March 16 Friday Holiday

The old man drove me to the licence bureau to get my driver's licence. Met Cathy Kerr there (grade 8). It took one and a half hours and I got it [without a written or driving test. Those were the days] (it had to be mailed). We got the bus to Fairview. I got the album Pink Floyd 'Dark Side of the Moon'. I went home. About 2:30 walked to Donna's, Ralph and Dave were there. At nite we walked to Gillian's, met Hugh, Trever, Gillian and Debbie Darcey on the street. Went to the livingroom, rolled cigarettes.

 

Friday, 16 March

Went to Donna's in the afternoon. Nothing much happened. Alan came over at around 2:30. He'd gone to Fairview and bought the new Pink Floyd album "Dark Side of the Moon". Chuck and Bob came over later. I left at around 4:30. [I have such a pristine recollection of this afternoon, listening to Pink Floyd on Dave's record player (the usual absence of music at Donna's was one of the drawbacks of going to her place, although the absence of parental constriction/inhibition more than made up for it) in the failing light of the late winter afternoon. I don't know why I should remember this so clearly. I never did like the album, but it seems to have made an impression and I can't ever hear it without thinking of Donna's place.] While at Donna's I had called Gillian and we decided to go there tonight. Dave, Donna and Alan called on me at 7:00. Walked to Gillian's. When we got there Gillian, Deb Darcy, Hugh, Steve and Neil were all going to Neil's car to drink. We stood around the car for a while and then sat around the golf course chalet. Went back to Gillian's. Dave started talking about T-Rex and Steve kept telling me and Alan about how much he hated T-Rex. Alan rolled an extra long "cigarette". Alan, Dave and I smoked up outside the door. Gillian made up some story about all of us having to leave to get rid of Neil. Got picked up by Dave's father at 11:15.

 

Another band around at this time were 'Slade', with the album 'Slayed?' ('Gudbuy t'Jane' is the song I remembered, along with 'Mama weer all crazee now'). Though they don't sound particularly punk (they resemble 'ACDC'), listen to the tone of this excerpt from the liner notes from the album written in October 1972:

 

"Slade both looked and sounded different from most club bands on the scene at the time. They were a welcome change from the immobile, introvert rock musicians who hunched over their instruments trying to impress fans with spellbinding virtuosity...they sounded sounded crisp and tight. They kept their numbers short and they had no illusions of grandeur about their musical ability..."

 

Amen to that.

 

Dave was also listening to Roxy Music (their first release was in June 1972)...and a name I must not fail to mention at least once; Brian Eno ('Baby's on Fire', though this was probably not until later in the year).

 

March 17 Saturday

Nite-went to a coffee house at the Unitarian Church across from Cedar Park School. Smoked up before going. Mike, Ralph and Andy went too. There was a poet and musicians there. We made grass tea [they wondered why we were always going up for hot water. I see now that we were still close enough to the Sixties for this evening to have that feel...I owed Mike 75¢-$1.50 from this night for months to come].

 

Saturday, 17 March

Went to a coffee house at Cedar Park Anglican church. Andy, Alan and Mike came. We smoked up on the way. Alan, Andy and Mike went out twice to smoke again. During the beginning there was this comedy thing with this guy reading ridiculous poetry. Then this guy and girl playing guitar came on and then a guy playing piano and guitar who was really boring. Then there was a good guy who played guitar and stuff like "Honky-Tonk Women". During this time Andy was making grass tea. It was really good. I left by myself at 11:30.

 

March 18 Sunday

A big fat fuckin' nothing.