Fact #127527
When:
Short story:
Psychedelic pioneers The Charlatans begin a two-week residency at The Red Dog Saloon, Virginia City, Nevada, USA.Full article:
George Hunter (founder, The Charlatans) : The Charlatans were conceived in San Francisco, but we were big fish in a small pond at Virginia City.
Peter Albin (founder, Big Brother And The Holding Company) : You have to give credit to George Hunter for being a spearhead on the San Francisco scene. Here's a guy who would probably admit himself he was no musical genius. But he was a very definite kind of charismatic hipster who got things going. He was an innovator. He was one of the first guys I saw with long hair, past his shoulders, wearing funny Edwardian clothes.
George Hunter : Part of it was not wanting to be associated with the British Invasion. Everybody and their brother was doing that. It was that peculiar point in time when there were these groups like The Knickerbockers. Even The Byrds, when they started, were affecting that English look, and The Monkees as well. Nobody seemed to have their own identity. Everyone was sort of mimicking The Beatles and The Stones, really, at that point. So we were looking for some strong American identity.
Peter Albin : The Charlatans had all these fantastic clothes, from college stuff with block letters to old cowboy chaps, straw boaters and cowboy hats. The music they played was OK but it was their visual style that was important. I think they influenced people in the other bands to be different in their dress and style. They allowed people not to be afraid to wear different kinds of clothes.
Alton Kelley : The Red Dog was The Charlatans' first booking. They had a light show too. Bill Ham built a light box that was responsive to music playing on the jukebox.
George Hunter : We did four sets a night, five nights a week for $100 a week apiece along with bed and board, and we were getting really good.
Alton Kelley : They would jam the place full of cowboys, tourists and college kids. The cowboys were tough guys, shooting guns through the ceiling.
George Hunter : When things got really rowdy people would start shooting moths off the ceiling.
Alton Kelley : The Red Dog sparked the whole thing, 'cause after the gigs at the Red Dog Saloon, we all came back to the city, and there was nothing to do. So myself and Luria Castell, and Ellen Harmon and Jack Towle (as The Family Dog collective) got together and said, 'Let's see if we can throw some dances down here.'
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Alton Kelley : I came out originally in the winter of '64 and settled in on Pine Street. Went up to the Red Dog Saloon with The Charlatans. They were putting the Red Dog together. Then we came back and said, "What are we going to do now?" That's when we started The Family Dog. I was one of the four original members. We got Bill Ham to do a light show. We rented Longshoremen's Hall, threw a few dances and found out we weren't very good business people.
(Source : San Francisco Chronicle, 27 May, 2007)
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Peter Albin (founder, Big Brother And The Holding Company) : You have to give credit to George Hunter for being a spearhead on the San Francisco scene. Here's a guy who would probably admit himself he was no musical genius. But he was a very definite kind of charismatic hipster who got things going. He was an innovator. He was one of the first guys I saw with long hair, past his shoulders, wearing funny Edwardian clothes.
George Hunter : Part of it was not wanting to be associated with the British Invasion. Everybody and their brother was doing that. It was that peculiar point in time when there were these groups like The Knickerbockers. Even The Byrds, when they started, were affecting that English look, and The Monkees as well. Nobody seemed to have their own identity. Everyone was sort of mimicking The Beatles and The Stones, really, at that point. So we were looking for some strong American identity.
Peter Albin : The Charlatans had all these fantastic clothes, from college stuff with block letters to old cowboy chaps, straw boaters and cowboy hats. The music they played was OK but it was their visual style that was important. I think they influenced people in the other bands to be different in their dress and style. They allowed people not to be afraid to wear different kinds of clothes.
Alton Kelley : The Red Dog was The Charlatans' first booking. They had a light show too. Bill Ham built a light box that was responsive to music playing on the jukebox.
George Hunter : We did four sets a night, five nights a week for $100 a week apiece along with bed and board, and we were getting really good.
Alton Kelley : They would jam the place full of cowboys, tourists and college kids. The cowboys were tough guys, shooting guns through the ceiling.
George Hunter : When things got really rowdy people would start shooting moths off the ceiling.
Alton Kelley : The Red Dog sparked the whole thing, 'cause after the gigs at the Red Dog Saloon, we all came back to the city, and there was nothing to do. So myself and Luria Castell, and Ellen Harmon and Jack Towle (as The Family Dog collective) got together and said, 'Let's see if we can throw some dances down here.'
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Alton Kelley : I came out originally in the winter of '64 and settled in on Pine Street. Went up to the Red Dog Saloon with The Charlatans. They were putting the Red Dog together. Then we came back and said, "What are we going to do now?" That's when we started The Family Dog. I was one of the four original members. We got Bill Ham to do a light show. We rented Longshoremen's Hall, threw a few dances and found out we weren't very good business people.
(Source : San Francisco Chronicle, 27 May, 2007)