Comments on Orange County Memories: Golden Bear Nightclub in Huntington Beach

JonnaRoyer ...

2011-03-27T16:44:28.047-07:00

JonnaRoyer Born in HB Now live in Hawaii Still miss HB and the GB ! Moved to Hawaii in 73.Still think of HB as No Ka Oi ( the Best!) The Best of memories the best of times !

Heard Dave Mason play there it seems like a week o...

2011-02-18T15:33:21.336-08:00

Heard Dave Mason play there it seems like a week or two before it closed. Reading all the comments does make you homesick for that area. The 70's-80's there was so awesome!Funny how so many of us remember that smell of the ocean coming out of the Golden Bear. Loved that place! Dawn

I saw a few shows in the 70's. A great place. ...

2010-12-16T14:52:39.774-08:00

I saw a few shows in the 70's. A great place. Camel, Country Joe McDonald, David Crosby, Tom Johnston, McGuinne-Clark-Hillman, Savoy Brown and Spirit. I'm sure I saw more, but who can remember them all? Someone earlier asked how Spirit was. Fantastic.

Dean

My name is Benton. I turned 21 Cooking at the &quo...

2010-12-16T13:42:42.217-08:00

My name is Benton. I turned 21 Cooking at the "Bear" with Ian and Sylvia. Peter Tork was washing dishes and my friend John was bartending. It was Sept. 1965.Iworked there trough 66 for Del Kauffman. Ilater worked there for 2 stents in the70's. I also was there from 84 till the Bear was closed Jan. 29, 1986. Hello Ellen. I still love Ya. Hellos go out to Carole,Kevin, Camel Tom, Chuck, Keith, Lynn, Sally, Sue, Billy V.the greatest soundman ever, Donna, Mark D....When the Bear closed I had to get a real job. I recently retired from the post office and moved to Bozeman, Montana. My email address is b.tasbury@q.com I really miss you guys and The Golden Bear

it was a part store. for cars and trucks.

2010-11-25T09:54:21.876-08:00

it was a part store. for cars and trucks.

I managed to go to the Golden Bear 3 times in the ...

2010-10-30T21:06:05.949-07:00

I managed to go to the Golden Bear 3 times in the early 80's before they closed. I saw Al Stewart, Strange Daze (A Doors tribute band), and a group (and I can't believe I remeber this) called the... Daddy Oh's.

What used to be on the right (south) side of The Golden Bear? It was boarded up when we went there.

i'm writing from hawaii but in the early 70...

2010-09-10T15:00:01.249-07:00

i'm writing from hawaii but in the early 70's i and my kids lived in huntington beach on 3rd st. - just around the corner from the golden bear - yeah - the energy from the bear could be felt and we used to go and sit at the back door and listen to the music - sence i found this site i've been so home sick for those days living by the bear - and the beach and pier in the winter - used to live on 10th street too - does anyone remember the pizza place and a guitarist named john who played there? aloha huntington back in the day!

I worked at the Salty Cellar in the spring of 1967...

2010-08-27T07:40:57.103-07:00

I worked at the Salty Cellar in the spring of 1967. I never saw the cops hurt anyone. I had real long hair, no issues ever there. A short time later a lot of peace loving longhairs were apparently replaced by new longhairs who were a pain in the ass for all of us. Phonies. Just punks who let their hair grow long and dirty.

Lived in Huntington around 1972 and got to see Taj...

2010-08-26T19:15:39.924-07:00

Lived in Huntington around 1972 and got to see Taj Mahal and the Butterfield Blues Band at the Golden Bear. Remember being at a front table and Mike Bloomfield (RIP), Butterfield's lead guitarist, sat down with us! Used to sit outside the Salty Cellar on a warm summer night listening to the Lovin' Spoonful. The Huntington cops got rough later on, busting "longhairs" on the pier for no reason. But the beach and the music were tight.

Or check it out on Myspace at; http://www.myspace...

2010-08-01T20:24:39.067-07:00

Or check it out on Myspace at;

http://www.myspace.com/thegoldenbearnightclub

See The old Bear on Facebook http://www.faceboo...

2010-08-01T20:23:08.707-07:00

See The old Bear on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=117908487125&ref=ts

My mother opened "The Magic Mushroom" wh...

2010-07-19T21:33:24.880-07:00

My mother opened "The Magic Mushroom" when my sister and I were in high school. We kind of adored it and yet at the same time were kind of embarrassed that out mother (who by the way played concert piano and was the accompanist for HBHS choir)had opened a HEAD SHOP!! I remember smoking banana peels with Eric Burden and going to Love-In's wearing my old jobs daughters robe all painted up at Griffith park.. Fun times! RIP Mom..aka Keryl <3

Let's Eat is now "The Undecided" ht...

2010-07-05T19:00:39.795-07:00

Let's Eat is now "The Undecided"

http://www.thesiteguy.com/theundecided/bandbio.htm

they still play!

I remember a band called Let's Eat headlining ...

2010-07-04T17:05:14.036-07:00

I remember a band called Let's Eat headlining regularly at the Golden Bear from about 1978 to 1982. They were a great band and the singer, Deborah Rose, was a force of nature.

A buddy of mine, Marty Stewart, and I used to go t...

2010-04-21T22:52:04.618-07:00

A buddy of mine, Marty Stewart, and I used to go to the Golden Bear in the late 60s and early 70s all the way from Mountain Home Village, CA. on Saturday nights. We were big fans of the Ice House Blues Band and would go and see them play wherever they were. They were a rag-tag bunch of grocery store employees from Alabama who played the best blues I have ever heard. Those were the daze!

