Taking stock in the power of music

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Taking stock in the power of music

Written by Andie Maranda

I just wanted to sit down and imagine what it was like. Call me crazy; it's just something I needed to do. It's a powerful place. It made me drive close to seven hours just to see it. And really, there isn't much to see - through your eyes. But if you close your eyes, you can see plenty. And if you're really into it, you can feel it. You can feel the people, you can feel the freedom and you can feel the power of music.

It's that power of music that drove close to 500,000 people to Max Yasgur's farm for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969. It wasn't the art exhibition or the craft vendors that enticed them to travel from all over the United States, Canada and even from abroad - it was the music.

Did you know that the organizers had to change the location of the Woodstock Festival three times? Originally they were considering Saugerties, New York because of its proximity to the town of Woodstock but no area large enough could be found. They were then told of an industrial park, which was available in Walkill, New York and even though the "vibes" weren't right, they leased the land. Dozens of hired hands spent months preparing that site only to have the festival permit revoked a mere six weeks before the advertised festival date. Max Yasgur heard about their problems and offered them one of his fields. Yasgur's now legendary field was the perfect venue for this festival - a naturally sloping "bowl" with a flat area at the bottom for the concert stage.

Something remarkable happened on this field in August of 1969 but it started long before the actual festival dates. Music had become a new kind of revolution for the kids. With the Vietnam war inspiring them to question authority (though, haven't teenagers always questioned authority?), music became the way for them to express their doubts and their feelings. Acoustic folk music, and its grassroots undertones, was still very popular but electrified rock and roll was becoming a stronger voice, with blues often being the bridge between the two.

Festivals were a new way to present these up-and-coming rock and roll bands to the new generation of peace-loving teenagers. Each festival seemed to get a little bit bigger. Woodstock was supposed to be big, but not as big as it turned out to be. Though it is said that up to half a million people made it to the site, this number has never been confirmed since there weren't any gate attendants to collect tickets. This number is based on aerial shots taken of the festival. It is also said that 1,500,000 other kids were on the roads trying to get to Bethel, NY. All of these people were making their way to a small field simply to hear the music.

Did you know the stage was five stories high with a freight elevator at the back? The center of the stage had a circular platform that was supposed to revolve so one band could set up behind while another was playing in front. An eight-foot wooden fence was built around the stage. Between the stage and the fence, just below the lip of the stage, a scaffold was erected for photographers and cameramen. A bridge was built from the stage over West Shore Road to the performer's pavilion to allow performers and a uthorized personnel to go back and forth, out of reach of the crowd. Just after a rainstorm hit on Saturday, organizers were told the stage was sinking forward into the mud and may not hold up.

People began to arrive a week ahead and settled into the bowl. By Friday afternoon the stage wasn't even finished and over 150,000 people were in attendance. By then the main and secondary roads off the New York thruway were gridlocked. Performers who were staying at local hotels in neighbouring towns could not get to the site. A mad rush for helicopters began and these become the main mode of transportation for staff and performers. Although, one festival attendee faked illness so she could be flown out of the festival because her angry mother had threatened to kick her out of the house if she didn't return home immediately.

The acoustic/folk artists were scheduled to perform on Friday evening. The rock and roll bands were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with a grand finale featuring Jimi Hendrix on Sunday. That was the original plan.

Did you know that Jimi Hendrix's manager agreed to have him play at the festival under the condition that no other performer would follow him, and for double the fee of the other headliners? Little did they know that by the time he would perform, at 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, only a few thousand people would be left to hear his legendary take on the "Star Spangled Banner".

Richie Havens was not the scheduled opening act but was the only musician on the stage by late afternoon. His bass player had not yet arrived - he was stuck in traffic somewhere. Havens played for close to three hours, ending with "Freedom", a song he improvised right there on stage, having nothing left to play from his repertoire. When Havens left the stage after his performance, he crossed the bridge and bumped into his bass player who had walked from his abandoned car to the site.

The other performances were also shuffled around depending on who was available. By mid-evening on Friday, it was decided to keep the music going all night because it was feared the kids might become agitated if they were not kept entertained. Most of the performers were asked to play a second or longer set for no extra money in order to keep the peace. Most agreed.

Did you know that Iron Butterfly, considered by many as the first heavy metal band, had been hired to play at Woodstock? They arrived at a local airport demanding to be picked up by helicopter since all incoming roads were completely blocked. The promoters decided that having them play might jeopardize the harmony of the crowd and, without telling them of this decision, just left them at the airport.

For three and a half days, the organizers dealt with unimaginable obstacles. Totally unprepared for this onslaught, they managed to keep everything under control - on the surface. What took place behind the scenes is an incredible story in itself. Lawsuits were served throughout the weekend, managers of a few bands demanded payment in cash at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, live electrical wires were left exposed after the rainstorm forcing the organizers to choose between turning off the juice and risking a riot be cause the music had stopped or electrocuting hundreds of thousands of kids who were sitting or standing in the wet mud (the head electrician was given 30 minutes to figure out a way to reroute the power before the main breaker was switched back on. When the time was up, the organizers, taking a big chance, put the power back on even though they had not heard back from the electrician). The music had to play on.

Did you know that the movie deal for Woodstock did not get finalized until one day before the festival? Bob Maurice, the producer of the movie, approached one of the financial partners two weeks before the festival offering the rights to the movie for $90,000. John Roberts politely refused, saying he simply had no money left. The movie went on to be the highest-grossing documentary of all time with revenues in excess of $100,000,000 worldwide. John Roberts, after the festival, was in debt by a reported 2.4 million dollars. John and his family, refusing to declare bankruptcy, paid the debt off over a few years.

