Hot Tuna, 2009

I love these guys. Old farts now but in 1971 they were cutting a swath, well, not these particular guys except Jorma. In those days it was Papa John on violin and of course Jack on bass. And then there were a whole township of people wanting to sit in. They would go to a bar in the mountains east of Santa Cruz and the whole place would go psychedelic while these guys did this bluesy shit. Now everyone is basically old and mostly sober. Or dead, like Skip.

Jorma has a music ranch in the Midwest. Google it. My friend Bill Groff just posted a video of Hot Tuna shot in 1971. There is a bunch of Hot Tuna and Jorma on YouTube.

I spent a semester with Jorma at Santa Clara U. in 1963 fall or 64 spring. He was without question the strangest guy on campus with his already long black hair and his all black clothes. I had no idea. Neither did he, but of course he was hungry for music already. I was a freshman and he an upperclassman. I have no idea where he got his money. Santa Clara U. was private and not cheap. I was there financed by my Dad because my appointment to West Point crashed and burned and only SCU was in a position to take my transfer. I nearly flunked out and had to go to Community College next to bring my grade point back up so I could go to San Jose State.

But first I was going active in the Army, and there I caught meningitis and nearly died. What happened next, my Dad got the chance to be a school administrator, Superintendant of the American Family School in Teheran, Iran, the Shah's Iran. I got kicked out of the house before I could sign on for that two year deal. My sister got to go while I tried to put my life together. I was living with brain damage from the meningitis. All this before I was twenty. At twenty one I spent four months in a mental institution. Damn. Sorta weird and really busy. I actually got to the edge of Junior in college status but my major was a shambles.

I am still pretty much nuts. Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck. Ooooh, pretty colors!