Forums
an open space.
***We are making Tie Die Eggs for Easter****
Here's how it's done:
you will need.
.eggs, hard-boiled, boiled in a saucepan of water with 1 tbsp of vinegar added
food coloring in assorted colors
paper towels
plastic wrap
old shirt or apron
Take a paper towel and dampen the towel with water and vinegar, making sure it is just damp.
Place a piece of plastic wrap under the paper towel.
Drip small drops of food coloring onto the paper towel. Allow colors to drop next to each other so they bleed slightly together. Make sure there is enough area with food color to cover egg.
Wrap an egg in the paper towel and the plastic wrap. The longer you keep the egg in the brighter the egg will get.
Repeat until all your eggs are tie dyed. Every one will be different, but all of them will be pretty!
Have a grate time!!
**Peace, Gigi**
thanks folks
thanks folks.
looks like next week I will be heading back to the big bad city of Bangkok to sort some thangs out and hustle up some more cash from ex-pat yuppie suits.
incidentally, marye, there are 3 seasons. getting HOT!
http://www.simply-thai.com/Thailand_page_Seasons.htm
and GRTUD, you want your 'rug' back??!!
I thought you gave up wearing that rag of a toupee long ago.
(yuk yuk yuk)
( -:
Happy Easter to all!!
love and peace.
Significant others...
When I first met my girlfriend (well, she wasn't my girlfriend yet, but you get the idea), she inquired about the SYF sticker on the back of my car. I told her what it represented and her response was something akin to "Oh. That's nice." Her preferred music at the time ran toward Eminem and Metallica, both of which represent areas of music which, as much as I've tried, I just don't get.
Fast-forward to today, when we're at home in the evening and have Sirius radio on. From the corner of my eye, I have seen her quietly rocking out to Sugar Magnolia on more than one occasion, told me that Jerry's rendition of Lazy River Road is beautiful, and can identify the Dead from anything else playing.
All this to say, if your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, partner, paramour or concubine doesn't dig the music, just give them a little time. Everyone comes around sooner or later.
Mike
"Goodbye, Mama and Papa,
Goodbye, Jack and Jill
The grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter,
Either side of the hill"
islandmyk@yahoo.com
damn internet
damn internet, got logged in, and bumped off before the post could show up...
so, I gotta do this fast, this time.
I ran into a Korean deadhead dude in my recent travels, and we were talkin, shooting the shit... his English is a little shakey, and my Korean language skills are only good for ordering beer. (ok, I DO have priorities) long story short, he reaches into his back pack, and pulls out a tattered, coffee stained, printed copy of an interview with Garcia, and he had filled the margins in with Hungul trying to translate it / understand it. (he had a bag full of dead related mag issues, and stuff like that)
I read through most of the interview, and low and behold, whose name is at the end, copyright by Mary E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so, my question is, dear marye, where is the audio tape of that interview, and may I please? pretty please with sugar on top, get a copy??
or, is it possible for you to upload it onto some server of audio files so EVERYONE can enjoy it? like archive dot org??
pretty please with sugar on top!!!
next week in Bangers the net should be more steady. I would love to 'hear' Jerry in that interview.
if I tell you I am going deaf, (true, but who isn't after dancing in front of the WALL on numerous tours?) would it motivate you to put it on the net sooner?
love and peace.
Watch out Dead family
There's Scammer's running rampant in these parts. Never seen anything like it.
PEACE
I KNOW you are a fucink spam scammer!
thanks, iknowyourider;
the warning should be more clear for our family.
by the by, did EVERYONE get that spam, from the Ghana scam artist?
those kind of bullshit things pop up all over, maybe to the 'un-enlightened' they may fall for it. I think a warning somewhere would be appropriate, and a simple,
'use the block this user' would be the advice.
