"Owsley "Bear" Stanley, a 1960s counterculture figure who flooded the flower power scene with LSD and was an early benefactor of the Grateful Dead, died in a car crash in his adopted home country of Australia on Sunday, his family said. He was believed to be 76.

The renegade grandson of a former governor of Kentucky, Stanley helped lay the foundation for the psychedelic era by producing more than a million doses of LSD at his labs in San Francisco's Bay Area.

"He made acid so pure and wonderful that people like Jimi Hendrix wrote hit songs about it and others named their band in its honor," former rock 'n' roll tour manager Sam Cutler wrote in his 2008 memoirs "You Can't Always Get What You Want."" [National Post]

"Stanley designed some of the first high-fidelity sound systems for rock music, culminating in the massive "Wall of Sound" electrical amplification system used by the Grateful Dead in their live shows, at the time a highly innovative feat of engineering, and was involved with the founding of high-end musical instrument maker Alembic Inc and the pre-eminent concert sound equipment manufacturer Meyer Sound." [Wiki]

Continue reading "Owsley "Bear" Stanley, RIP"

Nearly 35 pounds of Psilocybin (hallucinogenic) mushrooms baked into about 500 chocolate peanut butter cups were intercepted by Murfreesboro Police vice detectives before being sold at Bonnaroo music festival beginning Thursday in Manchester.

Vice detectives Wednesday raided the Kingwood Drive home of suspect Charles Culver, 22, and located the illegal drug with a street value of $10,000, said police spokesman Kyle Evans.

"We have seen an increase in LSD over the past several years and this is another form or substitute for that drug," Evans said.

"The affects are hallucinogenic in nature, similar to LSD. They are very dangerous and there have been incidents of people dying the first time they used this drug."

Origin of the mushrooms is not being disclosed.

"There's no telling how many lives these detectives have saved by keeping these drugs off the street and they should be commended for an outstanding investigation leading to these arrests," Evans said. [The Murfreesboro Post]

Continue reading "35 lbs of Psilocybin Peanut Butter Cups meant for Bonnaroo intercepted by Tennessee police"

"The pivotal scene in Dumbo (1941), for instance, is the transformation of consciousness and augmentation of capacity -- in this case, the big-eared elephant's motor skills -- via a hallucinatory delirium brought on when the dejected pachyderm drinks a barrel full of water into which, unbeknownst to him, a bottle of spirits had been accidentally spilled. To the foreboding lyrics and serpentine melody of "Pink Elephants on Parade," Dumbo begins seeing things "you know that ain't" (a succession of fractals and geometrical patterns, forms morphing into new ones, and scenes of Oriental mystery and erotica), then passes into oblivion, from which he wakes up in the highest branches of a tree. Thus Dumbo earns his wings not through an act of obeisance to the Ten Commandments but in the throes of a psychotropic-induced visionary state." [psychadelicAdventures.com]

Strangely, today's Grand Central schedule also includes a "BREAK" due to "Noise Ordinance" today from 2-5pm. This is fueling rumors that The Dead, who are in town (again) to play Nassau Coliseum tonight (4/24) and MSG tomorrow (4/25) will show up for a secret show (again). It's probably not true, but if you have nothing better to do and want to head over there based on that, at least there are plenty of other eco-friendly diversions to keep you busy.

The Dead played Letterman last night. Video of that, and full Grand Central music schedule below...

Continue reading "It's Earth Day @ Grand Central - live music included + the Dead played Letterman - Nassau tonight, MSG Saturday"

Owsley Stanley (born Augustus Owsley Stanley III, January 19, 1935) also known as The Bear, was an underground LSD chemist, the first to produce large quantities of pure LSD.

His total production is estimated at around half a kilogram of LSD, or roughly 5 million 100-microgram "trips" of normal potency, although accounts vary widely. The widespread and low-cost (often given away free) availability of Stanley's high-quality LSD in the San Francisco area in the mid-1960s may have been crucial for the emergence of the hippie movement during the Summer of Love in the Haight-Ashbury area, which one historian of that movement, Charles Perry, has described as "one big LSD party." Stanley was also an accomplished sound engineer, and the longtime soundman for seminal psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead; the band's well-known "dancing bear" icon derives from his nickname. [Wikipedia]

Continue reading "The (Grateful) Dead tickets "

photos by Eric M. Townsend

Nick Diamonds/Thorburn of Islands put together a NY Cares benefit at Knitting Factory in NYC. It happened back on December 8th. The three floor event featured experimental music, art and someone on LSD in a cage on the bottom floor (Old Office), comedy (Eugene Mirman, Dave Hill, Tim Harrington of Les Savy Fav, God's Pottery, Jessie Klein, etc...) followed by Street Carnage (Gavin McInnes showing funny pictures and telling really dirty stories about them) on the second flooor (Tap Bar), and music (Conrad Keely, Leona Naess, Marnie Stern, Despot and Nick Diamonds) and comedy (Eugene Mirman and Fred Armisen) on the main stage. More pictures below...

Continue reading "the rest of the NY Cares Benefit pics (David Cross, Nick Diamonds, Fred Armisen, Street Carnage...)"

to quote Nick,

Eugene Mirmen was added to the bill, along with comics Jessi Klein, God's Pottery, & Andres DuBouchet (which brings the total comedy to...a lot considering there's also Dave Hill, David Cross and Fred Armisen). Fred Armisen is going to be doing something special, and Andrew WK is gonna pop by and do a set, i think. Tim Harrington just rang and is gonna have a t-shirt booth, making customized ones for sale. plus, miracle fruit is crazy- it alters the receptors in your taste buds to make bitter and sour things taste sweet. Also, there will be a guy in a cage on LSD who you can interact with (but be gentle). this will be a fun night.

p.s. doing a solo set with accompaniment

Continue reading "Monday's NY Cares event "just got weirder""

DOWNLOAD: Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (MP3)

this much would even last Jay Reatard a while

No I've never heard of a bible officer

"Acid Tongue" (that MP3 up there) is the debut track off the new Jenny Lewis album with the same name. Acid Tongue is out September 23rd via Warner Brothers. I can't tell who the backup singers are on the track, but if we were going to guesss, we have Johnathan Rice, Farmer Dave Scher, Jason Boesel, Jason Lader, M Ward, Chris Robinson, Benji Hughes, Zooey Deschanel, and Vanessa Corbala to choose from. I would have added Elvis Costello to that list, but we already know his track is called "Carpetbaggers". The cover art would make Albert Hofmann proud. You can see it above. The track listing can be viewed below.

Tickets may still be on sale for the show Jenny Lewis is playing at the Apollo Theater on October 4th, and tickets just went on sale for a show she added one day later in New Haven, CT. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Jenny Lewis - a new MP3, LSD & more 2008 Tour Dates "

Could it be SATAN?

Continue reading "Bonnaroo-Bound Man Busted With LSD (VIDEO)"

Albert Hofmann, who died on Tuesday aged 102, synthesised lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 1938 and became the first person in the world to experience a full-blown acid trip. [Telegraph]

Continue reading "Albert Hofmann, RIP (LSD)"