The Nexus

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=2 style="border-right: 1px solid #555555;" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="788" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 194 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="46cff950.jpg" border=0 width="255" height="149" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="532"><div>        </div> <bR> <bR> <div>       <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="contents7e.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Table of Contents">The Folk Memories Archive </A></FONT></div> <div> The Nexus</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="937" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2460 WIDTH="505"><div> JOHN (JT) THOMAS of The Channel Singers defines the magic at The Nexus in Santa Barbara.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Back somewhere in the '63-'64 period, the “folk scene” in Santa Barbara was seriously moving along-out of the coffee house scene and into new clubs that served beer and wine, and where the patrons and the performers got a tad more rowdy-perhaps a bit more like Frisco and LA.  </div> <bR> <div> So out in Goleta, real close to UCSB, a new place called “the Nexus” was opened at the intersection of Fairview and Hollister-in what had originally been a walnut-shelling factory, and right next to a tin building that had been an old-time cabinet shop-I think the original owner was named Dave Deras.  It was turned into a great club-benches along the wall, pretty good-sized stage in the far left corner, pillows and small tables in the central area, and a nice long bar on the right as you walked in-light and dark beer on draft ...candles on the tables, and a pretty good sound system.  </div> <bR> <div> It became a really great place for us folkies, like my group, The Channel Singers, and most of the other folk personas, like Don Robertson, Todd Grant, Tony Townsend, and others, to perform.  It was a really fun, comfortable venue, where the interaction was close between the performers and the audience ... if you spilled a beer on stage, it would probably splash on the front-row tables ... lots of colored burlap on the walls and ceiling, to create atmosphere and cover the tin roof.  </div> <bR> <div> Dave finally got hip and installed a new sound system, with JBL speakers hanging from the ceiling-I think a friend of our bass player, Ernie Brooks, installed them-but whoever did the wiring back down to the stage and the connections to the amplifier/PA on stage (back in the old days when we controlled our own sound, as opposed to having a "sound man") used lamp cord instead of speaker wire, and used lamp plugs instead of phone jacks, and set up a power strip to plug into.  I'll never forget when Howard Pelkey, our banjo player and fellow guitarist, plugged it in for the first time to get us set up for our gig.  Somehow all that stuff just went directly from the 110-volt wall socket directly to the 8-ohm JBL speakers hanging from the roof - he resulting screech and pop and explosion of those speakers was “a most awesome noise” with little bits of the speaker cones filtering down like ashes from a volcano ... so much for THAT debut!!! </div> <bR> <div> The Nexus did turn into one of the most happening places in Santa Barbara.  We had regular Sunday afternoon hootenannies featuring other local artists like Sherry Geiger, René Leyva, The Tarrytown Trio (later to become The Floyd County Boys), and anyone who had an axe and wanted to play and sing-gee, the forerunner of Karaoke-except you had to actually play AND sing .…  And Dave got smart, opened a door in the wall to the space next door, and a pizza place was set up there.  I can't recall the name of it-before Petrini's-or maybe the first Petrini's-but that sure was fun-folk music, beer, and pizza-what more could anyone want??? </div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately, the place caught fire and burned down-always some questions about how a tin building burns down-but, shortly thereafter, the Nexus reopened across the street, in what had been a medical and dental office.  The new Nexus was not nearly as cozy and comfy as the Nexus #1 but had a better stage and light system, and actually a “performer's room.”  There, I, as a member of The Channel Singers, had the pleasure of being the headline act and having this group from LA that nobody had ever heard of, called “The Stone Poneys,” open for us.  Needless to say, I just wanted to listen to Linda Ronstadt and Bob Kimmell and Ken Edwards play all night ... tough act to follow!!! </div> <bR> <div> The “coffee house” scene in Santa Barbara, which started the whole “folk music” thing in the first place-mellow, laid-back at the Iopan and the Noctambulist-turned into a whole different club scene-like the Rondo, Borsodi's, and Baudelaire's (who could ever forget Claire Rabe???) and The Bluebird Café (who could ever forget Pete Feldmann???) (Julie Felix???) (Gene McGeorge & The Scraggs Family and Kajsa Ohman???) </div> <bR> <div> It was truly a turning point for the folk music scene in Santa Barbara.  So here are MY thoughts on the Nexus!!!   I look forward to hearing from other folks and refreshing my memory and sharing more fun thoughts!!! </div> <bR> <div> John Thomas - The Channel Singers </div> <div> January 2005</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="421"><bR> <div> <IMG SRC="46e5e1e0.jpg" border=0 width="350" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <A HREF="links6c.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="General Links"><IMG SRC="46d96190.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="25" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <bR> <div> CONTENTS</div> <bR> <div> Clubs</div> <div> <A HREF="cosmo_alley7a.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cosmo Alley">Cosmo Alley</A> by Barbara Dane</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >Terrea Lea on </FONT><A HREF="garret70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Garret">The Garret</A>     </div> <div> Dolan Ellis on <A HREF="dolan_ellis80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Portofinos, Scottsdale">Portofino's</A></div> <div> <A HREF="troubadour79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Troubadour">The Troubadour</A>    by Dian James   </div> <div> <A HREF="cellar_door73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Cellar Door">The Cellar Door</A> by Betty Mann</div> <div> The hungry i  by Pat McCaskey</div> <div> <A HREF="mccabes7d.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="McCabes">McCabe's, Santa Monica</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id133.