During the “Summer of Love” – 1967 – Barry “The Fish” Melton celebrated his 20th birthday in June 1967. A few days later, he and his band, “Country Joe and the Fish,” were rocketed onto the world stage at the Monterey Pop Festival with such luminaries as the Jefferson Airplane, the Mamas and Papas, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, Simon and Garfunkel, the Who and a relatively unknown guitarist named Jimi Hendrix. And fifty years ago, in 1969, Barry appeared at the historic festival in Woodstock New York and also appeared in the movie bearing the same name: “Woodstock.”
Barry Melton: The first person to call me a hippie was Mike Wilhelm of the Charlatans. Michael was the leader of the hootenannies at The Prophet in Woodland Hills in 1963. We both ended up moving to Northern California. He started the Charlatans, and I was playing with (Country) Joe McDonald.
Haight Street Voice: And George Hunter, of course… Ben Fong-Torres told me that George Hunter was hanging out at SF State, looking all dandy, but apparently wasn’t even going there!
BM: I just talked to George at the Artista party… He’s an original — and he’s staying true to form, I gotta admit. He’s kept up his crazy persona all these years, and I appreciate that. The Artista event was special to me because everybody got to do one song, including me.
HSV: It’s the 60th anniversary 1965, not just the Grateful Dead. Let’s include all the folks who were exploding in ’65. When you were in the Haight, what were you doing? Were you hanging out at the Psychedelic Shop? Were you hanging out with the Diggers?
BM: I was doing all the stuff I shouldn’t do. I mean, you know. I had a particular love affair with hemp in those days, the kind with THC in it. My life revolved around music and drugs. [laughs] Then it was exploding, the consciousness was exploding. In ’63 I was involved in anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in Southern California before I moved up here, and then I continued that up here. The anti-war movement was gaining power. And, of course, it was on the tail of the Civil Rights movement. There were a lot of really good things happening at that time in American history. Also, we were obviously getting involved in Vietnam, but there were good things happening then. I can’t say that things happening now are really great (laughs).
HSV: What about the Monterey Pop Festival?
BM: In my mind, that festival was the birth of the big rock festival. Otis Redding was there, Simon & Garfunkel played there, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar … and of course my friends from the Bay Area: Janis Joplin, Quicksilver Messenger Service … I mean it was a hell of an event at Monterey. Quite frankly, Monterey Pop was very exciting and very energizing for all of us. And I think in a way it put us all on the world stage. So to that extent, to me that’s the great festival of the era, you know?
HSV: I’m 63 and live in the bubble inside the bubble — not only San Francisco, but the Haight Ashbury.
BM: You are definitely in the center of the universe, my universe anyway! (Laughs)
HSV: Haight Street Voice is “hyper local with a global perspective. What would you like to say to the Haight community, to the actual corner of Haight and Ashbury?
BM: That’s the center of a cultural movement, I believe, and it has quite a history and tradition that has to be upheld, and I hope whoever is there now is upholding that tradition because it’s important. It’s important not only for the neighborhood but it’s important for the world to know that there are free-thinking people out there who have their own thoughts and ideas about what the future should be and is becoming. So … keep it up! (Laughs)
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Barry Melton: Okay! I’m here!
Haight Street Voice: Okay!
BM: No visual?
HSV: I’m on deadline but I may come up to Petaluma and hang out with you or something but right now, there are so many things going on. There are so many things I wanna cover, and thank you so much for doing this man, it means the world to me.
It starts with the fact that you’ve known Ramblin’ Jack almost 70 years. I’ve known Jack almost 40 years, I’ve known him for a long time, I love that man to pieces. And the fact that you both grew up in Beach Haven “Bitch Haven” and the New York folks scene and all the way into now. I’m born and raised in the Bay Area. I’m Linda from Orinda and I came to the Haight-Ashbury in 1982, went to SF State, which you went to. I’m doing my homework here and I’m like, “Holy shit! We’ve been paralleling, or I’ve been following you! And that you played SF State in ’65 …
BM: I did!
HSV: That’s just amazing, man. And you were 20 in ’67, Joel Selvin, Ben Fong-Torres, and your playing — I know I’m rambling but it’s important and I’m so excited — and you’re doing “The Buck Started Here: The Birth of the San Francisco Sound” at the Haight Street Art Center. Welcome to the — I’m starting this new thing, “Haight Street Voice Radio” I don’t like the word “podcast” … living histories of people who’ve been around the Haight-Ashbury. I live a block away. I’m on Page and Masonic. Saluting the Haight-Ashbury and bringing our conversations towards where everything exploded. The story of Janis Joplin wiping your forehead at the Chelsea Hotel … you were immersed in goo of the counterculture. You were in the thick of it.
