Friday, November 15, 2024

660 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Friends And Relations Hall 1971-72 (after The Family Dog, FDGH Part 50)

The Family Dog on The Great Highway, ca 1969, formerly Topsy's Roost and the Edgewater Ballroom, and later Friends And Relations Hall, at 660 Great Highway in San Francisco
 

The Edgewater Ballroom, part of the San Francisco amusement park Playland-At-The Beach, and located at 660 Great Highway, had been open since at least 1930. In 1969, Chet Helms had relocated his Family Dog concert operation from the Avalon Ballroom to the Edgewater. Helms had renamed the venue The Family Dog on The Great Highway. The venue had opened with much fanfare on June 13, 1969, with Jefferson Airplane headlining to a packed house. Although a beautiful venue in a great location, Helms was undercapitalized and the Ballroom was too small for the era. There was some great music, but the Family Dog on The Great Highway never lived up to its promise. 

The Family Dog on The Great Highway had struggled along for 14 months, but it folded on August 22, 1970, after a concert by Quicksilver Messenger Service. I wrote about the music and shows at the Family Dog on The Great Highway in great detail. If the Family Dog had established a jam band palace on San Francisco's Ocean Beach in the 21st century, financed by Cannabis merchants, it would have been a massive success. But Playland had closed on Labor Day, 1972, and the adjoining Edgewater Ballroom was razed shortly afterwards. 

While the Family Dog on The Great Highway had closed in August 1970, the building itself was still in use for another two years. Esteemed scholar David Kramer-Smyth was kind enough to identify all the events at 660 Great Highway after the Family Dog closed. Given the extensive efforts I made to document the Dog's Ocean Beach adventures, it seemed appropriate to complete the loop by reviewing all the rock shows afterwards, along with at least mentioning the other theatrical events.

Playland was in San Francisco's Ocean Beach neighborhood. Ocean Beach, at the edge of the city, was essentially in an isolated suburb, with plenty of teenagers and potential rock music fans nearby, but a long way from the broader population of the Bay Area. Google maps is a little misleading if you don't know the area. The Ocean Beach neighborhood is sealed off from the rest of the Bay Area's Peninsula by some difficult hills. East Bay residents, in turn, while not a huge number of miles away, would need to cross the Bay Bridge and pass through all of San Francisco to get to Playland. The same traffic realities had boxed in the Family Dog. Thus Ocean Beach was a specialized destination, mostly just for locals. 

In the two years between the closing of the Family Dog and the razing of the old Edgewater Ballroom, various rock shows and theatrical performances were put on at Playland. Some of them were probably pretty good, actually, but 660 Great Highway was always the last choice, the venue that got used when nothing else was available. The chronicle of the venue that I have constructed for this period is a bit sad, but it's still a helpful look at the outlying tendrils of the San Francisco rock music scene from 1970 through '72.

Thanks to David Kramer-Smyth for making this post possible. Anyone with additional information, corrections, insights or recovered memories, please included them in the Comments.

September 18, 1970 Playland At The Beach Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Miss American Vampire Contest  (Friday)
Playland-At-The-Beach had opened in 1913, on San Francisco's Great Highway between Balboa and Fulton Streets. Playland's fortunes had declined considerably by 1970, but the amusement park was still open. The former Edgewater Ballroom was at the edge of the park, so clients did not have to enter the park to see events there.

Since most of the clients of Playland itself were teenagers or even younger, the "Family Dog" ballroom name had little meaning, so this event was advertised as being at "Playland At The Beach Ballroom." The Miss American Vampire Contest was promoting the new movie House Of Dark Shadows, based on the ABC-tv Soap Opera Dark Shadows. Dark Shadows was a popular 5-day-a-week soap opera. It aired at 3:30 p.m., late enough for kids to watch it after school. Dark Shadows surrounded the doings of one Barnabas Collins, a two-hundred year old vampire, along with assorted witches, werewolves and--I kid you not--the I Ching. 

House Of Dark Shadows was a feature film made to capitalize on the TV show. The official release date of the movie (per Wikipedia) was October 28, 1970, so the opening at Loew's SF on September 23 must have been some kind of pre-release event (I have actually seen the movie, but it's too much of a rabbit hole to go into here). 

October 10, 1970 Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: AB Skhy/Schon/King Klyde (Saturday)
October 11, 1970 Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: BADC/Westwind/Cerith Ungle
(Sunday)
Update 20241116: Fellow scholar JGMF sent in a number of additional dates

These two shows, advertised as "Family Dog On The Great Highway," were misnomers, since Chet Helms had closed his operation. But he didn't have the resources to sue, and in any case the old "Family Dog" sign was probably on the marquee. I don't know who promoted the shows.

AB Skhy had originally been from Wisconsin, but had moved to San Francisco in 1968. They had released two albums on MGM. Howard Wales had been in the group for their 1969 debut album, but he had left by their 1970 album Ramblin' On. Probably by this time Dennis Geyer and Curley Cooke were playing guitars, with Geyer the main singer, and presumably Rick Jaeger on drums and Jim Marcotte on bass. They wouldn't stay together much longer.

Schon may have featured San Mateo teenage guitar sensation Neal Schon, then about 16 years old. He would join Santana the next year. King Klyde, BADC, Westwind, and Cerith Ungle are unknown to me.  

October 30, 1970 Old Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Aum/Tower Of Power/Naked Lunch/Joe Riccio (Thursday)
Aum was a power trio fronted by guitarist Wayne Ceballos who had released two albums. Tower Of Power were the legendary soul band from Oakland. They had just released their debut East Bay Grease. Both AUM and Tower were managed by the Bill Graham organization, and both had albums on Graham's Fillmore Records label, distributed by Warner Brothers.

Naked Lunch was a local band that featured guitarist Abel Zarate, who later ended up in the band Malo, along with keyboard player Lu Stephens, who had been in a 60s band called All Men Joy. Joe Riccio is unknown to me. [updated via JGMF 20241116].

October 25, 1970 Sunday SF Examiner

October 31, 1970 660 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Womb/Joe Riccio/Ice/Osceola (Friday) Transformation Witches Night  
San Francisco loves Halloween. This 1970 event was more directed at young adults rather than kids, so the address was used as the name of the venue. It seems to have mainly been a dance and costume party, and none of the bands were notable. Osceola, a band of Florida transplants led by guitarist Bill Ande, had played the Family Dog on the Great Highway many times. Womb (formerly Birth, who had released a 1969 album on Dot Records), were from San Jose. Ice was a young Marin band associated with the West-Pole, the management for Quicksilver Messenger Service. 

November 6-7, 1970 Poor Richard's, San Francisco, CA: Naked Lunch/Scamp/Dead Run/Grim Tales (Friday-Saturday)
For unknown reasons, the new name of the venue was now Poor Richard's. Scamp, Dead Run and Grim Tales are unknown to me (when I haven't heard of San Francisco bands from this era, they are definitely obscure). I have to assume that this event was mainly a sort of weekend dance for Playland patrons and local teenagers, rather than an attempt to draw anyone from farther away. 

November 20-21, 1970 Old Family Dog Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Foxglove (Friday-Saturday)
The name reverted briefly to "Old Family Dog." Foxglove is unknown to me. [updated via JGMF 2024116]

November 27, 1970 Old Family Dog Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Foxglove/Loose Gravel/Aliens/Cosmic Popcorn (Friday)
Loose Gravel featured guitarist Mike Wilhem, who had been The Charlatans. The Aliens were a sort of Latin-rock band from the Mission District, with some connection to Carlos Santana. Cosmic Popcorn is unknown to me. [updated via JGMF 2024116]

November 29, 1970 Poor Richard's, San Francisco, CA: Ship Of The Sun/Garfat/others (Sunday)
I assume different promoters were using different names for the venues. I recognize Ship Of The Sun from various listings, but I don't know anything else about them. Garfat is unknown to me. [updated via JGMF 2024116]

December 7-8, 1970 Poor Richard's, San Francisco, CA: Dan Hicks And The Hot Licks/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Jeffrey Cain/Joe Riccio and Full Sack Jack/Snow (Monday-Tuesday)
Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, who played their unique style of acoustic, snarky swing, had deep roots in the San Francisco scene. Hicks had been the drummer in The Charlatans. Back in 1965, the Charlatans were San Francisco's first psychedelic rock band. Their new Blue Thumb Records album Where's The Money would be released in 1971. Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were also Western Swing, but in an electric honky tonk manner. They had moved to Berkeley from Ann Arbor Michigan in mid-69, but were still a year shy of making their classic debut album. Jeffrey Cain was a songwriter who worked with the Youngbloods. Snow is unknown to me. [updated via JGMF 2024116]


December 11, 1970 Old Family Dog Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Flamin' Groovies/Loose Gravel/Cosmic Popcorn (Friday)
December 12, 1970 Old Family Dog Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Flamin' Groovies/Loose Gravel/Foxglove
(Saturday)
The Flamin' Groovies had been around the San Francisco scene since 1965, but their adherence to a "British Invasion" style left them on the outs in the jam-oriented Fillmore scene. By this time, the Flamin' Groovies had released three albums. Their most recent had been Flamingo, on Kama Sutra. The Groovies regularly promoted their own events, and I assume they were self-promoting here. 

December 26-27, 1970 Poor Richard's, San Francisco, CA: Rumi & Sylvester (Friday-Saturday)
Rumi & Sylvester are unknown to me. I suppose Sylvester could be the popular soul singer, a former Cockette, but I think this is too early for it to be him.  [updated via JGMF 19701116]

 

December 30, 1970 Poor Richard's, San Francisco, CA: Soul Sacrifice/Intruders/others (Wednesday) Benefit For Philippine Flood
One theme of this era was that since there were few concerts booked at 660 Great Highway, it was regularly available for benefit concerts. There had been substantial floods in the Phillipines in early September. There was a huge Filipino and Filipino-American community in San Francisco, with their own popular dance circuit for young Filipino adults and older teens. I don't know anything about Soul Sacrifice or The Intruders, but they were likely part of that scene.

January 9, 1971 Poor Richard's, San Francisco, CA: Country Weather/Fellin'/Liquid Heart/Wells/Wizard (Saturday) Natural Arts Festival
On Saturday, January 9, Poor Richard's hosted the "Natural Arts Festival," whatever that was. The listing in the SF Examiner says "Yoga demonstrations and visuals," so probably the Festival focused on homeopathic remedies and various kinds of holistic approaches to health.

