Jerry Santbergan

I was soon good friends with Jerry Santbergen who was at least a bit of a media star. He had moved to Toronto with his girlfriend Kaaren Blatchford. Jerry rented the former Bohemian Embassy as his studio. I worked with Jerry a lot of the time and we moved a little dope to pay the bills

One of the more fun things was The Electro Magnetic Spectrum Band also known as the silicon control or the Solid State Waste Removal Company orchestra and chorus.the rule was you wern't allowed to have ever played a musical instrument So tom Sinew was kicked out and I took his place.
Bart Scoales. Ziggy Blazer, Jerry Santbergen, Moses Smith and me had an avant-garde band in 1967

We  played Tape recorders, movie and slide projectors and strobe lights and a wind machine and incense etc. Sam The Record Man let Jerry and I use any of his records we wanted to tape.We had Philips 2 track tape recorders and taped differnt music on each track and blended it.
We played one gig at McGill University in Hamilton and got paid $2000.
Most people actually stayed to the end.
I was stoned turned on my tape and got caught up in the strobes and wandered away for a while
We even got reviewed in arts Canada.

I made a great contact from Kitchener. that brought me 10 lbs of grass every week for $500.00 it was half home grown and half mexican and pretty decent stuff.I had a buyer who bought 5 ibs off me for $500.00 so I had 5 lbs to fool with. I cut Jerry in as a full partner just because we were friends.
it certainly made life easier and getting laid a lot easier.Around this time Jerry ans Kaaren broke up.
Jerry also got caught up big time with acid.
We had the high park sculpture symposium and had a few parties with them. with all our pot we handed it out easily. One party at Gynts Skudras place Gynts and Rossa nailed themselves into their bedroom.
 Jerry was invited to give a lecture at the New School of Art so we showed up with a slide projector and slides of all his work and a large trunk. When we had the projector set up. We opened the trunk which was filled with beer. We handed out beer and joints to all the students who seemed to enjoy the show. The staff were not so happy and we were banned from the New school for life.
I get a phone call from Jerry at 8 am one morning. I can hardly hear him but he wanted me to come over right away. I get over expecting the worst. He tells me he dropped acid only he had a lecture to give at the Ontario Teacher's College. Then he pleads with me to do the lecture for him basically to show his slides and talk about his art. I decline but he says he will split the $300.00 fee with me so what the hell do I care. Off we go I introduce us and set up the projector and start showing the slides
to a large room full of students and teachers. jerry sat behind me with a big stoned smile and never said a word. When people asked him questions he would just nod to me and I would answer them.
Somehow We got through it. I was sure we were not going to get paid.
Lo and behold it was a huge success they mentioned Andy Warhol said it was like a modern Art show totally impressed. We grabbed the cheque laughed  and ran to the bank.

Jerry somehow got a Canada Council Grant to make laser art or something he was starting to get a bit weird and was dropping acid more frequently.  he had a how coming up at Carmen Lamanna Gallery and was sketching madly He ordered a dozen or so really fancy expensive folding stretchers about 6 ft by 6 ft.. he was not happy with his sketches and suddenly he just disappeared for a week. He had gone to New York and he came back with a load of new sketches. he bought a couple of rolls of canvas and we started stretching and taping the hard edge designs. Jerry did the actual painting following his sketches. I helped Jerry design these invitations to his show.The show was not received well.  I discovered later he had gone to new York and hung out with Frank Stella who he knew. he had copied Stella's show and that is pretty well what we had made.

Photograph i took for Gallery Invitation.

So one Friday I go to pick up the money to buy my 10 lbs of grass and I find Jerry already got it and I found he got the grass and said I would pay for it. i found he had sold it and flown to England.
He really left me in a bind. nd those deals were no more.
He returned about a moth later very spaced out he promised.to pay me back. I dont remember exactly but i started keep away.  Jerry started going with a new girlfriend (cant remember her name)
she was kind of beat looking black hair black turtleneck and skirt and leotards etc.They did a lot of acid  and would call me over as they thought they were moving ashtrays with there minds.Jerry told me they were going to do STP that weekend he called me aside and said he wanted the ultimate trip but if he got too high would I bring him down. Jerry was not really the same and I kept right away from him.He got into a whole thing were he set fire to one of his paintings at the AGO (see Photos by krash John Radcliffe)

These Photos by John Radcliffe