tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post2540072603624882628..comments2023-10-26T09:58:01.275-04:00Comments on The Bowery Boys: New York City History: Welcome to Cerebrum. Do you have a reservation?The Bowery Boys - Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15973633888975286268noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-26300100912830435692014-09-19T15:52:58.081-04:002014-09-19T15:52:58.081-04:00We were an "Environmental Studio of Participa...We were an "Environmental Studio of Participation." That was a label created to allow people to move along with the music because we couldn't get a "dance club" license. <br /><br />I think I was there everyday from opening until closing. I was called the "Head Guide" because I guided heads. People might remember me as "Larry with the beard" but they will definitely remember me as one half of "Larry & L.J." She was the beautiful blonde at the door most nights.<br />In addition to Hendrix we were visited by Ravi Shankar; most of the cast of Hair and Tom Paine, members of Janis' band and several others from the bands who played the Fillmore East. A famous and well connected young scion used to visit weekly and smoke opium while the fog filled the room. Joel Grey complimented me on my dancing and asked me who I studied with.<br />(Anybody remember our weekly salary amount; or the closing bonus before we all went off to Woodstock or elsewhere? How about the company dinners in Chinatown?)<br />It'so exciting to see folks here... Katy and Hank and Bart (whom I've corresponded with over the past few years. I think about Sky Blue often... and "Zitch" and lots of other and some of the places I stayed on Sullivan street. Betty Resch and I are facebook friends. Ruffin's apartment was exceedingly glamorous compared to the low end places most of the rest of us lived... and I spent some time there before his famous roommate walked in on us and showed us the door. I also stayed with John Brown for awhile the next year and house sat for Bob-Jack in the late fall.<br />Yes, Ruffin Cooper Jr. was the well know photographer who passed away in 1992.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15782898628699367816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-56906753375390095942014-08-11T01:35:54.273-04:002014-08-11T01:35:54.273-04:00I was involved in Cerebrum but am probably not rem...I was involved in Cerebrum but am probably not remembered much even though I essentially ran the place in the partners names for most of the five months after the opening month's excitement. But I sorta lived there. Well, not sorta... I camped out in the basement for about four months when I had a falling out with my roommate. <br /><br />There are a lot of fuzzy memories in this thread. Fleas in the robes? I spent almost every day of seven months with the "partners" (Ruffin, Bob-Jack, John) and never heard that one. We didn't send the robes out, we walked them over to a laundromat in a duffel bag and washed and dried them every morning, ourselves. Da Boyz would've never had access to them. Nice urban legend in the making, though.<br /><br />Ruffin wasn't living in a "basement apartment" on West End, but a very nice "street level" apartment. I know, I tried to take over the lease when he was taking off to hang with Wavy Gravy for a while (if you ever see a virtually unknown film called The Great Medicine Ball Caravan, Ruffin's in a scene when the "caravan" hit Taos, I think it was). <br /><br />A lot of the "confusion" on some of these points stems from the fallibility of human memory. We all remember things through different filters and constant repetition (and it is constant - for those of us who were involved) makes that coffee shop discussion version more real in our memories. But a lot of the differing impressions are because of the way the place came into being and then existed. There was a strong coterie of creative/artistic types in the beginning, but once the place got going the day to day operations were left to the lowly paid "volunteers". One or another of the partners would generally show up of an evening, we'd spend ten minutes bitching about how little we took in that night (or occasionally oohing over the rare decent night), and we'd go up to one of the booths and play with the equipment for a while. The "mixer" was whomever felt like doing it that night, but John G. Brown got dibs any time he was present. The visuals were also John's doing for a large part. But "in the beginning" they were hand painted/masked slides, all coordinated and themed and scripted. By the third month it was people playing with the klieg lights on the master board and an occasional attempt at coordinating things into an "environment". (Remember the plug line, anyone.... "Environmental Participatory Entertainment". We were full of ourselves, weren't we?) For most of the place's existence it was mood lighting coordinated to go with the music and the music was anything that that night's "mixer" wanted to put on. <br /><br />Can anyone confirm that Ruffin Alcorn Cooper who passed away in California in '92 was "our" Ruffin? <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-6537526771518955982014-04-01T12:59:12.677-04:002014-04-01T12:59:12.677-04:00I Went to Princeton with John Storyk. He graduated...I Went to Princeton with John Storyk. He graduated before me and moved to the Village with his new bride, Geraldine. They called me up and asked if I would like to spend a couple weekends with them