Grateful Dead

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can't wait to see ya at Schwagstock!!!! "In a bed, in a bed, by the waterside I will lay my head. Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul."

Hello, friends - This is a gigspam message with some extra stuff in it. It's been a busy and musically rewarding summer despite the weird and somewhat depressing state of the music business. Although gasoline prices have come down from their alarming peaks of last summer, the cost-benefit analysis of doing club dates is not terribly encouraging, so I have largely stuck to the festival gigs rather than strings of one-nighters. I passed up an opportunity to play A Bear's Picnic for the third year in a row in order to spend my wife's birthday with her in one of her favorites places: Point Reyes National Seashore. I had a fine time at Grateful Fest (Nelson Ledges, Ohio) and Gathering of the Vibes (Bridgeport, Connecticut), and I've been playing a lot in the Bay Area in various solo and ensemble configurations. And Rubber Souldiers have had some swell times, too, in between the Rowan Brothers' and my own musical commitments. We are gearing up for more adventures with our "Beatles jam band," including a return to MagnoliaFest in October and (we hope) more touring in 2010. In September I will play Schwagstock, my second appearance at Camp Zoe (Missouri) this year; October will see my much-anticipated (by me!) debut at Shakori Hills in Pittsboro, North Carolina - hosted by the wonderful band Donna the Buffalo. I'll tour in the east between Shakori Hills and Magnolia Fest; I am hoping to fill in the mid-October stretch with performances in several southeastern towns I've been missing for way too long; I've already got 10/20 confirmed in Cullman, Alabama, and I am working on other possibilities in the region. I'll post the gigs a http://www.dgans.com/gigs.html as they're confirmed. Okay, now here's the "extra stuff." On June 21, my longtime friend and musical partner Alan Feldstein died at home from a heart attack. The news hit our old Berkeley crowd hard; to me, it feels like a major thread of my life's tapestry has been yanked out. Al and I had what you might call a tumultuous relationship over the years; his wife, Caryn, told me recently she called me "Al's other wife" - undoubtedly because we fought like a married couple a lot! But we made a lot of music together, and I have been laughing and crying through an extensive audio archive of our history since we got the news. Our friendship and musical relationship began when I moved to Berkeley in 1973. We bonded over Grateful Dead music but shared a love for many styles, and we played each other's original music in various bands, most notably The Reptiles, off and on for more than thirty years. Many of the highest moments of my life had Al in 'em, and I'm having a hard time getting used to the idea that we won't have any more. You can read about Al, hear some of the music we made together, and see some of his own words from online posts, on my blog - http://cloudsurfing.gdhour.com/archives/tag/al-feldstein - and I would especially like to direct your attention to the comments section of this post, http://cloudsurfing.gdhour.com/archives/2056 , where several dozen others who loved Al Feldstein have shared their thoughts and stories. You might also enjoy looking at these photos from our mutual history: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgans/sets/72157621957950690/ and, from Rich Burgdorf, http://www.flickr.com/photos/18362510@N03 We're getting the old band, and gang, together in Al's memory on Friday, September 4, at the Starry Plough in Berkeley. I've been performing two of Al's six Reptile originals for several years, and I am working up the other four because I can't imagine not playing them ever again. Anyone who attends the four solo shows I'm doing in the next week and a half (details below) will hear these works-in-progress. Friday, August 28: House concert in Salt Lake City. Email kasidybaker@hotmail.com for info & reservations. Saturday, August 29: Private event in Moab UT Sunday, August 30, 6:00 pm: Dolores River Brewery, Dolores CO with The Lindells. No cover! http://www.lindellsmusic.com http://www.doloresriverbrewery.com Tuesday, September 1, 7pm: The Rim Rock, 2523 East Utah Highway 24, Torrey UT. No cover! http://www.therimrock.net/ Thursday, September 3, 7:30 pm: Rubber Souldiers In The Parking Lot at Adele's, corner of Curry & John Streets in Carson City Friday, September 4: Reptile reunion in memory of Al Feldstein. Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley CA September 18-19: Schwagstock, Camp Zoe MO. The Schwag, EOTO, Panjea, Nailhouse, and more. http://www.campzoe.com/schwagstock42.html Saturday, September 26, 1:10-1:55 pm: Rubber Souldiers @ Rock'n'Blues By the Lake, Stafford Lake, Novato CA. http://www.rnblake.com/ Saturday, September 26, 7:30 pm: Celebrating Songwriters with DG, Garrin Benfield, and host Caren Armstrong. $10 donation. Left Coast Cyclery, 2928 Domingo Ave, Berkeley CA. http://www.celebratingsongwriters.com/ October 8-11: Fall Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance, Pittsboro NC. http://www.shakorihills.org Tuesday, October 20: Berkeley Bob's Coffee House, 304 1st Ave, Cullman, AL. http://www.berkeleybob.com October 22-25: MagnoliaFest, at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL. DG will play solo and with Rubber Souldiers. http://www.magmusic.com Friday, October 30: Chico CA - benefit for KZFR community radio. Details TBA. Saturday, October 31: DG opens for The Waybacks in Mt Shasta CA * * * As always, more info at http://www.dgans.com/gigs.html If we're not already friends on Facebook, please friend me! And I'm twittering now, too, a little - I'm davidgans there. How are you? Gans/GD Hour blog
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Thursday, May 7, 9am to 1pm: Marin Farmers' Market, at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael CA. Saturday, May 9, 9:30am to 1:30pm: Grand Lake Farmers' Market, at Splash Pad Park, Lake Park and Grand Avenues, Oakland CA. Friday, May 15: DG and Zac Matthews at the Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland (near the Berkeley line). Free! But you have to buy some food/beverage, of course. Sunday, May 17: Rubber Souldiers, the Raveups, and others perform "'60s British Explosion Unplugged!" at the Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison Street, Berkeley May 22-24: Desert Rocks Music Festival, Moab UT. ALO, Hot Buttered Rum, The Mother Hips, The Motet, and more. Sunday, May 31, 2:15-3:45 pm: Rubber Souldiers play the Larkspur Flower and Food Festival, on Magnolia between Ward and King Streets, downtown historic Larkspur CA. Free! Info: Larkspur Community Association 415-924-3808 July 4 weekend: Grateful Fest, Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, Garrettsville OH. Dark Star Orchestra and many more! July 23-26: Gathering of the Vibes, Bridgeport CT October 22-25: MagnoliaFest, at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL More gigs tba... updates here. Gans/GD Hour blog
GD Hour station list