 |
| The former site of The Long Branch Saloon in Berkeley, as it appeared in 2009 |
By 1971, the live rock music market was evolving, and lots of entrepreneurs were noticing. Rock music had always been the province of teenagers, of course. But 60s rock music, with the likes of the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Cream, had raised the ante. Rock music fans didn't just "move on" when they turned 18. Those kids who were 15 when the Beatles had played Ed Sullivan in 1964 were past drinking age by 1971. They were still listening to rock music, and they took it seriously. And while every rock fan wanted to see the most popular bands when they came to town, their options were expanding.
Rock fans in their 20s probably had a job, and a few more dollars than when they were teenagers. They also didn't have parents constraining them, and they could drink. They weren't going to go to the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, but going on a date to a club where you could drink beer and dance was starting to seem like a viable idea.
In 1971, the University of California at Berkeley was expanding. It had never been a small school, but in the early 70s they added more and more students. California parents realized their kids could get a prestigious Ivy League-quality degree for the bargain price of around $212.50 a quarter. When those students graduated, many of them stuck around Berkeley. Rock music in the 60s had been oriented towards the Fillmore West and other big dance halls, but by the early 70s nightclubs were starting to book original bands, too. The city of Berkeley had lots of young people, a town that didn't object to long-haired hippies, and a generally central location.
There
had been music clubs in Berkeley since World War 2, of course. But as
the 70s dawned, the various music clubs in Berkeley started to evolve. The
New Monk, near campus at University and Shattuck, shifted from being a
fraternity hangout to a rock nightclub, and by the next year it would
become the Keystone Berkeley. 2 miles South and West of the New Monk, Malcolm Williams ran Babylon, but he had big plans, too. In May, 1971, Williams doubled the size of Babylon, and re-opened it as The Long Branch.
The Long Branch had a capacity of about 350. Ironically, the biggest club in the Bay Area would be the Keystone Berkeley, just 2 miles from the Long Branch. The New Monk, at 2119 University, mainly a frat beer joint, would be taken over in 1972 by Freddie Herrera and become the Keystone Berkeley. The Keystone Berkeley officially held 476, but it was widely felt that more people were regularly crammed in. Thanks to regular performances throughout the 70s by Jerry Garcia, Tower Of Power, Elvin Bishop and others, the Keystone Berkeley became the premier nightclub gig in the Bay Area until about 1977.
 |
| The back of a Long Branch flyer, October '73 (thanks to Lydia Frazier Bosley), encouraging patrons to hang out at the club |
Bands would build a following at the Long Branch, and the bands that headlined weekends at the Branch would play weeknights at the Keystone Berkeley, with a built-in audience. Although it's hard to be sure, I think the Long Branch crowd lived relatively near the club, and was in the just-over-21 bracket. The Long Branch was definitely a hard-rocking club, with loud bands and patrons who liked to dance, with less of the University overlay that was included in the Keystone Berkeley audience. The Keystone was right near campus, so it's audience was broader but to some extent more snobby. The Long Branch was in West Berkeley, and less pretentious.
As a result, the Long Branch ended up being a sort of farm team for the Keystone Berkeley. That wasn't a bad thing, necessarily, for the bands themselves. Keystone Berkeley and Long Branch didn't have identical crowds. The Keystone was nearer to campus, and at least on weekends drew people from Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties. The Long Branch had a little bit younger crowd who just liked to go out, and probably mostly lived around Berkeley.
At the Long Branch, mostly the same bands played the club over and over. If a band could build an audience at Long Branch, the expectation was that their own regulars would see the band over and over. Earth Quake, for example, the archetype for a Long Branch band, could play a wide variety of exotic British Invasion cover songs, so that their regular fans didn't hear the exact same set every time.
In a previous post, I looked at all the known bookings for the Long Branch in it's opening year of 1971. This post will look at bookings at the Long Branch for the first half of 1972. If anyone has any updates, corrections, insights or interesting speculation, please included them in the Comments.
 |
| The Scenedrome listing in each week's Berkeley Barb was my main source for Long Branch bookings |
January 1, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Frank Biner Band (Saturday)
The Long Branch was generally open from Wednesday through Sunday, with bands every night. Wednesday was usually "audition night," with local bands that were hoping to build a following. The Long Branch did not advertise in the local papers. There may have been some flyers around town (common in Berkeley at the time), but none from this period have surfaced. The entertainment listings for the Berkeley Barb or the San Francisco papers would usually include the weekend bookings for the Long Branch.
