Rock relics

Backstage Pass museum displays music collectibles

By Cindy Card, Journal correspondent | Wednesday, March 26, 2008

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HILL CITY — Every collector dreams of creating the perfect display for his treasures, from the ideal curio cabinet to a designated wall or room. But Kim Goldsberry of Hill City can boast that he has an entire gallery for his collectibles. He and his wife, Julie, own Backstage Pass in Hill City, a rock ’n’ roll memorabilia museum and store.

They have more than 100 vintage concert posters from 1966 to 1970 on display, most from the early San Francisco era. Goldsberry has another 120, but no place to hang them. The posters are flanked by an assortment of other unique items, including autographed guitars, a one-of-a-kind oversized air-brushed painting of Yoko Ono and John Lennon promoting their “Milk and Honey” album, and a 44-year-old box amplifier that once belonged to the Beatles. Classic record album covers adorn the walls. And as if to avoid being labeled a specific type of collector, his museum includes an impressive assortment of novelty Pez dispensers.

His unique collection began with posters for psychedelic music and counterculture musicians such as The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, the Doors and King Crimson, to name a few. He liked the music, but it was the poster art promoting the music that especially struck a chord with him.

“The first time I saw one of these posters was in 1967 when I was in junior high school and thought it was incredible art work for what it was,” Goldsberry said. “Then that kind of snowballed into collecting it. I didn’t start my big collection until probably the late ’70s, about 15 years after I first saw the first posters, and I was lucky enough to be able to buy one from the concert promoters when they were selling them off.”

He began collecting the posters for his own enjoyment. “I thought they were real cool looking, and I wanted to get all I could get before I couldn’t get them any more.” He said people can still find the posters, but you will pay a lot of money for them. “I know a couple of the artists, and even from them I have to pay hundreds of dollars, but they’ll give me a break.” If you try to buy them from some of the companies that still have them, he said, be prepared to pay top dollar for them.

He said the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, known for its historic music venue and psychedelic concert posters, still creates some poster art. “But they are not as psychedelic as they used to be. They have toned down a little bit,” he said. The Fillmore has its own collection of posters on display.

Goldsberry’s collection includes a guitar autographed by Eric Clapton, which he acquired from a private collector in Florida, and another autographed by Gary Duncan and David Freiberg, members of a psychedelic group in the late 1960s called Quicksilver Messenger Service.

He also has canceled royalty checks for different musicians, which he got on eBay. “eBay makes it easy to get some things, but I think it has put a lot more on the market than needs to be on the market.”

One step inside the gallery and visitors are taken back in time, primarily the 1960s. But for Goldsberry, it does more than that.

“I think it brings me back to my youth,” the self-proclaimed Deadhead said. He said he has seen the Grateful Dead in concert more than 120 times.

Among Goldsberry’s psychedelic posters is the Jimi Hendrix “Flying Eyeball” poster by Rick Griffin. Griffin is one of the “Big Five” poster artists. Goldsberry has posters by all five.

He said his accumulation of Pez dispensers was not exactly by design. “That just started out as a joke,” he said. “I got one a long time ago and somebody came over and saw it and brought me one. Now my friends bring me Pez dispensers, for some reason.”

His most prized Pez dispenser features Jerry Garcia. “They’re called Fantasy Pez. Each one is handmade. I don’t think there are any two that really look alike,” he said.

“I have some old Disney ones that are pretty nice, like Scrooge McDuck and the Pink Panther series — The Pink Panther, Inspector Clouseau, the aardvark and the ant. Those are getting pretty hard to find now.” Others include The Simpsons, The Flintstones, Batman and Looney Tunes, Peanuts and Sesame Street characters.

Goldsberry worked at a record store for nine years in the 1980s and bought anything he could get his hands on, including cloth rock band patches. He does not currently charge admission and sells a variety of items, including some collectibles, Pez dispensers, T-shirts, CDs and DVDs. “We have a little bit of everything,” he said.

Names in his guest book include Frank Zappa’s cousin and visitors from across the country, even as far away from Indonesia. The words “cool” and “awesome, dude” appear many times in visitors’ comments. And some sightseers from Las Vegas who happened upon the store did not expect to bump into an old friend, but that has happened more than once.

Goldsberry lived most of his life in Las Vegas, and after a vacation to the Black Hills six years ago, he and his wife decided to move here.

“We were pretty much fed up with Las Vegas,” he said. “It’s gotten too big. There are over 2.5 million people there now. We really like the people in Hill City, everybody’s really nice here and friendly and there’s no crime. I don’t hear sirens and gunshots every day.”

His wife said she loves it here. And while not a collector to the degree her husband is, Julie Goldsberry gives her total support to the museum: “That used to be the entryway to our house,” she said, pointing to the wall of Pez dispensers. “And I really didn’t like that. But it worked. He enjoys it, so I enjoy it.”

Deborah Casey, special event coordinator for Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development, said it is this type of unique store the town likes.

“It gives our community a little bit of diversity and flair and something different. Is it a sign that Hill City attracts all types of visitors,” she said.

She added she thinks it is a very imaginative concept. “I would hope that it is a success. It’s hard to tell sometimes when you are trying a new business in a community where tourism is used to certain types of shops. And sometimes venturing into something a little different like what they have at Backstage Pass is a little different for people to try. And I’m hoping they will try it.”