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On
the previous page we took a look at
the origins of the Laurel Canyon Log Cabin's Legend.
We reviewed a little
about the pair of "Artist - Freaks" who originated the "Laurel
Canyon Dance Company" and the girls who popularized the troupe before
the man of legend, Frank Zappa, became a fixture in the forthcoming
legendary stories.
Vito & Szou
Paluekas, and Carl Franzoni & his brother, were the tenants of the Log
Cabin behind the notoriety which grew through the mid 60s, surpassing
both the stories of The Laurel Tavern, and the Tom Mix Cabin. Together
with a wild bunch of young hippie girls (the GTO's), they gained recognition in the
Sunset Strip music clubs with their radical style of dress, and
free-form dancing. They were soon hosting nightly BYOB dance
concerts-parties at the Log Cabin. Even before Frank Zappa & family & "friends"
moved in, the list of drop-in guests included most all the LA & San
Francisco musicians & counter culture leaders.
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The list of local LA bands
and musicians who were frequent visitors before Zappa's arrival, includes
a 'Who's Who' of the L.A. Music scene.
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THE GTO's
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The dancers wore freaky clothing
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They flopped and pogoed
alongside bands like THE BYRDS
and the MOTHERS |
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L.A. BANDS
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Their Laurel Canyon Cabin
Believe it not, The Byrds
were not only the most popular band
in Los Angeles at the time (1965-67), they were American forerunners to "Modern Rock&Roll
Bands". Critics have even referred to them as
the "American Beatles".
 When they formed in 1964, "Jim"
McGuinn (changed to "Roger" in '67), a former member of successful
folk groups, the Limeliters & the Chad Mitchell Trio, was the only member who
played a instrument, a jangling 12 string Rickenbacker guitar. He, at first,
teamed with folk singer, Gene Clark, who
had left The New Christy Minstrels, to form a local folk duo. They soon added
David Crosby to provide a high third part
harmony voice to augment theirs. The group of folk singers "made the rounds",
doing demos, rehearsing, and looking for a record deal. McGuinn envisioned
mixing the sounds of the top 2 new leaders in popular music, "The Beatles" & Bob
Dylan. A failed single for Elektra Records followed, and
Chris Hillman,
a local bluegrass mandolin
player, was added to learn bass guitar. They picked up
Michael Clarke as a drummer,
mainly because he had "the look".
In November 1964, the band signed to Columbia Records and officially renamed
themselves The Byrds. Having recently met Bob Dylan, they had secured a rough
demo of one of his songs, "Mr. Tambourine Man", and now wanted to add
"their
Beatle sound" to it. This would be accomplished by trimming a few verses to a
commercial length (2:30-3:00 minute single), and perfecting the 'Beatle' harmonies.
Columbia producer, Terry Melcher, brought
in session legend Leon Russell, and the top rhythm section in Hollywood, known
as "The Wrecking Crew", and he compressed McGuinn's Rickenbacker for a
cleaner tone.
VOILA! "FOLK ROCK"
 Though
recorded in January, 1965, Columbia sensed a hit and
withheld the single's release while the band learned their instruments, and
completed the album, consisting of some Gene Clark originals, more Bob Dylan
covers, and revised versions of various folk songs (Pete Seeger's "The Bells Of
Rhymney"). The debut single was released in June '65, and quickly hit #1 in the
US, and did the same a month later in England. The album sales mirrored the
single's success, topping t he Album Charts in both countries for the rest of the
Summer.
The Byrds chose to follow the exact same formula for their
second album, recording "Turn! Turn! Turn!", a Pete Seeger adaptation of a
traditional melody, and the song became the group's second US #1 single,
followed by their second album (also titled Turn! Turn! Turn!).
 By
the end of 1965, the band felt that the folk rock sound was getting old and
began to experiment in new musical styles. They were now rock musicians, not
folk singers, and wanted a album which would reflect the evolution of the band.
