Chapter 6: Acid Rock and Music Festivals of the late 1960s

America Counters the British Invasion The West Coast was seen as “the new America” –Combination of the rock & roll world and political world, mods & rockers, policemen & drug-users, the Sierra Club & Hells Angels, punks, lawyers, doctors –Truly a melting pot A large number of colleges in the region served as centers for the younger counter-culture –Almost every other region of the country seemed to represent “the establishment” The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood became the epicenter of the psychedelic, flower-power world The scene had reached its peak by 1967 –As many as 1500 local bands estimated in the SF area

Several factors helped pull all of these pieces of a fragmented society together –Rock Concert Halls – historic ballrooms like the Fillmore, Longshoremen’s Hall, the Avalon pulled SF youth into a small intimate area to experience big names and unknowns alike –FM radio leads to “progressive rock” format – more sophisticated jockeys, album tracks (non-singles), KSAN became the mainstay of the rock scene in San Francisco rock –The San Francisco sound – many of the young musicians of the period had cut their teeth on folk rock. Mixed w/ R&B influenced rock of the British Invasion, the result was a hard-driving rock that was the only American style that could counter the British hard rock

Four Characteristics typify most of the San Francisco bands Drugs – sometimes called psychedelic rock or acid rock (especially outside of San Francisco) –More direct drug references than in the past (Eight Miles High – The Byrds, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – The Beatles) –Double entendres were discarded & lyrics and other aspects were blatantly drug-oriented (band names, album titles) –The bands and their fans were assumed to be freaked-out acid- eaters (Grateful Dead & the Dead-heads) Sound – Volume levels at live concerts reach new highs –Technology of the 1960s had allowed bands to amplify their sound –Vibrations could be felt in the chest & ringing in the ears could last for hours after the concert Instrumentals – up to this point, the singer had dominated the rock scene –This is when the “solo” by guitarists and drummers really takes off Electronic Technology – experimentation w/ electronic feedback created an alien, “far out” sound for the acid rockers

Jefferson Airplane Formed in Mexico in summer 1965, emerged as one of the premiere folk rock bands of San Francisco Drew their sound from various band members backgrounds in folk, pop, jazz, blues & rock Origin of the band’s name is disputed: –A “Jefferson airplane” is an improvised “roach clip” made from a paper match, split to hold a joint –The name came from a joke about blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson Made 1 st public appearance The Matrix in SF

They spent the next year building their reputation, getting a record deal w/ RCA and releasing Jefferson Airplane Takes Off The bands lineup goes through several changes several times –Most importantly - in late 1966, Grace Slick becomes the lead singer Surrealistic Pillow (#3, 1967) released –Topped by Somebody to Love (#5, JA’s first and biggest hit) & White Rabbit (#8) After Surrealistic Pillow, the band goes with a heavier sound based off of the success of Jimi Hendrix and Cream Inconsistencies in the lineup and continuous changes in sound keep them from having consistent success until 1984’s Knee Deep In the Hoopla (#7 album) –3 #1 singles and 3 more Top 40 singles 1996 – inducted into the RRHoF