by an Indian family and the grand-dads name was Digant.

This was breakfast. I promised to just have the friendly heart oatmeal but couldn't just pass up these cakes. Dont worry, I didn't eat all the butters. Just a little bit

These young gals work at the Diner. When it was Digger's Diner we all called the gals the Diggers. They sure don't look like the diggers from olden times do they Ponder Pig?

You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore!

2006-09-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

It's a miserable Friday night
I'm so lonely
And nobody'll give me a ride
To the Grateful Dead concert...Oh rats!

If I was at the concert right now, I'd be ripped!
We were free when we were born
I could tighten my headband for an extra rush
During Jerry's guitar solo
Then I could go to a midnight show of 200 Motels!
We were born free, but now we are not free anymore!

I stole this from Frank Zappa. He was a wonder-man. I saw Leo's post on the RSS feed with the new Dylan lyrics and they were cool, but Zappa still is the man, even if he's dead. For some reason Zappa words say what are in my cynnical head. I wish I wasn't so crittical but I am. Frank was always ahead in the sarcasm department, but he made me question. I loved Zappa for that.So does the rest of the world. A small town in former East Germany holds a yearly Zappanale. Check this link: ZAPPANALE

I wonder if Pig remembers back in 66 when the Mothers played at the Fillmore and Ray Estrada from Zappa's band got crazy with Pigpen? It was like headline news. Ray was thumping verbally on Pigpen and he just blew him off. He just said like, "We play music. Whatever man. Go back to L.A. and wake up" and just let him go. Pig was cool and always kept the peace. It's funny how he was always looked at like the rowdy biker guy. But he was always the peacemaker. I remember Phil was the fight starting and argueing guy and Bobby would come in with his fist's up. Him and Kretuzman.

As much as I miss the old days I'd rather live now. I love talking about history and I love when the Pondering Pig writes about the old days. Listen to him because he's smarter than me. Some of the old days hurt too much and I don't want to let them out. I know you psych guys will get on me but that's what I feel.

Ok. Tomorrow will be new pics from Toronto this week. I live in the present.

Can't sleep

2006-08-30T01:16:00.000-07:00

After some prodding by Pondering pig I deceided to post some old pics from the old days in San Francisco.

Who can forget the Robert crumb posters of the day. This was always one of my favorites.

This was in Golden Gate Park in 66. The Charlatans were playing and Canned Heat too. I think Blue Cheer was there that day but I don't have any band pics.

The guy sitting down is Diamond Jack. The guy dancing was living next door to me on Haight 2 doors from the dead but I never knew his name. My second wife, Ellen, called him dirvish because was a spinner kind of like sufi dancers in the mid east.

This pretty much sums it all up for me. In fact I don't feel any different now, except I don't use the f word any more so much.

Not Yet The Long Sleep

2006-08-14T05:02:00.000-07:00

I wrote this when I turned 30. It was 1966 and I didn't think I'd live until 40. It was two years before I met Peg and was in the middle of a lost weekend that lasted until 1969. But here I am today, still stamping on the earth. No regrets at least not yet. Thanks to Pondering Pig I'm digging again or rooting for some of these old gems.

Glittering dark, dancing

Before my eyes, closed

Everything I see, shadowed

In roaring silence

I hear

Falling

A feather

Soundless, a brush

My lovers touch

Bitter, life's bile

Sweet, love's taste

Shadows of tomorrow

Darken the path of yesterday

What was will not be

What is, stands

Before my eyes, open.

Some Florida Pics And Our Beatty

2006-07-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

Im nowhere the Photog like Leo or Petrushka or Larry or the other Peggi but these are some of the ones I am happiest with from our trip. I shot about 200 pics so I'm sure I will have some more to post eventually. We've been home here for going on 3 weeks and we still haven't unpacked everything.

I don't know who was a bigger pest? the kid or the pellican? The boy was a neighbor to Beatty's assisted living apartment and he was probably good company but a pest.

The next shot is from a sail boat as we were passing kids on the beach. I tried climbing the mast and almost tipped the boat. No more for us old guys.
In the next one I climbed up on a lifeguard tower. The lifeguard was pretty angered so I left. It was a good spot for pics though.
The next one is from Loxahathcee Everglades Tours that we took about a week before we left. This guy was a trip. We were on one of those huge airboats and when we stopped the pilot let me climb the back rigging to get this shot. This gator didn't move for thewhole 20 minutes we were there. The docant figured he had just eaten and wasnt interested in us. Good.

