Update Log

Date	Update
July 4, 2011	Notes on Mel Lyman. Broadside, Sept. 18, 1963, p.9. E.C. & F.L. Harmonica (actual title unknown) by John Bowers. Coronet, May, 1965, pp 138-143. mentions Mel on p. 142. On the Scene by Robert J. Lurtsema. Broadside, Aug. 18, 1965, ends with Mel at the Newport Festival. The Mel Lyman Personality Cult Revisited, WFMU's Beware of the Blog, March 27, 2011. Kliph Nesteroff
October 28, 2010	Issues of Avatar listed for sale on eBay
December 30, 2008	Vows: The Story of a Priest, a Nun, and Their Son, by Peter Manseau, 2006. pp 169-171. (suggested by Dave Lang). In Heaven Everything is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers, by Josh Frank with Charles Buckholtz, 2008. pp 71-72. (suggested by Peter Mork).
October 16, 2008	Iggy Stooge, review in Pluto (by request).
July 2, 2008	Avatar 25, "the 'lost' issue", with recollections of the editor, Charles Giuliano, 40 years later.
May 24, 2008	Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin on the Dick Cavett show. ca. 1970 (YouTube clip). (Thanks Dick!)
April 9, 2008	Sixties Folk Icon Makes Rare Appearance. Hal Gelb. Jim Kweskin on stage at Freight & Salvage. East Bay Express, Feb. 27, 2008. (thanks, Tommy Moore)
January 12, 2008	M. Preston Burns, obituary. January 12, 2008. [Tim Kelly]
December 24, 2007	Just Like Old Times, A Jug Band Stompin', Alex Ward. The New York Times, February 27, 2003. Jim Kweskin, Jug Band... Battle of Four-Letter Words., Time, March 8, 1968. The Avatar obscenity trial.
December 18, 2007	Fourteen Points to Zabriskie, John Burks's review of Zabriskie Point in Rolling Stone No. 53, March 7, 1970 - Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin.
December 17, 2007	Olympia Avatar, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 1, 1967 - more information on Darrell Bob Houston's Olympia Washington underground newspaper "Avatar" -- no direct connection -- which appeared a week before the Boston Avatar.
November 24, 2007	Norman Mailer, RIP, obituary by William F. Buckley, including quotes from Mel's article, Buckley & Mailer, on the televised Buckley-Mailer debate in 1968, which appeared in New York Avatar #7, August 1968. [Thanks, Dick Russell!]
August 18, 2007	On Ed Jordan's passing, personal communication from J. Michael Freedberg.
June 26, 2007	Obituary of Dan Oates, long-time Family member, from the Boston Globe. [sent by Peter Mork, along with a reminder about Birth, the 2002 Lyman Family CD (of, apparently, a 1969 recording session), and a link to the AllMusicGuide review.]
January 19, 2007	Non-Psychedelic Reflections of Fort Hill. Harvard Summer News. August 20, 1968 Review of "Jim Kweskin's America" (blog) by Justin F. Farrar. July 5, 2006 Watergate Playback: Political Cons Act Like Pros. [Mark Frechette] New York magazine, ca. March 1975. (year menu added)
September 19, 2006	Free Press: Underground and Alternative Publications, 1965-1975. Jean-Francois Bizot. Universe, 2006. Tommy Moore reports that "the book has a picture of an issue of the Avatar and a brief paragraph in which the author claims that members of the commune took his shoes and tried to hypnotize him."
August 10, 2006	Section from J. Hoberman's (2003) The Dream Life – Movies, Media, and the Mythology of the Sixties on Antonioni and Zabriskie Point, mentioning Frechette, Fort Hill... [suggested by Tommy Moore]
May 26, 2006	A tribute to Fritz Richmond, who died in November, 2005, and a short piece on Jim Kweskin's move to LA. Two articles from the Boston Globe in April, submitted by BH who comments, "The news item about Kweskin moving to LA is completely mysterious, since he has probably spent as much time living in LA as in Boston over the past 30 years. Is there deeper meaning or was he just gabbing to a young reporter?"
April 26, 2006	Ed Jordan, of Avatar - obituary [sent by Tim Kelly]
February 2, 2006	Festival DVD - Newport Folk Festivals (including scenes of Mel and the Jug Band) [Suggested by BH and Alex Simack.]
January 16, 2006	Mel Lyman: Wikipedia Bio, from Wikipedia. [Suggested by BH.] (Wikipedia articles are sometimes updated, so check for changes...)