So welcome to the show! Thank you for being here.
BM: I’m gonna be there on the 19th!
HSV: Yeah!
BM: Oh, you know about that?
HSV: Yeah, The Buck Started Here at the Haight Street Art Center!. So tell me about that! Tell me how you feel about talking about all the things.
BM: Well, as I understand it, it’s a Marty Balin-centered discussion. Marty was quite instrumental in the formation os my band Country Joe and the Fish because there was this guy, he came out and said he would manage us. He didn’t rent houses, he bought houses, and he made it sound like he was gonna take us all to great places. He was Matthew Katz. Turns out that he’d been managing the Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape and screwed them both — oh, and It’s a Beautiful Day, screwed all three of them to my understanding but I could be wrong.
Anyway, Marty stopped us from signing with him and for that I am forever grateful.
HSV: So tell me, what were your first impressions — you lasted 10 weeks at SF State it sounds like — but what were your first impressions when you first came to the Haight Ashbury? Can you talk a little bit about what you thought of the Haight Ashbury, what was the vibe?
BM: Well, it was pretty serene in 1965. I actually came up here in ’64 for awhile. I was with a mad motorcycle mechanic in Berkeley, but I came over to SF. It was only 25 cents, the toll — in both directions I gotta say. The Bay Bridge was 25 cents each way back in those days. And considering what it is now, it’s only 20 times more expensive than it used to be. I guess this is life: you continue getting screwed until you’re dead, right?
HSV: Wait a second! You’ve had an incredible journey, oh my god — the people, the electricity that you landed in, man!
BM: Hey!
I was up here in ’64 and there were just beginning to be these people called “hippies” in 1964. The first person to call me a hippie was actually Mike Wilhelm of the Charlatans. And you might know, Michael was the leader of the hootenannies at The Prophet in Woodland Hills, California — that’s Southern California — in 1963 when he was the first person who called me a hippie. And then we both ended up moving to Northern California. He, of course, started the Charlatans, and I was playing with Joe McDonald. So there you go!
HSV: And George Hunter, of course, who was another SF State person, but apparently he didn’t even go there, he was just hanging out. Ben Fong-Torres told me the story that George Hunter was hanging out at SF State and looking all dandy, but apparently he wasn’t even going there!
BM: I just talked to George at the Artista party.
HSV: Oh cool!
BM: Yeah, he was there! He’s an original — and he’s staying true to form, I gotta admit. He’s kept up his crazy persona all these years, and I appreciate that.
HSV: Yeah! I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know him pretty well cuz he comes to the Haight Street Art Center a lot for events down here.
BM: Okay!
HSV: Yeah, I got to interview him for the last edition of my magazine, Haight Street Voice. Have you seen my magazine?
BM: Yeah! I want a copy!
HSV: Oh! I’ll mail you the last couple editions. And I’ll definitely have the Summer edition hot off the press, and it’ll have the interview with you and I’ll hand it to you at the event on July 19! It’s hot off the press July 18, so it’s literally hot off the press, Barry!
BM: Alright!
HSV: Steve Keyser, I saw him at the Jerry Miller tribute you all played up in Petaluma. That was a great tribute, that was really beautiful.
BM: Yeah, I thought so. Jerry definitely deserved it. He was one of the great guitar players of my era.
HSV: Yeah. And man, you’re playing well! My girlfriend saw you at the Artista party up there, I couldn’t make it, but she said, “Man, that man is wicked good, singing, playing guitar.” I mean you’re really still rockin’ it, Barry!
BM: I’m tryin’, I’m tryin! The Sunday event was kind of special to me because everybody got to do one song, including me. It’s hard in that respect, you know, because there’s just enough time for everyone to do one song.
HSV: So tell me — I’m just so glad we’re connected. This whole 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead music, and Dead & Co are coming to the Polo Fields on August 1, 2, 3, and there’s this whole thing … I’m like wait a second, it’s the 60th anniversary of 1965, it’s not just the Grateful Dead. Not to degrade the Dead but let’s include all the folks who were exploding in ’65.
BM: The Charlatans, yeah.
