Ocean Beach Chronicle Vol3

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The Ocean Beach Chronicle 1

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Welcome to yet another issue of The Ocean Beach Chronicle, a little self-indulgent gallimaufry that explores different years of pop culture whilst focusing on our OB bubble and the surrounding peninsula. I hope you enjoy the chronicle and look forward to your articles, art etc. I want the chronicle to truly embrace and celebrate our wonderful community, and want it to be your publication too.

I am asking a suggested donation of $2 per issue which helps out the businesses that carry the chronicle and also helps me keep the advertising rates shamelessly affordable.

This ain’t a get-rich scheme, it’s a labor of love.

Keep in touch.

Thanks, Trevor trevordesigns@yahoo.com

OB “Yeah, down by the Pier.

That’s where it’s happenin’ Down at the edge of the Paci�c.

Down in the corner of California.

We call it OB And that’s where you’ll �nd me.

O

cean Beach is my neighborhood. It’s a small enclave surrounded by the expansive domain of San Diego. A magical place lying between the outside world and the country we’ve left behind.

Those of us that live here call ourselves OBecians, we call this town OB. We are a hodgepodge; surfers, travelers, peaceniks, runaways, drunks, college kids, liberals, veterans, old-timers, squares and everything in-between. Strange bedfellows, but somehow we’ve figured out how to get along with each other.

Tolerance is our collective middle name.

We’re laid-back and that suits us just fine.

It’s a haven of free thought where our only enemy seems to be convention.

Some days I think Ocean Beach exists only because we believe it exists. We have a catchphrase that reads ‘Ocean Beach, an attitude not an address.’ a disclaimer we’re proud of.

Stroll down our main street, Newport Avenue and you’ll still get a sense of true community. On this street alone there is a hardware store, affordable café’s, clothing stores, gift shops, pet stores, and cocktail bars. We even have an authentic head shop that with a little imagination transports you back to the psychedelic sixties.

You can find just about everything you need in OB without trekking to the malls. This is a walkto-everywhere neighborhood, reminiscent of years gone by, a reminder of more idyllic times, of life spent in a simpler world. If you settle here long enough you’ll soon both recognize and be recognized by others on the street.

Unlike other areas of San Diego, the marine layer can often cloud our summer days; it curls around our neighborhood hiding us from the rest of the county. OB is the port to hide and shelter from the storm.

We’ve got tide pools and hidden coves, trails and eucalyptus groves. We’ve got awesome surf breaks. We’ve got our own historical society and a local merchants group. We’ve got a memberowned cooperative food market that’s been serving the community since 1971. We’ve got annual events where we welcome outsiders by the thou-

sands to come and share the love.

We’ve got a youth hostel that hosts an eclectic mix of young backpackers from around the globe.

We’ve got a beach just for dogs, how sweet is that!

Wednesday evening we boast one of the best street markets in San Diego - The Ocean Beach Farmer’s Market. Newport Avenue comes alive with the smell of tulips and sandalwood, fresh bread and piping hot kettle corn. Hawkers and traders peddle their wares. The sounds of the strolling minstrels and drummers are so evocative that you might think you are part of a modern day renaissance faire. All of OB comes out for this event, our way of paying respects to one another.

This small old-time beach community and bastion of counterculture holds on.

Sadly though, there are signs that our charming seaside town is changing. We are on the endangered list. An east coast souvenir chain has replaced our local movie theatre. Java Joe left, his space now filled by Starbuck’s.

The Arizona Cafe closed its doors after providing over fifty years of saloon solace. Affordable housing is now an oxymoron and the rents are tipping the scales.

The added populace of San Diego is spilling over into our neighborhood. These are a new type of resident, eager to gentrify OB. They see funky as shabby, quaint with ‘it needs tearing down’, and offbeat with ‘off course NOT!’ Some of them try to hoodwink us into believing that they want to preserve Ocean Beach as they stroll the neighborhood in their designer scruff, jacking up the rents month by month, pushing the boundaries of affordability. This is the antithesis of what OB is all about.

I’m hoping that we’ll zealously fight to protect our neighborhood. It’s going to be a battle, but OB is definitely worth it.

Hope we’ll stand up and shout ‘j’embrasse mon rival, mais c’est pour l’etouffer’ Maybe that’s just the point, we don’t speak the same language.

– Trevor trevordesigns@yahoo.com

OB THEMED ART FOR SALE

Visit: trevor.viewbook.com The Ocean Beach Chronicle is brought to you by Quirky Publishing and is published every other month. Copies are distributed in Ocean Beach and the surrounding peninsula. Your comments, critique, submissions, letters, ideas and wot-not are most welcome. Send to: trevordesigns@yahoo.com. Ocean Beach Chronicle online will be coming very soon.

Seven square miles surrounded by Reality The Ocean Beach Chronicle 3

send your OB Attractions to: trevordesigns@yahoo.com

OB Pier

The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier, one of the most visited landmarks in San Diego County, was officially christened and introduced to eager San Diegans on July 2, 1966. Over 7,000 of San Diego’s then 600,000 residents showed up to celebrate the opening, including local politicians Mayor Frank Curran and California Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown who had the honor of cutting the ribbon.

Although the pier quickly became a popular destination for locals and tourists, its original purpose was for fishing. Local Ocean Beach fishermen needed a way to prevent their fishing lines and lures from getting tangled in the vast kelp and rock beds that lie near the surface of the water near the shores. With the construction of the OB Pier, anglers are able to fish in 2530 feet of water, avoiding most of the shoreline kelp and enabling them to catch species of fish that live in deeper waters. The pier extends 1971 feet into the ocean and is the second longest pier on the west coast and purported to be the longest concrete pier in the world. Its unique T-shape at the end of the pier adds 360 feet to the south and 193 feet to the north.

The OB Pier was not the first attempt at providing OB residents a place to fish. Prior to the completion of the pier, a bridge had been constructed in 1915 across the mouth of Mission Bay, which extended from the north end of Bacon Street to what is now the dunes of Mission Bay. This bridge, which was 1,500 feet long, was mainly built so residents could travel from Voltaire to Mission Beach. Soon after its construction, local fishermen thought they had finally found a place to fish. Though the bridge served its primary purpose as a means of transportation for local residents, it proved to be a poor solution for the town’s fishermen. When the bridge was taken down in 1951, San Diegans were promised a replacement for the tourists and fishermen who enjoyed it. After 15 years, the city finally came through on its promise and opened what is now the OB Pier at the foot of Niagara, a location proven better suited for tourists and anglers alike.

Interesting Facts

Ocean Beach Pier was originally named the San Diego Fishing Pier. The original plaque is still there.

The pier has over 500,000 visitors per year.

Many people believe the Ocean Beach Pier is the longest pier in CA. It isn’t. At 1971 feet it is the longest concrete pier on the west coast. The pier at Santa Cruz is 2745 feet.

The 1st fish caught on the pier was an 8-inch perch, first thought to be a type of sunfish. The 2nd and 3rd fish caught were a gray shark and a crab.

The most common fish you will witness being caught on the pier are herring (often called queenfish). There is no limit on them.

Then CA governor Edmund G. Brown made the first cast off the OB Pier and reportedly fished for 5 minutes. As he fished, a large cabin cruiser with a banner reading “Reagan for Governor” circled the corner of the pier. Brown caught nothing and was defeated in November. (Coincidence?)

Currently no fishing license is required on the pier.

In 1991 over $2 million was spent on the pier to repair damages caused by winter storms.

Point Loma Lighthouse

Located on the military base at the southern tip of Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse (built in 1855) served as a beacon for sailors for centuries, and today serves as a link to our past. Visit http://www.nps.gov/archive/cabr/lighthouse.html for more information on this incredible landmark.

Ocean Beach Tidepools

The Ocean Beach tidepools are located at the foot of Newport Ave. beneath the pier. For the best experience we recommend you visit the tidepools during low tide.

The Original Dog Beach

Southern San Diego’s original dog beach sits nestled at the end of Voltaire St. on the northernmost end of Ocean Beach at the mouth of the San Diego River.

A true sanctuary, Dog Beach provides a haven for generations of dogs and their families to run leash-free, dig and swim to their hearts’ content.

