Brianland

George Walker & Brian Hassett

Present

Jack Kerouac & Neal Cassady

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George Walker & Brian Hassett first met in Boulder Colorado in July 1982 at the historic Jack Kerouac On The Road 25th Anniversary Conference — where Hassett ran the projector for their multimedia “Cassady” show — and then hung again the following month at Ken Kesey’s home in Pleasant Hill, Oregon.

Flash-forward to 2015 and Walker is given a copy of Hassett’s new The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac (about that very summit in Boulder!) and “read it cover-to-cover as soon as I got it – and loved every minute of it!”

This led Walker to read numerous other Beat and Prankster stories on Hassett’s website, prompting him to write, “I often wonder why I go on this damn thing [the internet] and then every once-in-a-while I find something like this!”

The following summer of 2016 they met up for the first time in 34 years on the tour for the “Going Furthur” film they both appear in.

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Walker was holding court with a half-dozen people behind the theater when Hassett first walked up after all these years, prompting him to blurt out to his crowd, “Now here’s somebody I look up to!”

An hour after they first saw each other again — already jammin deep

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Followed by a side “trip” to the Church of Sacred Mirrors (COSM)

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They next came together at the Merry Prankster / Twanger Plunker Family Reunion in May 2017 where Hassett opened the weekend festivities with a spoken word / theater performance, after which Walker said in bug-eyed amazement — “I’d never seen you on a stage before!  That was unbelievable, man!”

That afternoon, hanging in their mutual friend Spirit’s motorhome,

Walker mentioned he could bring Neal to life real well, prompting Hassett to say, “Well, we should do something together.  You read Neal and I’ll read Jack.  We could do that ‘IT’ part from On The Road where they’re sitting in the backseat talking like crazy,” and Walker’s face was bouncing up and down, “Yes Yes Yes!”

The next day, 15 minutes before the show, Walker read that part of On The Road for the first time in 30 years . . . and was Neal from the opening line of a cold read-through.

He’d first spontaneously channeled his good friend Cassady back in 1973, reading him aloud at fellow Kesey/Cassady pal Ed McClanahan’s house, whereupon everyone stopped what they were doing and listened to their old friend appear in the room.  Walker says he’s been trying to find a way to bring Cassady to life on a stage ever since.

Hassett has been performing Kerouac since at least 1994 when he started producing, hosting and performing in a series of Kerouac-inspired shows in Manhattan, L.A., Amsterdam, London, Toronto and elsewhere.  Although duetting with countless others over decades of shows, he’s never had a stage partner until now.

The duo flourished because it was loving magic from the first moment they got near microphones.

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And since things had gone so well the first time, they did it again on the outdoor stage the next night.

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And since that had gone so well, and Hassett was already booked to do his “Beat Café” show at the world-famous Beat Museum in North Beach San Francisco on Friday June 2nd to kick off the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, that became the first Hassett–Walker full show.

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Which brought more people into The Beat Museum than any event they’ve ever put on in their history (other than a memorial for a fallen giant).  And for the first time, the duo improvised on stage in character as Jack & Neal.

The show killed.

Here’s most of it on video.  Part 1 — with Jerry Cimino’s intro, The Shindig Sutra, the poem intro to the “The Power of The Collective” from The Rolling Stone Book of The Beats, and excerpt from The Hitchhiker’s Guide To Jack Kerouac, and the start of the “IT” section from On The Road  . . .  😉

Here’s part 2 with the rest of the “IT” section duet, then Brian performs the bus trip chapter from Jack Kerouac’s Pic — only the second time it was ever performed anywhere — then George tells the story of the 1964 Bus trip across the country and about the last time Jack & Neal ever saw each other, at the Prankster party in Manhattan . . . 

And here’s part 3 where Brian and George improv as Jack & Neal bumping into each other at The Beat Museum —> the Nebraska road section from On The Road . . .

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Walker, Hassett & Mountain Girl (Carolyn Garcia) in the Haight, June 2017

Hassett was also booked at the landmark Tsunami Books in hometown Prankster headquarters Eugene Oregon, which then became the second Hassett–Walker show.

Mountain Girl introduced the pair  . . .

with her daughter Sunshine Kesey and Ken Babbs in the audience laughing and clapping, the show prompting Tsunami owner Scott Landfield to blurt out, “You just had that audience entranced for two hours.  That doesn’t happen.  You can’t do that with just spoken word.”

