The Kindred Spirit (1968–1970)
I wish I had more photos of The Kindred Spirit. This was the magical time. We were 18 to 21, working our butts off on these fabulous vocal arrangements that Thom composed and wowing audiences at the original Twelfth Gate Coffee House and the Bottom of the Barrel in Atlanta.
We moved to Manhattan in 1969 (when I was 19) and landed a regular spot at The Bitter End in the West Village. Paul Coleby, the Bitter End’s manager at the time, became our agent and hooked us up with Marilyn Lipsius who ran the College Coffee House Circuit, a big deal on the East Coast back then.
Thom Tollerson, Deborah McColl, Phil Rolleston”
We played the colleges during the Vietnam moratorium days, sang about love and spiritual revolution, made friends with the students and stayed at their homes in Vermont and Boston and elsewhere. We all vividly remember sitting on a mountainside watching the sun rise (probably after being up all night tripping) while singing Thom’s “Mountain Song”. Transcendent.