EVERYONE knows, right? NEVER NEVER NEVER reply or give ANY personal information over the net. no bank account numbers no birth dates, no social security numbers. never reply to web sites that even resemble your bank's website. NEVER NEVER NEVER, please. do not fall for there tricks. no bank ever asks for that shit online.
I have met (unfortunately) some of these scammers in person, and they realy think people are so fucking stupid that sure, here is my personal information, and I am sure the bank in Nigeria (or Ghana, or France, or LA, or wherever) will send me millions of dollars that we can share.
scammer assholes, take a look at my fucking passport, you see that my birthday is NOT fucking YESTERDAY!!!
*************************************
not to mingle things here, and the tibet dude is NOT the same as the scam artists who sent that bullshit private message, and I certainly respect the Tibet thing and feel for those people, and would love to see a free tibet like everyone else...
so, hows about a 'Save Tibet' topic, then that dude who posts his stuff can do so there, for me, on crappy net connections, it is a bit frustrating to have to waste time (and money) sorting through those again and again in each and every thread I try to catch up on.
and then, people who wish to 'engage in a discussion' about Tibet will know where to go.
naturally, tibet dude, please continue to post that stuff here in this thread since this is an open space, but please, not all over the board, it makes the message annoying to me, rather than feel sympathy or empathy or motivate me to actually 'do' something to 'help' it bums me out. pretty please with sugar on top.
hmmm, coming up with a new idear for a game show:
'Name that Spam!!'
love and peace.
joe
spams and scams
i got hit with the ghana scam too. how dumb do they think we are that we'll actually fall for that?! anyway, i'm the "tibet dude" and wanted to apologize for gumming up the works. i was just trying to help out and got a bit carried away. thanks for the advice CCj, i'm still learning my way around the forums and haven't yet figured out how everything works.
"Unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God" ...
... the Books of Bokonon
granfalloon/tibet
Hey there Granfalloon ,,no appology needed, now you know,, this site can be a bit confusing sometimes ... it took me a while to figure it out and i am still learning , too ..so don`t feel bad ... but yes one topic in one forum not all over the place, please,,, like i said now you know ,, .... I to would like to see a free tibet and my sympathy for the folks over there,,, they need their peace,, like everyone else ... good luck with your mission !! take care ... peace ....
cool beans, tibet dude.
you will always be the "tibet dude" to me, brother.
YOU, are the perfect example of why I love deadheads. thankx for the understanding.
In my own little way, I've been giving this Tibet thang A LOT of thought... so for getting into a "discussion" sake, let's start with a little history... bear with me now, I ain't never had too much "good" formal education, I learned the lessons of life on the road and my 1/2 a semester of college was spent on tour. and so some of the exact dates and shit might be off...
Tibet was sometimes a separate, independant nation and sometimes a conquered vassal state throughout the time period 1500 years ago and before... that means, like from the start of time, as far as I can know.
for most of the earliest times of known human history ("why the fuck is it HIStory and not HERstory" grumbles my old lady) to the early 1700s or so, I gotta say 1700 hundreds, cause i confuse myself if I say yhe 16th century, or is it the 15th?? fuck it, the 1700's the Mongols usually controlled Tibet. Who remembers the classic line in Bill and Ted's EXCELLENT adventure? excuse me Mrs. Old lady, but when did the Mongols rule China?? (I digress)
but anyways, there were revolutions, uprisings, invasions, insurrections, general mayhem, assassinations, all of the usual historical misbehavior like everywhere else in the world during those thousand years or so. because of this earliest history, (that we know) one could change the argument to ask is Tibet independent, or part of Mongolia? I talked to some cool folks from Mongolia who have that kind of thinking.
