Who was Owsley Stanley?
Q: Who was Owsley Stanley?
A: Owsley Stanley (born Augustus Owsley Stanley III, January 19, 1935 – March 13, 2011) was an important person in the rise of the San Francisco Bay counter-culture during the Beat-era years. He was best known under the name of "Owsley" - a magician like figure who "cooked" LSD. He was also a music producer, engineer and artist to psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead.
Q: What did Bear do for The Grateful Dead?
A: Bear was the road manager for The Grateful Dead and he became their sound engineer. His technical interests helped the band's interest in electronic, acoustic and mystical properties of sound. He often recorded live tapes behind his mixing board and developed their own high-fidelity audio components and sound-systems for their performances. His abilities helped The Dead to experiment further afield, playing in dramatic and remote places.
Q: How did companies form to support The Grateful Dead?
A: Their need for support to tour with big shows, and their need for special equipment meant that companies formed to supply them. These needs were the starting point for both Marin County's high-end music-instrument makers Alembic Inc and concert-sound manufacturer Meyer Sound.
Q: What is Owsley known for producing?
A: Owsley is known around the world as one of the first people to manufacture mass quantities of LSD between 1965 and 1967; he produced more than 1.25 million doses of LSD which is still known today for its quality and purity.
Q: How did Owsley's production help develop counterculture?
A: This amount of quality LSD was responsible for the wide popularity of the drug, and thus contributed greatly to development of an anti-authoritarian, anti-war counterculture from Los Angeles' Sunset Strip Riots all way up to San Francisco's Summer Of Love which has been described as "the biggest LSD party in history."
Q: Where did Owsley die?
A: Stanley died in an car accident in Queensland, Australia on March 13th 2011
