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LSD
The Exploding Threat
of the Mind Drug
that Got Out of Control

Life Magazine    March 25, 1966


Turmoil in a Capsule
One dose of LSD is enough to set off a
mental riot of vivid colors and insights — or of
terror and convulsions
EDITOR'S NOTE
'A Very Private Kind of Story'

The forces locked in the tiny pill of LSD on this week's cover are the subject of the lead story in this issue. Gerald Moore, a correspondent in our Los Angeles bureau, and Larry Schiller, a West Coast photographer, were assigned to investigate this new phenomenon. Their task was not easy. As Moore puts it, "We were really trying to move into people's minds."
    It was Schiller who made first contact. He knew a girl who had taken LSD. She introduced him to her "salesman" and Schiller bluntly told the latter who he was and what he wanted—pictures of ordinary people, not kooks or beatniks, reacting to the drug. The salesman, intrigued by such frankness, took Moore and Schiller on a tour of LSD hangouts and parties.
    In the beginning, the people they ran into were youngsters experimenting with the drug. The two found out that, even in this strange atmosphere, frank disclosure of their mission worked out best. Ignoring a suggestion that they camouflage themselves in sweatshirts and tennis shoes, they stuck to ordinary street clothes. They were glad they did. "You can't fool these kids for a second," says Moore. "A girl at one party asked why I wasn't dressed like the rest. I told her I didn't feel up to the role and she said, 'Well, at least you're honest, and that's better.' "One friendly contact often passed them on to the next, until they met the ordinary people they were also looking for. Over a period of weeks the trail led them from Los Angeles to New York, from Houston to Detroit, and to Laredo, Texas, for the trial of Dr. Timothy Leary. Meanwhile our bureaus and regional correspondents across the country were checking on the prevalence of the drug.
    The first question Moore and Schiller were asked was always, "Have you tried it?" To register disapproval was to end the conversation. Schiller had to answer no. Moore was able to give a qualified yes. At the University of New Mexico in 1958 he had once experimented with peyote, which has an effect comparable to LSD.
    Neither man tried LSD (they were told this proved they belonged to "that middle-class alcoholic generation"), but bit by bit they began to feel members of a world Moore describes as "a strange subculture all its own. This is a very private kind of story, and we found ourselves feeling terribly protective about these people. We wanted to show they weren't just the antisocial fringe."
    Moore, 27, comes from Albuquerque and went to the University of New Mexico, where he worked his way through his last two years as a patrolman on the Albuquerque police force. He wrote for the Albuquerque Tribune and came to us last year. Schiller, 29, is a Californian. He took up photography in high school, won a Graflex award at 15, and that year came to New York to cover part of the Rosenberg spy case for the United Press. He has since shot enough stories for us to net him six LIFE covers—counting this one.

GEORGE P. HUNT,  Managing Editor     

(psychedelic-library.org)

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Trouper's Club - (12th Acid Test [Sunset] - March 25, 1966

  Trouper's Club was the last Los Angeles Acid Test before Kesey headed down to Mexico. Very little is known about this Acid Test. Owsley designed the poster for the event. I have concluded this is likely what is referred to as the "Sunset" Acid Test. 1625 North La Brea is located 1/2 block off of Sunset and La Brea.

  "Trouper's Hall was the meeting room for a retired actors club in Hollywood. The rent for the gig couldn't have been much. We did everything ourselves, all in two days. We plastered handbills all over Hollywood. Stage decor was a few lengths of paisley cloth purchased that afternoon at a fabric store. For a box office, we had a card table and a cigar box.
  Our not-quite-full house must have had over a hundred people; and when the night was over, our net take was $75. At 2 o'clock in the morning, we went to Cantor's Deli on Fairfax and spent it all on dinner for everybody---with desert. -- Grateful Dead Family Album - Page 43

  "At their last show at Trouper's hall, Weir managed to rip out the seat of his pants. Lacking underwear or a replacement for his trousers, he spent the night facing the audience, sidestepping over to Tim Scully to tell him how to adjust his sound. It turned out not to be so bad. That night he also met a Playboy Playmate, a cordial redhead, and she didn't seem to mind the state of his wardrobe. Finally Rock lined up a booking back home at the Longshoreman's Hall that would pay them the respectable sum of $375. It required no persuasion for everyone to pack up and flee Los Angeles. " -- A Long Strange Trip - Dennis McNally - Page 138

postertrip.com

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Band of Gypsys was a blues rock band led by Jimi Hendrix and backed by Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. Hendrix formed the band after the dissolution of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Band of Gypsys is also the band's eponymous live album recorded on two separate nights, 31 December 1969 and 1 January 1970, at the Fillmore East. Released just three months before his death in 1970, it was the last album Hendrix himself authorized, and the only Hendrix-authorized album to be released on Capitol Records (in the U.S.). This was the result of a settlement regarding a recording contract he had signed with Ed Chalpin's PPX Industries in October 1965.

