Big Show in the Old Fort
ROCK STAR OZZY Osbourne, who now and then sneaks into town for little anonymous rest and relaxation between engagements, recently revealed a side of himself few folks outside his select inner circle of intimates even suspect -- a love for history. "I'm a bit of a history buff," Ozzy told The Weekly during an exclusive interview on the grounds of his rented Montecito digs. "In fact," says Ozzy, "I'm somewhat more than that -- I'm a freaking fanatic!"
Which is why the eccentric performer enthusiastically accepted when approached by Hispanic heartthrob Julio Iglesias and asked to collaborate as co-host for the upcoming free Raise the Dead/Pesos for the Presidio concert and archeology festival slated for Halloween weekend, Oct. 31 through Nov. 2, at the Presidio.
Although admission to the concert site itself is free, food, curio and portable sanitation booths will be doubly overpriced and proceeds donated to benefit the next phase of Presidio reconstruction: the Equestrian Project. Concert attendees who donate $40 or more will receive a complimentary Raise the Dead T-shirt.
"Naturally," Iglesias told The Weekly following his recent Ventura County Fair appearance, "I do what I can for Spanish culture. The Presidio Equestrian Project is a very significant one and I am happy to be working with a fine artist like Ozzy on this big deal."
The Catalonian crooner says money raised will be used for excavating the site of the old commandante's office, originally at the corner where Canon Perdido and Santa Barbara streets intersect today. Presidio historians hope to find the skeletal remains of the vastly overweight first Presidio commandante himself, Jose Francisco de Ortega, the man whose appetite and ambition Santa Barbarenos can credit for building the Presidio in the first place.
Eventually, though, Osbourne reminded us, "The commandante became so incredibly obese on the rich, early California cuisine -- bear meat, acorns and various squash-like things -- he just couldn't mount his horse anymore and had to retire."
The plan is to use a revolutionary new polyethylene extrusion and molding process to create a life-sized statue of the extraordinarily well-girthed commandante, poised for all eternity atop his favorite mount -- the strong-backed bay gelding, Sopapilla, more affectionately known as "Billy."
In addition to Osbourne and Iglesias, who are donating their time and talent gratis to the project, so far SB favorites the Beach Boys, jazz greats Miles Davis and Johnny Griffin, heavy metal head-bangers AC/DC, the Pat Metheny Group with Lyle Mays, comedian Henny Youngman, singer-actress Bette Midler, and Sandra Bernhard have been asked to participate. Osbourne and Iglesias promised "many surprises" and said a complete list of acts, providing nonstop entertainment throughout the weekend, is expected soon. The rumor of a reunion of the Beatles (with either Julian Lennon or Sean Ono Lennon in his late dad's stead) -- which seems to crop up with every new music festival -- is being vociferously denied.
California Conservation Corps members have busily been tearing down buildings, raking the site and building fences in preparation for erection of the temporary twin stages for the weekend event.
Iglesias commented on the broad variety of musical talents planning to assemble for the event. He said, "This will be the first time I have worked in a rock venue. You can probably imagine how I feel about this."
"Frankly, I'm very excited about the whole thing," Osbourne said. "If we can raise the money, raise the dead, and put the Big Guy back where he belongs, in the saddle again, we'll have been very successful, indeed."
Oct. 16, 1986
Laid to Rest
BECAUSE OF PROTESTS lodged by a disparate coalition of angry activists, the much-anticipated Raise the Dead/Pesos for the Presidio Music and Archeology Festival -- previously slated for Halloween weekend -- has been cancelled.
Festival instigator Ozzy Osbourne could not be reached for comment. Raise the Dead co-host Julio Iglesias, however, by telephone from Tucson, told The Weekly, "We are understanding, but -- of course -- the news is extremely disappointing. For example, what the hell are we going to do with all the T-shirts? You can see we have a quandary. I have a quandary. Ozzy has several."
As a result of the cancellation, beside rock star Osbourne and Latin Lothario Iglesias, Miles Davis, a reunion of the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, AC/DC, Pat Metheny, Sandra Bernhard and Bunny Wailer will also not be appearing.
For Osbourne, the cancelled festival -- following cancelled concerts in Texas and the Midwest because of civic pressure -- was a severe blow. He is said to be considering a new career in food service.
