Rock ‘n’ roll was their fame, Scientology was their game
We’ve written several items about Geoff and Robbie Levin and their group People! that had a hit 1968 record and then joined Scientology’s hardcore Sea Organization. It was even the subject of their terrific documentary, Brothers Broken, which played here in New York in November.
But now our helper who dives through newspaper archives found us a real gem: A clip from the Santa Rosa News in January, 1969, with an interview of Robbie as the 19-year-old bass player for the band explained how they were going to change the world with Scientology.
It’s a wonderful item, and a great record of the certitude of a Scientologist.
“Wow! How embarrassing! it looks pretty accurate to me, but what a putz I was! At least I was only 19,” Robbie wrote us after we showed him the clip.
We think he comes off great. Read the piece, and then we’ll show you what else Robbie remembered about it.
‘People’ Students of Scientology
Santa Rosa World, Jan 8, 1969
By Linda Marden
PEOPLE headlined a very successful dance at the Santa Rosa Vets Saturday, Jan. 4, along with Mixed Company and Zodiac Lights. I talked with PEOPLE about their group and what they are doing, and quickly discovered that PEOPLE are not only musicians, but five very intelligent, scholarly young men as well.
Albert Ribisi is the 19-year-old organ player for the group and adds much to the unique sound that only PEOPLE can produce.
Robbie Levin, also 19, is the dark haired bass guitar player. At one time he was a science major in the college.
Lead singer Scott Eason is another 19-year-old. HE joined PEOPLE just two weeks ago. Before joining the group he was in BLUE and the OUTLAW BLUES BAND.
Geoff Levin, 23, is the ‘old man’ of the group. He and Robbie are brothers.
Drummer Dennis Fridkin is 22 years old. He is responsible for the fairy tale story of Allan and the Dragon in the song which he composed, with some help from the rest of the group, “The Epic.”
“PEOPLE play any kind of music from A to Z” says Robbie, who I talked with while the group were engrossed in a game of dice. They play kind of a classical rock, with a mixture of many types of music in most of their own compositions.
This past summer PEOPLE toured 33 states and Nova Scotia promoting their first album and hit single “I Love You” which sold over 700,000 copies across the country. Presently the group lives in Los Angeles, although two years ago they formed in San Jose and still call the San Francisco area their home.
Sunday, Jan. 5, PEOPLE taped “American Bandstand,” and that show should be broadcast within the next few weeks. Their new album “Both Sides of People” has been released on the Capital label and should be in local record stores now. The album includes their hit “I Love You.”
When I asked Robbie if the group had a common interest besides music, he gave me a very surprising answer. He said that all of them have been students of Scientology, the science of life.
Robbie explained, “Music is an art, we don’t play, we communicate our ideas. Because of Scientology, we feel different than others. Scientology makes all people more able. A person becomes aware of everything in his subconscious mind.”
Those people who went to the dance may have noticed the pendant with the initial “S” on it around Robbie’s neck. The “S” stands for Scientology.
“The Beatles, Mama Cass, and the Grateful Dead are only a few of the many celebrities who are becoming interested in Scientology,” states Robbie. “The Church of Scientology is one of the fastest growing organizations in the world.”
Robbie went on to say that they do not advocate the use of drugs. He explained that one goes through “processing” which involves the use of a gadget which reads the electrical charge in the brain and is interpreted by an auditor. A person is asked a series of questions — anything that could be a problem — and when the charge is gone, one knows all that is in his subconscious.
“We became interested in Scientology about eight months ago,” went on Robbie, “we were going to go into meditation when someone told us about Scientology. People tend to confuse it with psychology, but it is nothing like it. It is pure science.”
I was beginning to get a little skeptical about the whole thing. It sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but Robbie swore that there is such an organization.
With a little research I have discovered that he is right, there is a world-wide organization known as the Church of Scientology, which was started by a former science fiction author.
The authors of articles in August 1968 issues of Time and Newsweek are not as enthusiastic about the subject as Robbie, though.
It seems that Scientology is not very welcome in England where it is thought of by the government as a “potential menace to the personality.”
Who is right? It is an interesting subject, and worth delving into if you go for that sort of thing.
PEOPLE are planning a national, and perhaps international tour on which they will promote their new single and album and talk about Scientology. The public dances will be sponsored by local Scientology groups.
