1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,040 Speaker 1: This episode has brought to you an I Heeart three 2 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: D audio for maximum effect. Headphones are recommended. The seven 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: Club is a production of I Heart Radio and Double Elvis. 4 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: Janice Joplin died at the age of and she lived 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: the life that didn't always turn out the way she 6 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: thought it would. I can give you twenty seven reasons 7 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: why that statement is true. Sixteen would be the age 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: she was when she first discovered a world outside of 9 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: her segregated, white picket fence hometown, a world of gambling clubs, 10 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: wild bars, and strip joints, places where kids her age 11 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: simply didn't go. Another one would be the number of 12 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: secret surveillance files her name will be found on at 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: the University of Texas, unknown to her or any of 14 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: the other students, targeted for everything from long hair to 15 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: sympathizing with communists. One more would be the number of 16 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: breakout folk music stars she would have a serendipitous encounter 17 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: with at the inaugural Monterey Folk Festival, where she won 18 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: an open mic contest. Another four would be the number 19 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: of months she'd spend in New York City, haunting bars 20 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: and hustling pool in the Lower East Side in order 21 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: to fund a runaway speed habit. In five would be 22 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: the number of years she had left to live after 23 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: she woke up from the misery of a drunk detox, 24 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: only to find that the people she thought she knew 25 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: had been playing her all along. On this our fifth 26 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: episode of season three Secret Surveillance File Serendipity in Janice 27 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: Joplin Walking a winding Path to Liberation, I'm Jake Brennan. 28 00:01:33,280 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: In This is the Clock, Austin, Texas, Powell st. John 29 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: was walking down to Asis Street when he heard the 30 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: sound again. It idled a short distance behind him, the 31 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:28,399 Speaker 1: low harm of an engine at rest, punctuated every ten 32 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: seconds or so by a gradual rise in tone, the 33 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: soft purr becoming a growl each time the vehicle crept 34 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: up to keep pace. Powell kept walking. He tried to 35 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 1: not let it be known that he knew the car 36 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: was there. He turned his head slightly in order to 37 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: confirm that his imagination wasn't playing tricks on him in 38 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: the hot Austin sun, and Powell came to an intersection, 39 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: waited for the light to change while his palms sweat. 40 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: He waited to hear the doors of a car slowly 41 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: opened behind him, to hear the quick story of a 42 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: few pairs of feet on the fault, to feel the 43 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: calloused hands of nameless men grabbed him by the arms, 44 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: while another hand clasped tight around his mouth. To struggle 45 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: helplessly as his body was dragged backwards and stuffed into 46 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: the back seat, sandwiched in between more nameless men en 47 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: route to an unknown fate. But there was no door, 48 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: no feet, no arms. Powell clenched his fists. When the 49 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: traffic light finally changed, Powle exhaled deeply and began to 50 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: make his way across the street. It had become a 51 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: familiar presence, this unmarked royal blue oldsmobile that trailed behind 52 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: him wherever he went, didn't matter what day it was 53 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: or what he was doing. He was going to meet 54 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: a friend, He's going to play a gig, he was 55 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: going out for a stroll and a long toke on 56 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: a wicked joint. Within minutes, he would hear it. He 57 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: got to know the very sound of the engine, the 58 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: timber of it. He started hearing it everywhere. At night, 59 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: he would hear the oldsmobiles rumble in his head when 60 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: he was trying to fall asleep. He would jump out 61 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: of bed, part the curtains and look at the window 62 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: in nothing. The next day he'd be back on the 63 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: sidewalk and the sound of his heels clicking rhythmically against 64 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: the pavement, and soon the rumble of the car was there, 65 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: accenting the sound of his own feet. It's like clockwork. 66 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: Powell couldn't be too careful, nobody could. You never knew 67 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 1: living that beat Nick Austin lifestyle and conservative Texas, what 68 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: kind of trouble would come looking for you? For Powell, 69 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: trouble included a pack of University of Texas jocks that 70 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: jumped him and beat on him because of the way 71 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: he looked, the people he hung out with, and the 72 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: songs he sang. It was soon after that beat down 73 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: that Powell started to sense the omnipresent car that seemed 74 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: to tail him everywhere. And on this particular day, Powell 75 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 1: was on his way back to the ghetto. That's what 76 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: everyone called the apartment complex at two eight one two 77 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: and a half maces where his friend and bandmate Janis 78 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: Joplin lived. A ut student could get a place real 79 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: cheap at the ghetto for just forty bucks a month. 