The show killed.  Video to follow.

Which prompted the duo to book a Portland show, and with a week’s notice, packed the classic Kerouacian American roadhouse, The Rosebud Cafe, which turned out to be the real birth of the duo.  For the first time, in a venue far far away, they both found their voice and rhythm on a whole ‘nuthur level.

The show killed.  Video to follow.

Which segued into the climax of the West Coast Summer of Love Tour in the home of the very first Acid Test — Santa Cruz.

Hassett, Roy Sebern, Walker, John & Jami Cassady, Angela Chesnut

And they were joined by Neal & Carolyn’s only son John Allen Cassady . . .

 

In fact the Huffington Post even wrote about this one!

The show killed.  Video to follow.

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If you’re on Facebook — here’s a photo album of the West Coast Tour.

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Then they went and filmed the “IT” scene in the back of the ’49 Hudson (that was used in the movie On The Road) at The Beat Museum . . .

Video to follow.

Then over to the Cassady’s old house at 29 Russell St. where the classic Jack & Neal shot was taken by Carolyn Cassady in 1952 . . .

Which you can now get on a handmade custom-dyed t-shirt by Sky.  😉

And then out to touch base with The Bus that started it all . . .

The original 1939 International Harvester … with the original driver/mechanic.

The most famous bus in America — according to Time Magazine.

And while all this was happening they got booked at a few choice festivals & clubs & such in the Northeast . . .

This fall being the 60th anniversary of On The Road and all . . .

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Fall 2017 Tour

On The Road  –  Fall 2017 Tour:

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Gate 403 — Sun. Oct. 1st  7PM — Brian solo sneak-peak show with Trevor Cape & The Field (403 Roncesvalles) — Toronto, Ont., Canada

Lowell Celebrates Kerouac — Sat. Oct. 7th — 2 shows — 12:30 George & Brian / Jack & Neal duet at Jack’s old Pollard Library (401 Merrimack St.) — and 4PM Brian Hassett’s Road Show at The Old Worthen (141 Worthen St.) — Lowell, Mass. — admission: Free

Lowell Celebrates Kerouac — Sun. Oct. 8th — 1:30 — the Amram Jam — upstairs at The Old Worthen (141 Worthen St.) — Lowell, Mass. — admission: Free

The Bitter End — Sun. Oct. 15th — Doors 4:00 – Show 4:20–7:30PM — 147 Bleecker St., Greenwich Village, New York City — including special guests Gerd Stern, Levi Asher, Aaron Howard, Toronto’s Trevor Cape, and Tico Chango the 3D UV visual artist — admission: Free

The Woodstock Mothership — Sun. Oct 22nd — 7PM — (6 Hillcrest Ave.) — Woodstock, N.Y. — plus the great Beat poet Andy Clausen – admission:  Free

The Colony — Mon. Oct. 23rd — 8PM — (22 Rock City Road) — Woodstock, N.Y.

Harmony Music Wok & Roll — Tues. Oct 24th — 8PM — (52 Mill Hill Rd.) —  Woodstock, N.Y. — admission: Free

Keystone Harvest Test — Sat. Oct. 28th (4:20PM) and Sun. Oct 29th (3PM) — (The Homestead — 1230 Beaver Run Dr.) — Lehighton, PA — admission: $45 — tickets available here

Junction City Music Hall — Fri. Nov 3rd — 8PM — (2907 Dundas St. West) —  Toronto, Ont., Canada — with Trevor Cape & The Field — admission: $10

The Creation Zone, Iroquois Ridge, Oakville Public Library — Thurs. Nov. 9th — 7–8PM — (1051 Glenashton Dr.)  Oakville, Ont., Canada — admission: Free

“You’re a tough act to follow.”
Rob Burton, Mayor of Oakville, Ontario

If you’re on Facebook — here’s a great photo album of the East Coast Tour — culled down from nearly 2,000 photographs by 20 photographers.

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New handmade signed & numbered every-one-different tour shirts just came out of the studio and you can get them on Sky’s website.

Dig those colors and the flow.  😉

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Fall 2023 Tour

Fall  2023  Tour

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Friday Sept 29th — 5PM till midnight! — at Stonehedge — in North Windham, Maine — with Jerry Garcia Band-inspired Rose Alley and primal Dead by Wolfman Jack.