I have only noted dates where I could find a listing. Bands played the Long Branch over and over, so while some dates are missing, I have likely captured the weekend bands. The weeknights would have just featured local bands, for the most part, although a few of them would go on to success.
Linx played the Long Branch regularly, as well as other Berkeley clubs. They featured the teenage saxophonist Lenny Pickett, later to become well-known in Tower Of Power and then leading the Saturday Night Live band. Also in the group was Jonathan Waxman, who became a well-known chef in Manhattan.
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 '71 Biner was just another guy working the clubs. Biner was originally from Chicago, where he had recorded a few singles, but he had moved to the East Bay in the late 60s.
January 7-8, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Yogi Phlegm/Frank Biner (Friday-Saturday)Yogi Phlegm was the new name for the Sons Of Champlin. At the time, the Sons were not sure they had the rights to their name, and they also wanted to distinguish their newer music from their past sounds. Yogi Phlegm emphasized jamming, sometimes in pretty far-out formulations. Now, they were still funky, and you could still dance to them, but there was more jazz and less R&B than the 60s lineup of the Sons.
The name "Yogi Phlegm" was a joke about Indian gurus. No one got it. Everyone hated it, particularly Bill Graham. Most club owners would advertise "Yogi Phlegm--formerly The Sons" anyway. The band reverted to being the Sons Of Champlin by the next year.
The Yogi Phlegm lineup had the old front line of Bill Champlin on vocals, organ and guitar, Geoff Palmer on keyboards and vibes and Terry Haggerty on lead guitar. The bassist was old Marin pal Dave Schallock, and the drummer was Bill Vitt. The band had dispensed with any horn players, leaving them more freedom to jam.
January 9, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Dennis Geyer Band/Hunun Dean (Sunday)
Dennis Geyer had been the guitarist and singer in a Wisconsin band called The New Blues. In 1968, they had relocated to San Francisco and added organ player Howard Wales. They changed their name to AB Skhy Blues Band, and had released an album on MGM. Wales and then Geyer had left AB Skhy, to be replaced by other players. Geyer continued to play around the Bay Area.
Hunun Dean is unknown to me.
January 13-14, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Wayne The Harp (Thursday-Friday)
Wayne The Harp was guitarist Wayne Ceballos. Ceballos had led the Bay Area trio AUM (pronounced "Ohm") in the sixties. AUM had released two albums, and opened at both Fillmores as well. Ceballos still played the same kind of hard-driving blues guitar in his new group.
January 15, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Stoneground (Saturday)
Stoneground had been put together by KSAN impresario Tom Donahue in 1970 for an intended movie about a "traveling Woodstock" called Medicine Ball Caravan. The Grateful Dead were booked for the movie, but backed out at the last minute. Stoneground had released their self-titled debut album on Warner Brothers in 1971, and then its followup, Family Album, later in that year. Among the key members of Stoneground were singers Sal Valentino, Lynne Hughes, Annie Sampson and Deirdre LaPorte. Guitarist Tim Barnes also sang. Pete Sears had been the pianist for the album, although he had been replaced by Cory Lerios by this time.
January 21-22, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grootna/Knee Deep (Friday-Saturday)
Grootna was a Berkeley band that had arisen out of a 60s Berkeley band called Sky Blue. Guitarist Vic Smith and singer (and sometime drummer) Anna Rizzo had teamed up with guitarist/writer Allan "Slim Chance" Silverman. Drummer Greg Dewey (from Mad River) was also in the band, along with a few others. The band played a batch of songs written by Silverman and his songwriting partner Austin DeLone. DeLone, however, was playing pubs in London with the band Eggs Over Easy. Everybody in Grootna had many links to numerous Berkeley ensembles.
Grootna's album had been released by Columbia in December 1971. Now, it's probably true that not that many people had heard it, but in those days that had an album was a "real" band, implicitly above other groups playing the clubs. Many of the songs on the album were written by the team of Alan Silverman (Slim Chance) and Audie DeLong (Austin DeLone). However, since Silverman was only listed as "Slim Chance" with no reference to his real name, and DeLong wasn't in the band, the "Siverman/DeLone" credits were confusing at the time.
Knee Deep is largely unknown to me. In 1973, they would change their name to The Titans.
 |
| Eddie Money, former lead singer of The Rockets, released his debut solo album on Columbia in 1977 |
January 23, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Rockets (Sunday)
Asleep At The Wheel were from Paw-Paw, WV, and played Western Swing music with a rock beat. They generally gigged around the greater Washington, DC area. In 1971, they had opened for Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, and the Cody crew encouraged them to move to the East Bay. Asleep At The Wheel relocated to Oakland, and started playing regularly at local nightclubs. In October of 1971, Asleep At The Wheel had opened a weekend at the Long Branch for the Airmen. Within six weeks, The Wheel were headlining the Long Branch themselves.
