Defining a generation
Barry Epstein , Saw Kill , New York Photo by Dick Logan
The influence of the music of the late sixties was remarkable and all of us were regularly attending concerts in New York City at the time at such incredible venues like Fillmore East in Greenwich Village or Madison Square Garden . The music was powerful and was beyond what previous music offered . Bands like Led Zeppelin , Stones , Grateful Dead , Cream , Moody Blues , Ten Years After , The Who , Dylan , Pink Floyd , The Doors , Jefferson Airplane and so many more were incredible to see . Pure fun and entertainment mixed with a new experience that defined our generation . It wasn ’ t long after going to several of these concerts that we were exposed to pot smoking . Marijuana joints would be passed around at the concert followed by hash pipes . Ongoing . Ever present . You didn ’ t really have to even inhale as the contact high was enough . It was so cheap and easy to buy pot as well so we always had it available at the parties where the bands played . These parties became the go to place once the word got out . Probably the most memorable concerts was Cream at Madison Square Garden circa 1968 . We had incredible seats very near the revolving stage . During one song that lasted at least 30 minutes , Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood and the others walked off the stage and lit up some joints while the drummer , Ginger Baker , played a solo that went on for at least 15 minutes . Then everyone joined in again and it was a phenomenal performance . I literally remember it as if it was yesterday . The Dead concerts at Fillmore East were similar , with the infamous Jerry Garcia playing and singing the lead , but they seemed to play one song for over an hour making the most out of the dynamics of the music . We normally got out of the concert around 4:00 or 5:00am and we were still very buzzed from the experience .
I believe it was the summer of 1968 when I got a job at the garment factory where my Dad worked in New York City . My Uncle owned this company and he gave me the job . They manufactured ladies overcoats . Amongst other things my duties included assisting with filling orders . I don ’ t know how to spell it but I believe the Yiddish term is called a Schmayer . What this means is as follows . If a customer wanted 500 coats , size 10 , and we didn ’ t have 500 coats , size 10 , it was my job to change the sizes of other coats to fill the order ! So I may have to take 100 size 12 and turn them into size 10 ! After doing this , I would tie up the coats on a rack with wheels and push these through the streets of Manhattan with some others who worked in shipping . They were usually Puerto Ricans and a great source to buy pot from . We smoked pot pushing the coats through the streets to deliver to the customers . I met this super beautiful girl named Candy Cohen who was a pure hippie and worked at the same place as me . She and I hit it off quite well and we would go to lunch each day together and smoke pot while walking through the streets of Manhattan . First we would go to a deli and buy our sandwiches and drinks and then walk over to the department store Macy ’ s and head to their huge furniture section . Candy would drip some of her Patchouli Oil on one of the lamps to give the area a distinct hippie smell and we would sit in comfort as we ate our lunch . Just about every day we got kicked out but it was fun . She lived in Long Island and on many occasions she would take the bus out to New Milford and stay at my house . My parents were OK with this as this seemed tame to what I had been up to . She would then come to some of our many parties in our fairly close net circle of cool friends .
In the summer months , many of us would also drive down to the Jersey Shore to places like Seaside Heights and Asbury Park . It was a lengthy ride so we got pretty wasted on the way there . There was a long boardwalk at Seaside
BARRY STEVEN EPSTEIN - PhotoAutobiography DRAFT 11 of 156