FD-32 Quicksilver Messenger Service 1966 Avalon Ballroom Concert Poster Graded 9.8. ...

Description

FD-32 Quicksilver Messenger Service 1966 Avalon Ballroom Concert Poster Graded 9.8. First-printing San Francisco concert poster for the Quicksilver Messenger Service, Blackburn & Snow and the Sons of Champlin playing at the Avalon Ballroom on Friday and Saturday nights, October 28 & 29, 1966. Known as FD-32 in the Family Dog numbered series, this poster was designed by Victor Moscoso and is nicknamed "The Chicken on the Unicycle." A very popular poster image... people just love that bird on a bike. Measuring 14 1/4" x 20", it's been graded a fried-hot 9.8 Near Mint/Mint by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company). COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: Quicksilver was always one of the Bay Area's most-loved jam bands, of course, with the twin-guitar attack of John Cipollina and Gary Duncan. The group had been together less than a year at this point, and would wait another full year before signing to Capitol Records.

Blackburn & Snow were a couple performing folk-rock music in the Bay Area since 1964. Jeff Blackburn and Sherry Snow resided in Berkeley and performed a lot at local clubs as well as the Fillmore, Avalon, Matrix and so forth. It's reported that Snow was considered as a replacement for Signe Anderson in the Jefferson Airplane, having friends in the band, but opted to stay with her lover.

The duo recorded two singles for Kingston Trio producer Frank Weber's Trident Productions; "Stranger in a Strange Land" was issued in December 1966 and is considered quite a nugget; and then "Time," written by David Crosby under an alias, was released in October '67. The pair performed at the KFRC Fantasy Faire and Magic Mountain Music Festival in Marin County in mid-'67. But the duo split that year and Snow joined Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks. Blackburn joined Moby Grape in the 1970's and then formed The Ducks, which supported Neil Young for a series of California gigs in 1977. He even co-wrote, as perhaps his biggest claim to fame, "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" with Young.

The Sons of Champlin were from Marin County just north of San Francisco, and featured front man Bill Champlin. Rather than a psychedelic band, they were more straight-ahead rock which featured horns and R&B influences. Early on they appeared on a few Marin County concert posters under their original name, The Opposite Six. Champlin would eventually turn solo in the late 70's and then join the huge rock group Chicago in 1981.

Also, it's a very minor point, but notice that CGC's grading strip says "Sons of Adam" incorrectly, instead of Sons of Champlin.


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