so, in like 1705, the Mongols, with the blessings of the Chinese imperial dynasty, invaded Tibet and took it over, deposing the Dalai Llama from back then. as life and HERstory are IRONIC and totally fucked up, another Mongol group then kicked them other Mongols out and took the place over again, and the first group of Mongols asked the Chinese emperor for help kicking out the new dudes who were also Mongols. Meanwhile, nobody really gives a shit about the tibetans. From like 1723 to 1727 (I cheated, I looked that one up) there was civil war in Tibet, and then the Qing emperor installed governors (read: dictators) in Lhaasa. Round this time, seems to me to be when the original disagreement over whether Tibet is a province or not began. this is not a new issue at all, and it only gets more fucked up. Some say that they were provincial governors, some say that they were ambassadors, some might say military dictators... Regardless, there WAS a Chinese military presence there "keeping order". fear of more Mongols, trying to start a buffer, whatever the justifications might have been, Tibet, was under control by an outside power, but, shit, they had been that way already. remember the Mongols. ever since the middle of the 1750s , the folks that replaced the council of ministers has his powers that were, were described differently by the Chinese and the Tibetans. So the disagreement between them about that has been going on for a long, long time...
Most folks these days don't know that In 1788 the Nepalese invaded and took over Lhasa, and the Tibetans THEMSELVES asked the Chinese to help kick them rabble rousers out, which the Qing emperor did. Quing, then for the next 100 - 125 years, China basically defined the government and the selection process for officials to politically administer Tibet. who is doing the math?? what year are we up to now?? did that make it a province? A chinese vassal state? Or still an independent nation? I dunno, opinions vary. don't matter, it happened. and now, of course, the imperialistic powers (read dead WHITE people) just had to get involved. What was going on at the end of the 1800's?? well, England had just gotten their ass kicked out of OUR colonies, and they might have been looking round for new folks to tax and not represent, maybe they just liked the Tibet weather? or was it for ALL of the tea in China?? ahhh, who was controlling Singaporte, Hong Kong, etc etc. not to mention those really, bad bad, Opium Wars and the harshness of the Brits in those days. (sorry Badger) So like in 1904, the British invaded Tibet, occupied Lhasa, drove out the Dalia Llama, and made it part of the British empire. (this wasn't no fucking British music invasion with "beatles" this was a "beating" invasion with Brittish soldiers shotting people and hitting them on the head and what the fuck was that thing called, oh yeah, bayonets. After widespread hue and cry, they penned a treaty (which some believe to have been largely propaganda) to permit Tibet to remain autonomous, but nominally under British control. In 1905 the Brits "let" the Dalai Llama return.
In the meantime, the Qing emperor in China was pretty alarmed and could not sit still, since China certainly considered Tibet, if not a province, then a very closely allied vassal state. so they invaded back, and kicked out the Brits, over the period of 1908 - 1911. (I looked that one up, too)
Lots of stuff happened real, real quickly after that, starting with a treaty between Mongolia and Tibet which was disputed and ending with a British effort to divide Tibet into an autonomous 'Inner Tibet' and an outer province under the rule of China.
Folks, keep in mind that the Chinese revolution is still long off, and Mao himself was just a boy. The Chinese government later totally disagreed with this original 'treaty' , since it slyly, ever so slyly, switched a bunch of land to British-controlled India, which pissed them Chinese rulers, and probably the Tibetans in the area, off no end. The Brits actually published books that clearly stated that the treaty was never officially "ratified", but in 1938 they recalled all copies and republished the books, now claiming that the treaties were valid. what's that thang about the winners writing history. oops, sorry, HERstory.
What is that shit about the winners (re)writing history?
Anyways, China was real busy with problems of their own from 1915 - 1945, like the rise of the RED Communists, overthrow of government, exile on Main Street of the Last Emporer, exporting only bad Chinese recipes, invasion by the Japanese with millions and millions of casualties, the rape of Nanking, etc. The Chinese around this time always said during this period that Tibet was their province, but were never strong enough to invade and take it over again. too busy fighting the Japanese, Manchuquo, and all that was on their agenda. What else was going on between 1914 - 1945?? what else happened, raise your hands please, don't call out in class. Yes, you get a gold star, 2 world wars. Wasn't it the Chinese who invented gunpowder? and they had it used against them by the Brits. gotta keep them high tech secrets secret... oh yeah, I remember, it was western folks who usually get the idears of how to use a technology not for shooting off fireworks, but for shooting people.... (I digress again)
meanwhile, the Briish have always supported Tibet being an independent nation based on the 1914 treaty of Simla, but cynical suits claim that has more to do with them illegally seizing Chinese territory for the British empire than any concerns for the Tibetan people.... so, for the past 70 years or so, China has never stopped claiming that Tibet was part of China, and Tibet has always claimed it is an independent nation, independent not only from China, but from Mongolia and the British Empire...