This booking appears to be the first time The Rockets were booked on a weekend at the Long Branch, although that implicitly suggests they had played a weeknight earlier. Probably the Rockets had played a Wednesday audition, had sounded good, and had played some other weeknights, and done well enough to be second-billed on a Sunday night. That was the usual pattern for local bands playing the Long Branch, without a record company or agency support. With respect to the history of the Long Branch, however, the Rockets weren't just another band.
The lead singer of the Rockets was a transplanted New Yorker, a former NYPD trainee cop named Eddie Mahoney. Also in the band was guitarist Dan Alexander, bassist Chris Sohlberg and drummer John Cuniberti. The Rockets would rise to be regular weekend headliners at the Long Branch, along with Grayson Street, Earth Quake and others. In mid-1974, Mahoney would change his stage name to Eddie Money, and the band evolved into Eddie Money and The Rockets, and later just the Eddie Money Band. In 1975, the Bill Graham organization started managing Money, and by 1977 he had released his debut album on Columbia. "Two Tickets To Paradise" and "Baby Hold On To Me" were huge hits. Mahoney (1949-2019) suffered a variety of health issues and has passed on, but thanks to television commercials and oldies, Eddie Money is far and away the biggest act ever to come out of the Long Branch.
Hades, sometimes billed as the Hades Blues Band, or Hades Blues Works, was a local band. They had played the club back when it was called Babylon.
In the late 60s, guitarist Jimmy Thorsen,
bassist Steve Wright and drummer John Cuniberti had been in a band
called Traumatic Experience. With the addition of guitarist Craig
Ferreira, they became Hades. Steve Wright would go on to play in the
Greg Kihn Band, and John Cuniberti became an important engineer and producer, particularly for Bay Area punk rock acts. At some point, Cuniberti joined The Rockets (see above), so I think Hades was near the end of the line here.
I think the Long Branch wasn't regularly open on Tuesdays, but without listings it's hard to be sure.
January 27, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Copperhead/Jesse, Wolff and Whings (Thursday)
Copperhead was the relatively new band formed by former Quicksilver Messenger Service lead guitarist John Cippolina. Membership was always somewhat fluid. At this time, the band probably had Cippolina and Jimmy Murray (himself ex-QMS ca. 1967) on guitars, Jim McPherson on bass, Pete Sears on keyboards and probably David Weber on drums. Copperhead would go on to release a 1973 album on Columbia. They were promising, but never seemed organized.
Jesse, Wolff and Whings released one album on Leon Russell's
Shelter label, distributed by Capitol. The group featured lead singer
Jesse Barish, lead guitarist Bill Wolff, bassist Kevin Kaufmann and
drummer Kevin Kelley, among other members. The group was supposed to be
called Wings, but Capitol had Paul McCartney's Wings, so they had to
change the spelling.
Jesse Barish, per his bio, apparently
played a little bit with the all-instrumental Orkustra (I think he
played flute), back in the 60s. Bill Wolff was in a later version of the
Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Kevin Kelly had been in The Rising Sons and
The Byrds, among other bands, and both Kelly and Kevin Kaufmann had
backed Phil Ochs.
When Jesse, Wolff and Whings fell apart, Jesse
Barish went on to work with Marty Balin and Grunt Records. Barish ended
up co-writing many songs with Balin, and as a result he has many
songwriting credits on Jefferson Starship albums, such as "Count On Me."
As a point of comparison, Copperhead had headlined the Keystone Berkeley on Friday, January 7, and Whings had opened the following weekend (January 14-15, for the HooDoo Rhythm Devils).
(note: I am missing any listings for the weekend of January 28-29)
February 1-2, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Joe Crane and The HooDoo Rhythm Devils (Tuesday-Wednesday)The HooDoo Rhythm Devils, led by singer Joe Crane, had arisen out of a local blues-rock band called P, G &E. The HooDoos had released an album on Capitol in 1971, Rack Jobbers Rule. By 1972, they would switch to Blue Thumb, where their next album Barbeque of Deville, came out later in the year.