80 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: You had yourself a glorified closet. The ghetto is home 81 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: to others like Janis and pop musicians, poets, artists, activists. 82 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: Friends came and went. Parties happened day and night, and 83 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: they talked about music, talked about art. They talked about 84 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: the university in Texas and the government and the rabble 85 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: rousing nature of the place. Put everyone there under the 86 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: watchful live, not just the University of Texas, but of 87 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: the US government. Pence seals will be able loitering behind 88 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: Powell at a safe distance. It was more than cars, 89 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: and there were files, files in the offices of high 90 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: ranking officials. Janis's name was one of over sixty names 91 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: and a file in the Dean's office at the University 92 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: of Texas at Austin. It was simply marked Ghetto. The 93 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: files contents who are more than names addresses in college majors. 94 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: The file was textbook mccarthierra Bunk for the New Day, 95 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: Full of Paranoia, hearsay and slander. Which kids were thought 96 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: to have excessively long hair, which kids were thought to 97 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: sympathize with the Commies, which kids were thought to have 98 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: mental issues, which kids were thought to be promiscuous, which 99 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: kids were thought to be homosexual, which kids were thought 100 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: to play the role of ringleader. The ghetto was under 101 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: heavy surveillance, but no one living there had any idea 102 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: except Powell. Powell knew something was up, but he was 103 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 1: too paranoid to tell anyone about it. He thought they 104 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 1: would all think he was insane. Well, Janice wouldn't think, 105 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: so he could trust Janice. He just had to find 106 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: a good moment to get her alone and let her 107 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: know all about the mysterious automobile and the authoritarian microscope 108 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 1: under which they were all living, and if he was 109 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: right about the inevitable life changing bust that was surely 110 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: going to come down on their little utopian ghetto one 111 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 1: of these days. Powell and Janice played together in a 112 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: local group called the Waller Creek Boys. Pawel played harmonica, 113 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,679 Speaker 1: Janice sang and played her autoharp, and a third member, 114 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: Lonnie Wiggins, played guitar. They wasn't heavy on the old 115 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 1: timey vibe, with covers of songs like Louis Armstrong, St. James, 116 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,160 Speaker 1: Infirmary Blues and Kitty Wells. As it wasn't God who 117 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: made hockey talk Angels. They played in places like Thread Gills, 118 00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 1: a beer joint on North Lamarble of Art that hosted 119 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: who Nanny's on Wednesday nights. At those gigs, Janis's voice 120 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: sounded like it was coming directly from a scratchy old 121 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: seventy eight on Okay records. Janis enjoyed performing with the 122 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: Waller Creek Boys, but she was oblivious to everything else 123 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: that was going on around her. It was nineteen sixty 124 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: two and she had recently returned from her brief stint 125 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: in California that included formative time spent on Venice Beach, 126 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: only to wind up back where she didn't want to 127 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: be at school in Texas. It was Austin at least, 128 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,679 Speaker 1: and this time she was studying as an art major, 129 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: not some zombie brain key punch bullshit. But regardless of major, 130 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: higher education still didn't suit Janis all that well, didn't 131 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: suit her at all. Really. She had a big appetite 132 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: for singing, for drinking, for the biblical companionship of men 133 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: and women alike, and she later said about her time 134 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: at UT all I did in Austin was be wild, drink, 135 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: constantly fucked people saying, and generally made a name for myself. 136 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: She kept herself inebriated enough that she didn't care if 137 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: they called her a slut or a beaten it, or 138 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: a freak or a lesbian or whatever supposed it hadcendiary label. 139 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: One of the Longhorn jocks felt was the Slam Dunk 140 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: put down, but the Ugliest Man on Campus contest. That 141 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: one she actually cared about. That one her. That was 142 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: the last straw. Someone entered her anonymously and the Ugliest 143 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: Man on Campus contest at the University of Texas, The 144 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: Ugliest Man There are pictures and flyers scattered throughout campus. 