Monday, April 30, 2012

Pattee Arena, County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road,Monterey, CA



Capacity 5,800

The county fairgrounds was originally laid out and constructed by the WPA in 1939.
The Monterey County Fairgrounds is nestled on 22 beautifully landscaped oak-studded acres located in the city and county of Monterey.

It is a state-owned multi-use facility with 4 large banquet rooms, 3 smaller meeting rooms, 2 outdoor concert venues and a variety of outdoor and indoor cost-effective sites ideal for all types of events.
In the decades since 1941, the bathrooms have been replaced and the horse racetrack has been converted to simulcast, but much remains of the original work. 
The Pattee Arena is 28,000 sq.ft. and easily accommodates large concerts, rodeos and horse shows. With 500 amps, elevated seating on both sides of stage, 3 recently renovated dressing rooms and a maximum capacity of 5,800 people (with seats set up on the floor), it is an ideal setting for spectacular events on the Monterey Peninsula.


Joan Baez, Bob Dylan West Coast Debut, The Greenbriar Boys and Peter Paul and Mary performed at the first Monterey Folk Festival.

Wildwood Boys
May 17, 18, 19, 1963
Nine Pound Hammer

Wildwood Boys:
Jerry Garcia, banjo
David Nelson, guitar
Robert Hunter, bass
Ken Frankel, mandolin

They won the Amateur Bluegrass Open Competition.
Other artists included: Country Boys with Clarence White and Roland White; Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys; Osborne Brothers; Doc Watson.(1)


from Mike Wanger, Bob Weir's high school classmate:

"At the Monterey Folk Festival in 1963, there was a New Talent showcase. The last performer to appear in the program was Michael Cooney, who had completely charmed the audience with his talent and boyish charisma. Immediately afterward, we scrambled over to the banjo contest, the prize for which was an Ode 5 string, long neck banjo. When Cooney showed up to enter the contest, the reaction from the crowd clearly indicated that he still had us under his spell. Another entrant in the banjo contest was an incredibly talented and wonderfully jovial musician named Jerry Garcia. Once the contest began, the field was quickly narrowed to Cooney and Garcia. The challenge faced by the judges was that Cooney played frailing style and Garcia played an entirely different Scruggs style. Time and time again, Cooney and Garcia were called up to the stage, alternating in their demonstrations of fine musicianship. Cooney frailed away with tunes from Appalachia while Garcia, backed by David Nelson on guitar, offered up a string of blistering bluegrass breakdowns. The judges struggled with an "apples or oranges" kind of decision, and may have chosen popularity over prowess. Or maybe they took note of the fact that Cooney played a long neck 5 string and Garcia didn't. In any case, the next time I saw Michael Cooney perform, he announced that he had an Ode 5 string, long neck banjo for sale.

The Berkeley Barb ad says "banjo contest winner Mike Cooney had won the banjo contest at the 1963 Monterey Folk Festival. The judges (Rodney and Doug Dillard and Billy Ray Lathum) found Cooney’s frailing (traditional) style to be more worthy than the high speed three-finger (Bill Keith style) bluegrass picking of the intensely competitive Jerry Garcia (appearing in The Wildwood Boys along with Ken Frankel and David Nelson).  "I wish I could say Jerry won," says Rodney Dillard, "but he didn't. He felt for sure he was gonna have it because he played this real fancy bluegrass style — not the greatest in the world, bless him. We gave it to a guy who was a little more creative, actually a folk singer who frailed the banjo, named Mike Cooney. And none of the bluegrass people could understand why we did it. All the bluegrass nazis were really mad."  Kathy and Carol regularly opened for Cooney."



Jerry performed here on
5/17/63 David Nelson
Banjo Contest (solo)

5/18/63 Wildwood Boys
Amateur Bluegrass Open Competition

5/19/63 Wildwood Boys

6/18/67 Grateful Dead (Monterey Pop Festival)





















1.)^Troy, Sandy, Captain Trips, pg 50, 258

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Kezar Stadium, 755 Stanyan Street, San Francisco, CA


Capacity 59,942


In 1922,  Mary Kezar donated $100,000 to build a memorial in honor of her mother and uncles who were pioneers in the area. The City of San Francisco threw in another $200,000 to build on the land that had housed Golden Gate Park's nursery and stable yard beginning in 1873-1874. Also on the site was John McLaren's beloved Rhododendron Dell. Most of the money was used to build Kezar Stadium, a football stadium that served as the home of the 49ers between 1946 and 1971. The smaller Kezar Pavilion, built in 1924 by Willis Polk and Company, has outlasted the stadium.

Dedication ceremonies for the stadium were held on May 2, 1925. The architect was Willis Polk.  It is in the Southeast corner of Golden Gate Park.
First event - 2 mile race between Willie Ratola and Pavo Nurmi of Finland, (world's greatest distance runner), on May 2, 1925.
Last event - November 10, 1988, Frosh Football between Sacred Heart and Mitty High Schools.
Two world championship fights - Jackie Fields vs. Young Corbett (of San Francisco), welterweight championship in 1932; and Rocky Marciano vs. Don Cockell (from England), welterweight championship in 1955.

Beginning in June 1989, Kezar Stadium was demolished and rebuilt with a much smaller seating capacity of 10,000. The upgrades included an eight-lane, all-weather track and a large grass athletic field suitable for soccer, football and lacrosse.[3]
The field and track configurations remained the same. A replica of the original concrete arch bearing the name "Kezar Stadium" was built on the west side of the stadium as a tribute to the original structure. A plaque of NFL Hall of Famer Bob St. Clair, who played a record 189 career games at Kezar Stadium, is built into the replica arch.

The San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders both began their existence at the stadium. The Raiders played at Kezar during their first season and at Candlestick Park during their second season, before Frank Youell Field was built as a temporary facility in Oakland. The 49ers moved to a more modern and accessible stadium at Candlestick Park in 1971 after losing the 1970 NFC Championship Game to the Dallas Cowboys, 17-10, on January 3, 1971, in their final game at Kezar.




