unfortunately, it’s one of the festival’s
forgotten acts: Though the Woodstock
documentary cameras were rolling, the
footage couldn’t be used because of a
sound glitch.AFTER WOODSTOCK: Quill released its
first album not long after the festival,
but the group’s exclusion from the hit
film hampered promotion efforts. The
band broke up around 1970 and eventu-
ally both Cole brothers left the music
business entirely. Jon now runs Light
on the Earth Systems, which advo-
cates for solar power; Dan is a private
investor and management consultant,
though he still writes music.big-name talent, including the Who,
the Kinks, Sly and the Family Stone,
the Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin.
The Woodstock organizers had previ-
ously enlisted Quill to play free con-
certs at local prisons, mental hospitals,
and other facilities to generate good
will among locals in advance of the
festival. On the festival stage, the band
played a four-song set: “They Live the
Life,” “That’s How I Eat,” “Driftin’ ,” and
“Waitin’ for You.” They also employed a
move that had usually worked well in
smaller venues—tossing various per-
cussion instruments into the crowd to
encourage the audience to play along.
Quill’s set was warmly received, butAMONG THE VERY FEW
high-functioning “services” at
Woodstock was the free kitchen
run by the communal Hog Farm
group. The contributions from
the group, led by Wavy Gravy,
included the delivery of
“breakfast in bed for 400,000,”
which Wavy now insists was
the introduction of granola to
the masses.