145 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: Even worse than being entered was when they announced the winner. 146 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: It was Janice. She joked around and told everyone that 147 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: she had entered it herself as a goof that she 148 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: didn't care. She didn't enter herself in the contest, and 149 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: she did care. It destroyed her for comfort. Her mind 150 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: turned to California, to Venice Beach, to a place where 151 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: no one knew her name, a place that was far out, 152 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:00,199 Speaker 1: a place that welcomed her for her fuck college, fuck 153 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,319 Speaker 1: the Ugliest Man in contest, in fuck Texas. She was 154 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: going back to California, and this time she wouldn't be 155 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: back so soon. Paul will never get a chance to 156 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: confide in her. He wanted a warner, warner about people 157 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:15,480 Speaker 1: who weren't who they said they were, a warner about 158 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: the grass and only seemed to be greener on the 159 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 1: other side. Before Paul had that chance, Janice skipped final 160 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: exams and dropped out, and the Waller Creek Boys played 161 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: a farewell show at thread Gills on Janice's twentieth birthday. 162 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: And then she and her friend chat Helm stood on 163 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: the side of the road and Austin and thumbed at 164 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: any car that passed by. Chat was a civil rights 165 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: advocate who love peyote in Ornette Coleman. Like Janice, he 166 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: was also a fellow ut dropout with a desire to 167 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: head west. Eventually, a car pulled over and Janis and 168 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: chat hopped in the backseat. First they dropped out of school, 169 00:09:53,240 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 1: Now they dropped out of Texas. Janice Choplin stopped dead 170 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: in her tracks in the middle of the Monterey Folk 171 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: Festival fair grounds. Her head was swimming, and that would 172 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 1: be the red wine. Her pulse was racing, and that 173 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: would be the purple hearts. She couldn't believe what she 174 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: was seeing. Suddenly her head went from doing a back 175 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: stroke to a frantic dog paddle. She could feel her 176 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: pulse in every extremity. It was Bob Dylan in the flesh. 177 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,840 Speaker 1: He was walking towards her, just be lining across the 178 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:50,679 Speaker 1: grass at the idyllic Seaside City. She was an unknown 179 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: talent show winner and he was. He was the Bob Dylan. 180 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,520 Speaker 1: There he was approaching her quickly with the New Yorker's 181 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: determined stride, probably a New Yorker's determ her in skepticism too. 182 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: It was a Sunday in May, in the inaugural year 183 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: the Monterey Folk Festival was winding down, and the weekend 184 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: featured performances by Doc Watson, the Weavers, Peter Paul and Mary, 185 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,719 Speaker 1: Joan Biez, and Bob Dylan. Only one LP to his 186 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,199 Speaker 1: name and already a legend. His second record, The Freewheel 187 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: and Bob Dylan, was just days away from release. Janice 188 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 1: was one of the winners of the open mic contest 189 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,560 Speaker 1: on Saturday morning at the festival, which gave her tickets 190 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:32,559 Speaker 1: to watch the rest of the festival, including Dylan's performance 191 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: on Saturday evening. It was the first time she'd ever 192 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: seen him perform live, and the red wine Purple Hearts 193 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: combo had proven to be a hindrance to her performances 194 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,600 Speaker 1: as late. She forgot lyrics, miss notes, sometimes missed entire gigs. 195 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: But not this weekend. This weekend she had nailed it. 196 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: She played some of her signature blue songs Trouble in Mind, 197 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:56,679 Speaker 1: Nobody Knows You when You're down and out. She sang 198 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: them with her well worn, gravelly voice, wise beyond its tears. 199 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: She sang them as if she had lived every single word. 200 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: She impressed the judges enough to taste victory that weekend. 201 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 1: Now she was tasting the purple pills she had put 202 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: on her tongue that day, and the cheap red wine 203 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,320 Speaker 1: she washed them down with. Deximil was all the rage 204 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: and in phetamine barbiti with combo that was a favorite 205 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,959 Speaker 1: of mods overseas and urban bohemian state side kids ate 206 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: them like they were penny candy, fucking Winston Churchill pop 207 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: Purple Hearts for Christ's sakes, and they'd be banned within 208 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,680 Speaker 1: a year. Janice ran her tongue around in her mouth, 209 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: trying to cast out the lingering taste. She worried that 210 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: her tongue was swong a side effect from the pillow 211 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: or the wine, or maybe the combination of the two 212 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:41,680 Speaker 1: of them. At least she thought it was swollen. She 213 