"There are incredible opera houses and singers and orchestras that are really sweating it right now. I don't know if I'm going to save them necessarily myself but I do feel indebted to what that music has given me and I want to give back to that world."

In the middle of the terrace barbecue, I was thinking about Alice, Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson Airplane, and the White Rabbit, all marching to the tune of their own inner fife and drummers. All in the name of Independence.

When you think about it, the 1970s weren't as bad as those of us who tend to prefer the 1960s often like to say. There was unquestionably some good entertainment and some good times, even if we didn't like the clothes we were wearing.

The legendary rock impresario Bill Graham was not a particularly observant Jew. There is nothing specifically Jewish about the bands he worked with, such as the Grateful Dead or the Rolling Stones, or the venues in which he produced concerts, such as at the Fillmore (East and West) and Winterland arenas.