PEOPLE claim that they get along better than any other group they know of. It certainly shows on stage, for they are a very tightly knit group and headed for the top.
I remember the gig. We only played live with Scott Eason three times that I show in my gig log. (I still have all of our gigs from June 1966 through October of 1976.) People! morphed in to Rockin’ Horse in 1971 when Albert Ribisi and I were the last standing members from the original band.
Scott Eason only lasted a few weeks. That is when we got John Tristao in the band.
I have an extremely vivid memory of being that brainwashed and having “Total Certainty” of the validity and effectiveness of Scientology. That memory is like it happened yesterday. The feeling is that you are the only one (along with your fellow Scientologists) that actually know the “only truth” about life and the universe. At that time, “total freedom,” “exterior with full perception,” and “total cause over MEST (matter, energy, space and time)” were promoted as the end result of OT VIII. At that point OT VI was the highest level you could do and OT VIII “EP-End Phenomenon” did not seem that far away. I finished the original Clearing Course in October of 1968 and was finished with OT VI by spring of 1969. Hey, I was one of the early Clears at just 20 years old! I thought my shit didn’t stink!
In all actuality, I am grateful for the experience as ever since then I have questioned everything in my life and haven’t purchased on bottle of snake oil since.
It was a sobering experience when I finally realized that it was all a scam. Like I said, embarrassing that I could be so gullible.
Fortunately for me it was not that long and I was still quite young when I woke up so the deprogramming process was relatively short for me.
— Robbie Levin
Geoff adds his thoughts…
At that time Robbie was the leader of the group and the original singers Gene Mason and Larry Norman were out of the group. Scott was the replacement. He was in Scientology. Within six weeks Scott was out and we hired John Tristao and he converted to Scientology.
We actually believed that dogma. Here’s how crazy we were. We had blown off the two singers who made our group unique and popular. I removed myself as the successful leader of the group. We fired our manager who helped us achieve our success. By late fall of ‘69 I was exhibiting full-on depression and my brother and I got into a fist fight and within a month I resigned from the group and went to work at Celebrity Centre. I was the third Sea Org staff member there under Yvonne Gillham.
I produced and directed Brothers Broken, which shows in detail how a young group of gullible music artists were attracted to Hubbard’s spiritual half-truths. I’m blown away that Tony and his researcher found this article.
— Geoff Levin
Scientology press release: We did rock the psychs!
Our thanks to Reyne Mayer, who passed on a press release that Scientology put out yesterday, claiming that they did, in fact, march from “midtown” (presumably where the “Ideal Org” is on 46th Street) to Javits Center, where the American Psychiatric Association was having its annual convention.
It implies that the protest occurred yesterday, on May 7:
NEW YORK, N.Y. and LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 7, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Midtown Manhattan reverberated with angry voices chanting “Stop the Torture—Ban ECT” as a phalanx of protesters from Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) made their way from Times Square to the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) at Jacob Javits Convention Center. Their demands: The American Psychiatric Association must end coercive practices.
No other date is mentioned, except that on May 5 a “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Expo” was opened in Union Square.
We had pointed out that Jeff Pomerantz called for “thousands” of Scientologists to show up for a protest at the APA convention on Saturday, May 4, we went there that day, and there were no protesters to be seen.
We don’t doubt that on a subsequent day, they rounded up a few people at 46th Street to pose for the photo above. Whether they then bothered to march down to the Javits Center on 36th Street, we haven’t heard. But hey, hip, hip, hooray!
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Best part if the article: “I was beginning to get a little skeptical about the whole thing. It sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but Robbie swore that there is such an organization. With a little research I have discovered that he is right, there is a world-wide organization known as the Church of Scientology, which was started by a former science fiction author.” Glad Robbie got out and Geoff saw the light finally too.
The kool aid ran deep on the Peoples. "Because of Scientology, we feel different than others." Throw in a little secret 'knowledge' add some 'hold the cans until you do things Lron's way' and pledge your eternal fealty to the Clampire and you too can be 'different than others'. Well the Levin's got the band back together and they can still make good music. Without $cientology.
The professionals at the APA probably never saw or heard the CCHR flash mob. If it actually moved more then 20 feet from the starting blocks.