Just some kids and mom and pop at Ft. Meyer. There were about 15 people working on this sand castle but they were all gone except for these folk's. It was about 10:00 and everyone else had split for lunch or something. The next day this masterpiece was gone.

My Mom-in-Law Beatty Levine about a week before she died. She was 91. We miss her a lot.

I'm Baaaackkk!

2006-07-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of an old poster I forgot I had but Leo and Pondering Pig jarred my rusty memory.

This one's for them.

Holy Grounds in Ft. Meyer

2006-06-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

This is a Internet Coffee shop in Ft Meyer that I found at a Catholic college down here. Its called Holy Grounds. They have restaurant in front and coffee, internet and folk music in the back.

These guys are the Fish Creek Ramblers.
This guys name is Dave Ruch or Dave Ruck

Back room at the Holy Grounds.

Ft. Meyer

2006-06-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Peg and I have been in Ft. Meyer for the last few days. Her mom's been ill and at 93, we aren't taking chances. She hurt her hip which was replaced last october and we were worried they'd have to go in again. But not necessary.

This pic is from the condo where mom lives. It's been darn humid and hot, in the 90's and T-storms most every day. This was the first nice looking sunset while we've been here. This was Wednesday night

Bandstand

2006-06-09T23:28:00.000-07:00

"We're goin' hoppin' (Hop!)
We're goin' hopin' today
Where things are poppin'(Pop!)
The Philadelphia way
We're goin' drop in (Drop!)
On all the music they play On the Bandstand.! "

This is a photo Ivan took on the tv screen when we were in Philly visiting his parents in 1953 right after I turned 19. They moved there in 1950 when his dad went to work for a company called Nordac or Norcon. They made aluminum siding for houses. It was new business back then.

That's Ivans little sister Wendy (really Gwendolyn) dancing with the guy on the right that looks like Eddie Cochran. She was like my age and Ivan was almost 40. His mom and dad were pretty frisky I guess. I dont remember if Dick Clark was on the show then. I don't think so. Does anybody out there remember when he took over the show? Was it when they went national? I really don't remember.

I didn't dance much back then. Like I didn't have rhythm. The music was already getting to processed by like 55 and everyone was starting to get overproduced. I liked the rockabilly cats though like Carl Perkins and early Cash. Jerry Lee and Buddy Holly was the best. But I really didn't pay attention to music too much until later.

Sorry I havent posted for a couple days. Been scanning photos and thinking what to write about. Sometimes I get a cramp betwixt my ears and nothing wants to come out, hey.

Flint 1951

2006-06-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

In the summer of 1951, we moved from Flint to Burton, about 12 miles east. I was used to the big cities and big schools, but this place was really hicksville.

Mom and Ivan commuted to Flint every day and, lucky me, I got to do my senior year in Po-dunk, USA. Made a couple good friends at Dewey HS. I'm the guy, 3rd from the right in the back row and my buddy Wilmer is second from the left in the back. Louella (now Peg don't be jealous), my H.S. sweetie that year is third from the left bottom row. Enrique, best man at my wedding, is second from the right in front between Gladys and Carolyn. I've lost touch with everyone but Wilmer who lives in Indiana now.

I miss Enrique. He died in '73 in Nam. He was a lifer in the Marine Corps and died in a barracks fire near Saigon. Hard way for a Marine to die, in his sleep. Louella had cancer, I heard and died in 1979. She had married Wally Sinclair the tall blond guy in the back row. He still livs in Burton in the house his dad built after the war.

ATTENTION BLOGGERLAND

2006-06-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

I just added a link to the web site of LARRY WIDEN. Hes a good guy and he writes about music, mostly blues, and a lot of other stuff. He does publishing with Leo Sadorf at SONORAN WIND. I read about a wrestler and Milwaukee History and a homeless traveler with a rock and roll past on Larry's site. This guy is a good writer and hits a lot of interesting and cool topics. Definitely check him out.
Larry Widen, on the right with Blues Legends Bob Margolin (middle) and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. Photo borrowed from THE GROOVE another groovy site to hit. This photo was taken by another Blues Legend, Bob Stroger who used to play Bass for Muddy Waters band and other Chicago Blues Greats.

Ivan Dziedzek

2006-06-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

This is Ivan Dziedzek (pronounced Jay-Jak) in front of Dooley's market in Flint in about 1946 or 47. Ivan and Mom got married when we were in Chicago about 5 years after dad died. He was about 10 years older than her. His birthday was the same as Lincoln's, February 12. He was born exactly 100 years later though. He grew up in DeKalb and they always had a parade on Lincoln's birthday and his brother Morris said Ivan would always think the parade was for him when he was a kid.