Thanks to Ocean Beach Mainstreet Association for text

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OB MAINSTREET ASSOCIATION at RAGLAN photos by Joe Ewing

Celebrity Sightings in OB this Month

Last Sunday I was taking Baxter and Rosie for a walk in Collier park when I couldn’t believe my eyes . . . The gorgeous, doe-eyed honey-blond british actress, Suzy Kendall was right there sunbathing. We struck up quite a conversation (the dogs helped as an intro) Suzy was relaxing after completing the new movie ‘To Sir With Love’ with Sidney Poitier and getting a little time away from her boyfriend Dudley Moore. I was amazed to find out that Suzy was from the same part of England as myself. She’s a knockout!

‘Babs’ was spotted at O’Bistro canoodling with a handsome local (of course we can’t mention names, but as a clue, he owns a great deli . . . we’ll leave it at that) The staff said that ‘Babs’ was extremely nice, most humble and a very generous tipper. I’ve always like Barbara Streisand and now like her even more.

John Lennon dropped by The Lazy Hummingbird Café for a quite cup of tea. The Barista said he barely said a word and kept himself immersed in a foreign newspaper.

Jerry Garcia was spotted at many places up and down Newport Ave. He was telling people about the ‘Summer Of Love’ that was happening up in San Fran, and that everyone should get on the road north now.

That wild woman, Janis was back in town. Rumour has it she might perform a few sets at Winstons. She was seen at Lucy’s Tavern getting well toasted but nothing bad happened, and she was escorted out at closing by a friend.

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david bowie up close and personal with

On the patio at Tower 2, Ocean Beach 1967

By Trevor*

SEVERAL people I know see David Bowie as a one-hit wonder. Until recently I shared their doubts as to his future beyond the song-that-made-him-famous Space Oddity. Then there was his recent concert at London’s Purcell Room, I changed my mind. His performance was astounding. He had the audience bewitched with his words, his music, his voice and his professionalism. With simplicity and sincerity he sang his songs. He has his own style, but also great imagination and versatility.

There are strains of Major Tom in most of his compositions, but not noticeable enough to be boring after the third song. You can hear every word he sings, he’s dreamed, he’s felt. Songs about old ladies who steal from supermarkets; spacemen, and a girl he never really got to know and didn’t really like very much. Several months ago Tony Norman interviewed David Bowie.

His record was a hit, and he was full of beautiful ideas. With the success of his �rst album, I went to talk to him again, and �nd out just how much success had altered his ideas and views.

I even just went yesterday to the Chameleon Hair Lounge to get myself a ‘bowie cut’, he’ll probably think I’m a right poof but so what!

Our conversation covered many topics from pop to politics. Having seen the audience’s reaction at Winstons, I was interested to see how much it meant to him...

“When you’re playing are you always involved with the audiences, do they mean anything to you - the people out there?”

the point, the fact is he had.”

“You’re very irritated?”

“Oh yeah, because it’s the very reason I write and work. But not as a kind of ‘I love you’ audience. They are a reception for me.”

“The whole revolution bit drives me mad.”

“Their reactions?”

“Do you use your songs to demonstrate?”

“Their reactions are important - of course they are. I don’t write with the idea of teaching, because I don’t know what I’ve got to say is very important. I don’t like the artists who come on with this ‘this is how to save the world’ stuff.”

“Cygnet Committee is one way of using a song. But these people - they’re so apathetic, so lethargic. The laziest people I’ve met in my life. They don’t know what to do with themselves. Looking all the time for people to show them the way. They wear anything they’re told, and listen to any music they’re told to. People are like that.”

“So when you say you write for your audience - in what way do you write if you’re not teaching them?”

We sat talking - David was looking at some pictures and writeups of himself.

“I write about pretty average things, most of them everyday occurrences.”

“Do you like seeing pictures of yourself?”

“You enjoy playing?”

“Yes, because it means that I’m being seen. There’s no point in being in this business if nobody knows you. I want to be known, I want my songs to be known, otherwise I wouldn’t go on writing, because I don’t write for myself. There are lots of things I could do besides writing songs. I enjoy it and make money out of it at the same time.”

“I like all my numbers - I like them very much. I love playing them. The point is I also hope that other people like them very much. If I have a number which pleases me and which obviously doesn’t please the other people, then I don’t use it. I’m not going on stage with numbers that just please me, because that’s not my way of writing songs. I write for other people’s pleasure.”

“Thanks Dave for giving me time to chat!

Hope you enjoy your stay in our little OB bubble!”

“Is the hit parade important to you?”

“No it isn’t. The only importance in singles is to go and show people I write different stuff. I’m so hard on this. I’ve had it levelled at me so much in the last few weeks. A lot of people say my songs are different, and I say ‘well, that’s my style’. Every single is going to be different.”

like mad for some kind of commercial success - releasing singles and albums by the score. It’s not that they want to communicate particularly. A lot of them haven’t anything at all to communicate.

I’ve never seen so many dishonest people in my life. I don’t believe anybody has more than anybody else... it’s down to emotion really - which most of this music is.”

“A new one lined up?”

“Yeah - two. Out in January.”

“Space Oddity - are you bored with it?”

“Oh yes. It’s only a pop song after all.”

“Commercialism - does it worry you?”

“Not really, it makes a considerable amount of money.”

“And you like money?”

“Of course I do. I defy any so called artist to say they don’t like money and to get nothing. There are so many hypocritical attitudes especially among the groups that haven’t made it. They’re striving

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“Do you think people should choose the type of music they want to hear or be taught?”

“It was a pleasure, now go and get yer hair cut, you look like a right plonker!”

Has he changed over the last few months? Yes. He’s always changing. The David Bowie of today will not be the David Bowie of tomorrow. He doesn’t know which way he’s going - but he doesn’t care. He lives from feeling to feeling. Today he is full of ideas - tomorrow they may be completely different. He’s growing up. Try and get to see him. Listen to the album and remember... It’s very hard to be a solo artist.

“They are just not capable of doing it. You can’t teach them.

People dream their own lives up for themselves. You can’t do anything for anybody. They have to do it themselves. You have to do your own ‘thing’, and if you haven’t got that awareness then you are not the kind of person who is going to be able to run your life.

Unless of course you are in a certain state where you are happy to be able to follow other people. You can’t analyse it. We’ve been trying for two thousand years. This country is crying out for a leader. God knows what it is looking for, but if it’s not careful it’s going to end up with a Hitler. This place is so ready to be picked up by anybody who has a strong enough personality to lead. The only person who is coming through with any strength is Enoch Powell.

He is the only one with a following. Whether it’s good or bad is not

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up close and personal with

The Bob Dylan Interview Ocean Villa Inn, Ocean Beach, 1967

By Trevor*

So what happened to the tapes?

You mean that film? As far as I know, it will be sold . . . or a deal will be made, for its sale. That’s what I’m told, But you see, Trev, I don’t hold these movie people in too high a position. You know this movie, Don’t Look Back? Well, that splashed my face all over the world, that movie Don’t Look Back. I didn’t get a penny from that movie, you know . . . so when people say why don’t you go out and work and why don’t you do this and why don’t you do that, people don’t know half of what a lot of these producers and people, lawyers . . . they don’t know the half of those stories. I’m an easy-going kind of fellow, you know . . . I’m forgive and forget. I like to think that way. But I’m a little shy of these people. I’m not interested in finding out anymore about any film.

When do you think you’re gonna go on the road?

November . . . possibly December.

What kind of dates do you think you’ll play — concerts? Big stadiums or small concert halls?

I’ll play medium-sized halls.

What thoughts do you have on the kind of backup you’re going to use?

Well, we’ll keep it real simple, you know . . . drums . . . bass . . . second guitar . . . organ . . . piano. Possibly some horns. Maybe some background voices.

Why do you choose to live in the East?

Well, because we’re nearer New York now. We don’t choose anything . . . we just go with the wind. That’s it.

Girls? Like the Raelettes?

We could use some girls.

Do you have any particular musicians in mind at this time? To go out on the road? Well, I always have some in mind. I’d like to know a little bit more about what I’m gonna do. You see, when I discover what I’m gonna do, then I can figure out what kind of sound I want. I’d probably use . . . I’d want the best band around, you know?

Most people who become successful in records, especially artists, start wondering at some point about whether they’re becoming businessmen, taking care of contracts and making money . . . did you ever get that?