Produced by Hendrix, Band of Gypsys reached #5 in the U.S. and #6 in the UK.

History

After Hendrix disbanded the Jimi Hendrix Experience in early-1969, he formed Gypsy Sun and Rainbows to fulfill the contract for the Experience to play Woodstock.[citation needed] Bassist Billy Cox (who had played with Hendrix while they were in the army) had been rehearsing and playing with Hendrix since April, but the band was short-lived.

With Cox and his drummer friend Buddy Miles, Hendrix next formed the Band of Gypsys, this time to fulfill his obligation to produce an LP of new material for Ed Chalpin, to be released on the Capitol label. Hendrix, in interviews as early as March 1969, had already mentioned a "jam" album to be titled Band of Gypsys. Hendrix also mentioned in his introduction at Woodstock that "Band of Gypsys" was an alternative name for the group performing there.

They recorded a single "Stepping Stone" (b/w "Izabella") for Reprise, which was quickly withdrawn after its release. They also recorded some studio material, and several finished tracks, some of which have been released on First Rays of the New Rising Sun and elsewhere. They made their live debut at the Fillmore East on New Year's Eve, 1969, for a series of four shows spread over two nights.

The Fillmore East concerts featured mostly new songs, as the songs for the Band of Gypsys LP would have to be original due to a recent judgment against him in a contractual suit. This performance was captured using the then new portable Sony Portapak B&W video camera and open-reel 1/2" videotape recorder, from two different angles.

In some markets, including the UK, the album was released with a cover photograph that featured dolls of Hendrix, Brian Jones, Bob Dylan and British DJ John Peel, an early supporter of Hendrix.

Hendrix selected two Buddy Miles songs and three of his own for the album, not wanting to give away any more of his new songs than he had to.  "We Gotta Live Together" is heavily edited to fit on the album. Its original length is about twice that which can be heard on the album. A longer version can be heard on Live at the Fillmore East album; the full version has never been officially released.

Due to the demands of four sets over two days, the band needed a lot of material and played the Experience-era favorites "Wild Thing," "Hey Joe," "Purple Haze, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," "Foxy Lady," "Fire," and "Stone Free" to fill out the sets. Nearing the end of the fourth set, Hendrix said, "We're just trying to figure out something to play, but we only know about six songs right now...seven...nine."  He then launched into a version of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)." "Foxy Lady" was included on the later Japanese/German re-release (details below). Furthermore, "Wild Thing," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and "Stone Free" can be heard on Live at the Fillmore East.

After a disastrous show at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1970, where Hendrix insulted a woman in the audience, played just two songs and then left the stage, Band of Gypsys was disbanded.

A documentary entitled Band of Gypsys: Live at the Fillmore East was released on DVD in 1999.  It focused on the album and Hendrix's performances at the Fillmore during New Year's Eve 1969, and New Year's Day 1970. It contains the original half-inch open-reel black and white video footage shot by a fan at the concerts, and interviews with people that were involved in Hendrix at the time.

Songs played at concerts

The platinum record of Band of Gypsys on display at the Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood. (Note that the album contained in the display not really Band of Gypsys. The banding of the record shows 5 songs, not 2 or 4 as actually appear on the Band of Gypsys LP.

The recordings included on Band of Gypsys featured selections from the final two shows. The set lists for the complete Fillmore East shows are as follows.