The headline band was Country Weather, from Contra Costa County. Country Weather featured guitarist Greg Douglass, later in the Steve Miller Band (he would co-write the hit "Jungle Love"). Country Weather had been together since 1968, and had opened at the Fillmore West many times. They were widely regarded by locals at the time as an excellent band, but never released an album in the 20th century. 

Fellin', Liquid Heart, Wells and Wizard are unknown to me. 

On Tuesday, January 19, a traveling Native American ensemble called the White Roots Of Peace was scheduled to appear at Poor Richard's. It's not clear if they actually performed (whoever they may have been).  During the week of January 20, Poor Richard's was used as a sort of "Bird Hospital." Standard Oil had caused a giant oil spill just off of San Francisco, and numerous sea birds were covered with oil. Thanks to volunteers, the birds were rescued and cared for. Poor Richard's was the base of operations. 

January 29-30, 1971 Poor Richard's, San Francisco, CA: Helix/Barley At The Hops/others (Friday-Saturday)
Helix and Barley At The Hops are unknown to me. I suspect these shows were superseded by the bird rescue. [updated via JGMF 20241116]


SF Examiner March 4, 1971

On March 4, 1971 the Examiner article headlined "New Life For The Family Dog" described the plans of the new promoters at 660 Great Highway. For one thing, they would re-name the venue Friends And Relations Hall, a name that would generally stick for the remaining 18 months of the venue.

The latter day Family Dog headquarters and ballroom at 660 Great Highway will reopen on March 12 with a new paint job, new owners and a new name.
"Friends and Relations Hall" is the new name for the big oceanfront building that was once the "Edgewater" featuring big dance bands, and in recent months has tried to operate as "Poor Richard's."

 The new proprietors, who have a year's lease, include Jim Gravanes, Vince Nunno, Steve Bowen and attorney-musician Jerry Weiner.

"We have cleaned up the place a good deal" commented Gravanes yesterday, "and we have already let out various concessions, some of which will operate during the weekdays as well as in our weekend evening musical events."

First show for Friends And Relations Hall will feature Big Brother and The Holding Company, Clover and Foxglove. One of the Bay Area's veteran light show artists, Bob Holt, will be in charge of visuals.

Plans for F&R Hall include a greatly expanded restaurant facility, a new bandstand and dressing room arrangement, giant cushions for more comfortable floor seating, and a number of special activities which will run during the week.
Headlining the second weekend, March 19-20, will be Berkeley's Joy Of Cooking group.
All weekend shows will begin at 9 o'clock on Friday and Saturday nights, with a $2.50 door charge. 

The team's plan seems to have been pretty sensible. The ongoing restaurant could provide daily revenue, and the low ticket price meant that the venue was not competing directly with high profile shows at Winterland or elsewhere, but trying to be a sort of neighborhood rock venue. This wasn't a bad idea, actually, but the problem was that the 1971 Ocean Beach rock audience wasn't even of drinking age yet, and without a bar, the venue wouldn't get enough traction. In March, however, that was still yet to come.


March 7, 1971 SF  Examiner

March 12-13, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother and The Holding/Clover/Foxglove (Friday-Saturday)
Big Brother and The Holding Company was a legendary San Francisco rock band, of course, but without Janis Joplin they were kind of just another band. After breaking up at the end of 1968, Big Brother had reformed in late 1969. The original quartet (Peter Albin, James Gurley, Sam Andrews and David Getz) were joined by guitarist David Schallock. Also onboard, at least in the Bay Area, was producer Nick Gravenites, who sang some songs with them. Gravenites had produced their 1970 album Be A Brother, a highly underrated record that had hardly been noticed. With Big Brother and a light show, Friends And Relations Hall was definitely marking itself as a hippie joint in the tradition of the Fillmore.

Clover's Forty-Niner album, their second album on Fantasy, released in 1970

Clover
was a Marin band. The quartet had released two albums on Fantasy. They were led by guitarist John McFee and singer Alex Call. Shortly afterwards, Clover would be joined by singer Hugh Cregg and keyboard player Sean Hopper. Clover made it to about 1977, when they finally broke up. McFee went to the Doobie Brothers, Call wrote some hits and Cregg and Hopper founded Huey Lewis and The News.

Although the Examiner article mentioned a planned booking for Berkeley's Joy Of Cooking on March 19 and 20, there was no listing for such a concert, and I don't think it happened. Country Weather, Foxglove and "Harland (magician and fire-eater)" were booked to open. 

April 2-3, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Aum/Loading Zone/Flamin' Groovies (Friday-Saturday)
Loading Zone had been the first band to start playing psychedelic soul in San Francisco ballrooms, danceable music with feedback-drenched guitar solos. Their popularity kicked open the door that was walked through by Sly and Tower Of Power. Loading Zone soldiered on until 1972. [updated via JGMF 2024116]

April 9-10, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother and The Holding Company/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Mike Finnegan (Friday-Saturday)
Big Brother returned to Friends And Relations Hall a month later. Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen had relocated to Berkeley from Ann Arbor, MI in the Summer of 1969. In the mean time, they had become a popular local band, as their swinging hippie honky tonk was right on time for the upcoming rise of country rock. Cody and his Airmen were still several months away from their epic debut album Lost In The Ozone on ABC-Paramount Records.

Mike Finnegan was an organist from Topeka, KS, and a great singer. He had moved to Marin to join the the Jerry Hahn Brotherhood. Guitarist Hahn (also from Kansas) had played jazz with John Handy and Gary Burton in the 60s, but the Brotherhood was a jazz-rock outfit. After an interesting 1970 album on Columbia that didn't go anywhere, they had broken up. At this time, Finnegan led a Sunday night jam session at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, and played around local clubs. At times, he also played with Big Brother, and he likely sat in with them this weekend.

 


April 11, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: "Turn On With Tullah" (Sunday)
Tullah Hanley was a 48-year old former belly dancer. Now a widow, she had married rich and had apparently given a $3 million gift of art to San Francisco's De Young Museum. This Sunday night event appears to have been some sort of celebration organized by Tullah herself. Your guess is as good as mine.

April 18, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA Fox/Cosmic Popcorn/Liquid Heart/Malo/ Jim Eave’s Acoustic Quintet/Pennsylvania Pokers (Sunday) noon-8pm
For all the fanfare of the new owners, I don't know why the only events were not on weekends. If there had been notable bands playing on the weekends, they would most likely have been listed in the local papers. Of the several bands playing, most had already played 660 Great Highway. In the case of Malo, they were a new group, but they were formed from a group called the Malibus with the addition of guitarists Abel Zarate (who had been in Naked Lunch) and Jorge Santana (Carlos' younger brother, who had been in the Sounds Unlimited Blues Band).

Fox (not Foxglove), Jim Eave's Acoustic Quintet and the Pennsylvania Pokers are unknown to me. 

April 19, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother and the Holding Company/Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks/Gold (Monday) Benefit for Reality House West
Big Brother returned yet again, this time at a Benefit for the Reality House West drug rehab program (Reality House West had been open since 1968, and was located at 1360 Fillmore Street).

Gold was a Berkeley group associated with Country Joe McDonald, since manager Ron Cabral was an old Navy pal of Joe's. 


April 24, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Barry Melton And the Fish/Shades of Joy/Cat Mother And The All Night Newsboys
(Saturday) Celebration of the People’s Peace Treaty
I do not know if this "celebration" was a Benefit, or just an occasion.

Country Joe and The Fish had disintegrated in mid-1970. When Barry Melton was billed as "Barry Melton and The Fish" it was an indication that he would be playing with an electric band. His current album was Bright Sun Is Shining, a mostly bluesy album that had been released in 1970 on Vanguard. 

Shades Of Joy had been around since 1969. Today they would be called a "Jam Band," but no such term existed for bands that improvised a lot without playing straight jazz. The key members were guitarist Jackie King, saxophonist Martin Fierro and organist Jymm Young. They had released an album on Fontana Records in 1969.



Cat Mother and The All-Night Newsboys
had formed in 1967. By 1969, they had been signed by Michael Jeffery, the manager of Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix had even produced the band's debut album on Polydor, The Street Giveth and The Street Taketh Away. Thanks to the Jeffery connection, Cat Mother got to open for Hendrix and a number of other high profile events. Cat Mother even had a minor hit in late '69, with medley of oldies called "Old Time Rock And Roll." In fact, the band's sound was more country-folk oriented, but they were versatile musicians. By 1970, however, Cat Mother was anxious to separate themselves from Jeffery's questionable management practices. Their second album, Albion Doo-Wah, would be recorded at Pacific High Recorders in San Francisco.

After they finished their second album, Cat Mother relocated to San Francisco. San Francisco had a unique status for rock bands in the late 1960s and '70s. While the record industry was centered, as it always had been, in Manhattan and Hollywood, San Francisco was an enticing opportunity for rock groups. For one thing, the concert industry was thriving, so a good band could make a living whether they had an album or not. Plus, there were studios and plenty of A&R guys, so SF wasn't the wilderness. And, it was California--no snow, pretty girls, open minds--so it wasn't hard to persuade fellow band members to make the move. A large number of bands from elsewhere moved to San Francisco.
 
The three founding members of the band, Roy Michaels (bass, vocals), Bob Smith (keyboards, vocals) and Michael Equine (drums), would all relocate permanently to California. Michaels, Smith and Equine would move to Mendocino County and continue on as Cat Mother until 1977.
 
April 25, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Shades Of Joy/South Bay Experimental Flash/Foxglove/Cosmic Popcorn/Tovarish (Sunday)
South Bay Experimental Flash were a jazz-rock band originally from San Jose, featuring David Ladd Andersen on flute and saxophone. Tovarish is unknown to me.  [update via JGMF 20241116]
 
May 1, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Foxglove/Fox/Railway (Saturday)
May 2, 1971 Friends and Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: six rock bands
(Sunday)
May 3, 1971 Friends and Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Blue Monday
(Monday)
Railway is unknown to me. Whatever the plans of the new proprietors of Friends And Relations Hall, whether these bands were good or not, they weren't going to draw crowds. [update via JGMF 20214116]


May 4, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Cat Mother And The All Night Newsboys/Cookin' Mama/Fox/Elixir (Tuesday)
Cat Mother returned to headline, but on a Tuesday night. Elixir is unknown to me.