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: couldn't risk a swollen tongue when she was about to 214 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,440 Speaker 1: talk to one of her ridols, because she was talking 215 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:50,560 Speaker 1: to Bob Dylan, that was for damn sure. Watching Dylan 216 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: play a short set the night before, she imagined that 217 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 1: it was her standing next to him on stage, not 218 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: Joan Bias, not that Janice wanted to be Joan Bias. Clearly, 219 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: the two sounded nothing alike and came from completely different 220 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 1: schools of thought. One was diamonds and rust and the 221 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: other was balls and chains. Joan and Dylan sang together 222 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: on with God on her side that night, and Janice 223 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: closed her eyes tight, clenched the hand of her friend 224 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: Jay Whittaker in her own hand, and imagine what it 225 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 1: would sound like if she Janice was harmonizing. Her voice 226 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: was rough, hard as nails. She was Bessie Smith to 227 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 1: Dylan's woody Guthrie. Joan was too flowery, too timid, too safe. 228 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: She belonged in a coffee house somewhere. Joan was cappuccino music, 229 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,959 Speaker 1: not big time Monterey Festival music in her mind. Janice 230 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: pushed Joan right out of the way took her place 231 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: next to Dylon. It was her turn her time now. 232 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: As Dylon got within earshot of Janis and her friend 233 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:48,080 Speaker 1: Jay on the festival grounds, Janice wasted no time. She 234 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: clenched Jay's hand tighter and pulled her along so that 235 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: they wound up directly in Dylan's path. Hey, man, she shared, 236 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,480 Speaker 1: I'm Janice Joplin, I sang here yesterday, and I'm gonna 237 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: be famous too, man, just like you. Dylan stopped and 238 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: looked at Janis in the eyes. His stair was deep 239 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: but calm. He smiled and he laughed. Yet, Dylan said, 240 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: pausing for a moment to suck on the end of 241 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 1: his sour smelling cigarette, We're all going to be famous. 242 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: Dylan kept walking. Janice was star struck. Jay couldn't believe 243 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:20,720 Speaker 1: that Dylan wasn't an eighty year old man, which is 244 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: what he sounded like on that one record. Jay and 245 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: Janice listened to Dylan's LP at Jay's house when Janice 246 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: wasn't spending Bessie Smith records. Jay and Janice were inseparable 247 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: for the most part, Janice met Jay one night at 248 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 1: the Anxious Asp. She was leaning against the bar, short stature, 249 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: short hair, African American and ragyn is sweet, funny. Janie 250 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: had a hard time not crushing on her, and they 251 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: played pool sang along to some Bobby Blue Bland that 252 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: was coming from the jukebox in the corner. She found 253 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: out that Ja was four years or senior and that 254 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: she had recently split with the girlfriend she moved to 255 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: San Francisco with. Within a few months, Janis had moved 256 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: in with Ja. From an early age, Janice liked boys 257 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 1: and girls. She was bisexual at a time when it 258 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: wasn't just taboo, it was illegal, but Jannis didn't fear much, 259 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: especially that which prevented her from doing what she wanted. 260 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: She would like who she liked, love who she loved, 261 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: and crushed on men and women equally, but she knew 262 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: that not everyone was already to wait as such open 263 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 1: expressions of love as she was. In the spring of 264 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty two, Janice tested the social waters of a 265 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: same sex relationship when she kissed her friend Patty McQueen 266 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,480 Speaker 1: at a basement party at Patty's house, and they had 267 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: a captive audience, which eventually included Patty's husband, Dave, who 268 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: walked in on the two mid kiss after working the 269 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: late shift. Like many red blooded conservative Texas males in 270 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: the early sixties, Dave thought he had witnessed an abomination. 271 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: He proceeded to drink heavily, and then, once he was 272 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: ship faced, he threw a bottle at Patty, who was 273 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: passed out, and the bottle missed Patty and hit another 274 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: party guest, Jack Smith, square in the mouth knocked his 275 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: front teeth right now. There was blood everywhere. Patty screamed 276 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 1: bolton shock at Jack's busted face and also at her 277 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: husband's bubbling rage. Jack frantically searched the floor in vain 278 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 1: for his teeth, and Janice ended the evening by driving 279 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,840 Speaker 1: Jack to a hospital. It was incidents like those that 280 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 1: prevented Janice from living all aspects of her life out 281 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: in the open. So Janice kept a relationship with Jay 282 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: on the download when she needed to. She had learned 283 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: through experience how to slip things under the radar, how 284 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: to achieve the freedom to be who you wanted to 285 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: be without letting the rest of the town know about it. Then, 286 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: although San Francisco was the most tallerant city she had 287 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 1: lived in to date, and San Francisco for sure wasn't Texas. 