Been there a few times. It was very interesting. I had just came home from Vietnam, I did not care about anything. But I survived. Took up a hobby racing dirt bikes across the Mohave desert. Had way more fun then hanging out with some bands. History is history. Gone are those days.
thank you for going to that horrible war. now we’re getting out of 20 yrs of wasted lives and money in Afghanistan…so many scarred souls. war is so gd stupid. all to make a PROFIT. I’m so sorry.
I love these people - kindred spirits. I was always the "hippie/Bohemian" amongst a group of longhaired freakers. They were always ready to fight, and I was always ready for reading, learning and peace.
I lived there during that period as a teenager wandering thru the old abandoned mansions of the Hollywood Hills. Tripping on Owseley's "White Lightening".
My husband and I lived there on Weepah Way, It was the most magical place I can remember. One day there was a fire, people were playing "Fire" by Arthur Brown when the fire Dept. came to put it out...One of my husband's high school friend played on the Band "Love" they were great!
So all the bands from those days had high ranking military parents, and there was an advanced military film production facility in the Laurel Canyon. Interesting...
@Henrik sandquist Hmm - ALL of 'em, huh? Let's have a look at my random sampling of some of the biggest names on the scene - and their father's occupations, shall we? James Taylor - Physician Linda Ronstadt - Machinery Merchant Peter Tork(elson) - University Economics Professor Mickey Dolenz - Actor Joni Mitchell - Grocer Neil Young - Journalist (Sportswriter) Roger (Jim) McGuinn - Journalist/PR Frank Zappa - Chemist/Mathematician John Mayall - Jazz Guitarist David Crosby - Hollywood Cinematographer John Sebastian - Classical Harmonica Player. Carole King - Firefighter Carly Simon - Publishing Magnate Yessirree - The unmistakable makings of a nefarious counter - revolutionary fascist cabal right there. Uh huh. What do you have in rebuttal? That Jackson Browne is the son of a serviceman / Stars and Stripes journalist? That Jim Morrison's dad was an admiral? That Steve Stills was an Army brat? Newsflash: We're talking about 50 - 60's America here. MY WW2 NAVY VETERAN DAD was working for Raytheon in West LA during the same era. Santa Monica was an Aerospace company town - Courtesy of Douglas Aircraft. I grew up right down the street from Ft. McArthur in the port of L.A. For a time - in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor - the citizens of LA were in the grip of a REAL mania that their city had a giant Japanese bullseye painted on it. It wasn't HALF as funny as that COMPLETELY unfunny John Belushi movie '1941' that parodied that era in the Southland. So....surprise, surprise! Some of these artists are the sons and daughters of men who were making their way in the world by milking the biggest cash cow the likes of which this nation will ever see. Following right on the heels of the worst economic calamity it will likely ever see. Who woulda thunk it?
One of the biggest regrets I have was my father moving the family from the valley to Oregon when I was a teen. I should have returned when I left home but by then I had fallen in love with the Pacific Northwest. But, I would have loved to have hung around Laurel Canyon in the late 60s - early 70s. The first time I got high on weed was at a house on Laurel Canyon Blvd near Oxnard St. My friend had somehow met these "hippie guys" so we went over there and smoked with them. I remember they had Quicksilver Messe ger Service playing on the stereo. I had only started smoking pot about a month before. I had just turned 13. Crazy (stupid?) stuff I did back then. I sometimes wonder if those men were "anybody". They were very nice and made absolutely no attempt to do anything with us (well, except get us high).
To watch this documentary is like watching old home movies of my family in the sense that these people are so familiar and have been around for so long. There music was time capsule of the 60's and what that era felt like. Each era has feeling and even though there was a lot of civil unrest at the time (civil rights, women's rights, protests against the Viet Nam war) I never felt unsafe. These folks just wanted to make beautiful music and spread a message of peace. There's a gigantic difference between that time and this. Back then, we knew where we stood and why. I don't think the same can be said of this generation. Knowledge is power, know who you're fighting for and exactly why your fighting. Get all the details of your cause and approach it with an open mind. I think young people today are so eager to be a part of something bigger than themselves and they have no idea what that something is--it's a free-for-all, pile on mentality.
It is legendary; a time & vibe that will never be repeated on this level. Rare air: you walk or drive around there now & it's still haunting. The smell of eucalyptus remains, but it's all Hollyweird psychos with too much money & too little time to be real. As one time Canyon chiller & "old man" @ age 24 Neil Young once um, chillingly sang; In a matter of time There'll be a friend of mine Gonna come to the coast You're gonna see him up close For a minute or two While the ground cracks under you By the look in your eyes You'd think that it was a surprise But you seem to forget Something somebody said About the bubbles in the sea And an ocean full of trees And you now, LA Uptight city in the smog, city in the smog Don't you wish that you could be here too? Don't you wish that you could be here too? Don't you wish that you could be here too? Well, it's hard to believe So you get up to leave And you laugh at the door That you heard it all before Oh, it's so good to know That it's all just a show for you When the suppers are planned And the freeways are crammed And the mountains erupt And the valley is sucked Into cracks in the earth Will I finally be heard by you? LA Uptight city in the smog, city in the smog Don't you wish that you could be here too? Don't you wish that you could be here too? Don't you wish that you could be here too? Nope, no I don't. Heard ya loud & clear. It's all a farce that'll very soon be completely underwater & unlivable.
Jacob Dylan already did a documentary about this place. It's called Echo in the Canyon. It's a fantastic documentary where he covers some of the songs. He did a great rendition of The Bryds song Going Back.
Look up Dave MacGowan and his book about Laurel Canyon. We were all connected. All out of the military and the government. He goes into detail on this. Oh yeah, and he was murdered for it.
When you write books exposing the truth as did Dave McGowen you must be careful not to hang out with those you do not trust. Going to parties or meetings about projects based on your work or other ventures can expose you to those who can somehow infect you with cancer which will kill quickly.
Don't want to be Debbie downer but here goes anyway - Jerry Brown grew up their, lived 4 doors from the "4 on the floor" murders (look that story up) - there was an USAF base their, run by the CIA - and Frank Zappa's dad was a chem engineer that assisted in the creation of agent orange - Jim Morrisons dad was the admiral that was in charge during the fake attack on a US Navy ship (forget ships name) which got america into Vietnam, Jerry Garcia, or Agent Garcia , CIA , and many more had parents who worked for the military - and yet - there was a generation gap during this time? was it planned or did their kids (famous musicians) do this to counter the military and old ways of the greatest generation? as we know JIm Morrison yelled at one of his concerts "You are all slaves'
@@jacksondriscoll98 I should have said Air Force Station, not base, it was called Lookout Mountain - and it was a used as a "secret" CIA base as well, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lookout_Mountain_Air_Force_Station
You should check Tom O'Neill's book: CHAOS: 'Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties' and his podcast with Joe Rogan. He goes deep on a lot of this including the airbase.
Message for Utopians.....The new Utopia is West Sussex in England.....2070 is the Regency, when we will be 18 again....And Brother and Sister you need to be 18 for sure