Cookin' Mama
was a high powered Marin band featuring guitarist Pat Thrall and singer Sherry Fox. Thrall would later become better known in groups like Automatic Man and the Pat Travers Band. Fox, oddly, is best known for earlier vocal harmony group RJ Fox. Cookin' Mama's 1972 album was recorded in Marin (at The Church in San Anselmo) and more-or-less self-released on Rock Bottom Records.

May 10, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Mark-Almond/Stoneground/Chico David Blues Band/Terry Dolan/Earthrise (Monday)
Mark-Almond was a terrific jazz-rock band led by two members of John Mayall's 1969 Turning Point ensemble. Jon Mark played acoustic guitar and sang, and Johnny Almond played tenor sax and flute. They recorded for Blue Thumb and had a unique sound.

Terry Dolan was a local singer/songwriter. He would go on to work with John Cipollina and others in the group Terry And The Pirates. Chico David Blues Band and Earthrise are unknown to me [updated via DKS 2024117]

May 17, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Flamin' Groovies/Sopwith Camel/Foxglove (Monday)
It's not clear to me why there was a Monday night show, and yet no weekend events. Maybe the Groovies had a better gig on the weekend. Sopwith Camel had been an original Fillmore band from 1966, and the first to score a hit, with "Hello Hello" on Kama Sutra in 1967. They soon broke up. By 1971, they had reformed, with most of the original members, and would even release an album.

May 22, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Flamin' Groovies/Sopwith Camel/Flying Circus (Saturday)
For a Saturday night show, Mill Valley's Flying Circus joined the Flamin' Groovies and Sopwith Camel. Flying Circus was led by guitarist Bob McFee, brother of Clover's John McFee. Clover and Flying Circus shared a rehearsal hall. 

May 28-29, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Youngbloods/Jeffrey Cain/Grootna Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (Friday-Saturday) A Benefit for The Committe for the Traditional Indian and the Soledad Prisoners Defense Fund
The Youngbloods were the most prominent band to ever play Friends And Relations Hall. The Youngbloods had unexpectedly hit it big in 1969 with re-release of their 1967 version of "Get Together." The Youngbloods shrewdly parlayed the hit into a new contract that included their own Imprint (custom label) on Warners. Raccoon Records not only released Youngbloods albums, but solo albums and records by their musical friends. The Youngbloods current album was probably Good And Dusty (I'm not certain when in 1971 it was released). The band was now a quartet, with Jesse Colin Young on guitar and vocals, Joe Bauer on drums, Michael Kane on bass and Lowell "Banana" Levenger on piano, steel guitar and various other instruments.

Jeffrey Cain was a solo artist on Raccoon. Grootna was a Berkeley band with an album on Columbia, fronted by guitarist Vic Smith and singer Anna Rizzo, both previously in the band Sky Blue. The Columbia album was produced by Airplane singer Marty Balin, who would later team with Smith to form Bodacious.

May 30, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Music Of Devotion with Yogi Bhajwan and The Sufi Choir (Sunday)
The Sufi Choir was a dance and music troupe inspired by Islamic mysticism, and based in Marin. 

May 31, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Victoria (Monday)
Victoria (Domagalski) was a singer-songwriter who had put out two solo albums on Bill Graham's San Francisco Records label (distributed by Atlantic). [update via JGMF 20241116]


June 3, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Country Joe McDonald/New Riders of The Purple Sage/Grootna/Stoneground (Thursday) Benefit for The Bear Tribe Commune
It was not a good sign that most of the bookings at Friends And Relations Hall were billed as "Benefit" concerts, and held on weeknights. Now, from the Hall's point of view, they were likely paid the same amount for hall rental for a benefit than for a regular show, but benefits weren't premier events. 

Country Joe McDonald had split with Barry Melton in Summer 1970, and had since toured as a solo act. He was still a fairly big name in the Bay Area, however. His most recent album was Hold On, It's Coming, released by Vanguard in April, 1971.

The New Riders Of The Purple Sage had played the Family Dog on The Great Highway, as had the Grateful Dead, so Jerry Garcia surely liked the room. At this time, the Riders were producing their Columbia debut (NRPS), with Garcia still a member of the band on pedal steel guitar. The New Riders, of course, had to fit their touring schedule around the Grateful Dead, and plans were afoot to replace Garcia with Buddy Cage (which had been Jerry's recommendation). 

Stoneground had been put together by KSAN impresario Tom Donahue for a movie called Medicine Ball Caravan. The band had been signed to Warners and had released their debut earlier in 1971. The group had five lead singers, including Sal Valentino (ex-Beau Brummels) and guitarist Tim Barnes. 

June 5, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Victoria/Chris Williamson/Kendall Kardt/Roland Brothers (Saturday)
Popular rock music was changing, and the new breed of singer-songwriters, often just accompanying themselves on a guitar or piano, did not benefit from being third on the bill to some noisy rock band at a giant arena. The newly opened Boarding House focused on these kinds of performers, and some astute managers organized bookings that featured a number of these artists playing together.

Victoria (Victoria Domagalski) was a singer-songwriter, part of Bill Graham's managment stable. Her debut album, Secret Of The Bloom, had been released on Graham's San Francisco Records label (distributed by Atlantic) in late 1970

Chris Williamson (b. 1947, today known as Cris Williamson) was from Deadwood, SD, of all places.  She had released three obscure solo albums on Avanti Records in 1964-65. By 1971, she had resurfaced in the Bay Area. Williamson had released an album on Ampex in 1971. It had been recorded in New York (with Eddie Kramer, at Electric Lady Studios) and in San Francisco (at Wally Heider's, with Jim Gaines). An army of session men, some well-known, were on the record. It went nowhere. Still, Williamson had just headlined a week of shows (in May) at San Francisco's Boarding House, a newly-opened "acoustic music salon," so it seems she was starting to develop a following.

In future years, Williamson would assert that there should be a record label run by women, for women, and that would lead to Olivia Records. Olivia released Williamson's 1975 album The Changer And The Changed. Besides being a fine album, Olivia was in the forerfront of DIY releases, fitting in nicely with Beserkely Records and numerous punk labels. The message was, if you want albums of a certain type, release 'em yourself.

Kendall Kardt (b. 1943) was an example of a different type of arc, an electric performer gone solo. Kardt had been in the group Rig, who had been booked by the Bill Graham organization. Rig had played the Fillmore East, and opened for a variety of National acts.  Rig released an album on Capitol in 1970. The band broke up, however, and Kardt moved to the Bay Area to be nearer to the Graham team. Kardt recorded a solo album for Capitol, with help from the likes of Jerry Garcia, Ronnie Montrose, Pamela Polland and Spencer Dryden, but the album was shelved. He would record an album for Columbia in 1972, but it too was shelved. Kardt, too, had headlined a week in May at the Boarding House.

Ultimately, Kardt would move to Chicago. He continued his career as a songwriter, and his songs were recorded by Montrose, Jim Post and others

June 12, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Stoneground/Sopwith Camel/Congress Of Wonders/Beefy Red/others (Saturday)
Congress Of Wonders were a hip comedy duo from Berkeley that had released an album on Fantasy Records. Beefy Red was a 10-piece jazz-rock band from Marin County. It had some good players, like guitarist Barry Finnerty, trumpeter Mark Isham and drummer Jim Preston.  [update via JGMF 202411116]

June 21, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: "The City That Waits To Die" (Monday)
I have no idea what this event might have been. [update via JGMF 202411116]

June 24, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Feelin'/Driver/Soquel/Peter Cosmos (Thursday)
All of these bands are obscure to me.  [update via JGMF 20241116]

June 25-26, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Charlie Musselwhite/Sonoma Mountain Band (Friday-Saturday)
Cody and the Airmen returned to Friends And Relations as headliners.

Charlie Musselwhite was a blues harmonica player from Memphis, by way of Chicago. He had moved out to the Bay Area in 1967 and had been a regular performer at nightclubs and ballrooms since then. Musselwhite had recorded a number of albums, but blues wasn't as appealing to record companies as it had been in the 60s. Locally based Arhoolie Records would release Takin' My Time some time in 1971, and Musselwhite's band featured the young Ukiah guitarist Robben Ford. Ford was the anchor of Musselwhite's band for some time, and may have still been in the group at this point. 

The Sonoma Mountain Band is unknown to me.

June 27, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: "Yogi For Joy" Sufi Bajwan/Allen Ginsberg/Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (Sunday)
Allen Ginsberg was the legendary beat poet, and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach was a folk-singing rabbi. In general, this would have been seen as a sort of "personal enlightenment" evening.  

June 28, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Hot Tuna/Stoneground/Ace Of Cups (Monday) Benefit For Native American Church
Once again, popular local acts were using Friends And Relations Hall for a weeknight benefit. This was a sign that musicians liked the room, but it wasn't attractive for a weekend headline gig. I have no idea who or what the Native American Church might have been.

Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady had been playing separately from Jefferson Airplane since 1968, but had only started using the name "Hot Tuna" in early 1970. Their second RCA album, First Pull Up Then Pull Down, had just been released in June '71. Tuna had their first East Coast tour coming up--the first of many--and playing this benefit was probably a good tune-up. In their electric configuration, Jack and Jorma were joined by Papa John Creach on electric violin and Sammy Piazza on drums. At a Bay Area show, they might have been joined by a guest or two as well [note: some Hot Tuna lists show a May 1 '71 Friends And Relations date, but I think it is spurious].

Ace Of Cups were already somewhat notable, if not exactly infamous, for being the only "all-girl" band on the Fillmore scene. They wrote their own material, and there was some record company interest. They were managed by Quicksilver manager Ron Polte, but he was never able to find a deal that worked (ultimately, an album of live material and demos was released in 2003). By 1971, Ace Of Cups was only performing intermittently, and they sometimes even had men in the band, usually a husband.

Whatever the grand plans of the quartet who took over the Friends And Relations lease in March of 1971, the venue hadn't really worked out as a concert venue. Most of the shows in the preceding months had been on off-nights, or featured bands that were third-on-the-bill at Fillmore West. I do not know if the same investors continued to support Friends And Relations, but from this point onward the venue mostly put on theatrical productions, with the occasional concert. I don't actually think Friends And Relations was any more successful as a Theater. The distant location of Playland wasn't solved by putting on musicals. 