288 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: But old habits die hard. But Jay wondered if it 289 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: was more than that, more than just Janice being careful. 290 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: Janice told Jay that she loved her. Janice gave her 291 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: a piece of her heart, but it was just a piece, 292 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: It wasn't the whole thing. And Jay wondered if Janice 293 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 1: was incapable of true commitment, or if she was incapable 294 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: of committing to the same sex relationship. She talked to talk, 295 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 1: but she didn't always walk the walk. Jay had been 296 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: around plenty of part time lesbians in her day, and 297 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,439 Speaker 1: the more she was around Janie, the more she pegged 298 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: her as the same sex tourist. And then there was 299 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,639 Speaker 1: Janie's erratic behavior. She would disappear for a day or 300 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,960 Speaker 1: two at a time. She'd run off with friends or 301 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,919 Speaker 1: with people she had just met. She'd hitchhike, she wouldn't 302 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: give a reason for leaving, no heads up, no I'll 303 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: be back, And then she was just scoring dope on 304 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 1: her own all of a sudden, scoring dope with new 305 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: friends that she was making and Jay didn't know if 306 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: they were exclusive, like Janie had said. She started to 307 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,199 Speaker 1: wonder if Janice was being honest with her, if they 308 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: were a long term thing. And then one day Janice left, left, left, 309 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: she left Jay, and then she put down some money 310 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 1: for a cheap used car and left for New York City. 311 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 1: She wouldn't be back for four months. We'll be right 312 00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 1: back after this word word word, June, New York City. 313 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: The pool table had seen better days. The green felt 314 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: was scuffed and stained. It was like looking at spots 315 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: on a green Dalmatian. And there were the old beer 316 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 1: spots spilled from a pint in someone's careless hand while 317 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: getting too close to the action. There were the blood 318 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: spots from one Johnny pocket. Palladino had the nosebleed midshot 319 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: that one time his nose bled because some guy he 320 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: hustled cracked him over the back of the head with 321 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: his pool queue. But still a nosebleeds a nose bleed. 322 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 1: And then there were the burn marks from the cigarettes 323 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,399 Speaker 1: that had been stubbed out by hustlers who were poised 324 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:41,680 Speaker 1: to take their shot, but it also happened to reach 325 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:43,880 Speaker 1: the end of their smoke. It was easier to stay 326 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 1: in position and squish it out on the table than 327 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 1: to stand up and ruin the sweet set up. Janice 328 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: Joplin had never really seen a pristine pool table in 329 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: her twenty one years. It made no difference to her 330 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: if the thing was spotless or not. All she cared 331 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: about is whether the table was flat or not. And 332 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: i this moment, in this particular New York City bar 333 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 1: on the Lower east Side, Janice needed to bank the shot. 334 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: She had ten bucks riding on it, and that ten 335 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: bucks meant another score. She needed to get high, needed 336 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,240 Speaker 1: to land some more speed. She'd swallow and snorted. Shoot, 337 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 1: it didn't matter how it came, She just had to 338 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,640 Speaker 1: have it. She leaned over the table, closed one eye 339 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 1: and pulled back on the queue. A fat man nursing 340 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:26,199 Speaker 1: her perps whistled at her mid pose. Janice thought for 341 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: a minute about breaking her concentration, standing up straight, walking 342 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 1: over to the fat man with long queue and both hands, 343 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: and smashing it straight against this asshole, smug face. That 344 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:37,919 Speaker 1: would make her feel a million percent better. In the moment, 345 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 1: she miss out on what she really wanted. She had 346 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,440 Speaker 1: to stay focused, so she ignored him, ignored the other 347 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,960 Speaker 1: stairs that she knew were coming her way, from men 348 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 1: and women alike, some stairs like daggers and others like lust. 349 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:53,719 Speaker 1: She let fly on the queue, and the ball went 350 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 1: exactly where she wanted it to go. She turned around 351 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:59,200 Speaker 1: to face her opponent. Pay up man, she said, out 352 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: loud for the whole place to hear, laughing that big, 353 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 1: generous laugh of hers. Her empty hand was outstretched in 354 