"The feeling
remains... 
Even after 
the glitter fades"

Stevie Nicks

 

 

Morgan's letter:

Found your site - OMG !  You will see below a book I wrote about the 60's that is now in the early stages of being made into a movie.  Most of the book takes place in NY after I left LA in 1968 but some of the beginning is the strip and the Hullabaloo club.  I was younger than most of the people you have listed here but knew many of them.  I used to volunteer to answer phones on Saturdays at the Hullabaloo in return for free entrance and access to the rehearsals of the bands.  I am stunned to see the people I knew best are dead.  Remember I was quite young - 15 to 17 in the hayday of the Hullaballo Club. 

I'm still trying to absorb the fact that David Doud is dead.  I had a real thing for him in those days.  I was just a kid at the time but he payed some special attention to me and he remains a fond memory.  We once sat in his little green MG in the front of the club and stared into each other's eyes for well over two hours.  That's all we did.  An incredible, innocent, moving communion for me.  I got to sit on the stage by the orchestra pit for the night and he would often nod and smile to me.  Meant a great deal at 16.  Used to love the East Side Kids rendition of And Your Bird Can Sing.  Of course I remember Terry Rae - who wouldn't - he was  goreous.

  Danny Horton used to sing to me often also because he liked making me blush.  I have since lost most of my hearing and am legally deaf due to sitting next to those amplifiers on that stage.  Jimmy Greenspoon also always took time to talk to me.  David Beaudein (or however you spell that name)  of the Palace Gurard even "christened" me in the little loft of the soundroom along with any other girl dumb enough to go up there with him.  A make out session that ended with him making your clothes real sticky.  The other members of the band would laugh and throw you napkins when you came down the little ladder.  I was all of 15.  A fact that also didn't stop Rodney from hanging around with me.  He really liked the young girls.   I hear he's a dj in LA and doing ok.  I ran into him about 10 years ago but he didn't remember me - but in truth I'm not sure he'd know his own mother.  He's enjoyed his life a bit too much ! 

The only band I can remember not mentioned here is Mandala.  They came down from Canada and rocked the club !  I remember the lead singer off the stage with most of the place behind him dancing and clapping.  Very cool.  Their recorded music didn't catch the spirit of thier live performances. 

I was of the younger crowd so I would be looking for different people than I see mentioned here.  Chantal I believe was a friend of mine unless there is more than one.  I would llike to find again. . .   Cinnamon Brown, Mike Base, Mick Jason, Mark Joyner, Cher Everett, Barbara Gelfand, JR, Michael Morganelli, Queer boy Alan from Philly, Scamp who came down from Canada every summer.  Rob Rose, Kevin Clap, Jamie Fidler

The Original Offspring. . . . Teddy Rooney, Randy Carlisle, David Riley (oh yeah David !  Wow what a crush I had on him for many years )  Jim Lanham.

  I was pretty skinny and homely and looked like a little kid.  No one paid much romantic attention to me.  Mostly they liked my big black radio - louder then everyone elses) and my beautiful grilfriends Monica and Cinnamon.  Later I would pay the rent on some of the crash pads by panhandling.  I was really good at it.  I looked about 12 and would stop these people out in front of Wallach's Music City and tell them I had run away from home in I think it was Pomona .  I'd lie and tell them I needed bus fare home.  They'd give me that and lunch money besides.  I paid a lot of people's rent like that to be accepted.  LOLOLOL

I remember the little coffee houses during the day on the strip - dark little places with not much of anyone minding the store where people played pool and you never knew when someone would pull out a guitar and start to jam or compose a song. Was it called Mama's?  Can't remember.   The little booths would be full of runaways sleeping in the morning cause the owner's were cool and took them from the back alleys. The Whiskey would let us come in on occasion and be the audience for the rehearsals during the day.  Very cool to go hang out in that dark little place and watch.  We couldn't go at night  -  not old enough.  Instead we walked the strip for hours and hours just hanging out and playing.   I remember the Country Store and Morrison's house up above it.  We would often go play in the ruins of Houdini's castle or simply run around the hair pin curves for excitement.  And of course the huge love-ins in Griffith Park .  If you go to Amazon.com and look up my book - you can read the first pages where I talk about some of that.  There was a prophecy made abouit me at a love-in that changed my life.  That's what my book is about.

Thanks so much for keeping all this history.  This was so cool to read.  I'm adding a pic in an attachment.  You'll see I havent changed much.  I'm 52 in the picture and still dress the same.  I'll let you know if the movie gets fully off the ground.  It won't have much from that time period in California but I'll try to capture the flavor and magic of it.  Most of the movie takes place in 1970 in Rochester , New York where my parents moved me to.

I hope this was somewhat interesting and I didnt bore you.  I truly enjoyed the site - got a laugh out of remembering Wild Man Fisher and Sugar Bear !  And a tear from remembering Godot.  What a gifted child he was.  And Bart Baker that the GTO's made famous !  Gorgeous kid of maybe 12 with white blonde hair with some purple strands in it - natural  - no one put them there- freaky.  Hope you find the time to keep with this - It's just incredible and  I'd love to hear from you.  Thanks again

Morgan Rowan

Back to part three