Saturday Sept 30th — Maine 

Friday Oct 6th — 12:30PM — “Jack & Neal Ride Again” — at Lowell Celebrates Kerouac — at the Pollard Library – 401 Merrimack St. — Lowell, Mass.

Sunday Oct 8th — 6:00–9:00PM — “Jack on Film Take 2” — Lowell Celebrates Kerouac — The Luna Theater – Mill Number 5 – 520 Jackson St. — Lowell Mass.

Thursday Oct 12th — 7:00–10:30PM — “Jack & Neal Ride Again” — followed by a jazz trio — Berlin in NYC — 25 Avenue A — Manhattan

Friday the 13th — Prankster Acid Test in Manhattan featuring George Walker, Brian Hassett and The Mighty Manatees Band from Pennsylvania — show details coming soon

Wednesday Oct 18th or Thurs the 19th — 7:00–10:00PM — “Jack & Neal Ride Again” – likely including Will Hodgson and some Manatees — The Dharma Bums tavern — New Hope, PA 

Friday Oct 20th — Pennsylvania Acid Test — private location in the Worcester area

Friday Oct 27th — Toronto Beats & Prankster Acid Test — PENDING

 

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Set Lists

Shows  &  Set  Lists  So  Far . . .

Twanger Plunkers / Merry Pranksters Family Reunion, Bloomington, Indiana

1.  Brian Hassett’s Beat Cafe — Sat. May 6th, 2017
George introes Brian
On The Road — “IT” passage in big tent  (debut)

2.  Sun. May 7th, 2017
On The Road — “IT” on main outdoor stage

= = = = =  WEST COAST – SUMMER OF LOVE TOUR – 2017  = = = = =

3.  Brian Hassett’s Beat Cafe — The Beat Museum, San Francisco, CA — Fri. June 2nd, 2017
Jerry Cimino intro
Brian:  Shindig Sutra excerpt
Brian:  Rolling Stone Book of The Beats — The Power of The Collective poem
Brian:  “The Prankster Address”  (for M.G.)
Brian:  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac — start of San Francisco chapter (27)
Duo:  On The Road — “IT” passage
Brian:  Kerouac’s Pic — Bus / Road chapter
George:  Story of the final Jack-Neal meeting in New York in 1964 —>
George reading excerpt from his Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind about Jerry Garcia & Neal Cassady on the road
Duo:  improv on Jack & Neal bumping into each other at The Beat Museum —> the “Nebraska” road trip passage from On The Road   (debut)
Brian:  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac — climax of San Francisco chapter

4.  Kerouac & Cassady Ride Again — Tsunami Books, Eugene, Oregon — Sat. June 17th, 2017
Mountain Girl intro
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
George:  Trouble Ahead Trouble Behind — ending   (debut)
Brian:  Hitchhiker’s Guide — ending – arriving at Kesey’s (ch. 28-29)
Duo:  On The Road – “Hinkle’s Party”   (debut)
George:  storytelling
Brian:  Hitchhiker’s Guide — Babbs’s house  —> Kesey’s Bus (ch. 30)
Duo:  improv —> “Nebraska” from On The Road
George:  Spit In The Ocean Kesey tribute — buying the first Bus story
Brian:  Hitchhiker’s Guide climax & ending poem (ch. 31-32)
Duo:  improv —> Kerouac’s “Hearing Shearing” —> On The Road – “Driving South” from New York   (debut)

5.  The Walker Estate, Scappoose, Oregon — Wed. June 28th, 2017
Duo:  On The Road  “IT” — with Lee Taylor on tenor sax
Brian solo:  Be The Invincible Spirit You Are (debut)

6.  Rosebud Cafe, outside Portland, Oregon — Thurs. June 29th, 2017
Albert Kaufman intro
Duo:  On The Road “IT” — with Lee Taylor on tenor sax
Brian:  Hitchhiker’s Guide — how it began (ch. 1)
George:  Trouble Ahead Trouble Behind
Brian:  Al Hinkle–Neal trapeze circus story —>
Duo:  On The Road — “Hinkle’s Party”
Brian:  Hitchhiker’s Guide — in Oregon & On The Road (ch. 2)
George:  “Poem For Neal”   (debut)
Duo:  improv —> OTR “Nebraska”