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,159 Speaker 1: front of her opponent, ready to receive cold, hard cash 355 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 1: that she would immediately turn into a warm, hard high. 356 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: This broad's fucking robbing the joint, someone said from a 357 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: few tables away. Beer bottles clinked together, and a table 358 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 1: of middle aged guys chuckled, and the regulars at the 359 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 1: bar I thought Janie was all right. She was tough, 360 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: she was funny, She took no ship. She regaled them 361 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: all with tales of how she'd grown up and joints 362 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: like this one, places like the infamous Keyhole Club in 363 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: Port Arthur, a dive frequented by gamblers and hookers. She 364 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: told them about the time she busted this kid, John Clay, 365 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: upside the head with the metal pail when he was 366 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,120 Speaker 1: pissed that she had dumped him, And about the time 367 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,639 Speaker 1: of the Big Oak in Austin. When some redneck grabbed 368 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: her breast, she grabbed the nearest beer bottle and smashed 369 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: it upside his head. A knockdown, drag out brawl followed. 370 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:54,639 Speaker 1: Teeth knocked out, jaws busted, helpless fuckers chased down by 371 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 1: fast moving automobiles, and the regulars at the bar was 372 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 1: suprocated and told Janice story about this one time that 373 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,040 Speaker 1: a guy walked into the bar right up the street. 374 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 1: Was the middle of the summer. He had a gun 375 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,359 Speaker 1: in his hand, a mask on his face. The place 376 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 1: was packed wall to wall people. He pushed through the crowd, 377 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 1: walked right up to the bartender and said that he 378 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:15,639 Speaker 1: wanted all the cash in the till he was robbing 379 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 1: the place. And the bartender was in the middle of 380 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: making three Gin and Tonics and the Tom Collins. He 381 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,000 Speaker 1: was fucking busy, and he told the stick up guy 382 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:24,639 Speaker 1: that he was going to have to wait his turn. 383 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: No ship, Janice asked, no ship? The regular told her. 384 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:31,439 Speaker 1: The stick up guy eventually got tired of waiting for 385 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: the bartender to pay him attention, so he just turned 386 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:37,879 Speaker 1: around and split. Janie wondered if the story was even true. 387 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 1: The place was never packed when she was there, hustling 388 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,159 Speaker 1: a little pool for a meager payday. And besides, this 389 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:46,399 Speaker 1: rundown spot on the Lower east Side didn't exactly scream 390 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: hot spot. But it wasn't like she was a regular 391 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 1: at this place. She had only been in New York 392 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: City for a few weeks, and she wasn't planning on 393 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: staying forever. It was the spring of nineteen and Janice 394 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 1: had only just hold into town behind the wheel of 395 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 1: a yellow Morris Minor convertible with Linda Pool, one of 396 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: Jay Whittaker's excess of all people in the passenger seat 397 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,720 Speaker 1: while she came, she wouldn't really say. Linda didn't even 398 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: really know why they did it. Was it wanderlust was 399 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,600 Speaker 1: a fear of commitment with Jay. Was that to get lost, 400 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: to get lost, and to never come back. In the 401 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: block of New York City they found themselves on seemed 402 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 1: to be the kind of place you could get lost 403 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,400 Speaker 1: in forever if you were careful. A heads were everywhere 404 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 1: in the lowery Side. They crept along the shadows of 405 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: the tenement walls. They hid behind over flont dumpsters. They 406 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: scurried down alleyways and peered out from stained curtains that 407 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,880 Speaker 1: hung in windows of walk ups, and they reminded Janice. 408 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,440 Speaker 1: So the shadow people in Venice, the ones who came 409 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: out at night, the ones who would do anything for 410 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: a score, the ones who made the tourists flesh crawl. 411 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 1: New York City was still a few years away from 412 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: being rebranded Fear City, the town that required its own 413 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: user manual to help visitors avoid a shocking and violent experience. 414 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: But some neighborhoods were getting moose. Drug dealers staked their 415 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,879 Speaker 1: claim on street corners. Muggings were on the rise. Entire 416 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,920 Speaker 1: buildings were vacant and slowly decaying. Cars were two left 417 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:11,640 Speaker 1: on the side of the road and taken over by 418 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: a heads looking for shelter, a place to fuck, or 419 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,199 Speaker 1: a place to score. And Janice played a set at 420 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: Gerty's Folk City in the West Village when she first arrived, 421 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 1: But for the most part, her months in the Big 422 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,560 Speaker 1: Apple were a real gone boom doggle. She subsisted on 423 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: a regular diet of her parts. She shot speed with locals, 424 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,680 Speaker 1: and she searched up the gay bars and tested the waters, 425 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: popping speed and led to shooting speed, and by the 426 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: time she drove the little Marris minor back to San Francisco. 