February 3-4, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Flamin Groovies/Hades (Thursday-Friday)
The Flamin' Groovies were an original San Francisco band, having formed as The Chosen Few in 1965. The Groovies, however, stuck to the Rolling Stones' sound when the rest of the city's bands went psychedelic, and they did not particularly thrive during the Fillmore era. Along with their manager, the Flamin' Groovies had rented the old Fillmore and put on shows with various bands in 1969 and '70. Thus they stayed in the public eye, even if not many fans had heard them yet.
Still, by 1969 the Flamin Groovies had released their debut album on Epic, Supersnazz. Subsequently they released Flamingo (1970) and Teenage Head (1971) on Kama Sutra. Neither record sold well, and the band had were dropped by Kama Sutra. Lead singer Roy Loney left the band, leaving singer/guitarist Cyril Jordan as the principal driving force. Later in 1972, the Groovies would move to England, where their "Power Pop" sound would be less of an anomaly. At this time, however, the Groovies were without a label, and without much of a following in their home territory.
 |
| Earth Quake's 1971 debut album on A&M Records |
February 5, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Fluid Drive (Saturday)
Earth Quake, from Berkeley, were the ultimate Long Branch band, and it's fitting that they played opening night. Originally, they had been a Berkeley High band called Purple Earthquake. By early 1972, they were a quintet, with Robbie Dunbar on lead guitar, Gary Phillips on rhythm guitar, lead vocalist John Doukas, bassist Stan Miller and drummer Steve Nelson. Earth Quake had released their debut album on A&M Records sometime in 1971
Earth Quake would play the Long Branch at least every month for five years, and in many months every Friday night. Earth Quake, with their vast trove of cover versions, always had a loyal audience at the club
Fluid Drive is unknown to me.
February 6, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Jabo Stokes (Sunday)
Jabo Stokes is unknown to me.
February 9, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Bittersweet (Wednesday)
Bittersweet was a rock band from Chico, CA, who moved to the East Bay. Rock historian Bruno Cerriotti has a detailed history of their adventures.
February 10, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Bittersweet/Full Moon (Thursday)
Full Moon is unknown to me, although it's possible they were formerly known as Womb.
February 11 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Stoneground/Country Weather (Friday)
Country Weather were a Walnut Creek (Contra Costa County) group, from just over the Berkeley Hills. They had originally been called The Virtues, but soon after lead guitarist Greg Douglass joined, they changed their name to Country Weather. Country Weather never released a record when they were together from 1967-73. Since the group was familiar from many posters from 1968 onward, Country Weather became one of the great lost San Francisco groups of the 1960s. Ultimately, the group reformed in the 21st century and still performs occasionally. RD Records released some of their 60s demos and live performances, alonmg with some 21st century recordings.
 |
| The Doobie Brothers, ca 1971 |
February 12, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Doobie Brothers/Nipple (Saturday)
In early 1972, the Doobie Brothers were another unknown band climbing the ladder. The Doobies were from the San Jose area, and they had built a following in the South Bay. They were largely unknown in the East Bay, however. Throughout January, they had played every Thursday night at The New Monk, just 2 miles up the road at University and Shattuck (and later the Keystone Berkeley).
The Doobie Brothers had released their first, self-titled album on Warner Brothers, back in April, 1971. It hadn't done well. Although the Doobies had gone on a National tour (with Mother Earth), they were mostly just slugging it out in the local clubs. Still, Warner Brothers was behind them. In January, the Doobie Brothers had played live on KSAN-fm (at Pacific High Recorders on January 16), which meant that Warners had coughed up the ad dollars to subsidize the broadcast. At this time, the Doobies had just replaced original bassist Dave Shogren with Tiran Porter, and they had added Michael Hossack as a second drummer (along with John Hartmann). Guitarists Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons were the lead singers.
Nipple is unknown to me.
February 13, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Country Weather (Sunday)
February 16-17, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Dr Hook And The Medicine Show (Wednesday-Thursday)Dr Hook and The Medicine Show were a somewhat comic country-rock act, produced by Shel Silverstein. Their debut album would have just been released on Columbia. They would soon hit it big with "Silvia's Mother" and "Cover Of The Rolling Stone."
February 18, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Frank Biner Band (Friday)
February 19, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Runnin Easy (Saturday)Runnin' Easy is unknown to me, although I recognize their name from various bookings.
February 20, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Dennis Geyer Band (Sunday)
I am missing any listings for the weekend of February 25-28.
February 29, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel (Tuesday)
Both Orisha and Free And Easy are unknown to me. The New Monk opened as the Keystone Berkeley this night.