HSV: And Janis Joplin and the Chamber Brothers …
BM: I think Janis didn’t come along until either late ’66 or early ’67. I could be wrong.
HSV: Okay.
So again, I’ll ask you: When you were in the Haight, what were you doing? Were you hanging out at the Psychedelic Shop? Were you hanging out with the Diggers? What were you doing?
BM: I was doing all the stuff I shouldn’t do. I mean, you know. I had a particular love affair with hemp in those days, the kind with THC in it. My life revolved around music and drugs. [laughs]
HSV: Good job. Dove right in.
BM: Yeah, yeah.
HSV: Now let me ask you this: I was looking up what the name “The Fish” is about, and it’s a quote from Mao, I wrote it down: “Melton’s name is said to originate from a quote by Chinese communist leader, Mao, who referred to revolutionaries as “Fish who swim in the sea of the people, suggesting they rely on the support and involvement of the population.” Don’t you feel like we’re back around in the same fuckin’ situation again right now, Barry?
BM: Oh, for sure. Things have taken a turn here with the current administration, I think. And, you know, it’s just a political reality now that things are going in the opposite direction, I think. Feels that way to me anyway.
HSV: Is that what it felt like in ’65 back in the day, all these young hippies …
BM: Then it was exploding, the consciousness was exploding. In ’63 I was involved in anti Vietnam War demonstrations in Southern California before I moved up here, and then I continued that while up here. The anti-war movement was gaining power. And, of course, it was on the tail of the Civil Rights movement. There were a lot of really good things happening at that time in American history. Also, we were obviously getting involved in Vietnam, but there were good things happening then.
I can’t say that things happening now are really great (laughs). What can I say?
HSV: People like Joan Baez, keeping the hope alive after all this fucking shit is happening, and the reversing of abortion rights. I’m 63 and live in the bubble inside the bubble — not only San Francisco, but the Haight Ashbury.
BM: You are definitely in the center of the universe, my universe anyway! (Laughs)
HSV: Yes! I feel hopeful somehow and then I think, “Am I disillusioned here?” The best we can do is the music that you do … I guess my question to you is about the power of music, the power of sticking together and being the fish who swim in the sea of the people.
BM: Actually, that quote from Chairman Mao is “The revolutionary moves through the peasantry as the fish does through water.” Of course it’s Chinese that’s being translated.
HSV: I’m just mindblown that you grew up with Woody Guthrie and your parents were left-wing, your dad was from Texas, my dad is from Texas, the outlaw thing. In a quote from Joel Selvin in one of my interviews he says, “The Haight-Ashbury hippie is one of the most enduring American archetypes since the Cowboy and Indian.”
BM: Maybe! (Laughs) That’s an interesting idea! Is that Joel’s idea?
HSV: Yep! I interviewed him — he was my very first video interview in 2020 for my magazine. He was my teacher at SF State. He’s an old buddy of mine too. But I love that idea of his, I’m a horse girl, barrel-racing, Ramblin’ Jack — the whole thing. I’m definitely a girl with Texas in my blood, but man, I’m definitely an outlaw, Wild West kind of gal. It’s in my blood.
BM: Ramblin’ Jack is the son of a dentist in Brooklyn, New York.
HSV: Yep, I know! And he ran away from home and joined the rodeo when he was 16 or something. Good ol’ Jack!
BM: Yeah!
HSV: My line of questions is kind of all over the place because I’m just so blown away.
BM: I’m just an old guy.
HSV: Jack’s 92 now I think.
BM: Yeah, I think you’re right. Definitely in his ‘90s.
HSV: Haight Street Voice is “hyper local with a global perspective. What would you like to say to the Haight community, to the actual corner of Haight and Ashbury?
BM: That’s the center of a cultural movement, I believe, and it has quite a history and tradition that has to be upheld, and I hope whoever is there now is upholding that tradition because it’s important. It’s important not only for the neighborhood but it’s important for the world to know that there are free-thinking people out there who have their own thoughts and ideas about what the future should be and is becoming. So … keep it up! (Laughs)
HSV: Yay! I love it!
You know there’s a counterculture museum that just came in to the corner of Haight Ashbury about a month ago.
BM: No, I didn’t!
HSV: Yeah! You gotta come! When you come for the Haight Street Art Center event, you should come up here and visit me here in the Haight Ashbury building on the corner on the first floor, that’s my office space. You gotta come up!
BM: Absolutely! I’ll make an appointment!