July 7-25, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: "Emergence" (Tuesday-Sundays)
"The Emergence" was a "psychedelic tapestry" performed by the Los Angeles Repertory Troupe Company Theatre, presented by Mel Goldblatt. I am refraining from doing any research on the musicals, as it is outside of the scope of even my rather sprawling blogs. 


There does seem to have been a poster, I don't know how widely it circulated.  

July 26, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Cat Mother/Mike Finnegan/Running Easy/Fire And Ice (Monday)
Running Easy and Fire And Ice are unknown to me. [update via JGMF 20241116]


SF Examiner August 3, 1971

August 1-September 1, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: "Tommy" The Musical (Tuesdays-Saturdays)
After "Emergence," Friends And Relations booked a version of The Who's "Tommy" rock opera. I believe this had been San Francisco college production (at Lone Mountain College), that was successful enough to move.  This event may have started as early as July 29, and was called "The Electric Simulsence Theater."


September 3-5, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Sun Ra and his Planet Earth Solar Infinity Arkestra/South Africa's Ndiko Xaba and the Natives/Ghana's Kwazi Badu and Revue
(Friday-Sunday)
David Kramer-Smyth found this listing in the Examiner. Anything with Sun Ra was unforgettable. [updated via DKS 2024117]

September 10-12, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Youngbloods/Jeffrey Cain/High Country (Friday-Sunday)
The Youngbloods returned to headline a weekend at Friends And Relations. The "Tommy" production seems to have been on hiatus. It's worth noting that Fillmore West was closed by this time, so there wasn't a mid-size venue for bands like The Youngbloods. Label mate Jeffrey Cain was listed in the Examiner as having a "new three-man group," so he would have had more of a rock sound.

High Country, who also had an album on Raccoon, were led by Berkeley mandolinist Butch Waller. Waller went way back to the early 60s in the Berkeley bluegrass scene, and was old pals with the likes of David Nelson and Jerry Garcia.


September 17-18, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco CA: Stoneground/New Riders of The Purple Sage (Friday-Saturday)
The New Riders of The Purple Sage and Stoneground co-hosted on this weekend. It would be interesting to know who financed this concert, and who came on last. The New Riders debut album (NRPS) would have just been released on Columbia. Pianist Cory Lerios had probably just joined Stoneground, replacing Englishman Pete Sears.

There is a poster for this show, albeit not a particularly exceptional one, perhaps the only stand-alone poster for a Friends And Relations concert. Events involving the Grateful Dead often had their own posters, even though Jerry Garcia's name appears nowhere on it (no doubt at Jerry's insistence). The poster has no information about who is promoting the concert, which itself is peculiar.


The cover of Jefferson Airplane's 1971 lp Bark, on their own Grunt Record label (the imprint was distributed by RCA)

September 25, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Black Kangaroo/One/Ace Of Cups/Jack Bonus/Grootna (Saturday) Grunt Records Party
Jefferson Airplane had been the first really big rock band to come out of the San Francisco scene. Since their initial breakout, other local bands like Sly And The Family Stone, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Santana had come along, selling more records and having a wider cultural reach. Nonetheless, the Airplane had special status by virtue of being first. In 1971, RCA Records had renewed the Airplane's record deal by giving the band its own label. In record company lingo, Grunt Records was an "Imprint," financed, manufactured and distributed by RCA, but with creative decisions made by the Airplane members. Of course, the band immediately signed all their friends, some of who were talented and some not so much.

On September 7, 1971, Grunt Records had its first release. Bark was the new Jefferson Airplane album. It wasn't that good an album, in fact, but the Airplane were local heroes. A few weeks later, the Airplane decided to have a party to celebrate, and invited 1000 friends or so to Friends And Relations Hall.  The Examiner's Phil Elwood reported on the huge party that the Airplane had to celebrate their new album and their new label. Jefferson Airplane headlined the show, but came on very late and were not in terrific performing shape (ahem).  

Opening the show were a few bands who would release albums on Grunt. Black Kangaroo featured guitarist Peter Kaukonen, Jorma's brother. Grootna was associated with Marty Balin, who had left the band but was still part of the record company. Ace Of Cups were a long-standing San Francisco band, friends with the Airplane, who unfortunately never got to record anything for Grunt. "One" featured a Bolinas neighbor of Paul Kantner's, who used the stage name of Reality D. Blipcrotch. I have no reports on his (or their) performance. "One" did release an album on Grunt.

September 28-November 7, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: "Tommy" The Musical (Tuesday-Saturdays)
"Tommy" returned, suggesting that it was the only theatrical production that succeeded at Friends And Relations.


October 24, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Earl Scruggs Family Revue/Doctor Music/Catharsis (Sunday)
Since Tommy wasn't playing on Sunday, bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs could slip in a tour date. [update via DKS 20241117]

November 26, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Country Joe McDonald/Gold/Ice/Homespun (Friday)
This stray concert was probably produced by Country Joe's management. Joe was still a solo act, so this was probably a low-risk proposition. Gold was associated with Joe McDonald, too. Homespun is unknown to me.

December 11-12, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: KPFA Crafts Fair (Saturday-Sunday)
Some bands may have played at this daytime fair.  Clearly Friends And Relations was just a hall for rent at this point. 

December 23, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Yogi Phlegm/Copperhead with John Cipollina/Selah with Walter Hawkins/Nick Gravenites/Terry Dolan/Merl Saunders (Thursday) A Christmas Celebration
Yogi Phlegm was the current name for the Sons of Champlin. It never caught on. John Cipollina had left Quicksilver and formed the new group Copperhead with Jim Murray, Jim McPherson and others. They would later sign with Columbia. Walter Hawkins was a local gospel singer. Nick Gravenites had produced most of the people on the bill. Terry Dolan would later work with Cipollina and the Copperhead crowd. Merl Saunders had been around the Bay Area scene for years, but had only recently hooked up with Gravenites, John Kahn and Jerry Garcia, and was playing more rock gigs. [updated via DKS 20241117]


December 31, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Big Brother and The Holding Company/Stoneground/Sopwith Camel (Friday) Quicksilver Presents
Quicksilver Messenger Service, legendary though they were, were no longer at the pinnacle of the San Francisco rock scene. Their second album, Happy Trails, released in March 1969 had received huge FM airplay when the band barely existed and wasn't performing. Quicksilver had returned in 1970, with the classic quartet augmented by Rolling Stones' pianist Nicky Hopkins and singer Dino Valenti. In August '70, they had released Just For Love, which included the popular track "Fresh Air." While Quicksilver could soar live, Valenti's vocals were an acquired taste, and many Quick fans never acquired it.


By the end of 1970, Hopkins and lead guitarist John Cipollina had left the band, leaving it in the hands of Valenti and guitarist Gary Duncan. Quicksilver had a new album in December 1970, What About Me, and the title track got some good FM airplay. But fans saw the band as a Valenti vehicle, and that didn't inspire confidence. Quicksilver began a long, slow decline, even though they would not give up touring until 1977. In November 1971, Quicksilver had released a pretty weak (self-titled) album, and were just a shadow of their former power.

Quicksilver manager Ron Polte was always very entrepreneurial, however, so it's no surprise that Quicksilver put on its own event. Old pals Big Brother were on the bill, but they too were no longer at their apex, with only Sam Andrews carrying the flag.

January 22, 1972 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Doc Watson (Saturday) Presented by Mel Goldblatt
Guitarist Doc Watson's prominence dated back to the "Folk Revival" days of the early 60s, so his audience was a little older than that of most rock bands. Of course, that basically meant his fans were in their late 20s, rather than a decade younger. Producer Mel Goldblatt--who had used Friends And Relations for the Emergence show (see July 7-25 above)--promoted Doc in San Francisco and Palo Alto. Doc probably drew pretty good crowds at both places. 

The February 6, 1972 Sunday column by the Chronicle's John L Wasserman revealed that the Friends And Relation Hall was now "defunct." It would be replaced by The Friends And Relation Theater. The  significant detail he revealed was that the "venue" was a 900-seat theater. This was implicitly different from the open floor dance hall that it had been.


SF Examiner March 28, 1972


March 22-June 30, 1972 Friends And Relations Theater, San Francisco, CA: "Robin" A Musical
(Wednesdays, Fridays-Sundays)
Robin was a "Pop Opera," and a "Multi-Media Musical," produced by one Bob Walter.  It had run at Stanford for five weeks the previous year, and had originated as a student production. Per the Examiner, they had plans to take it to New York.

Via JerryGarciasBrokendownPalaces, a 1972 Tom Gray photo of Friends And Relations Theater from March 1972

From this point on, 660 Great Highway was usually referred to as Friends And Relations Theater. 

May 27, 1972 Friends And Relations Theater, San Francisco, CA: Alan Watts/Malachi  (Saturday)
Given that there was a Saturday event at Friends And Relations, I have to assume "Robin" wasn't a big hit.

Malachi (born John Morgan Newbern, in Baltimore), was a Buddhist guitarist. He had put out the album Holy Music on Verve in 1966. Malachi (1944-2020) lived in Santa Rosa, and had a full life as a musician and luthier.

English-born Alan Watts (1915-73) was a well-known popularizer of Zen teachings, and was well-known from KPFA radio in Berkeley and numerous books. Watts and Malachi had also appeared together at the Family Dog on The Great Highway, on October 18, 1969.

July 26, 1972 Friends And Relations Theater, San Francisco, CA: Osceola (Tuesday) [updated via JGMF 2024116]

July 14-August 5, 1972 Friends And Relations Theater, San Francisco, CA: "Even Adam" (Tuesday-Sunday)
"Even Adam" was a new play by Roger Swearingen, based on the Garden Of Eden myth. 

August 25-27, 1972 Friends And Relations Theater, San Francisco, CA: Wolfgang and Strauss and an electric orchestra (Friday-Sunday)
Your guess is as good as mine. [updated via JGMF 20241116]

SF Examiner Aug 28 1972


September 1-2, 1972 Friends And Relations Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Stoneground/Sylvester and His Hot Band/Cat Mother (Friday-Saturday) "Farewell To Friends And Relations"
Playland-At-The-Beach closed on Monday, September 4, 1972. It was mourned by some generations of San Franciscans, but everyone admitted that it's time was long past. As part of the farewell, there was some final concerts at Friends And Relations, called a "Ballroom" at the very end.

Sylvester was a rising soul singer, singular because he wore women's clothing on stage. He mostly played gay bars, but he was an excellent mainstream soul singer. He would later go on to some success in the later 70s.