On December 22, 1965,
 they recorded
"Eight Miles High", considered by
many to be the first full-blown psychedelic recording (The Yardbirds, among
others [even the Stones followed], were experimenting and recording in similar
styles). Los Angeles, and especially San Francisco, bands also contributed to
this new "Psychedelic Sound" {see
The Seeds
& Love
below). The new psychedelic music was linked to "those dirty, dope
smoking hippies" and the previously commercially successful BYRDS
suffered as a result. "Eight Miles High" was widely regarded as a
"drug" song (despite the fact that Gene Clark's lyrics were about an airplane
flight during the band's English concert tour) and its relatively modest success
as a single (US #14, UK #24) has been attributed to the resulting airplay bans
by many Top 40 radio stations. Parents and conservative critics argued that
besides the drug-laced lyrics, the music also echoed the sounds of drugged-out,
hippie musicians. In reality, the unfamiliar, dissonant sounding track is the
groundbreaking lead guitar work of McGuinn, attempting to replicate the free
jazz saxophone style of John Coltrane. Once again, the Byrds were innovators of
a new musical style, though this time, Psychedelia failed to replicate the
commercial success of Folk Rock. Gene Clark was forced to leave the band in
March 1966, due to his manic fear of flying (8 Miles High lyrics?).
By 1967,
David Crosby was fired by the group, and the synergy that created the Byrds went
with him. Nonetheless, the image of Crosby {see both above} in
his [then] omnipresent cape, flapping in the wind, roaring through the Canyon on his motorcycle,
remains etched in Canyon lore forever.
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{below}
Mark at
10050 Cielo Dr. where he lived with producer, Terry Melcher
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 MARK
LINDSAY
- Lead Singer
Paul Revere
& the Raiders
Mark Lindsay
lived in Laurel Canyon for many decades. He hung out at the
Cabin in the early days, while living with record producer, Terry
Melcher, in Benedict Canyon.
After they moved, their Cielo Dr. house
was rented by director, Roman Polanski, and his young wife,
Sharon Tate, becoming the location of the infamous Manson Family
Murders.
After the move, Mark ended up buying a huge home at the summit of Lookout
Mountain, half a mile up the street from 2401 Laurel Canyon.
Mark now lives near Portland, Oregon, his old home town. |
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Another
LA Band |
THE
SEEDS
Sky Saxon (Richard Marsh), like so many of the "Hollywood
Hippies" of the time , hung
out along the Sunset Strip, hustled girls for a place to stay, in hopes of
becoming a rock singer. The singer partnered with vocalist /
guitarist, Jan Savage, to form the Seeds with keyboardist Daryl
Hooper and drummer Rick Andridge in 1965.
Heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones (Sky on stage), their
music would today be branded "Garage Punk". They soon developed
a strong following along the Strip, and scored a recording contract
with LA's GNP Crescendo Records in 1966. The driving power of their
first single, "Pushin' Too Hard", unexpectedly drove the song up
the charts, while the band, & their small label, scrambled for a
similar sounding follow-up, and soon released their eponymous album :
Though unable to replicate the first hit's
success, fans discovered the single's flip side, "Can't Seem to
Make You Mine," which featured a haunting, repetitive, guitar
riff, in place of the testosterone driven punch of its
predecessor. It became their second hit record.
 "The
Seeds" - (1966 - #132 Billboard)
Their second album,
"Web of Sound", was
released as soon as possible (also 1966) but this one was an
attempt at Psychedelia,
featuring the lengthy jam, "Up In Her Room".
Whether the album was inspired by Sky's personal drug
influences, or just following the trend in music, it failed
to have a hit single, and never made the Billboard Albums Chart.
With a pair of hit records under their
belt, The Seeds' reputation spread beyond their rabid local
following {left}. Unfortunately, 'Fame &
Fortune' don't always go hand in hand, as the members of the
band soon learned
 (Jan
Savage would eventually join the LAPD).
Their third release,
"Future",
was their psychedelic concept album, in the 'Sgt. Pepper' vein,
barely cracking the Top 100. While The Seeds simmered, GNP
released a "Live" album & a collection of some old material,
both garnering their expectant sales and critical response.
