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Out of context: Reply #30866
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"Rehearsing incessantly, the Charlatans are often cited as being the first group to play in the "San Francisco Sound" style, since most of their eventual peers (such as the Grateful Dead and Country Joe and the Fish) were still playing folk music in 1964 and early 1965. At first, this was somewhat of a disadvantage for the group as area venues were small, scarce, and apt to book folk acts rather than rock bands. As rock concerts became the norm in San Francisco during late 1965, the group's fortunes changed dramatically.
On June 1, 1965, the Charlatans began an extended residency at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada, just across the border from Northern California. This two-month-long stint was important for at least two reasons. First, Charlatans guitarist Mike Ferguson and George Hunter together produced a rock concert poster in advance of the residency to promote these performances. This poster — identified by poster art enthusiasts as "The Seed" — is almost certainly the first psychedelic concert poster. Later in the year, San Francisco's Family Dog organization copied the idea to promote their concert productions. In 1966, when the Fillmore Auditorium began booking rock acts nightly, they, too, used the idea. Through to the end of the decade, rock concert poster artwork became a mainstay of San Francisco's music scene, led by poster artists Wes Wilson, Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, and Victor Moscoso.The second reason that the Charlatans' extended stay at the Red Dog Saloon was important was that, immediately before their first performance at the club, the band members took LSD. Purportedly, this was by accident, as they didn't know they would be performing that night. This is the first time a musical group performed under the influence of LSD. As a result, the Charlatans are sometimes called the first acid rock band, although their sound is not indicative of what later acid rock bands would sound like.
The group was also famous for their style of dress during concerts. They clothed themselves in late 19th century fashions, as if they were Wild West gunslingers during San Francisco's Gold Rush. This eye-catching choice made them hard to ignore, and as the 1960s wore on, many young San Franciscans dressed just as outlandishly — whether they were in a rock band or not."- Dan Hicks was a member********
- http://www.archive.o…********
- image of 'the seed'?********
- "May the baby Jesus shut your mouth and open your mind."********
- http://www.nicke.abe…********
- interesting********
- I was always fascinated by the idea of gun-toting acidheads taking over a deserted gold rush town********
- Dan Hicks was a member