Jack Bruce
Paul Butterfield
Joe Cocker
Peter Green
Buddy Guy
Jimi Hendrix
Bob Hite
Janis Joplin
John Mayall
Buddy Miles
My First Concert in Detroit – After the Army
14 May
I was drafted into the army in 1966 and was discharged in 1968 after two years of active duty. When I got back to my home in Warren, Michigan I enrolled in college with my GI Bill benefits. When I heard that “Big Brother and the Holding Company” was coming to the Grande Ballroom I decided to attend. I purchased Cheap Thrills the band’s 2nd album with Janis Joplin on lead vocals when I was still in the army. I asked one of the female students in a class if she wanted to attend with me and she said yes. The night of the concert I picked my date up at her house and we drove downtown to the West side of Detroit where the Grande Ballroom was located. When we arrived there wasn’t a crowd standing outside waiting to get in or buy tickets so I was surprised. When we walked up to the ticket booth next to the front door everything was locked up but there was a sign on the ticket booth window that said “SOLD OUT.” That was 56 years ago and today I was listening to “Cheap Thrills” on Youtube that included a bonus track from the Grande Ballroom in March 1968 which was six months earlier. “Catch Me Daddy” was the added song and I never heard it before tonight. All I needed to make it a complete experience was a hit of “Owsley Orange.”
The War Zone
9 May
If you look back at recorded history whether biased or not one thing is consistently true and that is the fact of war. War has been a consistent part of human culture regardless of race, religion or geographic location since the beginning. In the beginning there was war and according to the Bible there always will be war, until Jesus returns. If you’re not into Jesus then you might believe that humans will eventually evolve into a peace loving non warring species. Then there is the possibility that eventually like in the film “Rollerball” war will be reduced to a game. Another possibility is that in the future the government of the united Planet Earth confines all wars to a designated region of the world that would be called “The War Zone.” That way whatever the reasons for the war will be transferred to the “war zone” where the warring factions can try to kill each other without killing innocent people and destroy property that has nothing to do with whatever the issue being fought over is. This will give an opportunity to whoever wants to be involved in a war to fulfill their dream.
Steve Albini
8 May
Steve Albini died yesterday April 7, 2024 at the age of 61 from a heart attack. The photographs of him are from Friday, July 12, 1996 in Portland, Oregon at Suburbia a warehouse type venue with no acoustics. It was a hot day in the 90 degree range and there was no air conditioning. My camera lens kept steaming up along with my glasses that I was wearing. I was doing it as an assignment for John Chandler an editor at the then existing Seattle Rocket magazine. Albini was playing with his group “Shellac” and was a renowned multifaceted figure in the alternative music scene. He produced albums for artists like, Nirvana, the Pixies and P. J. Harvey and captured their raw authentic sound.
Free Palestine Protests
30 Apr
At this time the news is filled with the pro-Hamas/Palestine protests going on at college campus’. The entire premise of the protests is flawed and many of the people involved are completely ignorant of any historical basis for their opinions. As an example with transgender human beings supporting Hamas when they would be terminated because of religious reasons if they lived in that society. Every generation thinks that the world began when they first gained the ability to discern it.
Bob Gersztyn
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♪Jesus♬Rocks♬The♬World♪ 