March 3-4, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Wayne The Harp (Friday-Saturday)
March 5, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Loading Zone/Dennis Geyer Band (Sunday)
The Loading Zone, from Oakland, had played the original Trips Festival back in 1966. By 1972, they had been through many different iterations. By this time, although they still broadly featured the mix of rock and soul as when they had started, they had no original members. They were good, though: Linda Tillery and Wendy Haas on vocals, Tom Coster on organ, Doug Rauch on bass, Tony Smith on drums and Bruce Conte on guitar.
March 10, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Cold Blood/Linx (Friday)
Cold Blood are generally associated with the East Bay funk sound of bands like Tower Of Power. The East Bay association was appropriate musically, but in fact Cold Blood had its roots in the South Bay. Lead singer Lydia Pense, from San Mateo, and bassist Rod Ellicott had been in a Peninsula Band in 1966 called the New Invaders, who had evolved into The Generation. The Generation were known as the first Bay Area band to merge a horn section with a rock band. The Generation evolved into Cold Blood, and they were signed to Bill Graham's San Francisco label (distributed by Atlantic).
Cold Blood released two albums on San Francisco, their self-titled debut (1969) and Sisyphus (1970), which spawned a modest local hit with a remake of "You Got Me Hummin'."After Graham's labels folded, Cold Blood ended up on Reprise. In 1972, they would release First Taste Of Sin. Lydia Pense was a powerful singer, and Cold Blood was a tight band, so the group was very popular in night clubs and at local dances. In retrospect, however, they sound as if they were trying a bit too hard, instead of just playing the music they liked.
March 11, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Stoneground/Linx (Saturday)
March 15, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Cesar's Combo (Wednesday)The Examiner lists this as "Latin Jazz." I assume Cesar's Combo was a version of the house band at Cesar Ascarrunuz's 830 Club, led by Luis Gasca. To my knowledge, they played in a Latin jazz-rock vein, sort of like Malo.
March 18, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Copperhead/The Ducks (Saturday)
I believe The Ducks were a Marin band featuring guitarist and songwriter Kent Housman.
March 19, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grootna/Jabo Stokes (Sunday)
March 24, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Asleep At The Wheel (Friday)
The headliners were Berkeley's very own Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. Cody and the Airmen had moved out to California in Summer '69, setting up shop in a rambling house in nearby Emeryville. The band played "hippie honky-tonk," a strange brew of Western Swing, traditional country, old-time rock and roll and Berkeley sensibilities. Their November 1971 debut album, Lost In The Ozone, had spawned the local hit single "Hot Rod Lincoln."
The Airmen had been regular headliners at the Long Branch since it had opened in May, 1971. One or two tracks on the debut album had even been recorded live at the Long Branch back in July. The Airmen were regionally popular now, thanks to "Hot Rod Lincoln," and touring around. But I'm sure they could still pack a Friday night house on San Pablo Avenue.
March 25-26, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/The Rockets (Saturday-Sunday)
April 4, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Alice Stuart (Tuesday)
Alice Stuart was a fine blues guitarist and singer. Although she was from Seattle, she had been playing in the Bay Area since about 1964. Stuart had performed and recorded in a variety of settings. At one point in late 1969, she had even been the temporary bass player for the Lost Planet Airmen. In 1972 she led a trio named Snake, and they recorded for Fantasy Records.
April 5, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Cesar's Combo (Wednesday)
April 7, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Copperhead/Big Brother and The Holding Company (Friday)
Big Brother and The Holding Company had reformed in late 1969, although of course without Janis Joplin. They had put out two fairly good but poorly-received albums on Columbia (1970's Be A Brother and '71's How Hard It Is). Initially, all the original members had been part of the reformation, but by 1972 the band was being held together by guitarist Sam Andrews. Kathi McDonald, a veteran singer from Seattle (and a former Ikette, despite being blonde), had the somewhat thankless task of being the lead singer. McDonald was an excellent singer, in fact, but Janis was an icon, not just a singer.
Five years earlier, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Big Brother had been in two of the Fillmore's biggest, most exciting bands. Now Cippolina and Andrews were sharing a bill at a 350-capacity club on San Pablo Avenue. Phil Elwood reviewed the show and had high praise for Copperhead. He identified Gary Phillipet (guitar) and Jim McPherson (bass) as the singers, and mentioned Pete Sears' fine piano, along with Cippolina. Elwood also said that Big Brother sounded good, but he added no details.
April 8, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Little John (Saturday)
Little John was a local blues band, but I don't know anything else about them.