7.  Radius Gallery, The Tannery Arts Center, Santa Cruz — Mon., July 3rd, 2017
John Leopold intro
Duo:  On The Road – “IT”
Brian:  Hitchhiker’s Guide excerpt, Carolyn/Jan/Edie (ch. 21)
George:  Trouble Ahead — opening
Duo:  On The Road — “Hinkle’s Party”
Jami Cassady:  Off The Road excerpt
George:  Trouble Ahead — ending
Duo:  improv —>  On The Road — “Nebraska”
John Cassady:  two pieces from his Visions of Neal chapbook
Brian:  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac — Neal Cassady tribute by Grateful Dead members (ch. 13)
Duo:  improv  —>  OTR – “Driving South”

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= = = = =   NORTHEAST  –  FALL  2017  TOUR   = = = = =

Unannounced Pre-Tour Pop-Up Show — Grateful Sunday with Trevor Cape & The Field — Gate 403 Club — Toronto, Canada — Sun. Oct. 1st, 2017
Trevor Cape intro
Brian with Trevor Cape & The Field:  How The Beats Begat the Pranksters — opening & closing (debut)
Brian with Trevor Cape & The Field:  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac — On The Kesey Bus

8.  Lowell Celebrates Kerouac — Walker & Hassett Present Kerouac & Cassady — Pollard Library, Lowell — Sat. Oct. 7th, 2017
Steve Edington intro
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Duo:  On The Road — “Let’s Go To Italy”   (debut)
Duo:  The ’64 Party in New York — Jack & Neal’s last time together  (debut)
Duo:  On The Road — “Hinkle’s Party”
Duo:  On The Road — “Mexico”  (debut)
Duo:  On The Road — “Chicago Jazz”  (debut)
Duo:  On The Road — improv —> “Nebraska”
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving South”

9.  Lowell Celebrates Kerouac — Brian Hassett’s Road Show — The Old Worthen, Lowell, Mass — Sat. Oct. 7th, 2017
George Walker intro
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — “Lowell Celebrates Kerouac”  (debut)
Brian:  Kerouac on Record — “The Grateful Dead: Jack Manifested As Music”  (debut)
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — opening and ending
Duo:  On The Road — “New Orleans”  (debut)
George:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — Meeting Neal  (ch. 12)  (debut)
Brian:  Storytelling — a brief history of Kerouac summits    (debut)
Brian:  On The Road — “The San Francisco Epiphany”

10.  Lowell Celebrates Kerouac — The Amram Jam — The Old Worthen, Lowell Mass — Sun. Oct. 8th, 2017
Brian — with David Amram Quartet (Kevin Twigg, Rene Hart, Adam Amram):
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac — “Song Of The Road I Sing”   (ch. 32)
How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — “Be The Invincible Spirit You Are”   (ch. 14)

George — with Amram Quartet:  “Poem For Neal” —> Kazoo – Jazz – Jam

11.  Kerouac & Cassady Ride Again — The Bitter End, NYC — Sun. Oct. 15h, 2017 
Brian:  Beats Begat Pranksters — opening & closing
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Brian:  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac — Abbie Hoffman–Gregory Corso Showdown
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”   (debut)
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving NYC to North Carolina and back”   (debut)
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — “Be The Invincible Spirit You Are”
Aaron Howard, with Ghost Lee Pat:  “Safari”
Duo:  On The Road — “New Orleans”
Levi Asher / Marc Stein: “Fisherman’s Wharf”
Duo:  On The Road — improv —> “Nebraska”
Gerd Stern & George Walker:  The Joan Anderson Letter, Neal Cassady, The Beats & The Pranksters
Duo:  On The Road — improv —> “Chicago Jazz”
Duo:  On The Road — “Hinkle’s Party”
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving South”
Trevor Cape & The Field — musical climax — The Other One (with George Walker on Axe-o-phone) —> Road Trip —> Uncle John’s Band —> The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion —> Not Fade Away

12.  The Mothership, Woodstock, NY — Sun. Oct. 22nd, 2017
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Duo:  On The Road — “Nebraska”
Duo:  On The Road — “Chicago Jazz”
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — opening & closing
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”
Andy Clausen:  “My Name’s Neal Cassady, What’s Yours?”
George:  Beats Begat Pranksters — meeting Neal
George:  “Poem For Neal”
Duo:  On The Road — “New Orleans”
Duo:  On The Road — “Hinkle’s Party”