The free concert, planned as a fundraiser to disinter the corpulent Commandante Jose Francisco de Ortega, reconstruct the skeletal remains and extrude a polyethylene equestrian statue on the Presidio site in his memory, began to fall apart shortly after initial publicity was circulated. Agents from city offices, business groups, the local chapter of the national Anti-Desecration League and Mitch Snyder's Community for Creative Nonviolence each voiced separate complaints. The city expressed the feeling crowds of festival goers and nonstop entertainment throughout the weekend would create far too much noise and confusion downtown. Lloyd Ffoukes, assistant legal counsel for the city, said, "A free rock and salsa festival like this one would easily attract thousands of people. And while building a polyethylene statue is certainly a noble endeavor, where, for example, will all these people park?" Ffoukes said the city faced "enormous, insurmountable problems" with the festival and regretted publicity advanced before the necessary city permits had been approved.
CHAMBER OF HORRORS: A coalition of local business interests expressed similar concern, saying they felt a free concert would not attract the sort of people to Santa Barbara they deem "desirable" -- that is, wealthy white people with plenty of expendable income. "We have plenty of freeloaders aleady in this town," read a sharply worded statement. "We certainly don't need a free party to encourage more of them to clutter up our sidewalks and paseos, taking up prime parking places and preventing honest, decent, shopping folks from getting in and out of shops and stores to spend more money here."
In addition, the coalition felt a more appropriate use of the space slated for the statue would be a small, open-air, boutique-type stall to sell Presidio souvenirs and knickknacks. "We certainly don't need another useless statue, however ingeniously extruded," the statement concluded, "taking up potentially profitable space."
The strongest condemnation came from the Anti-Desecration League people, who felt Commandante Ortega's remains should not be disturbed. "Besides," commented Chester "Butch" Loudner, the group's spokesman, "it is extremely doubtful anyone would be able to 'reconstruct' the commandante from whatever remains could be found after -- what? -- close to 200 years? The project is macabre in the extreme. Anyway, whoever told these people Ortega was buried beneath his office? There may be a lot of junk down there -- cameo shaving mug shards, Spanish coins, ossified mouse turds and so forth -- but certainly not Commandante Ortega. We think the festival organizers are misinformed and strangely motivated."
SNYDER'S ARMY: Mitch Snyder's Washington, D.C.-based group -- longtime vocal advocates for a good night's rest -- complained that the noise and traffic resulting from the proposed festival would certainly sap what little ability Santa Barbara's homeless have at present to catch some sleep. "Not to mention," a Snyder spokesman said, "disturbing the far more profound sleep of the long dead." The Snyder people threatened a march and occupation of the Presidio should the festival be permitted. The city promptly and unanimously withdrew approval for the event. Mick Jagger, Elton John, the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, the late Senor Wences, Little Richard, Jay Leno, Bobby Hutcherson, Rickie Lane and Velvel, several dozen Elvis and Buddy Holly imitators, and Monica Piper are just a few more of the talented celebrities who will not appear on the cancelled festival schedule.
Oct. 30, 1986
Festival Revivification
MAYHEM AND BLOODSHED were narrowly averted last weekend as dedicated history enthusiasts, undaunted by last week's published cancellation notice, inundated Santa Barbara for the beleaguered Raise the Dead/Pesos for the Presidio Music and Archeology Festival. Some of the music industry's top acts turned out for the event, attended by at least 30,000 wild and happy -- but incredibly well-behaved and respectful -- celebrants. The crowd caused some major anxiety at the Presidio last week, prior to the event. Saturday, however, the human Red Sea parted miraculously to allow an invited audience of mostly elderly persons to enter the Chapel for a fund-raising harp concert. SBPD reported no major property damage.
California Conservation Corps workers, digging on the site of the commandante's office Monday morning, seemed scarcely aware that just hours before, the Presidio grounds were wall-to-wall with squirming, writhing partiers, many of whom spilled over from the flesh pits of Isla Vista where traditional All Hallow's Eve festivities seemed a pale shadow before the real thing downtown.
"The city's main concern had been the parking situation," said Lloyd Ffoukes, assistant legal counsel for the city, "but so many of these fine young people caravanned, carpooled and Greyhounded into town for the event. There was no problem." Ffoukes said he quickly shed his coat and tie and, donning a leather vest, joined the celebration himself, having "a swell time. Some of these people may look and seem menacing and bizarre, with their scars, hair, tattoos and strong, goat-like body odor, but when you get to know them, you find they're just plain folks." Ffoukes reported finding numerous professional affinity groups spontaneously springing up over the weekend, including doctors, lawyers and mattress sales-personnel.