Yeah, I certainly did. I’d love to become a businessman, [laughs]. Love it.

Are you going to use studio musicians or use some already existing band?

I don’t know . . . you see, it involves putting other people on the bill, full-time. I’d only probably use the Band again . . . if I went around.

What do you think of the music business?

I’d love to become a businessman in the music business.

Doing what?

Well, doing that same thing that other businessmen are doing . . . talking about recording, publishing, producing . . .

And they’d do the first half of the show? . . . Sure . . . sure . . .

Are you thinking of bringing any other artists with you?

Well, every so often we do think about that.

[Laughter.] We certainly do. I was thinking about maybe introducing Marvin Rainwater or Slim Whitman to “my audience.”

Have you been in touch with either of them?

No . . . no.

What did you think when you saw yourself on the Cash show?

[Laughs.] Oh, I’d never see that . . . I can’t stand to see myself on television. No. Did you dig doing it?

I dig doing it, yeah. Well, you know, television isn’t like anything else . . . it’s also like the movie business, you know, where they call you and then you just sit around. So by the time you finally do something, you have to do it three or four times, and usually all the spirit’s gone.

You didn’t watch it on TV? [Laughs.] I did watch it on TV . . . just because I wanted to see Johnny. I didn’t realize they slowed Doug Kershaw down, too. They slowed his song down to . . . his song was like this . . . [taps out steady beat] . . . and they slowed him down to . . . [taps slow rhythm] . . . you know?

Just by slowing down the tape?

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They just slowed him down. I don’t know how.

I don’t know what happened. I think the band slowed him down or something, but boy, he was slowed down. During rehearsals and just sitting around, he played these songs . . . the way we was going at it, maybe 3/4 time, and they slowed him down to about 2/3 time, you know?

Did you have any difficulty working with the TV people doing something like that?

O no, no, they’re wonderful people . . . they really are. It was by far the most enjoyable television program I’ve ever done. I don’t do television just because you get yourself in such a mess . . . so I don’t do it.

You told me once that you were going to do a TV special?

That’s what I’m talking about.

In Hollywood?

No, I’m talking about CBS. In New York?

Well, we don’t know that yet. They don’t have in mind exactly what they would like. They kind of leave it wide open, so we’re trying to close the gap now.

What do you have in mind for it?

Oh, I just have some free-from type thing in

mind. A lot of music.

Presenting other artists?

Sure . . . I don’t mind. I don’t know who, but . . .

Why haven’t you worked in so long?

Well, uh . . . I do work.

I mean on the road.

On the road . . . I don’t know, working on the road. . . . Well, Trev, I’ll tell ya — I was on the road for almost five years. It wore me down. I was on drugs, a lot of things. A lot of things just to keep going, you know? And I don’t want to live that way anymore. And uh . . . I’m just waiting for a better time — you know what I mean?

Laying low for a year . . . you must have had time to think. That was the ABC-TV show?

What happened to the tapes of that? How come that never got shown?

Well, I could make an attempt to answer that, but . . . [laughs] . . . I think my manager could probably answer it a lot better.

Why have you chosen to do this interview?

‘Cause this is a music paper. Why would I want to give an interview to Look magazine? Tell me, why?

I don’t know . . . to sell records.

To sell records, I could do it. Right. But I have a gold record without doing it, do you understand me? Well, if I had to sell records, I’d be out there giving interviews to everybody. Don’t you see?

Mr. Clive Davis, he was president of Columbia Records, and he said he wouldn’t be surprised if this last album sold a million units. Without giving one interview. Now you tell me, Trev, why am I going to go out and give an interview?

To get hassled . . .

Why would I want to go out and get hassled? If they’re gonna pay me, I mean . . . who wants to do that? I don’t.

Thanks Bob for havin’ a chat! Great to see you in our little beach town.

No prob, great to be here. This place is a gas.

I don’t think he answers too many questions.

Doesn’t he? He doesn’t answer question? Well he’s a nice guy. He’ll usually talk to you if you show some enthusiasm for what you’re talking about.

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The Ocean Beach Chronicle 9

These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ A

merican designer Beth Levine is widely credited as the first person to introduce boots into Haute Couture. As early as 1953, Beth Levine introduced under the Herbert Levine label a calf-length boot in white kidskin, which sold poorly. Most retailers saw boots as a separate category of footwear from shoes, to be worn for protection from bad weather or for work. By contrast, Levine argued that boots were shoes and could be an integral part of a woman’s outfit. In 1957, Herbert Levine produced an entire collection of based around fashion boots, and despite widespread skepticism on the part of other designers and manufacturers, calf-high, kitten-heeled fashion boots for women began to grow in popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1962 Balenciaga’s fall collection featured a tall boot by Mancini that just covered the knee; the following year Yves Saint Laurent’s couture collection included thighlength alligator skin boots by designer Roger Vivier and Vogue was able to announce that boots of all lengths were the look of the moment. The re-emergence of boots as a fashion item in the 1960s has been interpreted as an antidote to the femininity of Dior’s post war “New Look”.

Rising hemlines and the availability of new, brightly colored artificial materials such as PVC, combined to make boots an attractive fashion option for younger women. In 1965 André Courrèges released the first of his iconic white leather calf-length boots and designers such as Mary Quant, who launched her own ‘Quant Afoot’ line of footwear in 1967, produced inexpensive, machine-molded plastic boots in a variety of different colors to be worn in tandem with mini-skirts. The rising price of leather during the 1960s made these plastic and vinyl boots a popular alternative to more traditional footwear. As skirts became even shorter in the late 1960s, there was a resurgence of interest in thighlength boots or cuissardes. Pierre Cardin featured shiny black PVC thighboots as part of his futuristic 1968 couture collection and Beth Levine designed seamless, stretch vinyl and nylon stocking boots tall enough to do double duty as hosiery. The tallest boots from this period were so high that they were equipped with suspenders to hold them up. High laced boots, similar to those worn in Edwardian times, were also popular.

Praise The Miniskirt A miniskirt (sometimes hyphenated as “mini-skirt”) is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees, generally halfway up the thighs – normally no longer than 10 cm (4 in) below the buttocks; and a minidress is a dress with such a hemline. A micro-miniskirt or microskirt is a miniskirt with its

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hemline at the upper thigh, at or just below crotch level; and short shorts--often better known as hot pants and “Daisy Dukes”--are women’s shorts with leg hemlines at the upper thigh.

The popularity of miniskirts peaked in the “Swinging Lon-

don” of the 1960s, but its popularity is since still commonplace among many women, mostly teenagers, preteens, and young adults. Before that time, short skirts were only seen in sport clothing, such as skirts worn by female tennis players, figure skaters, and cheerleaders.

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When I’m in OB I always get my hair done at Renovation – Raquel

What sort of man reads The OB Chronicle?

An on-the-go guy whose desire for adventure know no boundaries. He's a jet setter who makes the action, then moves on before the crowd arrives. Facts: 4 of every 5 OB Chronicle readers surveyed said they would like to travel around the world, while only half of all nonreaders expressed this interest. Twice as many OB Chronicle readers as nonreaders said they would like to spend a year in London or Paris. Sound like our man is worth following? Then reach him in the one medium that speaks his language: The Ocean Beach Chronicle (Source: A Psychographic Profile of Magazine and Web Audiences, 2011)

I LOVE MY OB GURL TO WEAR

THIS BRAND NEW FRAGRANCE IS NOW AT THE CHAMELEON Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

The Ocean Beach Chronicle 11

Barbara Eden was born in Tucson, Arizona, the daughter of Alice Mary (née Franklin); her stepfather was Harrison Connor Huffman. She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco in 1949, and was elected Miss San Francisco, 1951. She became Barbara Jean Huffman when her mother remarried, and then changed from ‘Huffman’ to ‘Eden’ at the behest of her manager, who thought the name Huffman would not sell in Hollywood. Eden agreed to change her last name, but insisted on keeping her first name, stating that she could not answer to anything else.

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up close and personal with Surprise, surprise . . . bumped into Barabara Eden at Your Mama’s Mug last week.

So I asked her about Elvis . . .

G

od, what a talent he was! I remember the first time I saw him. It was on television. I had a job dancing, and one of the girls took me home to rehearse, and her sister came running in the room and said, ‘Look! Look! Quick! Stop!’

