August 05, 2010
By Adam Joseph
By the time Big Brother and the Holding Company played the Monterey
Pop Festival in 1967, record companies had already been drooling at
the chance to sign the Bay Area rock band, fronted by vocal phenom
Janis Joplin.
The psychedelic blues quintet was known for its murky guitar
improvisation on tunes like "Combination of the Two" and of course,
the unmatched voice of Joplin on soul-wrenching pieces like "Ball and Chain."
Despite those strengths, guitarist and original band member Sam
Andrew never thought BBHC would still be playing today. "I thought we
would be lucky to make it to two years," he says.
More than 40 years after BBHC's first gig, Andrew finds himself
touring with original members Peter Albin on bass and Dave Getz on
drums. Singer Casee Clanton will be filling the colossal shoes of
Joplin on Saturday at the Sunset Center.
"Janis was a phenomenon," Andrew says. "You can't replace that, all
you can do is find someone that will sing the songs strongly and
Casee does that in spades."
Andrew explains that the '60s were an ideal breeding ground for
creativity and positive thinking in general.
"I thought we were going to stop the Vietnam War, make major steps in
civil rights, gay rights, women's rights, and it would all be over
and we could relax," he says. "Since then, has there been a cultural
movement that big? Forty years have gone by and I can't think of anything."
As the group's primary songwriter, Andrew doesn't deny that LSD had a
crucial role in his writing process. "Emotion remembered in
calmness," he says, reciting a line from a poem.
"I'd have insights during intense experiences on LSD then try to
write down these songs that would characterize them," Andrew says.
"I'm sure if I took it today – which I would never dream of doing –
I'd look out to all these trees and have an empathy with them that I
usually don't have."
After playing landmark festivals like Monterey Pop and Woodstock and
long-gone legendary venues like the Fillmore East, Andrew says every
show stands out.
"They are all memorable gigs including the prairie where we played
last week in Edmonton, Alberta," he says.
Later this summer, Andrew and BBHC will continue their long, strange
trip by touring Europe.
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BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY and COUNTRY JOE MCDONALD play 8pm
Saturday, Aug. 7, at the Sunset Center, San Carlos Street at Ninth
Avenue, Carmel. $29-$45. 620-2040.
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