Now that my book is done..(Out of Our Heads). I can start stating facts that I have documented.

First Altamont:

The details: The tour ended on November 30; The Stones were in Muscle Shoals until Dec.5. I was in NY until called to come to SF to deal with Sears Point on Dec. 4. The free concert was on Dec.6 with mostly west coast groups: the Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Grateful Dead (who set up all their security?)-The Rolling Stones were the headliners. The promoter and the venue are responsible for the security. The promoter was John Jaymes and the venue was Altamont Raceway, represented by Dick Carter.

Nothing has changed…the press blames the immigrants and it’s a west coast-east coast thing.

Rolling Stone magazine and the SF Telegraph found it better to blame the Rolling Stones even though the entire event was organized by the west coast: Rock Scully and Emmet Grogan with the Grateful Dead organization. The west coast press - Ralph Gleason- were trying to bring prominence to the west coast bands after the great reception acts got from the east coast via Woodstock.

Rather than using the facts to blame the west coast organizers it was easier to blame the Rolling Stones as they were no longer in the states..
And it was all based on Ralph Gleason’s lie that we were overcharging for tickets…*note the ticket prices for Oakland.

Awesome dude!!

Where can we get your book, amazon?

Really looking forward to purchasing this book.Soon as I get back to the states.

I would have paid at least 25$.............great when will it be released............

__________________________

Ultimately, the Stones were responsible, in that it was their festival, their movie, their show.
I think Mick learned that lesson. After that he never put the band in such a vulnerable position and made sure he had good organizers who answered to him.

Look forward to your book.

I can't wait for the book. From a real man on the inside. And he's sort of one of us..
Ron, in the film when we see Mick and Charlie watching the film on tape, where are they? What studio is that?

[www.rollingstone.com]

"The Stones figure they spent something like $80,000 on the Altamont affair, including helicopters, which isn't bad at all — when you consider as the cost of a movie set.
Any proceeds from the film, Schneider said, would be used first to pay back neighboring ranchers who had property damaged (they're filing the lawsuit anyhow), to recoup the costs of the film, and to pay back those persons who made donations to the festival so it could be set up in the first place.

Proceeds beyond that (if any) would be split up equally among the participating bands. This in itself is a shuck, because the word at first was that all proceeds from the film would go to charity. "It'd be presumptuous of us to decide what the other bands want to do, so we're just going to let them have their own share and decide for themselves," Schneider explained.
The Stones themselves, however, have definitely committed their share to some as yet undecided cause, according to Schneider. "Anything we get out of this will either go to a charity or else directly back to the kids in San Francisco, so they can buy some land out there and have lots of free concerts without the hassles we've had. That was Mick's idea, that's the best idea because we want the people there to have their own piece of land. The trouble with giving it to some organizational charity is that by the time they take off their fee and everything, the money doesn't get to the people you wanted to have it. But we don't want any money from this, we never wanted to make a profit and we were never trying to like people said."

"...Stones representative Ron Schneider suggested that his office would offer some kind of compensation to the Hunter family. "We haven't talked to the family yet, but we'll have to do something about that. If we come up and say we're going to give $500,000 to the family, it all sounds so tacky. As far as I'm concerned, if we gave the family $50 million it still doesn't make up for the kid being killed. So whatever you give it doesn't matter, you're just giving something to them. What could I say to them? I don't know what to say to them, that's the problem."
Perhaps Schneider will eventually think of something to say. For now, Gwen and the family are still waiting."...
____________________________________________
?

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Palace Revolution 2000
I can't wait for the book. From a real man on the inside. And he's sort of one of us..
Ron, in the film when we see Mick and Charlie watching the film on tape, where are they? What studio is that?

Its said where in the book released a few months ago about Altamonte I believe. I can't remember now. It was in England but can't remember what office.

If we are placing blame for what happened at Altamont, I assume we are referring to the death. And that blame lies squarely on Merideth Hunter, and only Merideth Hunter.

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Kennedy
If we are placing blame for what happened at Altamont, I assume we are referring to the death. And that blame lies squarely on Merideth Hunter, and only Merideth Hunter.

