Caffè Lena History Project

Neil Linden

August 2004
Caffe Circa 1966
Some pretty cool names

I found these photos from the Caffe (they're not great) and then found your website, so I had to send them.
     I met John and Frank around 1965 when I saw The Greenbriar Boys at the Caffe (John Herald, Frank Wakefield and Eric Weissberg). Weissberg, a founding member, had left the group before they did any recording and was replaced by Bob Yellin, who went to Israel after their last album which pretty much ended things for the group.
     I guess they persuaded Weissberg to do a few shows. Frank had replaced Ralph Rinzler, the founding mandolin player who recorded with them on all except the final album. I was a student at Albany State, and being a Greenbriar fan and a banjo player, (that's me in the pictures) I got in with John and Frank and became a Greenbriar Boy the next few times they played there. Other than at the Caffe, as a group, the three of us did several annual shows as The Greenbriar Boys at the Harvard University student union the following two years.
     Oh yeah, so then there was a big benefit for the Caffe around that time at Albany High School. The Caffe needed to get the bathrooms up to code or get shut down. I played with the Greenbriar Boys at that show. Bill Spence recordrd the show but so far hasn't been able to put his hands on the tape. Bob Dylan even showed up, but he just was in the audience. I think I remember Tom Paxton performing, maybe Arlo, but I can't remember the rest of the bill, just that there were some pretty cool names.
     I have been out of touch, living in California (Bay Area) since 1978. I got to know Lena pretty well after so many shows there with Frank, and John occasionally. I was sad to hear of her passing. She was quite a lady. I remember going to the Caffe for many memorable shows during those years.
     Anyway, sorry for the poor quality of the pics, but I thought somebody might find them interesting as well as another Caffe story.

Neil Linden

Frank Wakefield with some assistance from Neil and a few other local musicians from Albany.