In 1969 I was a 15 year old heavily invested in the Hippie-counterculture-revolution. Much to the embarrassment of my conservative Republican parents. I mean I was smart, visible, and vocal. At the time, in my small Up-state N.Y. town, that made me a member of a rather small, somewhat ostracized group. Even among the kids I went to school with. But that all changed after Woodstock.
Let's see. 1969. Moon landing, Woodstock, Viet Nam, civil rights marches, aftermath of RFK shooting, Nixon, SDS, Weathermen, uderground comics and newspapers, rallies, Beatles, Moody Blues, Stepppenwolf, Cream, Pink Floyd, Ginsberg, Leary, bell bottom jeans, Tie-dye, fighting for the 18 year old's right to vote, moratorium, co-ed dorms, pot, hash, acid, speed, etc., etc.. Yup, things were burnin' for sure!
Playing in a band at the time put us in constant danger. Being a vocal leader was even more dangerous. The school board would not let us play at the school unless they had final aproval of our play list. So we became officers of a local youth group and covinced them to start a Friday and Saturday night coffeehouse for kids, mostly so we had a place to jam.
After Woodstock, most of the then powers-that-be saw that there was no stopping the changes that were coming. But mistakes were made by all sides.
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