FATHER YOD C/D

A lot of stuff on that box is mediocre though.

yodship is actually the one i've been listening to most lately - a while ago someone found "yodship 3" in a lot of records, i'm wondering if there are a whole series of yodship one-sided LPs out there, somewhere.

They seem happy enough.

V

It's essentially an oral history of Father Yod and the Source Family in general with nearly 20 interviewees, and I have to say was pretty good stuff all in all. I think a fair amount of it is interesting for what is suggested rather than what is said, or rather what could be implied or the alternate interpretations could be, regarding practice and certain events and so forth. But you do get the sense I've always gotten from what I know about the dude, namely that he pretty much walked the walk as he talked the talk, to paraphrase one of the interviewees.

Not much on the music outside of a brief three-minute or so bit discussing how all the albums were essentially improvisational and so forth, but the entire soundtrack throughout the movie is from the incarnations of the band, so there's that.

Not a perfect project per se -- you can tell that it is, after all, an undergraduate college project, with some illustrations and cartoons that could charitably be described as 'whimsical,' while Wells himself, as host, is clearly NOT comfortable in front of a camera, though this is no doubt why he lets most everyone else do the talking. Still, though, good stuff if you want to know more.

Reviving for the book about them that's just about out.

The Source
The Untold Story of Father Yod, YaHoWha 13, and The Source Family

Isis Aquarian and Electricity Aquarian
Introduction by Erik Davis

It was 1972, time of the cult-occult-commune explosion. By day, the Source Family served organic cuisine to John Lennon, Julie Christy, Frank Zappa and others at the famed Source restaurant. By night, in a mansion in Hollywood Hills, they explored the cosmos through the channeled wisdom of their charismatic leader, Father Yod. Father was an outlandish figure who had 14 “spiritual wives,” drove a Rolls-Royce, and fronted the rock band Ya Ho Wa 13, now considered by collectors to be one of the most singular psychedelic bands of all time.

The Source Family’s true story—kept secret for over 30 years after Father’s spectacular hang-gliding death in 1975—is revealed here by the Family members themselves, with over 200 photographs and a full-length CD of rare Ya Ho Wa 13 live performances and Family recordings.

woah ... awesome

Nice, this should be a good step up from that earlier DVD.

The LA Times revisits the cult

Cult group started a home unlike all others
In the 1970s, cultists dropped out and tuned in to a guru called Father Yod.
By Steffie Nelson

Earlier this summer, almost 100 psychedelic music fans, subculture aficionados, students of the occult and local literati climbed the flower-petal-strewn steps of publisher couple Jodi Wille and Adam Parfrey's Silver Lake home for a salon celebrating the upcoming publication of "The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod, YaHoWa 13 and the Source Family" (Process), the definitive history of a mystical cult that thrived in Los Angeles between 1970 and 1974. The book's author, Isis Aquarian (formerly Charlene Peters), had flown in from Hawaii, and Family members Omne, Magus, Electra and Orbit, all of whom are now in their 50s and 60s, had also come to share stories.

During a Q&A session, they good-naturedly addressed whether they'd been brainwashed ("Absolutely!" said Orbit, who now goes by David) and answered questions about Dionysm, the form of tantric sex they'd practiced.

"I'm ready to join right now!" announced one attendee, no doubt echoing the sentiments of many who wistfully longed for a time when Utopia was, if not entirely feasible, at least on the agenda.

Imagine your fantasy commune, the one you'd find only in the movies, where everyone is young and beautiful; the clothes are fabulous; the leader benign; and home is a mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Chances are it probably looks a lot like the Source Family, whose 140 members "dropped out" right in the middle of Los Angeles. Led by a bearded, hunky, 6-foot-3 former war hero who called himself Father Yod and, later, YaHoWha, this vibrant group of men and women embarked on a wild social experiment, turning all their material possessions over to the group and supporting themselves serving gourmet vegetarian cuisine at their popular Sunset Strip restaurant, the Source. Living communally in a Los Feliz mansion owned by the Chandler family (former owners of this newspaper) and then in a house built by Catherine Deneuve, many of them formed polyamorous relationships; not surprisingly, the most extreme example was Father Yod, who took 14 "spiritual wives."

my mom and dad used to eat there lots

The book rules. I'm reading it, Lisa Carver's amazing Drugs Are Nice, and Lexicon Devil all at the same time. My brain is a very wonderful sort of psychospiritual mush, and I'm giggling lots. I have a renewed interest in Scientology, health food, and scatalogical performance art.

Just kidding.

My interest in those things has never waned.

