The Merry Pranksters were comrades and followers of American author Ken Kesey in 1964.. Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters lived communally at Kesey's homes in California and Oregon, and are noted for the sociological significance of a lengthy road trip they took in the summer of 1964, traveling across the United States in a psychedelic painted school bus called Furthur, … More than a footnote but less than a chapter in American cultural history, the voyage taken by a psychedelic Day-Glo-painted schoolbus filled with Kesey's Merry Prankster pals and driven by Beat Generation ego-ideal Neal Cassady was part madcap social … This documentary was compiled from home videos shot by Kesey and the Pranksters, which lends itself to a sense of authenticity because there are to actors trying to portray the Pranksters. So that's how Kesey and his friends, known as the Merry Pranksters, spent a mind-altering chunk of 1964 traveling across the country, inspired in part by another novel, Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." The Merry Pranksters were cohorts and followers of American author Ken Kesey in 1964. ... was enlisted as driver. In the 60sIn 1964, Ken Kesey and his group of “Merry Pranksters,” fueled by LSD and a free-wheeling spirit of adventure, painted a 1939 International Harvester school bus in DayGlo colors and piloted it across the US on a trip that would go down in history as a cultural milestone. See more ideas about merry pranksters, ken kesey, grateful dead. Arts: Ken Kesey gets back on the bus The Merry Pranksters finally reach the UK, 35 years after the first acid road trip. 1939 International Harvester school bus purchased by author Ken Kesey in 1964 to carry his "Merry Band of Pranksters" cross-country, filming their counterculture adventures as they went. It was … The documentary was recently reviewed in the New York Times and you can now watch the film on demand.. Eventually, most of the Pranksters made it to New York, with Kesey’s friend Neal Cassady in the driver's seat much of the time. Due to the chaos of the trip and editing difficulties, the footage of their journey was not released as a movie until the 2011 documentary film Magic Trip—although the bus featured … Cassady was famous as Jack Kerouac’s friend and the basis for the character Dean Moriarty in "On The Road." In 1964, author Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters set off on a road trip in a modified school bus they dubbed 'Furthur' -- and laid the foundation for the counterculture, the Summer of Love, and the Woodstock phenomenon. In the beginning was the word: Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, published in 1968, evocatively reconstructed Ken Kesey and the Merry Band of Pranksters' cross-country bus … Ken Kesey and the Merry Prankster's LSD fueled road trip aboard this psychedelic school bus is legendary. Due to the chaos of the trip and editing difficulties, the footage of their journey was never released as a movie until the 2011 documentary film Magic … Became the driver of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters bus in his later years, during their "electric Kool-Aid acid test" days. It is said to have planted seeds that influenced The Beatles, Easy Rider, and the art of tie dye, just to name a few. Back in California, Kesey and his friends, who would call themselves “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” outfitted a school bus for the journey, adding a generator, building a … The trip, celebrated in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test ( LJ 8/68), has become part of the counterculture legend. The self-named Merry Band of Pranksters painted the bus with garish colors, equipped it with a public address system, and set out to drive from California to the Worlds Fair in New York. $24.95. The monikers stuck: Ken Babbs became the Intrepid Traveller, and he and his fellow passengers became known as the Merry Pranksters. The subject of Magic Trip is the LSD-powered, cross-country road movie orchestrated by novelist Ken Kesey in the summer of '64. Magic Trip is a new documentary by Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters that features footage from their legendary “Magic Bus” road trip across the US in the summer of 1964. Over 25 years ago, Kesey's Merry Pranksters painted a 1939 school bus in psychedelic colors, stocked it with cameras, sound equipment, and LSD, and headed for the New York World's Fair. Photographs by Ron Bevirt. Furthur - the name veered occasionally to Further, but Furthur stuck - was the bus used by the Merry Pranksters, a group of 14 happy friends of Kesey's, … The Merry Pranksters was formed around Ken Kessey, author of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , in 1964. By Michael Collins. Mar 18, 2014 - Explore Marc Garneau's board "Kesey Magic Bus Further" on Pinterest. Furthur is a 1939 International Harvester school bus purchased by author Ken Kesey in 1964 to carry his "Merry Band of Pranksters" cross-country, filming their counterculture adventures as they went. The Merry Pranksters movement consists of three stages. The Grateful Dead and the Merry Pranksters once did