Jerry performed here with The Grateful Dead on
5/26/73




Here's a review by Jeff Perry, who knew Kevin McKernan, Pigpen's brother.
5-26-73
It had only been a couple months since Kevin's brother died. I saw the
Dead play a few months back at Maples (Stanford)... the sound was terrible
in that gym... the new songs were not very "Grateful Dead-like" and I only
heard Lesh's bass. I had gotten word that Pig was down to 90 lbs and
wanted to leave the hospital and go back to his home in Corte Madera. I
kept looking at the empty space onstage where he should be. Not a good
show, I just wasn't in the mood. A month later Pig would be dressed in his
honorary Hell's Angels vest and old hat at Roller and Hapgood funeral home
on Middlefield Rd in Palo Alto. The Dead were changing and Kevin
McKernan's brother was gone.
Spring and summer came early to the Bay Area. My first love and I
broke up. The Dead were playing the Cow Palace and I decided to "pass" on
seeing them. Kevin had vanished from my "social circles" and there was
concern. My condolences seem to fall on deaf ears the last time we talked.
The Dead changed their plans and decided to play one show at Kezar
instead. A girl I grew up with was determined to get me out of my mood and
drag me to the show (her first..and last). My Austin-Cooper was not
running (as usual) so we took the train up. Spring/summer and the Dead are
playing again in Golden Gate Park and I wasn't up for it.
Kezar seemed to have shrunk since my family took me to 49er games there
as a kid. Low walls and bench seats that held only 40,000. The field was
half full of Deadheads... New Riders were singing "Hello Mary-Lou" when we
entered. I looked up and Keith was playing with them... my first thought
was "Where's Garcia on pedal-steel?" I wanted them to play "Portland
Woman" but don't remember if they did. Waylon Jennings came on but the un
SF-like weather was getting warm and I just wanted to see the Dead and
leave. I remember Jennings doing "Me and Bobby McGee" and I thought
sarcastically "oh great, now the Dead won't do it". I noticed alot less
cowboy hats at that show... that's one phase (view blocking fad?) of the
Deadheads in the early 70s I was glad to see go... I only stand 5'8"...
Even though I grew up in sunny California, during the peak of summer,
the best tan I can muster is comparable to a belly of a dead fish. This
was a hot day and I felt like a gopher out of his hole. The girl I was
with (Tonie) and I ran into alot of our friends and "staked" our area. I
was warned that our friend Margaret had had a few too many whites and was
talking a blue streak. The warning was on the money. She kept saying two
things thoughout the show.."I think the Grateful Dead should be only guys,
don't cha think?" and "Jeffrey, you're really getting sunburnt".
There was a LONG break between Jennings and the Dead... it seemed like
the entire crew was climbing in and out of Keith's grand piano...then I
think they replaced the piano (using a forklift). In about 1970 the Dead
had all tie-dyed speaker covers (I think Bill Kreutzman's (then) wife made
them), with time speakers had blown and were replaced. At this show I
noticed only a few tie-dyed speakers were left from the "old days". Bill
Graham came on the left side of the stage and said something like "I can't
think of a better way to start this new 'Day on the Green' series than to
say, 'ladies and gentlemen, The Grateful Dead.'"
My friend since 1st grade (....cheesy plug< ck out his tape GD tape
list- http://www.montrose.net/rlbecker/index.htm ) had become quite the
musician, Bob played in bluegrass bands at the time. He told me bluegrass
was "Happy Music". As I was listening to the Dead that day it struck me
that the "new" Dead was "Happy Music" also. I think everyone has a tape of
this show... some folks online say it's overrated, they weren't at this
show. The Dead worked intensely for 3 sets to put on something special. I
remember enjoying every song and jam. I guess I can only say to those
critics that the tapes must only captured the magic for those who were
there. (Many, many thanks to Prof. Paisley for upgrading my 70s crummy aud
with a sparkling Betty-board!). Someone once said to me that Keith had the
ability to outshine Garcia, I never thought it possible. I was a believer
after this show... the tone and playing of that instrument is what I
remember most... I was absolutely giddy during the China-Rider.
During a break, out of the corner of my eye I saw Pig... it was
actually Kevin (they moved and (somewhat looked) alike). I went to the
gate area and found him. He was smiling. He was excited to tell me Garcia
had come to him and offered to get his band moving. Garcia was going get
him the "right" instruments and equipment *and* sit in on their
rehearsals. This was the only medicine from the only person that could
have helped his depression. We talked gossip for a while and then 2 giggly
girls came up to us... kinda pushing each other towards us... One said to
Kevin, "Are you Bob Weir's brother?" I rolled my eyes. Kevin looked down
and mumbled..."no"... they walked away one saying to the other "see, I
told you so". Kevin was quiet after that, we talked a bit about summer
plans and I went back to our group.
(True to his word, Garcia supplied new and used equipment for Kevin and
the Moore brothers (other old HS friends)... worked with them *AND* made
them the opening act to a number of Garcia Band/LoM shows. The band was
called "Osirus").(1)

3/23/75




1.)^ Perry, Jeff, jperry@znet.com
3.)^ Kezar Stadium at Ballparks.com


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Golden State Recorders, 665 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA


Leo De Gar Kulka (a.k.a.“The Baron”) migrated from L.A. to San Francisco in 1964 to open Golden State Recorders at 665 Harrison Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets, a gritty area at the time, now a mix of modern lofts, fancy restaurants, and the Giants’ home, AT&T Park.
The Czech-born Kulka was new to the Bay area when he first started recording bands for Autumn Records. All through the 50's and early 60's he's worked at L.A. studios-first at Radio Recorders, then at his own facility, International Recorders, where he cut tracks with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, Herb Albert, Sam Cooke and many others. A classic example of the “mom and pop” studio, Leo Kulka ran the studio and engineered most of the sessions. He employed a small staff, including band office manager/bookkeeper, one staff engineer, and an assistant engineer. On busier days, his wife came in to help out.
For the first few years, that small group ran one of the few music recording studios in town with a recording room comparable in size to established L.A. and New York facilities. The studio area was
at least 50×50 feet, with high ceilings, a vocal booth, and the requisite gobos to break up the square footage during a session. “At the time it was a good room; a big box, really,” George Horn describes
it bluntly. “One of the advantages of [the room’s size] was you could record a broad variety of music,” adds Vance Frost, who worked as an assistant engineer at Golden State in 1968. He returned in 1971 to serve as its lead engineer and manager until 1976. “We’d do large-scale recordings, like big bands, a few orchestral dates, and 30- to 60-voice gospel choirs.” Golden State had the size but it lacked the pristine quality of certain major market studios—which is just why a lot of clients liked it. Reflecting the no-nonsense attitude of its owner, Golden State felt lived in and unpretentious. It didn’t have much in the way of décor—no colored lights, no dimmer switches. You had two options: lights on, lights off —all or nothing. Kulka did add a few switches later so clients could at least control which lights turned on and off. He had a Neumann mastering room at Golden State as well, along with a custom 4-bus console built by staff engineer Mike Larner. Th is was later expanded to 8-bus.

A live echo chamber, accessed by walking through the electrical shop behind the control room and climbing up a ladder and through a porthole, added character—and still more reverb—to an already live room.

