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RICHIE HAVENS TALKS TO JOE VIGLIONE
MIKE GREENBLATT ON THE POP EXPLOSION
- AUDIO INTERVIEW
An Interview with Mike Greenblatt July 18, 2019
DIFFERENT TEXT INTERVIEW FROM THE AUDIO
https://www.goldminemag.com/features/the-experience-of-woodstock-firsthand-on-the-goldmine-magazine-podcast
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We're talking to Mike Greenblatt author of Woodstock, Back to Yasgur's Farm, a hardcover book from Krause Publications
JV:
Mike, isn't it interesting that there are so many 50th Anniversary
Celebrations these days, and what does that say about music in 1969
compared to music in 2019?
MG:
The sounds of ’69 had legs. Much of today’s music is disposable. I
doubt anyone will be listening, for instance, to what is #1 right now on
the Billboard Hot 100: “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, in 2069.
JV: When did you start developing the ideas for Back to Yasgur's Farm?
MG: 2017
JV:
How did you work with your editor, Paul Kennedy, did he merely edit or
were there knock-down drag-out moments to put this in or take that out?
MG:
Paul isn’t the type of editor to fight with. He was usually right. This
being my first book at 68, I chafed against some of his edits but he
did a miraculous job with the pictures, the lay-out, and, yes, making my
story more readable. Sure, he took out my JFK quote (Kennedy predicted
the rise of the counter-culture in his 1961 inaugural speech), the
details of the encounter I had with the naked girl in the lake, Joplin
trying to seduce Springsteen and a few other tidbits I liked, but that
was his job. And he did it masterfully.
JV:
This is a celebration of an important time in history, different from
political books and fiction, but the book has potential to go beyond
music fans into the mainstream market, how does an author get that point
across in this day and age of the internet?
MG: It’s not easy when
everything can be had at the flick of a switch. Still, the tactile
sensation of holding a good hard-cover under your arm wherever you go is
something I’ve done all my life and taught my kids early on and will
never go out of style
JV: From what you saw from the front row, is Woodstock 1969 a moment that can never be captured again.
MG:
Well, it was a few hundred people back, truth be told, but considering
there were about 499,800 behind us, it was like the front row, for sure.
And no, Woodstock was a cosmic accident that could never be replicated.
JV: Has the mega concert become redundant after Monterey Pop, Isle of Wight, Altamont and Woodstock?
MG:
Never. Mega-Concerts will always be events of the highest order if done
right. Today, that manifests itself into Coachella, Burning Man,
Lollapalooza, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and, my
favorite, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which I attended in
2015 and felt that Woodstock rush.
JV: Did you attend Mar Y Sol or any of the Isle of Wight events to compare them to Woodstock?
MG:
The only fests I have attended since Woodstock were New Orleans,
Montreal, and a few all-day things like that Allman Brothers/The
Band/Grateful Dead 1973 day in DC that I’ll never forget. Sure,
comparisons to Woodstock were inevitable but, in the end, they’re all
their own animal with truly nothing to do with the scope of Woodstock.
JV:
Or maybe a better question, have you seen a current Isle of Wight to
compare to Woodstock and how the times are different (...or in the world
of music, have they stayed the same?)
MG: I have not.
JV:
Hearing the Jimi Hendrix guitar on a version of the song Woodstock by
Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell's version, the soundtrack version of the
Crosby Stills Nash & Young song, the Deja Vu album version, do you
think the reference to
Yasgur's Farm helped immortalize the 1969 event?
MG: No, there were many many reasons why Woodstock has been emblazoned in our brains. The song is just window-dressing.
JV: Were you reporting about the concert when you were at the event, and did you get to the front row at either stage?
MG:
No, it preceded my journalism career by four years. There was only one
stage at Woodstock and the reason we got so up front is only because we
were there a day early.
JV:
What was it like with an overpowering avalanche of people the promoters
were not ready for - and how did you navigate getting to see the
artists you wanted to catch perform?
MG:
We saw it all. The only artists we missed were when we were sleeping.
