1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 188



Only Krnovel

188. Again, Summer of ’69 (12)

There is a large lake next to the road from the farm to the motel. Its name is White Lake. The water is as clean as its name suggests.

We tied our horses in the shade of a tree and took off our shoes and socks.

“Yay!”

with a splash.

Fearless Annie jumped into the water first.

“It’s not that deep here. Everyone, come in without worrying. It’s super cool, hahaha!”

Annie continued to back away, saying that the water only reached up to her chest.

“Ouch······!”

And then suddenly disappeared into the water.

“I knew you’d do that if you kept messing around with that stuff.”

In my past life, I served in the Navy’s Sea Salvage & Rescue Unit (SSU). I received training in diving, something that most people don’t know much about.

Humans can hold their breath longer than we think. They can hold it even longer underwater. They just can’t hold it because they don’t like the feeling.

I was planning to rescue Annie after teasing her a bit.

with a splash.

Jake jumped in without hesitation. No, he didn’t even like water.

A moment later, Jake emerged from the water with Annie slung over his shoulder.

The water was deep enough for Annie to submerge her head, but Jake could still see her face even when he stood on his feet. Jake lowered Annie safely out of the water.

“Inma, you surf so much, why haven’t you learned how to swim yet?”

“Ugh… You can surf even if you can’t swim. Just lie down on the board and paddle, and even if you fall into the water, you can just pull the rope tied to your leg and the board will be there.”

Angela chimed in, saying Annie was right.

“Didn’t you learn it from Hyun Sang Hyung?”

“That’s because Hyunsang Oppa is a bit of a nerd. He just shows us how to do it like this. He’s good at it, but we can’t do it even if we follow him like crazy.”

Well, then I guess I should show off my skills as a swimming pool instructor in my later years. There wasn’t a single trainee who didn’t pass the test under my guidance.

He sat the three of them down in a row under the shade of a tree and began the lecture. He had been making excuses about being busy and had only promised to teach them how to swim, but had not kept his word.

Today, I will definitely put the three of you on the water.

* * *

“James Choi, I recognize you as a genius instructor.”

Annie, who has a lung capacity far superior to that of the average person, was the first to learn the feeling.

“It’s really amazing. I can float like this even if I do it slowly and without strength.”

Angela quickly understood too.

“James, I like water now, haha.”

Even Jake, who didn’t like water, was impressed by my swimming technique.

As expected, the legendary assistant instructor of the rescue team’s swimming pool, Sergeant Choi Gon, is not dead yet.

Back at the motel, after washing up and eating dinner, the three of them talked about nothing but swimming.

“You probably couldn’t see well today because you didn’t have goggles, but if you had goggles, I wouldn’t have anything else to teach you. Now that you know the principles, you just need to do your individual training. Don’t forget to look out for each other in the water.”

“Okay, I understand!”

Annie stood up from her seat and gave a salute.

After I was discharged from the military, I used my experience to work as a swimming instructor. I could see most people with their lower bodies sinking and just kicking like crazy.

In the classes I teach, I explain the principle of lower body floatation, and people learn to swim smoothly and flexibly. They no longer need an instructor.

So I got cut.

The same was true for the guitar. Whether I was teaching at a school or giving private lessons, I taught the principles and helped students develop the ability to practice on their own.

So it got cut again.

“I remember playing at the Han River Beach. I became friends with Jake that day, haha.”

Annie excitedly told Angela the story of how she had fallen headfirst into Jake’s boat and passed out.

“Oh, I’m really sorry about that time. I was so surprised······.”

“No, Jake. It wasn’t your fault. Annie, that bastard climbed on my back and I was trying to get her to drink water, haha.”

“The sunset over White Lake today was beautiful, but I really miss the Han River back then.”

We visited the Hangang River again when we entered Korea for Kevin and Stella’s wedding, but unfortunately, that was the last time we went to Hangang River Beach.

“That’s right. The sunset I saw while floating on the Han River was the best. James even named our band back then. Yoonseul.”

“Yunseul?”

Angela imitated Annie’s Korean with poor pronunciation.

“Sparkling ripple is Yunseul in Korean.”

“Yunseul······Your pronunciation is really pretty.”

After dinner, we sat around the campfire and drank beer while telling Angela stories from her time as an entertainer in the 8th Army.

Our story also matured with the stars spinning in the night sky and the pleasant sound of the bells.

* * *

Michael Lang and John Scher took a helicopter ride to inspect the site once more, and then signed a contract with Dick Carter. John Scher’s funding, Michael Lang’s scouting skills, and finally the optimal location were decided.

The Woodstock business, which features three of the most important festivals, is also starting to come alive.

“Let’s begin the meeting.”

Michael and John were co-producers.

“The spirit of Woodstock is freedom, peace, and love. We must never forget this basic spirit. That’s why, instead of police officers with guns, we are going to have a ‘peace patrol.’ Instead of guns and uniforms, we will wear white hats and yellow T-shirts. These are the colors of peace that everyone likes.”

Michael Lang did not want any government influence, interference, or police intervention in the festival, believing that people would not be able to truly enjoy freedom if the controls were too strict.