HSV: Oh please do! May dad passed in 2018 and gifted me an upright electric piano. I play piano. I played piano with Bob Dylan actually, it’s a long story! But you can come up, I have a guitar in there, and we can just jam and roll tape and continue our conversation. And you’ll be IN the building ON the corner of Haight and Ashbury!
BM: How cool!
HSV: Yay! I’m occupying the corner of Haight and Ashbury now through the end of the year! I’m a journalist in residence.
BM: Cool!
HSV: Ben Fong-Torres being my journalism teacher at SF State back in ’82 and I lived on the corner of Haight and Ashbury — it’s just been a full circle, and connecting with folks like you who were there, I feel like I’m on the tail-end of the whole thing.
When I was 16 I saw the Sex Pistols at Winterland. I was more into that. I caught the tail-end of all that. I used to go see the Psycotic Pineapple, I know Alex Carlin’s an old friend of yours. I’ve known him since I was 14.
BM: I was in his band in Russia for Russian Woodstock. We were about 15 miles outside of Moscow, Russia, and I played with Alex and his band.
HSV: Yeah, and he did a movie that premiered at the Roxy Theater. That’s where I met you.
BM: Yes, absolutely yes. I was at the Roxie when he did that debut.
HSV: Russian Woodstock. Tell me a little bit about that experience.
BM: Well, I got the call, you know? There’s a guy over there, his name is Igor Sandler, and Igor is like a sort of a Russian impresario kind of guy, also a piano player, musician, and he put together Russian Woodstock which corresponded to the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. And we did it outside of Moscow.
It was my second time in Russia, and I’m hopeful actually that things will normalize to the extent that Americans can go to Russia and Russians can come here in the near future. I hate to say anything positive about the current president of the United States, but to me that’s positive if we can normalize our relations with Russia.
HSV: Alex, again a dear friend, he loved the Russian kids out on the streets, out there playing, and that the energy was so positive, breaking that myth of how their just horrible, dark, no good vibes.
BM: Absolutely true, yes! There’s a lot of energy, particularly in Moscow. There’s a lot of energy coming from the young people, who are fairly free. As a matter of fact, there’s something of a rebirth of the counterculture going on there now, at least the last I was there which was 7 years ago, something like that.
HSV: It’s interesting, I think for the average American, or at least in my mind, it’s like, “Fuck the Russians, they’re killing innocent Ukrainians.” I mean that’s kind of the basic generalization.
BM: It’s the North Koreans (laughs). I’m kidding.
HSV: Anyway, I don’t really wanna get into politics but political is personal and personal is political. I think that’s kind of what it comes down to.
BM: Yeah, I think you’re right.
HSV: You know, it’s funny, you said earlier, “It was may second time …” and you said when you were in Russia. But I thought you were gonna say “It’s the second time I played Woodstock.”
BM: (laughs) No, actually I’ve played several Woodstock commemoratives. I remember 10 years after the event, I played Madison Square Garden with Joe, and we did a show that commemorating the 20th anniversary of Woodstock. You get to do a lot of anniversaries if you’re a Woodstock veteran.
HSV: How old were you when you played the original, very first Woodstock?
BM: That would’ve been 1969, so I just turned 22 I wanna say.
HSV: Just tell me how that felt! Can you get inside the body of that 22-year-old kid?
BM: Woodstock is known in the cultural myth, but quite frankly it was really for the East Coast people more than West Coast. We on the West Coast already knew what crazy was about, The East Coast just had their first really big festival back there, so it was not nearly as energetic as the sets on the West Coast.
HSV: But 500,000 people, that’s a once in a lifetime thing, isn’t it?
BM: Yeah, sure, but it was East Coast people, you know? It wasn’t like “our folks” you know? But … no I shouldn’t say it that way. It was “our folks” but it was our East Coast relatives, you know?
HSV: Right. Your cousins maybe …
BM: Yes, exactly.
HSV: What about the Monterey Pop Festival? How’d that feel? What was the groove there?
BM: In my mind, that festival was the birth of the big rock festival. Otis Redding was there, Simon & Garfunkel played there, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar, you know, the whole nine yards. Monterey was definitely … and of course my friends from the Bay Area: Janis Joplin, Quicksilver Messenger Service … I mean it was a hell of an event at Monterey.
HSV: Even Brian Jones showed up.
BM: He did! I met him and we hung out with him for a bit, it was nice.