Jefferson Airplane, for instance, came on at 7:00 in the morning. I had
fallen asleep after Sly & The Family Stone’s sent ended at 5:00 in
the morning, and, thus, slept through The Who and the Airplane. Then, at
the end, we left during Blood Sweat & Tears at 2:00 in the morning
because we hated that stupid “Spinning Wheel” song and missed the last
three acts. I apologized to Graham Nash 49 years later and he accepted
my apology. Plus, we were wet, cold, hungry, thirsty and had to go to
the bathroom. We physically couldn’t stay any longer.
JV: How did you amass 300 or more photographs? And where did they come from?
MG:
You’d have to ask Paul Kennedy that. He made a deal with Getty Images, I
believe. Plus, I submitted some photos and other photographers did as
well. He did a great job.
JV:
Genya Ravan and Ten Wheel Drive, Tommy James and the Shondells and
other artists were invited to play, look at how history now is because
they didn't. Had they and other artists - say Hank Williams Jr. -
performed as part of those three days, do you think music history might
be different?
MG:
I have a page in the book called “Invited To The Dance But…” For one
reason or another, Roy Rogers, Donovan, The Beatles, The Doors, Simon
& Garfunkel, The Jeff Beck Group, Iron Butterfly and a fascinating
list of others all had their reasons which we list. But no, the lineup
may have changed, but the history would’ve stayed the same.
JV:
Why do you think a Boston band like Quill got lost in the shuffle while
others rose to superstardom through the magic of Woodstock??
MG: Because Quill was totally underwhelming and sounded like a bunch of guys banging on pots.
JV:
There's an $800.00 boxed set of the concert from RHINO and a more
modest $129.00 version in release, and a 50th Anniversary concert - will
you be at the 50th Anniversary show, perhaps a good place to sell the
book?
MG:
I will be back on Yasgur’s Farm where The Museum Of Bethel Woods now
stands August 15, 16 & 17 from 2:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. selling, signing
and smiling. The proposed Watkins Glen concert that’s been off-again and
on-again is now, I believe, off-again.
JV: What do you think of the $800.00 box?
MG: I reviewed the 10-CD box in Goldmine
magazine and found it revelatory as the microphones were left on for
all three days in between bands and there’s things in that box not in
the movie or in any soundtrack. The $800 box seems a little excessive. I
mean, sure, I wouldn’t mind owning it, but who has that kind of money
to spend on a boxed set? Certainly not me.
JV: Your timing
couldn't be better - have you thought of working with Rhino to have some
kind of media tour for the phenomenal boxed set and your book?
MG: I would if they asked me.
JV:
Barry Tashian kept a diary during his tour with The Beatles in 1966,
did you keep a diary during 1969 while at the concert and after? Did
you collect clippings from the newspapers and magazines back in the day?
MG: I did not.
JV:Would
a Woodstock live on YouTube be a viable platform in some coming year,
or was it the experience of being in the inclement weather part of the
overall feel that is essential to the memory?
MG: The latter but I would love to see such a platform.
JV: What would you have changed at Woodstock if you had a magic wand and could run the show your way - be it crowd,
sound, weather, or how the artists appeared on the stages?
MG: Just the weather.
JV: Where did you interview Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone?
MG: New York City.
JV:
What would you think of a virtual reality Woodstock concert in 2069 for
the hundredth anniversary where a supercomputer can recreate the event
with original voices, holograms and even audience members like you from
the film to interact with people?
MG: I would love it.
Thanks for your time, Mike
You’re welcome. I will send you a list of my upcoming appearances, be it live, radio or television today.
Mike Greenblatt
July 29 WDIY “Lehigh Valley Public Radio” Pennsylvania “Folk Classics” 7-9 pm
July 31 NYU Bookstore New York City “Late Bloomers” panel 6-7:30 pm
August 12 Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema at the ArtsQuest Center, Bethlehem PA 6:30
August 15, 16 & 17 Bethel Woods Center For The Arts, Bethel, NY 2-6 pm
September 12 Friar’s Club New York, NY with Gene Cornish of The Rascals
5:44 pm August 13, 2019
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