April 9, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Rockets/Jack Frost (Sunday)
Jack Frost is unknown to me.
April 12, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Clover (Wednesday)
April 13, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Saving Grace/Ducks (Thursday)
Saving Grace and Ducks are unknown to me.
April 15, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Mike Finnegan and Jerry Wood/Clover (Friday)
Organist and singer Mike Finnegan was from Wichita, KS. Unlike typical musicians, the 6'6" Finnegan had gotten a basketball scholarship to the University of Kansas. He had moved to the Bay Area around 1969, and he had been a member of The Jerry Hahn Brotherhood, who had put out a highly regarded 1970 album on Columbia. Unfortunately, the album went nowhere, and Finnegan had left the band. At this time, Finnegan had another band with guitarist Jerry Wood, and he worked with the re-activated Big Brother and The Holding Company as well. Finnegan and Wood released the album Crazed Hipsters on Blue Thumb in 1972.
April 21, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Modern Lovers (Friday)
It's easy to make fun of Berkeley--I for one never tire of it--but you have to give the town its due. Yes, Berkeley is pretentious and sniffs at the provinciality of every other town, ever. But it also means that Berkeley is often ahead of other places, often way ahead. Johnathan Richman and the Modern Lovers were an underground cult sensation in Berkeley around 1975, long before anywhere else had heard of him. And yet, three years earlier--three years!--The Modern Lovers had played at the Long Branch. At the time, the Modern Lovers were fairly self-consciously modeled on the Velvet Underground. At the time, the VU were all but forgotten, and frontman Lou Reed was just an obscure solo artist in New York. Nobody cared about Reed or the Velvets, much less an unrecorded Boston band carrying on their obscure tradition. Warner Brothers had signed the Modern Lovers, and flown them out to Los Angeles to record demos with John Cale. The band also played a few live gigs, including this booking at the Long Branch.
When Beserkeley Records released Richman's sunny takes in 1975, "Road Runner" and "New Teller" were a ray of sunshine on FM radio, when they got played. Yet shortly after, the earlier, darker demos recorded back in '72 with John Cale behind the board revealed a much grimmer version of the Modern Lovers. In 1976, Beserkeley released the demos (the release was known as "The Black Album"). It featured a darker, organ-driven version of "Roadrunner," and the bleak, hilarious "Pablo Picasso" ("Some people walk down the street/Get called an asshole/That never happened to/Pablo Picasso"). The dark, '72 Modern Lovers had opened at the Long Branch for their future label-mates Earth Quake, and someone had the foresight to record it. You have to love Berkeley for that.
The Modern Lovers probably did not go over that well. Besides Richman on electric guitar and vocals, the band had future Talking Head Jerry Harrison on organ and future Car drummer David Robinson, plus bassist Ernie Brooks. In 1998, the Long Branch show was released as part of a vinyl double-LP, Modern Lovers Live At The Longbranch And More.
April 22, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grootna/Fletcher Brothers (Saturday)
Note that bands like Grootna or Copperhead, with recordings to their name (in Copperhead's case, via Cippolina) were playing the Long Branch about once a month.
The Fletcher Brothers played local Bay Area clubs during this period, but I don't know anything else about them.
April 23, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Bobby Hutcherson (Sunday)
Bobby Hutcherson was an exceptional vibes player from Los Angeles. He had moved to New York, and had recorded for Blue Note as early as 1963. Hutcherson returned to California in 1967, and mostly played on the West Coast thereafter. While Hutcherson was a forward-thinking music, his music was quieter and more acoustic than some of his peers at the time. Since there were no jazz clubs in the East Bay, Hutcherson often played rock clubs on weeknights. Although jazz was a rarity at the Long Branch, Berkeley has always been amenable to eclectic bookings.
April 25, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Boogie Brothers/Sober and Sorry (Tuesday)
Boogie Brothers and Sober and Sorry are both unknown to me.
April 27, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/The Rockets (Thursday)
April 28, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Bitterweet (Friday)
April 29, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Knee Deep (Saturday)
Osceola was a band from Florida that had relocated to San Francisco around 1969, and played around the Bay Area for a few years.
May 5, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Knee Deep (Friday)
May 6, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Dennis Geyer Band/Bittersweet (Saturday)
May 10, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Street Band (Tuesday)The Street Band is unknown to me.
I am missing listings for the weekend of May 12-14.
May 16, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Mike Finnegan and Jerry Wood (Tuesday)
May 19, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Grootna/Rockets (Friday)
May 20, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Frank Biner (Saturday)
May 21, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Fluid Drive/Jango (Sunday)
Jango is unknown to me.
