Difference between revisions of "The Trip"
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[[image:EPI-Trip.jpeg|right|thumb|150px|Poster for The Trip (note the lack of Exploding)]] | [[image:EPI-Trip.jpeg|right|thumb|150px|Poster for The Trip (note the lack of Exploding)]] | ||
| − | '''The Trip''' was a club opened by [[Elmer Valentine]] in September 1965 following the success of | + | '''The Trip''' was a club opened by [[Elmer Valentine]] in September 1965 following the success of his [[Whisky a Go-Go]]. Zappa listed it as one of the [[Freak Out! Hot Spots]]. It was a short lived venture closing in May 1966. |
<blockquote>"[[The Action|That]] was the start of the Big Time. Next up the ladder was the [[Whisky a Go-Go|Whisky]], and then '''the Trip''', which was just nirvana." - Frank Zappa - [[The Rolling Stone Interviews Vol. 1]] 1968</blockquote> | <blockquote>"[[The Action|That]] was the start of the Big Time. Next up the ladder was the [[Whisky a Go-Go|Whisky]], and then '''the Trip''', which was just nirvana." - Frank Zappa - [[The Rolling Stone Interviews Vol. 1]] 1968</blockquote> | ||
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*[[65/ Los Angeles CA US The Trip| December 1965 - "Happy Xmas Beat"]] | *[[65/ Los Angeles CA US The Trip| December 1965 - "Happy Xmas Beat"]] | ||
*[[66/01 - 02 /31 - 05 Los Angeles CA US The Trip|January 1st - February 5th 1966]] | *[[66/01 - 02 /31 - 05 Los Angeles CA US The Trip|January 1st - February 5th 1966]] | ||
| − | *[[66/05/03-05 Los Angeles CA US The Trip|May 3rd (and possibly 4th)]] | + | *[[66/05/03-05 Los Angeles CA US The Trip|May 3rd (and possibly 4th) 1966]] - see below |
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As both The Velvet Underground and The Mothers were signed to MGM and both had an album about to be released it was seen as a marketing opportunity: | As both The Velvet Underground and The Mothers were signed to MGM and both had an album about to be released it was seen as a marketing opportunity: | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| − | "We got back to L.A. to learn that MGM had organized a special event at The Trip to promote The Velvet Underground and The Mothers of Invention at the start of May" - [[Jimmy Carl Black]] | + | "We got back to L.A. to learn that MGM had organized a special event at The Trip to promote The Velvet Underground and The Mothers of Invention at the start of May" - [[Jimmy Carl Black]]<ref>For Mothers Sake:The Memoirs & Recollections of Jimmy Carl Black 1938-2008 (Inkanish Publications 2013)</ref > |
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| + | |||
| + | It did not go well. The crowd cheered The Mothers and booed The Velvet Underground who Zappa had mocked from the stage. Lou Reed despised Zappa calling him “the single most untalented person I’ve heard in my life. He’s a two-bit, pretentious academic, and he can’t play rock & roll, because he’s a loser."<ref>Up-Tight. The Velvet Underground Story. (Omnibus Press 1983)</ref> Mary Woronov, a dancer with the EPI show, described the west coast audience: "We weren’t like them at all. They hated us.... They thought we were evil and we thought they were stupid."<ref>Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (New York: Grove Press, 1996)</ref> Or as Maureen Tucker, The Velvet Underground's drummer, concisely put it: “I didn’t like that love-peace shit.”<ref>Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (New York: Grove Press, 1996)</ref> | ||
[[image:Tripmfq.jpeg|right|thumb|150px|Trip signage]] | [[image:Tripmfq.jpeg|right|thumb|150px|Trip signage]] | ||
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<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| − | “I think we played three nights there with them at The Trip. About a week after those gigs, we travelled up to Hayward to play at a place called | + | “I think we played three nights there with them at The Trip. About a week after those gigs, we travelled up to Hayward to play at a place called Frenchys<ref>For Mothers Sake:The Memoirs & Recollections of Jimmy Carl Black 1938-2008 (Inkanish Publications 2013)</ref> |
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| + | |||
The Mothers were booked to play at Frenchys in Hayward, a six hour drive to the north, from the 6th of May. | The Mothers were booked to play at Frenchys in Hayward, a six hour drive to the north, from the 6th of May. | ||
| − | The Exploding Plastic Inevitable Show was shut down on the 6th of May. | + | The Exploding Plastic Inevitable Show was shut down on the 6th of May after the wife of one of the operators sued in the L.A. Superior Court to obtain $21,000 allegedly overdue on a promissory note, resulting in a sheriff’s office representative being posted to enforce a writ of attachment and/or charges of obscenity due to the sadomasochistic nature of the show. The closure meant the Velvet Underground claiming over $3000 contractually due to them.<ref>Strip’s Trip Hit by 3G Pay Claim As Club Shutters, Variety, May 17, 1966</ref> Neither Jimmy Carl Black or Zappa refer to being there as it was closed. In an interview later that year Zappa barely acknowledges it: |
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
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</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| + | ==Notes== | ||
| + | <references/> | ||
[[Category:Clubs And Bars|Trip]] | [[Category:Clubs And Bars|Trip]] | ||
Revision as of 00:16, 26 August 2021
The Trip was a club opened by Elmer Valentine in September 1965 following the success of his Whisky a Go-Go. Zappa listed it as one of the Freak Out! Hot Spots. It was a short lived venture closing in May 1966.
