RIP Gary Duncan

adorshki

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Possibly the most unrecognized guitarist from the San Francisco scene, a name known primarily to fans of the immortal Quicksilver Messenger Service.
I still consider them to be THE quintessential "acid-rock band."
https://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/rest-in-peace-gary-duncan-of-quicksilver-messenger-service-rip/
Anyway, Duncan and John Cipollina created a unique synergy in that band that only lasted for about 3 years before Duncan got tired of the road and retired.
For a clue, listen to "the Fool" on the debut Quicksilver Messenger Service and all of side 2 of Happy Trails which btw was not a reference to Roy Rogers in spite of the tune closing the album, but rather a sly reference to:
aJiBaode_400x400.jpg

One of the most common visual elements of an LSD trip.
 
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adorshki

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Wow, you just reminded me Duncan came back on that album and the next one What About Me.
Unfortunately depending on who you ask and when, Just For Love also saw the return of one of the early members Dino Valente, who had decidedly pop star aspirations.
So yeah they had a couple of top 40 hits but fractured from internal stresses after that.
Valente BTW was the author of "Let's Get Together"; the publishing rights to which he sold to pay his legal fees for a pot bust which eventually sent him to prison for a couple of years, keeping him off the first 2 Quicklsilver albums.
Somebody else always gets overlooked for his tenure in Quicksilver: David Freiberg, who was recruited by Kantner to replace departed Marty Balin for the Airplane's Long John Silver promo tour went on to become a founding member of Starship and was an essential core character in Kanter's interim Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra that led to Blows Against the Empire and Crosby's solo album If I Could Only Remember My Name, before finally crystallizing as Jefferson Starship.
Truth be told at the time I detested Starship and still do for the most part, but there's no denying Freiburg's role in keeping the scene alive, almost a sort of human rubber cement able to bond the most unlikely suspects.
(from his Wiki page): "Once described as "the nicest guy in the San Francisco music scene," Freiberg holds the singular distinction of having been associated with more of the original San Francisco bands than any other individual. He also maintained equally strong connections to the Grateful Dead; in addition to playing on their intramural baseball team, Freiberg has frequently collaborated and performed with Robert Hunter and Mickey Hart."
I will always love him for writing "the Fool" on Quicksilver's debut album, possibly the greatest psychedelic song of all time, and for being their best vocalist.
Also co-wrote the second Starship tune I ever actually liked, before I even knew who it was: "Jane".
Another big name was in the band after Duncan left in '69:
Nicky Hopkins.
It took somebody like him to replace Duncan's sonic "presence", but Freiberg was "devastated":
"Freiberg later recalled that Duncan's departure shook the core of the band: "Duncan was the 'engine' man, it just didn’t WORK without him ... for me. I was really ... I was devastated..."
Still, for me the "real" quicksilver will always be the one that made the first 2 albums.
I submit for you listening pleasure "(Acapulco) Gold and Silver" from the debut album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhraiPTORhI
A sort of psychedelic take on Brubeck's "Take 5" which even garnered 'em recognition in Downbeat in '68.

And the aforementioned "the Fool"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1WnBy4z5Jc.
If you've never taken LSD, listen to this and you won't need to.
 
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JF-30

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Possibly the most unrecognized guitarist from the San Francisco scene, a name known primarily to fans of the immortal Quicksilver Messenger Service.
I still consider them to be THE quintessential "acid-rock band."
https://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/rest-in-peace-gary-duncan-of-quicksilver-messenger-service-rip/
Anyway, Duncan and John Cipollina created a unique synergy in that band that only lasted for about 3 years before Duncan got tired of the road and retired.
For a clue, listen to "the Fool" on the debut Quicksilver Messenger Service and all of side 2 of Happy Trails which btw was not a reference to Roy Rogers in spie of the tune closing the album, but rather a sly reference to:
aJiBaode_400x400.jpg