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Golden Bear">The Golden Bear</A>,  Huntington Beach</div> <div> <A HREF="roosevelt7b.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Appearing in New York">The</A><A HREF="roosevelt7b.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Appearing in New York"> Roosevelt </A> by Betty Mann</div> <div> <A HREF="ash_grove6e.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ash Grove">The Ash Grove</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Don Robertson and The Iopan">the Iopan</A>, Santa Barbara</div> <div> <A HREF="cosmo_alley7a.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cosmo Alley">Cosmo Alley</A> by Don Gold</div> <div> <A HREF="santa_barbara74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Santa Barbara Scene">The Santa Barbara Scene</A></div> <div> <A HREF="ice_house6f.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ice House">Ice House</A>, Pasadena</div> <div> <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Nexus">The Nexus, Santa Barbara</A></div> <div> <A HREF="purple6b.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Purple Onion">The Purple Onion, San Francisco</A></div> <div> <A HREF="tony_townsend76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Noctambulist">The Noctambulist, Santa Barbara</A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >     </FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="iopan75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Starting a Coffee House">Starting Up a Coffee House</A></div> <div> <A HREF="santa_barbara74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Santa Barbara Scene">The Santa Barbara Folk Scene</A>     </div> <bR> <div> People/Groups</div> <div> <A HREF="lou_gottlieb81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lou Gottlieb">Lou Gottlieb</A></div> <div> <A HREF="stan_wilson72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stan Wilson">Stan Wilson</A> by Travis Edmonson</div> <div> <A HREF="holstein6d.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fred Holstein">Fred Holstein</A></div> <div> <A HREF="gateway77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Gateway Singers">Gateway Singers</A></div> <div> Bonnie Dobson on <A HREF="bonnie_dobson82.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writing Morning Dew">Morning Dew</A></div> <div> <A HREF="lenny_arrival71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LENNYS FIRST NIGHT AT THE HUNGRY I">Lenny Bruce</A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" > by Travis Edmonson</FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="danbellack87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dan Bellack Folk Memories">Goldcoast Wanderers and Art, Bart & Fargo</A></div> <bR> <div> .... And Everything Else</div> <div> <A HREF="hootenanny_show78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Hootenanny Show">Hootenanny" Show</A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >  by Dian James</FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="kingstontrio88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kingston Trio Fantasy Camp">Kingston Trio Fantasy Camp</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mighty_wind7c.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Mighty Wind">"A Mighty Wind"</A></div> <div> <A HREF="genesmith89.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Importance of Folk Music to Prisoners in">Importance of Folk Music to Prisoners in North Viet Nam</A></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="294c8ab0.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="171" ALT="Enrico Banducci's hungry i lives again at www.hungryi.net" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Be sure and check out the website celebrating the hungry i, great San Francisco club at <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.hungryi.net" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.hungryi.net"><U>www.hungryi.net</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.travisedmonson.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.travisedmonson.com"><U><IMG SRC="5afc8130.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="275" ALT="Click to visit travisedmonson.com" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div> You might not have realized that Gateway Singer Travis Edmonson was also one half of the ground-breaking duo Bud & Travis, and that all their great albums were remastered to the highest standard, and are available for purchase on Travis' official site <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.travisedmonson.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.travisedmonson.com"><U>www.travisedmonson.com</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Keep the Bud & Travis legacy alive. A must visit for all Gateway fans!  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>   <script language="Javascript"> // do not make any changes to anything past this point or tracking script will not work var data; document.cookie='__support_check=1'; if (location.host) { var domain_name = '&d=' + location.host; } else { var domain_name = '&d=unknown'; } if (document.referrer) { var referrer_website = '&r=' + document.referrer; } else { var referrer_website = '&r=unknown'; } if (navigator.appName) { var browser_name = '&b=' + escape(navigator.appName); } else { var browser_name = '&b=unknown'; } if (navigator.userAgent) { var full_browser_info = '&fbi=' + escape(navigator.userAgent); } else { var full_browser_info = '&fbi=unknown'; } if (navigator.appVersion) { var app_version = '&aV=' + escape(navigator.appVersion); } else { var app_version = '&aV=unknown'; } if (navigator.javaEnabled()) { var java_enabled = '&jE=' + navigator.javaEnabled(); } else { var java_enabled = '&jE=unknown'; } if (screen.width) { var screen_width = '&sw=' + screen.width; } else { var screen_width = '&sw=unknown'; } if (screen.height) { var screen_height = '&sh=' + screen.height; } else { var screen_height = '&sh=unknown'; } if (screen.colorDepth) { var color_depth = '&cd=' + screen.colorDepth; } else { var color_depth = '&cd=unknown'; } data = 'a=track' + domain_name + referrer_website + browser_name + full_browser_info + app_version; data = data + java_enabled + screen_width + screen_height + color_depth; document.write('<img border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 src="http://stats.directnic.com/tracker.php?' + data + '">'); </script> <noscript> <img border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 src="http://stats.directnic.com/tracker.php?a=noscript"> </noscript>   </div> </td> </tr></table></body>