Archive for the ‘Artists’ Category

William Penn Getting Crazy On Tour

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

On tour crazy things happen. One time William Penn and His Pals were at a motel after a gig in Fresno where we got into a little mischief.

After a gig, we were partying with this other band. They were fun guys to hang out with. We all noticed the guitar player from their band was fast asleep on his bed. So, we decided to quietly lift the mattress with him on it. We carried it out to the pool without waking him. It was cold outside and we saw steam rising from the water like some Scottish Loch. Gently we floated him away. Surprisingly, the mattress stayed afloat for a whole 30 seconds. But he shifted his weight and rolled into the water. He woke up struggling for his life. When he crawled out of the pool he stood there fuming. He was a sight in his boxers and dripping long fiery red hair. We were all laughing so hard. After the shock he started laughing too.

The next day when our manager was driving us out of town, the California Highway Patrol stopped us and made him pay for the damages to the motel room.

Mike Shapiro

Posted in Bay Area Music History, William Penn and His Pals | No Comments »

The Texas Twister

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

The Texas Twister was a great lady. I am honored to have had the opportunity to know her. Her name was Jeri Thompson from Galvaston, Texas. I met her at John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom Room in San Francisco in 1998. She impressed me right away with her powerful voice. There was some magic there. She had a wonderful gospel influenced sound.

Her father taught her how to sing at age 3. She moved to San Francisco with her husband later in life and raised 5 children while putting her music career on hold. She resumed her musical dreams at age 50 and I met her at age 60. Take a listen to her version of “Give Me One Reason”. It really showcases her talent.

Mike Shapiro

Posted in Bay Area Music Scene, Texas Twister | 2 Comments »

William Penn vs. The Warlocks

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

When I was playing guitar in William Penn & His Pals in 1965-66 a battle of the bands was a frequent thing. There was a club owned by an ex-cop called the Cinnamon Tree in San Carlos that sponsored these events. At one of these battles we went head to head with The Warlocks. You couldn’t have gotten a more odd combination of combatants. We were dressed like Paul Revere in our tri cornered hats and The Warlocks were the most wildest assortment of characters you could find.

The audience were aged 12 to 17 about 100 or so. They were all sucking down cokes and eating cookies. The Cinnamon Tree was in an industrial area with roll up doors and had a cement floor. And it had been converted to a teen club.

The Warlocks lineup was Jerry Garcia, Pig Pen, Dana Morgan Jr. on bass, Bill Kreutzman and Bob Weir.

The William Penn lineup was Mike Shapiro on lead guitar, Jack Shelton on rhythm guitar, Gregg Rolie on keyboards, Steve Leidenthal on bass, Ron Cox on drums.

The Warlocks played a set, William Penn played a set and the crowd judged in favor of the Warlocks. It made no sense to me at all. William Penn played radio hits and the Warlocks played blues jams and made other weird sounds. Jerry understood the English sound but didn’t copy it like we did and the audience responded.

Mike Shapiro

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Posted in Bay Area Music Scene, Jerry Garcia Stories, The 60s, William Penn and His Pals | No Comments »