September 9-10, 1972 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Blue Bear School Of Music Orchestra and Chorus (Saturday-Sunday)
Although Playland had closed after Labor Day, there was one final event at Friends And Relations (this was possible since the entrance was different). The Blue Bear School Of Music would become famous in later years for teaching people to play rock music, long before "School Of Rock" became commonplace. One of the principal instructors in Blue Bears later rock classes was singer Bonnie Hayes. Her younger brother Chris was also a guitar instructor in the later 70s. Chris Hayes would go on to become a genuine rock star himself, as a founding and permanent member of Huey Lewis And The News.

SF Examiner September 10, 1972
By the end of September 1972, all of Playland-At-The_Beach was torn down. The former Edgewater Ballroom, later the Family Dog on The Great Highway, and later Friends And Relations Hall, was torn down with it. Now, it seems like a great idea to have a jam-band palace by the ocean, sponsored by marijuana entrepreneurs. Aging hippies and tech bros would have forked over $100 without thinking to see whoever was still around. But the Edgewater was gone, replaced by apartments, and the dream of electric music at the Edge Of The Western World was just a distant memory.


Friday, July 19, 2024

2504 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA: The Long Branch Performance History October-December 1973 (Long Branch III)




The Long Branch, 2504 San Pablo in Berkeley, some time in the 1970s

By the end of 1973, live rock music was booming, and as rock audiences aged, rock nightclubs became more viable. Once rock fans were of drinking age, spending too much time in a large, dark cavern with thousands or tens of thousands people didn't seem as rockin' as relaxing with a cold drink in a place where you could actually see the stage. If you were on a date, or hoping to meet someone, the attraction of a rock club was even more pronounced. If two people liked the same band, or the same kind of music, you were both halfway there to getting together.  Rock nightclubs started to thrive in almost every big city and near every college campus. Berkeley was no exception. 

The Long Branch, at 2504 San Pablo Avenue (at Dwight), had opened in May 1971. The venue had been a music club going back to 1962. As the Cabale Creamery, it had been Berkeley's essential stop for traveling folk musicians. It was at the Cabale where Jerry Garcia saw the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, and the Cabale was a regular date for Clarence White and the Kentucky Colonels, too. Later, in early 1966, as the Questing Beast, 2504 San Pablo was the place where Country Joe McDonald and Barry Melton first plugged in to amplifiers as Country Joe & The Fish. Later still, it became Tito's (1967-68) and then Babylon (1969-70). In 1971, former Avalon Ballroom staffer Malcolm Williams took over the venue, doubled the capacity to 350 and re-opened it as the Long Branch Saloon. I wrote a post about the club's first seven months in 1971, and then another post about acts playing the first half of 1972. By the end of 1973, the Long Branch was well-established on the Berkeley rock scene, booking bands six or seven nights a week. 

Now, in the East Bay, the top rock night club was the Keystone Berkeley, right next to the University of California campus. The Keystone was right in downtown Berkeley at 2119 University Avenue (at Shattuck Avenue). On weekends, the Keystone booked popular local acts like Jerry Garcia, Elvin Bishop and Tower Of Power, and touring acts as well, plu some smaller acts on weeknights. Keystone drew crowds from all over Berkeley and Oakland, and even Marin and San Francisco. Parking wasn't difficult in downtown Berkeley--amazing as that may seem today--so the club attracted a wide audience. 

The Long Branch, meanwhile, was 2 miles West and South of campus. The Branch drew mostly from the neighborhoods near the club, and it was as much a hangout as a destination. We have a good picture of what was happening at the club then because former Long Branch publicist Lydia Frazier Bosley was kind enough to send scans of long lost flyers. Frazier herself made the flyers for the Long Branch, and helped distribute them around the East Bay. With these, we can get a great look at who played the club in 1973 and '74, and how that defined the economics of the scene at the time

Since the same bands played the Long Branch over and over--that was the whole point--I am just focusing on the last three months of 1973, to avoid needless repetition. Anyone with additional information, insights, corrections and real or imagined memories, please include them in the Comments. Flashbacks encouraged. 


Scan of the back of a Long Branch flyer, October 1973

The Long Branch was a hangout, but a hangout that booked rock bands and wanted its patrons to dance. But it mainly wanted them to hang out. Admission was cheap, and often free, and beer was often cheap, too. The goal was to get the locals to come early and stay late. They would likely meet people who lived nearby, and make friends, and maybe dance and perhaps even get married. The back of one of the flyers (above) explains the attractions of the Long Branch:

Howdy...we'd like to turn you on to the LONG BRANCH Saloon, Berkeley's Hot Nite Spot famed for it's FINE ROCK & ROLL and Good Vibes

The Club opens at 8pm Tues-Sun, and if you come before 9 pm, the admission is half-price. Also on Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sun, BEER will cost 10c a glass between 8 and 9pm.

Since our fuss ball games are so popular we have plans to expand and add some new games like POOL, PONG & AIR HOCKEY.

Meanwhile, as always we'll entice you onto the DANCE floor with some to the hottest young bands around. Really the MUSIC is outstanding, terrific and wonderful.

The LONG BRANCH is a great place to hang out, meet friends, get high and treat yourself to PRIMO ROCK & ROLL. Come on down and check it out.

THE LONG BRANCH call us to find out what's happening
2504 SAN PABLO at DWIGHT 848-9696

The doors usually opened at 8:00pm at the Long Branch, but the Examiner and other papers reported the bands as starting at 9:30. That meant a lot of people were there only to hang out. Since many nights were free admission, or close to it, the band wasn't necessarily the main attraction for every patron.

The Long Branch had a very different approach to booking than other contemporary Bay Area rock clubs. Clubs like the Keystone Berkeley typically had the most popular local acts once a month, a lot of touring bands coming through, and filled in the other dates with more local bands. The Long Branch, however, pretty much had the same bands every week. There were three "house bands" that played almost every week (Earth Quake, The Rockets and Grayson Street), and new bands added to the mix would play the same night for an entire month. As far as I know, the regular Long Branch bands all had large repertoires, typically including a lot of cover versions, so their fans didn't hear the same set every week.

October, 1973 flyer for The Long Branch, 2504 San Pablo Avenue (designed by and courtesy of Lydia Frazier Bosley). Note that there is no Area Code for the phone number, because Berkeley, San Francisco and the entire Bay Area North of San Jose used the 415 Area Code.

October 1, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: The Rockets (Sunday)
The Rockets had been playing the Long Branch since January 1972, and mostly just played the club. Lead singer Eddie Mahoney was a transplanted NYPD cop trainee. Guitarist Dan Alexander, bassist Chris Sohlberg and drummer John Cuniberti were all from Berkeley. All of the Rockets went on to some success in the music industry. Cuniberti and Alexander were successful on the production side, Sohlberg played with many artists, and Mahoney went on to huge success as Eddie Money ("Two Tickets To Paradise," "Baby, Hold On To Me").

October 3, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Audition Night (Wednesday)
The calendar says "surprise night," but Wednesdays was the night to give new bands a chance to play. The Long Branch wasn't high on the Bay Area rock food chain, and many bands got their first break at the Branch. Keep in mind that it was all but impossible for penniless new bands to make a listenable tape, even of a live performance, and they generally had to lug their gear to a club and actually play a set in order to get heard by a club owner.


October 4, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Alice Stuart & Snake (Thursday)
October 5, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Clover
(Friday)
Asleep At The Wheel was a hippie Western Swing band from the DC area, based in Paw Paw, WV. In Fall 1971, they had opened in West Virginia for Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, perhaps the only band remotely like them, and the Cody crew encouraged them to move to Berkeley. On October 8 & 9, 1971, Asleep At The Wheel had opened for Cody and the Airmen at the Long Branch. By December 10, 1971, they were headlining the Branch. Asleep At The Wheel had played relentlessly throughout the Bay Area ever since, building a crowd in all the clubs around.

By 1973, Asleep At The Wheel had released their first album, Comin' Right At Ya (on United Artists). The Wheel was managed by Joe Kerr, who also managed Cody and the New Riders of The Purple Sage, giving him a big chunk of the San Francisco country-rock sound.

Alice Stuart and Snake's Believing album (Fantasy Records 1972)

Alice Stuart was a blues guitarist and singer, originally from Seattle, who had moved to the Bay Area in 1964. Initially a solo, she had "gone electric" around 1970, and formed her trio Alice Stuart & Snake. Drummer Bob Jones (ex-We Five, ex-Mike Bloomfield, ex-Southern Comfort) shared vocals with Stuart, and bassist Karl Sevareid completed the band. In 1972, Fantasy had released the Believing album. Fantasy released a single in 1973 (with tracks from the album), and Snake stayed together until at least 1974, but the band was never able to get much traction. Nonetheless, Stuart continued a successful solo career well into the 21st century. 

Joe Kerr's business card when he managed Clover, ca 1973

Clover had been founded in Mill Valley in 1969, an outgrowth of the band Tiny Hearing Aid Company. As a quartet, Clover had released two albums on Fantasy in 1970 and '71. Fantasy had dropped them, but the band had since added two additional members. By this time, Clover had Alex Call as the main lead singer, Huey (Cregg) Louis on vocals and harmonica, John McFee on lead and pedal steel guitar, Sean Hopper on keyboards, John Ciambotti on bass and Mickey Shine on drums. Joe Kerr also managed Clover.

Why Don't You Try Me, Earth Quake's second album on A&M Records, released in 1972


October 6, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake
(Saturday)
Earth Quake, from Berkeley, were the ultimate Long Branch band. The band had played the opening night of the Long Branch on May 28, 1971. Originally, they had been a Berkeley High band called Purple Earthquake. The members of Earth Quake had met Long Branch proprietor Malcolm Williams back in the 1960s, when he had been promoting shows at Maple Hall in nearby San Pablo. By 1971, they had been a quartet, with Robbie Dunbar on lead guitar, lead vocalist John Doukas, bassist Stan Miller and drummer Steve Nelson. Earth Quake would release their debut album on A&M Records sometime that year. Earth Quake would play the Long Branch at least every month for five years, and in many cases every Friday night.