"That was the start of the Big Time. Next up the ladder was the Whisky, and then the Trip, which was just nirvana." - Frank Zappa - The Rolling Stone Interviews Vol. 1 1968
During its short existence The Mothers played at The Trip on three occasions:
- December 1965 - "Happy Xmas Beat"
- January 1st - February 5th 1966
- May 3rd (and possibly 4th) 1966 - see below
Exploding Plastic Inevitable Show
After performances around New York throughout April Andy Warhol brought his Exploding Plastic Inevitable mixed-media show featuring The Velvet Underground to The Trip at the beginning of May 1966 having been booked to perform from the 3rd to the 18th.
As both The Velvet Underground and The Mothers were signed to MGM and both had an album about to be released it was seen as a marketing opportunity:
"We got back to L.A. to learn that MGM had organized a special event at The Trip to promote The Velvet Underground and The Mothers of Invention at the start of May" - Jimmy Carl Black[1]
It did not go well. The crowd cheered The Mothers and booed The Velvet Underground who Zappa had mocked from the stage. Lou Reed despised Zappa calling him “the single most untalented person I’ve heard in my life. He’s a two-bit, pretentious academic, and he can’t play rock & roll, because he’s a loser."[2] Mary Woronov, a dancer with the EPI show, described the west coast audience: "We weren’t like them at all. They hated us.... They thought we were evil and we thought they were stupid."[3] Or as Maureen Tucker, The Velvet Underground's drummer, concisely put it: “I didn’t like that love-peace shit.”[4]
The Mothers do not seem to have been booked for the whole event as signage and flyers list the Modern Folk Quartet as support. The MFQ were also managed by Herb Cohen and had played at The Trip regularly; they claim they played as support. An employee at The Trip claims that The Mothers opened the show on the first night. Jimmy Carl Black claims:
“I think we played three nights there with them at The Trip. About a week after those gigs, we travelled up to Hayward to play at a place called Frenchys[5]
The Mothers were booked to play at Frenchys in Hayward, a six hour drive to the north, from the 6th of May.
The Exploding Plastic Inevitable Show was shut down on the 6th of May after the wife of one of the operators sued in the L.A. Superior Court to obtain $21,000 allegedly overdue on a promissory note, resulting in a sheriff’s office representative being posted to enforce a writ of attachment and/or charges of obscenity due to the sadomasochistic nature of the show. The closure meant the Velvet Underground claiming over $3000 contractually due to them.[6] Neither Jimmy Carl Black or Zappa refer to being there as it was closed. In an interview later that year Zappa barely acknowledges it:
"We came back and worked ahh, with Andy Warhol at the Trip. The show that closed the Trip as they say." Don Paulsen interviews FZ - December 1966.
Notes
- ↑ For Mothers Sake:The Memoirs & Recollections of Jimmy Carl Black 1938-2008 (Inkanish Publications 2013)
- ↑ Up-Tight. The Velvet Underground Story. (Omnibus Press 1983)
- ↑ Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (New York: Grove Press, 1996)
- ↑ Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (New York: Grove Press, 1996)
- ↑ For Mothers Sake:The Memoirs & Recollections of Jimmy Carl Black 1938-2008 (Inkanish Publications 2013)
- ↑ Strip’s Trip Hit by 3G Pay Claim As Club Shutters, Variety, May 17, 1966
