The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound by Ralph J. Gleason

The stage was a step above the floor on the right side, center to rear. The right front area had chairs and most of the cocktail tables, while the center of the room to the rear was a dance floor. The ceiling at the front third of the club was about ten feet high, but farther back, it went up to about 18 feet. Inside, near the entrance, there was a bar (beer and wine license only - they couldn’t serve spirits, which is a very weird licensing quirk) on the front left. The entrance was recessed about two feet and was left of center on the windowless wall seen from the street, and there was a cabinet outside to the door's right where upcoming bands were listed and handbills were posted. The club's lighting was very subdued everywhere but on its small stage. In the early years of The Matrix, there was a huge mural of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the left wall near the rear rumor was that the members of Jefferson Airplane had painted it before the club first opened. Thompson in the late 1960s who was a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and creating a reputation for himself as a wild and crazed guy. The Matrix was also a favorite haunt of gonzo journalist Hunter S. RJG was an important dude on the Northern California music scene.Ī music critic for the influential San Francisco Chronicle, he also became founding editor of Rolling Stone and co-founder of the Monterey Jazz Festival. Gleason, who became an early champion of the group. It was here that the Airplane rose rapidly to local prominence during late 1965 and early 1966 and were first seen by Ralph J.

The newly formed Jefferson Airplane were the house band, not surprising really as singer Marty Balin was one of the three owners, putting up $3,000 apiece to finance the club's opening, giving them 75 percent ownership, while Marty retained the remaining 25 percent for creating and managing it. It was a nightclub in San Francisco from 1965 to 1972 located at 3138 Fillmore Street. In the history of rock n roll, The Matrix plays an important role in providing a home for, and promoting, what became west coast acid rock.

The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound by Ralph J. Gleason