I remember going there with my friends in the earl...

2010-04-11T00:34:30.816-07:00

I remember going there with my friends in the early to mid 80's. I saw Oingo Boingo,20/20, The Plimsouls and Tommy Tutone to name a few. The place was always jammed but the audience was cool and never got on your nerves. There will never be another place like it because land is so expensive now by the beach that no nightclub will be able to survive :( I also remember that smelling that ocean air coming out of the nightclub. What a great time that was in my life!

MY BROTHER, ( Paul Hamilton ) used to work at the ...

2010-04-05T14:06:57.689-07:00

MY BROTHER, ( Paul Hamilton ) used to work at the Golden Bear.
He worked all of the lighting for every show.
Getting to know and eventually work with these people who played that gig gave him one of his great breaks in show business (which he still has a great career in.) He now runs his own recording studio in Avon Illinois.
Tom Hamilton

I came to Huntington Beach from Chicago in 1969 af...

2010-04-02T01:25:01.486-07:00

I came to Huntington Beach from Chicago in 1969 after meeting some HB folks at Newport '69. I spent most of that summer living in the back of the record store on Main St. just down the alley from the Golden Bear. We used to leave the back door open and listen to all the music from the Golden Bear. I also remember going to see several groups there. What a shame that it was torn down. The last time I saw it was in the early 80s when I was passing through the area. Everything around there had already changed so much I had trouble finding and recognizing places I had remembered.

Anyone remember a restaurant about a half mile sou...

2010-03-25T22:45:55.162-07:00

Anyone remember a restaurant about a half mile south on the same side of the street as the Golden Bear, a coffee shop, shaped a little bit circular? We would always eat there for some reason before the shows. Maybe it was a Spires. Still trying to figure out why we didn't just eat at the GB. Oh well...

Sad to read about the Golden Bear being torn down ...

2010-03-17T12:45:24.803-07:00

Sad to read about the Golden Bear being torn down back in 1986. I was fortunate enough to go there a ton of times in the late 70's and 80's when the New Wave / Punk scene was starting up.

I saw bands like the Plimsouls, 20/20, the Blasters, and even the Knack before they hit it big.

Other acts from the 60's like the Ventures and memebrs of the Byrds also put on a great shows there.

My brother went there when they booked the Dickies and the Weirdos. I didn't go for some reason but, my brother said that the GB was in a shambles after the show.

I went there a few weeks later seeing McGuinn, Clark, and Hillman and I asked one of the workers there when they were getting the Dickies and the Weirdos back. He asked if i was there but, I told him my brother was and he said it was just nuts. He said neither of those two bands would be coming back.

I remember the GB would let us bring cameras in. I still got some photo's from a McGuinn, Clark, and Hillman show.

It was a great venue and there was nothing like leaving the show out to that fresh ocean breeze.

Sad to hear about places like the Golden Bear and Perkins Palace being torn down or converted to condos. Places like these and the Starwood (which didn't last too far into the 80's if i remember right) where cool venues for concerts.

I got to play at the Golden Bear a few months befo...

2010-02-24T13:49:25.847-08:00

I got to play at the Golden Bear a few months before it closed. The coolest thing was the green room (dressing room) The walls were covered in autographs from the people that had played there. I was I'd taken a picture of it. It was Rock n Roll history.

used to hang out in front of the golden bear for y...

2010-01-14T23:27:02.846-08:00

used to hang out in front of the golden bear for years, sometimes even bought a ticket...1963 thru 69... at night during the week h.bch. was a ghost town...the only thing open was a 'save you soul' place that gave you free donuts and sandwiches....my sister lili worked the ticket window for a few years....the salty cellar was the club a few doors down...underground, beneath the car dealership display room...saw dick dale and the deltones and my favorite surf band...eddie and the showmen at the pavilon at the begining of the pier....anyone remember 'the magic mushroom? on pch north of main about 3 or 4 doors down....the good old days when you could take the tram to the end of the pier for free and fish all night if you wanted to...ahh...the way it was

please somebody from the late 60s and 70s email me...

2009-12-23T19:18:10.485-08:00

please somebody from the late 60s and 70s email me at cactusjack4chevy@yahoo.com old days golden bear,the cave,finnagans rainbow...ect. looking for old pics,old movies reels,ya know what i mean.we were very popular there in those days,I just would like to see some of the good old days or talk to some one who was there at that time in life also.....time is almost gone now!! ya know.

I visited an aunt and uncle in Long Beach in 1971 ...

2009-12-15T19:21:04.156-08:00

I visited an aunt and uncle in Long Beach in 1971 and heard that Seals and Crofts were playing at the Golden Bear. I had seen them in an interview on TV where I was living in Wisconsin and was hoping to see them live some day. The first show was sold out to my disappointment but the owner said there would be a second show and when I told him I was there from Wisconsin he told me to come around to the back door later and he would have a good seat for me. It seemed he may have been Italian or Greek. When I returned for the second show at the rear door he took me to a table right near the stage. The show was so enjoyable and I will never forget the way this man made me feel about being at his club, The Golden Bear. What a delight this was. I have never forgotten it.

I want to Thank Tow Master for his Awesome My Spac...

2009-11-24T19:35:13.098-08:00

I want to Thank Tow Master for his Awesome My Space Memories of GB, From the girl that lived on First Street, Your Friend, Johnna Royer aka-Shawna.