working on this nightclub project they were doing. I did and was there for the opening. It was unforgettable to say the least!FEMIVnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-12202759368302235612013-09-16T13:19:16.960-04:002013-09-16T13:19:16.960-04:00Hi I went to work at Cerebrum shortly after it ope...Hi I went to work at Cerebrum shortly after it opened for a couple of months or more...My friend Alan Sperl was inventing some interesting psychedelic art toys fro the club...I stayed with him and John Brown on Prince St. I believe it was...later I also stayed at Ruffin Cooper's basement apartment on West End Ave....My interview consisted of tripping with the founding fathers of Cerebrum a couple of days after arriving at Alan and John's place...it was a blast...a very fond memory indeed....Hi John, Richard, Bob...and to Ruffin in the celestial sphere....and to all the lovely interesting people I met and worked with during that short part of my fun filled life...Love and Hugs...JaniiJaniihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04523766192016404020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-5566244322200546832013-09-16T13:17:10.464-04:002013-09-16T13:17:10.464-04:00Hi I went to work at Cerebrum shortly after it ope...Hi I went to work at Cerebrum shortly after it opened for a couple of months or more...My friend Alan Sperl was inventing some interesting psychedelic art toys fro the club...I stayed with him and John Brown on Prince St. I believe it was...later I also stayed at Ruffin Cooper's basement apartment on West End Ave....My interview consisted of tripping with the founding fathers of Cerebrum a couple of days after arriving at Alan and John's place...it was a blast...a very fond memory indeed....Hi John, Richard, Bob...and to Ruffin in the celestial sphere....and to all the lovely interesting people I met and worked with during that short part of my fun filled life...Love and Hugs...JaniiJaniihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04523766192016404020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-69315095272737069902013-05-04T02:53:02.612-04:002013-05-04T02:53:02.612-04:00I attended Cerebrum once. I was from NJ and poor, ...I attended Cerebrum once. I was from NJ and poor, had to save up for the experience (gas, tolls, admission, etc), so glad I did. A wonderful evening. At one point I was walked up to the front where other attendees were encouraged to start wrapping me in aluminum foil from my ankles to the top of my head, being careful around my nose so I could easily breathe. When the wrapping was completed I couldn't budge and had to be supported from falling over! Then someone shouted "free Bob"! What felt like hundreds of hands started ripping piece after piece of the foil off of me, until indeed I was "free". A fun, collective experience!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-15083146605862107772012-07-13T15:13:45.464-04:002012-07-13T15:13:45.464-04:00Hello David,
I work for a record company dedicate...Hello David,<br /><br />I work for a record company dedicated to reissue obscure psychedelic and progressive music from the 60s-70s. If you got unreleased music from Ruffin Cooper's New World Sound Machine or anything releated to the Cerebrum club, please get in touch<br /><br />All the best<br />Alexalex chttp://www.guerssen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-6031172985505682312012-01-26T23:53:38.070-05:002012-01-26T23:53:38.070-05:00We only spent $8,000.00 of JB's money to build...We only spent $8,000.00 of JB's money to build the place. Yes, many happy memories. signed Hank Brannmoondoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04300436451834754488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-32496709994204349292012-01-26T23:49:49.078-05:002012-01-26T23:49:49.078-05:00Katy, Moondog is hank(now henry)brannKaty, Moondog is hank(now henry)brannmoondoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04300436451834754488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-73547252346105554742012-01-26T23:22:26.397-05:002012-01-26T23:22:26.397-05:00Hi Katy, Yes, it coulda been the robes or as I lik...Hi Katy, Yes, it coulda been the robes or as I like to think of them, 'diaphanous gowns'. Such a trip, discovering this site. I've been talking about Cerebrum for years and sometimes I wonder if it really happened. I was one of the '3 superguys and 3 supergirls" who answered Ruffin's ad for same in the Times or was it the Voice? Do you remember his silver space suit? So many memories of that place. If you can't place me by name, I stayed with Alan of Lafayette St. and cooked those Friday night spaghetti dinners up there. Speaking of diaphanous, do you remember Gerri?, John Storyk's wife - - -OMG. Any word on Sky Blue? That's it for now, from Philadelphia. . .Hank Brannmoondoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04300436451834754488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-29140957738048243542012-01-26T22:44:58.930-05:002012-01-26T22:44:58.930-05:00For years, I've been hearing Henry Brann tell ...For years, I've been hearing Henry Brann tell stories about Cerebrum. Great to find this post!Robin Palleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03068140694312570330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-73694076770384735302012-01-26T22:44:18.316-05:002012-01-26T22:44:18.316-05:00I've been listening to Henry Brann's stori...I've been listening to Henry Brann's stories of Cerebrum