GOOD TIMING: The concert began on time at 8 p.m. Friday as an emotional Ozzy Osbourne took the stage. Tears glistening in his eyes, Osbourne told the crowd, "They said it wouldn't happen. They tried to stop us. But we're here, so let's party!" In the spirit of the evening, Osbourne and Raise the Dead co-sponsor Julio Iglesias sang the first of several duets, "To All the Ghouls I've Loved." The overjoyed crowd went berserk.
"This is a big relief for me," Iglesias commented, "as you might well imagine." Iglesias personally thanked SB's mayor, Sheila Lodge, for her part Friday afternoon in smoothing over the various stalled negotiations between the city and concert organizers, when the Presidio was surrounded by burly motorcyclists. "If it was not for this woman," Iglesias told the multitudes, not without emotion himself, "we would not be here tonight. She is some kind of lady!"
When Mrs. Lodge herself took the stage for a long but intricate solo on the timbales, the crowd could scarcely contain its cheering. So loud was the ovation, motorists on the San Marcos Pass reportedly heard the lusty sound carried on the light evening breeze and pulled to the side of the highway in stunned wonderment.
Close to midnight, following killer sets by Grace Jones, Quincy Jones, Tom Jones, Rickie Lee Jones and an impromptu trio consisting of Chaka Khan, Albert King and Herbie Hancock, President Ronald Reagan appeared at center stage to make a pitch for Congressional candidate, Ed Zschau. Bottle throwing was kept to a minimum and the president, who clearly enjoyed addressing a rock concert crowd, was in fine fettle. "Ed would have been here himself tonight," he joked. "I asked him personally, but he just said 'no.'" The crowd got a major kick out of Reagan, but the president kept his remarks brief.
DEAD ALL NIGHT: Tireless veteran acid-rockers the Grateful Dead played a solid 13-hour set, and by Saturday noon the crowd was still on its feet, ready for more. Iglesias and Osbourne, joined by Charo, David Byrne, David Bowie and The Monkees, sang a medley of food songs as introduction to special guest, master chef Wolfgang Puck, who shared some of his favorite recipes with the thrill-besotted throng.
Puck was followed by an afternoon with the Talking Heads, X, the Violent Femmes, UB-40, The Smiths and Elton John. As Saturday night fell and Annie Lennox of Eurhythmics took the stage screaming, "Raise the Dead! Raise the Dead!" a 40-voice choir of John Lennon, Buddy Holly and Elvis impersonators performed a moving set, including "Imagine," "Peggy Sue" and "All Shook Up." The well-behaved crowd was mental with joy.
On Sunday morning, the mood of the festival became more reflective, as the high purpose -- outlined Friday by Ozzy -- of the gathering was brought home in an early morning inspirational message delivered by Wendy O. Williams, who then performed four straight hours in a transparent mylar jumpsuit. She was joined by The Plasmatics and Miles Davis. "This concert is for the commandante! Raise the Dead!" Williams exulted.
By Sunday, food vendors had jacked prices up three or four times. Chili dogs were reportedly selling for between $14 and $18 and you couldn't buy a bag of salted nuts for less than $10, but no one was complaining. The swelling audience, clustered along sidewalks throughout the downtown area, was one big happy family, "happy as a haddock in tartar sauce," commented Iglesias with a felicitous metaphor. Sunday afternoon, the music was divided between The Cure, the Rolling Stones and a surprise appearance by Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen.
"Ozzy didn't invite me," Springsteen told The Weekly, "but I couldn't miss the Woodstock of the '80s, so I decided to show up."
Springsteen, accompanying himself with acoustic guitar and kazoo, sang early American folk songs and was soon joined by Mick Jagger singing harmony and playing jaw harp. The high-point was when everyone came out and sang 40 or 50 choruses of "Erie Canal." It was a moving, climactic moment for the exhausted, swaying and quickly dissipating crowd.
And, by nightfall, walking the Presidio grounds, you'd swear there hadn't been a history-making festival at all. One fellow, curled up in a sleeping bag, was awakened by city police patrolmen and told to move on, but he was a local and had slept through the whole thing. Meeting local press late Sunday evening, Ozzy and Iglesias said they'd raised more than enough money to see the Equestrian Project through, "and then some!" Osbourne bragged.
"We had talked about making this an annual event," Iglesias commented as he rushed to catch a late night flight to Miami where he spends every spare moment studying English, "but I think we made the Presidio people a little nervous. Maybe next Halloween we'll do this for the Mission."
Nov. 6, 1986