May 23, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/High Country (Tuesday)
Asleep At The Wheel tried to work as many nights as possible. From this point on, it appears they played most Tuesday nights at the Long Branch.
High Country were a Berkeley bluegrass band led by mandolinist
Butch Waller. High Country were regulars at Berkeley's already-legendary
folk club, the Freight And Salvage (a half-mile North, at 1827 San Pablo).
Waller had been pals with Garcia and David Nelson, both former
bluegrassers, since 1963. Waller and David Nelson had been in a
bluegrass band together in 1964 (the Pine Valley Boys), and in '69,
Nelson had even played a little with High Country. One time, High Country's banjo player wasn't available, and Jerry Garcia filled in (June 19, 1969--of course, there's a tape). High Country had released an album on Raccoon, the Youngbloods' label.
May 24, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Is/The Street Band (Wednesday)
Is is unknown to me.
May 25, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Loading Zone/Linx (Thursday)
The Loading Zone were still grinding it out. One of their vocalists, Wendy Haas, had left to join Azteca, but they still had Linda Tillery.
May 26 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake (Friday)
May 27, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Loading Zone/Linx (Saturday)
 |
| Sophomoric, the second album by the Congress Of Wonders comedy duo, was released on Fantasy Records in 1972 |
May 28, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Congress Of Wonders/Blue Mountain/Fluid Drive Benefit for George McGovern (Sunday)
George McGovern was the Anti-War candidate for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination, so there were many benefits for him in college towns like Berkeley.
Congress Of Wonders was a hip comedy duo. Congress of Wonders were a comedy duo from Berkeley, initially from the UC Berkeley drama department and later part of Berkeley’s Open Theater on College Avenue, a prime spot for what were called “Happenings” (now ‘Performance Art’). The group performed at the Avalon and other rock venues.
Karl Truckload (Howard Kerr) and Winslow Thrill (Richard Rollins) created two Congress of Wonders albums on Fantasy Records (Revolting and Sophomoric). Their pieces “Pigeon Park” and “Star Trip”, although charmingly dated now, were staples of San Francisco underground radio at the time.
Blue Mountain was a band from Palo Alto.
May 30, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Knee Deep (Tuesday)
May 31, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: The Street Band (Wednesday)
June 2, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Tower Of Power (Friday)
Tower Of Power, though originally from Fremont, were the pride of Oakland. They had been discovered by Bill Graham at the Tuesday night Fillmore West auditions, and their first album East Bay Grease had been released on Graham's San Francisco label (distributed by Atlantic). By 1972, the label was gone, but Atlantic's sister label Warner Brothers had picked up Tower. Tower's immortal second album, Bump City, had been released in the Spring, just as the Oakland A's, Raiders and Golden State Warriors were making all things Oakland ascendant.
Tower Of Power had graduated beyond the Long Branch by this time, but they were the sort of band who preferred to fill up the gig sheet on any empty night.
June 3, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Frank Biner/Full Moon (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.
June 6, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Boogie Brothers (Tuesday)
 |
| Juice Newton's 1981 debut lp, several years after she was in the folk-rock band Dixie Peach |
June 7, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Dixie Peach (Wednesday)
Dixie Peach was a folk rock band that featured singer Judy Newton and guitarist and songwriter Robert Otha Young. The two had started performing together when Newton was a student at Foothill College in Los Altos. Bassist Cecil Bollinger, formerly of the great South Bay group Weird Herald, was also a member.
Although Dixie Peach was just another local band on the Bay Area scene, Judy Newton would go on to become far better known in the 80s as country singer Juice Newton. Otha Young (1943- 2009) was her principal songwriter as well, so the two had a fruitful musical partnership well into the 21st century.
June 8, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Linx/Loading Zone (Thursday)
June 10, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Elvin Bishop Group/Fluid Drive (Saturday)
Elvin Bishop had been a regular performer in Bay Area rock nightclubs since he had arrived in San Francisco in 1968, having just left the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. From 1969 onwards, his main gig had been at Freddie Herrera's Keystone Korner in San Francisco, but he played all over. The Elvin Bishop Group had been signed to Bill Graham's Fillmore Records (distributed by Columbia), and had released two albums (the 1969 debut and 1970's Feel It!). By 1972, Fillmore Records had folded, but Bishop had been picked up by Epic, a Columbia subsidiary (he would release Rock My Soul later in '72).