China has always been totally paranoid about protecting the inner kingdom from external barbarians. Who built the Grate Wall?? (who got laid on the Grate wWall??!!) In more recent years, since Mao and his crew took over, did the Chinese get more fucking paranoid?? Where is my little red book? they had border skirmishes with the USSR which were never completely or accurately reported by either side; (for the youngins, all of those countries like "Wherethefuckisitstan" were under the Soviet, red rules. Another, modern example was when China atempted to deal an "uppity" Vietnam a border lesson, when Vietnam seemed to be gloating too much about their victory against the good ol'e US of A. -- but China actually ended up taking heavy losses on that one. The Chinese also had a brief war with India (look up these dates yourself, folks, I'm getting sleepy) the war with India was about who owned the highest real estate. All during history, wars have been won according to who owned the high ground. (not who was "high" on the ground) Can't get any higher than Tibet, folks. The Chinese army moved into Tibet without a great deal of world protest in 1950. Shortly thereafter, the Dali Lama went into exile and Tibet has asserted their independance.
The question is: but what, these daze are the Tibetans really trying to be independant for?? Devout Tibetans believe their Dalai Lama to be a living, enlightened, vessel of God, or more accurately that Buddha (Hal R, please help me here) himself, chose the incarnation of one of their youth by touching his spirit. Tibetan elders perform rituals until it is beyond a doubt that the proposed child is enlightened and is indeed the Dalai llama. So it is Buddha, who chooses the Dalai llama, BUT (big BUT) not too long ago, as I heard, in what some Chinese scholors consider a brilliant (read: crafty) move, while others consider it to have been totally fucked up and totally fucking stupid, the Chinese attempted to become involved in the dalii lama selection process, explaining that "their" candidate would be chosen as the next Dalai llama based on education, test scores (loud sheesh!!) and of course, his willingness to embrace Mother China. You do not hear too much abouth that kind of totally fucked up shit on frigging CNN. So, what is going on now is not a fucking lame ass protest about democracy, as our good ol'e boy GW would have you believe. it is indeed, in my most humble of Humbolt opinions, a protest that seeking religious freedom from China. So here we are today, and the fact is, China owns Tibet, militarily. Is it the continued paranoia of Maoism that makes it so unbearable for the Chinese government to allow a religious sect to live in their midst? -- (who are the gorrillas??) even when the very leader of the religious sect, has called for only civil disobedience and non-violence lest he quit his post-- though I did see some VDO of robe clad monks kicking shit around, so they, even tehy are not above not following the Dalai Lllama it seems. OR, as I am cynical enough to believe, that VDO was set up and 'fake monks" were in it. A whole bunch of monks, who finally got contact with some 'western' media have claimed they were confined and had nothing to do with and certainly did not support any violence...
China could get brownie points from the UN and other countries, if they just let the Dalai lama back into Tibet without punishment or prison of any kind and they would really win world favor, if they allowed the Tibetans to simply be able practice their two thousand years + of Buddhism without having a Chinese implant who did well on fucking tests be declared the next incarnation of the Buddha. (that may have only been a governemnet idea, and it certainly never happened since the current Dali llama is still alive...
Sage leaders in China realize that this shit going on in Tibet and the neighboring areas with lots of Tibetan folks might spark more internal revolt all over China for greater freedoms, including and especially religious freedoms...
