This project is brand new, but watch this space as the hip history of Portland develops. The plan is to literally entwine Gary's life with the development of Portland's hip scene. He was one of the seminal individuals who brought back the spirit of the Summer of Love from San Francisco to Portland and joined with other like-minded souls to nurture the counterculture movement that has now become almost mainstream in this town.
This writer (Mike Fulmor) met Gary around 1971, or early '72, when I bought a headshop downtown, across the park from City Hall, called the Ides of March. He came in one day looking for a commission, possibly to design a calendar for the shop. Immediately I was intrigued with and inspired by this guy, and impressed with the quality of what he came up with for the shop. Gary has done several projects for me over the years, and always did way more, way better than I expected for way less than he probably should have charged. But I digress.
As time has passed we've maintained a good friendship, and I have watched him, and his art, go through many phases and incarnations. Through it all he has been a man who has lived and worked with integrity and steadfast adherence to his principles, though there was many a time he could have profited by selling out. He is above all an artist, however, with all that entails, and would never stoop to mass producing products that would have had no soul as a result. Always interested in seeing him succeed, I have asked him many times if I could be his business agent or somehow help him by promoting his art, but it was never to be...until now.
So, partly because I've thought about writing down some underground Portland history for a long time, and by writing a biography of Gary I'd be accomplishing that, this project has officially begun. I'll be looking for sources who can provide different angles, info and slants, and Gary now has a small digital recorder so he can reminisce and talk story with friends and save it easily.
In the meantime I will begin to write all I can remember about the glory days of hippies from 1970-90 (and to the present) in Puddle City. Watch this space for more tidbits as they materialize.
As a framework we'll try to list all the music venues, bands, organizations, events, and businesses that served as "headquarters", if you will, and the various personalities with their various stories about how this all went down. As Jerry Garcia once sang "if I told you all that went down it would burn off both of your ears" and we'll try to at least warm yours up some!
Adios for now,
Webmaster Mike