'Look up Brother, there's a sky above you . . .'
The real story behind a poem that became a song

Josh Spencer sent me this story after reading my version of what happened to this wonderful song – Look Up Brother –
clearing up the mystery, 43 years later. Poetic justice, can we say?

Here’s the link to what I wrote (badly) some 10 years ago, that prompted Josh’s response:

In 1968 I was a young photographer living in a Parktown artists commune. Having left art school in
Durban I had made my way to Joburg, then the centre of all things trendy and Parktown was the
trendiest of all, a veritable Height Ashbury crammed with wild and wonderful characters. I was one
of the lucky few that briefly inhabited the now legendary 'Friedora', a huge Victorian mansion that
stood on Oxford Road. Sadly, the magnificent house was slated for demolition and we were given
notice. A group of us ex-Friedorians, determined to stick together, found a much more modest house
in Yeoville and moved there.
...read more >>

Les Shill left South Africa for the USA in the 70's. He has been a programmer, deejay and producer for almost 20 years (who would've believed it!) at radio station KAZU 90.3 FM in Pacific Grove on the beautiful coast of central CA, not terribly far from Big Sur, Esalen Institute etc and about 125 miles from San Francisco. His show - The Power of Sound - can be heard at www.kazu.org if you can figure out the time differentials! It runs on Tuesday, Weds and Thursday nights from 8 to10 PM Pacific Standard Time. Let Les tell you all about it:

My show is based in African music with a strong seam of music from all over the world from all sorts of cultures, drug culture, rave culture and also culture vulture culture. For anyone who was paying attention, I played at the Rustler's Valley Festival several years in a row, which was a blast even though the Hell's Angels of Vosloosrust, Tweefontein and Wagnbietjie Letme hityoufirstville beat me up one time. I am attaching a photo of me from the New Year's Eve celebration from 99-2000 - Ja the millennium one, that I played at in Carmel Valley. A great group called the Venusians also played but I was the late night attraction right after this photo was taken the manager of the resort we had taken for the night came to me to complain that people were screwing in the sauna and hot tub and would I please play more "relaxing" music! Needless to say, all those of you who know or remember me even a little bit, would easily guess that I actually lifted the tempo some more and the crowd went apeshit and completely malpitte! This year I am again providing the sensurround sound of the power of sound at Pier 35 in San Francisco along with the Venusians and Lost at Last, an incredible band from Hawaii and Santa Cruz that has as one of it's founders a South African keyboard wizard who goes by the name of Om! Listen for this band, they have some talent!

The second picture was taken down in Big Sur during a really incredible afternoon party that also featured the Venusians and Me and also a host of live drummers. It was an absolutely perfect day and people danced their Asses off! I played a LOT of African music, with a lot of percussive, driving stuff that sent the drummers over the top. Eventually, at some point, I went around the corner to take a leak and somehow fell over and broke my leg! It was a difficult situation because there were a couple of hundred dancing fools going off and I just had to shut up and keep the music coming which i did! To tell you the truth, I did not know my leg was broken for another day or so when I finally managed to get to an emergency room, it was darn painful but I thought that perhaps I just danced too much, which I have been known to do from time to time and probably will again! The picture includes two good friends giving me some attention which I enjoyed immensely and for those who care my hair is now blonde and I have assumed a new identity as Count Blegslie Swillenuffsky, Grand Vizier of Da Spin Cycle in the Domain of Dansylvania, chief deejay to the resident Goddess of Dancedom here! Remember folks, we dance, and therefore we are!

So, all you wonderful folks out there, I want to get back to SA to lay my special brand of musical magic on the ears of any rhythmically inclined crowd! Please write to me at [email protected].

If anyone who reads this is going to be anywhere near this area, I would love it if you would call me at (831) 915-8102, I know this area very well, it has some similarities to the Cape, and I love to take visitors on tours whenever it is possible.

I am also always looking for more music and I will play what I think is good on the air here in California so send me those discs please if a little air time here is appealing to the artist/s in question.

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