In addition to the handmade gear, Golden State offered an Ampex Model 200 (the first model issued by the Bay Area–based company), brought by Kulka from L.A., as well as a couple of
AG440 mono 2- and 4-track machines and at least one Ampex 350 reel-to-reel recorder. All great machines, but Kulka was slow to upgrade: When 16-track became available in the late 1960s, Golden
State hung back at four.
In its early years, Golden State, and Kulka’s engineering skills, appealed mostly to a niche of respected soul and blues artists, including Rene Hall and Wally Cox. Both of these artists already had a few decades of experience under their belts when they recorded with Kulka at Golden State. Kulka also signed some of these acts himself, either leasing sides to outside labels such as MTA and Acta or issuing singles through his Golden Soul imprint. Much of this material remained unreleased until decades later, when the public discovered his recordings from San Francisco TKOs, The Savonics,
The Spyders, Jeanette Jones, and The Generation (featuring Lydia Pense, later of Cold Blood).
Golden State Recorders

Interior
 The studio also attracted a few L.A.–based artists and producers and a solid cast of local musicians, such as the Beau Brummels, Sons of Champlin, Big Brother & the Holding Company, The
Charlatans, and a slew of obscure acts. Some achieved later success, while others—such as the C.A. Quintet (oddly, from Minneapolis, but they recorded their first and only album at Golden State)—
remained relatively unknown.
The same year Golden State opened its doors, the Beau Brummels recorded Introducing the Beau Brummels for Autumn Records with producers Bobby Mitchell and Sylvester Stewart
(a.k.a. the infamous Sly Stone), which included their first hit, “Laugh Laugh.”

In 1965, label co-owners Tom Donahue and Mitchell brought in another one of their acts: an odd blues- and R&B-influenced rock band called The Warlocks. Half a year earlier, they had been
an anarchic acoustic group called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions. In one day at Golden State, they recorded six songs— four originals, one traditional, and a cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s
“Early Morning Rain”—none of which were ever released until a box set 30 years later. With Kulka at the board, they recorded under the name The Emergency Crew, reportedly because bassist
Phil Lesh had spotted an album in a record store by another group called The Warlocks. Soon after, they permanently changed their name to the Grateful Dead, putting an end to any risk of band
name infringement.
They brought many other groups to Golden State to record under the Autumn Records banner, often with the help of Stewart, their secret weapon. In addition to the Beau Brummels, Stewart produced Bobby Freeman’s hit “C’mon and Swim” and other cuts for the Mojo Men, The Vejtables, and the Great Society. This last group was the launching pad for future Jefferson Airplane siren Grace Slick.

In 1969, producer Elliot Mazer came by to finish a portion of Nick Gravenites’ album, My Labors, at Golden State. Much of the album came from the same sessions that produced Live at Bill Graham’s Fillmore West by Michael Bloomfield (recorded with Kulka’s remote truck).

Business began to slow at Golden State in the early 1970s as other facilities made their way into the city. The most notable of these was Wally Heider Recording. Musicians, fickle as they can be,
wanted to record at the “in” studios with the “in” equipment, which put a dent in Golden State’s business.

Leo loved to experiment with new recording techniques, but he was a traditionalist at heart. He used a “back to basics” approach with his students. To the end, Leo waxed ecstatic over his Ampex model 200 (the first tape recorder produced in this country). And he may have been the last living audio engineer to edit tape without a splicing block or a razor blade. He’d lay a section of tape across his left hand, precisely lining it up with his thumb and finger, and using a small scissors, he made fast splices that always joined perfectly.


There is a Golden State Recorders located at 1241 Swordfish Street, Foster City, CA. It's not related.




Jerry recorded here on
11/3/65 Emergency Crew (demo for Autumn Records)
7/3/66  Grateful Dead. They cut six songs at Golden State-four originals, including a Dylanesque     number sung by Garcia called "I Can't Come Down", a Pigpen locomotive romp known as "Caution(Do Not Stop On Tracks)", and covers of Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain"(lead vocal by Phil) and the old folk chestnut "I Know You Rider".(2)






1.)^Johnson, Heather, If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour through San Francisco Recording Studios
2.)^Jackson, Blair, Grateful Dead Gear: the band's instruments, sound systems, and recordin, pg. 22+23

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Daniel Garcia's parents house, San Francisco, CA

The exact address is unknown.

In 2012 Daniel Garcia is a successful dentist in the Bay Area.(2)


Jerry rehearsed here in
Late 1950's Daniel Garcia (Jerry's cousin)
"Jerry & Daniel would also practice at Dan's mom & dad's place."(1)






1.)^Jackson, Blair, Garcia, An American Life, pg. 24.
2.)^http://www.manta.com/c/mtkfd3w/daniel-l-garcia-dds

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati, CA


Back at the town’s beginning, there was the Cotati House, built in 1911 with large guest rooms, a dining room and barbershop.
In 1932, the old clapboard hotel gave way to the Mission Revival-style Cotati Inn, famed for its duck dinners.
But in 1968 Cotati hit the big time as a music destination when the defunct Cotati Inn got seriously funky and became The Inn of the Beginning. Big names and small played the legendary venue for local audiences and visitors from San Francisco and beyond.
The Inn of The Beginning was founded in 1968 as a coffee shop and bar that provided both a watering hole and a venue for local groups.
Old-timers recall that the Grateful Dead were regulars and Janis Joplin did a set shortly before her death in 1970. Other major stars include Jefferson Airplane, Hank Williams Jr., Etta James, Junior Wells, Van Morrison, Kate Wolf, Carlos Santana, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez.
Today, nearly 30 years later, the Inn’s legend is alive and well.
“Once or twice a week, someone comes in and says, ‘I was here when…’ ” says Cheryl Nixon, longtime proprietor of Friar Tuck’s, the Inn’s current incarnation.(2)

The opening night band on September 28, 1968 was Bronze Hog, featuring guitarist Frank Hayhurst. Hayhurst, at one point, became co-operator of the Inn, and now owns a music store in Cotati.