427 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 1: It was all about meth amphetamy. Meth was everywhere, it 428 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: was impossible to avoid. It was the favorite street drug 429 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,840 Speaker 1: on Hayte, Ashbury and beyond. And the people's chemist, Augustus 430 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,720 Speaker 1: Susie Stanley the Third set up his first home laboratory 431 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: to produce meth not LSD, which he became known for. 432 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 1: And by the time she got back to San Francisco, 433 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: Janice was shooting meth and the regular It gave her 434 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: a false sense of power and endurance. She didn't sleep, 435 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: her face broke out, her weight dropped dangerously low. Soon 436 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: she was slinging speed in order to maintain her habit. 437 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 1: That's all. There was a crippling habit. And there were 438 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,240 Speaker 1: no more Monterey Folk Festival dreams, no j Whittaker, no 439 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:22,520 Speaker 1: crazy road trips across the country. Nowhere to run to. 440 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,880 Speaker 1: She haunted the places where the drug ran rampant, places 441 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,800 Speaker 1: like the Anxious Asp, where she once associated with Ja, 442 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:32,399 Speaker 1: but now she would associate with the time she was 443 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,600 Speaker 1: backed against the wall by muscled up debt collectors and 444 00:24:35,800 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 1: hit rock bottom. Janice Joplin could barely lift her head 445 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: from her bed. Every time she tried to get up, 446 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,919 Speaker 1: she felt the crushing weight of a five pound anvil 447 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,879 Speaker 1: pressed down. She tried to rise, and it pushed her 448 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: right back, and she felt like she had been sleeping 449 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,639 Speaker 1: for weeks. Her dreams were a hellscape of people with 450 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,719 Speaker 1: long teeth and sunken eyes, fires, burning pavement, opening and 451 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: swallowing the city's whole real end time ship. She tossed 452 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,119 Speaker 1: and turned. Her sheets were soaked. She felt sick and 453 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,680 Speaker 1: hungry all at once. She willed herself to go back 454 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 1: to sleep. She'd rather live in the unconscious nightmare state 455 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 1: than to be awake and alive in the real world. 456 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,800 Speaker 1: The real world was too heavy. But every action has 457 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:46,119 Speaker 1: an equal and opposite reaction. The reason that she was 458 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,879 Speaker 1: back in her childhood bed and poured Arthur instead of 459 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: San Francisco, where she had spent the last few years, 460 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: was because of her actions. She got hooked on mess. 461 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: She allowed it to take over her life. The junk 462 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 1: put her on her ass and then on a bus 463 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,119 Speaker 1: and put her way back to Texas that she was 464 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: motivated to get better. She told herself she wouldn't do 465 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,479 Speaker 1: it again, wouldn't allow herself to be controlled by drugs, 466 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,120 Speaker 1: whether it was math or anything else. But that meant 467 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 1: swearing off music and all the baggage that came with 468 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: it for the rest of her life, then so be it. 469 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 1: Still trying to lift her head, Janice's eyes scanned her 470 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,119 Speaker 1: body wasted away, and it was reminded of the recent past. 471 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,200 Speaker 1: She was scared. The bruises were still there on her abdomen, 472 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: in her arms from the beating she had taken outside 473 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 1: the anxious ass Those two bikers who came to collect 474 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: only to find a penniless, strung out dope case. They 475 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,120 Speaker 1: pummeled her until she stopped screaming in pain, and they 476 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 1: figured she had had enough. At that point, the bruises 477 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,359 Speaker 1: had gone through their multicolored faces, yellow and pink and blue, 478 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,880 Speaker 1: and now they were stuck on that mouldy banana look. 479 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,400 Speaker 1: And then there were the other scars. But she ran 480 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:52,240 Speaker 1: her fingers over the marks on her arm where she 481 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:54,919 Speaker 1: had shot the junk in, and they were reminders of 482 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 1: the black holes she had fallen through. But it wasn't 483 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:03,200 Speaker 1: all darkness. There was light. Peter was the beacon, the 484 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,280 Speaker 1: light at the end of the tunnel. She was going 485 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: to get clean for Peter for their future. Peter de 486 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: Blanc the dreamboat she had in San Francisco. He dressed well, 487 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: smelled nice, drove a fancy car. He was an engineer. 