Palentir,

Mad Alchemy

https://www.madalchemy.net/

I began doing Light Shows in High school with my friends Dave Gregor and Alan Teplin, we lived and grew up in Danville California considered the 'East Bay"

This was the fall of 1968 and we were freshman in High school.

Things really got going in May of 1969 when I went to my First Fillmore West show, I was hooked!!!

The Light Show company spanned the whole back wall parallel to the stage using color wheels and at least 30 slide projectors, 3 Overheads and several 16mm loop projectors and was a very standard SF type lightshow.

Somehow i was able to get up on the scaffolding and watched the oil projections being made!

It was the Steve Miller band, Kaleidoscope and the Charletons need to check and see who the light show co was.

After that we got serious and by the summer and fall my first light show began.

Palantir is what we called ourselves after the seeing eye from Mordor in The Lord of the Rings Triology, we were young 16 1/2 and did shows mainly at high schools with famous bands like Boz Scaggs, Big Brother, Elvin Bishop, John Cipollina and local Alamo band Beggars Opera who opened for major bands all the time

Our first show consisted of 6 carousel slide projectors, 2 Overheads, a 16mm film projector plus our funky Star Machine from Roscoe.

We had lots of adventures and good times, I could do a whole book but we were in the rightplace at the right time there was no internet, so mostly the San Francisco Pink section. Ralph J Gleason was the famous music critic and cheerleader for the Psychedelic San Francisco scene, he had a cool series on KQED called Callibration that had some aspect but as i said once I saw a real show I was in Love hahaha...

Bill Ham has always been my principle inspiration with his use of 6 Overheqads in a semi circle though Palantir copied the format of the times with lots of slide projectors and color wheels.

I loved Jefferson Airplane so Glenn Mckay (Headlights) also I admired and ironically I worked with Dennis Keefe who was one of Glenn's early assitants.

Bands I have worked with include (early years) Boz Skaggs, Roky Erickson and the Aliens (plus did Capitol Records Cover in 1980 for Roky), Elvin Bishop solo, John Cippolina, Cooper head with Nic Gravinitis, Big Brother after Janis left, Its a Beautiful day after David La Flamme left, The Tubes - These are the early famous ones with Palantir 17-19 years old

With Mad Alchemy I believe I have done more shows than any current light show (between 12-1400) and I am still bringing it together for most of the current new Psych bands and Historical acts as well, i.e.Red Rocks Morrison Colorado, Phil Lesh 2019, Joe Russo Almost Dead 2018, Boom Box 2017, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (5 shows) Temples UK over 50 performances plus the London Forum 2014, Country Joe farewell show at the Chapel SF, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Electric Prunes, Chocalate Watchband (Multiple shows),Chris Robinson (multiple shows), Earthless (2 full tours), Radio Moscow (200 plus shows, US and Europe for 10 weeks 2013), Graveyard full US Tour (2012) , Allah Las tour (2014), Toy 2 shows the Chapel, Brian Jonestown Massacure Desert Daze, Uncle ACID (2018 Desert Daze), High on fire and sooooo many......I'm a major player !!