It was the Ed Sullivan Show.

And he was just electric. You’d never forget him after that.

We ended up doing a western, Flaming Star [1960], together, when he first came back from the army. He was a natural on a horse. He was really good at it, as he was at acting. I think Elvis, like a lot of country entertainers, had his feet mired in emotional truth. When they say something, it’s right up front. You see it in Dolly Parton. The truth is right there. Elvis had that facility, and in his acting, he immediately became that character. He believed what he was doing, and he had no inhibitions about doing what he believed.

And he cared. That’s what impressed me about Elvis. He cared so much about doing a good job, and knowing his craft.

He was lovely man to work with. Good manners. He followed direction, he listened, and he was no problem. There wasn’t a huge ego. He wanted to please.

But he did bend. He wanted to just act in this film, and not sing, but they decided they needed music and had him playing guitar while I hopped around the table at one point. He enjoyed doing that film, playing a half-breed Indian. The director, Don Siegel, said it was his finest performance ever. It ran opposite to anything he had done or would do in the future. And he was so good at it, and he got good reviews, but I don’t think the picture made a lot of money. And that’s too bad, because Colonel Parker was out for the fast buck. I remember the Colonel had a little desk set up, and he was selling Elvis’ records and memorabilia just inside the soundstage. I watched and I did a double take. I couldn’t believe it. Elvis said, ‘People talk about the Colonel a lot, but he’s been good to me. I was a nobody before I met him. I was playing little joints, and he made me what I am, and I appreciate it, and I’ll always listen to him’. And he did.

We talked about a lot of things, like weight, because we were both watching what we ate. I said, ‘Well, you don’t have a problem. You’re very lean’.

And he said, ‘No, no, my mama was heavy, and I take after her. It shows in my face, so I have to be really careful’. I was married to actor Michael Ansara at the time, and Elvis asked me how difficult it was being married and acting. And I said, ‘It’s not tough at all. It’s our job. We just go our ways and do it’.

And he said, ‘I’m really thinking about getting married, but I’m a little worried’. I said, ‘Oh, have you met someone?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I met this girl. She’s awful young, though. I don’t know’. Of course, we know what happened later.

He was a huge fan of Michael’s [Broken Arrow]. I said, ‘When do you ever have time to watch television?’ And he looked at me and said, ‘Barbara, that’s all I do. I can’t go outside. I have to stay in the room’. I got the impression it was like a jail. The only time he was free and happy was when he was on the stage. When I met him on the lot he had his friends from Memphis around him, who were dear. He called them his cousins -- some of them really were, I understand -- and his father was there. They sat around in chairs and on boxes and sang. Elvis said, ‘We’re ‘pickin’. They’d sing a little of this, a little of that. It was very pleasant. Everything was easy with him. And they were very good people. I have a picture, sitting there with his father and his cousins.

Award Winning Cocktail Lounge

A Local Favorite Since 1941 Great Drinks, Great People, Great Prices 4924 Newport Ave, OB 619.223.7549 Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

The Ocean Beach Chronicle 13

up close and personal with

By Kimberley Rotter

T

Yvette Jaime & Staff

at The Chameleon Hair Lounge

he San Diego metro area is loaded with interesting, uncommonly creative neighborhoods where casual visitors and locals alike can quietly browse or attend to their business. But no neighborhood is as different, as quirky, as brimming with personality as Ocean Beach. Unlike New York’s Greenwich Village (now gentrified out of recognition) and Los Angeles’s Venice (equally commercialized), Ocean Beach retains a gritty, unusually earthy aura. OB somehow holds onto all of its founding originality, its easy accessibility, its funky charm. And solidly within the OB style and tradition is The Chameleon Hair Lounge and Boutique.

Owner and contributing stylist Yvette Jaime’s history as an OBcian dates back more than two decades, to the time immediately following her formal stylist training in Los Angeles and London. Yvette was exposed to cutting edge retail style and decorative arts in the U.S. and Europe through jobs at places like L.A.’s Roxy and Whiskey-a-Go-Go and London’s old Astoria Club. She was a store manager at Contempo Casuals, the go-to retailer for all the latest ladies fashions of the 1980s. And her beauty products training began at the famed Atlas Beauty Supply.

She arrived in OB in 1990 and knew she was here to stay – a true OBcian feels instantly at home when they get here, no matter at what age. Ocean Beach feels right if you’re a little different from everyone else… and want to stay that way. She opened the first Chameleon Hair Lounge in 1997 across from the original People’s Co-op, adopting a concept expressed by supermodel Linda Evangelista, who likened herself to an ever-changing chameleon. The sentiment hit a home run with Yvette, and she that found the salon, with its jewel box of a boutique, was the perfect way to express the concept herself.

else. I don’t want to sell the same stuff as every other store in town.” She frequently attends trade shows to see the latest trends. She stocks the store with her favorites. She carries this business strategy over to her virtual store on eBay. Like a chameleon, with its ever-changing appearance,

She’s not a tourist attraction. This shop is different – even for OB – and just seems to fit better tucked away in the neighborhood.

The Chameleon’s stylists project positive energy. They like where they work and it shows. In fact, turnover among The Chameleon’s stylists is virtually zero. The utter lack of competition and drama in the shop is refreshing. They are a team

cutting, color and braiding.

Jen is the Chameleon veteran, having been around for more than eight years and is an advanced color specialist. She’s a beachy mom who appreciates days that contain no surprises.

Yvette, the quintessential shop lady, is one of those people who can’t fade into the background – generous, compassionate, opinionated and

the boutique’s selections constantly evolve with the season, the fashion of the day, and the whim of Yvette. “I love change,” she says.

The cumulative effect of the high-end products and sisterly camaraderie is to make all who enter feel luxurious. “Every time I come here, I find the coolest stuff, but at OB prices. So I get my hair done, I look awesome, I buy a little treat for myself, and take care of a couple of gifts at the same time,” says Catherine L. of Point Loma.

The Chameleon Hair Lounge and Boutique sells clothing, jewelry, perfumes, candles, lotions, baby gear, hair accessories, sunglasses, hair products (including hard-to-find brands) for men, women and children, and a myriad of unusual products and gifts. The Chameleon hosts private parties and cocktail receptions several

Nowhere is Yvette’s imagination and good taste on better display than in her boutique. The merchandise here is surprisingly exclusive, but purposefully discounted. “It’s not about making a ton of pro�t off every sale. I want my customers to get a great deal on something they like,” Yvette explains in response to the obviously low markup on her products.

Yvette opened the shop at 4728 Voltaire Avenue just five years ago, a couple of doors down from her first location. This new shop is significantly bigger and allowed her to expand the boutique side of the business. She deliberately put The Chameleon slightly off OB’s beaten path because she wants to maintain just a whisper of polite distance between her shop and the crowds.

14 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

of experts who bring an array of interesting life backgrounds along with a switched-on attitude that radiates intelligence and humor.

Amanda, a Chameleon stylist for three years, likes to run half-marathons. She’s a dog-loving sports-watcher who also happens to hold the Guinness beer chugging championship for three years running. Her professional specialties include Brazilian Blowout, highlights at any length, and Chi straightening.

Jamie joined the salon over two years ago.

She’s a punky, pin-up wife and mom who specializes in Professional Chemical Straightening,

strong-willed. These four women are all headturningly attractive, exuding style and confidence that others want to emulate.

Nowhere is Yvette’s imagination and good taste on better display than in her boutique. The merchandise here is surprisingly exclusive, but purposefully discounted. “It’s not about making a ton of profit off every sale. I want my customers to get a great deal on something they like,” Yvette explains in response to the obviously low markup on her products. “I want them to be able to have fun with this stuff, not spend a ton of money, get something awesome that they can’t get anywhere

times a year to showcase new merchandise and meet-and-greet new and old customers. Contact the store for more information or to be added to the invitation list.

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The Ocean Beach Chronicle 15

the art of KERNE ERICKSON In a day when sterile, flat, computer-generated art has become the norm, it’s refreshing to see an artist like Kerne Erickson who can work his way from a well composed pencil drawing, through transparent layers of under painting, building depth and tonality until finally he adds the finishing touches that bring the work of art into focus. His work is a perfect blend of traditional technique and modern painting mediums.

