Grok at Electric Pix of the bus and the pranksters.
Ken Kesey
September 17, 1935 - November 10, 2001
We all mourn the loss of "the Chief," but we remember all he has done in his wonderful life. The following quote from his close friend Ken Babbs was taken from IntrepidTrips.com:
"Kesey's belly was hurting and the docs did a scan and found a black spot on his liver. It was cancerous but encapsulated which meant there was no cancer anywhere else. They decided to cut it out and the surgery went okay. He had sixty percent of his liver left to carry the load but in one of those dirty tricks the body can play on you everything else went to hell and this morning at 3:45 AM his heart stopped beating.
A great good friend and great husband and father and grand dad, he will be sorely missed but if there is one thing he would want us to do it would be to carry on his life's work. Namely to treat others with kindness and if anyone does you dirt forgive that person right away. This goes beyond the art, the writing, the performances, even the bus. Right down to the bone."
-- Ken Babbs
May you forever be on the bus, Kesey! What a long, strange trip it's been...
This is the original "magical mystery tour" bus, used by the wonderful Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. They were the ones who started the entire psychedelic movement of the 1960's. Decked out in Day-Glo paint and groovy costumes, they kicked off the whole hippie generation with acid test. From this group also spawned the Grateful Dead, who invented acid rock. For more
information on this amazing group I strongly recommend the book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe, which is what got me hooked. Read on for "furthur" insight into this
influencial group.
The Pranksters were made famous for their acid tests, which were huge "happenings" in which the Pranksters and the audience would all participate in a night-long trip (the first raves perhaps?). Owsley's reputable LSD was provided free of charge for each acid test. Live music blasted from hundreds of mic's and amplifiers and reverb machines was provided by the Grateful Dead. Film projectors ran constantly, flashing colorful images of the Prankster's bus trip across the country and flowers and psychedelic-swirly-rainbow-trippy images and everything else imaginable. A continual light show of strobe lights and lasers was on constant display. The walls were covered with beautiful psychedelic patters of day-glo paint under black lights. The goal of these acid tests was to try and get everyone in the same "unspoken thing" groove, where all would experience the same miraculous trip and reach a higher level of consciousness, awareness, and mutual understanding.
Grok at Electric Pix of the bus and the pranksters.
Check out my Bohemia page for hippie art, music, bands, and poetry.
Learn everything you've ever wanted to know about the love generation at
The Wild Bohemian Home Page.
Visit Kesey and Babb's own site, Intrepid Trips Dot Com.
Sign Guestbook |
View Guestbook |
View old Guestbook
Plastic Soul
Grok at Electric Pix of the bus and the pranksters.
May you forever be on the bus, Kesey! What a long, strange trip it's been...
This is the original "magical mystery tour" bus, used by the wonderful Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. They were the ones who started the entire psychedelic movement of the 1960's. Decked out in Day-Glo paint and groovy costumes, they kicked off the whole hippie generation with acid test. From this group also spawned the Grateful Dead, who invented acid rock. For more information on this amazing group I strongly recommend the book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe, which is what got me hooked. Read on for "furthur" insight into this
influencial group.
The Pranksters were made famous for their acid tests, which were huge "happenings" in which the Pranksters and the audience would all participate in a night-long trip (the first raves perhaps?). Owsley's reputable LSD was provided free of charge for each acid test. Live music blasted from hundreds of mic's and amplifiers and reverb machines was provided by the Grateful Dead. Film projectors ran constantly, flashing colorful images of the Prankster's bus trip across the country and flowers and psychedelic-swirly-rainbow-trippy images and everything else imaginable. A continual light show of strobe lights and lasers was on constant display. The walls were covered with beautiful psychedelic patters of day-glo paint under black lights. The goal of these acid tests was to try and get everyone in the same "unspoken thing" groove, where all would experience the same miraculous trip and reach a higher level of consciousness, awareness, and mutual understanding.
Grok at Electric Pix of the bus and the pranksters.
Check out my Bohemia page for hippie art, music, bands, and poetry.
Learn everything you've ever wanted to know about the love generation at
The Wild Bohemian Home Page.
Visit Kesey and Babb's own site, Intrepid Trips Dot Com.
Sign Guestbook | View Guestbook | View old Guestbook Plastic Soul
