This is the actual “Record” I carried in my Kelty backpack when hitchhiked cross country in 1973.
I wrote down my free verse, musings, expenditures, route stops and the songs others shared with me.
Here is my actual route -
(Click button above to return to 1973 Memoir)
I lost Pigpen’s tambourine (see Chapter 2) a long time ago. But there it is, hanging on the wall of this Hudson Street loft in the East Village of Manhattan back in 1972. Left to right - Chuck Kruse on rhythm guitar, Stan Rice on drums, the author on lead guitar. We called ourselves Black Hand.
Below, Stan and I pose in front of the tiny townhouse I lived in while working days at MCA-Universal at 445 Park Avenue and nights at the Village East Theater. PHOTOS: Karen Epstein
Stan and I saw Parliament-Funkadelic at the Apollo Theater that summer. I was the only white guy in the house, and definitely drew some looks, but Stan was my passport to chill. I saw them again in 2010 with my wife at the Nateva Festival in Maine. They still had their groove on, strong as ever. Stan, if you’re out there, hit me up.