Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever
Frank Mastropolo
Foreword by Joshua White, Founder, Joshua Light Show
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Best Books for Die-Hard Rockers!
"Fifty years on from its closure, Mastropolo's written Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever... With interviewees including Taj Mahal, John Mayall, Dave Davies, Mark Farner, Roger McGuinn and many more, the story takes in a magical place at a magical time. There are heavy bills and many choice recollections." MOJO Magazine
Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix at Fillmore East, 1968. © Frank Mastropolo
Fillmore East: The Venue that Changed Rock Music Forever is a wonderful book. It’s authentic. It takes me back. I can almost smell the pot in the front row.
Corky Laing, Mountain
Opened in 1968, impresario Bill Graham’s Fillmore East rocked New York City with performances by John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Elton John, the Allman Brothers Band and Led Zeppelin. Before it closed in June 1971, Fillmore East set a new standard for rock concerts, introducing fans to giants of jazz, blues, and folk music. The hall’s stellar acoustics and Joshua Light Show’s psychedelic imagery made Fillmore East concerts unforgettable.
Interviews with 90 musicians and crew members include Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Steve Miller, Roger McGuinn, Dave Mason, Robert Lamm, John Lodge, Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen. More than 130 rare and exclusive performance and backstage images, posters and memorabilia will transport you to a musical era that will never be duplicated.
Fillmore East, 1971. © Jeff Rothstein
If you want to know about the rock 'n' roll scene in New York City in the late '60s, early '70s, this is the book to read. Straight from the horses' mouths.
Peter Albin, Big Brother & the Holding Company
This book made those days come alive for me once again: the egg creams at Gem Spa, the crazy Jewish waiters at Ratner's, the Allman Brothers running around the backstage area naked while Leonard Bernstein was giving his kids a tour. And, of course, Bill Graham and his volatility and kindness. I could not put this book down. Thank you, Frank Mastropolo for filling in some essential blanks in the history of rock and roll and bringing a joyful tear this old veteran's eye.
Steve Katz, Blood, Sweat & Tears
Reading through Frank Mastropolo's Fillmore East Book, reading the experiences of all the other musicians and folks who worked there, looking at the great pictures and the posters, shot me back like through a cannon, like a time traveller, like an acid flashback that set me right there backstage, and onstage, with the sounds, and the smells and big fat memories of some of the best days of my life.
Michael Shrieve, Santana
Bill Graham outside Fillmore East. Dr. Arlene Q. Allen
Happy to contribute my memories to this beautiful tribute to my friend Bill Graham's magnificent, musical vision that inspired countless performers and concert-goers throughout these historic decades.
Nils Lofgren, Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band
The Ambiance the smell, the feeling of absolute freedom. Yes, that was the Fillmore East. Hey, Frank Mastropolo, YOU NAILED IT!!!
Genya Ravan, Ten Wheel Drive
These stories take you back to when it was about playing and partying, not big business.
Carmine Appice, Vanilla Fudge
This book is quite an historical and educational ride for everyone. Both East and West Fillmores were THE hippest places for any musician to play. How l wish those places still existed. What a hip world it would be!
Randy Bachman, Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Every weekend a tribe of kindred spirits converged at their mecca to see, hear and cheer players and singers of all kinds giving their best. We were fortunate to play there several times. That special place was the Fillmore East.
John Kay, Steppenwolf
Rudolf Deistler, Phoenix Retro Light
Press
Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever
Relix Magazine
Review: Fillmore East, The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever
Under the Radar Magazine
New ‘Fillmore East’ Book Recalls the Legendary NYC Venue
Best Classic Bands
My Final Night at the Fillmore East by Randy Bachman
Classic Rock Magazine
Rock Cellar Magazine