About Kerne Erickson Kerne in his studio, working on the image which would become the cover of his new, selftitled book, featuring his collection of travel artwork and Hawaiian-style imagery.

For the past 30 years Kerne Erickson has worked as a full-time artist, primarily producing freelance commissioned art and landscape paintings. His home and studio are located in Orange County near the edge of the vast O’Neill cattle ranch, with classic rolling California foothills and the distinct ridgeline of Saddleback Mountain in the background. To the south a few miles is Trestles beach, one of the premier surf spots in California. In this home he and his wife, Suzanne, raised their two children, Daniel and Anna.

Erickson is soft spoken and friendly but prefers to work on his art with no one else around. The music he listens to while working ranges widely from British Isles folk music to innovative jazz. All around his home and studio are gadgets he has invented and constructed, which attest to his cleaver mind, keen wit and good sense of humor. In one room there is a tall wooden device made to scroll huge rolls of canvas.

He designed and built this so he could produce long horizontal murals in a relatively small area. The main easel he is using in his studio is built from an auto shop hydraulic jack for lifting engines. This works perfectly for raising, lowering and tilting the large canvases he works on. His heavily planted back yard is watered using a series of hoses and hand-made drip devices, designed in the comical Rube Goldberg tradition.

When it comes to art, Erickson is extremely dedicated to his chosen vocation. He spends time nearly every day of his life producing art. Some days he works in the studio from sketches or photographs; other days he packs up his painting supplies and goes out on location to paint while viewing the subject. Both methods of working are equally important and interesting to him. When research is required for a project, he often goes deep, reading everything he can find on the subject in books, old magazines, vintage brochures and on the Internet. If human figures are to be included in an artwork, he often finds a model and has them pose for sketches.

Through the years Erickson has successfully employed many different types of art supplies. He currently uses a variety of traditional paintbrushes, but he is also known as an outstanding airbrush artist and on occasion uses that method to paint in large areas of transitional color. In addition he has produced some remarkable works of art using color pencils. His main painting mediums include oil paints, transparent watercolors, and acrylics. While he has found all of them useful from time to time, he has most consistently attained the results he desires from using acrylic paint on canvas or board.

He was introduced to acrylic paint in the 1960s while studying at the Art Center School in Pasadena, California. Erickson immediately liked the fact that they dried very quickly and cleaned up with water, not harsh chemicals. He also found that they allowed him to constantly touch and feel the surface he was working on. This added tactile sensation to the painting process and made for much less chance of rubbing, smudging, or smearing damp paint. In addition he found that acrylics provided him the freedom to modify, backtrack, or completely change his artistic direction at almost any point in the painting process.

The Art of Kerne Erickson is represented by Greg Young Publishing www.gregyoungpublishing.com

16 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

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Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

The Ocean Beach Chronicle 17

Ron Wharton/The Art Pimp is an Outsider,Underground artist born on the East Coast of Maryland. Since 1998 Ron has resided in San Diego, California with roots in the Lowbrow Art movement and Pop Surrealism. His paintings hold a sarcastic colorful mirror to life in America.

“The Art Pimp” has been involved in numerous presentations in the San Diego area as well as Art shows around the country. His weapon of choice is Acrylic on Lauan (thin wood). Some of his Art is on permanent display at Seth’s Chop Shop in Ocean Beach.

18 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

art showcase with

ron wharton

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up close and personal

By MERCY BARON posted on obrag.org Bernie’s Bike Shop has been at 1911 Cable Street for 21 years. (All photos by Mercy Baron.)

Roger and Yasuko’s Shop Help Make OB What It Is

B

ernie’s Bicycle Shop has been an Ocean Beach institution for almost 45 years.

That’s a long time in a town that is celebrating it’s 125th Anniversary!

Current owner, Roger Lovett, had been a regular customer of Bernie’s since he was a kid.

Not every grown up can claim they bought the bike shop they used to hang out in when they were little. When Roger bought the shop in it’s original location on Voltaire and Ebers in 1989, he was jokingly threatened by long time customers to retain the original name of Bernie’s. And so he did.

Two years later in 1991, he moved the shop to it’s current location at 1911 Cable Street (used to house the Sunshine Surf Shop). Twenty-one years is a long time in a town that has seen too many businesses close in just the last few years alone. There used to be 4 bike shops in OB but most have closed.

Roger used to work at a bike shop on Midway for over 9 years, but that shop is no longer there either.

About the time when Roger bought Bernie’s he met his wife, Yasuko, on a blind date. She has worked in the shop with Roger ever since. And she is not even a bike rider. But she knows where everything is in that shop and knows the price including tax on every item!

In doing some research on Bernie’s, I came upon a somewhat unusual web site devoted to the shop here . The working title of that page is “Just A Dirty Little Bike Shop.” And Roger doesn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, when I brought it up, he said, “Oh yeah, that guy is a local artist, can’t remember his name, but he also used to play in a band that opened for The Mamas and the Papas, back in the 60�s.”

When I asked him if they ever had their own web site, he said no, they only have Sundays off and he would never have time to maintain one anyway.

Roger said he vacuumed the floor twice at his old shop and decided, what the hell for? It’s just going to get dirty again. And in reading reviews about the shop on Yelp, the funkiness and no pressure selling attitude of the shop is what seems to draw customers in. They feel the OB vibe there and it keeps them coming back. Nothing fancy here, Just a good selection of bikes, lots of parts and quick and easy repairs.

Heck, I’ve brought my tryke in several times for squeaks, brakes not working, air in tires, all kinds of piddly little things, and they always seem to be able to help me out straight away. Every single time. When I have offered a few bucks here and there, it was refused by Yasuko or Roger each time. After a year or so of their kindness, I finally just bought them a big old bag of Kettle Corn from the Farmer’s Market as a way of saying thanks for being so cool.

Lots of the reviews on Yelp talk about other shops that try to up sell their customers on things

they don’t need and their disdain for it. When I asked Roger about this, he said, he was a lousy salesman. When he worked in the old shop on Midway, his bosses would tell him to stay in the back since his salesman prowess was nowhere to be seen.

But Roger has no problem shooting the breeze with his customers. In just the few times I’ve gone in there, there always seems to be one rider or another hanging out and talking shop with him. He’s a gentle giant sort of guy and will always take the time to talk to you, and change your flat tire too. I learned also that it’s a $100 ticket if you don’t have lights on your bike at night, wow. I bought two flashing lights after I heard that.

When I asked him how he keeps his costs down, since that was one of the most mentioned comments made in reviews, he said, having nothing fancy in there can translate to savings for the customers. While his rent is somewhat high, being a just a couple of stores north of Newport Avenue also makes for a lower rent for a beach area business.

And while he can order a $3,000 bike if you need one, he keeps more moderately priced bikes in the shop. And having a super alarm system helps with that. Almost 20 years ago when he first opened, someone broke in and stole just one $600 bike. He has since taken much more secure precautions.

lot of weight in recent times. He said racing season is over right now, but he finished in a higher division then when he first started. He started out in the slower D group, but worked his way up to the faster B group. On Tuesday nights in the Spring and Summer, it’s a great hang out with bands and beer. Sounds like a good time. Race a little, party a little.

He also told me about the illegal, yet fun racing on Fiesta Island on Thursday nights. Speed limit there is 25 miles per hour, but he was recently stopped by a Mission Bay Ranger for going 36 miles per hour! But I guess the ranger decided to cut him some slack and he wasn’t given a ticket.

I could swear he told me they were racing against cars, but you didn’t hear that from me. Cause it’s illegal don’t ya know.

Yasuko and Roger.

Roger is not just a repair guy, where he makes most of his money, but he is also a racer himself.

The Velodrome at Morley Field is a place where he likes to cut loose and it has helped him lose a

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up close and personal with

January 1967 Interview with Jimi Hendrix • Paci�c Shores Cocktail Lounge, Ocean Beach, California I turned up to see Jimi at good ‘ol Pac Shores on Newport Ave, cassette recorder and one cassette in hand. He was friendly and relaxed through the chat. His girlfriend – I assume Kathy Etchingham – drifted in and out. It was early afternoon, the bar was quite and dark, just how I liked it.

if your parents weren’t watching. I dig The Who – I like a lot of their songs! The Byrds are pretty good too, though I know you don’t dig them over here. They’re on a different kick. I like them.

