Norman P. Johnson

Broschiertes Buch

Sometimes...I Don't Remember Much of the '70s

Beschreibung

A rousing romp through the ‘70s when big Rock & Roll concerts were filling the country with superstars, nasty roadies, sexy groupies, shysters, hipsters, drug dealers, revolutionaries, and other assorted superegos—all testing the theory that Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll may not be right for everybody, but it might work for you. When Cowboy finds himself kicked out of graduate school by Nixon’s cuts to NASA, he turns to his first love of being a photographer and amateur filmmaker, trying to find his art in a world gone mad with Vietnam and police brutality. He also finds a way to smuggle marijuana from El Paso in a small Piper Tri-pacer airplane, and while attempting to unload a conspicuous amount of dope, Cowboy is introduced to several underground players in Ann Arbor. What ensues is the powerful one-two combo of drug money and a bunch of drop-out NASA engineers at the U of M producing the loudest PA system in the world. With this new big sound, they create the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival and the 10 for 2 concerts—marking the end of marijuana persecution and the beginning of Rock & Roll political power. Out on the road, their one-of-a-kind arena sound system opens the door for Rock & Roll anthems like, "We’re an American Band," by Michigan’s own Grand Funk Railroad. But when the war winds down, and Rock & Roll gets too slick and selfish, Cowboy is left with no place to go, looking for enough money to support the artist he wants to be.

Autor

Dr. Norman P. Johnson splits his home between Lake Stevens, Washington and Hawaii. He is divorced, retired, and has two grown daughters. Some of his many former lives include working under the Atomic Energy Commission performing high-energy particle experiments at Argonne National Laboratory. He later became one of the "Higgs Hunters" at the short-lived Superconducting Super Collider, including an in-between stint with NASA, launching science satellites and developing large-scale upper-atmospheric computer simulations that became the basis for all computer weather forecasting today. During the '70s, he spent time touring with major rock bands, gets involved with shady Rock & Roll intrigue, witnesses the backstory on one of Rock's greatest songs, and with Fanfare Productions, designs and builds a new speaker system that delivered the loudest, clearest PA in the industry. He escapes the Nixon oppression by moving to Crested Butte, Colorado, where he designs and builds the first satellite cable TV systems in the Rockies. Dr. Johnson later helped design, deploy, and manage large-scale cellular and satellite digital telecommunications systems worldwide for companies such as Cablevision, Aramco, MCI, and Qualcomm. After the internet crash of 1998, he found himself unemployed and started Accel Net, a high-speed wireless internet provider in Seattle, which he grew into a multi-million-dollar business. He enjoys movies and has spent thousands of hours in obscure projection booths showing vintage 35 and 16mm films. He has penned several books and screenplays, with more written works in progress. In his off hours, he makes and sells a traditional craft Hash, Yeti Scat Trails, enjoys the fruit of his labors, fishes for the wily salmon, skis the flats, restores old things, and hangs with animals and other friends at Norm's Rancho Deluxe. Wa-ha-ho-te'!

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Abbey Normal Books
• Seitenzahl: 548
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. August 2019
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 216mm x 140mm x 32mm
• Gewicht: 764g
• ISBN-13: 9780999099216
• ISBN-10: 0999099213
• Artikelnr.: 61648458