The Inn Of The Beginning may have had a slightly different configuration in 1969 than it does now. There is a bar "Spancky's" at one end, and a small leather repair shop at the opposite end, all at the same address of 8201 Old Redwood Highway. The 60s era club extended throughout the whole building.
The Inn Of The Beginning lasted through the mid-70s in its original incarnation.
It re-opened in the early 80s under the name The Cotati Cabaret At The Inn Of The Beginning, when it merged with an establishment across the street. The Inn remained a venue at least into the 1990s, but I'm not certain when it turned into an Irish Pub. (Lost Live Dead)

Inn of the Beginning turns 30
By Charles McDermid
IN THE BEGINNING, Greg Cochrane simply needed some rest. It was 1968 and Cochrane was holding what his close friend and fellow Sonoma State University student David McNair recalls as "a permanent party going on all summer. He said that if he was ever going to get some sleep he had to move the party."
Simple enough. Cochrane, 22, rented the space of a defunct Italian restaurant in downtown Cotati, and on Sept. 28, 1968, his summertime bash became the original incarnation of the Sonoma County entertainment institution The Inn of the Beginning.
"I gave it the name because it was a new beginning for a lot of people who really had nothing else going for them," says Cochrane, who does say he thought of the club's title while on LSD. "We wanted to keep things friendly and localized and play really soulful music."
Thirty years later, those goals remain intact. Cochrane's core philosophy has been retained and refreshed by a string of owners leading to the current trio of Miranda Fredrick, Scott Wagner, and Scott Goree, former owner of Magnolias in Santa Rosa. "[The Inn] has always been the heart of the Cotati scene for music and art. And for its youthfulness and exploration and optimism. It's also the social gathering place and the heart of the North Bay musical community," remarks Frank Hayhurst, former co-operator of the Inn, member of the Bronze Hog (the first band to grace the stage at the Inn), and owner of Zone Music in Cotati. "Cotati's personality is defined by the club."
Cultural landmark status aside, the Inn's most impressive feature is its past and present commitment to live music--all of which will be celebrated this weekend when the Inn marks its anniversary with a celebration that will feature, among others, the Legendary Bronze Hog.
"We all enjoyed music and we wanted a venue for ourselves," says Cochrane.
Citing "burnout," Cochrane sold the club in 1970 to Ward Maillard (son of a U.S. congressman and Sonoma County artist Elizabeth Quandt). Maillard, who once spent months building a gigantic rock and fiberglass urinal, lost interest after several years and in 1974 sold the Inn to his manager, Mark Braunstein, a former roadie for Janis Joplin. "I had a lot of pride in the club, and what I really liked was presenting new music and exposing the audience to music they would've not normally heard," says Braunstein, whose connections in the music industry and knowledge of production attracted many big-name acts to the local club scene.
"It's remarkable the people that were coming through the doors in those early days," remembers Cotati Mayor Richard Cullinen, who tended bar at the Inn in the mid-70s. "Van Morrison popped in frequently and Neil Young was there. I used to sit down and talk to Jerry Garcia when he played there with Merl Saunders."
Considering the size of the venue, the list of acts that have taken the stage in Cotati is staggering. For instance, the Grateful Dead played every Tuesday for a while, trying out new material on a live audience. Neil Young played unannounced one night for a case of beer and some pizza. A fledgling Jackson Browne was denied an audition after he admitted he was from Orange County. Ramblin' Jack Elliott introduced a young Arlo Guthrie, who then graced listeners with the first-ever stage performance of his classic "Driving into Los Angeles." According to Cochrane, Janis Joplin reunited for a short set with Big Brother and the Holding Company just months before her passing.
Waylon Jennings played the Inn. So did New Age pianist George Winston, the psychobilly Cramps, Jefferson Airplane, country artists Ricky Skaggs and Hank Williams Jr., the legendary New Orleans band the Meters, zydeco king Clifton Chenier, bluegrass giant Doc Watson, R&B diva Etta James, and folk queen Joan Baez. The list of bluesmen who made the scene is remarkable in itself: Lightnin' Hopkins, Bukka White, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, and John Lee Hooker.
Braunstein ran the Inn until 1982, when he merged with downtown rival the Cotati Cabaret to form the lengthy-titled but short-lived Inn of the Beginning at the Cotati Cabaret. He left the old building at 8201 Redwood Highway amid a leasing dispute, and the Inn lay silent for years.

AFTER FAILED STINTS earlier in the decade as an antique store, a bookstore, and a beer-vending coffehouse, the Inn is back as a fixture of downtown Cotati. A year ago, Fredrick and Goree gained managerial control of the Inn and, together with longtime sound technician Randy Teaford, have since infused the club with the same creative energy that once fueled founders Cochrane and Braunstein.
While the Inn may no longer have access to the big names it once did, it has become a vital steppingstone for local acts. Virtually no homegrown band can emerge from Sonoma County without having played the Inn.
"If people are playing in garages, it doesn't help anyone. The main thing is providing a place for people to play [in public]," says co-owner Goree, who began coming to the Inn in 1968 as an SSU student.
Co-owner Fredrick, formerly known as DJ Lili Pond on KFGY (92.9FM), adds, "We have great nights here with local talent. The Inn is a great launching pad and it's home to a lot of bands."
Goree and Fredrick's booking philosophy presents a different musical style nearly every night of the week. "Around here you simply can't concentrate on one type of music or demographic," adds Goree. "You have to mix it up with different shows. Places that exist as solely blues clubs or punk clubs are very short-lived."
Indeed, the Inn is a smaller act's dream.
"The vibe is what really makes this place work. It's in rooms like ours where music really happens. You realize that you're lucky to be so close you can check out a performer's dental work," says Teaford. "Our history and the casual yet efficient way of producing shows have made our reputation.(1)


Neil Young performed here on 12/20/75.



Jerry performed here(4) on
9/18/69 New Riders Of The Purple Sage
10/9/69 New Riders Of The Purple Sage
11/6/69 New Riders Of The Purple Sage
11/28/69 New Riders Of The Purple Sage
11/29/69 New Riders Of The Purple Sage
3/12/70 New Riders Of The Purple Sage
8/20/71 New Riders Of The Purple Sage
8/21/71 New Riders Of The Purple Sage
9/15/71 New Riders Of The Purple Sage?
9/20/71 Merl Saunders
11/22/71 Merl Saunders
1/31/72 Merl Saunders 
1/14/73 Merl Saunders, John Fogerty, Bill Vitt, John Kahn
1/15/73 Merl Saunders
3/5/73 Old And In The Way
4/24/73 Old And In The Way
7/18/73 Old And In The Way
5/31/74 Merl Saunders
6/1/74 Merl Saunders
5/1/75 ?
9/9/75 Merl Saunders w/Aunt Monk ?







1.)^McDermid, Charles, Inn of the Beginning turns 30, 98-11-19,  http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/11.19.98/inn-beginning-9846.html
2.)^McNaughton, Marie Thomas, Ch-ch-changes on Cotati’s main drag, 2011-10-11,
http://cotati.towns.pressdemocrat.com/2011/10/photos/ch-ch-changes-on-cotati%E2%80%99s-main-drag/
3.)^Jerry Garcia's Middle Finger, http://jgmf.blogspot.com/#uds-search-results
4.)^Hannan, Ross and Arnold, Corry, Chicken on a Unicycle, INN OF THE BEGINNING, 8201 OLD REDWOOD HIGHWAY, COTATI, CA, http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Inn%20of%20The%20Beginning.htm

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Palace Theatre, 19 Clinton Avenue, Albany, NY

Capacity 4000
Formerly the major business located on the site was John Battersby's Meat Market.
Here they soon did the largest retail business in fine meats of all kinds of any similar establishment in the state. Keeping a great variety of choice meats, Battersby's market soon attracted the custom of many of the best citizens of Albany, maintaining its reputation and increasing in strength. It was greatly due to the enterprise, activity and carefulness of John Battersby that so large a trade was built up and maintained unimpaired. He remained with his father in the business till the old man's death in 1880, at the age of seventy-nine. After his father's death, John Battersby took entire charge of the business.(1) The Meat Market didn't close until 1905.(2)

So, what was on this property from 1905 until 1930?