One of the most common visual elements of an LSD trip.
How much LSD did you do. Every post has LSD in it. I grew up in the SF Bay Area (that is not what I called it) and I never really got into QMS. I loved JA and some early JS. Journey used to be good until Steve Perry joined. Loved The real Greatful Dead, not the John Mayer atrocity they have been schlepping around. TOP was always great and the Horn Section is top notch. Dig CCR and Santana. Moby Grape had one hot minute of fame. There are many I am forgetting. Help me out.
 

adorshki

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How much LSD did you do.
First trip was late summer '69 just before entering high school; the legendary Orange Sunshine.
Also "purple microdot" and "green mescaline" during freshman year supposedly from the same syndicate, the Brotherhood of Eternal Love.
(Although at the time I was unaware of its existence)
Then there was a "drought" for a couple of years during which peyote buttons and morning glory seeds were sampled.
Then some of the first "Windowpane" LSD in '73.
All told from '69 -'75 probably 40 trips of all types, and then, like Kesey, realized it was just going back and forth through the same door and I'd probably had about all the insights I was ever going to get.
Also the quality was getting pretty bad.
I never had a truly "BAD" trip but it can actually get a bit tiresome and make one hyper-aware of the "grosser" aspects of life, like "what goes into your food supply?".
I think it's no coincidence a lot of the early organic food proselytizers were experienced psychonauts.
Tripped a few more times later in life bringing total to maybe 50, the very last time was morning glory seeds at the turn of the millennium.
If I want to go out like Aldous Huxley that'll be my sacrament.
How many times have you tripped?
IF my guess is right, being a few years younger than me, your most likely age of experimentation would have coincided with a drought in the SF Bay area corresponding with the mid '70's.
It wouldn't surprise me if you've never tripped at all, and I'm sure many members here never have either, so some of my comments are simply intended to help give some insight.
And there is a bit of humor associated with "surviving the psychedelic wars" as anybody who's finally wished they could "get some sleep tonight" will attest.
("Friend of the Devil" 's one of my favorite Dead tunes for that lyric.)
And Cassidy (the same one in Crimson's "Neal and Jack and Me" and the driver of the Kesey's bus as noted in "the Other One" ("There was Cowboy Neal at the wheel of the bus to never ever land") discovered the 30th second synaptic gap that separates us from actual real time by seeing those trails while on acid.
Indeed the Dead themselves acknowledge the became what they became because of the LSD.
Every post has LSD in it.
Hyperbole noted, but one of your earliest posts was about your favorite Beatles period being their "drug years" which is normally seen as the self-acknowledged LSD-using period that yielded Sergeant Pepper's, and Magical Mystery Tour and the "White Album" (And Rubber Soul and Revolver before the cat was let out of the bag)
LSD use was an inseparable element of the "San Francisco Sound" I grew up loving so my reply posts about what I considered truly psychedelic music necessarily included references to the drug.
Any historic examination of how the scene evolved that didn't mention it would be incomplete and even inaccurate, especially where the Dead are concerned.
So, just coincidence that so many of my posts seem to have LSD refs, it's a limited sample you're seeing, responding to a subject it's directly connected to.
I grew up in the SF Bay Area (that is not what I called it) and I never really got into QMS.
Technically I came to the "South bay" at age 4 in 1960. (Of course I bought my parents with me. :glee:)
Being a couple of years younger than me you probably missed Quicksilver's heyday, in fact the most radio play they ever got was for those 2 top 40 hits of the Valente era, and the rest of those albums don't quite live up to the legacy.
I loved JA and some early JS.
Airplane was my absolute favorite band at least half way through high school after discovering Baxter's in late '68 I think it was.
(Jeff Beck was in the number 2 spot or even number one as favorite guitarist for Truth and Beckola)
I also loved Blows Against the Empire ("Let's Go Together" was another one of those tunes I got to hear new for the first time on AM radio) and Sunfighter.
"Ride the Tiger" on Dragonfly was pretty god but the rest of the album rendered it in-buyable for me.
Was already exploring the European continental bands by then, anyway.
Gong and Aphrodite's Child in particular were carrying on the sound traditions I loved.
Santana also one of my favorites in '69-'71, Journey, not so much: Schon was OK but preferred the latin beats and melodies in Carlos' band.
Funny thing I actually prefer Wow to Grape's debut, especially for the tune "He"; similar vibe to "the Fool".
At this time I wasn't a big fan of horns but you mention Tower of Power, and in fact the opening tune on Quicksilver Messenger Service features the horn section from Bloomfield's Electric Flag, courtesy of producers Nick Garvenites and Harvey Brooks, both members of the Flag.
(From their Wiki page):"Though the Electric Flag was together in its original configuration less than a year, the band made a strong impression on critics and musicians, primarily in the San Francisco area where they were based. One of the first rock groups to include horns, the Electric Flag preceded the earliest edition of Blood, Sweat and Tears with Al Kooper."
"Pride of Man", horns worthy of any ToP cut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LPPE-k4IDM
I did really like a couple of Power cuts that made the charts; "Diamonds in the Sand" and "Back on the Streets Again" as my tastes broadened.
Their bassist from '77-'79, Victor Conte, was also associated with another Bay Area cult legend, Harvey Mandel, who followed Gravenites out from Chicago.
His debut album was Christo Redentor whose title tune written by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd foreshadowed the feel of It's a Beatiful Day's "White Bird" by a couple of years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_IGj-dTDW8