Canceling or boycotting the Olympics would send world peace back into the Cold War era, regarding foreign relations with China. When was it, in 1976 that we didn't go to the olympics because of the Soviet Union. China has greater problems ahead as well regarding religious freedom and violence. Not to mingle issues here agian, but those cock suckers in Al Qaeda has been reported to have established a "beach head" with the millions and millions of Chinese Muslims (and those folks are also pretty bummed out and angry about their own lack of religious freedom) so the whole thang is a fucking pandora's box or jack in the box or whatever, it's an accident waiting to happen.
OK, there is a test on Monday.
I had one more thing in mind that I wanted to say, which I have totally spaced on... but anyway, HERstory is a fucked up thang, and she does, unfortunately, repeat herself.
now where did I put that god damn lighter??!!
( -;
love and peace.
aology accepted and important question
welcome back thanks for the History lesson CCjoe....yup the machinations of the colonial powers have been responsible for so many of the sorrows of the world and still are to this day (but those folks should really all be more grateful that we brought them democracy and cola and stuff).
Poor Tibet.
Now on to the serious business
did you really see Jerry and Bobby singing Night Fever in Studio 54?
WOW
Thank you CCj. (sniff) you have finally give me that fleeting thing. a history lesson that intrests me AND has to do with current events. Albait my head is about to explode from TMI... I love it. I never got one of these PM that are being talked about. Also, I am now involved in my schools radio station. I am preparing to inject some of theat sweet liquid weve all been talkin bout. A mainline IV of right to the heart of my school via the ear. Check out our website some time. I may just be on air and accepting requests. wbvc.pomfretschool.orgPeace,
the kid
The Dalai Lama
Is a reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama and so it goes back, the current Dalai Lama is the 14th.
I started to write all about him but just pasted the following from the The Dalai Lamas biography from The Government of Tibet in Exile website.
Here it is.
His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub on 6 July 1935, in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion.
The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. Lhamo Dhondrub was, as Dalai Lama, renamed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso - Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshe Norbu, the Wishfulfilling Gem or simply Kundun - The Presence.
If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake
Thanks for the history lesson
Welcome back ccjoe.
A book I like that gives a history and the basics of Tibetan Buddhism is Introduction To Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers
And cc, please share the story of Jerry and Bob and you at Studio 54.
If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake
Thought I should add this
Here is the conlusion of The Dalai Lama's bio:
A Simple Buddhist monk
His Holiness often says, "I am just a simple Buddhist monk - no more, nor less."
His Holiness follows the life of Buddhist monk. Living in a small cottage in Dharamsala, he rises at 4 A.M. to meditate, pursues an ongoing schedule of administrative meetings, private audiences and religious teachings and ceremonies. He concludes each day with further prayer before retiring. In explaining his greatest sources of inspiration, he often cites a favorite verse, found in the writings of the renowned eighth century Buddhist saint Shantideva:
For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake
HalR
Halr,
the current Dalai llama is or is not a DNA relative of the previous lama??
as for the studio 54 thang, did you want to hear HISstory or HERstory bout that??
yuk yuk yuk
who saw Rashomon?
( -;
I should have time in a few days when I get trapped in an airport waiting for a flight and more time to tell HISstory again. alls I'll say now, the truth is always stranger than fiction.
love and peace.
I JUST remembered my last point I wanted to make after my longwinded HISstory lesson, Tibet, at the very least, wants autonomy. I wanted to use that vocabulary word I learned in Mrs. DiMartini's class all those years ago. (a martini in a glass is better than a Martini in a class-- even I knew that when I was 11)
so there!
( -;
Not a DNA relative,
I guess could be but is a reincarnation. He is found by means of seers and will pick out objects of the past Dalai Lama out of a group of objects. They may be from some isolated village.