Yeah obviously it had nothing to do with the thugs who started picking on him which lead him to pull the gun in the first place. Good call.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-23 06:47 by stanlove.

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hopkins

"...Stones representative Ron Schneider suggested that his office would offer some kind of compensation to the Hunter family. "We haven't talked to the family yet, but we'll have to do something about that. If we come up and say we're going to give $500,000 to the family, it all sounds so tacky. As far as I'm concerned, if we gave the family $50 million it still doesn't make up for the kid being killed. So whatever you give it doesn't matter, you're just giving something to them. What could I say to them? I don't know what to say to them, that's the problem."
Perhaps Schneider will eventually think of something to say. For now, Gwen and the family are still waiting."...
____________________________________________
?

I think he eventually said, 'here's 10,000 bucks to keep it out of court.' And Meredith's mother played ball.

Ten thousand dollars. I won more than that on the Falcons.

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stanlove

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Kennedy
If we are placing blame for what happened at Altamont, I assume we are referring to the death. And that blame lies squarely on Merideth Hunter, and only Merideth Hunter.

Yeah obviously it had nothing to do with the thugs who started picking on him which lead him to pull the gun in the first place. Good call.

Trump voter in the house.

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stanlove

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Kennedy
If we are placing blame for what happened at Altamont, I assume we are referring to the death. And that blame lies squarely on Merideth Hunter, and only Merideth Hunter.

Yeah obviously it had nothing to do with the thugs who started picking on him which lead him to pull the gun in the first place. Good call.

Yeah yeah, and if Mick and Keith hadn’t run into each other at that station Meredith might still be alive today...He was probably fated to die a hundred times before Altamont but most definitely whenever he purchased (or stole) that hot gun. Stan, history doesn’t have any love for a black man waving a gun and neither should you. Besides, the kid’s been immortalized.

And let’s all be honest: Altamont is so important to the Stones mythology that it’s almost heresy to wish that Meredith had lived.

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Swayed1967

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stanlove

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Kennedy
If we are placing blame for what happened at Altamont, I assume we are referring to the death. And that blame lies squarely on Merideth Hunter, and only Merideth Hunter.

Yeah obviously it had nothing to do with the thugs who started picking on him which lead him to pull the gun in the first place. Good call.

Yeah yeah, and if Mick and Keith hadn’t run into each other at that station Meredith might still be alive today...He was probably fated to die a hundred times before Altamont but most definitely whenever he purchased (or stole) that hot gun. Stan, history doesn’t have any love for a black man waving a gun and neither should you. Besides, the kid’s been immortalized.

And let’s all be honest: Altamont is so important to the Stones mythology that it’s almost heresy to wish that Meredith had lived.

I wish he had lived. I wish there had been more responsible people handling the Stones business. This was just a few years after the Civil Rights legislation was passed. Here was an 18 year old kid hassled beaten humiliated and killed basically because he was a black kid dating a white girl in the 60's. Yep that gun was loaded so said the court proceedings; that's why everybody got off, including the Angel who died his own grisly executioner death not so many years after being acquitted, and including the Stones who make continual mega profits off of what they basically advertised & edited as a dramatic snuff film. Parasitic behavior. Hunter's main crime that day was going to a rock concert. The blame shifting ande responsibility shucking goes on to this day. The Stones mythology interests me not at all. The music does. The myth is what latter generations who missed seeing them in the golden years are spending their mega thousands on. The band and their business people really handled this in a selfish heartless and greedy manner. Yeh we know about those black people waving guns...sigh
...but it's cute when an old junkie w an armed security detail talks like he's a tough black guy; The myth is what happens once the essence is diluted. It's a fable, a marketing tool, not the experience of what was once a truly awesome thing. Best rock show I ever done saw or heard on that exiles tour. RIP Mr. Hunter. Too bad he didn't get get that shot off and only had a revolver. Actually I don't even much blame the band, they were not much older than that kid at the time and should have themselves been better protected and managed. Belli and others like buzzards waiting for the last ripple of movement from the whatever dying meat in the road; I just see the myth being continually sold on the body of a dead kid. Maybe some lackey slipped the kids Ma a few grand, it doesn't much matter now. Joel Selvin's book was pretty good. So was that magazine article I linked above. It wasn't the dark belly underside death of a cultural revolution; it was a sloppy production with excellent bands and good intentions and shit management...Sam too; who at least had the decency to really feel the pain of this death in his personal arms. It's obvious it still haunts him in some ways. ANd me too I guess. Anyway...that was a fantastic tour and a sad tragedy; I think Rolling Stone Magazine and the infant rock press, especialy Wenner, were extremely predatory and exploitive too. The first mention in his magazine wasn't even a particular feature; Wenner himself is proud of knowing when to throw fresh meat to the hordes, and he's proud of it and has said as much. It's always about the money for the leeches around the golden boy.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-23 12:14 by hopkins.