In contrast to most Bay Area bands, who typically played longer songs in an improvised blues style, Earth Quake had been inspired by British Invasion bands like The Who and Small Faces. In 1972, A&M Records had released the second Earth Quake album, Why Don't You Try Me. The album didn't go anywhere, and A&M dropped the band. Besides their original material, however, Earth Quake had a huge trove of relatively obscure covers (like The Easybeats "Friday On My Mind"), so they were still endlessly engaging to their local fans in Berkeley. At least some of the members of Earth Quake, possibly all of them, lived in Berkeley. Earth Quake were the "house band" at the Long Branch if anyone was.


Once the band had been dropped by A&M, Earth Quake's imaginative manager Mathew "King" Kaufman had the idea that they should release their own records. Although against any kind of record business orthodoxy at the time, Kaufman created Beserkley Records, and started releasing 45 rpm singles on a shoestring. The quixotic label's first production was a single of "Mr Security," by Earth Quake, released on October 11, 1973. Unlikely as it may have seemed, and although it took a few years, Beserkley Records turned out to be hugely successful. Kaufman anticipated the punk rock/Indy label surge years before it happened elsewhere.

Grayson Street band, ca Fall 1973 (promo photo from December 23 '73 Examiner)

October 7, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street
(Sunday)
Grayson Street was named after a short street in Berkeley that ran from Aquatic Park to San Pablo Avenue, terminating four blocks south of Dwight Way and San Pablo, the site of the Long Branch. Grayson Street played the Branch just about every week from 1972 through 1975, sometimes more than once a week. They, too, were a house band.  

Grayson Street was fronted by saxophonist Terry Hanck and harmonica player Rick Kellogg, both of whom sang, and played in a funky blues style that was good for dancing. They had been formed before 1972, but their first advertised show at the Long Branch was June 24, 1972. In late '72, Grayson Street had included Berkeley High's Lenny Pickett, previously in the band Linx. By 1973, however, Pickett had joined Tower of Power. Grayson Street was full of experienced musicians. Guitarist Tim Kaihatsu and organist Clay Cotton had both played extensively with Charlie Musselwhite and other blues musicians. Kellogg had played harmonica for Elvin Bishop for a while, and Kellogg and bassist John Knight had been in Linx (with Pickett). Drummer John Otis rounded out the band.

Also in the band in Fall '73 was singer Jo Baker, who had been in The Elvin Bishop Group from 1970-73. Bishop and Baker had been a couple, having met a jam session in Boston in 1967 (Baker had been in the group Clouds, and Bishop had been with the Butterfield Blues Band). In mid-1973, Baker and Bishop had split up personally and musically. 

Grayson Street pretty much confined its performances to the East Bay, but most of the members went on to thriving musical careers. Terry Hanck would tour with Elvin Bishop for many years, Kaihatsu (1945-2014) would tour and record with Robert Cray, Clay Cotton was a popular club attraction in the Bay Area for decades and Jo Baker would join the revived Stoneground in early 1974.

October 10, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Audition Night (Wednesday) 

October 11, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubin & The Rubinoos (Thursday)
Rubin & The Rubinoos were led by singer (and rhythm guitarist) Jon Rubin, and guitarist Tommy Dunbar. Tommy was the younger brother of Earthquake's Robbie Dunbar, so it was no surprise they were getting a chance at the Branch.  The Rubinoos played short, poppy rock songs with hooks and harmonies, completely at odds with any other Berkeley bands at that time. 

The Modern Lovers album Live At The Long Branch, released in 1998, and recorded at the Branch on April 21, 1972. The Modern Lovers were in California attempting to record an album for Warners.

October 12, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/The Modern Lovers
(Friday)
The Modern Lovers were from Boston, and their sound was modeled on the Velvet Underground. They had been signed by Warner Brothers, and in early '72 the label had flown them out to Los Angeles to record demos with John Cale. Thus the Modern Lovers had played a show at the Long Branch on April 21, 1972, opening for Earth Quake, one of their few shows outside of the Boston area (a recording of the show was released in 1998). The Modern Lovers at this time were a quartet, with songwriter Jonathan Richman on guitar and vocals, future Talking Head Jerry Harrison on organ, Ernie Brooks on bass and drummer Dave Robinson (later in The Cars).

Richman became well-known for his lively, innocent acoustic sound, but this version of the Modern Lovers was dark and loud. Warner Brothers had flown the band back out to LA in 1973 to record more demos (which were later released), but the Modern Lovers never managed to complete an album for the label. Ultimately Richman would achieve international success after he moved to Berkeley and recorded for Beserkely Records, the label started by Earth Quake's manager.

October 13, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: The Rockets/The Modern Lovers (Saturday)
On Saturday night, the Modern Lovers opened for The Rockets. Jonathan Richman opening for Eddie Money--that didn't happen again. Must have been a memorably bizarre evening.

October 14, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

October 16, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubin & The Rubinoos (Tuesday)

October 17, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Audition Night (Wednesday) 

October 18, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Off The Wall (Thursday)
Off The Wall are unknown to me. 

Good N Cheap, Eggs Over Easy (A&M, 1972)

October 19, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Alice Stuart & Snake/Eggs Over Easy
(Friday)
Opening act Eggs Over Easy featured three New Yorkers, two of whom (guitarist Jack O'Hara and pianist Austin De Lone) had met in Berkeley in 1970. They had released one album for A&M in 1972, Good N' Cheap. Most people had not (nor have not) heard the album. Nonetheless, Eggs Over Easy played a significant role in the history of English rock, and not by coincidence, and their Wikipedia entry is well-deserved.

DeLone and O'Hara had returned to New York in 1970, where they met Brien Hopkins and formed Eggs Over Easy as a no-drummer trio (all three played various instruments). Their manager had English connections, so when the band was signed they went to record at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London. Recording was completed by January 1971. There were management issues, however, and they were advised to stay in London while it got sorted. Eggs Over Easy played a few college gigs (with ex-Animal John Steel on drums). The trio took a house in Kentish Town, in North London, near a large pub called The Tally Ho.

The Tally-Ho had a "jazz-only" policy for performers, a common restriction of London Pubs at the time. Eggs Over Easy, used to playing in bars in the States, persuaded the Tally Ho to let them perform. They debuted at the Tally Ho in May 1971 (with Steel on drums), and started to draw large crowds. Ultimately they were playing three nights and Sunday afternoon at the Tally Ho, and drawing huge crowds. Nick Lowe and other members of his band (Brinsley Schwarz) regularly joined them on stage. Eggs Over Easy single-handedly invented "Pub Rock," and a wave of groups like Brinsley Schwarz followed them throughout England. Eggs Over Easy became a sort of underground sensation, but the band played their last show in England on November 7, 1971

Ultimately Eggs Over Easy's album recorded in London was never released, and the band returned to the States. Their debut A&M album included new recordings of what they had done in England. In 1973, they returned to the Bay Area, and Eggs Over Easy toured the US with major bands (like The Yes and The Eagles), but never got traction. The band struggled on until 1981, but despite their legendary status they never got any honor in their own country.

October 20, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Rubinoos (Saturday)
Rubin & The Rubinoos would shorten their name to just The Rubinoos by the end of the year.

October 21, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

October 23, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubin & The Rubinoos (Tuesday)

October 24, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Audition Night (Wednesday) 

October 25, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Swan (Thursday)
Swan are unknown to me.  

October 26, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Perry And The Pumpers (Friday)
Perry And The Pumpers was a blues band led by harmonica player Perry Welsh. They often backed up touring blues musicians. Welsh was from Cedar Rapids, IA, and had moved to San Francisco in 1967. He was friendly with another Iowa transplant, organist Stephen Miller. Miller had been in the band Linn County in the 60s, and his organ anchored the Elvin Bishop Group from 1970-73. Welsh recorded with Bishop and Miller on two Bishop Group albums (1970's Feel It and 1972's Rock My Soul).

Bishop sat in with Perry And The Pumpers on occasion. As far as I know, some members of Perry And The Pumpers ended up in the 1974 edition of the Elvin Bishop Group, including guitarist Johnny Vernazza, pianist Phil Aaberg and bassist Fly Brooks, while Welsh and Stephen Miller returned to Iowa.

October 27, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Dave Brown Resurrection/Big Art and The Trashmasters (Saturday)
Both Dave Brown Resurrection and Big Art and The Trashmasters are unknown to me. There was a local musician (a bass player and producer) named Dave Brown, but I don't know if this was his band. From peripheral evidence I think The Trashmasters were a sort of Long Branch All-Stars group from other "house" bands. "Big Art's" was also the name of a Berkeley club in the basement of LaVal's Pizza (near Hearst & Euclid, on Northside).

October 28, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

October 30, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubin & The Rubinoos (Tuesday)

October 31, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Rockets (Wednesday) 3rd Annual Hootchie Kootchie Ball
Halloween was always a Big Deal in Berkeley, so it's no surprise that two of the house bands played it.
November 1973 flyer for The Long Branch at 2504 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley (flyer designed by and courtesy of Lydia Frazier Bosley)

November 1, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Chains (Thursday) free
Chains are unknown to me. 

November 2, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Friday)


November 3, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Copperhead/Earth Quake
(Saturday)
Copperhead had been formed in late 1971 by ex-Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina. They had gone through a number of personnel changes, but by mid-1972 the lineup had stabilized. Cippolina was joined by pianist and singer Jim McPherson (ex-Stained Glass), who was the principal songwriter, guitarist Gary Phillipet, bassist Hutch Hutchinson and drummer David Weber. The band had a harder sound than Quicksilver, with more of an R&B feel. Columbia records signed the band, and they had released their debut album in Spring 1973. Copperhead played all the Bay Area clubs, but they had not yet toured Nationally.

Unfortunately, Clive Davis was pushed out as CEO of Columbia Records in the Summer of 1973. Many of the Bay Area bands signed by Clive, including Copperhead (as well as the Sons Of Champlin, the Rowan Brothers and David Rea) were dumped by the label. Copperhead had a local following in the clubs, but their album was left high and dry. They would break up by the end of the year.

November 4, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

November 5, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets (Monday) free
The fact that the flyer lists some weeknight shows as free is an indicator that the principal weeknight business of the Long Branch was selling beer to the locals. 