13.  The Colony, Woodstock NY — Mon. Oct. 23rd, 2107
Duo:  On The Road — “New Orleans”

14.  Harmony Wok & Roll, Woodstock, NY — Tues. Oct. 24th, 2107
Mike Platsky intro
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving South”
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving NYC to North Carolina and back”
Brian:  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac — First Arriving at Kesey’s Bus (ch. 30)
George:   Truncated Trouble — (from Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind) — debut of new performance version

15.  The Keystone Harvest Test, Lehighton, PA — Sat. Oct. 28th, 2017
Uncle Joe intro
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Duo:  On The Road — “New Orleans”
Duo:  The ’64 Party in Manhattan — Jack & Neal’s last time together, including accounts by Allen Ginsberg, Ken Babbs & Ken Kesey
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — opening & closing
George:  Truncated Trouble — (from Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind)
Duo:  improv as Jack & Neal —>  On The Road — “Nebraska”
Duo:  On The Road — “Hinkle’s Party”

The Keystone Harvest Acid Test on video — part 1 — “IT,” “New Orleans,” the ’64 Party in Manhattan, How The Beats Begat The Pranksters

The Keystone Test — part 2 — George’s Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind, “Nebraska,” and “Hinkle’s Party” . . .

16.  The Keystone Harvest Test, Lehighton, PA — Sun. Oct. 29th, 2017
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”
Brian:  Kerouac on Record — “The Grateful Dead: Jack Manifested As Music”
George:  Neal Cassady August ’48 letter on spirituality
George:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — First Meeting Neal
Duo:  On The Road — “Chicago Jazz”
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving South”
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — Be The Invincible Spirit You Are

17.  Kerouac & Cassady Ride Again — Junction City Music Hall, Toronto Canada — Fri. Nov. 3rd, 2017
Trevor Cape intro
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving NYC to North Carolina and back”
George:  Truncated Trouble — (from “Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind”)
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — opening & closing
Duo:  On The Road — “Nebraska”
Duo:  On The Road — “Chicago Jazz”
Brian:  Kerouac on Record — “The Grateful Dead: Jack Manifested As Music”
George:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — First Meeting Neal
Duo:  On The Road — “New Orleans”
Duo:  On The Road — “Hinkle’s Party”
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — Be The Invincible Spirit You Are
encore:
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving South” — with Trevor Cape & The Field   (debut of duo with a rock band)

The Oakville Beaver wrote a full page here (with color photo by Sky) about the upcoming library “Creation Zone” show.

18.  Kerouac & Cassady Ride Again — Iroquois Ridge Public Library, Oakville, Ontario — Thurs. Nov. 9th, 2017 
Justine Gerrior intro
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — opening & closing
George:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters — First Meeting Neal
Q & A —  “Do you see the Prankster / Beat scene alive today?”
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving NYC to North Carolina and back”
Q & A —  “Did Neal talk about Jack?”
Duo:  On The Road — “Chicago Jazz”  (debut of amalgamated version)

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19.  The Bloomington Writers’ Guild Presents “The Brian Hassett Road Show” — The Blockhouse Bar, Bloomington Indiana — Thurs. May 16th, 2019

Duo:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters 
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”

20.  The Merry Pranksters / Twanger Plunkers Family Reunion — Wonderland, Bloomington Indiana — Friday May 17th, 2019

Opening Ceremonies:
Duo:  On The Road — “New Orleans”
Duo:  On The Road — “Chicago Jazz”

21.  The Merry Pranksters / Twanger Plunkers Family Reunion — Wonderland, Bloomington Indiana — Saturday May 18th, 2019
Kerouac & Cassady Ride Again:
Brett Chamberlain intro
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
Duo:  On The Road — “Hinkle’s Party”
Duo:  On The Road — “Go To Italy”
Duo:  On The Road — “Nebraska”
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”
Duo:  On The Road — “Driving South”

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22.  A Beat Prankster Party — with George Walker & John Cassady — The Beat Museum — San Francisco, CA — Thursday, June 20th, 2019

