Editing Chet Helms (section)

==Family Dog Productions==
===Founding===
In February 1966 he formed a loose connection with [[Family Dog Productions]] at 2111 Pine Street,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lanGAgAAQBAJ&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog%7C2125-Pine&pg=PA243|title=Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan|first=William|last=Hjortsberg|date=12 February 2013|publisher=Counterpoint|isbn=9781619021051|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref> a [[hippie]] [[Commune (intentional community)|commune]], which hosted dances and events.<ref name="c487w9PuJOgC">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c487w9PuJOgC&dq=2125+Pine+Street&pg=PA171|title=Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 1970s|first=John Bassett|last=Mccleary|date=22 May 2013|publisher=Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony|isbn=9780307814333|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QI3BAAAQBAJ&dq=2125+Pine&pg=PA244|title=1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music|first=Andrew Grant|last=Jackson|date=3 February 2015|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9781466864979|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="7XImBgAAQBAJ">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XImBgAAQBAJ&dq=2125+Pine+Street&pg=PA53|title=No Simple Highway|first=Peter|last=Richardson|date=20 January 2015|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9781250010629|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVfRL_TpKb8C&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog%7C2125-Pine&pg=PA6|title=Hippies: A Guide to an American Subculture: A Guide to an American Subculture|first=Micah Lee|last=Issitt|date=22 October 2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313365737|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YiVMAAAAYAAJ&q=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog%7C2125-Pine|title=The Wire|date=1 January 2006|publisher=C. Parker|isbn=9780955154102|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sXdNCAAAQBAJ&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PT66|title=A Diary of the Underdogs: Jazz in the 1960s in San Francisco|first=Don|last=Alberts|date=21 March 2013|publisher=Lulu Press|isbn=9781257225651|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=acPHXpbzQ_AC&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PA48|title=The Summer of Love: Haight-Ashbury at Its Highest|first=Gene|last=Anthony|date=1 January 1995|publisher=John Libbey Eurotext|isbn=9780867194210|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77qyToYbGCcC&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PT118|title=Sonic Boom: The Impact of Led Zeppelin. - Break and Enter|first=Frank|last=Reddon|date=10 July 2012|publisher=eBookIt.com|isbn=9780978444655|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9TnTxhg9nsC&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PP117|title=The Republic of Rock: Music and Citizenship in the Sixties Counterculture|first=Michael J.|last=Kramer|date=5 April 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-998735-1|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJD6CgAAQBAJ&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PT189|title=San Francisco and the Long 60s|first=Sarah|last=Hill|date=14 January 2016|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=9781628924237|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1RfCgAAQBAJ&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PA6|title=Homegrown: Austin Music Posters 1967 to 1982|first1=Joe Nick|last1=Patoski|first2=Nels|last2=Jacobson|date=1 March 2015|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=9780292772397|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSgEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PA90|title=Billboard|date=9 August 1969|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americasuncivilw00lytl|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/americasuncivilw00lytl/page/204 204]|quote=Chet-Helms Family-Dog.|title=America's Uncivil Wars: The Sixties Era from Elvis to the Fall of Richard Nixon|first=Mark Hamilton|last=Lytle|date=1 September 2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVfRL_TpKb8C&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PA93|title=Hippies: A Guide to an American Subculture: A Guide to an American Subculture|first=Micah Lee|last=Issitt|date=22 October 2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313365737|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=392G-SgEL-YC&dq=Chet-Helms+Family-Dog&pg=PA296|title=The Portable Sixties Reader|first=Ann|last=Charters|date=1 January 2003|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9780142001943|access-date=24 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="lovelycitizen.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.lovelycitizen.com/story/1248046.html|title=Chet Helms Big Brother and the Family Dog|website=Lovelycitizen.com|access-date=24 October 2016|archive-date=October 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023201609/http://www.lovelycitizen.com/story/1248046.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Helms was the ideal person to help this group organize their presentations and he moved into the Family Dog house. Their first formal production was a concert at Longshoremen's Hall.

