DON ATERS- Rock & Roll Historian, Photographer, Lecturer, & best friend of counter culture Icon Chet Helms on Lansdale St.

DON ATERS - Rock & Roll Historian, Photographer, Lecturer, & best friend of charismatic entrepreneur of the counter culture and psychedelia, Chet Helms, weighs in on Lansdale Station

Resurrection of Faith - Lansdale Station

As the malcontent youth of America during the sixties, we were in search of personal identity and a universal elixir that would suffice for cultural acceptance amidst the backdrop of the death and destruction of Vietnam, political corruption and the racial tension that saturated the country. Most of us ventured to the hippie capitol of the world in San Francisco, the now revered Haight Ashbury that for a fleeting moment was like granules of sand in the hourglass of time. These were the carefree days in an artistic bastion that once was occupied by The Beats, painters, poets and the Bohemian attitude that still exists today but during the mid sixties became the short-lived existence of psychedelic and the wafts of fragrances that permeated the area adjacent to Golden Gate Park. During this time (The Golden Age), women finally became the focal points of noted bands. Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Tracy Nelson, Lydia Pense, Annie Sampson and Nancy Nevins became household names and these angelic crooners and subsequent members of the bands were those we most admired and emulated.

Photo of Janis Joplin courtesy of Don Aters Photography

By the late sixties and early seventies, the entire neighborhood was now perceived as the highest crime rate area in the Bay and the hordes of youthful America that once made the sojourn were now gone as dangerous two narcotics from NYC and Chicago essentially destroyed the camaraderie and peaceful co-existence that hung like a cloak of cool over the legendary streets like Ashbury, Page Street & Fulton.

A young Grace Slick - courtesy of Don Aters Photography

It was the music that defined our generation, lyrics of the heart that have transcended for over four decades but until the early eighties, the once glamorized suburb had become a ghost town. Shop owners decided to renew the Haight district and eventually they prospered as it evolved into the second leading tourist attraction in San Francisco. The malady for those of us from The Woodstock Nation is it was now all about business and money, much like the music genre, and the pundits of bare feet and flaxen haired mavens traipsing through Golden gate Park were lost in the myths and mayhem of days gone by. A few icons kept the dream alive other than the survivors of the musical revolution and inclusive of Diana Mangano, Darby Gould, Shana Morrison and Linda Imperial but who would become the torchbearer of The Counter Culture and those that matter?

Diana Mangano(formerly of the Jefferson Starship)- courtesy of Don Aters Photography

Darby Gould - courtesy of Don Aters Photography

The dalliances of those care free performances with the fans and other luminaries became more business oriented as the musical equation was now about money and the greed that defined it. Lansdale Station is by definition, a throwback, a band with all the members being cogs in a musical wheel with Lauren and Judge exuding the aura of the past with an eye on the future. They are collectively the fuel of contemporary creative fire. The tawdry approach of current bands making millions of dollars for inferior live performances cannot mirror the hours spent to hone the crisp, energetic demeanor of this band as they saunter across the stages of the west coast. The psycho babble of the past has given way to stage charisma, crowd rapport and exudes the love and passion for what they excel in doing. The mystery and mystique of the past is still a mirrored image but they are on the verge of compiling a legacy that brings San Francisco back to it’s rightful place in the pantheons of a musical epi-center, and who better to perpetuate the folklore than Lauren, Judge and the band?

Judge & Lauren Murphy - courtesy of Bob Minkin Photography

We aren’t trying to digress and relive those halcyon days of yesteryear but more of who is capable of songs of the heart and lyrics that are feasible of once again uniting the masses. Enter Lauren and Judge Murphy and the members of Lansdale Station with songs that could be those of epic proportions once exposed to the music fans across the globe. An ingenue and band revered in the bay area, the group brings a touch of sunshine with vibrant performances that resonate throughout the west coast and The Ghosts of Avalon are rising from the ashes. Lauren brings the elegance of Diana, the genetics of Grace without the bravado and provocative demeanor and the passion that mirrors all great songwriters and performers.

Lauren Murphy - courtesy of Bob Minkin Photography

Judge is the yang for her ying, songs of the heart that are proudly displayed during live performances that few can replicate in this day and age. Superlatives about their songs could become endless but rather than expound on acquired skills, this could be the chosen band that remembers the past as they expand the parameters of their chosen art form. Lansdale Station is now the Dionysian band that is capable of leading the mavens of sixties myth and legend into the new decade, perhaps the last of The Rainbow Warriors.

Lansdale Station - courtesy of Bob Minkin Photography

Songs of life, love and universal peace, much like Teach Your Children, Sweet Baby James and Almost Cut My Hair are those musical beacons that float in a sea of banality and Lauren, Judge and Lansdale Station are the heirs to the throne that separates them from all others.

We’ve waited for a myriad of years and the timing is critical so, when access can be allocated, we, the collective musical family need to clap our hands and stomp our feet so that the gifts brought by Lauren & Judge don’t dissipate into the sunset.

As the adage goes, the likes of this talent may never pass this way again”.

For the survivors of those golden days long ago, for Lauren, Judge and Lansdale Station, bless us all.

Keep the faith

Cheers

Don Aters - 2010
Editor
Haight Street Music News
www.haightstreetmusicnews.com
Fillmore-East.com (artifact/image provider)
Music Historian / Photo-Journalist / MLA / Indiana University
Holding Together Fanzine (England)