Rockasteria: The Daily Flash - The Legendary Recordings (1965-67 us, superb electrifying blend of folk-rock, pop, blues and jazz, 2023 release)

In 1965, the “music scene” in America was often conservative yet diverse, similar throughout many regions. University students had access to international touring artists like Ravi Shankar, and the general public to Broadway musicals, ballet and orchestras. Additionally Black R&B clubs were active, and White Teen Dance clubs focused on original, local R&R/R&B bands. A folk scene in the University District brought musicians, poets, beatniks who performed evenings and sat around in coffee shops during the day. Seattle had Jazz clubs, top quality Symphony Orchestras, Opera, Ballet, etc, and radio stations were starting to widen their scope with emerging British rock groups.

I studied music at University, played in the Seattle Symphony, with several jazz groups and joined a R&B club band called The Frantics, that owing to my injury from a car accident, the band found a new drummer. Steve Lalor and Don MacAllister found me recuperating. We talked about making new music. We located Doug Hastings, rehearsed here and there, and continued to meet at coffee houses in the University District. News of a psychedelic underground in San Francisco began to filter northward. Brave new ‘explorers’ (consciousness-pioneers) soon arrived in Seattle whereupon the University area became a gathering place for an emerging youth culture that included university students, as well as those who hadn’t figured out what they wanted to do.

Here, musicians wanted something different; police wanted to keep abreast of it all; artists wanted to design it all; journalists wanted to publish information on it all; rich fraternity boys wanted to chop-off longhair from freaky menfolk, grab the girls and run. Despite all that there were few venues that wanted longhaired musicians, certainly not weird mixed-music groups such as The Daily Flash. Finally, The Daily Flash decided to create a series of moveable venues in Labor Union halls, and Blaise LeWark opened Seattle’s BFD club.

Jon Keliehor's interview to Klemen Breznikar, January 30, 2024