This is Village stalwart Michael Mann. Once a budding Greenwich Village star, he is more remembered for being 'THAT GUY' whose past, present and future has escaped documentation. The Roche sisters remember him as does Erik Frandsen, Peggy Duncan and George Gerdes. I've put a small piece together in a video clip that most certainly won't find its way into the documentary on Gerdes on-a-count-of time running short to begin with. I'm already hard pressed to mention all the wonderful people to play Folk City.
Mike Mann was a side question of mine during the interviews.
~Bob P
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| Michael Mann, 2010 (Photo courtesy Peter Bengston) |
My brother, Hank Blair, knew Michael Mann and spent a lot of time with him. Hank wrote about Mann in his journal. He mentioned what a great guitar player Michael Mann was. Like Mann, my brother also payed the Greenwich Village scene but arrived a little later in 1965 - 66. Hank was a very troubled individual. He drank excessively and wandered the Village... once in central park, screaming songs all night into the morning hours, on guitar and harmonica. Hank wrote songs also. He was a very good artist. He came to his own as a visual artist moreso than with music. He made a record in one of the area indie companies. Judging from Hank's writings, he and Mann hung out together and jammed a lot. Hank also met Bob Dylan. In Hank's journal, he wrote about a time when he was having an episode of hearing voices and having paranoid delusions. Bob drove him to the hospital, which was very kind thing for him to do, especially during his busy career and rise to fame at that time. Anyway, that's only part of the story. There's much about Michael Mann and Hank Blair that I'll never know, because much detail was left out. Hank wrote a lot more in his journal about the many people he met and hung out with. Hank also went by several monikers, such as "Richard Dean", "Byrdman", and "Wizard Hank". My brother ran away and disappeared many times in his life to escape the pressures of his tormented mind. Right now, I'm trying to find out what happened to Hank. The last time he was seen was in Kalamazoo Michigan, 1977. My parents never filed a missing person's report on Hank. I assumed they did because of all the worry and effort all the adults in my family put into locating him. Last year, (2024 August) I filed a missing person's report w/ the state police of Michigan and gave them a DNA sample to match for any possible remains that could be found on Hank. I've also writen a book about my life and times, and it comprises the story of my brother and my time with him. We were very close, but our time was cut short by the circumstances I describe. I think my father may have murdered Hank. In my father's mind it was a mercy kill, and indeed Hank suffered tremendously from schizophrenia. My father also had PTSD. It's a very involved very strange story of abuse and trauma. There's much more to my story in my personal life as well, with my conversion and life experiences, soon to be published in my book. If anyone ever met my brother, please let me know. My email is blairs67@yahoo.com. Thanks and God bless! - Kevin
ReplyDeleteHere is a link posted to inform the public of Hank's dissappearence:
Deletehttps://websleuths.com/threads/mi-henry-stirling-blair-iii-32-kalamazoo-12-august-1977.733871/ Also type in Hank Blair NAMUS. It will lead to other links. I'm also a musician and artist inspired by the music and art of that period. If one is interested, here is a link to my rumble and YouTube sites: https://rumble.com/register/Hooldans761 /
https://youtube.com/@thespanky007?si=ysqzoA51JTLpNNy3 / https://rumble.com/c/PsychoBlossomFalloutShelter / https://rumble.com/v33ffgx-double-blind-sea-change-deception-by-kevin-blair.html.
Out In this sea of mass robotic ai strangeness, I'm searching to connect with any surviving like-minds and hearts who love the Good Lord! Kevin.
PS. Does anyone know of any recordings or phonograph records of Hank Blair or Mike Mann? Or maybe both in a band?
Check out this artical written about Michael Mann by Galal Chater:
Deletehttps://galalchater.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--6e4a5224cce9
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