Lot of great horn work on Harvey's earliest albums, but all instrumental, which may be why he got so little radio play.
I like instrumentals.
There are many I am forgetting. Help me out.
So you got your It's a Beautiful Day and Electric Flag reminder, Gravenites also brought us Mother Earth.
Blue Cheer was brought to us by the same guy who brought Mandel to Phillips records.
How about Cold Blood with Lydia Pense, "You Got Me Hummin" for the ToP fan in you?
San Jose in the south bay where I grew up brought us "Little Girl" by Syndicate of Sound and the immortal "Psychotic Reaction" by the Count Five.
Back to Gary Duncan:
It occurs to me it might not be too far off the mark to say the Quicksilver's dual guitar and compositional style on the first 2 albums was the SF version of the Allman Brothers lineup through Eat a Peach.
2 years ahead of 'em.
:friendly_wink:
 
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JF-30

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I've dosed. I like fungus better.

I lived in San Jose, CA from '68 to '87 then again in '91 and from '94 to '00. I remember when there was no SiliconValley.
 
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adorshki

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I've dosed. I like fungus better.
Gotcha.
I trust then that my comments were received in the spirit in which they were made:
"Sometimes you don't know what don't know until you find out you didn't know it"
:friendly_wink:
I lived in San Jose, CA from '68 to '87 then again in '91 and from '94 to '00. I remember when there was no Silicon Valley.
BUT do you remember Carol Doda as the spokesperson for Channel 20?
:glee:
 

JF-30

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Gotcha.
I trust then that my comments were received in the spirit in which they were made:
"Sometimes you don't know what don't know until you find out you didn't know it"
:friendly_wink:

BUT do you remember Carol Doda as the spokesperson for Channel 20?
:glee:
When I grew up there we had Channel 2 was local out of Oakland, Channel 3,4 and 7 were ABC, NBC and CBS not in that order. Channel 13, 36 and 44 were local I think. Man I smoked a lot of pot in between then and now. Saw The Dead in SF, Oakland, and Sacto. For some strange reason never Berkeley.
 

JF-30

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Just looked her up. I do not remember her, but she is chesty.
 

adorshki

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Just looked her up. I do not remember her, but she is chesty.

Just realized she was the spokesperson for 36, "the perfect 36", LOL!