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Swayed1967
And let’s all be honest: Altamont is so important to the Stones mythology that it’s almost heresy to wish that Meredith had lived.

That there is a sincerely disgusting statement, and every clause in it is wrong.

Sadly Hunters death accentuated the darkness surrounding Mick and the Stones. Brians slow silent death was sad but his and the bands path is engraved by hunters extremly violent death and his gun being caught on tape. The Stones used this as seen in GS. They insinuated that hunter was pointing the gun at Mick and by that let him personify sgt Pilcher, the critics, the media, the guilt over Brian, the crazy fans etc. His death was horrible but "perfectly" timed. They were not like other bands.

Edit: please dont report me for saying this.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-23 13:14 by Redhotcarpet.

'it was a sloppy production with excellent bands and good intentions and shit management...'

That's whole post nails it.

>>"...but it's cute when an old junkie w an armed security detail talks like he's a tough black guy; The myth is what happens once the essence is diluted. It's a fable, a marketing tool, not the experience of what was once a truly awesome thing. Best rock show I ever done saw or heard on that exiles tour. RIP Mr. Hunter. Too bad he didn't get get that shot off and only had a revolver"<

what exactly are you intending with the remark about Keith, and also I'd like you to point out if youre intending sarcasm about Hunter not getting the shot off and only having a revolver...?

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vertigojoe

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stanlove

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Kennedy
If we are placing blame for what happened at Altamont, I assume we are referring to the death. And that blame lies squarely on Merideth Hunter, and only Merideth Hunter.

Yeah obviously it had nothing to do with the thugs who started picking on him which lead him to pull the gun in the first place. Good call.

Trump voter in the house.

Don't get your point

Palace Revolution 2000
I can't wait for the book. From a real man on the inside. And he's sort of one of us..
Ron, in the film when we see Mick and Charlie watching the film on tape, where are they? What studio is that?





Altamont - Joel Selvin page 285



ROCKMAN

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with sssoul

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Swayed1967
And let’s all be honest: Altamont is so important to the Stones mythology that it’s almost heresy to wish that Meredith had lived.

That there is a sincerely disgusting statement, and every clause in it is wrong.

Yes shockingly inappropriate and insensitive.

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stanlove

Quote
vertigojoe

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stanlove

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Kennedy
If we are placing blame for what happened at Altamont, I assume we are referring to the death. And that blame lies squarely on Merideth Hunter, and only Merideth Hunter.

Yeah obviously it had nothing to do with the thugs who started picking on him which lead him to pull the gun in the first place. Good call.

Trump voter in the house.

Don't get your point

Dear Stan I'm not referring to you but Mr Kennedy who seems to be excusing the rabid nazi thugs who killed a black man for having the nerve to be at a concert with a white girl.

kennedy's right. no gun, no death. guns are funny things. if you are gonna point a gun at somebody, you better have the balls to pull the trigger. probably not the first time a hell's angel had a gun pointed at them.

Whatever

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swimtothemoon

Quote
with sssoul

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Swayed1967
And let’s all be honest: Altamont is so important to the Stones mythology that it’s almost heresy to wish that Meredith had lived.