488 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:19,159 Speaker 1: He wasn't like the other beaten nicks and bohemians she 489 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:22,479 Speaker 1: hung around with. He was respectable, had his ship together, 490 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 1: and he was for money, old money. He would come 491 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,680 Speaker 1: into his inheritance soon. He told Janis that she would 492 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 1: become his wife and they would settle down. She could 493 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:33,280 Speaker 1: stay home, raised the kids, take care of the house. 494 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: The thought of it drove Janis to power through the 495 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,400 Speaker 1: aches and pains, the anvil on her face, the feelings 496 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,640 Speaker 1: of sickness and despair. It wasn't until Janice emerged from 497 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: her bed that she realized that she had it all wrong. 498 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 1: It must have been the drugs or the sweatsilk withdrawals. 499 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 1: Janice Chopolin a housewife, no way. The very notion was 500 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 1: laughable to her. But even worse, once Janice was clean 501 00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 1: and clear headed, she learned that everything she thought to 502 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,879 Speaker 1: be true it was in fact a lie. Peter de 503 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:06,159 Speaker 1: Blanc was a lie. At first, Jannis didn't believe it. 504 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 1: She didn't believe her friends who were trying to break 505 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 1: the news to her. That change. When she picked up 506 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 1: the phone one day and dialed Peter's number, and another 507 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: woman answered, clean and sober and wave past the hell 508 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:21,480 Speaker 1: escape meth withdrawal nightmares, Janice's world suddenly flipped upside down. 509 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:24,720 Speaker 1: Peter wasn't for money. He had no money. He didn't 510 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:26,920 Speaker 1: have a master's degree. He didn't own a fancy car. 511 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,639 Speaker 1: He had no intention of settling down with her. He 512 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 1: was a world class grifter. He had duped. He wasn't 513 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,119 Speaker 1: even bigger junkie than she was. Drugs drove him too, 514 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 1: delusions and waking psychotic episodes. He told her that he 515 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,000 Speaker 1: was receiving secret messages from the moon and they came 516 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: directly to his brain. As his paranoia ramped up, so 517 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 1: did his gun collection, and the trunk of the car 518 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: he drove around was loaded with pieces that were voted. 519 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: While Janice swept through her withdrawals and shook the curse 520 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 1: of meth off her back, Peter had to camp to 521 00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 1: Mexico with the airline attended. He was having an affair 522 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: with Oh And then there was the other woman that 523 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: he got pregnant back in San Francisco. Not to mention 524 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 1: the wife and child he had in New York City, 525 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 1: and that wife and child were the ones he had 526 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:10,080 Speaker 1: left in the middle of the night when he snuck out, 527 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:14,479 Speaker 1: headed west and started assuming of their identities. Janie had 528 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 1: to forget all about Peter, forget about the promises of 529 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: a life of domestic normalcy. Peter was no lifeline. No 530 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 1: one was her lifeline. People just deceived you and lied 531 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: to you and let you down. Music was her lifeline. 532 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 1: She put herself back out there, She started singing again. 533 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: She was clean. And then it happened fast. The thirteenth 534 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: Floor Elevators show at the Methodist Student Center Auditorium, Rocky 535 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: ericson channeling something feral and fearsome. Janie couldn't say what 536 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,480 Speaker 1: it was, what that thing was that Rocky was channeling, 537 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:49,640 Speaker 1: but she could see it, she could feel it, and 538 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: she wanted to channel it too. And then Travis Rivers 539 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: showed up, the guy who Chat Helms had sent all 540 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,320 Speaker 1: the way back to Texas explicitly to hunt down Janie 541 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,440 Speaker 1: and bring her back. Chat needed her. The band he 542 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,280 Speaker 1: was managing, big brother in the holding company. They needed her. 543 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,320 Speaker 1: San Francisco needed her. It was where she could be 544 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 1: free and Janice went in an instant, the snap of 545 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:13,480 Speaker 1: a finger. She told herself she could dive back into 546 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,160 Speaker 1: music and back into San Francisco and do it without 547 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: getting sucked back into that bottomless black hole of junk 548 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,880 Speaker 1: and the scars it left in its wink. She was wrong, 549 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: Um Jake Brennan and this is the twenty seven Club. 550 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 1: This episode was brought to you and I Heeart three 551 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 1: D Audio. To experience more podcasts like this, search for 552 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 1: I Heeart three D Audio in the I Heart Radio. 553 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,600 Speaker 1: This episode of The seven Club is brought to you 554 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,400 Speaker 1: by disgrace Land, the award winning music and true crime 555 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: podcast that I also host. Disgrace Land is available only 556 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 1: on the free Amazon Again. To hear tons of insane 557 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 1: stories about your favorite musicians getting away with murder and 558 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: behaving very badly. 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