The books almost redeems the snorefest that was the DVD. It also comes with a CD (which I haven't listened to yet)!

http://waxidermy.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=12672&sid=1233a1769750d1fe35907d5fbf7279b2

http://waxidermy.com/bbs/images/smiles/pixlguy.gif

they all look so nice!

What album is this from? This is like proto-Bardo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f_1JAZBu9s

Ya Ho Wha 13 is recording & playing shows again. That and other news available here: http://www.yahowha13.com/index.php

...and here: http://www.yahowha13.com/index.php

'Children of the 6th Root Race' is a recently issued recording from 'back in the day,' and its definitely worthwhile. 'The Operetta' is another recently unearthed YHWH recording; its a real corker, IMHO. 'Sonic Portation' [among others] is some new sounds from surviving troupe members. Really good stuff, less intense but a bit tighter than the old fireballs from the '70s.

Just saw YaHoWha 13 at an art benefit in Eagle Rock and it was so so so so so good. Lately have struck up a friendship with Isis Aquarian, who drops by my office a lot. I'll miss her when she goes back to Hawaii. About to listen to her CD "Echoes of a Crone"! Really wishing I could eat at the Source Restaurant now...

apparently they had like, the best salad dressing EVER.

Source Family doc looks awesome.

it is pretty good! like most docs, though, it made me want to read a really good book about this scene.

Soundtrack's mostly cool too, with engaging jams and edits. "Always leave them wanting more" is the ol' showbiz adage that somebody here remembers, as more showbizzers of all persuasions should. Stuff about them on ILE's California Kooks thread too---but amen to the request for a book.

Source Family doc looks awesome.

― Brio2, Sunday, June 8, 2014 9:51 PM

just saw this was on netflix streaming

as far as books go this is really good: http://www.amazon.com/The-Source-Untold-Father-Family/dp/0976082292

totally from an insider's perspective though, so maybe not the most objective account of what went on within the yod orbit

I read a children's book (!) on Father Yod but I can't for the life of me remember much about it. Quick google coming up blank as well.

loved the doc

what a fucking story

watched it on Netflix last night. Amazing to see how well they documented themselves. Loved their rock shows at high schools, openly telling the kids to come join the family... Yod clad in flowing robes with a giant pentagram medallion. Imagine that happening now. Also fascinating how - though obviously people were manipulated and there was some creepy shit going down - how relatively benign it seems, considering they danced right up to the edge of becoming an armed apocalyptic death cult at the end. They all seemed like pretty intelligent people, even the more brain-fried ones.

If you're in Los Angeles today (Sunday, March 26) you might want to check this out:

https://www.arcanabooks.com/blog/

Join us Sunday, March 26th for a Discussion and Book Signing with Isis Aquarian, Jodi Wille and Charlie KItchings for "The Source Family Scrapbook!"

We are delighted to invite you to attend a very special Sunday afternoon presentation with authors Isis Aquarian, Jodi Wille, and Charlie Kitchings to celebrate the publication of Family: The Source Family Scrapbook. Panel moderated by FAMILY associate editor Steffie Nelson.

For the event the four will host an exhibition of rare photographs and printed materials from the Source Family Archive housed at the UC Santa Barbara Library's Special Research Collections, engage in a discussion about the Family and the book, and sign copies afterwards. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy of this, or one of the other Source Family items we will be offering in limited supply, please place your order here, or call 310-458-1499.

Isis Aquarian is the Source Family’s archivist. As one of Father’s fourteen wives, she photographed and filmed Father and the Source Family, recorded audio, maintained scrapbooks, and helped manage the Family business. She is co-founder and Vice-President of the Source Foundation, and was an associate producer of The Source Family documentary. Isis has published her award-winning memoir, The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod: Ya Ho Wa 13 and The Source Family," and produced the record “Isis: The Crone." She has supervised the release of other Source Family music, created a Source Family comic book, and her own tee shirt line.

Jodi Wille is a filmmaker and curator known for her work exploring American subcultures. She is director of the feature documentary The Source Family, and the Co-Founder and editor of book publishing companies Otherworld, Process Media, and Dilettante Press. She has edited and published a number of award-winning books including The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod, YaHoWha 13, and The Source Family; Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts!; Pure Country: The Leon Kagarise Archives 1961-1971; and Starstruck: Photographs from a Fan, by amateur photographer Gary Lee Boas. She has curated numerous museum and gallery exhibitions related to her book and film projects in Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore, Portland, and London.

Charlie Kitchings is an independent curator and art advisor. He founded AMBACH & RICE in 2009 and organized over fifty exhibits during the gallery’s six-year tenure in Seattle and Los Angeles. He is currently a partner in record manufacturing company SunPress Vinyl.