That there is a sincerely disgusting statement, and every clause in it is wrong.

Yes shockingly inappropriate and insensitive.

Why? Altamont is an event of almost biblical proportions in Stones lore. To say ‘I wish it hadn’t happened’ seems hypocritical to me since the narrative of Meredith Hunter’s tragic death as captured in Gimme Shelter continues to fascinate me. Doesn’t mean I lack sympathy for Hunter’s family or condone his murder - I would’ve thought that went without saying – but his was the ‘perfect,’ tragic, marketable ending worthy of a movie treatment...which we were lucky to get.

I never talked with Rolling Stone or any reporters at that time. Reporters wanted me to spill the dirt on my uncle... I once talked to Al Aronowitz -a NY reporter who was doing a series on Altamont- after I saw an article he did with incorrect statements. I called him and he redid the article- told me the lies were coming from John Jaymes. I figure John was talking to Rolling Stone and everyone else, conning them.
No offense but I wasn't donating anything to anybody..and why would I give money to someone who pulled a gun on my friends?
And a fact that a lot of the current books didn't know...A film deal wasn't thought about until two weeks after Altamont.

Quote
hopkins
[www.rollingstone.com]

"The Stones figure they spent something like $80,000 on the Altamont affair, including helicopters, which isn't bad at all — when you consider as the cost of a movie set.
Any proceeds from the film, Schneider said, would be used first to pay back neighboring ranchers who had property damaged (they're filing the lawsuit anyhow), to recoup the costs of the film, and to pay back those persons who made donations to the festival so it could be set up in the first place.

Proceeds beyond that (if any) would be split up equally among the participating bands. This in itself is a shuck, because the word at first was that all proceeds from the film would go to charity. "It'd be presumptuous of us to decide what the other bands want to do, so we're just going to let them have their own share and decide for themselves," Schneider explained.
The Stones themselves, however, have definitely committed their share to some as yet undecided cause, according to Schneider. "Anything we get out of this will either go to a charity or else directly back to the kids in San Francisco, so they can buy some land out there and have lots of free concerts without the hassles we've had. That was Mick's idea, that's the best idea because we want the people there to have their own piece of land. The trouble with giving it to some organizational charity is that by the time they take off their fee and everything, the money doesn't get to the people you wanted to have it. But we don't want any money from this, we never wanted to make a profit and we were never trying to like people said."

"...Stones representative Ron Schneider suggested that his office would offer some kind of compensation to the Hunter family. "We haven't talked to the family yet, but we'll have to do something about that. If we come up and say we're going to give $500,000 to the family, it all sounds so tacky. As far as I'm concerned, if we gave the family $50 million it still doesn't make up for the kid being killed. So whatever you give it doesn't matter, you're just giving something to them. What could I say to them? I don't know what to say to them, that's the problem."
Perhaps Schneider will eventually think of something to say. For now, Gwen and the family are still waiting."...
____________________________________________
?

I don't recall but I can tell you that the Maysles rented the big movieola editing machines where ever they were. They had their own room at the Beverly Wilshire.. 415 I think and had a movieola in it. I was with them at the Londonderry in London editing away...Going stir crazy we would write messages on the windows in shaving cream..

Hey Ronnie,
When you hear Bernie Sanders addressing the crowds with Brothers and Sisters….Brothers and Sisters..
What are your thoughts?

Hello Ron, you just mentioned John Jaymes. And that is who I was going to ask you about. I know well who he is in the film. And one of the 69 tour boos I read ( I can't remember whose) really cuts loose about JJ. That he was just some over weight nobody. Who somehow got on the tour, and started to try and exercise some pull. I THINK it said that once the attention shifted to Mel Belli etc, JJ was in his element.

Hey Ron,
What i find a little strange is that you were not more 'hands-on' with the Altamont/Sears Point/Golden Gate park concert.
The Stones officially said they were planning a free concert at their press conference at The Rainbow Room november 27th 1969....so you must have been aware of it at that stage (and earlier).
I just find it odd the Stones let you leave after the final show and not get you involved with the free concert?