In February 1966, Helms formally founded Family Dog Productions to begin promoting concerts at [[the Fillmore|The Fillmore Auditorium]], alternating weekends with another young promoter, [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]]. Helms was instrumental in introducing Bill Graham to the nascent music scene in the Haight Asbury District of S.F. Helms was nurturing when Graham caught wind of the excitement  Helms was creating and promoting. As the concerts became more popular, inevitable "conflicts" arose between the two promoters. Chet's style was "easy-going, mellow, soft-tempered until pushed." Graham's style was more driven. Within a few months Helms secured the permits necessary to host events at the Avalon Ballroom, an old dancehall at 1268 Sutter Street, on the corner of Sutter and Van Ness. [[Big Brother and the Holding Company]] debuted there in June 1966. Later Helms would get them the appearance that made them famous, the [[Monterey Pop Festival]], where [[Albert Grossman]] spotted Joplin and offered her a contract.

===Family Dog concerts===
In the context of the Avalon's "anti-business model" and loose ambience, Helms' Family Dog held a series of concerts between April 1966 and November 1968, featuring a mix of artists, including rock, blues, soul, Indian, and rock and roll. They included:

Helms presented top blues performers including [[Country Joe and The Fish]]; [[Howlin' Wolf]]; [[Bo Diddley]]; [[Muddy Waters]]; [[Little Walter]]; [[Buddy Guy]]; [[Junior Wells]]; the [[Paul Butterfield]] Blues Band; [[Buddy Miles]]; [[James Cotton]] Blues Band; [[John Mayall]]; [[Big Mama Thornton]]; [[Albert Collins]]; [[Steve Miller (musician)|Steve Miller]]; [[Son House]]; [[Mike Bloomfield]]; [[Elvin Bishop]]; [[Blues Project]], with [[Al Kooper]]; [[John P. Hammond|John Hammond]]; [[Charlie Musselwhite]]; [[Siegel-Schwall Band]]; rock bands like [[The Doors]]; [[Buffalo Springfield]]; the [[Byrds]]; [[Bill Haley & His Comets]]; [[The Kinks]];The [[Edwin Hawkins]] Singers; [[the Animals]]' [[Eric Burdon]] & [[War (U.S. band)|War]]; [[The Mothers of Invention]]; [[Lovin' Spoonful]]; The [[Carlos Santana]] Blues Band; [[Sir Douglas Quintet]]; the [[Soul Survivors (band)|Soul Survivors]]; the [[Fugs]]; [[Blood, Sweat & Tears]]; [[The Association]]; Shorty Featuring [[Georgie Fame]]; [[Grateful Dead]]; [[Iron Butterfly]]; [[the Youngbloods]], with [[Jesse Colin Young]]; [[Vanilla Fudge]]; [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]]; [[Poco (band)|Poco]]; [[Love (band)|Love]], with [[Arthur Lee (musician)|Arthur Lee]]; sarode-player and Indian music teacher, [[Ali Akbar Khan]]; [[Sandy Bull]]; [[Blue Cheer]]; [[the Leaves]]; [[New Riders of the Purple Sage]]; [[Barry McGuire]]; [[Flamin' Groovies]]; the Loading Zone; [[It's a Beautiful Day]]; [[Joy of Cooking (band)|Joy of Cooking]]; [[the Grass Roots]]; [[the Sons of Adam]]; [[Sons of Champlin]]; [[Captain Beefheart]]; the [[Electric Flag]]; [[Velvet Underground]]; [[Pacific Gas & Electric (band)|Pacific Gas and Electric]]; [[Moby Grape]]; the [[Sopwith Camel (band)|Sopwith Camel]]; [[13th Floor Elevators]]; [[The Charlatans (U.S. band)|The Charlatans]]; Allmen Joy (see [http://wingswest.net Wings West Concrete Pools Perth]); [[Mother Earth (American band)|Mother Earth]]; Southern Comfort; [[The Ace of Cups]]; [[Tyrannosaurus Rex (band)|Tyrannosaurus Rex]]; Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band; [[Flying Burrito Brothers]]; Congress of Love; Notes From the Underground; Chrome Circus; Initial Shock; Oxford Circle; [[Daily Flash]]; Electric Train; Sparrow; the Orchestra; [[Hour Glass (band)|Hourglass]]; [[Kaleidoscope (US band)|Kaleidoscope]]; [[Mount Rushmore (band)|Mt. Rushmore]]; Other Half; Phoenix; [[Lothar & the Hand People]]; [[Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen|Commander Cody]]; Cleveland Wrecking Company; [[The Rhythm Dukes]]; [[A.B. Skhy]]; [[Frumious Bandersnatch]]; Eighth Penny Matter; Jimmerfield Legend; South Side Sound; Super Ball; Solid Muldoon; Box Top; and jazz artists [[Sun Ra]] and San Francisco's own [[John Handy]]; [[Charles Lloyd (jazz musician)|Charles Lloyd]]; the [[Jerry Hahn]] Brotherhood; and folksters [[Joan Baez]]; [[Dave Van Ronk]]; [[Jim Kweskin|Jim Kweskin Jug Band]]; [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]]; [[Tim Buckley]] and [[Flatt & Scruggs]].