Construction began on the Palace Theater in June 1930 and was completed by October 1931.(3)
As indicated in the Times Union, some of the features of the new Palace included a seating capacity of just under 4,000 - listed as the third largest in the world at that date.

Originally installed in the NYC Hippodrome Theatre, a Wurlitzer organ Opus 1538 Style PUB 1 was installed in the Palace Theater on 1/1/31, when the Hipp closed in the late '20s.

John Eberson was one of the foremost motion picture theatre architects in the world. His son Drew Eberson also became a theater architect, and the two Ebersons practiced together from 1926 until John Eberson’s death in 1954. In later years, Drew Eberson renovated many of the playhouses originally designed by his father.
John Eberson, Architect (1875-1954)

The style is palatial, Austrian Baroque.
The Palace is located on the northwest corner of Clinton Avenue and North Pearl Street on a parcel of land assembled from fifteen separate properties. Apparently some difficulty was encountered in putting together the land for two lots remained within the theatre property boundaries and the building was designed around two existing buildings which still stand.
The front two stories, facing the corner and including the marquee with a modern scrolling LED display, are faced in tan brick with some stone ornamentation. The windows have carved brackets. There are open pediments with cartouches and brick parapets with molded stone coping.[2]
The taller auditorium, to the northwest, features a banded chimney and decorative brickwork facing the south. The east elevation, along Pearl, has circular arcading and banded pilasters.[2]
The interior is designed and decorated in the Austrian Baroque style. The foyer, between the lobby and main entrance, has red marble staircases decorated in scrollwork, cartouches, and garlands. The wrought iron railing is foliated. Murals by two Hungarian artists decorate the walls.[2]
The balcony level extends over two-thirds of the sloping main floor. The heavily decorated ceilings and walls include pilasters rising to complex entablatures, statuary, and arches framing the wall boxes. A Czech made crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling. The orchestra pit can be raised and lowered by an elevator.[2]




The grand opening night occurred on Friday, October 23, 1931 with Lieut.Gov. and Mrs. Herbert Lehman, Mayor and Mrs. John Boyd Thacher and Joseph Plunkett, vice president and general manager of R.K.O. in attendance. The event was a benefit for the Albany Community Chest. ($4000 was raised for the organization).
Prior to the formal program in the Palace there was a parade that began at Capital Park, down State Street and over North Pearl. There were floats as well as music provided by the American Legion, LaSalle school and the Musicians' union. A battery of floodlights as well as fireworks lit up the sky around the Palace.
After the formal speeches, the audience was entertained by vaudeville acts, a concert orchestra conducted by Anthony Morrelli, melodies on the "grande" organ played by Ray Turner and the film DEVOTION starring Ann Harding and Leslie Howard two of the favorite movie stars of that era. Both the orchestra and organ were raised and lowered from below by elevator. Reserved seats for the gala premiere were $1.00.

As for stage productions the major "big bands" appeared such as Tommey Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and Benny Goodman. Included on the vaudeville menu were many of the top vocal artists of those days. For example in December 1932 the ads listed "exceptional stage and radio talent Frances Langford" who went on to be a favorite in radio's golden age on the comedy and variety shows. On New Year's Eve 1932 they advertised gala midnight show, all seats reserved, orchestra $1.00, balcony $.75 and loges $1.36 (plus tax)

Originally an RKO movie house presenting vaudeville acts between feature films, the Palace Theatre boasts "atmospheric" elements in the auditorium. Atmospheric design referred to architectural features that created the illusion of the auditorium being open to the sky above. In the Palace Theatre, this was achieved by installing a small ceiling cove painted with clouds floating over a blue sky. The ceiling is decorated with cherubs and a sky scene recessed into the ceiling and illuminated. Even though it is listed as atmospheric it isn't atmospheric in the true sense of the word. Eberson did incorporate overhead ceiling alcoves depicting the sky and clouds.
Photo by John Lewis


Photo by John Lewis
Photo by John Lewis
Photo by John Lewis

Though many changes have taken place since its opening, the Palace Theatre fortunately has retained most of its original design features. These include an impressive brass chandelier in the main lobby, original murals painted by Andrew Karoly and Jules Zartol, and plaster beams in the fore-lobby painted to resemble carved wood. The center chandelier contained 375 light bulbs, the stage 68 by 42 feet. It was to employ 100 men and women, of those 40 were ushers.
In 1940, The Three Stooges performed here live and in person!
In 1949, RKO (Radio Keith Orpheum)(4) started to divest some of its theatres to comply with the Federal anti-trust suit against it, the Palace was returned to the Fabian ownership.
1951 photo by Lisa Larsen

In an effort to revitalize sagging attendance (and perhaps to eliminate some maintenance problems) Fabian Enterprises invested a quarter of a million dollars in 1960 to renovate the entry façade and revise the seating to provide more space. The effort was not successful and the theatre continued to lose money.
On April 29, 1965, the Rolling Stones performed here.
Fabian operated it until closure in September, 1969.
Shortly thereafter, the Palace was purchased from Fabian by the City of Albany for $90,000 for use as a civic auditorium.
It is still the home of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. (Virginia Bowers, city historian)(5)
In 1979, the Palace was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.(3)
The revitalization of the Palace Theatre has been a major priority of the City of Albany to help create a new energy for the downtown arts and entertainment district. Beginning in 2002, interior renovations completed in the first phase included all new carpeting, a stage curtain, fabric wall treatments, fresh paint on the ceiling and throughout the theatre, general public improvements and the refurbishment of over 2,800 seats. Phase Two renovations called for a new electrical system to power the stage. And of course the most obvious of our renovations (also in Phase Two) is the new marquee! It is a state-of-the-art full color replica of the original marquee designed in 1931.




