with Tate Swindell
Sun. May 31st, 3pm
In 1980, Allen Ginsberg toured Europe accompanied by his long-term partner, and poet in his own right, Peter Orlovsky, along with the young musician Steven Taylor. On November 10, they performed at Forum Stadpark in Graz, a small venue in a small Austrian town. The entire performance was recorded by ORF, the Austrian National Broadcasting Corporation, but was never broadcast and, until now, unreleased.
Poet, filmmaker and Beat scholar Thomas Antonic went into the vaults of ORF and excavated the recording, acting as the producer of this record of astounding audio quality, mastered by legendary sound wizard KRAMER, released on Tate Swindell’s label Unrequited Records in San Francisco. This is a unique historical document which preserves an exceptional 94 minute performance of this trio who were only active together for a short period of time.
The first edition of this double-album is limited to 200 copies on 180g vinyl in violet color. It includes an 8-page booklet with extensive liner notes by Antonic who managed to track down the organizer of the Graz event, as well as attendees. He also interviewed Steven Taylor for his insights and remembrances.
The booklet features previously unpublished photographs by Ginsberg capturing the trio’s jubilant spirit. Whether they are clearing the snow from James Joyce’s grave in Zürich, posing for a possible album cover in front of the Goethe Monument in Vienna, or clowning around in Budapest, these intimate snapshots provide a peek behind the scenes while touring through Central Europe.
Release Date: May 15, 2026
Allen Ginsberg: vocals, percussion
Peter Orlovsky: vocals, banjo, percussion
Steven Taylor: vocals, guitar
More info at Unrequited Records »
Archivist, Poet and Photographer, Tate Swindell is the founder of Unrequited Records, which specializes in poetry records released on the vinyl format. Editor of On Valencia Street: Poems and Ephemera by Jack Micheline (Lithic Press, 2019). Co-editor of the Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman for City Lights Books (2019). Tate, and his brother Todd, worked extensively on the Harold Norse archives, which were donated to the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. He is currently writing short stories about his experiences in the San Francisco medical cannabis movement. Previous collections of writings include Palpitations; The Creation of Deadlines; Fotopomes and the most recent SOLAR HITS (Lithic Press, 2025). AMERICA, GIVE A SHIT! Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlvosky & Steven Taylor Live in Graz 1980 (2026) is Unrequited Records latest release.
