DAEVID ALLEN – JANUARY 13, 1938 to MARCH 13, 2015
Please join me today on this special edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (#109) over SFCR, San Francisco Community Radio, KUSF-in-Exile in celebrating the life of DAEVID ALLEN.
As founding member of the band GONG and the band The Soft Machine, Daevid remained at the forefront of the Psychedelic and Progressive Rock movements for over four decades, bringing his own brand of playful mysticism to thousands of loyal fans.
Today you’ll hear music from his work in GONG including an assortment of rare “live” recordings, plus selections from his solo work, and his collaborations with Gilli Smyth, Harry Williamson, Daevid Allen’s University of Errors, and New York Gong. There’s even a “tall tale” woven by Daevid based on a visit from his parents while living in Majorca.
The musical elements will be interwoven with excerpts from interviews conducted by myself and Jeff Wootton in 1979 and 1980 that covered topics from the creation of the Gong mythology and the development of his “glissando” guitar technique to his views on drugs and creativity, his various musical influences, and his thoughts on religion; all in his own words.
Join me in celebrating the life of this extraordinary being who brought so much joy to so many.
Today's playlist:
SET #1:
PLANET GONG (DAEVID ALLEN, GILLI SMYTH, & NEW YORK GONG) “Radio Gnome Invisible (Live)” from Live at the Kent State Creative Arts Festival - April 28, 1979
INTERVIEW- DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 1: The Birth of Gong” from Iinterview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton on 5/29/1979
GONG “Sold to the Highest Buddha” from Angel's Egg
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 2: Tea Pot Explained” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
DAEVID ALLEN “Tally & Orlando Meet the Cockpot Pixie” from Now Is the Happiest Time of Your Life
GONG “A P.H.P.'s Advice” from You
INTERVIEW- DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 3: Recording During a Full Moon” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/79
DAEVID ALLEN “Good Morning” from Good Morning
SET #2
DAEVID ALLEN & HARRY WILLIAMSON “Part 1: Twenty Two Meanings (excerpt)” from Twenty Two Meanings -The Art of the Glissando Guitar Part 1
INTERVIEW - Daevid Allen “History of Gong Part 4: The Creation of the Glissando Guitar” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton- 5/29/1979
DAEVID ALLEN “Oh Man You” from N'Existe Pas
GONG “Shapeshifter” from ShapeShifter
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 5: The Canterbury Scene” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
DAEVID ALLEN “Un Oeuf for You” from Je Ne Fum' Pas Des Bananas
DAEVID ALLEN'S UNIVERSITY OF ERRORS “Shooting at the Moon (aka Jet Propelled Photograph)” from Jet Propelled Photographs
SET #3:
GONG “Gliss U-Well” from The Mystery and the History of Planet Gong
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 6: Various Gong Bands” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
GONG “Olde Fooles Game” from Acid Motherhood
GONG “I See You” from I See You
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 7: The Influence of Balinese Music on Gong” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
GONG “IAO Chant & Master Builder (Live)” from Gong est Mort (Live at Hippodrome Paris 1977)
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “Divided Alien Interview Part 1: Chasing Music of the Spheres” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Jeff Wootton - 7/8/1980
GONG “A Sprinkling of Clouds” from YOU
SET #4:
DAEVID ALLEN,GILLI SMYTH, & HARRY WILLIAMSON “Moonpeople Gliss (Part 1- excerpt)” from Stroking the Tail of the Bird
DAEVID ALLEN “Death of Rock (Live)” from Bananamoon Obscura No. 9: Divided Alien Playbax, Pt. 2 (Live at the Mistake in Cleveland)
GONG “Can't Kill Me Jam” from Gong Family Jewels
DAEVID ALLEN “Gaia” from Australia Aquaria
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 8: Drugs & Creativity” from Intervew of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
PLANET GONG (DAEVID ALLEN, GILLI SMYTH & NEW YORK GONG) “I've Been Stoned Before” from Live at the Kent State Creative Arts Festival - May 28, 1979
NEW YORK GONG “Hours Gone” from About Time
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 9: Punk Music” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
PLANET GONG (DAEVID ALLEN, GILLI SMYTH, & NEW YORK GONG) “Poet For Sale” from Live at the Kent State Creative Arts Festival - May 28, 1979
SET #5:
Daevid Allen, Harry Williamson & Gilli Smyth “Moonpeople Gliss - Part 2 (Excerpt)” from Stroking the Tail of the Bird
DAEVID ALLEN (& GILLI SMYTH) “The Curious Story of What Happened to Mr. Camembert When He Visited His Son In a Doggerel” from Short Tales & Tall
GONG “Zero Where Are You? (Live)” from 25th Birthday Party (Live)
GONG “Be Who You Are My Friends (Live)” from 25th Birthday Party (Live)
GONG “Pot Head Pixies (Live)” from 25th Birthday Party - London, The Forum
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 10: Working for Peanuts"” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
DAEVID ALLEN'S UNIVERSITY OF ERRORS “Money Doesn't Make It” from Money Doesn't Make It
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “Divided Alien Interview Part 2: Gong's Commercial Appeal” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Jeff Wootton- 7/8/1980
GONG “Escape Control Delete” from 2032
SET #6:
GONG “Magick Mother Invocation” from The Best of Gong, Vol. 2
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “Divided Alien Interview Part 3: Daevid's jazz Influences” from Daevid Allen Interview by Jeff Wootton - 7/8/1980
DAEVID ALLEN “Gold Top” from Eat Me I'm a Jellybean
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 11: Why Bananas?"” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
DAEVID ALLEN & EUTERPE “Time of the Bananamoon” from Bananamoon Obscura No.1: Studio Rehearsal Tapes 1977
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 12: Australia” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
DAEVID ALLEN “Fred the Fish” from Banana Moon
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “Divided Alien Interview Part 4: Religion and Mysticism (beginning)” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Jeff Wootton - 7/8/1980
DAEVID ALLEN & THE MAGICK BROTHERS “Children of the New World” from Live At The Witchwood 1991
INTERVIEW “Divided Alien Interview Part 5: Religion and Mysticism (conclusion)” from Interview of Daevid Allen by Jeff Wootton - 7/9/1980
DAEVID ALLEN “Garden Song” from Dreamin a Dream
INTERVIEW - DAEVID ALLEN “History of Gong Part 13: Plans” from Interview of Deavid Allen by Paul Ciminero and Jeff Wootton - 5/29/1979
DAEVID ALLEN “Dear Friends” from Dreamin' A Dream
PLANET GONG (DAEVID ALLEN, GILLI SMYTH, & NEW YORK GONG) “Final Song Segment” from Live at the Kent State Creative Arts Festival - May 28,1979
For more information on Daevid Allen and Gong and to obtain complete copies of those interviews used today:
http://www.planetgong.co.uk/
For information on GONG's Global Family and artists:
https://flamedogrecords.com/home/
For live streaming of SFCR/KUSF-in-Exile:
http://savekusf.org/listen-to-kusf-in-exile
To hear podcast's from the San Francisco Community Podcast Network:
http://savekusf.podomatic.com/
Photo of DAEVID ALLEN taken at the Kent State Creative Arts Festival on May 28, 1979 courtesy of Chris Songer