Bill Graham Interview

Anonymous | Tuesday, November 04, 2008 | 5:10 am

Him with a bullhorn in front of the FE yelling at us to stay in line. What a guy. I miss guys like him We needed some redirection back then or it was chaos.

Thomas J | Saturday, November 01, 2008 | 6:08 am

Attending a northern Wisconsin college in the early 70's didn't lend itself to seeing/hearing live music performances-CONCERTS. We formed a group, "Sounds Inc" to do just that- brng music talent to our campus. REO Speedwagon, Canned Heat, John Sebastain, and Billy Joel (Pre "Piano Man") were only four of the concerts we staged. At that time few people I knew had heard of Bill Graham. He was the standard bearer. If at times he was hard to deal with, what can you really expect. There came a point where the egos, drugs, and record company bean-counters, and big money was ruling the music scene. Bill stepped down (did he ever really stgep down) at the right time. We have Bill to thank for so much; do you really think Woodstock would have happened without him. I understand Bill was asked to help out, and he said, "....well, I have this band, Santana........." Thank you Bill, for all you did for rock and roll!

tenorcat | Friday, October 31, 2008 | 11:16 am

I grew up in the City. It was a different day and a different time. I was fourteen years old and rode my bike over to the park the day or the Human Be-In. The next day there is a picture of the whole proceedings on the front page of the Paper. In the background is me sitting in a tree. I could write a book about all the free concerts that were put on at Speedway, the Panhandle and on Haight. Never forget those experiences. So grateful to Bill to have had the vision and passion to expose the world to music and culture that helped change the world. I have some memories of Bill that will never fade. Him introducing bands with acerbic witt, the uniform... grey sweatshirt, blue 501 jeans and tennis shoes. The Tuesday night basketball games w/ Fillmore Fingers. I got Bill's biography from the library and was talking to my best frend about it. He said, you know we are in there. What? Yeah, when we went to see the Dead and Miles Davis was on the bill. Sure enough, there is a story where somebody asks him what he though his greatest achievement was. He tells this story about Fillmore West. He was standing at the head of the stairs handing out posters and the little handbills. Two young kids are filing out in the crowd. One kid says to the other, "So what did you think of Miles Davis?" The other kid says, "Man, that was the most mind blowing thing I have ever heard!!" Bill says something like, that was always the pay off for me, knowing that I hipped people to new music. I was that kid. We were big Dead Heads, but they were so wasted that they couldn't even remember the words to their own songs during the first acoustic set. There was no announcement for the next band. Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Airto and Chick Corea casually came out and quietly started to lay down a sparse poly rhythmic groove. People in the audience were talking, laughing and not really paying attention. As the groove got stronger and louder, the audience gradually started to pay attention, it was not really clear if the set had started. The light came down and the sound was like communications from outer space, but the underlying groove was FUNKY. In a few moments, a very young Steve Grossman came out and started blowing soprano sax with Coltrane intensity. There was no doubt that what ever this was it was on fire. As the music evolved into a full blown sonic hurricane, Miles came out in a sequined jacket with huge sunglasses that made him look like an other worldly shamen. He had a blue lacquered trumpet with a mute played through a wah wah pedal. It was like we had just been transported to another dimension. I had never experienced anything like that before or since. Yeah, I saw Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeplin, Traffic, Doors, Who, Dead, Big Brother, Airplane, Quicksliver, at Winterland and Fillmore, before they were anything or anyone. Miles took me to places that I will never forget, long after I can even remember the hundreds of other bands ever existed. Thanks Bill. Bill turned us on to such a wide variety or music. How I remember Bill, is him coming out on stage and saying, "The Dead want to keep playing. We need to lock the doors at two o'clock. If you go out, you can't come back in, but we are going to keep it going". At the end of each show, the lights would come up and Greensleeves would come on the PA. Every time I hear Greensleves, I think of Bill Graham.

Don Montelius | Thursday, October 02, 2008 | 8:36 pm

what about his yamaha dirt bike he road all over squaw valley for the first high sierra or his grey convertable he would fly down to shoreline in, always moveing at the speed of sound, I miss him very much

WENDY K W | Friday, May 16, 2008 | 8:12 pm

WAS WORDFULL HEAR HIS VOICE AGIN I WAS LUCK MEET HIM I NEVER FORGET THAT MOST WORDFUL DAY IN MY LIFE SOMETHING I NEVER WANT FORGET IF YOU WHEN 2 ANY OF SHOW YOU KNOW IT WAS SPECHEL 4 ALL WHO WENT Y PLAYED HEY DOSE ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAPPIN 2 THE GRAY HAT BILL WEARE