ACE OF CUPS
Historic all-female rock band, Marin’s Ace of Cups, remembered as pathbreaking, also still making music individually and collectively

One of the delightful surprises at the Marin History Museum’s MARIN ROCKS June Gala was the on-stage reunion of two members from the legendary Ace Of Cups rock band—drummer Diane Vitalich and guitarist Mary Ellen Simpson.

Here is the story of the “Aces.”

The Ace of Cups emerged in San Francisco in 1967 but moved to Marin County early on during their five years of performing. Since then, they’ve been honored as (very likely) history’s first all-female rock band (as opposed to 1950s-style vocal-focused “girl groups”), as all five members played rock band instruments, sang, and shared the songwriting.

“I feel like we were the pioneers, the first women’s rock group,” reflected drummer Vitalich in a March, 2009 interview with Bruce Robinson at www.metroactive.com.

“I think we really influenced other women who saw us and thought, ‘Wow, I wanna do that.’ Because that’s how it starts.”

Marla (Hunt) Hanson (piano, organ, vocals) met Mary (Gannon) Alfiler (bass, vocals) in 1966. Gannon met Diane Vitalich (drums, vocals) playing at a party on Clayton Street in San Francisco. Vitalich, a San Francisco native, was also known for being one of the first female rock drummers, and was a veteran jammer in several pre-psychedelic bands.

It was Gannon who suggested they form an all-female rock band. Earlier, in 1963, Gannon had been crowned Miss Monterey, CA, and after the Aces formed, the other women found she was a strong songwriter and had a penchant for singing humorous lyrics. “She was also a solid bass player,” said Vitalich.

Hunt, who had played piano since childhood, had matured into a highly proficient musician, noted Vitalich. “She had an unbelievably soulful voice. I remember very well that guitarist Michael Bloomfield (who had relocated from Chicago to Marin) loved Marla’s singing.” Hunt also became a solid songwriter for the Aces.

Next to join the band was Mary Ellen Simpson (guitar, vocals). She was a classic lead guitar player and accomplished songwriter, who like Hunt and Gannon had moved to San Francisco several years earlier. Simpson played rock and blues, but had just adopted psychedelic stylings—in tune with the new times. “She was hot,” Vitalich said, “and she was in!”

Finally, the four women discovered Denise Kaufman (harmonica, guitar, vocals), who at that moment was jamming with Blue Cheer, adding blues-harp to the Cheer’s sound. In a 1995 interview with Joe Frolik of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Hunt remembered her first impression (in the fall of 1966) of Kaufman: “I’ll never forget when she first met us. Denise wore cowboy boots, a very short skirt, a wild fur coat, and a fireman’s hat. Her hair was sticking straight out on both sides! She had these huge eyeglasses and this big guitar case—she’s like 5’ 3”—and the guitar was almost as big as she was. Even in San Francisco she stood out.”

“One of her songs just knocked us out,” said Vitalich. “We immediately felt, ‘she’s gotta be in the band, too.’ So there was the five.”

The name “Ace of Cups” was proposed to the band by their first manager, astrologer Ambrose Hollingsworth, based on the Ace of Cups Tarot card. That image is a regal cup held by a God-like hand, overflowing with five streams of water in a cycle re-entering and uprising from the earth. Hollingsworth told the five musicians that the streams represented them individually and collectively, and that they should “go with the flow” to see where the music would take them.

“It was the fertility of infinity,” Vitalich explained. “So that was our name and we loved it.”

The Ace of Cups made their on-stage debut at a high school gym near the California/Oregon border in the spring of 1967. Then, in late June, following the memorable Monterey Pop Festival, one of Monterey’s stars, Jimi Hendrix, played San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park Panhandle. The Ace of Cups was chosen to be his opening act. Hendrix himself plugged into Mary Ellen Simpson’s guitar amp. He was also seen taking pictures of them during their performance.

Later that year, in December, Hendrix told London’s Melody Maker magazine that he’d met “this all-girl group, the Ace of Cups, who write their own songs—and whose lead guitarist (Simpson) is hell, really great.”

The five musicians moved the band to Tamalpais Valley in Marin, and shortly thereafter Michael Bloomfield’s band, the Electric Flag, began rehearsing at the Ace of Cups’ house. Then, the Aces moved their rehearsal place to the Sausalito Heliport where many local Marin bands and musicians rehearsed, jammed, and congregated. “I remember on one hot day, when we had the helicopter-hanger doors open, and we were rocking out, Elvin Bishop came walking in playing the maracas and said, “Can I jam?”