I became totally engrossed in the Woodstock story last year. Sure, I had seen the movie and I thought to myself, "I was born a few years too late. Wouldn't it have been great to be there?" That was the extent of it. But last year, and I still can't explain why, my passing interest became an obsession. I looked at every web site I could find, I took books out of the library, and I scoured for pictures. The more I took in, the more I wanted to know and, the more I wanted to go there.

During the sixties, music had become a way for teenagers to differentiate themselves from their parents. Music was freedom. Music was their voice. And what a voice it became in Bethel in 1969. That voice still echoes in the ears of the residents of Sullivan County in 2002.

The Woodstock festival has literally split the county - between people who think it was a great thing, and the majority who think it was an obscenity. For 33 years, the area has fought to keep the hippies out. And for 33 years the hippies keep coming! Max Yasgur has since passed away and his once great dairy farm has been severed into numerous smaller plots of land. The actual site of the festival passed through a few hands but is now owned by billionaire cable magnate, Alan Gerry, who has created the Gerry Foundation to administer his Woodstock-related holdings.

Mr. Gerry owns over 1,000 acres of land surrounding the original Woodstock site, including the 38 acres of the actual festival site. Since 1997, the Gerry Foundation has been talking about building a world-class Performing Arts Center (PAC) on part of this property (as of 2006, this has become reality - www.bethelwoodslive.com ). That's not necessarily a bad thing for Sullivan County, which has basically lost most of its tourist trade in the 1980s and has been struggling financially ever since. Despite the financial gains the PAC promises, a few people think that digging up the actual festival site is sacrilegious. They are not against the building of the Performing Arts Center; they are simply asking that it be built elsewhere than on the actual Woodstock site. Unfortunately, after 33 years of not knowing how to deal with the legend/curse the Woodstock festival has besot on them, the majority of the area residents see the PAC as a golden opportunity and the official ground breaking will probably take place in the spring.

I embarked on my Woodstock pilgrimmage during the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend 2002. I had joined an electronic message board sponsored by the Woodstock Preservation Alliance and I knew that this could be the last time we were allowed to walk Max's field freely.

Our trip was a short one but will remain memorable. I had connected with a few members of the WPA message board ahead of time and they were more than happy to help us with accommodations, directions and local attractions.

We visited the Woodstock Museum located inside Art Vassmer's General Store (remember the shopkeeper in the movie who said he was pleased to feed the kids peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?). The museum (now closed but a new official museum is set to open at the PAC in 2008) is filled with pictures, newspaper articles and artifacts from the festival. The store is run by two of his daughters, one of which wasn't at all bothered to answer our questions - even after 33 years of doing so with the constant trickle of visitors. We visited Duke's Farm Market - owned by Duke Devlin, a man who traveled through the area from a commune in Texas while on his way somewhere else. He wondered what all the hustle and bustle was about and ended up working on the site helping to build the stage as well as other odd jobs. When it was over, he decided to stay. We drove by Filipini's pond - where many of the kids refreshed and washed themselves. And, we went by one of Max Yasgur's barns, where the annual reunions are now held because the actual site has been off-limits to visitors for years. We went to the corner of Hurd Road and West Shore Road, where a monument has been erected by one of the past owner's of the field. And, diagonally across that corner stands a piece of concrete - one of the footings from the bridge that went over the road to the stage.

And, fortunately for us, we walked on the field. The Gerry Foundation, in its efforts to win over the residents, had been hosting weekly farmer's markets on the site since the beginning of the summer. During the markets there was live entertainment, vendors, activities for the kids, and the field was open to visitors. It is no longer in a natural state but now consists of a nicely manicured lawn with a number of newly planted trees along the edges. Still, if you want to feel it, the power of music is still there.

Many of our new friends meet regularly at the monument to hold drum circles as they did that Sunday afternoon. Some are Woodstock veterans. Others just believe in the Woodstock Spirit. All believe that peace is still possible in today's world.

I am one to readily agree that much about the Woodstock festival has been overly romanticized. Regardless, if you strip this event down to its bare minimum, it is truly a moment in history that can never be re-created. After spending some time on the field - imagining, feeling and seeing - I can honestly say that I now understand the meaning of the Woodstock Spirit.

In today's fast-paced, high-tech world, it is difficult to be impressed by anything unless it features grandiose explosions or amazing realistic special effects. But take a look back 33 years and you will see one of the most extraordinary happenings of our lifetimes. It was event that had no violence, explosions, or special effects and one that did not have to resort to computer-generated enhancements. It mushroomed into a tremendous gathering of people simply because they were drawn by the power of music.

What does this have to do with the blues? From the close to 30 bands that played at the Woodstock festival in 1969, many were blues musicians or were deeply rooted in the blues - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter, The Who, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, Joe Cocker, Santana, Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and even Sly and the Family Stone with their funk and R & B.

Mike Shrieve, the 19-year old drummer for Santana at the Woodstock festival says in the book, "Woodstock, an insider's look at the movie that shook up the world and defined a generation," written by Dale Bell (producer of the movie):

"There's no getting around the fact that the power of music is great, and truly, I think that music has the power to heal. I believe to change, to take hate out of people's hearts. And contribute, in a way, to turning negative situations into positive situations. The power of music is like no other power. What I call it is invisible architecture. Music is invisible, but what other forms are there that affect you so much emotionally as soon as you walk into it? You can't see it, you can't touch it, you can't smell it, but it creates this place. Depending on what the music is, it can transport you into different areas emotionally. It can change your life. I think if you see the power of music, then you have a responsibility to use the music in a way that is uplifting and unifying."

Our goal with CanadianBlues.ca is to accomplish just that.

Copyright 2002 Andie Maranda

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