LSD ZEPPELIN

As a longtime reader and subscriber for over 25 years from my initial discovery while living in Harrogate, I want to thank you for another remembrance of what were wonderful teenage years growing up with Led Zeppelin [Take 311]. At the time, we didn’t realise how lucky we were living in the Los Angeles area, with Led Zep coming through, it seemed, several times a year.

A year earlier in 1972, on one of our first driving adventures, we saw two hitchhikers, long hair, jeans, strange low-cut boots (a little different for LA), and odd pullover shirts. We felt compelled to stop and pick them up. They told us they were Deutsche and travelling around the United States. Our experience with Europeans was extremely limited.

“We seeing lead zeppieline heute abend,” one of them said. “What?” I asked. “Zeppieline,” they said in unison. “Oh, you mean Led Zeppelin?” I said, finally understanding. “They’re playing tonight at the Forum, right?” I was going to see them the next evening in Long Beach. We were miles from the Los Angeles Forum. It was already about 6pm. No way they were going to make it thumbing from where we were, now cruising down Sepulveda Blvd in Venice.

“Do you guys know where the Los Angeles Forum is from here?” Scott, my friend and driver asked.

I glanced back and saw them shake their heads and start giggling, which then transformed into somewhat maniacal, but genuine laughter.

“Do you know where you are now?” I asked.

Their response was the same. Scott and I looked at each other and shook our heads. We were both wondering what was going on with them. I looked back again.

“Where did you start today? What city or place?” I asked. I noticed at this point their eyes were seemingly enlarged, wide open, and opaque.

“Are you acidtized,” one of them said.

“Wait. What?” I asked. I looked back at Scott, but he didn’t seem to catch it either. Suddenly I saw him smile, and at the same time I got it also.

“We are both acidtized,” they said enthusiastically.

“You’re on LSD?” I shot back at them.

“Ja, we are acidtized,” one said and they both started laughing again.

Scott and I had a quick conference on what to do.

“We can’t just drop them off in Culver City…” I started to say.

“No, no, we can’t do that, they’ll never make the show,” Scott agreed.

We were still young enough and free from responsibilities, so we felt at that moment in our life we would always have unlimited possibilities and it purely seemed like the right thing to do. We drove them to Inglewood, dropped them off at a near corner in a massive crowd of kids moving toward the Los Angeles Forum and Lead Zeppaline; many of whom were probably acidtized. Brant Vickers, Green Valley, Arizona

Brilliant story, Brant! Thanks for sharing it with us. Talking of acidtized, I hope you enjoy our excellent Julian Cope interview on page 50; plenty of that kind of thing going on there.