Jerry performed here on
11/10/74 Merl Saunders
12/8/77 Jerry Garcia band
2/13/80 Jerry Garcia Band
Promoter SUNYA[7]
"She was only booed off the stage in the first concert", noted Evan Gold with futile optimism. Evan was the State University of Albany's concert chairman, and he was understandably a little rattled. Stiff Records Rachel Sweet had just stiffed him, canceling as opening act for the Grateful Dead's lead guitarist, Jerry Garcia, with five and a half hours notice.
Despite the fact that Jerry had personally requested her on his mini-tour, the cultural differences apparently were too big for Jerry's fans to swallow. So they booed the rising young star right off the stage in D.C. the night before she was to play Albany and the insultwas just too much for the sensitive 17 year old.'[9]

7/27/80 Jerry Garcia Band
Promoter Monarch Entertainment[8]
2,421 tickets sold.[6]

11/4/81 Jerry Garcia Band
Promoter UCB and 91FM Present

The Grateful Dead never performed here.





Palace Theatre, Albany, NY
1.)^ Noted living Albanians and state officials. A series of biographical sketches. (1891), http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?ArticleID=43084&report=SingleArticle&file=Data
2.)^Powers, Robert (May 1979). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Palace Theatre". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
3.)^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service
4.)^http://www.palacealbany.com/History/History.aspx 
5.)^Bowers, Virginia, City Historian.
6.)^http://rocktourdatabase.com/content/jerry-garcia-band-0
7.)^Webb, Steve, Garcia Offers hippie music for the 80's, Knickerbocker News, 1980-02-08, Joseph jubilee Archives.
8.)^Billboard, 1980-08-09, pg. 3, Joseph Jupille Archives.
9.)^Wilcock, David, Sweet cancels, but Garcia soars, Sunday Record, Trot, NY, 1980-02-24

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco, CA

Opened in 1906 as Blanco's Cafe, it sat next to Blanco's Hotel and Restaurant, run by “Blind Boss” Chris Buckley, a saloon keeper and neighborhood political organizer who became “boss” of San Francisco’s Democratic Party in the 1880s. Until he was deposed by a grand jury in 1898, Buckley made sure the Southern Pacific Railroad got what it wanted and ran the City the way he wanted by controlling a corrupt municipal government in the interest of graft.

Sometime in the mid-1870s,  Chris Buckley went blind. Hence, The "Blind Boss"


San Francisco's oldest and grandest nightclub, the Great American Music Hall, carries guests back to an earlier, more elegant era, with its ornate balconies, soaring marble columns and elaborate ceiling frescoes.
The remarkable interior design came from an unlikely duo: a French architect, Architect: A.W. Edelman, who designed the building in 1907, and Chris Buckley, a political mover and shaker who wanted to erect a grand structure after the devastating 1906 earthquake. The result was Blanco's, characterized as one of the most popular entertainment spots during San Francisco's notorious Barbary Coast Era. The restaurant/bordello offered fine food, gambling and fast women right up until the dark days of the Great Depression in 1933.

Three years later, in 1936, the extravagant and elaborate fan dances of local favorite, Sally Rand, brought new life to the dark building. Sally Rand (April 3, 1904 [1] – August 31, 1979) was a burlesque dancer and actress, most noted for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name Billie Beck. Cecil B. DeMille gave her the name Sally Rand, inspired by a Rand McNally atlas.
She had been arrested four times in a single day during a fair due to perceived indecent exposure while riding a white horse down the streets of Chicago, but the nudity was only an illusion. She also conceived and developed the bubble dance, in part to cope with wind while performing outdoors. She performed the fan dance on film in Bolero, released in 1934.
Sally and The Bubble
 
In 1936, she purchased The Music Box burlesque hall in San Francisco, which would later become the Great American Music Hall.  It remained as The Music Box until 1946.



In 1939, our girl hosted Sally Rand's Nude Ranch at the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco.  It was housed at a night spot called The Music Box and featured women wearing cowboy hats, gun belts and boots, and little else.  Sally's show was only one of several "flesh" shows in the Treasure Island Amusement Zone, also known as the "Gayway."  [Something tells me that name won't be used again anytime soon.]
Music Box, 1940

She continued to appear on stage doing her fan dance into the 1970s.
Rand once replaced Ann Corio in the stage show, This Was Burlesque, that appeared at the Mitchell Brothers club in San Francisco in the early 1970's.
She died in 1979 in Glendora, California, aged 75, from undisclosed causes. She was deeply in debt at her death and according to Rand's adopted son, Sammy Davis, Jr. who had been a child performer, stepped in wrote a $10,000 dollar check which took care of Rand's expenses.[5]

With the end of World War II, the Music Box turned out its lights.

Blanco's reopened under Barney Deasy as Blanco's Cotton Club in 1948, a jazz club, and  the city's first desegregated club. Allen Smith, the esteemed jazz trumpeter, was one of the primary players.
Lionel Hampton performed for two weeks here starting on September 1, 1948. It opened with a big splash but only lasted a few months due to price increases for large orchestras.

In the 1950's, it was taken over by members of the Moose Lodge. The building went into an ignominious decline that hit bottom when the building was condemned by city building inspectors.
A last-minute reprieve saved it from demolition, and the tarnished interior was spruced up a bit when a short-lived French restaurant (1968-1974) named Charles (after the proprietor, Robert Charles) took over the building. But it was not until 1972, when the Great American Music Hall opened, that happy music lovers filled the hall once more.(4)

Bill Monroe performed here in the October, 1978.(6)




The venue was sold in 2000 to Palo Alto-based Riffage.com, a dot-com startup, that planned live Internet broadcasts of new music from the former Music Box.




Jerry performed here
7/19/73 Merl Saunders
2/5/74 Merl Saunders
2/12/74 Merl Saunders
3/1/74 Merl Saunders
3/2/74 Merl Saunders
3/10/74 Great American String Band
5/2/74 Merl Saunders
5/30/74 Merl Saunders
6/8/74 Merl Saunders
7/14/74 Early and late shows Merl Saunders
7/23/74 Merl Saunders
8/7/74 Merl Saunders
8/15/74 Merl Saunders
8/24/74 Merl Saunders
8/28/74 Merl Saunders
10/6/74 Merl Saunders
10/30/74 Merl Saunders
11/28/74 Merl Saunders
11/29/74 Merl Saunders
12/16/74 Merl Saunders
2/27/75 Legion Of Mary
2/28/75 Legion Of Mary
5/15/75 Legion Of Mary
6/18/75 Legion Of Mary
7/4/75 Legion Of Mary
7/5/75 Legion Of Mary
8/13/75 Grateful Dead
8/20/75 Jerry Garcia Band
8/21/75 Jerry Garcia Band
7/4/76 Jerry Garcia Band



