I’ve sort of got the front room fixed up now & it’s really nice to live in. Have lots of plans for the place - two rooms need painting but I may just end up hanging stuff up on the walls. And I’m right across the street from the park! You can’t really understand living there with a yard, but here you can go 10-20 blocks without ever seeing a living plant and I just look out my window or step out on my balcony & I’ve got fresh air & trees & grass!! So wonderful, sigh. Really fine!! Two big rooms, kitchen, bathroom & balcony. Second in importance, I have a new apartment. Okay, onto news: For one thing we’ve gotten a raise - the guys with wives were feeling constrained, so now we get $100 a week. We’d be the Monkees! Well, at any rate, a good article. I really am not social critic enough to know/discuss what is going on, but in answer to your question - Yes, they are our audience & we’re hoping they can turn on the rest of the country because then we’d be nation-wide. Because I was aware of how distorted they were & I figured they were probably that wrong about everything. As a matter of fact, I just plain quit reading it because of that article - not because I was mad. And even the Chronicle - they’ve all had articles with more understanding than the one in Time. There’ve been lots of articles written about the scene here. Speaking of Haight-Ashbury, read the enclosed article from LOOK magazine. I’m thrilled!! I can be Haight-Ashbury’s first pin-up. Very dramatic photograph & I look really beautiful!! If it wouldn’t embarrass you, I’ll send you one. But it barely shows because of the beads. Yes, folks, it’s me wearing a sequined cape, thousands of strings of beads & topless. They’re big, very big photographs, Jean Harlow, Einstein, Belmondo, Dylan, & Joplin. Also they’re bringing out a poster of me! Maybe you’ve read in Time magazine about the personality posters. Also, a rock publication named WORLD COUNTDOWN had a collage on its cover using photographs of important personages in & about the scene & I’m in there. As the boys were tuning, I walked up to the front of the stage to set up the microphones &, as I raised the middle mike up to my mouth, the whole audience applauded! Too much! And then as we’re getting ready to play, a girl yelled out “Janis Joplin lives!” Now you can’t argue with that, and they clapped again. Why, last Sunday we played a Spring Mobilization for Peace benefit & a simply amazing thing happened. I’m becoming quite a celebrity among the hippies & everyone who goes to the dances. Now earlier, I spoke of how well things are going for me personally - it’s really true. Why, if I’d known that he was out there, I would have jumped right off the stage & made a fool of myself. I didn’t get to see him anyway - we heard about it afterwards. Isn’t that exciting!!!! Gawd, I was so thrilled - I still am! Imagine - Paul!!!! If it could only have been George. And he came to see us!!! SIGH Honest to God! He came to the Matrix & saw us & told some people that he dug us. Speaking of England, guess who was in town last week - Paul McCartney!!! (he’s a Beatle). Probably won’t work but it sure would be groovy. And Chet, head of the Family Dog, is trying to organize dances over there & if he does, we’d have a place to work. There’s a hippie boat going back and forth & rock bands get free passage if they play on the way over. There’s a slim possibility we might go to Europe & play this summer. We talked to a lawyer about it & he seemed fairly negative & we can’t even get ahold of our record co. It’s a long & involved story but we really feel like we’ve been used & abused by our record co & we’d like to get out of the contract but don’t know whether we can. We made #29 in Detroit but we don’t really know what’s happening because we never hear from Mainstream. Our record is enjoying a fair reception - much better than our first one which was much, much better. has given all of us free clothes (I got a beautiful blue leather skirt) just because 1) she really digs us & 2) she thinks we’re going to make it & it’ll be good publicity. Y’know, the scene-followers, the people “with the finger on the pulse of the public.” One of the merchants on Haight St. It’s funny to watch - you can tell where you are by the people that are on your side. Not bad for a bunch of beatniks, eh? And our reputation is still going uphill. For single nights we’re getting from $500-$900. And we’re making a thousand or over for a week-end. Just finished 3 weeks straight engagements, 6 nights a week & we’re booked up week-ends for well over a month. First of all, the group - we’re better than ever (please see enclosed review from S.F. Things are going so good for us & me personally I can’t quite believe it! I never ever thought things could be so wonderful! Allow me to explain.
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