Trevor Watson: What are the main influences in your music?

I’d have to be in a certain mood if I could sit up and listen to it all day. I like Charles Mingus and this other cat who plays all the horns, Roland Kirk. I like very different jazz, not all this regular stuff. Most of it is blowing blues, and that’s why I like free-form jazz – the groovy stuff instead of the old-time hits like they get up there and play “How High Is the Moon” for hours and hours. It gets to be a drag.

How about free expression in jazz?

Jimi Hendrix: Well, I don’t have any right now.

I used to like Elmore James and early Muddy Waters and stuff like that – Robert Johnson and all those old cats.

Do you feel any heritage from the old bluesmen?

How do you feel onstage?

No, ’cause I can’t even sing! When I first started playing guitar is was way up in the Northwest, in Seattle, Washington. They don’t have too many of the real blues singers up there. When I really learned to play was down South. Then I went into the Army for about nine months, but I found a way to get out of that. When I came out I went down South and all the cats down there were playing blues, and this is when I really began to get interested in the scene.

What’s the scene like now on the West Coast?

Well, I haven’t been on the West Coast for a long time. But when I was on the East Coast the scene was pretty groovy. I’d just lay around and play for about two dollars a night, and then I’d try and find a place to stay at night after I finished playing. You had to chat somebody up real quick before you had a place to stay.

What do you think the scene is like over there compared to Britain?

Well, I never had a chance to get on the scene over there, but from what I’ve seen [in England] it’s pretty good. I thought it could be a whole lot of cats who could play it but not really feel it.

But I was surprised, especially when I heard Eric Clapton, man. It was ridiculous. I thought, “God!” And every time we get together, that’s all we talk about – playing music. I used to like Spencer Davis, but I heard that old Stevie’s [Winwood] left them, and I think it’s official about two days ago, or it was yesterday.

What about the Beatles and the things they’re doing now?

Oh, yes, I think it’s good. They’re one group that you can’t really put down because they’re just too much And it’s so embarrassing, man, when America is sending over the Monkees – oh, God, that kills me! I’m so embarrassed that America could be so stupid as to make somebody like that.

They could have at least done it with a group that has something to offer. They got groups in the States starving to death trying to get breaks and then these fairies come up.

Did you ever meet Bob Dylan in the States?

I saw him one time, but both of us were stoned out of our minds. I remember it vaguely. It was at this place called The Kettle of Fish in the Village. We were both stoned there, and we just hung around laughing – yeah, we just laughed.

People have always got to put him down. I really dig him, though. I like that Highway 61 Revisited album and especially “Just Like Tom Thumb’s

20 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

Blues”! He doesn’t inspire me actually, because I could never write the kind of words he does. But he’s helped me out in trying to write about two or three words ’cause I got a thousand songs that will never be finished. I just lie around and write about two or three words, but now I have a little more confidence in trying to finish one. When I was down in the Village, Dylan was starving down there. I hear he used to have a pad with him all the time to put down what he sees around him.

But he doesn’t have to be stoned when he writes, although he probably is a cat like that – he just doesn’t have to be.

Are you just experimenting in your music or moving towards an end?

I guess it is experimenting just now. Maybe in about six or seven months or when our next album comes out we’ll know more what we’re doing. All the tracks on our first LP are going to be originals, but we might play Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” on it.

What do you think of the auto-destruction and the things The Who are doing?

We don’t really break anything onstage – only a few strings. Actually, we do anything we feel like. If we wanted to break something up, we would do it. There’s a lot of times in the past I have felt like that too. But it isn’t just for show, and I can’t explain the feeling. It’s just like you want to let loose and do exactly what you want

I get a kick out of playing. It’s the best part of this whole thing, and recording too. I wrote a song called “I Don’t Live Today,” and we got the music together in the studio. It’s a freak-out tune.

I might as well say that, ’cause everyone else is going to anyway. Do you want to know the real meaning of that? Now, alright, I’ll tell you this – don’t think anything bad, okay? This is what they used to say in California ages ago: “Guess what – I seen in a car down on Sunset Strip. I seen Gladys with Pete and they were freakin’ out.” That’s what it means – sexual perverting.

Now they get freakin’ off and out in all these songs, so it’s got nothing at all to do with sex now, I guess. Anyway, that’s what it used to mean – perversion, like you might see a beautiful girl and say she’s a beautiful “freak,” you know.

[Laughs.] I’m being frank – that’s all, so I guess I’ll get deported soon.

Do you ever read the International Times?

Oh, yeah! I think that’s kind of groovy. They get almost too wrapped up with something, but it’s really nice what they’re doing. They have a paper like that in the Village, The East Village Other.

The Village’s Fugs are real crazy; they do things arranged from William Burroughs, songs about lesbians, and things like “Freakin Out With a Barrel of Tomatoes,” squashing them all between your armpits – euughh! You’d never believe it, man, those cats are downright vulgar. They tell these nasty, beautiful poems! The nastiest ones you could think of. Here’s one thing I hate, man: When these cats say, “Look at the band – they’re playing psychedelic music!” and all they’re really doing is flashing lights on them and playing “Johnny B. Goode” with the wrong chords – it’s terrible.

What do you think of this psychedelic bit?

There’s this cat smashing a car when he might be singing a song about “I love you, baby.”

[Most likely Jimi is here referring to the band The Move.] Now what does that have to do with it? Now, if he was saying the car is evil and the music is in the background and he’s out there reading poetry with his little green and gold robe on, that might have some meaning. Singing “Love Is Strange” while smashing an M.G. up is just stupid.

Have you seen Pink Floyd?

I’ve heard they have beautiful lights but they don’t sound like nothing.

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The Ocean Beach Chronicle 21

How unlikely would it seem today, if someone were to tell you that they were planning to build one of the world’s sexiest and most recognizable brands– with a logo based on a bunny? Well, that’s exactly what Hugh Heffner did. Seriously, doesn’t it sound kind of nuts? Looking back on the vintage images of the bunnies in their heyday, there is an undeniable naivete and corniness, mixed with an overtly demeaning attitude towards women– and wow, did it work.

Heffner was gifted with an ironic stroke of fate when the original “Stag Club” name that was going to grace his new men’s magazine was legally blocked by Stag magazine.

He needed a new handle, and the stag was soon converted to the now iconic bunny, in a historic and innuendo-laden rename. Playboy later ran a pictorial article on Chicago’s Gaslight Club, and was overwhelmed by thousands of readers requesting to join this exclusive key members club. Playboy execs smelled a golden opportunity, and soon plans were laid to open their own private key holder’s club. All that was needed now was the vision.

After many go-rounds, the decided-upon bunny custom was nipped and fluffed until it met Heffner’s critical approval. They say he was particularly smitten with the tail– go figure. In 1960, when the very first Playboy Club opened– the so-called icon of the sexual revolution was off and hopping. Seems almost more like a misogynist’s dream than a liberating sexual revolution if you asked me.

Liberating for whom, exactly?

22 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

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Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

The Ocean Beach Chronicle 23

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH CA$H JOHNNY AT FOLSOM PRISON 1967

I

t’s 1967, and Johnny Cash is finally at a place in life where he is able to get a grip on his drug addictions — with the love and support of his wife June. Johnny had always wanted to perform at Folsom — ever since he first recorded the tune Folsom Prison Blues back in 1957 for Sun Records. After years of delays caused by management changes at Johnny’s record label, and battles with his own personal demons, the time was finally right.

Backed by the legendary Carl Perkins, the Tennessee Three, not to mention June Carter Cash (a musical dynamo in her own right ), Johnny and company set out to California’s Folsom Prison to put on one helluva show (two shows actually) for the penned-up boys in blue. The resulting live album At Folsom Prison was a huge success that reignited Johnny Cash’s career, and is an enduring classic that is hands-down required listening for all Johnny Cash, American Roots, and Country Western music fans.

From the moment you hear that “Hello — I’m Johnny

Cash” and that guitar — you’re flat hooked, brother.

Last month Johnny Cash gave a concert and has given his fans a peek inside prison walls.

Gene Beley was at the prison the day the record, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, was made. A friend had invited the young Ventura Star Free Press reporter to the concert, and Beley decided to bring along a tape recorder.

Beley’s recording is familiar, but it’s from an entirely new perspective: that of the audience.