If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake
Brew pubs and microbrews
Gr8ful says it's time to change the subject!! Tell me about your favorite microbrew or a good place to enjoy one or two. I suggest 75th Street Pub in Kansas City or Free State Tavern in Lawrence, home of the mighty Jaybirds. IPA? Try Great divide out of Denver and either the Hercules or the Titan.
Microbrews
Two of my faves that I just can't get here in the northeast:
Fat Tire - yummy! I always grab this when I'm in Arizona.
Karl Strauss - Oatmeal Stout or Dry Hopped, if they have it. Every time I'm in San Diego I have dinner at Old Columbia at least once.
Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.
R.I.P Robert Fagles ~ Homer's Iliad & Odyssey
A talented Poet & Professor. He will surley be missed.
Studio 54 story...
the Studio 54 story will be delayed.
I have got to lay down.
in the airport, set for an overnight flight...
I am beat.
I am getting too old for this shit.
love and peace.
thanks.
thanks badger.
ohhh, I just totally crashed for about an hour, that perked me up a bit. gotta go board the plane.
heading back to Bangers! only a 6 hour fl;ight from the land of the rising sun to the land of smiles.
da plane boss! da plane!
I LOVE free i-net connections at airports! just can't send email for some reason, thoguh this board works fine.
Hmmm?
I am a little out of the loop I will admit. What is this thing with studio 54? Should I be seriously concerned that I have no clue what studio 54 is? I have not been really deep into the dead for very long and am kind of willing to admit most of the little knowledge I have acumulated has been from wkipedia forays. I believe it has been said that "I am the wisest man in the world for I know only one thing, and that is that I know nothing."cofusedly,
The Kid
well...
in this case I'm almost as much in the dark as you (Studio 54, which may or may not still exist, was one of those self-appointed uberhip clubs for the rich and famous in NYC, more or less) except that hints have been dropped in various venues that CCj has an amusing story to relate. Beyond that I too know nothing!
Except that CCj's stories are usually worth waiting for. I keep hoping he'll re-tell the Taj Mahal story that got devoured by ill-behaved software in the early days of the site...
Thanks
Thank you for indulging my ignorance. also, I am beginning a radio show on my school's radio station. It will soon be available streaming online. If anyone has any suggestions as for stuff I should get my paws on for the show, feel free to PM me and I will find a way to get my hands on it.Peace,
The Kid
deadheadkid
Check out the vine and take a look at some of the interesting offerings that are available.
deadheadkid
The Studio 54 type scene was the nemesis of some Deadheads and counterculture and antiestablishment types, whatever remnants there were with a social conscience that is, but maybe I took my stance all too seriously because it was a world away and couldn't be taken seriously anyway and maybe it was just a fun pretentious party all the time there , who am I to say but we thought the whole scene was out to destroy rock and roll.
Don't believe what they tell you, disco sucks.
Long live rock!
(and jazz and Blues)
Hint: If you get confused just listen to the music play.
but I still want to hear the story from ol' CCj himself, I am conducting important research
If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake
Waiting with Bells On..
Can't wait for CCj's story! I've seen the movie & I wonder how it really was. Good luck with your research HalR. Are you going Gonzo style?
PEACE
Thanks
Believe me, HalR, I know disco sucks. we have taken the liberty of purging most of it from our stations librarys, but the hunt goes on, for it seems our electronic DJ likes to taunt us and play it occasionally ;). good luck with the research. I am curious about this story also. But enlighten me on this Taj Mahal story. I need excitement in my life for all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy indeed. a little history that doent involve the depressing and sad conditions of the Industrial Revolution would be great. Also, anyhistory that does not involve having to deal with my arch nemesis here woulf be wicked awesome.
Arch Nemesis?
*looks Around and Around* (cue "Beat It", by Michael Jackson)
Where?
"All energy flows according to the whims of the Great Magnet. What a fool I was to defy him."
Not so fast
I've got a great video, on DVD, of the BeeGees. Makes me want to put on my white suit and do some grinding.