1.)^Born April 3, 1904 per SSDI under the name Helen Beck; SS#349-10-3000. According to the 1920 U.S. census, her parents were William F. and Lillie Beck, and she had a younger brother, Harold; the family was then residing in Jackson County, Missouri, not Hickory County, http://searches.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ssdi.html
2.)^Crafts, Daniel Steven, CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY, Historical Essay
3.)^http://www.sfmuseum.org/bio/rand.html
4.)^http://www.gamh.com/history/
5.)^Zemekis, Leslie, Behind the Burly Q , a film on some of the history of Burlesque, 2010,  interview with Rand's son
6.)^Thompson, Richard,I’m Going Back To Old Kentucky #184, 2011-04-03,  http://bluegrasstoday.com/23167/i%E2%80%99m-going-back-to-old-kentucky-184/


Monday, April 9, 2012

Jose's (possible name), 399 1st Street at Harrison, San Francisco, CA

On March 30, 1934, an application for a building permit alteration was submitted for a double face horizontal neon sign for this address. The owner was Ed Minster.[ 4]

On 4/15/37 an application for building permit alteration was submitted, stating that the use of the building was as a cafe.[5]

In 1937, Jerry's father opened the bar with a partner, possibly Allen Gordon as he is listed in the 1937 Polk's City Directory under "Liquors Retail", pg. 1653. There’s no listing in the 1938 Polk's City Directory.

Jose Garcia is listed as working at 399 1st Street in the 1940 (pg. 488, 1587), 1942 (pg. 523) and 1944 (pg. 579) Polk's City Directories.
In 1947, everything changed as Jerry's dad drowned in the Trinity River in Northern California while fishing (Jerry claimed he watched all this go down....). This meant that momma Ruth now ran "Garcia's" and had less and less time to keep an eye on Jerry and Tiff. That meant mischief was brewing in the young Jerry mind!

In the 1951 Polk's City Directory, pg. 486, Ruth Garcia is listed as a bartender and the widow of Jose.

The bar was sold to the state, which had chosen that block as the site of a freeway entrance.[3]
In 1954, Ruth and family had to leave Garcia's at 399 First Street as Union Oil decided to build their office headquarters on the site. The Union Oil tower at 399 First Street, designed by George Hunt, was completed on July 26, 1955.[2] The Union Oil Company Oil Building was a two-part Art Moderne office block with adjoining tower, designed by George Hunt. The vertical tower — in the shape of a pylon — provides an excellent counterpoint to the office block, characterized by horizontal window bands on a glazed white tile facade. It's architect, Lewis Hobart, took advantage of an elevated site to design a 138-foot triangular tower, whose white cladding was relieved by a vertical blue strip and orange triangle bearing the name of the company.

After the Garcia's moved across the street to 400 1st Street, they renamed the bar "The 400 Club."[1]

By 1970, Donna Jean Thatcher (Godchaux) was living in San Francisco and processing credit cards for Union Oil of California (Unocal) at the same address as Garcia’s Bar.

In 1995, the Union Oil Company logo was replaced with a logo for the Bank of America, and the blue strip was removed. The tower was not only an advertisement, but also the most prominent point of reference for Rincon Hill. A great digital clock displayed the time to travelers en route to the Bay Bridge or nearby freeways.
The Union Oil office buildings were ripped down in the mid-1990's so that the Rincon Hill Towers could be built.

Jerry spent a lot of time here in 
1947-1955



Jose's?, 399 1st and Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA
1.)^http://www.darkstarpalace.com/2010/07/jerry-garcia-and-400-club.html
2.)^http://sflib1.sfpl.org:82/search~S0?/X%221st%22+street&SORT=D/X%221st%22+street&SORT=D&extended=0&SUBKEY=%221st%22+street/1%2C52%2C52%2CB/frameset&FF=X%221st%22+street&SORT=D&7%2C7%2C
3.)^Troy, Sandy, Captain Trips, pg. 10.
4.)^application for a building permit alteration, 1934-03-30, City and County of san Francisco

5.)^application for a building permit alteration, 1934-04-015, City and County of san Francisco

Egypt 1978 The Vacation Tapes "Rocking The Cradle"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUk46KcVtIw&fb_source=message

Sunday, April 8, 2012

The Generosity, 1981 Union Street, San Francisco, CA

What once was The Generosity, 1981 Union Street, San Francisco, CA

A 3700 square foot free standing Victorian located between Buchanan Street and Charlton Court.

In a recent interview on the Jake Feinberg Show (promoting his new album, "Romancing the Bass"), Tony Saunders has discussed this time period a little bit. The relevant bit starts around 34:35 of the hour long interview. I transcribe some of it here.

"[Garcia] would show up at my Dad and my gigs with Aunt Monk. He was playing little places. He played on Union Street in San Francisco at this place called The Generosity. It was tiny. And he would just show up with his amp in his car, show up, come in and play. He never wanted any money. He just wanted to play. And when you talk about him learning … we played a Stanley Clarke song one night … but the song just went all over the place. And he came up to me and he shook my hand and he said ‘Tony, that was a good one, because I couldn’t just do what I thought that I could do. I couldn’t just play along and every time I went to go, when I felt comfortable, I really liked that. That was a great song.’ And a lot of the songs that they played in Legion of Mary, we played them at first with the Aunt Monk group. And Jerry … he would play them first there, and then he would transpose them over to the groups with my Dad."

When Feinberg asks (@ 35:35) who was in the group, Tony says “At first it was E.W. Wainwright, myself, my Dad and … most of the times Jerry would come sit in and be the guitar player. Another young guitar player, Chris Hayes, who went on to play with Huey Lewis and the News for twenty years.” (As an aside, Tony had earlier said that his first gig with his Dad and Jerry, when he was 18 (ca. 1974) was at the Inn of the Beginning.(1)

At some point, and maybe still, it was called Earthly Goods, a women's apparel store.

Lululemon (www.lululemon.com), a yoga-inspired athletic apparel store is also located here now, 2012.



Jerry performed here on
2/14/75 Legion Of Mary
5/9/75 Legion Of Mary





1.)^Jerry Garcia's Middle Finger, 2011-11-23, LN jg1975-05-09.aunt-monk.84mins.aud-castelli-motb-0144.107829.flac1644

Sand Dunes Tavern (Seaclusion Lounge and Hall), 3599 Taraval Street, San Francisco, CA

The building was certainly a bar from when it was first opened in 1946.

If memory is correct, I saw this building when it was being built in the late 1940s. It had a big round tower over the front door. I think the original name was something like "The Salamar." Later it was The Sand Dunes. I attended a wedding reception there in the late '50s or early '60s.
A drugstore was across the street. So was "Paul's Barber Shop."
One night my mother and sister went to the drugstore and came home shaking. They said they had seen a woman shot to death on the sidewalk outside the store.(11)

Here is an account of a waitress (Mrs Laura Flagg) from the bar (which is only referred to as the "corner bar") being shot by an ex-mate in the July 23, 1947 Oakland Tribune.
The first explicit usage of the name "Sand Dunes" is found in an advertisement in the Oakland Tribune of October 17, 1954.(5)


Sands Hall photo by Bob Cangelosi


August 15, 1959 saw the Oakland Tribune report a bookmaker bust. This was actually related to an office above what was then being described as a tavern.
Sand Dunes was operated by Tom Zucchelli in 1959.