HSV: Were you bedazzled? Did you know something magical was going on, like what the fuck? Or were you just in it, in the roux, and it was just happening?
BM: Quite frankly, Monterey Pop was very exciting and very energizing for all of us. And I think in a way it put us all on the world stage. So to that extent, to me that’s the great festival of the era, you know?
HSV: And Pennebaker documented the thing.
BM: Yeah, he just passed away.
HSV: God bless him for capturing that moment in time, right?
BM: Yeah! He filmed it on 16mm. It was a semi-professional job I suppose but his editing and sensitivity comes out in the movie itself. I thought it was pretty spectacular.
HSV: You started playing guitar when you were 5 years old.
BM: And that means I’ve been playing for 73 years. That’s frightening to me!
HSV: (laughs) I’m bad at math so I won’t do the numbers.
BM: Good!
HSV: Do you pick up the guitar and noodle around? I know Jerry Garcia always had his guitar in his hands.
BM: I’ve been playing for a very long time, and so has my friend Jack Elliott. There you go! Known him since he was a teenager.
HSV: That’s so amazing. In Bitch Haven.
BM: Who told you about “Bitch Haven”?
HSV: I was listening to your interview here with Mark Hummel on Harmonica Party last year.
BM: Ah, yeah, Jack called it “Bitch Haven”.
HSV: I’m gonna continue to watch your interview with Mark, it’s fascinating.
If you can make it up here and get into the building I’m in, it’s amazing. You look out the window and you’re looking out at the corner of Haight and Ashbury. So lets get you in here!
BM: Great!
HSV: And do a little show. We can play the piano and noodle around on the guitar. I’d be ever grateful.
BM: Okay! Hopefully we can do something the day of the show cuz I’m coming out there anyway.
HSV: Exactly, the 19th. And I may jam up to Petaluma to you if you’re up for it in the coming weeks.
BM: I’m here until the 20th. I’m leaving the day after the event there for Europe and I’ll be gone for a month.
HSV: I saw that you lived in France for awhile, yeah?
BM: I did, yeah.
HSV: Were you hanging out with R.Crumb at all? I know he lived out there.
BM: No, he’s down south, and I’m a Parisian kind of guy.
HSV: My sister lived in Paris for 10 years when I lived in Manhattan. I’d said fuck the hippie shit and moved to New York when I was 22 and I used to go to Paris for Christmas cuz it’s a lot closer than flying all the way back to SF.
Okay, one last little round of people we have in common: Ramblin Jack, Alex Carlin, Brian Rohan, Michael Stepanian, the Hallians …
BM: Brian Rohan! That moral reprobate! Aww, my pal. I miss him. I really do.
HSV: I adored him! He was champion of my magazine. He was so supportive, bought an ad, did an interview Stepanian, he was just an incredible soul. I loved him. The Warthog!
BM: My friend Natalie has a great story about him. She was busted and had to go to court, right? And she’s in there and she’s trying to explain things to the judge. And Brian walks up to her and says, “You gotta shut up. I do the talking.” And she said, “Wow.” And he said, “I you don’t shut up you’re gonna have to give me a blowjob right here.” (Laughter) So … she didn’t. “Rather blunt” we called him. Well, he’s Irish I can make a excuse for him. Loved Brian Rohan.
HSV: Brian’s the one who connected me with young Neil Hallinan, Hallinan Law Firm, who’s got an ad on the back of my magazine every edition for a couple years now.
BM: Is Neil in private practice there?
HSV: Yeah, he does criminal law, the Hallinan Law Firm.
BM: His dad called me up for a job for him when I was the Yolo public defender and he ended up going to work for the Sacramento County public defenders office for a couple years, where he got his training so to speak, in representation of accused folks. Neil is a wonderful keeper of the Hallinan legacy. I shared an office with Michael Hallinan and I was actually in Neil’s dad’s office for awhile after we had a fire in my office with Michael Hallinan and Joe Morehead and those guys.
I have a lawyer history as well as a musical history.
HSV: I know! What a fascinating trip to go from playing Woodstock to becoming a lawyer.
BM: I was a criminal defense lawyer, so I’ve always been representing my people— whether it was a guitar or whether it was a pen. So there you have it.
HSV: That’s a quote and a half! I let you go, I don’t want to take too much of your time. I’m ever grateful for this.
BM: We’ll see you on the 19th!
HSV: Fantastic Barry. I really appreciate you, man. I look forward to it.
