The big, noisy, colorful life of Bill Graham
The party for the Contemporary Jewish Museum opening of “Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution” on Thursday, March 17, was so crowded with young and old rock ’ n’ rollers, and the line for the exhibition was so long, that many decided to dance to the music of the drummers, bang on the tambourines that were party favors, gobble up deli from the Wise Sons, and return on another occasion to actually see what they were there celebrating.
In the crowd were many rock fans and many people who knew Graham: rock historians Ben Fong- Torres, Dennis McNally and Joel Selvin, Bob Weir of the Dead, music producer Narada Michael Walden, David Getz of Big Brother, writer and Buddhist thinker Wes “Scoop” Nisker, Annie Sampson of Stoneground and her own band.
Speaking from a stage set up in the lobby — where a line of drummers organized by Wade Peterson had been pounding out Graham favorites — Weir recalled Graham calling him at all hours with advice, such as, “Bob, you need to go country.” ( That lobby is beautiful, but the acoustics ... not so great. Weir’s comments were hard to decipher, and thanks to Jack Boulware for your translation.) Also introduced onstage: Caryl and Reya Hart, wife and daughter of the Dead’s Mickey Hart, who was under the weather and couldn’t attend. Memories from some of the revelers: Fong- Torres was interviewing Jethro Tull at the Fillmore West “when Bill came up and said, ‘ Mr. Fong- Torres, I do not want to see you in any of my establishments.’ Right in front of a rock star.” Fong- Torres had written something Graham didn’t like. “Within a couple of weeks, I was welcome again.”
McNally was newly employed as archivist at BGP ( Bill Graham Presents), and was working at a desk “when I heard — the entire building heard — Bill go off on some agent. I was genuinely astonished that anyone could sustain for so long the level of rage that he was putting out.” When he finally stopped, he “appeared in the doorway to his office and looked out at the busy room. ... He was smiling and literally taking a bow. ... I knew he’d wanted to be an actor — and of course he’d been in ‘ Apocalypse Now’ and other movies — but I didn’t realize his work as a promoter was merely a manifestation of that.”
Walden recalls an outdoor show at Masada, Graham’s 11- acre estate in Mill Valley. The event was a fundraiser for Barbara Boxer, and “I brought him a superstar, Clarence Clemons.” After the show, Graham invited him back to the house, where he showed him a painting, then, with a “brand- new remote control,” pushed a button and moved the painting aside to reveal a “gorgeous new TV set.” Graham, notoriously cranky, was pleased to show off his new toy. There “was a kind of childlike side of him that I really appreciated,” said Walden.
Following up last week’s item about the Reagans and AIDS, Sen. Mark Leno sent word of discussion of the issue in the California Legislature. This year, for the second time, Republican lawmakers had introduced an Assembly Joint Resolution to honor Ronald Reagan.
If there’s no debate on such a resolution, it gets passed automatically. Last year, said Leno, he pulled the resolution off the consent calendar, but no one rose to defend it, and the matter was dropped. This year, said Leno, he recently had seen “The Normal Heart,” and was particularly enraged. “I pulled it off the consent calendar, and one of my Republican colleagues did decide to floor- manage it and did present it.” That gave Leno the opportunity to speak his mind ( after which, he said, “nearly every Republican microphone went up.”)
Leno began with a brief history of the epidemic, first publicly acknowledged by Reagan in September 1985. He promised then “that he would make AIDS research in top priority.” When he introduced his budget for the following year, said Leno, the president had actually cut AIDS funding.
Citing a worldwide death toll of 36 million, Leno asked why a president would remain silent. “I can remain silent no longer. In memory of, and out of respect for, all those Americans who suffered and died gruesome and horrific deaths before their president would even speak, I cannot support this resolution today.”
In the end, Leno’s no vote was among six; there were 25 in favor.
“Well, he says he’s a Libertarian, but in San Francisco, that’s just code for Republican.” Woman to woman, overheard outside Puerto Alegre on Valencia by Mark Barbeau