I never called Ivan dad, but he was as good a one as any kiddo could have. He treated me like I was his. Since I was an only child and he and mom never had any together, I guess I was his.

We lived in Flint

2006-05-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of the ladies that worked at the Buick plant in Flint, Michigan in the middle 1940's. My mom is the 4th one from the right and my aunt LaVerne is the second from the left. They were the office staff, not the gals that worked on the lines obviously. We lived in Flint from 1944 when we left Chicago until 1950 when Ivan went to work for the Port Authority. We lived in Jersey near Fort Lee and he worked as a maintenance guy on the George Washington bridge and he made around $4000. dollars a year, not bad in those days. I bet they make like $70,000 dollars now. Im getting ahead of myself.

Mom and aunt Laverne started working at Buick when Lavernes husband Eddie died in France. I only met him once at the wedding and they were really young. he was drafted and died about 2 months after he got there. She was younger then mom by 6 years but they never told their ages so I never knew how old they really were until mom died in 1981. She was 62. So Laverne was 21 and mom was 27 in this picture.

Ivan worked at the Chevy plant as a welder which he really didn't know how to do but they hired him anyways. He was in his 3os and had a bad leg so they didn't draft him. He used to kid about it but I know it made him angry. His family was Polish and he wanted a piece of Nazi butt to kick for sure but he never got to. When Eddie died, he didn't talk for a week he was so mad.

Tomorrow I'll post on Ivan

Happy Birthday Mel, Wherever You Are?

2006-05-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

Today, May 30, is the birthday of the great Mel Blanc. He would been 98 today. Besides cartoon voices, he did radio shows. I remember him from kidhood as the sound of Jack Benny's Maxwell sputtering and wheezing and coughing and as Jacks violin Teacher Professor LeBlanc. But who can forget "Train leaving on track 5 for Anaheim, Azuza and Cuc amonga". He was the mailman on Burns and Allen and the barber on Gildersleeve. Mel died in 1989 from Heart disease.

His most famous stuff was anamation voices though. He was Bugs, Tweety, Porky, Sylvester, Barney Rubble, Mr. Spacely. For me, the best and most important voice he ever did was, of course, Foghorn Leghorn.
Foghorn Leghorn and Henry Chickenhawk. That's All Folks!

More from kidhood

2006-05-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

These were opened tho the pack looks closed. We used to open them from the bottom sos not to break the seal. We figured it made them more valuable. I resealed the pack bottom years ago when I learned they were worth big $$$. Besides this is an all ages blog and the front is sexy enough.

I was about 14 I think when my cousin Norman came back from the Phillipines. It was 1947 or so. He was in the Navy during and after the war until Korea and he had all kinds of Vargas navy girl pinups. The cards were cool. He gave them to Ivan for souvenirs and I sneaked them out and kept them. I always felt bad about that. And then one time in the early 60's Ivan told me he knew I took them. he was laughing and said he would been surprised if I didn't take them. I wanted to give them back and he said what the hell would he do with them?

So 45 years later after stealing them almost 60 years ago, here they are for all to see, just not the faces. Hee.Hee.

When I was a kid

2006-05-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my oodles and oodles of junk and newspaper clips and stuff this weekend. It was about 60 degrees today in Toronto and clear, not windy. So I took a bunch of stuff out to work on on the deck. I found this picture from when I was a kid. I think I was 10 in 1943 and we lived in Chigago with my uncle Ivan. He wasnt really my uncle but after dad died, well you get it, right?

I got this pic from a radio station promotion. They would do live radio shows with bands and singers in the big ballrooms and Uncle Ivan took me when he took my mom to the old Liberty Ballroom and she had been there that day and they had pictures left. Uncle Ivan got a un-autographed one but I liked it anyway.They called her Frances Smith or Frances Fox when she sang with the big bands. They changed her name in the 1940s sometime just after she married Roy Rogers her 4th husband. Yep its Dale Evans. This was like a holy picture in my house when she was inthe cowboy movies. Like the kids say now she was a hottie.

Thanks Guys.

2006-05-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the guys and gals at A Passing Inevitable for giving me my blogging start. Thanks Leo for the invite. I'll be back to comment and maybe post sometimes. But I decided to started one of my own here. foghornguy.blogspot.com . I'll post some old snaps and stories and new ones as they come to me. I'll link them other fellers when I figure out how to do that. Happy Trails. Foghorn Leghorn