“We will hire young people. August is the summer vacation for all students. They will be paid a daily wage and can participate in the festival, which will give them a sense of pride in the event.”

John Schere was a man of quick calculations. When he first heard the idea of ​​a ‘peace patrol’ from Michael Lang, he thought it would be a much cheaper way to do it than a security company, while still giving a good social image.

“The design team, please put the words ‘Peace Patrol, Woodstock ’71’ on the back in yellow, and add some daisies. We’ll go into production as soon as we get the design.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And the publicity team, please place newspaper advertisements so that not only EMTV but also youths all over the country can apply.”

“all right.”

The meeting proceeded at a rapid pace.

“You also recruited the black band I mentioned before?”

“Yes, we’ve recruited them. And because Killing Machine’s response has been so good, black rappers are currently sending us a lot of demo tapes.”

“I will listen to it myself after the meeting is over.”

Michael Lang felt it at the Sunset Strip street festival last December. James Choi’s motorcade was a mix of all races.

He felt that although racism would be difficult to eradicate, including black musicians in the lineup would show that Woodstock was not a white-dominated event.

While Michael Lange led a meeting about scoping artists, John Scher scribbled furiously in his notebook and tapped away on his calculator in his head.

“Once the agenda for external affairs is finalized, I will tell you about the most important matter.”

John Shea looked determined.

“It’s a festival of freedom, peace, and love, but it’s also a business to make money. Since we invest a huge amount of money in a three-day event, we have to entertain people and make a lot of money. So the revenue model that I came up with was······.”

John Scher had already built a huge company called Metropolis through his own efforts. Michael completely respected John’s business model and decided to leave everything up to him.

* * *

With funding, location, and artist selection all decided, the most important things were hygiene and safety.

Most outdoor festival sites had makeshift toilets made of iron pipes and tents. The ones with partitions were the best, and there were many places where people had to face each other to do their business. All they had was a toilet lid on top of a plastic paint can. Naturally, there were bugs everywhere and the stench was overwhelming.

We invested a huge amount of money to build a large public restroom. If it were a rented venue for an event, it would be impossible, but this farm was the place where we would continue to hold festivals. We thought it was only natural to invest.

We will also hire enough cleaning staff to keep the place clean for three days. August is the summer vacation for teenagers. If we advertise for help not only on KMTV but also in newspapers and magazines, students who do not have money to buy tickets will be able to participate in the festival with decent pay and accommodation.

The second is the safety of the audience.

Kevin Hyung hired a security company that he was introduced to by General Frank Abrams to provide artist and stage security. However, to control tens of thousands of audience members, he needed far more security personnel.

“Gona, I’ve already asked the New York State Police for their cooperation, but I don’t know how much support they’ll give.”

“Jake said he’d ask his big brother for advice, so let’s wait a little longer. If it doesn’t work out, we can just reduce the number of visitors. We decided to take a long-term view.”

“Yeah. I’ll just print about 30,000 commemorative T-shirts for now. If there’s not enough, I’ll produce more then, and if there’s any leftover… I’ll donate them, haha.”

It is a festival of freedom, love, and peace. We did not intend to make money from the event itself. Even if we charge admission fees for the operating expenses, there would be nothing left for the company. However, the album and video containing the live performance will continue to make us a lot of money for a long time to come.

To do that, safety first, safety second, and safety third are important.

Considering only the sanitary facilities, it was thought that about 50,000 people could be accommodated, but this was a number that did not even take safety into account.

Yeah, let’s take it slow.

Scaling up is hard, but scaling down is easy.

“Brother, there was chaos in ’69 when there was a food shortage.”

“That’s right.”

“Just in case, let’s stock up on products with a long shelf life, like canned food, in our warehouse this time.”

“Devon is probably already taking stock.”

“As expected, it’s you, hyung, haha.”

And one more thing.

After the festival, Uncle Max was sued by his neighbors. They were restaurant owners who suffered huge losses due to the sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of hippies, blocking the roads and disrupting the distribution of food supplies.

Traffic will probably be quite congested this time, although not as much as it was then.

“What if we opened a pop-up store on the farm during the festival and let the restaurants in town sell their products? We’d provide the tent and promotion for free, but we’d ask them to lower their prices a little.”

“Hey, we could do business with Gon. It’s a really good idea. Obviously, if people flock to the farm, it’ll be hard to go out to buy food, and there’ll be chaos because of the traffic. The audience can get cheap food nearby, and the merchants can make a lot more money than usual. It’ll also improve the reputation of the area.”

Kevin and I meticulously planned it out, paying close attention to every detail.

dripping.

“Yes, please come in.”

Jake opened the door and came in. He must have run, judging by the way he was out of breath.

“Huk huk······. Hello······ Kevin. Phew, hello, James······.”

“What made you come running like that? Catch your breath and then talk to me.”

I poured Jake a glass of water.

“I got a call from my older brother.”

Looking at your face, it’s clear that this is good news.

“It would be difficult for the army to move unless there was an accident like the one at Altamont······.”

“That’s right. But the reserves are possible.”