Jerry Cimino introduction
Brian:  On The Road with Cassadys — “The Scroll Auction”
George & Brian:  On The Road – “IT”
George & Brian:  On The Road – “Road North”
George & Brian:  On The Road – “Driving South”
George Walker:  tells Neal story
Jerry Cimino:  “America” by Allen Ginsberg
Brian on Al Hinkle
George Walker, Brian Hassett & Niko Van Dyke:  On The Road – “Hinkle’s Party”
John Cassady — Neal by the bus stop story;  the Go-Kart Story;  Midget car races
Brian & John:  growing pot; Neal couldn’t fix anything; Amsterdam; High Times parties; Anne Frank House; Rembrandt’s house
Brian:  On The Road with Cassadys – “The Queen & The White Knight”
John on going back to 29 Russell St.
Brian:  On The Road with Cassadys – intro tribute to John
Brian & George:  The ’64 Party
George’s birthday — “Happy Birthday” to George
George on Neal’s last birthday (Feb. 8th, 1967)
Brian:  Holy Cats!  Dream-Catching at Woodstock – climax

source:  video review

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23.  The Beatniks Coffee House, Chico, California Wed. July 3rd, 2019
Brian & George — On The Road — Road North
Here’s the little 6-minute clip of it on Facebook video —

 

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24.  The Rosebud Cafe, Scappoose (Portland), Oregon, Tuesday, July 9th, 2019

Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
George:  Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind — the abbreviated poetry version
Duo:  On The Road — “Chicago Jazz”
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters – with a cameo by George on the Perry Lane part
Benzedrine inhaler / Al Hinkle stories
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”
Duo:  The birth of the full “’64 Party” piece, beginning with George & Kesey’s ’63 drive across the country
Brian:  On The Road with Cassadys — “I Knew / Not Knew Neal Namaste”
“The Grateful Dead: Jack Manifested As Music”
Duo:  On The Road — “New Orleans”
Brian:  Holy Cats! Dream-Catching at Woodstock — climax

Here’s the full show — thanks to the mighty Simon Babbs —

 

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25. Outside Kesey’s Furthur Bus, Oregon Country Fair, Veneta, OR, Saturday, July 13th, 2019

Duo: On The Road – Road North

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26.  Quiet Camp Stage, Oregon Country Fair, Veneta, OR, Saturday July 13th, 2019

Duo:  On The Road – IT
Duo:  On The Road – Chicago Jazz

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27.  Beatniks Coffee House & Espresso Joint, Chico, California, Tuesday, June 16th, 2019

Great intro by Randy Turley
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
George:  Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind — abbreviated poetry version
Duo:  On The Road — “Road North”
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters – with a cameo by George on the Neal showing up on Perry Lane part
Dedicated to Cathy Cassady who was seeing her first show —
Brian: On The Road with Cassadys — Carolyn Haiku;  and I Knew / Not Knew Neal Namaste
Duo:  improv riffing — the ’63 drive —> the ’64 Party
Dedicated to the painter Philippo LoGrande —
George:  improv storytelling about Neal in Mexico
Duo:  On The Road — “Mexico”
Duo:  On The Road  — “On The Road with Memere”
Brian:  Holy Cats!  Dream-Catching at Woodstock — climax

Here’s the whole show via Lonnie Coulter’s Facebook livestream.

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28.  Venice Beach Music Festival, Los Angeles, CA, Sat. July 20th, 2019

Duo:  On The Road — “Nebraska”

You can watch this performance here.

or here . . .

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29.  Kerouac, Cassady, Kesey & Company, Beyond Baroque, Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, July 21st, 2019

Richard Modiano intro
Duo:  On The Road — “IT”
George:  Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind – abbreviated poetry version
Duo:  On The Road – “Road North”
Brian:  How The Beats Begat The Pranksters – with cameo by George on the Perry Lane part
Duo:  On The Road – “Driving South”
Brian:  Holy Cats!  Dream-Catching at Woodstock — climax
World Premiere of – “The Pranksters Drive to The Beat Party” – with S.A. Griffin and a cast of contemporary Pranksters

Here’s the full show from the audience handheld liv stream on Facebook by Lonnie Coulter . . .