The 1970s saw a jazz based weekend performance schedule advertised in the Hayward Daily Review.

By late 1974, the adverts for the Sand Dunes in the Hayward Daily Review dry up - noting that I could not find any additional Aunt Monk shows there. Oddly enough, Aunt Monk shows are patchy to say the least (I found only one in 1975, half a dozen in 1976 and one slightly odd one in 1977.(5)

In the mid - late 1970's they had live music and one of the people that performed there was Merle Haggard's son. (5)

Jerry A. Wagner is listed as the owner of the Sand Dunes in the 1960, 1962, 1964, and 1968 directory as well as the 1975 directory.
In the 1969, 1971 and 1972 directories, 3599 Taraval is listed as the Seaclusion Lounge and Hall with Jerry A. Wagner as owner.
Strange that the name changed to Seaclusion Lounge and Hall and then back to Sand Dunes...


 Sand Dunes is two words. Listed in a directory below.
According to this 1969 directory page, The Sand Dunes Tavern was at 3599 Taraval Street and was owned by Jerry A. Wagner.(4)



1971-listed as Seaclusion Lounge and Hall, 3599 Taraval Street, Jerry A. Wagner, owner.(2)

1975 directory-Sand Dunes (two words), 3599 Taraval Street, owner Jerry A. Wagner.(3)

Huh... the 'Sand Dunes'. I remember the place as a kid taking the streetcar to the zoo & all through my high school years. For the longest time it had an institutional brown paint job then a dark slate/grey paint job.
(a big,natural chalk board) And being as it was a Muni stop didn't help as there was usually all manner of graffiti,trash, etc. on & around the joint. Pretty depressing & probably considered a real blight by the neighbors.(7)

It was definitely the Sand Dunes in 1958 when we moved in down the street. But there were actually two bars in the place. The main bar and entrance at the corner, and another smaller bar that was entered from the Taraval side.
It was actually a pretty thriving, decent place through most of the '60s, but as demographics started changing, so did the clientele. It was reasonably seedy towards the end.

The Jewish congregation originally set up across the street on Taraval in a building that was a grocery store (among other things). An Aryan book shop opened down the street on Taraval between 46th & 47th, and one night the synagogue was firebombed. The neighbors forced out the book shop and the synagogue bought the Sand Dunes and that was that.(10)

Ok, I talked to a friend of mine who played a gig there for a "Safeway function" with his band back in 1970 or 71 and he tells me it was definately called "Sand Dunes" at that time. So it appears to me that the establishment probably underwent (slight) name changes along with possible changes in ownership during the 50's - 60's era. From the link below, I found the building was built in 1946, is a single story, but no information is given regarding any business historical activities. Currently the building's address is 3595 Taraval St. which is yet another change from the "3599" listed in the city directory posted earlier.(8)

http://gispubweb.sfgov.org/website/sfparcel/showlotinfo.asp?LotIDValue=2380042

That corner was the Gackscraggle, a jazz club that hosted jam sessions on Sundays.(9)

The building is now used (and probably owned) by a Jewish Congregation. The building is very large, so its new use apparently is well suited. When/how its purpose changed from entertainment to worship I do not know.(6)


 Jerry performed here several times in 1974 but actual dates are unknown at this time.

...found by Jerry Garcia's Middle Finger in the Oakland Tribune from 1974. A first reads as follows (1):




A second article discussing the Sand Dunes (2) at slightly greater length also notes that "Merl Saunders and Martin Fierro play Monday nights when not with Jerry Garcia, and Garcia has shown up on some Mondays, too."
It seems that the Sand Dunes was at 46th and Taraval.(3)

Anyway, below is a list of the Mondays in 1974 up until the October 6th article. I have provided info where there seems to be a conflict. That leaves lots of open dates, about which we are of course very unlikely ever to know anything.
19740107
19740114
19740121
19740128
19740204
19740211
19740218
19740225
19740304
19740311
19740318
19740325
19740401
19740408
19740415
19740422 - JG probably in LA*
19740429
19740506
19740513 - GD between Reno and Missoula
19740520 - GD between Portland and Seattle
19740527
19740603
19740610
19740617 - GD between Des Moines and Louisville
19740624 - GD between Miami and Providence
19740701 - JG probably in NYC
19740708
19740715
19740722 - JGMS at Keystone, Berkeley*
19740729 - GD in Landover
19740805 - GD in Philly
19740812
19740819
19740826
19740902 - JGMS gig in Marx Meadow, Golden Gate Park
19740909 - GD in London
19740916 - GD presumably still in Europe
19740923
19740930





1.)Jerry Garcia's Middle Finger, Jerry with Merl and/or Martin, ca. 1974, The Sand Dunes, 2010-05-16, http://jgmf.blogspot.com/
2.)^Polk's San Francisco (San Francisco County, Calif.) city directory, www.sfgenealogy.com/sanfranciscodirectory/1971/1971_1534.pdf
3.)^San Francisco (San Francisco County, Calif.) city directory,
www.sfgenealogy.com/sanfranciscodirectory/1975/1975_1071.pdf
4.)^Polk's San Francisco (San Francisco County, Calif.) city directory, www.sfgenealogy.com/sanfranciscodirectory/1969/1969_1521.pdf
5.)^Yellow Shark's comments, Jerry with Merl and/or Martin, ca. 1974, The Sand Dunes
JGMF, 2010-05-18
6.)^Hurlbut, Candis Smyk, 2010-01-15, http://outsidelands.org/cgi-bin/mboard/stories2/thread.cgi?1673,1#msgtitle 
7.)^Kev, 2010-01-15, http://outsidelands.org/cgi-bin/mboard/stories2/thread.cgi?1673,6#msgtitle
8.)^W.M., http://outsidelands.org/cgi-bin/mboard/stories2/thread.cgi?1673,12#msgtitle, trimaginations@juno.com
9.)^KevB, 2010-02-01, http://outsidelands.org/cgi-bin/mboard/stories2/thread.cgi?1673,12#msgtitle, ktbrady2626@msn.com
10.)^Dineen, Tim, 2010-02-22, http://outsidelands.org/cgi-bin/mboard/stories2/thread.cgi?1673,13#msgtitle, tahoet@timandvictor.com
11.)^Clifford, Jim, 2010-05-19, http://outsidelands.org/cgi-bin/mboard/stories2/thread.cgi?1673,20#msgtitle, pjcliff62@yahoo.com