We arrived at the El Rancho Motel and checked in. Cash was nervous about the weather in Nashville. He feared that the snow and ice would make it impossible for Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers, the Tennessee Three, and Columbia’s A&R man, Bob Johnston, to fly to Sacramento. So he called Nashville and found they had left and were laid over in San Francisco. While waiting for the others, we all met in one of our rooms. Reverend Gressett said he had a favor to ask of John.

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“Johnny, I want you to hear a song written by Glen Sherley, an inmate in Folsom, serving five to life for armed robbery. You’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to tell you about it but I thought if you could mention tomorrow that you’ve heard the tape, it would please that ol’ boy who wrote it.”

“Does anyone have a tape recorder?” Cash asked.

“I do,” I replied, and went to get the reel-to-reel Sony recorder that I had brought to record the concert for research purposes.

“All right, this is a take on ‘Greystone Chapel,’” a deep voice, similar to Cash’s own voice, said on the tape. Then the singing began: Inside the walls of prison, my body may be, But the Lord has set my soul free…

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It’s a lovely day to stop at The Harp “One of the finest pubs in Ocean Beach Great Live Music, The Smoothest Guiness, Freshest Lager.

Place is always full of characters!

Make sure to buy Phil a pint if you run into him.”

– Trevor

Welcome to Ebers Street Garage in Ocean Beach Ebers Street Garage is a family owned business that has been providing quality car care in the Ocean Beach/ San Diego area since 1995. The quality ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified technicians at Ebers Street Garage employ today's latest automotive technology and are euipped to handle all major and minor repairs on foreign and domestic cars. Situated on the corner of Ebers Street and Voltaire Street, it is easily accessed from Interstates 5 and 8. Our business hours are 7AM to 5PM Monday through Friday and 8AM to 1PM on Saturdays.

We are closed on Sundays.

You can call us at: 619-222-4448 www.ebersstreetgarage.com �������������������������������

Reliable, Friendly, Affordable Motorcycle Repair All Makes / Models Locally Owned & Operated Certified Harley-Davidson Techs 1875 Cable Street 619-222-3777

Heard of the OB Rag?

We’re the online news publication for Ocean Beach.

Named after the original OB Rag of the 1970’s

Go to OBRag.org • • • • •

NEW: We now have weekly office hours at the Green Store – call 619-225-1083 We’re a collection of a dozen local citizen journalists, grass roots activists & bloggers; Averaging 80,000 readers a month; publishing 6 days a week Featuring local restaurant, other business & music reviews; Great ad rates for local businesses Email: obragblog@gmail.com

Write us: OB Rag PO Box 7012 San Diego, CA 92167 Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

Office: The Green Store 4843 Voltaire, Suite B Ocean Beach The Ocean Beach Chronicle 25

• Presidential hopeful US Navy pilot John McCain is shot down in his A-4 over North Vietnam and spent 5 1/2 years in prison.

Sadly Departed

• Monterey International Pop Music Festival in California features some of the 60’s Icons including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, The Steve Miller Band, Simon & Garfunkel and the Grateful Dead.

• Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined up in a row.

• Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas

TV shows not to miss this month!

• The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, one of rock’s most acclaimed albums.

Barbara Payton • Rolling Stone Magazine has just put out it’s first issue

Hilarious fun as four young men (The Monkees) try to make a name for themselves as rock ‘n roll singers.

• Arab Forces attack Israel beginning what is being called the Yom Kippur War. • Race Riots have been breaking out in a number of cities, mainly Cleveland, Newark and Detroit.

Jayne Mans�eld

• The first Super Bowl is played between Green Bay Packers ( win 35-10 ) and the Kansas City Chiefs • Jimmy Hoffa begins an 8 year prison term for defrauding the union and jury tampering.

• Thurgood Marshall has become the first black justice on the Supreme Court.

• Muhammad Ali is stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing induction into US army.

Vivian Leigh

Star Trek & Bewitched

• John Lennon’s gets his psychedelic painted Rolls Royce delivered • Elvis Presley Marries Priscilla • Premiere of the musical Hair • Barbara Streisand performs in Central Park before 135,000 Season 3 begins this month, and will be broadcast in glorious color . . .

• President Johnson asks for a 6 percent increase on taxes to support the Vietnam War • Ten of thousands of Vietnam War protesters march in Washington, D.C. • 40,000 Vietnam war protesters fill the Kezar Stadium in San Fransisco

The Lucy Show & I Dream Of Jeannie

SPOILERS (So do I) * The Bowie interview was by British journalist Kate Simpson in London, 1967. *The partial Bob Dylan interview was by Jan Weber for a 1967 edition of his Rolling Stone magazine. *The partial Jimi Hendrix interview was done in London,1967 by Jas Obrecht, a journalism student at London’s Regent Street Polytechnic at the time.

Still, it got you fooled for a minute . . . In 1967 I was still just a little pip-squeak.

John Coltrane

Francois Dorleac 26 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

Pimp: The Story Of My Life

By Iceberg Slim by a young author who really knew what she was writing about--she based it partly on the experiences of her friends. It’s like people say-”Write what you know.” And S.E. Hinton did just that, and did an excellent job. The book does have some corny parts, and is one of very few books that actually made me cry. But it’s really fantastic, and I think everyone in the whole world should read it!

Counter-Clock World One Hundred Years of Solitude

By Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez uses the surreal, magical realism, and the smudging of time and space to fix 100 years of Columbian history to the overall Hispanic experience. Bloody great book!

The Outsiders

By S.E. Hinton

I LOVE this book. I don’t know why I find it so good. The whole thing just seems so real. It’s really exciting, and the characters are all really believable. I like how the story was written

By Philip K. Dick

In Counter-Clock World, one of the most theologically probing of all of Dick’s books, the world has entered the Hobart Phase–a vast sidereal process in which time moves in reverse.

As a result, libraries are busy eradicating books, copulation signifies the end of pregnancy, people greet with, “Good-bye,” and part with, “Hello,” and underneath the world’s tombstones, the dead are coming back to life. One imminent oldborn is Anarch Peak, a vibrant religious leader whose followers continued to flourish long after his death. His return from the dead has such awesome implications that those who apprehend him will very likely be those who control the fate of the world.

Robert (Iceberg Slim) Beck’s first book is told without bitterness and with no pretense at moralizing. It is the smells, the sounds, the fears and the petty triumphs in the world of the street pimp.

To Sir, with Love (1967) Engineer Mark Thackeray arrives to teach a totally undisciplined class at an East End school. Still hoping for a good engineering job, he’s hopeful that he won’t be there long. He starts implementing his own brand of classroom discipline: forcing the pupils to treat each other with respect. Inevitably he begins getting involved in the students’ personal lives, and must avoid the advances of an amorous student while winning over the class tough. What will he decide when the engineering job comes through?

Starring Sidney Poitier as Mark Thackeray

You Only Live Twice (1967) When an American space capsule is swallowed up by what they believe to be a Russian spaceship, World War 3 nearly breaks out. The British Government, however, suspect that other powers are at work as the space craft went down near Japan.

S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is the force behind the theft, as James Bond discovers, but its motives are far from clear, and he must first find out where the captured space capsule is held before America and Russia initiate another world war.

Starring Sean Connery as James Bond (Of Course)

Doors open at 7:30 Tickets $1.50 Matinees at 2:30 Saturday & Sunday Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

The Ocean Beach Chronicle 27

Send listings to: trevordesigns@yahoo.com Nick’s Trivia Night Come join the fun at Nick’s at the Pier! Trivia Night - every Monday night - 8pm - prizes for top three teams!

Happy Hour @ Pac Shores Celebrate the end of another work week with happy hour food at Pacific Shores every Friday from 4-7pm.

Pac Shores has teamed up with local caterer Surfside Cuisine to provide yummy cuisine for happy hour.

Farmers Market WEDNESDAYS Every Wednesday 4-8pm in summer (4-7pm winter), on the 4900 block of Newport Ave. between Cable and Bacon Streets in Ocean Beach. Don’t miss your opportunity to purchase the freshest, and most delicious locally grown produce, art, flowers, and more!

Farmers & Vendors: for information regarding our Certified Farmers Market, please call 619-279-0032, David Klaman, or email communitycrops@yahoo.com

Ocean Beach Playhouse UPCOMING from Different Stages at The Ocean Beach Playhouse2012-2013.