for years..finally turned to Google to learn more. Great to find this....Robin Palleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03068140694312570330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-154853838891177692011-09-04T00:42:58.054-04:002011-09-04T00:42:58.054-04:00Great to read this post. I was on Broome Street to...Great to read this post. I was on Broome Street today looking for a knitting store. Memories of Cerebrum came to mind and it was great to see that it is on the internet. I remember getting into the white sheets and playing with a child's toy. It was a lighted thing with colored pegs that you placed into holes to make a design. I held it up to my face and thought I heard someone comment on that, watching me. I was 20. I don't remember an orgy, perhaps I went on an off night. Now, I knit, drink herbal tea and have cats. Everything changes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-71148938757895886652010-10-23T22:17:23.110-04:002010-10-23T22:17:23.110-04:00As member of Ruffin Associates I designed the ligh...As member of Ruffin Associates I designed the lighting for Cerebrum. It was pre computers so it took 22 of us to light, project and guide the experience. Many happy memories. We closed in June of '69 mostly because we couldn't afford air conditioning.<br />Richard CurrieRichard Curriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00922605990180032964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-4359931701560829392010-09-16T15:09:57.538-04:002010-09-16T15:09:57.538-04:00I worked as a hostess at Cerebrum back then with m...I worked as a hostess at Cerebrum back then with my then boyfriend Sky Blue. I was a student at NYU at the time and one of my professors came in one evening.<br />I think I got an A after that. Could it have been the<br />see through robes?<br />Katy K, Nashville TNmistysteamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09193574476064844854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-6009199390452836972010-04-30T00:24:38.673-04:002010-04-30T00:24:38.673-04:00Mr. Randolph,
I am doing a research paper and stum...Mr. Randolph,<br />I am doing a research paper and stumbled across your comment on this article. The sources on Cerebrum are very interesting yet do not fully describe some of the topics I am hoping to address. <br /><br />Would it be possible to ask you a few questions about Cerebrum? If so, could you please email me at set1@rice.edu? It would be incredibly helpful if this were possible.<br /><br />Thank you very much,<br />SloaneUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638315363681311001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-73981029062763673142010-03-01T16:57:54.501-05:002010-03-01T16:57:54.501-05:00Hi
The idea for Cerebrum came out of my loft at 1...Hi<br /><br />The idea for Cerebrum came out of my loft at 18 Wooster Street, above the theatre where Dionysius in 69 played where I did light and sound shows. We had come back from a musical event in Omaha..'Ruffin Cooper's New World Sound Machine' (Ruffin Cooper, Bob Jack Callejo, John Brown, Jeff Rudnick and myself) and we thought we should take it public. We had shops on 6th Avenue by O'Henry's Steak house and on Canal street which financed it. The mob did try to heavy hand us but didn't get in as a friend of ours was a don. They even went so far as to seed some of the robes one night with fleas....<br />It's refreshing to hear that it gave enjoyment to <br />some people.<br /><br />David Randolph<br />London EnglandAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-59127407090769352302009-12-06T20:05:38.346-05:002009-12-06T20:05:38.346-05:00I really doubt that this place was "mob relat...I really doubt that this place was "mob related". Since there was no alcohol or cigarette machines, the mob wouldn't have been interested in making money off the admission of a couple of bucks from a few dozen people.<br /><br />The mob was involved in more traditional discos at the time.JaneDoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12909942811785295129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-28994381079739701882009-12-04T16:18:03.705-05:002009-12-04T16:18:03.705-05:00Wow! Impressive research there. A while back som...Wow! Impressive research there. A while back someone asked me if I knew anything about a club where the patrons had to change into white robes and I didn't know what to tell them...dis must be de place!!! Those orbs remind me more of Rover in "The Prisoner." Cerebrum might've been a little too arty-farty for my taste had I been alive back then, but I'm still digging the concept.Signed D.C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11154056194616535241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5206380617235471991.post-14160480078382503702009-12-04T13:37:26.367-05:002009-12-04T13:37:26.367-05:00Great Post! Kind of hard to picture the same Jimi ...Great Post! Kind of hard to picture the same Jimi Hendrix from the Monterey Pop Fest. at Cerebrum. The Clubbers in the video playing with that large grey Baloon/Ball remind me more of the Orb scene in Woody Allen's Sleeper.Do you think this was the same crowd that would frequent Plato's Retreat on a Friday night a decade later? <br /><br />BTW I've been following and enjoying your stuff on Networked Blogs and also write about NY History @ http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/family_archive/Harryhttp://cityvoice.typepad.com/family_archive/noreply@blogger.com