November 6, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubin & The Rubinoos (Tuesday)

November 7, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Swan (Wednesday)

November 8, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Chains (Thursday) free

The Tubes at Winterland ca 1974, with Fee Waybill as Quay Lewd, probably singing "White Punks On Dope"

November 9-10, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: The Tubes/Spotlight (Friday-Saturday)
The Tubes had only formed around March, 1972. Most of the band members were from Phoenix, AZ. Initially, guitarist Bill Spooner, keyboard player Vince Welnick and bassist Rick Andersen had been in a popular Phoenix band called The Beans. The Beans had moved to San Francisco in Fall 1970. They had played numerous local gigs, but hadn't really made much headway. After some band members left the Beans, it had turned out that another popular Phoenix band had lost some members, so guitarist Roger Steen and drummer Prairie Prince had relocated to San Francisco to join The Beans. Their roadie John "Fiji" Waldo was added as lead singer, and The Tubes were born.

The Tubes played a sort of progressive rock rather than modified blues. They also had a fairly elaborate stage show, which was pretty much unheard of at the time. Initially, of course, their props were just cardboard and confetti, but they were a performing band from the beginning. The Tubes had first played the Long Branch on June 4, 1972, and periodically returned. By late '73, there was an underground buzz about them. They played a lot of gigs in gay bars, which were quite lucrative but not advertised in the mainstream press. In the early 70s, gay culture was the source of style and cool in the Bay Area, so the Tubes managed to always be right on the cutting edge of that cool. On June 1, 1973, the unknown Tubes had opened for Led Zeppelin at Kezar Stadium (fifth on the the bill), which for the wider Bay Area was the first time rock fans would even hear of them (this included me). 

Spotlight is unknown to me.

November 11, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

November 13, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubin & The Rubinoos/Above & Beyond (Tuesday)
Above & Beyond are unknown to me. 

November 14, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Swan (Wednesday)

November 15, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Chains (Thursday) free

November 16-17, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Sutro Sympathy Orchestra/Enola Faye Moss [16 only] (Friday-Saturday)
Sutro Sympathy Orchestra were from Reno, although they played regularly in the San Francisco area. Singer Lynne Hughes had been in The Charlatans back in the 1960s.

Enola Faye Moss is unknown to me.

November 18, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

November 19, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets (Monday) free
Even The Rockets, a house band, played for free on a Monday night. 

November 20, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubin & The Rubinoos (Tuesday)

November 21, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Swan (Wednesday)
Closed for Thanksgiving Thursday (22).

November 23, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets (Friday)

November 24, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Saturday)

November 25, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

November 27, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubin & The Rubinoos/Above & Beyond (Tuesday)

November 28, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Swan (Wednesday)

November 29, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Chains (Thursday) free

November 30, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake (Friday)


December 1973 flyer for The Long Branch at 2504 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley (flyer designed by and courtesy of Lydia Frazier Bosley)
December 1, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets (Saturday)
We are missing listings for December 2 and 3 (Sunday and Monday), but it's reasonable to assume that some of the usual suspects played. 

December 5, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Swan (Wednesday)

December 6, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Chains (Thursday) 

December 7, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Topkela (Friday)
December 8, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Alice Stuart & Snake
(Saturday)
Topkela is unknown to me. 

December 9, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday) 

December 10, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Titans/Rockets/Country Thunder (Monday) Legal Aid Benefit
It's easy to make fun of Berkeley--I for one never tire of it--but there's no question that things happen in Berkeley long before they happen elsewhere (for example, Berkeley's Freight And Salvage club banned smoking in 1968, and the city of Berkeley would ban smoking in restaurants around 1977). As a result of its forward-looking nature, some things catch on in Berkeley that never catch on elsewhere. One such trend was "white reggae," hippie bands that played sped-up reggae for dancing. They were very popular in 1970s Berkeley, and pretty much nowhere else. The Titans, formerly Knee Deep, were the first such band. Titans would evolve into The Shakers, and became Long Branch regulars a few years later, even releasing an album, but they too are forgotten. 

Country Thunder are unknown to me.

December 12, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Swan (Wednesday)

December 13, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Chains (Thursday)  

December 14-15, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake (Friday-Saturday)

December 16, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets (Sunday)

December 17, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets (Monday)

December 19, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubinoos (Wednesday)

December 20, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets (Thursday)

December 21, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets/Grayson Street (Friday)

Country Casanova, the third Paramount Records album by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. George "Cody" Frayne leans on a Lincoln.

December 22, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Asleep At The Wheel
(Saturday)
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen and Asleep At The Wheel could both pack the Long Branch on a weekend, and had done so many times. There would have been no reason to book both of them, so the bands must have wanted to do it. Since the bands were good friends and shared management, it wouldn't have been hard to arrange.

Cody and The Airmen had been playing the Long Branch since before their first album was released, and indeed at least one track on their immortal debut Lost In The Ozone had been recorded there (either "What's The Matter Now" or "20 Flight Rock"). The band's third Paramount Records' album, Country Casanova, had been released in May 1973. In November, the Airmen had recorded their next album (Live From Deep In The Heart Of Texas) at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, TX (it would be released in March, 1974). 

Asleep At The Wheel, meanwhile, had decided to move to Austin, as it was their spiritual home. Since the band moved to Texas in early 1974, it's possible that this show was a celebration and fare-thee-well for the Wheel's departure.

December 23, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

December 26, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rubinoos (Wednesday) 

December 27, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Chains (Thursday) 

December 28, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Rubinoos (Friday)

December 29, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Saturday)  

December 30, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street (Sunday)

December 31, 1973 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Rockets (Monday)

Beserkeley Chartbusters, Vol 1, released by Beserkeley Records in July 1975, was put together by Earth Quake's management. It featured songs by Earth Quake, Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman and The Rubinoos, all of whom had played the Long Branch many times.

Outcomes Assessment: Long Branch Bands

Berkeley's Long Branch was essentially a neighborhood club, booking bands every week for regular patrons who lived nearby. Yet rock music was booming in the Bay Area, so many of the aspiring bands who played the Branch ended up leaving a much larger mark than you might think for a 350-capacity beer joint in West Berkeley.

Bill Graham signed Eddie Money to a management contract in 1975. His 1977 debut album on Columbia included "Two Tickets To Paradise" and "Baby Hold On," and sold millions

The Rockets broke up in early 1974. All of them thrived. Lead singer Eddie Mahoney debuted the Eddie Money Band in June 1974, and they played the Long Branch regularly too. In early 1975, Money was signed by Bill Graham's management team. Ultimately Money would be hugely successful, selling millions of records on the back of giant hits like "Two Tickets To Paradise" and "Baby Hold On To Me."

Drummer John Cuniberti has been a successful producer, particularly with "New Wave" bands. Guitarist Dan Alexander is well-regarded in production and audio circles, and bassist Chris Sohlberg played with Santana and many other artists.

In 2021, Ray Benson and Asleep At The Wheel released Half A Hundred Years, on Home Records

Asleep At The Wheel
moved to Austin in early 1974. They are still together, still touring and established legends. Pretty good for a band from Paw Paw, WV.

Love On The Wire, Clover's 4th and last album, and their 2nd on Mercury Records, was released in late 1977. It's a very good album, even if almost no one has heard it.

Clover
struggled on until 1977. They were "discovered" in 1976 by producer Nick Lowe, who had loved the first two Fantasy albums and had no idea they hadn't broken up. Lowe facilitated two excellent Clover albums recorded in England in 1976 and '77, but the band never caught on. The Lowe association, however, was how members of Clover ended up backing Elvis Costello on his debut album My Aim Is True.

After Clover, broke up, Huey Lewis and pianist Sean Hopper teamed up with members of Soundhole and became hugely successful as Huey Lewis & The News. Guitarist John McFee, meanwhile, joined the Doobie Brothers (they were still touring in 2023), and singer Alex Call wrote some hit singles.

8.5, by Earth Quake, released by Beserkeley in 1976

Earth Quake had been dropped by A&M, but their manager Mathew "King" Kaufman started the Beserkley Records label. Besides releasing Earth Quake and Rubinoos albums, the label had big hits with Jonathan Richman and Greg Kihn. Earth Quake broke up in the early 80s, ultimately releasing 5 albums.

Grayson Street never recorded, but many members of the band moved on to bigger groups. Tenor saxophonist Lenny Pickett still leads the Saturday Night Live Band. Founder Terry Hanck joined Elvin Bishop and toured with him in the late 70s for many years.

Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, released by Beserkeley in 1976

Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers released albums on Beserkley Records, starting in 1976. "Egyptian Reggae" became a hit,  and songs like "Road Runner" and "Abominable Snowman In The Market" are underground classics.

Tubes lead singer Fee Waybill, at Winterland ca 1974, as Dr. Strangelove, singing Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" (a regular showstopper for the band--you had to have seen it, just trust me...)

The Tubes released their first album in 1975, and it was a huge sensation. Their stage show, with every song its own self-contained "music video'--six years before MTV--was inspired and unforgettable. They toured America and the UK to well-deserved acclaim, and they had popular radio hits as well. The economics were unworkable, however, and the financial woes of the band eventually ground them to a halt. Keyboard player Vince Welnick joined the Grateful Dead in 1990. Versions of The Tubes have continued to perform intermittently over the decades. 

Appendix: Long Branch Performers, January-July 1974
Lydia Frazier Bosley was kind enough to send some additional flyers, and for historical value I have included them below. Since the Long Branch had a repetitive booking strategy, I didn't write out each booking. I did note when there was a band that had not appeared at the Long Branch before.



January 1974 flyer for The Long Branch at 2504 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley (flyer designed by and courtesy of Lydia Frazier Bosley)

January 15, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Naomi Ruth Eisenberg (Tuesday)
Asleep At The Wheel had supposedly moved to Austin by this time, but they toured so much that they regularly appeared in Bay Area clubs anyway. 

Naomi Ruth Eisenberg had been in various local ensembles, but she was best-known for having been one of the original "Hot Licks" with Dan Hicks. She sang and played fiddle, and was also a singer-songwriter. 

Terry Dolan and Terry and The Pirates finally released a 1979 album of live performances, with an All-Star cast (including John Cipollina, Greg Douglass, Lonnie Turner, Nicky Hopkins and Grateful Dead engineer Dan Healy as producer)

January 18-19, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Terry and The Pirates
(Friday-Saturday)
Copperhead finally disintegrated by the end of 1973, so John Cipollina promptly hooked up with numerous local ensembles. One such band was Terry And The Pirates, led by singer/songwriter Terry Dolan. Dolan had moved from the Washington, DC area in 1969 and had been playing around the Bay Area ever since. Terry And The Pirates was a somewhat casual ensemble that played Dolan's songs. Cipollina was the only regular "member," with a rotating cast depending on who was available. Typical members included guitarist Gregg Douglass (ex-Country Weather, future Steve Miller Band) and the old Copperhead rhythm section (Hutchinson and Weber).

