My Woodstock Experience Reflections on working with Woodstock creator Michael Lang, who passed away last month By Jim Miller
M
ichael Lang was a hero of mine. In 1969, the creator of Woodstock made a vital decision just days before the festival. His production crew informed him of their dilemma: They had the time and resources to build the stage or ticket booths, but not
both. Michael chose to build the stage. Without the ticket booths, the first Woodstock became a free-for-all, overwhelmed with hundreds of thousands of revelers from all over. The enterprise lost millions of dollars, and struggled for more than a decade to recoup its losses through merchandising. But, then, Woodstock also changed the world. Woodstock happened two years before I was born; however, like many of my generation, I grew up on its music and its myth. Never in my life did I think I would be working with the creator of Woodstock But, in the summer of 1999, that’s exactly what happened. Yes. Michael F*cking Lang.” That’s what I told my musician friend, Kenny Vanella. It was mid-July. “Cool,” Kenny replied. “Who’s Michael Lang?” “Michael Lang’s the guy who started Woodstock,” I replied. “I’m supposed to talk to him later this week.” I told Kenny what I’d been careful not to let too many people know: The staff at Out & About would be producing the official program guide for Woodstock 99. Kenny was incredulous. Like most people, he knew Woodstock like he knew Mount Rushmore, but the name Michael Lang was a reach. Kenny was the lead singer of The Vibe, a popular area band that mixed many musical genres into every packed performance
they played. He was enthused about the upcoming version of Woodstock, so we made a pact: We’d go. Why not? I had tickets and backstage passes — a few tokens of my recent good fortune. Three years earlier, the Out & About staff launched a music magazine called Roadtrips, which we produced for a Chicago record label called Aware Records. Will Healy, a former Rainbow Records employee, had been recruited by the label. A Delaware native, Will knew Out & About well and helped pulled the partnership together. The first issue of Roadtrips featured a cover story with newcomer Rob Thomas, whose Matchbox Twenty was just months away from their first hit. On the second cover was a little known band called Train, who had just played an acoustic show at Rainbow Records to about two dozen people. ► FEBRUARY 2022 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM 27