November 14, 2005	The Journals of John the Wasted, from Avatar N°8 (unsigned, apparently by Eben Given).
November 11, 2005	Rick Strauss's 1967 Avatar N°6 article (reprinted from the Oracle of Southern California), SPEED, as requested. And from the same issue, Wayne Hansen's SPEED
October 21, 2005	Jack Hamilton's 1969 Look magazine article on Zabriskie Point, Mark Frechette, and Daria Halprin, Antonioni's America. Nov. 18, 1969.
September 24, 2005	Patrick Lundborg's 2004 article Woody Guthrie on Acid: The extraordinary tale of the Mel Lyman Family. In Ugly Things N° 22, 2004.
September 12, 2005	Harvey Silverglate's (2004?) article Cases & Controversies: The Avatar. On the 1968 Avatar obscenity trial... (Silverglate was Avatar's attorney.)
August 28, 2005	Philip Smith reported that "the November 1967 issue of Playboy (p. 12) prints the beginning of the letter from Mel Lyman in response to the Jacob Brackman article, that appeared in Avatar 6, with minor typographic differences."
August 7, 2005	Tommy Moore writes that "Rants and Incendiary Tracts, published in 1989 by Amok Press and Loompanics Unlimited, includes "Plea for Courage" by Mel Lyman, along with a fairly odd introduction of several paragraphs."
January 24, 2004	Buffalo Head sent in a link to a September, 2003 Helvetica article by Justin Beal about Mark Frechette.
September 10, 2003	Mel Lyman's "Diary of a Young Artist," Dec. 1962, New York City, Avatar 24, p.[6], Apr 26-May 9, 1968.
September 8, 2003	Mel Lyman's "Diary of a Young Artist," Fall, 1962, North Carolina, Avatar 14, p.6, Dec 8-Dec 21, 1967.
August 19, 2003	Comments on "Mel Lyman: Biography, by Bryan Thomas." (Anonymous)
August 1, 2003	Mel Lyman: Biography, by Bryan Thomas, All-Music Guide, ca. 2002.
July 31, 2003	While looking through a box of old papers, I found these two letters from Mel, from May, 1963.
June 24, 2003	A link to Steve Nelson's photographic exhibit: The Square: Stills from the Scene: Harvard Square and Cambridge, 1967-73.
June 4, 2003	Request for Information, Dick Russell's appeal for sources of information about Mel for a new biography.
May 2, 2003	Footnote on Mel Lyman, footnote (3) to Bill J. Harrell's Charisma and the Con-Man: Virtual Power and Knowledge, ca. 2000.
March 18, 2003	Thanks to Peter Mork for the full text of Linda Kalver's 1966 Boston After Dark review, "Lyman Happens at Orleans" - which "took the Boston Public Library literally years to get microfilmed."
December 3, 2002	Two links: —The Unlikely Sisterhood, online Boston Globe Magazine article about Eve Lyman and her sister, Sarah Chayes, December 2, 2002, by Jennie Green. —1964 photos of Mel with the Kweskin Jug Band and Jack Elliot at John Byrne Cooke's photo site. (1999).
November 9, 2002	Alex Simack's Mel Lyman wrote many things... — September 4, 2002.
August 16, 2002	Another Avatar ?! — June, 1967 (opens in new window) Antonioni Flick: Sally Dennison interview by Rowland Koefod on Zabriskie Point and the search for a male lead. Boston Free Press, [June 1968], p.4. Avatar Job Nets 45000. Brian Kelly on the fate of Avatar #25. Boston Free Press, Third Edition, [May, 1968]. Avatar Heist. Brian Kelly on the retrieval of New York Avatar #6. Boston Free Press, Fifth Edition, [June, 1968].
August 13, 2002	Boston Avatar, Volume II — June, 1968 - August 1968. The "Valley" edition of Avatar. (opens in new window)
July 13, 2002	New York Avatar — March 29, 1968 - August 1968. (opens in new window)
June 2, 2002	Interview with Daria Halprin in Pluto [1970]. (Thanks, Dick!)
March 17, 2002	More from Avatar: Dotti Le Mieux's Freaked-out in the Federal Building, from Avatar #3. Wayne Hansen's Illuminated Beggar column from Avatar #14 with Richard L. Ketchen's letter from Vietnam, and Buzy's letter to Wayne in reply in Avatar #19.
February 21, 2002	Avatar article index updated to include issues #21 and #22.