20 was out of SF and signal strength varied over the years.
It was literally like a TV station version of underground FM radio from around '69-'71, featured edgy (partial nudity) movies on Monday nights and even an early rock music video show on Saturdays.
I saw the original video of "Mississippi Queen" on it when the single came out.
It also got bought and sold a couple of times and may well have been off the air for a while.
There was a period from around '81- '84 where I literally watched no television, didn't have one.
My memories of pre Silicon Valley were recently touched on in post #2 of this thread:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?199334-Rhubarb-Salsa&p=1847977#post1847977
I shoulda remembered you before I decided not to post a reply to Tom earlier:


That's kind of funny because Wiki says:
"...half of all US production is in Pierce County, Washington."
Now to be fair that's firmly seated in temperate rain forest west of the Cascade Range but east of the Cascades is extremely dry in comparison, arid and surprisingly hot summers in some areas to boot, more like high prairie grasslands.
Not good for rhubarb but great for things like apples, hops, and grapes.
In fact became the nation's leading producer of apricots and cherries after my beloved Santa Clara Valley Pave-Over Project was finally completed in the '00's.
"The valley, named after the Spanish Mission Santa Clara, was for a time known as the Valley of Heart's Delight for its high concentration of orchards, flowering trees, and plants. Until the 1960s it was the largest fruit producing and packing region in the world with 39 canneries.[1][2]"
Apple Computer even has a symbolic replanted orchard inside its Apple Park campus, known locally as "that alien thing that f----ed up all our traffic":
apple-park.png

Apparently the irony escapes them.
maxresdefault.jpg

That whole piece of land was covered with one huge cherry orchard when I was a kid, around 1965.
How do I know?
Because that street down in the lower right hand corner dead-ended where those houses stop, in fact, that section above 'em was orchard too, marked by the tree line surrounding that little residential section.
My best buddy lived in the house on the north side of the street at the dead-end.
You can imagine what we did in early summer when the cherries started getting ripe.
And the mustard used to grow so tall and thick in the spring you couldn't see 3 feet through it, or over it if you were less than 5 feet tall, either.
Oh well, nobody comes here for the food anymore, anyway.
That whole orchard tract also covered the area where Vallco Shopping Center was erected; when I was a kid in '65 it didn't exist yet, in fact, I don't think the 280 freeway had been completed through the valley yet, either.
I can remember seeing the vast trench that had been dug for it when I was still 10 or eleven years old.
And surely you remember this famous piece of modern sculpture that was finally condemned to serve its intended purpose in life:
c502e5a0a3b3a3afcfb71ac22473c98b.jpg

The uncompleted interchange between 280 and 101 that stood for years as a monument to bureaucratic shilly-shallying, prompting one of San Jose's own City Council members to pull a prank worthy of any of the local high school senior classes one morning in 1976:
20131016_011120_joecollalist.jpg

Which reminds me of another local band:
the Doobie Brothers.
51kX-9O%2BC3L._SX466_.jpg

Because for years I thought that was a shot of "the Overpass".
It was also the last album of theirs that had any material I really liked, although I never actually bought any of their albums.
I DO remember their first single, though, "Nobody"getting airplay on KLIV AM in '70, and being proud of a local band who named themselves "the Doobie Brothers", "nudge nudge wink wink".
Also, since I was editing post 5 during your first reply to it, did you catch the reminders about Cold Blood and Harvey Mandel, re Bay Area horn sections?
 
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Mark WW

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I was soooo in to SanFran music in the 60's. Early JA, Grape and QMS were staples. Anyone remember Sparrow? They changed their name later on.
 

adorshki

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I was soooo in to SanFran music in the 60's. Early JA, Grape and QMS were staples. Anyone remember Sparrow? They changed their name later on.
Ah-yup.
I've mentioned that one before.
I don't usually consider 'em an SF band although as "the Sparrow" they probably deserve inclusion.
It also occurs to me that their version of "the Pusher" at the Matrix in '67 was possibly even more far out than what the Dead were doing.
When I was still in "middle school" the term heavy metal hadn't quite been coined yet, I went along with the term "hard rock" to differentiate from "rock and roll" which meant Chuck Berry and Bill Haley to me, and "pop" which meant early Beatles, Monkees, and the Beach Boys, and it was all about raw grungy tone and no slicked-up studio sonic airbrushing.
Or horns and strings.
:glee:
81NN5TfDV-L._SY355_.jpg
 

JF-30

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Just realized she was the spokesperson for 36, "the perfect 36", LOL!

