AN UNUSUAL OFFER, BUT GLAD WE TURNED IT DOWN

Published by Rick on Tagged Uncategorized

Maybe the timing is not the best, as Democracy appears to be hanging by a thread, but I’ll just assure myself that there’ll be a November surprise, and maybe a lot of stupid people will forget to vote. But as it is Hallowe’en, I’m reminded of a weird offer we got on October 30, 1971 (I knew it was close to that date, as I remembered seeing people in costume) after we had finished our Saturday show at the Tarr & Feathers Saloon on Union Street in San Francisco, where Rick and Ruby began their career only about 5 months prior.

At the end of the night, this guy came up to us, and I don’t even know why I remember his name (Ted), but he was full of praise for the act, and told us about this New Year’s Eve party he thought we’d be great for. He only could guarantee us $100, but at that time, we were getting $50 a night two nights a week, which totalled up to the princely sum of $50 each per week. Back in 1971, one could live on that, but it helped that we had occasional gigs elsewhere. We showed a little interest, then came the bad news. He told us we’d have to play for NINE HOURS! We were not quite 21, but were exhausted from the 4-hour gig we had just completed. What incentives would make this worth doing?

Well, Ted tried to cushion it by saying they’d throw in “anything we want,” which obviously referred to a wide range of recreational stimuli, but nothing further monetarily. I curiously asked “So is this an exposure type of gig, where our career could be boosted by doing?” Then came the kicker: The party was for the Hell’s Angels! That put a bit of fear in our hearts, which he immediately picked up on, and his response was “What, you got something against the Angels?” I said “Nothing personal, just wonder why you need nine hours from us.” He said the party started in the afternoon and went all night. It meant that when he made the promise of “anything we want” it sounded like they’ll give (i.e. force feed) us all the drugs we need to last nine hours on stage.
Ted was clearly high when he was talking to us, as his lips continued to move after he finished talking, like a badly dubbed Godzilla movie.

I also knew about most biker gangs loving to get nine kinds of fucked up on a near daily basis, and they could be very defensive about it. I had seen it on the stage of a Buffalo Springfield concert four years earlier, where the act preceding Springfield (who were disappointing to say the least, even with the presence of Stephen Stills and Neil Young), were a very good white soul band from Canada called Mandala. Their bass player and co-lead singer took the mic in a soft part of a song to say that in their country, people didn’t hate people because of the colour of their skin, and that they didn’t need drugs to get high, that their music was enough for them. The race issue wasn’t a problem, but some guy from a biker gang called the Red Mountain Boys got up on stage and right in the bass player’s face, with a very threatening tone, said, “Whattya mean you don’t like dope?” It got very scary for a minute, but the bass player managed to calm the guy down and get him off the stage without getting punched. Mandala finished their set, and there was a break before Buffalo Springfield came out. During the break someone next to me said “I wish he’d beaten the shit out of that N***** Lover. Did I mention this concert was in San Bernardino?

So we told Ted we wouldn’t be able to do it, because we “suddenly remembered” we’d both be in Southern Cal for Christmas and New Years, and also said there’s no way we could do nine hours as we’ve only been together a few months and don’t have that much material. He seemed to buy it, and left with a handshake and good luck wishes. We did some of our own research over the next week or so, and found that our fears were justified, as people told us horror stories of bands playing Angel parties, and not only being expected to play incredibly long hours and being given loads of stimuli, but the people dispensing the drugs would be offended if you say no. We suspected that was the situation anyway, and though we liked getting high, we liked to remain in control whenever we did so.

For that particular New Years, we wound up playing Tarr and Feathers and received $100, the same amount Ted offered us, and for five hours less time. The audience was fantastic, and it remained our best New Years gig for many years after.

Remember to VOTE like there may never be another election, because that could be the scenario if the bastards get their way.

October 31st, 2024



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