* indicating inclusion on the Band of Gypsys album 1970
~ indicating inclusion on the Band of Gypsys reissued Polydor CD 1991
+ indicating inclusion on the Live At The Fillmore East CD 1999

^ indicating inclusion on the West Coast Seattle Boy 4 CD 2010

Wednesday, December 31, 1969 (First Fillmore East set)

  1. "Power of Soul"
  2. "Lover Man"
  3. "Hear My Train A-Comin'" ~ +
  4. "Them Changes" +
  5. "Izabella" +
  6. "Machine Gun"
  7. "Stop"
  8. "Ezy Ryder"
  9. "Bleeding Heart"
  10. "Earth Blues"
  11. "Burning Desire"

Wednesday, December 31, 1969 (Second Fillmore East set)

  1. "Auld Lang Syne" +
  2. "Who Knows" +
  3. "Stepping Stone"
  4. "Burning Desire"
  5. "Fire" ^
  6. "Ezy Ryder"
  7. "Machine Gun" +
  8. "Power of Soul"
  9. "Stone Free/Nutcracker Suite/Drum Solo/Outside Woman Blues/Cherokee Mist/Sunshine Of Your Love" ^
  10. "Them Changes"
  11. "Message of Love"
  12. "Stop"
  13. "Foxy Lady" ^
  14. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"
  15. "Purple Haze"

Thursday, January 1, 1970 (Third Fillmore East set)

  1. "Who Knows" *
  2. "Machine Gun *
  3. "Them Changes"
  4. "Power of Soul" +
  5. "Stepping Stone" +
  6. "Foxy Lady" ~
  7. "Stop" ~ +
  8. "Hear My Train A-Comin"
  9. "Earth Blues"
  10. "Burning Desire" +

Thursday, January 1, 1970 (Fourth Fillmore East set)

  1. "Stone Free/Little Drummer Boy" +
  2. "Them Changes" *
  3. "Power of Soul" *
  4. "Message of Love" *
  5. "Earth Blues" +
  6. "Machine Gun" +
  7. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" +
  8. "We Gotta Live Together" * +
  9. "Wild Thing" +
  10. "Hey Joe"
  11. "Purple Haze"

LP Track listing

All songs by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted. The titles of tracks 3-5 are often incorrectly listed on various LP and CD releases. They should read as "Them Changes", "Power of Soul" and "Message of Love", as evidenced from pre-song announcements by Hendrix and Miles, song lyrics as well as their names on the Live at the Fillmore East release.

Side One

  1. Who Knows 9:32
  2. Machine Gun 12:36

Side Two

  1. Changes (not "Them Changes") (Buddy Miles) 5:10
  2. Power to Love ("Power of Soul") 6:53
  3. Message of Love 5:22
  4. We Gotta Live Together (Buddy Miles) 5:46



Personnel

    * Jimi Hendrix – guitar, vocals
    * Billy Cox – bass,
    * Buddy Miles – drums, vocals


Released March 25, 1970 (UK)
June 12, 1970 (US)
Recorded January 1, 1970 at the Fillmore East
Genre Psychedelic rock, hard rock, acid rock, funk rock, R&B
Length 45:16
Label Capitol (USA), Track Records (UK), Barclay Records (France), Polydor (rest of the world), MCA (now)
Producer Heaven Research (Jimi Hendrix)


(wikipedia)

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After the split with Richard Kemp, Henry Todd set up his own operation. After experimenting with mobile labs and a lab in Chesterfield, in July 1975 Todd bought 23 Seymour Road, Hampton Wick – in a pleasant London suburb – for £33,000.

The Acid Lab itself was  operated by  Andy Munro, the chemist drafted in in place of Richard Kemp, and was on the top floor. This confounded the police in their investigation as they had strong advice that acid labs were located in basements (and indeed Richard Kemp’s lab in Wales was located in a basement). Tableting was carried out on the middle floor, and was handled by Brian Cuthbertson. Andy Munro is the legendary clumsy chemist described in Leaf Fielding’s ‘Tripping Policemen’ monologue on youtube  http://youtu.be/WVoKFWq0-7U, who literally dropped acid and impregnated the carpet, leading to a trio of tripping policemen when the carpet was removed. On another occasion, Munro spilled a flask of nearly a quarter of a kilo of near final LSD in a wash basin.  In mitigation of Munro’s clumsiness, it’s difficult to make LSD without the chemist involved tripping,  and even Richard Kemp – the master LSD chemist – had an accident in his lab in the early days and ingested a huge amount of LSD.

23 Seymour Road

The acid production here was highly successful and was exported across Europe, and to Australia and the United States.It’s thought the lab got through 15 kilos of ergotamine tartrate – up to 30,000,000 tabs of acid. For some reason they produced two types of tablets: the microdot for domestic use, and the ‘dome’ (a raised tablet) for the export market. It’s not clear why – possibly to try to disguise  that exports came from the same lab.

It was here on 25 March 1977 that Todd, Cuthbertson and Munro were busted – with police streaming in through smashing the french windows on the ground floor at the back of the house.


(http://operationjulie.wordpress.com)

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