Roger Zee Memoirs

"Life and Times of a Pandemic Musician"

LSD 1969 08/30/20

In April of 1969, I turned 16 and took two momentous trips -- one on acid and the second to Israel for the summer with a Reform Jewish youth group where I saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon live on TV in a park in Tel Aviv! Welcome to another excerpt from my memoirs, "Life and Times of a Pandemic Musician."

At the time, the Beatnik and Hippie subculture enamored me, drew me in like a moth to flame, especially after reading books by Jack Kerouac, Timothy Leary, Carlos Castaneda, Jerry Rubin, and Abbie Hoffman. "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe sealed the deal! I chose to "Ride the Wind" like my CA heroes -- The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and The Grateful Dead.

So I called up my pot dealer and he referred to me to a guy who sold me a very powerful, four-hit tab of LSD. Due to the high dosage, he warned me to use a razor and cut it into four parts. I went home and barely managed to get that done due to it's tiny size.

So that Friday night, I hopped on my bike and pedaled down to Saint Aloysius Church at the Old Village in Great Neck, LI to see my school mates Billy Yule ( later the drummer for The Velvet Underground ) and George W. Nardo ( guitar, vocals ) play a local dance with their band. As the group began a set of Psychedelic Rock, I unwrapped the aluminum foil and swallowed one of the four acid bits. I waited for what seemed like an eternity ( probably 10 minutes ) for something to happen, but nothing did. So then I unwrapped another piece and swallowed it. Still nothing!

Finally, I lost my patience and just ate the rest of the two pieces. Huge mistake, LOL! I remember the band playing Cream''s live version of "Spoonful" when I achieved liftoff. Like a rocket, I rose higher and higher, faster and faster, hurtling at light speed into the unknown! I enjoyed it at first, but soon found it frighteningly impossible to control.

The next thing that happens, I'm sitting on the front steps of my house not knowing how I got there, what to do, or how to come down. Out of the blue, my parents pull into the driveway after a night with friends, walk up and ask me what I'm doing. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out! Naturally, this does not go down well with my folks!

They keep asking me questions that I can't understand and can't answer. Finally, when I get back my ability to speak, I tell them that I just wanted to enjoy the night air after coming home from the church dance across town. "Where's your bike?" Uh oh... "How did you get home?" Tough questions for a guy "Sky High" on acid, LOL! Eventually they browbeat me into admitting that I had taken LSD and had no idea how I got home. Thankfully, they gently helped me up and said, "Let's get you inside. We'll talk about this in the morning."

When I get upstairs to wash up and look in the mirror, to my surprise I see a Bowery bum! Deep creases with crusted dirt etch my face. No matter how I try, I can't completely wash them out. So I just give up, climb into bed and fall immediately fast asleep.

Of course I have to face the music the next morning over breakfast. My parents want to know if I had ever done that before and make sure that I won't do it again. By this time, I know the right words to say. After, I call up the church and they've got my bike. They also laugh and share how I acted like a complete pain in the butt. Would I like to come in for counseling? Needless to say, it would take me a long time to live this incident down, LOL!

So on this Breezy, cool, Covid-19 reintegration to society day. I sadly ponder the demise of live music, especially in NY State. But it doesn't stop me from picking up my blue, Mexicam Fender Jazz bass and going over the Jack Bruce lines on the seminal "Wheels of Fire" CD, some of which I witnessed Cream record live at Madison Square Garden! One <3

YouTube - Spoonful - Cream