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30.  MeloMelo Kava Bar, Santa Cruz, CA, Friday, July 26th, 2019

Brian:  The Prankster Address
Duo:  On The Road – “IT”
Duo:  On The Road – “Hinkle’s Party”
George:  solo storytelling about ’63 New York trip
Duo:  On The Road – “Go To Italy”

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31.  The Pranksters’ original stage under the Redwoods in back of Kesey’s famous house in La Honda, CA, Monday, July 29th, 2019

Brian:  The Prankster Address – from the front porch (video to follow)
Duo:  On The Road – “Driving South”
Duo:  On The Road – “Chicago Jazz”

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George Walker

George Walker —

a natural storyteller and author of Trouble Ahead Trouble Behind about a fantasy road trip with Jerry Garcia and the ghost of Neal Cassady, and a contributor to the all-star All About Kesey tribute, Walker was there the day Ken bought the original Bus, and became its chief mechanic, as well as one of its drivers along with Neal Cassady on the legendary 1964 trip across America chronicled in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.  An active participant in all the early Tests — the puddle The Grateful Dead were born out of —  he became one of Cassady’s closest friends through the last years of his life, including taking several road trips to Mexico and elsewhere together.  Although his ironic Prankster name was Hardly Visible, he was just the opposite, remaining intricately involved in every Prankster production and Bus trip over the decades, including The Cassady Show; playing the Tin Man in Twister; at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1997; on the Where’s Merlin? tour through the U.K. in 1999; as well as staring in and helping create both the original Prankster movies, The Merry Band of Pranksters Look For A Kool Place and North To Madhattan, and being the live touring Prankster face of the 2016 Going Furthur documentary.

George on teaming up with Brian —

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Here’s a cool interview on Facebook from December 2017 where between roughly the 33 and 44 minute marks George talks about our on stage partnership and new book . . .

https://www.facebook.com/jake.feinbergshow/videos/1519509368125589/

 

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For a great movie featuring lots of George Walker, check out Alex Gibney’s masterpiece “Magic Trip” about the legendary 1964 Bus trip across America . . .

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Here’s where Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir talk about George on Tom Snyder’s The Tomorrow Show when he took a Grateful Dead flag and scampered up the Great Pyramid to plant it at its peak during the band’s trip there in ’78 —

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And here’s George as the flag model 🙂 . . .  then the actual pyramid-climbing flag-planting escapade captured on a handheld 8mm by the Dead’s dentist pal —

George Walker:  “I saw the flag pole up there.  We’d actually climbed up it two or three times already.  We were young and athletic then.  I asked Jerry [Garcia] if he had a Dead flag we could hoist up there.  And he opened up his guitar case and had this flag in there with his guitar.  He handed it to me, and I never let it out of my hands until we climbed up and flew it.  The top pole was really slippery and I had to get help getting up the last part.”

And here he is joyously riffing the story of how The Bus came to be . . . at the Kesey memorial at the San Francisco Library . . .

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Brian Hassett —

author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac about the historic 1982 Kerouac summit, and contributor to The Rolling Stone Book of The Beats and the upcoming Kerouac On Record, Hassett first began producing multi-band multimedia Acid Tests in 1977.  He continued in show production, touring with Yes in 1979, and working in the office with Bill Graham putting together The Rolling Stones tour in 1981.  He produced the concerts at NYU in Greenwich Village for many years, including a massive Acid Test with Country Joe, Rick Danko, Paul Butterfield & the Joshua Light Show in 1982, which actually won him the Programmer of The Year at the university.  He became close friends with Edie Kerouac (Jack’s first wife), Henri Cru (Remi Boncoeur in On The Road), and Carolyn Cassady (the love of both Jack & Neal’s life).  He inducted Kerouac into The Counterculture Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, and co-inducted Neal Cassady along with Carolyn and John Cassady.  He produced and hosted the 50th anniversary of Kerouac writing On The Road shows in April 2001 in both New York and L.A. (along with S.A. Griffin), as well as numerous Kerouac-themed shows in New York & elsewhere in the 1990s and early 2000s.  He’s been a fixture at the Lowell Celebrates Kerouac festival the last several years, and regularly opens the Prankster Family Reunion each summer.

Here’s a Tribute to Neal Cassady put together by Hassett featuring David Amram, Wavy Gravy, and Pranksters George Walker, Ken Babbs, Mary Microgram and Anonymous —

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNHWb3wy0qQ&ab_channel=Verse%26Vibe ]

Here’s Hassett’s tribute to his friend Carolyn Cassady, the longtime wife of Neal —

Here’s Hassett with Kerouac’s principal musical collaborator David Amram and his trio doing a written and musical portrayal of each of the Beat primary writers — excerpt from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac  —

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Brian Hassett  —  karmacoupon@gmail.com

George Walker — georgewalkerax@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/Brian.Hassett.Canada

https://www.facebook.com/gwalkerax

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With Phil Lesh at his July 4th party at Terrapin Crossroads

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