Life can be a topsy turvy ride and musicians in particular can have some of the wildest rides. These little pages are meant to give a little insight into the lives of a couple of psychadelic era musicians who were truly wonderful people, gifted musicians and all to human.Jim Voigt and Barbara "Sandi" Robison
These pages are about Jim and Barb, so to say as little as possible about me- Jim and I grew up on the same street Ave 63 in Highland Park, Los Angeles. Jim was always a joyfull, life loving person and allowed me as a kid 6 years younger to hang around. In 1968 I was a run away from a bad home and Jim and Barb let me stay at their home(s) as needed. Accepted and treated as a little brother I was thus priviledged to witness many defining moments in their careers and personal lives from 1968 to 1971. Jim was a dedicated drummer, as soon the mornings necessities allowed he would grab his sticks and practice his chops. He would actually wear out the lap tops of his levi's just from the constant rippling of the sticks. Barb was someone who truly loved to sing and even her "Good Morning" greeting would sound like a song. For someone who could sing with such a clear,deep and broad sound, her speaking voice had a wonderful smokey ripple to it.
As Jim practiced his chops and drank his morning glass of beer and tomato juice, he would share his philosophies. Deeply moved be eastern mysticism and the power of psychedelics he was always having a new ephinany, a new and radical outlook on life that would one day lead him to declare celibacy and the next day to be in a moral crisis because he could not stay commited.
As great a drummer Jim was, he was not easy to work with. One day the news came that the Peanut Butter Conspiracy members had voted Jim out but wanted Barbara to stay on. Because of the financial situation at the time, Barbara decided agaist Jim's desire to form a new band and the rift that brought about their separation and a cycle of on again off again, hurt again started to roll.
Jim was a powerful and versatile drummer and played for a number of different bands all over California. Jim would get a gig in Visallia for a couple of weeks and Barb would load up the old Econline van with the broken windshield wipers to drive over the grapevine to see Jim for a night only to have to take off to the Sultan festival. When young healthy lovers are apart this much, well.
Jim moved out, back to his parents home and for Barbara it was becoming clear that the heyday of the PBC was over. A young single hippy mom at the beginnings of the womens lib era Barbara made arrangements with a friendly dentist to get strongly dosed with sodium pentathol (the truth serum) in an attempt to find out with-in herself what she really wanted. There was a strong belief in that little family that the right solution to life was a pill, a shot, a trip away. ahh if it was just that easy!
Barbara went to an audition for the musical Hair and came home hopefull. "Well I sang a couple of songs and they asked me to dance, I was never a dancer so I just kind of pranced around and waved my arms. She got the gig, started as a supporting player and soon was playing Sheila, one of the female leads.
Barbara as a singer
Adventures with Jim
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