The Fairfax Street Choir
Riding on the Bus


The Whole Earth Festival

 April 27th and 28th 1974

The Davis Gig

     Our gig at Davis was one of the highest experiences we had as a group. We rented Mike Shriner's bus and all met at the Sleeping Lady with our sleeping bags, sacks of food, and our instruments. A few people had driven up in cars earlier but the majority of us went in the bus with Mike Shriner driving. It bumped a lot but everyone got as comfortable as they could.
     The music started right away. Some of the greatest vocal jams I have ever heard happened on that trip. We sang all the way up to Davis. We sang because we were together. We sang because we were excited. We sang to help Diane cure her headache. We sang songs from Africa, Sausalito, Fairfax, New York, India and every other place that you can think of. We sang because we loved each other and music is the vehicle we used to love a lot of people at the same time. We also had a flat tire which slowed us down.. We had to pull into a lot of different gas stations before we finally got it fixed. They only charged us $5 for the tire and the labor. Maybe it was because we sang to them too. We got to Davis just in time to do the show.
     The audience was very warm and gave us a great welcome. The sun was going down as we finished the last song of our set. We went to a park to sleep. The bus was full of people all night long. Peter Tork and Richi Ray Harris played guitars and everyone sang. Scarlet and Clyde and I slept outside under a tree. A couple of trains went by and a stiff wind was blowing. Some girl from the Sufi Choir stood outside of the bus for a long time to listen to the music. I asked her who she was and we got into a conversation. She loved the Street Choir. We talked about how music has the power to heal. She said "Your music says it all, you know, the harmony it comes from within." It made me very happy that she knew the words to one of our songs and that she had allowed them to mean something to her. I finally fell asleep but woke up the next morning to a beautiful blue sky. We had another show to do that morning. We were to pave the way for Yogi Bhajan and Betty Bethards.
The Yogi Bhajan Betty Bethards Story.
It was Sunday and the choir had just opened the show. It was a great performance. Then Yogi Bhajan got on stage and led the audience in breathing exercises while telling them that he was no better than anyone else and that anyone could raise his own consciousness. Betty Bethards was supposed to go on that day also but she and Yogi Bhajan had been having a running feud for several months. I found out later at the Inner Light Foundation what had really happened. The clocks had been set back that day because it was daylight savings time and the Choir had unknowingly started the show late. Betty Bethards was supposed to follow the Street Choir but Yogi Bhajan had been told that he was supposed to start at a certain time and not allowing for human frailties he insisted that he perform at exactly the time set for him. Naturally this became an awkward situation between these two. Betty told me that Yogi Bhajan had asked her why she didn't wear a long white robe and how would people be able to tell that she was holy if she didn't wear one. He also asked her why she didn't stop drinking coca-cola. He said he could not possibly allow Betty to go on before him as he had a very special engagement later in the day so Betty gave up after waiting 4 hours and finally went home. She said that Yogi Bhajan had pulled this routine on her before. The Fairfax Street Choir was oblivious to the entire episode but I wanted people to know that sometimes people who have something to teach have a hard time practicing what they preach in their own lives.