The Elvin Bishop Group had played regularly at the Long Branch in 1971. In March of '72, however, Freddie Herrera had taken over the New Monk and changed it to the Keystone Berkeley, so Bishop's principal allegiance was just up the road. Still, while Keystone Berkeley and Long Branch were competitors, they weren't enemies, so here was the Elvin Bishop headlining a weekend. At this time, the Elvin Bishop Group featured Stephen Miller on organ (ex-Linn County), and vocals by Miller, Bishop and singer Jo Baker.
June 14, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Tower Of Power (Wednesday)
June 16, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Fluid Drive/Osceola (Friday)
June 17, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Blue Mountain/Linx (Saturday)
June 20, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/Clover (Tuesday)
June 21, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: The Street Band/Blue Moon (Wednesday)
June 24, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Earth Quake/Grayson Street (Saturday)
June 27, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Asleep At The Wheel/El Rancho Cowboys (Tuesday)
The El Rancho Cowboys were a country band from the San Jose suburb of Cupertino, CA. Guitarist Cornell Hurd would end up leading the Texas "Dance Hall" band--albeit from Cupertino--known as Cornell Hurd and His Mondo Hot Pants Orchestra. Hurd had met Asleep At The Wheel (whether at this show or before isn't clear) and they were hugely influential in his future musical career.
June 28, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Street Band (Wednesday)
June 29, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Loading Zone/Frank Biner (Thursday)
By this time, Loading Zone organist Tom Coster and bassist Doug Rauch had been recording with Santana, for the album that would become Caravanserai. By September, Coster and Rauch would go out on tour with Santana, and Loading Zone finally broke up. Drummer Tony Smith had gone on to play for Malo, and guitarist Bruce Conte would join Tower Of Power (Tower and the Zone shared a manager and a rehearsal space). Linda Tillery would go on to a substantial career as a solo artist. This booking likely featured the final lineup of Loading Zone, with Tillery (vocals) and Conte (guitar) supported by Steve Funk (keyboards), Paul Jackson (bass), Mike Clark (drums) and Pat O'Hara (trombone).
June 30-July 1, 1972 Long Branch, Berkeley, CA: Blue Mountain/Rockets (Friday-Saturday)
The Rockets, slowly climbing the ladder, were now co-headlining on the weekend.
 |
| The Long Branch, 2504 San Pablo, Berkeley, some time in the 1970s |
The Long Branch Saloon: May 1971-November 1976
The Long Branch lasted a little over five years, and closed around November 1976. It was mostly a thriving club during that period. Berkeley's population grew enormously, and the students lived farther and farther from campus, driving up rents all over Berkeley, Albany and North Oakland. The Keystone Berkeley opened in March, 1972, and the much larger club got the premier bookings. In particular, acts like Jerry Garcia, Elvin Bishop, Tower Of Power and Commander Cody found time to regularly play the Keystone, and rarely if ever played the Long Branch. So Keystone periodically got big draws, even on weeknights, while Long Branch had to depend on its regulars. Earth Quake and Grayson Street were regular performers at the Long Branch throughout most of the 5-year period it was open. Earth Quake in particular held down almost every Friday night for long periods.
 |
| The Long Branch didn't look like this in 1971. |
Afterwards
The Long Branch briefly re-opened as a music venue around November 1978. The club was run by the former proprietor of the Berkeley club Jerry's Stop Sign (yet another story) and used the name The Branch. It wasn't open for long.
For many years, 2504 San Pablo Avenue was a store
called Good Vibrations. It wasn't a music store, but it was scandalous
enough to live up to the Cabale history (don't google it at work).
Eventually, as Berkeley got more and more wealthy, gentrification
finally got all the way down to Dwight Way and San Pablo Avenue. The
building was completely remodeled, and re-opened as a restaurant. The
new address is 2512 San Pablo Avenue, but it's the same location. The
first restaurant I am aware of was called Sea Salt, which opened about
2009 or so. Sea Salt closed, though, and a new restaurant opened on
November 11, 2014.
 |
| The Long Branch Saloon, at 2512 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, ca. 2019 |
The name of the new restaurant? The Long Branch Saloon. It says "Upscale comfort food is served in a stylish setting with open rafters & butcher-block tables." Given the turnover in Berkeley's population, it's likely that the locals think the Long Branch is just a reference to Dodge City--which it is--and don't see the nod to a hard-rockin' past.
For the previous post in the Long Branch series (May-December 1971), see here
For the next post in the Long Branch series (October-December 1973), see here
Posts