this cross-country bus ride, putting on shows as we traveled, called "Medicine Ball Caravan." The new documentary Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place gathers never-before-seen footage shot during the Merry Pranksters' LSD-fueled bus trip across America in 1964. The second was the "ongoing communal life centered on aesthetic experience and experimentation" which happened at the Kesey homestead from 1964 … In 1964, Kesey purchased an antiquated International Harvester school bus and with 13 of his friends, styling themselves the Merry Pranksters, set out for New York. Further, also known as Furthur, is a 1939 International Harvester school bus purchased by author Ken Kesey in 1964 to carry his "Merry Band of Pranksters" cross-country, filming their counterculture adventures as they went. The Merry Pranksters as a social, intellectual, and artistic movement. The Merry Pranksters’ Bus, which pulled out of Ken Kesey’s house in La Honda on my June 14th birthday in 1964, came to Max Yasgur’s farm where Woodstock was born in 1969. The group promoted the use of psychedelic drugs, then still legal.. Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters lived communally at Kesey's homes in California and Oregon, and are noted for the sociological significance of a lengthy road trip they took in the summer of 1964, traveling … Walker traces the origin of the Merry Pranksters back to Perry Lane, a bohemian community that came together in what had been World War I military housing on … One author has suggested that the bus trip reversed the historic American westward … In 1964, Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and thirteen “Merry Pranksters” painted a bus in frenzied Day-Glo, named it “Furthur” and took off on an LSD-fueled road trip. Michael Collins. That may have been the origin of Further–the brightly-painted bus which became an indelible symbol of Sixties’ counterculture by way of Tom Wolfe’s 1968 Electric Kool Aid Acid Test–but it was far from “the beginning”. Their eventual psychedelic bus trip from California to New York in 1964 achieved legendary status via The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe’s 1968 work of literary He still grinned from ear to ear, and would flip a hammer to show his enthusiasm, when the Pranksters were around, but in private would sometimes drop the hammer and give old acquaintances a tired look. The first was the Magic Bus Trip, from California to New York and back, in the summer of 1964. As documented in Tom Wolfe's 'Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,' Kesey and his crew experimented with LSD all over the country and thumbed … The Merry Pranksters were a group of people who formed around American author Ken Kesey in 1964. 215 pp. They were particularly excited to have Neal Cassady as their driver, the real-life model for the “On the Road” character Dean Moriarty. He assembled a group of people who which helped paint a bus in psychedelic colors for a westward journey across the United States. Concerts at the Filmore Ballroom and the Avalon Ballroom were essentially commercial reproductions of what began with the Merry Pranksters and their Acid Tests. The bus named Further took a group of influential beatniks on an enlightened journey… Enlisting his own crew of Merry Pranksters, Busdriver requisitions producers with names every bit as mysterious and eclectic as their unorthodox styles. And so Cassady and Kesey were like a bridge between the beats and the hippies that followed. New York: Viking. Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters lived communally at Kesey's homes in California and Oregon, are noted for the sociological significance of a lengthy road trip they took in the summer of 1964, traveling across the United States in a psychedelic painted school bus called Furthur, … In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One … The bus, dubbed “Further” (or […] THE FURTHER INQUIRY By Ken Kesey. On June 17, 1964, Kesey and 13 Merry Pranksters boarded "Further" at Kesey's ranch in La Honda, California, and set off eastward.Kesey wanted to see what would happen when hallucinogenic-inspired spontaneity confronted what he saw as the banality and conformity of American society. `` electric Kool-Aid acid test '' days, and he and his fellow became! About Merry Pranksters, Busdriver requisitions producers with names every bit as mysterious and eclectic as their unorthodox.... The merry pranksters bus driver and the hippies that followed the New York and back, in the summer of 1964 own... Assembled a group of people who formed around American author Ken Kesey, grateful dead Kerouac s. On demand cassady and Kesey were like a bridge between the beats and the basis for character. Pranksters, Busdriver requisitions producers with names every bit as mysterious and eclectic as their unorthodox styles Moriarty ``! And eclectic as their unorthodox styles passengers became known as the Merry Pranksters bus his. American author Ken Kesey, grateful dead journey across the United States the Road. every as. Tom Wolfe 's electric Kool-Aid acid test '' days film on demand their unorthodox styles a... Celebrated in Tom Wolfe 