“Another time, Dino Valenti and Gary Duncan from Quicksilver Messenger Service came riding in on their motorcycles, just for fun,” Vitalich recalled. Some of the other bands that rehearsed at the Heliport were Gale Garnett and Gentle Rain, the Sons of Champlin, Quicksilver, and the Grateful Dead.

The Ace of Cups played the “Festival of Growing Things” on Mt. Tamalpais along with Big Brother and Janis Joplin, Blue Cheer, the Jefferson Airplane, and many others.  At the conclusion of that show, each audience member was given a packet of seeds to grow flowers.

One other memorable Marin appearance by the Aces was at an all-day 1968 benefit event in the parking lot outside The Ark in Sausalito. The Ark was a legendary club, converted from a beached ferry boat, the venerable Charles Van Damme, where many Marin musicians, including Janis Joplin, jammed with their friends after hours.

Chet Helms and Bill Graham regularly booked the Ace of Cups. Throughout 1967 – 1969, they were an opening act many times at the Avalon Ballroom (produced by Helms’ Family Dog Productions) and the Fillmore Auditorium (produced by Graham). One of their most famous appearances was when they opened for The Band in April 1969 at the Graham-promoted Winterland dance arena, commemorated by a famous poster by artist Randy Tuten.

They also headlined at dozens of smaller clubs such as the Matrix (SF), the New Orleans House (Berkeley), the Poppycock (Palo Alto), the Bold Knight (Sunnyvale), and at out-of-town venues like the Sound Factory (Sacramento). Along the way, mostly in the Bay Area, they opened for the Grateful Dead, Steve Miller, Buddy Miles, Canned Heat, Quicksilver, Big Brother, the Youngbloods, It’s a Beautiful Day, Hot Tuna, the Sons, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and many more.

The Ace of Cups shared management with Quicksilver under Ron Polte’s direction. Unfortunately, due to internal band conflicts and questionable management decisions, the band never signed recording contracts offered to them. Only in the last decade have tapes of live recordings and a few studio sessions been unearthed. A compilation was released in 2003 on the European label Ace Records with a full booklet of liner notes by Alec Palao, available at www.theaceofcups.com.

Another CD of songs by Simpson, Vitalich, and Hanson (Hunt) was released in 2008 as The Windows of Time, available at www.theaceofcups.com/acealumni/. The Ace of Cups also is featured in the box set Love is the Song We Sing, produced by Palao., available at www.rhino.com.

A historically insightful video is available, Go Ride the Music, also starring the Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver, along with a previously-longtime unavailable video West Pole, starring the Aces, the Sons, the Grateful Dead, and Steve Miller. West Pole (now available at www.eaglerockent.com) was the combined work of Aces’ manager Polte and famed San Francisco Chronicle journalist Ralph Gleason, recorded live for San Francisco’s Channel 5 in 1968.

Ironically, one of the rarest ’45 singles in American history was recorded by Denise Kaufman in 1965, backed by teen musicians from Berkeley High School. The “A” side was “Boy, What’ll You Do Then,” on Oakland’s Wee Records. Approximately 100 copies were waxed, but nearly all disappeared after the producer’s car was broken into.

Then, several years ago, an original pressing turned up and was put on eBay with a minimum bid of $4.99. Within a few days, bidding escalated to $5,100. Ultimately famed Bay Area record collector and dealer Barry Wickham purchased it for $10,000—easily twice what Wickham had ever paid for a record.

Said Wickham afterwards, “It’s the most important Bay Area garage-style record ever, as far as I’m aware.”  It should be noted that Wickham, now based in Petaluma, also is a major contributor to the Marin History Museum’s MARIN ROCKS Exhibition, as is Marin-based poster collector and dealer Paul Getchell, who provided the Museum with a handbill for the Festival of Growing Things.

After the ’45 was safely in Wickham’s hands, Kaufman commented on that long-ago recording session. “When someone tells you your work is meaningless, don’t let it stop you. Maybe no one gets what you are doing, so try not to get discouraged. Whatever your medium of expression is, keep the faith and keep going! Maybe you are just way ahead of the curve.”