Dolan's songs were pretty good, but not really great. Terry And The Pirates were popular locally, and his demos got some airplay on FM, but he never really got over the top.

January 20, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Valley Boys (Sunday)
The Valley Boys were a country rock band, possibly from Fresno, who regularly played Bay Area clubs.  

I Gotta Be Me, Gideon & Power's 1972 album on Bell (recorded in 1971 at Keystone Korner in San Francisco with members of the Elvin Bishop Group)

January 25-26, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Gideon & Power/Grayson Street
[25]/Frank Biner and The Nightshift [26] (Friday-Saturday)
Gideon Daniels was a powerful singer with a gospel background, and the band Gideon & Power played in a sort of gospel-rock style. Gideon & Power recorded a 1971 album live at the Keystone Korner, supported by some players from the Elvin Bishop Group. Since Gideon Daniels had been Elvin Bishop's housemate at one point, it's not surprising to find out that various members came and went through Gideon & Power over the years, and the band was somewhat of a farm team for Bishop. Singer Mickey Thomas and organist Melvin Seals had successful shifts with Gideon and then Elvin, too (Seals of course went on to play with the Jerry Garcia Band for 15 years).

Frank Biner was a popular local soul singer. Over the course of the 70s, Tower Of Power recorded a few of his songs, and he put out a few albums as a bandleader, but back in '74 Biner was just another guy working the clubs. Biner, with his band Nightshift, was a regular on weeknights at the Keystone Berkeley, but he played some gigs at the Long Branch, too. Biner was originally from Chicago, where he had recorded a few singles, but he had moved to the East Bay in the late 60s.



February 1974 flyer for The Long Branch at 2504 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley (flyer designed by and courtesy of Lydia Frazier Bosley)
February 8, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Son Of Pete (Friday)
The Friday show was reviewed by Berkeley Gazette critic Todd Tolces. It seems that Stoneground was booked to open for Malo at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Auditorium. Stoneground had a band illness, and had to cancel, so Earth Quake did the opening set, and then hustled the 2 miles down to the Long Branch to headline.

Tolces also described Son Of Pete's set, extended somewhat due to Earth Quake's delayed arrival. Son Of Pete appears to have been a reggae "Toaster," a very odd thing outside of Jamaica and some neighborhoods in New York City. Toasters dj'd reggae records for dancing over customized sound systems, playing with the stereo mix and various effects, while also singing or talking over the records. As I understand it, the "Toaster" setup, pioneered in Jamaica, was a technological building block for rap music. Nascent rappers apparently took Toaster-type setups (sound system, multiple turntables, mic) and layered different music onto it. Outside of New York (or Kingston), however, many did not recognize the configuration.

It's easy to laugh at Berkeley--and fun too--but here was a guy playing gigs as a Reggae Toaster, playing a style of music unseen outside parts of New York Metro. Tolces praised Son Of Pete particularly for having numerous cool, unheard Reggae 45s, and I assure you that Berkeley took record snobbery seriously indeed. I have seen references that suggest that Son Of Pete was Earth Quake manager (and Beserkley Records founder) Matthew Kaufman, but I can't confirm that.

February 22-23, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: The Tubes/Kid Gloves (Friday-Saturday)
Kid Gloves are unknown to me. They regularly opened for The Tubes. 

SF Examiner March 8, 1974
March 8, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/New Stoneground (Friday)
I do not have flyers for March and April 1974, but I did some research on booked bands. I am including notes on any of the groups that hadn't played in the previous several months.

Stoneground had been formed in 1970 out of various San Francisco bands, to provide a "house band" for KSAN boss Tom Donahue's Medicine Ball Caravan. The Medicine Ball Caravan was meant to be a sort of traveling Woodstock, busing freaks around the country to put on mini-Woodstocks everywhere. The Grateful Dead backed out at the last moment. A strange film was made of the peculiar trek. Stoneground was signed by Warner Brothers and recorded 3 moderately successful album. Stoneground had no less than five lead singers, and had a sort of gospel-ish feel laid on top of a typical rock band. Stoneground broke up in mid-1973.

In early 1974, Stoneground lead guitarist Tim Barnes re-formed the band, initially just as a quartet. Barnes was the only lead singer. They probably did some of Stoneground's old songs, but they would have sounded different with just one singer. Other band members were organist Fred Webb (ex-It's A Beautiful Day), bassist Terry Davis and drummer Sammy Piazza (ex-Hot Tuna). Somewhat later, Stoneground would add two lead singers, including Jo Baker, and return somewhat to their older sound, and they eventually rose to at least a similar level to what they had been in the early 70s.

SF Examiner March 21, 1974
March 21, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Jimmy Baric Group (Thursday)
The Jimmy Baric Group are unknown to me. They played the Long Branch regularly during March 1974. I suspect that it might be guitarist Jimmy Berick, later in the Epic Records band Masters Of The Airwaves.

 

SF Examiner, March 23, 1974
 

March 23, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Naomi Ruth Eisenberg/Mitch Woods and His Red Hot Mama (Saturday)
Brooklyn-born pianist Mitch Woods had been playing in the Bay Area since 1970. Woods backed singer Gracie Glassman, as Mitch Woods And His Red Hot Mama, but I'm not sure if they had a band or were a duo. In the next few years, Woods would form Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s, who had a throwback R&B sound. Woods has had a successful career ever since, and he still appears to be going strong.  

 

SF Examiner, March 30, 1974

March 30, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Valley Boys/Soundhole (Saturday)
Soundhole was a Marin band, who seemed to have debuted at the Branch on this Sunday night. By year's end, Soundhole would headline every Sunday night for a couple of months. Bay Area geography is odd, and West Berkeley was actually very near to Marin County (particularly after rush hour), so this was really a local gig for them. 

Soundhole was a rock band, but they had a sound that was influenced by jazz and soul. Kinda like Van Morrison, which is why Van Morrison--another Bay Area club regular--hired them as his backing band around 1974. Heady stuff for some guys from Marin who were still pretty new to the music scene. Soundhole was led by guitarist Brian Marnell, who would become somewhat known in the Bay Area for leading the band SVT (with Jack Casady) in the later 1970s. John Farey (later in Zero) played organ, and Brian Hogan played tenor sax.

Bassist Mario Cipollina (John's younger brother), drummer Bill Gibson and saxophonist/guitarist Johnny Colla would team up with two members of Clover (see above) to form Huey Lewis And The News, going on to fame and fortune.


May 1974 flyer for The Long Branch at 2504 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley (flyer designed by and courtesy of Lydia Frazier Bosley)

May 2, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Fluid Drive (Thursday)
Fluid Drive are unknown to me. They were regular performers at the Long Branch on Thursdays in May 1974.

The Long Branch did not advertise bands on Monday, Tuesday and Wednsday nights. I don't know if the club was closed those nights, or if they just didn't book music. 

May 10-11, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Frank Biner and The Nightshift/Lucky Strike (Friday-Saturday)
After his club debut a few months earlier, Frank Biner was now headlining weekends at The Long Branch

Lucky Strike was a blues-rock band fronted by singer and harmonica player David Burgin. They had some good success in East Bay clubs, but never climbed any higher on the ladder.

May 17, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grayson Street/Steel Band (Friday)
The Steel Band are unknown to me.  Possibly it's "a" (Caribbean) steel band.


June 1974 flyer for The Long Branch at 2504 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley (flyer designed by and courtesy of Lydia Frazier Bosley)

June 16, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Frank Biner and The Nightshift featuring The Stovall Sisters (Sunday)
Lillian, Netta and Joyce Stovall were three of 22 (!) children raised in a gospel-singing family that had moved to Oakland in the late 1950s. The trio had released a sort of gospel-soul album on Reprise in 1970 which included the hit "Hang On In There." They were also the backup singers for Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit In The Sky." I assume Biner and Nightshift backed them for a set, and also played their own set.

June 29, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Eddie Money/Lucky Strike (Saturday)
The Rockets had broken up at the end of 1973. In June 1974, Eddie Mahoney re-introduced himself as "Eddie Money," with a new band led by guitarist Jimmy Lyons. They dominated the Long Branch, just as the Rockets had done.

July 1974 flyer for The Long Branch at 2504 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley (flyer designed by and courtesy of Lydia Frazier Bosley)
July 5, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Norman Greenbaum & Crossfire/Yesterday & Today (Friday)
Norman Greenbaum was an anomaly at the Long Branch, as he was at every club he played at. Greenbaum, a guitarist and singer, had been in a 60s band that played in a sort of Lovin' Spoonful style band called Dr West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. In 1969, Greenbaum wrote a song that got him signed by Reprise, and assigned to staff producer Erik Jacobsen, former producer of the Spoonful. After a re-arrangement, Greenbaum's gospel-folk "Spirit In The Sky" sold millions of copies and went #1 all over the world. It is still heard regularly today on soundtracks on commercials.

He did release a second album, which included a minor hit "Canned Ham."Greenbaum lived quietly on his farm in Petaluma and didn't perform much, because he didn't have to.  Nonetheless, he sometimes toured around local clubs. We can guess his last number. Crossfire seems to have been an existing group, but I don't know anything else about them.

Yesterday & Today was a band from Oakland. Initially a cover band, they had started to play their own material in a hard rocking English style, kind of like Humble Pie. The quartet slugged it out in East Bay clubs for years. In 1984 when "hair metal" was popular on MTV, they finally made it big as Y & T, releasing the hit album In Rock We Trust.

July 11, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Frisco Kids (Thursday)
The Frisco Kids are unknown to me.

July 31, 1974 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Butch Whacks And His Glass Packs (Wednesday)
Butch Whacks and His Glass Packs were a 15-piece rock and roll band dedicated to performing old style rock and roll hits from the 50s and early 60s. The band got their start as students at St. Mary’s College in Moraga playing frat parties, and eventually morphed into a very popular bay area club and theater act.

For the post about shows at the Long Branch from its opening in May 1971 through December 1971, see here

For the post about shows at the Long Branch from January through June 1972, see here