Spirit Stories Page 2

I had heard about the group Spirit off and on. Then the first record I
bought by them was "Clear". I was really impressed by their instrumentals,
which is what I like best (mainly because I like jazz).
I'll have to admit, though I like their other LP's(My favorite is their first LP).
I saw the band back in 1995 at Bojangle's in Portland. I spoke to Ed
Cassidy and Randy California. I told Randy that my favorite Spirit song was
"Jewish"(from the Family That Plays Together LP). He then gave me a CD of
the Live At La Paloma set.  I also said to him, that his playing on the track "Ice" (off of the Clear
LP) sounded like a cross between Wes Montgomery and Jimi Hendrix. He put
his arm around me and said, "Hey your're my man!!"( I not knowing at the
time he actually played with Hendrix). He and Ed autographed an old piece
of paper for me.
Other than that, the show they did was colossal!!!
I hated to see Randy go. But I guess God needed another lead guitarist in
his band, so he called Randy.
Long live Randy and Spirit..............................

Roy

Atlanta Pop Festival - July 1969
Spirit played the second day in mid afternoon, temperatures around 100
degrees (F).
They started into "Fresh Garbage", and the beat was captivating.... I've
always loved percussion, so I picked up two Coke cans from the fresh
garbage on the ground, and started tapping out a rhythm. Before I knew
it, 100 other people were doing the same.
Probably the largest percussion section Spirit ever played with.

The band, the music, the harmonies, the crowd of 250,000 people, and the
spirit of the times.... it all came together in Atlanta. I'll always
remember it.

Karl A. Corbett



         

  I was looking for information on Spirit and was sorry to hear about

about Randy's death. 

In 1970 I was helping to present rock shows at Fountain Street

Church in Grand Rapids Michigan.   One of the acts we booked was Spirit. 

Not many people in GR had heard of the band but we

had members selling in a lot of high schools and we had a good

crowd for both shows. I remember being blown away by Randy's

guitar work and Ed's drumming. It was a memorable show

and I will never forget Ed's closing comments which I paraphrase... '

as we are in a church tonight think of the spirit of music here as a kind of prayer.....'

Thanks for having information on the web.

I Teach music in a private school and do many lessons on

rock music and guitar styles. I will include a lesson on the guitar work of Randy California.

John Vining, Director of Music, St. Vincent School

I saw Spirit in a small bar in Bloomington In in 78. I talked
to Randy at the bar and he was pretty funny. I remarked " I can't
fuckin' believe you guys are playing here ". Randy deadpanned," I can't
fucking believe it either." I'll never forget Ed walking around
my hometown in his classic raybans and turtleneck. They are without
a doubt the great lost US band. They deserve at least VH1 documntary.
I'm sorry ,VH1 is buisy working on important projects like, Mille Vanille,
KC and the Sunshine band,Tony Orlando,Selena, and many other cultural
giants.

Mike Caldwell

allo
i went home to visit my dad on november 21 of this year. that was his 48th
birthday. as part of his present i got him the cd "clearspirit". i grew up
on spirit. i told my dad about randys' passing and he cried for two hours.
randy california and spirit has really touch my fathers and my life. he
will be missed dearly. my father always wanted to play guitar with randy as
well as converse with him. randy will be missed dearly from our family.
please pass on this email or word, if you would on how much he meant to us
and spirit's music. i am even at a loss of words on how deep this runs for us.
thank you and my fathers and my warms regards to randy's family and friends.
my father's name is gary eade and my name is noah eade.

thank you,

noah

  My son is about the greatest Spirit fan
that ever lived, but he was born too late....too late that is, to get into
any of the clubs where you guys play!  He's only 15 years old...been a Spirit
fan since he was 12!  Thanks Mike  for taking a few minutes at the Buffaloe Rose
to meet my son, Austin, and I. We got there a bit late into your warmup, but
you guys sounded great on Prelude: Nothing to Hide...both of us were thrilled.
O'l Austin thought it was pretty cool. Thanks for introducing us to Ed and
to George. We figured we'd see you guys later, but the club manager said
Austin couldn't see the show......too young.  I had to get the kid back down
home, so I didn't get back up to the Rose for the show, either. Maybe
next time.
Anyway, thanks again, and especially thanks for keeping the Spirit sound
alive.

Ken Bradshaw

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