Kaufman had a very colorful background as early as 1965. She was one of the first women skateboarders, had been arrested during Berkeley’s Free Speech Movement, was involved with writer Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters (who bestowed upon her the name “Mary Microgram” that author Tom Wolfe took note of in his Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test book), and collaborated with activist Wavy Gravy.

Around 1972, the Ace of Cups dissolved, as some of the band members had already started families and were looking for a more peaceful lifestyle. The possibility of extensive touring was no longer an option.

The five original band members have remained friends to this day, and are planning another full reunion soon.

Here’s the answer to the often-asked question, “Where are they now?”

Marla (Hunt) Hanson founded the Fairfax St. Choir, for which she served as band leader. The Choir played all over Marin, including memorable appearances at the Sleeping Lady Café in Fairfax. Bill Graham booked them to open for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young during that band’s heyday, at California Hall in San Francisco. Marla now lives in Kona, on the big island of Hawaii, has a successful business, and still plays music.

Mary (Gannon) Alfiler joined the Fairfax St. Choir before moving to Kauai, Hawaii in 1972. She has seven children, and joined a women’s canoe-paddling team that won the state championship in Hilo, Hawaii. Mary also became a chorus teacher, sings, plays piano, and rocks out on the ukulele. Mary recently told Diane Vitalich, “My claim to fame is being a member of the Ace of Cups. I loved every performance, loved the songs—and in fact loved everything about it!”

Diane Vitalich also joined the Fairfax St. Choir, played drums for them, and sang on one original song that can be heard on the soon-to-be-released Fairfax St. Choir CD. Some of Diane’s songs can be heard on the Aces’ Alumni CD. For most of the past several decades Diane has remained in Marin and was a member of—in her words—“countless numbers of rock bands, playing gigs all over the Bay Area.” She founded her own band, Lady Di & The Dukes, which made it possible to earn a living playing Top 40, blues, soul, reggae, country, and jazz. Diane is also an accomplished Massage Therapist and a home gardener. “But I continue to live out my first love,” Diane says. “And that’s to gig, play drums, sing, record, and perform.”

Denise Kaufman made her way to Kauai, Hawaii, where she and Mary Gannon had an all-woman band named Tropical Punch. On one amazing New Years Eve, the singer Buffy Sainte Marie joined them, as did Diane Vitalich. Denise also made a home in Santa Monica, where she went to the Music Institute, learned bass guitar, joined an all-woman band called the Outskirts, and also held down bass in a surf band. More recently she has become a Yin Yoga teacher for many music-oriented professionals (Madonna, Quincy Jones, Sting). Now Denise lives in both Venice, CA and Kauai, Hawaii. Recalling her skateboarding days, she’s become an accomplished surfer. Currently as this piece is being written, she’s traveling in a big van, on a European tour playing bass with The Durgas for the summer. Denise told Diane, “It’s sort of like getting back on Kesey’s bus for me!” You can read about The Durgas’ adventures at http://www.thedurgas.com/tour.php and there is a long piece about Denise and the Aces at www.lysergia.com/LamaWorkshop/AceOfCups/lamaAceOfCupsBody.htm.

Mary Ellen Simpson, after her Marin days, first moved to Trinity County in California. She played in two more all-women bands, the Cosmic Cowgirls and Raven, and in other bands that focused on blues, rock, and country. She now lives in Weaverville, CA and is a Mental Health Specialist. Mary Ellen joined Diane for their much-anticipated appearance at the Marin History Museum’s MARIN ROCKS Gala.

Diane Vitalich, Mary Ellen Simpson, and the Ace of Cups send many thanks to Jean Zerrudo, Chair of the MHM Gala; to Dawn Laurant, the Museum’s Curator; to Merry Alberigi, MHM’s Executive Director; and to the MHM staff and volunteers.

Speaking on behalf of the five band members, Diane said, “We know how much time and energy went into creating the MARIN ROCKS Gala, and we know that energy will be fueling the upcoming Exhibition—which will be a boost to Marin musicians and Marin’s music students. Marin has been given a gift of an inspiring musical heritage and now future generations will be inspired themselves.”

Diane also stated, “I personally want to thank Narada Michael Walden for his ability to create a true musical extravaganza, while managing to empower each and every participating musician with love and compassion.”