February 19, 2002	The Emerson essay which opens Avatar #1: Emerson. (The source of the essay is not cited.) Wayne M. Hansen's cover article on Stokely Carmichael from Avatar #3: Black Power Equals Black Unity Equals. Brian Keating's Bust 1, and M. Preston Burns's Bust 2, also from Avatar #3.
February 6, 2002	Three poems by Gerard Malanga: Avatar #6: Two Years After the Disaster Avatar #7: Sunday Morning In Cambridge, Mass. Avatar #8: Further Discoveries and The Thorazine Article by Melinda.
February 5, 2002	Six from Avatar #2: Ed Fox - The Aquarian Age Joey Goldfarb - Looking Within Lenny Gibson - Itinerant Head Brian Keating - Jim Crow Meets The MAWs Dave Wilson - Scaramouche Bill Ryan - Selections From A Book In Progress Or Retrogress and a letter from the Diggers.
February 4, 2002	Five more Avatar #1 articles: Brian Keating - Cambridge is a City Dave Wilson - Scaramouche Lenny Gibson - Itinerant Head Lewis S. W. Crampton - Understanding China Interview - Bill Baird - Criminal Against Chastity
February 3, 2002	Three Avatar articles by Steve Nelson: Avatar #1: Legal Hang-ups Avatar #4: Legal Hang-ups Avatar #5: Fat Catillac Blue Love and Mr Jones and Tim Kelly's Dear World column from Avatar #4.
August 15, 2001	Kevin Barry sent some references he'd collected in the 70s: Kweskin's Revival (Sept. 1971), Mark Frechette: Making of a Bank Robber? (Sept. 1973), and a few more on Frechette. No articles yet, just references added. If you have copies of the articles please let me know.
June 2, 2001	Brian Burnes. The Kansas City Star - Quiet Survivors from the 1960s (1986): photos added.
May 29, 2001	Matt Carroll. The Boston Herald - The Fort Hill 'Gang' 20 Years Later (1985): photos added. Diane Samms Rush. The Wichita Eagle-Beacon - Family Portrait (1985): photos added
May 21, 2001	Brett Sokol's Miami New Times article, "When E-Prophecy Fails", including some Avatar references.
May 14, 2001	Mel Lyman articles in Avatar N° 8, Avatar N° 10: Diary of a Young Artist, Wayne the more I think about it... Michael Kindman's Note from a Visitor in Avatar N° 20.
May 13, 2001	"Fort Hill tower" (anonymous)
May 7, 2001	Seth Gordon's "Ah, to Be Young and Stupid Again...", and his 1967 Avatar article "MEANWHILE: The war drags on," added.
April 25, 2001	Introduction "Forewarned" added.
April 15, 2001	Chatwin's "The Lyman Family" commentary added.
January 21, 2001	Maryalice Ogilvie Cheesman's "Correction to Felton" added.
December 17, 2000	Beyond Shazam at Guru Gulch: second half of article (Baranco/Morehouse section) added.
December 7, 2000	Transcript of an Interview Between Mel Lyman and Dave Silver: photos added.
December 5, 2000	Kim Field's "Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers" added.
November 10, 2000	This Update Log added!
November 10, 2000	mark added to ends of listings containing photos or images
November 10, 2000	We still are family — The Lymans of Fort Hill then and now: photos added
November 10, 2000	Avatar descends on Boston: The underground press speaks up: photos added
November 10, 2000	Mel & Charlie's Women - The Souring of Street Life: photos added, early section of article (on Sanders: The Family) added
November 9, 2000	The History of Boston Rock and Roll article added.
November 9, 2000	Alex Simack's "So many years have passed..." added.
November 3, 2000	Ed Fox's Avatar No. 1, June 9-22, 1967 The Aquarian Age column added.
November 3, 2000	Tim Kelly's Avatar No. 1, June 9-22, 1967 column Dear World added.
November 3, 2000	Joey Goldfarb's Avatar No. 1, June 9-22, 1967 Using Astrology column added.
November 2, 2000	Paul Mills's Fusion article, An American Avatar: Mel Lyman: photographs by Peter Simon added, and new cover scan.
October 28, 2000	New York Avatar: new introduction added
October 28, 2000	Guinevere Turner's Kat and The Guin Turner Story: In Her Own Words added.
October 28, 2000	Ed Jordan's A Comment from Ed Jordan added.
October 28, 2000	Linda Kalver's Lyman Happens at Orleans article quote appearing in Felton's Mindfuckers added.
October 14, 2000	Mel Lyman on record: covers and notes for Take a Trip with Me, Blues in the Bottle, All Kinds of Folks, and The New City Blues added. .