Wavy Gravy
1984-02-25 Amherst, MA Hampshire College Music Recital Hall (M-SBD)
Nobody For President Campaign Rally & much, much more
Storytelling & Meandering Thru The Fantastic Universe Of A Merry Prankster, Hog Farmer, Music Festival MC, Clown, Activist, Stand-Up Comic & Humanitarian
::: While spoken word, this was permitted on DIME by the MODS, thanks for their consideration :::
SET ONE (CD1) :::
01. Intro: Clown Make-Up Application / The Fool / Coke / Woodstock Festival
02. Cast of 1000’s / The Human Stash! / Better Golf & Golf Stories
03. Children’s Hospital / Clown Birth / Mutant Sponges In Anti-Nuke Jail With Jackson Browne / Rainbow Choppers / Real Jail
04. Santa Claus Bust
05. Mutant Bunnies
06. Movies On Billy’s Head / Camp Winnarainbow / Peace Sunday / Kazoos For Peace
07. Lord Buckley Memorial Sunset / Hog Farm Beginnings / Village Gate / All Star Cast / Neal Cassady & Tiny Tim / The Phantom Caberet
08. The Ektar (made by Shabda Kahn) / Heads Lie Down / Jokes
09. "Climbing Harpo’s Ladder" (song)
10. Nobody For President, Pig For President, Rock For President
11. Republican Convention Press Pass / Nobody Enters & Speaks / "Hog Farm Movie" Intro / Petition / Wavy Itinerary
---Intermission & (*)“Hog Farm Movie” showing. (Unfortunately, Wavy's ad-libbed additional dialogue was not recorded, see below -----
SET TWO (CD2) :::
12. Break Dialogue / Post Movie Stories
13. Lost Hats! / More Woodstock Festival Stories... Security & The Acid Freakout Tent
14. Pennsylvania Ashes Bust / Electric Bus Races & Whipped Cream / High In An Astrojet / Woodstock Festival (cont.) / Joan Baez
15. Martin Luther’s Dreams- Wavy, Joan Baez & Bob Dylan.../ President Lincoln Eatin' Chicken!
16. Woodstock cont. / Plane Outta The Apple
17. Bad Back / Wheatgrass Clinic / Golfin' In The Streets
18. The Human Bomb Scare At The Anarchist Convention
19. Texas Pop Festival Stories / Romney Turns To Gravy Featuring B.B. King
20. Medicine Ball Caravan / Invasion Of Canterbury With Stoneground & Pink Floyd / Himalayan Bus Trip / Bubbles For Buddha / Flip Out
21. SEVA Stories
22. Wavy In Japan With 150 Rock & Rollers Including Richie Havens – Customs, The Moose & The Ultimate Big Mac Attack
23. "Basic Human Needs" (song)
24. Bag Ritual / Wavy Om / Descent Into Gong Bong / Outro…
Total Time ::: 2:12:20
::: Most excellent SBD. Check samples for personal scrutiny or flashes or feverish elation.
::: Warts: None really. Wavy went off mike on occasion & it's compensated for. He's a bit too close to the mike at other times.
::: RARE more than 2 hour Wavy storytelling performance in GREAT form, the best I saw back in the day.
Recording Information ::: mono soundboard -> Sony D6 -> Master Maxell XLII-90 cassettes, Dolby B on.
Playback circa 2000 ::: Master Maxell XLII-90 cassettes on Nakamichi BX-300 cassette deck, Dolby B on, azimuth & pitch adjusted, heads cleaned & demagnatized -> HHB CD-RW900SL CD Recorder -> CD-Rs. CD-Rs Playback 2012-08-xx -> computer -> Audacity (normalisation to remove DC offset, channel alignment, fades &/or glitches, dropouts, volume adjustments, no EQ) -> CD Wave (track splits) -> Trader's Little Helper -> yer ears. First uploaded week of 2012-08-17.
Line-up ::: Wavy Gravy (formerly known as Hugh Romney) - telling stories, singing & playing music on the ektar.
Nothing here ever commercially released to my knowledge. If I'm wrong, please advise & I'll take the offending trax offline.
CoolSonics 200 ::: Thanks to the original taper & trader, yers truly, Knees Fudd. Nobody himself was the soundman, but at some point I was self-elected to help out since I was running the tape machine anyway... ::: Corrections welcome ::: While best known as "The MC of Woodstock", Wavy is one of the greatest storytellers of his generation along with his many, many other accomplishments. I have been delighted every time I gotten to see Wavy, keeping the tales alive with wit & wisdom, and quite importantly, with variation. There is always an unexpected twist or development, even to oft-told stories. He appeared on the Amherst scene on a number of occasions, and this recording was the best of them in terms of the quantity & quality of what we got. The crown clown of hippiedom, a wonderfully unapologetic & transcendent human being, whose caring for others - fighting adversity with humour & understanding - ranks him among the highest of beings on the planet, in more ways than one. This is a much more fascinating listen than the all-to-short & sometimes uninspired event that appeared on a Relix release, so if that's all you know, be sure to give him another chance.
In the house on this magical evening... most of the Fudd family, Dwork (without whom it wouldn't have happened), the Phun G. Badillion clan, various Merry Pranksters, the Hampshire College Grateful Dead Historical Society, Alexis, Bart Wise, lots of friends, Deadheads & hippies! (and, the Phun G. Badillion Lightshow, which later became 'Speed Of Light') and I believe, Mountain Girl, ahh, it's long ago... but it was a fine time!
(*) NOTE ::: I am seriously in need of a recording of Wavy Gravy speaking along with the Hog Farm Movie (the original documentary). He traveled for years showing the film & telling stories & narrating the film, something that is sorely missing on the film itself. I have tried to get Wavy to do a new recording to no avail. If ANYONE has a recording of one of these sessions (as in - kept the microphone & tapes running during a showing of the movie - PLEASE contact me). Many thanks!
Kudos to Zongo for life support, Lochner for mikes&more & Fast Freddie for runnin' Video Dick's Record Emporium with the bathroom office full of tape decks. Thanks to Hanwaker (few among us can keep his pace). Mountains of gratitude to Davmar, D.White, Sanchez, Elliot, The Florida Kid, Kloiber, Zingg, JTW, Bershaw, Boston Gold, Weeks, Dixon, Moore, Gough & SO many more for all that collecting & sharing... Royal thanks to The Man In The Palace, Doc Tinker, Brinkhoffs, Barely Eatin', Reel Master Gaule, Parrish & all the traders who housed me thru my music acquisition & travel years. Hats off to Brother Kent, Uncle Jake, Little Queenie (& her neighbor Frank) & his honor Ptomaine Thomas. Glasses raised to Byron for musical horizon expansion & much obliged to J & Thurston for keepin' my concert fires burnin' since my continental shift. Thanks to the Mods for keepin' DIME alive. Enjoy, share, give, spread peace. Yers truly, Knees
Support the artist, clown, activist & his many humanitarian endeavors! wwwwavygravy.net
Do whatever you want with it except sell it, 'cause that ain't cool!