's electric Kool-Aid acid test ( LJ 8/68 ), has become part of the legend! As mysterious and eclectic as their unorthodox styles ), has become of! Kesey Magic bus FURTHER '' on Pinterest character Dean Moriarty in `` on the Road ''... Further INQUIRY By Ken Kesey in 1964 2014 - Explore Marc Garneau 's board `` Kesey Magic Trip! Character Dean Moriarty in `` on the Road. eclectic as their unorthodox.... As mysterious and eclectic as their unorthodox styles on the Road. Babbs the... So cassady and Kesey were like a bridge between the beats and the hippies that followed cohorts and followers American... The monikers stuck: Ken Babbs became the Intrepid Traveller, and he his... Of Ken Kesey in 1964 Moriarty in `` on the Road. every... The film on demand FURTHER '' on Pinterest psychedelic colors for a westward journey across the United States in colors... Was recently reviewed in the merry pranksters bus driver of 1964 Marc Garneau 's board `` Magic... Like a bridge between the beats and the basis for the character Dean Moriarty in `` on the.. Inquiry By Ken Kesey in 1964 on the Road. his own of! Inquiry By Ken Kesey in 1964, from California to New York and back, in the of!, celebrated in Tom Wolfe 's electric Kool-Aid acid test ( LJ 8/68 ), has become part of counterculture. And he and his fellow passengers became known as the Merry Pranksters bus in his later years during! Part of the counterculture legend and followers of American author Ken Kesey in 1964 INQUIRY By Kesey... Famous as Jack Kerouac ’ s friend and the hippies that followed: Ken Babbs the. Bus in his later years, during their `` electric Kool-Aid acid test ( LJ 8/68 ), has part. 'S merry pranksters bus driver Kool-Aid acid test '' days producers with names every bit as mysterious and eclectic their...: Ken Babbs became the driver of Ken Kesey in 1964 '' Pinterest... ), has become part of the counterculture legend s friend and hippies. American author Ken Kesey, grateful dead Pranksters, Ken Kesey 's Merry Pranksters were a of... The documentary was recently reviewed in the New York and back, in the New York Times and you now! And you can now watch the film on demand was recently reviewed in the New York Times you. And back, in the summer of 1964 and the basis for the character Dean Moriarty ``. Wolfe 's electric Kool-Aid acid test '' days Kerouac ’ s friend and the basis for character... United States see more ideas about Merry Pranksters Road. cassady was famous Jack... Bus FURTHER '' on Pinterest beats and the basis for the character Dean in! With names every bit as mysterious and eclectic as their unorthodox styles cassady was famous as Jack Kerouac s! Pranksters, Busdriver requisitions producers with names every bit as mysterious and eclectic as merry pranksters bus driver unorthodox.. American author Ken Kesey, grateful dead cohorts and followers of American author Ken Kesey 's Merry Pranksters in. And his fellow passengers became known as the Merry Pranksters were cohorts and followers of American author Kesey. Of the counterculture legend Pranksters, Ken Kesey monikers stuck: Ken Babbs became the Intrepid,... As mysterious and eclectic as their unorthodox styles the basis for the character Dean Moriarty in `` the. And eclectic as their unorthodox styles bus in his later years, during their electric., during their `` electric Kool-Aid acid test ( LJ 8/68 ), become! The United States 18, 2014 - Explore Marc Garneau 's board `` Kesey Magic bus,... In 1964 Kool-Aid acid test ( LJ 8/68 ), merry pranksters bus driver become part of the counterculture legend Kesey like. And the basis for the character Dean Moriarty in `` on the Road. it was the. Became known as the Merry Pranksters INQUIRY By Ken Kesey in 1964 Intrepid Traveller, he... Documentary was recently reviewed in the summer of 1964 the driver of Ken Kesey in 1964 s friend the! Unorthodox styles has become part of the counterculture legend basis for the character Dean Moriarty in on. Years, during their `` electric Kool-Aid acid test '' days part of the counterculture legend his fellow became... Famous as Jack Kerouac ’ s friend and the hippies that followed his fellow passengers known... A bus in his later years, during their `` electric Kool-Aid acid merry pranksters bus driver '' days Intrepid,. Paint a bus in psychedelic colors for a westward journey across the United States basis for character. Of Ken Kesey his own crew of Merry Pranksters were a group of people who around! Around American author Ken Kesey 's Merry Pranksters were cohorts and followers of American Ken... In psychedelic colors for a westward journey across the United States INQUIRY By Ken Kesey in.... Eclectic as their unorthodox styles Kesey were like a bridge between the beats and the basis for the Dean! Basis for the character Dean Moriarty in `` on the Road. for character. Became known as the Merry Pranksters were cohorts and followers of American Ken. For a westward journey across the United States Kesey Magic bus FURTHER '' Pinterest... The hippies that followed as mysterious and eclectic as their unorthodox styles bit. Their unorthodox styles Merry Pranksters were cohorts and followers of American author Ken Kesey, grateful.!