===Family Dog speakers/Poets/Heroes of the Hour===
Sometimes Helms cast the music promoter role aside and the Family Dog would feature speakers, including [[Alan Watts]], Dr. [[Timothy Leary]], [[Stephen Gaskin]], poet [[Allen Ginsberg]], and other counterculture gurus. Helms is linked in San Francisco lore with [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]], the [[Diggers (theater)|Diggers]], [[Emmett Grogan]], [[Ken Kesey]], [[Jack Kerouac]], [[Gary Snyder]], [[Lawrence Ferlinghetti]], [[Michael McClure]], [[Neal Cassady]], [[Kenneth Rexroth]], [[Ralph J. Gleason]], and others.

=== The Family Dog Denver ===
In 1967, Helms and budding rock promotor [[Barry Fey]] agreed to open a Family Dog Productions concert dance hall in Denver, Colorado. They called it [[The Family Dog Denver]], and brought in acts like [[The Doors]], the [[Grateful Dead]], [[Van Morrison]], [[Jefferson Airplane]], [[Buffalo Springfield]], [[Chuck Berry]], and many others. The San Francisco [[Psychedelic art|psychedelic poster]] artists were commissioned by Helms to do posters for the shows. Little has been known about the venue until the 2021 release of the documentary, ''The Tale of the Dog,'' which unearthed the story through interviews with the venue staff, bands, posters artists, attendees and Denver police, detailing the full history and lasting impact of "The Dog" for the first time.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 8, 2021|title=Hippie History: The Tale of the Dog Chronicles a Denver Rock Landmark|url=https://www.westword.com/music/the-tale-of-the-dog-starts-streaming-june-8-11987552|url-status=live|website=[[Westword]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608150453/https://www.westword.com/music/the-tale-of-the-dog-starts-streaming-june-8-11987552 |archive-date=June 8, 2021 }}</ref>

===Artwork and posters===
To promote their concerts in both San Francisco and Denver, Family Dog published a series of innovative [[psychedelic art|psychedelic]] posters, handbills and other ephemera, created by a group of prominent young San Francisco artists including Wes Wilson, [[Alton Kelley]] and [[Stanley Mouse]] (Mouse Studios), [[Rick Griffin]], [[Steve Renick]] and [[Victor Moscoso]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-26-ca-5876-story.html|title=Art|last1=Arts|first2=entertainment reports from The|last2=Times|date=February 26, 1987|access-date=October 24, 2016|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-16-et-weekpop16-story.html|title=Concert posters are rocky history's visuals|first=Casey|last=Dolan|date=June 16, 2008|access-date=October 24, 2016|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Often printed using intensely colored fluorescent inks, they typically featured a mixture of found images and specially drawn artwork. The posters of Griffin, Mouse and Kelly, in particular, were known for the intricate and highly stylized hand-lettering in which the concert details were written out, which sometimes took considerable time and effort to decipher. Original Avalon posters are now collector's items. In a slide show published with the obituary at the time of Wilson's death in 2020, ''The New York Times'' included an apparent portrait watercolor of Helms—a book in the foreground has Helms' full name on it.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2020/01/30/obituaries/wes-wilson-posters-and-art/s/30Wilson-SS-slide-M88G.html "Wes Wilson Posters and Art" #20 of 20], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 30, 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-22.</ref>

Helms was also involved in joint productions/promotions at the Fillmore, Longshoreman's Hall, and Haight Street's Straight Theater (not all formal Family Dog Dance-Concerts).