 Following
the group's official dissolution in 1969, Saxon continued to
record under the Seeds' name (Sky Saxon & the Seeds) releasing a
series of singles that increasingly reflected his drug-induced
separation from reality. After the release of some other old
recordings under the name "The Sky Saxon Blues Band",
Sky withdrew from the mania (he had
become a member of Father Yod's "The Source Family",
a communal religious group) and
relocated to Hawaii.
 The
late 1970's saw the release of several albums credited to
variously named outfits: "Sky Sunlight", "Sunstar", Sky
"Sunlight" Saxon, the Universal Stars Band, Star's New Seeds
Band, Sunlight and the New Seeds, to name just a few. Such
titles reinforce the critical opinions which brand him as
"another acid casualty", but "Guru
Skybyrd" has not totally
divorced himself of his former aspirations of Rock Stardom. In
1983, Sky returned to "La-La Land" to team with Mars Bonfire (Born
To Be Wild) and musicians (who he probably met at The Log
Cabin) from Fraternity of Man & Iron Butterfly, in a short-lived
music project, "Firewall". Despite Sky's spiritual/guru
inclinations, to contemporary musicians & fans of "garage" &
"punk" music (Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, Redd Kross, The
Plimsouls, etc.), Sky Saxon is revered as the originator of the
genre - [Godfather of Punk].
Sky continues to work in the Music Business at every
opportunity available. He occasionally does retro 60's shows
{see poster-right} as
Sky Saxon & The Seeds,
Personal long-term projects,
King Arthur's Court, described
as: "a neo-tribal, shamanic, psychedelic musical group
that plays with an improvisational style in the same spirit
as Ya Ho Wa."
Or jumping on stage to join a bunch of the better
"punk-garage" musicians for an unrehearsed live album
- released as:
SKY "SUNLIGHT" SAXON AND PURPLE ELECTRICITY.
Following in the tradition of
GNP Crescendo Records, Sky Saxon material is
available in dozens of albums, singles,
compilations, repackages, imports, ETC.
For an accurate listing of
prices & availability, go to
THE
SOURCE
"The
Official SSS Site"
is built &
maintained by
Sky's wife, Sabrina.
CHECK IT OUT!
See what
"SKY SUNLIGHT"
looks like today...
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Arthur Lee
Stars
throughout their native Los Angeles,
LOVE
was one of the
first integrated groups in rock. The band was formed in the
mid-'60s by its leader, singer/songwriter
Arthur Lee, one of
the most idiosyncratic and enigmatic talents of the era.
Although only 20 at the time, Lee had already scuffled
around the fringes of the rock and soul business for a
couple of years.
 Love's repertoire would be largely penned
by Arthur Lee, with selected contributions by guitarist
Bryan MacLean.
They drew
from Byrds-ish folk-rock, Stones-ish hard rock, jazz, blues,
flamenco, and even light orchestral pop, to create a heady
sound, totally their own. Inspired by the British Invasion
bands, Love started playing the L.A. clubs in April, 1965
and built up a strong following
before being signed by Elektra Records, the former folk
label that was beginning to develop a roster of
rock artists (early Byrds & Lovin' Spoonful, and the Paul
Butterfield Blues Band's first LP).
Their self-titled debut album in 1965, introduced their
unique marriage of
the Byrds & the Stones sound with a set
of mostly original material.
 Their one cover, a punk-ish
adaptation of Bert Bacharach & Hal David's
"My Little Red
Book", had a real driving rock sound, but was only a local
LA hit, due to Arthur Lee's refusal to
tour in support of the popular Album.
The band added two members to their
five man line-up for their follow-up Electra release .
"DA CAPO" -
1966
Side
two of the album featured only one song, the 19 minute
psychedelic jam "Revelation"
a customary practice at the
time - (Rolling Stones,
The Seeds, Iron Butterfly).
Though it included their only Top
40 hit,
"Seven & Seven Is."
The
album's sales mirrored the results of
their debut effort.
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"forever changes"
-1967
Once again, Love's third
release barely outsold their prior album, despite the fact that it
was a far better all around work than its predecessor. In fact, over
the years, "forever changes" is
recognized by many as
one of the best, and most haunting, original, works released during
1967's famed
"Summer of Love".