My Studio 54 Story
WARNING! No Dead angle here. I only post this because the subject came up, and there was an inquiry about what Studio 54 was all about. Those of you who were fortunate enough to have avoided direct exposure to Studio 54 can consider your perfect records intact. I was not so lucky, and so for the benefit of anyone interested I will relate my experience.
Studio 54 was the "brain child" and first business enterprise of two guys named Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager. Steve Rubell is no longer visiting this planet, and these days Ian Schrager spends his time developing high end boutique hotels.
Anyway, their nightclub idea was located in a former television studio located in New York on West 54th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, so you can see how much thought went into the name of the place. They intentionally restricted admission to only fancy, upscale-looking people and it quickly became a celebrity hotspot. The bouncers at the door were the arbiters of who got in, and getting past their velvet ropes became sort of a status symbol. The only other way in was to be "on the list," which actually had a panache of its own. No waiting in the line, just walk right up, speak a few words and the velvet ropes part. The stage was used as the main dance floor, and disco was all that ever got played there. They charged ridiculous prices for drinks, and in reality the place ran on cocaine, which proved to be its eventual undoing.
In 1980 I was in a band that had professional management. One of their other "artists" got booked into 54 to lip-synch two of her her so-called songs, and our manager asked us to please attend. After all, we would be "on the list!" I am absolutely certain that the only reason I was admitted was because I was on the list. I still periodically kick myself for having stooped so low as to have actually gone there. So in we go, me, my band, the manager, and this caterwauling ditz named Lenore O'Malley who was really just a white Gloria Gaynor clone.
Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. It was relentless, and getting louder as we went down the stairs. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. It was at this point that I coined the term Brain Slapping Disco. There was just no other way to describe it. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. The gain on the bass was jacked up so high it made your pant legs wave in the breeze. It was what an old sound engineer friend of mine used to describe as Too Loud For Humans.
Manager and Ditz headed off to get ready for her act. I looked out at the writhing sea of what I could only assume was humanity on the dance floor. There was more polyester than a recycling plant, enough gold chains to rival Fort Knox, and the most ridiculously overproduced hair I had ever seen. None for me, thanks. Where's the bar? OK, there we go.
EIGHT bucks for a beer? Twelve bucks for a well drink? Christ, it was 19 freaking 80. There are lots of places now that still don't have the cojones to charge that much! I didn't ask how much for the lines all those people were doing. And you certainly didn't need to bring your own weed. Oh well, it was far too hot and smoky in there to not have something to wet the whistle. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Doesn't it ever stop? How much longer am I going to have to put up with this insipid crap?
Time to hit the john. Good lord, there's some freak in a tux in here with an array of bottles filled with various types of chemical stench, turning the faucets on and off, and handing out towels. He seems to think I somehow owe him money for the privilege of using the urinal. "It's okay, buddy, I don't need any help with this, I've had lots of practice already. Maybe I should charge YOU something for the show?" What sort of a weirdo would ever take a job like that? I thought about asking him how much to piss on him instead, but decided I really didn't want to know the answer, especially if it involved him paying me, which seemed like it could be a distinct possibility! Couldn't get out of there fast enough, and I really didn't want to know what was going on in that stall.
Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. My brain hurts! Please make it stop! Thud-thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Finally, it's the Ditz's numbers! They're only about three minutes each, the end is in sight! Manager reappears and says, "Hey, what do you think?" At least that's what I think he said, it was almost impossible to hear over the thud-thud-thud-thud. So I tried to scream back at him "Couldn't I just pound railroad spikes into my temples instead?" I'm not sure if he got it, though. He thought this stuff was cool! That night he was Somebody! Sap...
Well, Ditz was done, we'd done our duty for the team, so the guitar player and I waved goodbye and got the hell out of there before we got infected. Apparently it was too late for the singer and the bass player who decided to hang around. They thought it was cool, too! More saps...