20 was out of SF and signal strength varied over the years.
It was literally like a TV station version of underground FM radio from around '69-'71, featured edgy (partial nudity) movies on Monday nights and even an early rock music video show on Saturdays.
I saw the original video of "Mississippi Queen" on it when the single came out.
It also got bought and sold a couple of times and may well have been off the air for a while.
There was a period from around '81- '84 where I literally watched no television, didn't have one.
My memories of pre Silicon Valley were recently touched on in post #2 of this thread:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?199334-Rhubarb-Salsa&p=1847977#post1847977

That whole orchard tract also covered the area where Vallco Shopping Center was erected; when I was a kid in '65 it didn't exist yet, in fact, I don't think the 280 freeway had been completed through the valley yet, either.
I can remember seeing the vast trench that had been dug for it when I was still 10 or eleven years old.
And surely you remember this famous piece of modern sculpture that was finally condemned to serve its intended purpose in life:
c502e5a0a3b3a3afcfb71ac22473c98b.jpg

The uncompleted interchange between 280 and 101 that stood for years as a monument to bureaucratic shilly-shallying, prompting one of San Jose's own City Council members to pull a prank worthy of any of the local high school senior classes one morning in 1976:
20131016_011120_joecollalist.jpg

Which reminds me of another local band:
the Doobie Brothers.
51kX-9O%2BC3L._SX466_.jpg

Because for years I thought that was a shot of "the Overpass".
It was also the last album of theirs that had any material I really liked, although I never actually bought any of their albums.
I DO remember their first single, though, "Nobody"getting airplay on KLIV AM in '70, and being proud of a local band who named themselves "the Doobie Brothers", "nudge nudge wink wink".
Also, since I was editing post 5 during your first reply to it, did you catch the reminders about Cold Blood and Harvey Mandel, re Bay Area horn sections?

Channel was PBS. Sesame St., The Electric Co, Zoom, and the always exciting fund raiser. I remember Crazy George who used to go to A's, Raiders, Giant's and 9'ers games.
 

Mark WW

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Ah-yup.
I've mentioned that one before.
I don't usually consider 'em an SF band although as "the Sparrow" they probably deserve inclusion.
It also occurs to me that their version of "the Pusher" at the Matrix in '67 was possibly even more far out than what the Dead were doing.
When I was still in "middle school" the term heavy metal hadn't quite been coined yet, I went along with the term "hard rock" to differentiate from "rock and roll" which meant Chuck Berry and Bill Haley to me, and "pop" which meant early Beatles, Monkees, and the Beach Boys, and it was all about raw grungy tone and no slicked-up studio sonic airbrushing.
Or horns and strings.
:glee:
81NN5TfDV-L._SY355_.jpg

I still listen to all that music. Even today some of the guitar work by Grape and QMS amazes me.
 

Westerly Wood

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thanks for posting this Al. I had no idea about this band etc so i just enjoyed some Wiki reading on quicksilver.
 

Nuuska

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. . .


And surely you remember this famous piece of modern sculpture that was finally condemned to serve its intended purpose in life:
c502e5a0a3b3a3afcfb71ac22473c98b.jpg

The uncompleted interchange between 280 and 101 that stood for years as a monument to bureaucratic shilly-shallying, prompting one of San Jose's own City Council members to pull a prank worthy of any of the local high school senior classes one morning in 1976:
20131016_011120_joecollalist.jpg


And the completed Ponte Morandi in Genova

cq5dam.web.738.462.jpeg
 
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