The talkinboutourgeneration podcast can be found on all major podcast distributors. Click on your preferred provider below. We are hosted by BLUBRRY.COM, where you can tune in via their dedicated player.
Our Premiere Episodes revisit Woodstock - the epicenter event of the decade that changed America - through the voices of people who were there, members of the wild, determined & harmonious crew who made it happen.
What was the flame that drew a million and a half kids to a muddy cow pasture in New York? Why did it reverberate through so many millions more of our hearts? Was it the soul of the music that moved us, or was there a deeper magic? We're going backstage to get a feeling for that potent spirit of the "Woodstock Nation" -- that peace-loving, mellow magic that still simmers in so many of our hearts. Is it dead, or can we bring it back to life?
The Woodstock Episodes weave together conversations with some fascinating people who were there, and took very different roads to Woodstock:
Our old friend Carol Green, who was there for the early days of slogging through the mud , trying to find a site, and creating the magical "Woodstock Spirit" that seemed capable of overcoming any obstacle. She was officially Staff Cook for the Woodstock Crew, but was one of the few, the proud and the loving members of the Woodstock Nation.
Official Photographer Henry Diltz , professional observer and raconteur par excellence. With his "golden ticket," from Woodstock founder Michael Lang, Henry had exclusive access to the stage, and shares his unique up-close recollections of photographing performers. With his warm and humorous personality, Henry describes his path to Max Yasgur's farm, which started in the early sixties as a friend of neighbor of Rock icons like David Crosby, Steven Stills,, Mama Cass in the fabelled Laurel Canyon neighborhood.
Michael Shrieve, the young star-drummer in Santana, the band that was virtually unknown before Woodstock. Michael shares the story of how he was invited to join the band at the tender age of 18. His drum solo at Woodstock of "Soul Survivor" is considered one of the greatest percussion performances of all time, and presaged his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Lisa Law ; a Member of the famous "Hog Farm" commune that served up"breakfast in bed for 400,000," arranged calm, loving and supportive care for kids on bad aid trips, and replaced the police with their own "peace force" that kept order with love and understanding. Not one act of violence or arrest occurred on their watch.
John Morris, Head of Production and sometimes-announcer who was in on the early planning and managed the chaotic situations backstage. He was responsible for booking the talent, including the virtually unknowns Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, Santana, as well as some of the major bands of the day including The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Joan Baez, John Sebastian, Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe and the Fish, and many more, most of whom had to be flown in by helicopter when the roads became clogged for miles with over a million fans who never got to Yasgur's Farm.
Dale Bell, Co-Producer of the original groundbreaking multi-screen film where Martin Scorsese and his lifetime editing partner Thelma Schoonmaker got their start, "Woodstock Three Days of Peace and Music" and author of the amazing soon-to-be-released definitive book about the making of the movie, "Woodstock: Interviews and Recollections" as well as the classic "Woodstock: An Inside Look at the Movie That Shook Up the World and Defined the Generation" ;
Anne Bell, recruited by her husband Dale to be one of many volunteers who formed the crew of the massively complex and groundbreaking documentary film crew that recorded Woodstock from multiple angles. A newcomer to the music festival scene, and no hippie herself, Anne has a uniquely bemused perspective on the spectacle she wandered into, and emerges profoundly affected by the experience.
Mick Richards and Eric Morris. Co-Producers of the film ten years in the making, "Creating Woodstock."
Rona Elliot, music journalist and radio and TV interviewer, who anchored VH1 and was music correspondent to the Today show on NBC for ten years, rounds out our convivial group. She was hired to be the Community Liaison for Woodstock Enterprises, who had to try to convince townspeople in rural New York to let a few hundred thousand hippies into their towns. Rona is also a scholar in the field of music and culture, and views the event from a unique historical perspective.
The Woodstock Episodes are a powerful emotional expression of the values and spirit that drove the event that defined the Sixties, and so much of Our Generation.
Join us! And sign up up below to start getting updates and be reminded of the future episodes of "talkin' 'bout OUR GENERATION."