Sometimes I kick myself for having had anything to do with that band. The material was all really just commercial pop crap that surprise, surprise, never went anywhere. So happy I never signed that record contract. Even happier that I never got dragged to 54 again.
Okay, ccJoe, please enlighten us!
Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.
Thanks for the story Mr. Pid
Very well written.
I was drugged at times into going to discos, I must admit. Friends would say "There are women there". My reply was "But not our kind of women". My reaction when there was one of three 1. Run for the nearest exit 2.Shrivel up and become invisible 3. Get as messed up as possible, maybe I will just not notice or care I will be so numb. Or any combination of the 3.
If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake
well well well
we're smokin them all out now! Good story Mr P..
But hang on, aren''t be being a bit snobbish; Lots of people dressing up getting high and dancing to loud music and flashing lights? Sounds a bit familiar. What's wrong with that? Just a different generation. The whole acid house thing was the same in the 80s. I think the problem is the effect of the substance of choice for these movements and the culture it creates. What fuelled the psychedelic movement and the dance music of the last 20 years is very different from what fuelled the disco movement. As the wonderful and much missed Ian Dury once said:
'one snort and you're a fascist'
Okay, hit me with your rhythm stick
Perhaps you do have a point, badger. To me, disco sound (i just can't refer to it with the M word) was just an incessant stream of indistinguishable throbbing. The most common complaint that I get from people who don't appreciate GD is that to them it "all sounds the same."
So I guess art really is in the eye, or ear, of the beholder.
Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.
Block Heads
I'm fairly certain that Pid was a BlocKhead (in one manner of speaking or other) at one time in his life, at least. Speaking of which, I saw John Turnbull play with World Party at Bonnaroo in 2006 which was awesome. He and Karl Wallinger were perfect together and I was told (and heard a few "tapes" proving the point) that some of the other shows they played together were hot as hell (I think they played together in San Fran).
I wasn't into the Disco scene either, but I remember folks calling Terrapin Station "Disco Dead" when it was released (too funny).
"Dancin', dancin', dancin' in the streets..."
Great story, Mr. P...
I congratulate myself on my fortunate escape from ever setting foot in the place!
Yep, Great Story Mr.P
I wouldn't have minded taking a tour of 54. Just after hearing how quickly some rise & fall. I understand people saying ShakeDown was a bit disco, but Terrapin? Okay, Dancin is NOT one of my favorites, but Prophet & Terrapin, no way! Of course, since Disco was indeed dead by my time, I guess I'm just rambling...
PEACE
Thanks, Mr. Pid
That was funny as shit! I laughed so hard this morning I almost blew a gasket. Thanks for brightening up an otherwise crappy day. I missed 54 but attended a couple of its many clones that sprouted up in the big apple around the same time, same annoying shit, different place. Railroad spikes to the temples, how fitting!
Terrapin disco, hell no! That was Shakedown, baby. Well, well, well, you can never tell.
yep,the good ole disco...
iin have had my dose of this places too,but must say that in that time there was a little difference.You had disco and you had funk,and i have to admit that the funky side of this movement was not that bad.earth,wind,fire/johnny guitar watson/brothers johnson,chaka THE khan,quincy jones oh i could fill a page with bands that were pretty hot.the problem was some pubs were not.good grief,studio 54? the place on earth where evreybody who believed he was cool and important enough wanted to be.andy hang out there every night....no there was DISCO and funky music,it was just ones choice in which joint he stepped in:-)(-:
Good Point, Frankly
I agree 100%! Funk has gotten a bad "Rap" (pun intended).
Oh, and I found this picture of what I believe was Mr. Pid (before hair plugs, apparently), waiting to get into Studio 64, which was almost as popular as that other place, and hosted much better musical talent. Proof positive that he was indeed a "BlockHead".
"Well I woke up this mornin'; I best get rollin' on." - R.L. Burnside
"Well I woke up this mornin'; I best get rollin' on." - R.L. Burnside