Arthur Lee's
genius permeates this third
album's production - the song melodies, the
acoustic guitar textures-enhanced with unique orchestrations, the
inspired musical arrangements -
"It's All Here".
Though still evident ("Live and Let Live"
& "A House Is Not a Motel"), Love's 'Rolling Stones' style of
electric guitar dominance gives way to
a more gentle, contemplative sound of
acoustic guitars with subtle orchestral enhancement. The enduring
melodic beauty, and song arrangements, throughout the album rival
George Martin's best.
What earns the album's ranking
on 'All-Time Best Album' lists is
the disc's themes and
its overall musical tone. There is no doubt that "forever changes"
is a cautionary tale for the era's counter-culture revolutionaries.
Drawing on his personal experience and that of his band-mates, Lee
injects his songs with an air of malaise,
foretelling the dark clouds looming on the cultural horizon.
Released during the peak of the "Flower Power" movement, Arthur Lee
/ Love's masterpiece reflects the internal strife of the group and
accurately projects it to the era's counterculture in general. FOR
EXAMPLE:
The optimistic promise of the movement's pot & psychedelic
experience had decayed into hard drug abuse for Lee and most of the
members of "LOVE", as told in the song "Live and Let Live".
The cynical look at romance in "Bummer in the Summer", the band's
internal angst and inner fighting haunt "A House Is Not a Motel",
and even racial and international strife materialize in "The Red
Telephone". Somber numbers like "Old Man" and "Andmoreagain"
project the aura of a funeral, as if Lee prophesized both the band
and the hippie era's future demise.
Bryan MacLean's fabulously produced "Alone Again Or" , was the
classic album's one marginal hit, following in the tradition set by
their first two releases.
'forever
changes' is, inarguably, Arthur Lee & Love at their
creative-artistic peak, especially the production of Arthur Lee and
co-producer/engineer,
Bruce Botnik (the Doors). At the same time,
the band was plagued with internecine problems, drugs being at the
forefront. The production team, and Electra Records, recorded two
sides with session musicians before the musicians of Love got it
together to record the rest of the album. Once again, Arthur Lee
refused to tour, and now the band was unable to argue, or to tour as
well. Lee fired the whole band and struggled to continue recording.
Arthur Lee in his Porsche (Laurel
Canyon)
The band lived communally in
their Laurel Canyon house on Blue Heights Rd.
The former owner of the house
was the famed horror star,
Bela Lugosi.
Their first two albums included
photos shot in the
garden of that house.
They all were regulars at the Log
Cabin parties'
{see} |
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NEXT DOOR |
When they formed in 1964, "Jim"
McGuinn (changed to "Roger" in '67), a former member of successful
folk groups, the Limeliters & the Chad Mitchell Trio, was the only member who
played a instrument, a jangling 12 string Rickenbacker guitar. He, at first,
teamed with folk singer, Gene Clark, who
had left The New Christy Minstrels, to form a local folk duo. They soon added
David Crosby to provide a high third part
harmony voice to augment theirs. The group of folk singers "made the rounds",
doing demos, rehearsing, and looking for a record deal. McGuinn envisioned
mixing the sounds of the top 2 new leaders in popular music, "The Beatles" & Bob
Dylan. A failed single for Elektra Records followed, and
Chris Hillman,
mainly because he had "the look".
withheld the single's release while the band learned their instruments, and
completed the album, consisting of some Gene Clark originals, more Bob Dylan
covers, and revised versions of various folk songs (Pete Seeger's "The Bells Of
Rhymney"). The debut single was released in June '65, and quickly hit #1 in the
US, and did the same a month later in England. The album sales mirrored the
single's success, topping t
a
communal family of "Weirdos" {pre-hippie} had moved
into the log cabin. They
were centered
around two underground hipsters named Vito Paluekas, an artist /sculptor,
and
Carl
Franzoni (former mail-order breast pump salesman-AKA
"Capt.
Fuck"
with Joni in the little rustic cabin, shared Joni's perspective of
the canyon countryside. One chilly morning when the young musical
couple returned from breakfast in the Valley, Graham suggested that
Joni light a fire, while he ... "Our House" became one of the most
popular songs on CSN's platinum selling album, "Deja Vu".