October 26 - November 11 VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM (Over 18rights pending) November 29 - December 22 THE REINDEER MONOLOGUES by Jeff Goode (OVER 18 ONLY) (rights pending) January 18 - February 2 ONLY KIDDING by Jim Geoghan (OVER 18 ONLY) (rights pending) visit:electricladylandob.com

confidence in Ocean Beach through a unified image created by an exciting variety of activities.

The Promotion Committee is comprised of members of the OBMA Board of Directors as well as other business owners/managers in the Ocean Beach Community. This committee is dedicated to creating and implementing special events, promoting the business district, advertising campaigns, as well as the Ocean Beach Web site: OceanBeachSanDiego.com.

Committee Chair: Tevia Schriebman, (Wizard of Paws)

Live Acoustic Music at Tower Two!

Fall Arts & Crafts Fair Fall Arts & Crafts Fair with OB People’s Date: Sat, 11/17/2012 - 11:00am - 4:00pm Fall Arts & Crafts Fair. Saturday, November 17, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market 4765 Voltaire Street Start your holiday shopping early with People’s Annual Fall Arts and Crafts Fair. Co-op memberowners will showcase and sell their one-of-akind handmade wares. Items include a unique selection of jewelry, pottery, knit scarves and bags, trinkets, magnets, soaps, candles, stained glass and much more. All booths will be in front of the market. Free of charge.

Date: Sat, 12/01/2012 (All day) Look for more information about the 33rd Annual Ocean Beach Christmas Parade on December 1st, 2012 at 5:00pm. The Parade stretches from the 4800 block of Newport Avenue to the beach and around the corner on Abbott St. The theme this year is “125 Years of OB Fun”.

Advertising in the Ocean Beach Chronicle is shamelessly cheap!

Contact me for rates trevordesigns@yahoo.com 28 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

November 1st marks the 21 years since Your Mama’s Mug opened its doors.

They wanted to express their thanks to OB for their constant friendship and support.

As a regular customer, I wish them many more years of serving our community a good cup of java.

Tower Two Cafe is still hosting Tunes at Tower Two - a family accoustic OB Jam Session - but they moved from Friday to WEDNESDAYS! Each week they will celebrate the sunset by offering live music in the restaurant. All happy hour prices will be in effect during the jam sessions. Monday - Friday from 2pm to close enjoy $2 grilled wahoo tacos, $6 pitchers of Tower Two Brew and half price hot wings.

Visit them on Facebook for more info! Otherwise, stop by today at 5083 Santa Monica Ave., 619223-4059.

Ocean Beach Merchants 33rd Annual OB Christmas Parade Association OBMA Promotion Committee Meeting 1st Friday at the OBMA office, 1868 Bacon St., 92107 Call 619.224.4906 or Email info@oceanbeachsandiego.com if you would like to get involved...or just show up!

To improve consumer, merchant and resident

Congratulations to ‘Your Mama’s Mug’

Wicked Tuff Fitness offers Outdoor “Bootcamp Style” Workouts.

These classes are designed for all fitness levels.

You go at your own pace. Every Class is different, so you’ll never be bored. It never gets easier, but YOU get better.

Wicked Tuff Fitness is fast-paced, fun and highly motivational.

Come Be Inspired!

Contact Juli 619-316-6016

I offer 2 locations – ocean beach and liberty station

an exotic space in ocean beach www.electricladylandob.com 619-523-5239

available for: CONCERTS PRIVATE PARTIES WEDDING RECEPTIONS ART SHOWS, PLAYS CULTURAL EVENTS

“When I need to brush up on a new lick, I head over to Electric Music Studios in OB” – Jimi Hendrix

Electric Music Studios 4944 Newport Ave 619-222-0836

Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

��������������������������������� ������������������������ ���������������������������� ��������������� ����������������������������������� ������������������������������� ������������������������������� 4805 Narragansett Ave. in Ocean Beach

619-224-0443 OliveTreeMarket.com

Kecho’s Café A fusion of traditional and contemporary Mediterranean cuisine, combining rustic, old-world flavors with California flair.

Reservations are available and recommended.

Please call to confirm your reservation today.

Plenty of FREE customer parking behind cafe!

1774 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. in Ocean Beach

619-225-9043 www.KechosCafe.com

Welcome

to the

in Ocean Beach 4843 B Voltaire Street (619) 225-1083 greenstore1@juno.com

Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday 12:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Working for a Peaceful Green Planet Since Earth Day 1989 We have operated a storefront for 23 years and continue to encourage people to come to the Green Store to meet likeminded people and to utilize our amazing resource center.

Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

The Ocean Beach Chronicle 29

up close and personal with

Gilbert Weingourt Be-In 1967 “I have spent the last forty years as a photographer. My primary interest is in those moments in time that stimulate the viewer’s senses and imagination. I try to capture the exact moment that draws the viewer into the story behind the picture. These moments cannot be revisited and require patience and, occasionally, prescience. I use only black and white �lm. However, in the last few years I have used the computer to add color. In many instances I �nd that the addition of color adds to and broadens the possibilities in the story.”

-Gilbert B. Weingourt

G

ilbert Weingourt was born in New York . He spent his formative years in Pleasantville, New York where a teacher sparked his interest in photography at an early age with a camera and a darkroom. Weingourt’s true passion for photography began when he joined the Air Force. While In the Air Force and in Japan he began shooting seriously and the true history of a photographic legend was begun.

He finished his term in the Air Force and moved back to New York. Gil spent a few summers as a waiter in the Catskills where he continued to dance down the pathway of photography and occasionally served people a steak the way they had actually ordered it. It is also notable that he was the first person to win the 10- mile

Bridget Bardot on her bicycle from Bernie’s

Bernie’s Bicycles An OB tradition new, repairs 1911 Cable Street 619-224-7084 30 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

bet, because he ran the entire loop in army boots and not just five miles out and five miles back in wimpy little sneakers.

Gil became firmly rooted in the New York City scene and began to make a name for himself. He was known throughout the city by young and old alike as “hey bartender”. He was a regular photographic contributor for the underground paper “The East Village Other”, which was a NYC Award winning paper until NYC discovered that it was an underground paper and took their award back. It was also not uncommon for his photographs to appear in publications such as NewsWeek. Gil is still waiting for payment for those instances, but suspects that the check will arrive any day now. He had a deep interest in documenting the political and musical history that was taking place in NYC at that time. Gil, also a lover of animals, was dedicated to his various pets. While in NYC he raised Israeli mice, Egyptian mice, a raccoon, Peruvian cockroaches, an evil dog named Harry and he watched the occasional deaf cat.

Eventually the artist in Gil outgrew the Island of Manhattan, and he thoughtfully said, “screw this”, and set off on a x-country journey with his friend, fellow photographer Ronnie Rich and the evil dog Harry. The trip was relatively uneventful for Gil and Rich, but Harry the dog was arrested and held for ten days in detention in New Mexico.

In California Gil continued his photographic ties with the political community. He worked as a staff member for the LA Free Press, but was tossed out for being a Union agitator. He managed to bravely overcome an inherent distrust of organizations to work as a photographer for groups such as ‘Another Mother for Peace’. The next few decades would see Weingourt in many places from Spokane, Washington where he worked for the underground publication the Community Press to Western Massachusetts. He and his first wife Rita said, “screw this”, and moved to Sapporo Japan. Weingourt was thrilled to be able to document the changes that had occurred in Japan since his first significant trip there. Weingourt and his first wife Rita settled back in Los Angeles, CA where they reside today.

Gil has three children with his first wife Rita, who, coincidentally he is still married to, and he plans on living to the ripe old age of, 17. He finds it odd, but artistic, that his wife and children, who started out younger, somehow became older than him. He suspects that one day his granddaughter will do the same. ~Biography By Joellyn Weingour

Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

Seven square miles surrounded by Reality

The Ocean Beach Chronicle 31

Lucy’s Tavern 4906 Voltaire St. Ocean Beach 619-224-0834

Every day 4-7pm

32 The Ocean Beach Chronicle

‘Where all the cool cats and kittens hang out!’

Spreading the OB love from 6am til' 2am daily.

A Drinking & Gathering Establishment Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Seven square miles surrounded by Reality