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    marye
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    So twice in the last week I've gotten into conversations with folks who were pretty intense Deadheads back in the day, and their general drift was look, the band no longer exists, they haven't played for 12 years. It is so Over. Get on with your life. Which, of course, is a perfectly reasonable point of view. And yet, here we are. And "we" includes people who never saw the band in the first place but definitely consider themselves on the bus now. So what's up with this? Why are we here? Discuss...

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  • Hal R
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    Andre and sakparadise
    Thanks for your posts, brings me a Sunday morning smile. And wow for me the past two weeks, have been an excursion in Dead Land. Saw Phil and Friends in Portland. Watched Deadheads for Obama x 2, downloaded it and some other shows. Got 3 vines in the mail. Listened to radio fundraiser last night and got in on chat here. Also got new Roadtrips CDs And in a strange confluence of energy, have ended up being a delegate for Obama from our Caucus. So yes Life After Dead with the Dead continues. Peace If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake
  • sakparadise
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    Life After Dead
    I have been reading this forum with some interest. Life after Dead? When I was 21 I first saw tghw Dead. Life for me began then and far as I can tell I'm still alive. The music is timeless like all good music. When the Dead were going strong you cvould find a few bands that covered the band, but now there seems, to me anyway, a new communuity with a very similar and vibrate scene.Now at the wise age of almost 46, this newv scene gives me hoope that maybe all is not lost. There is a sxcene here happening locally in Flint and I am amazed at these young kids and the music they play. So there is life after the Dead and I am witnessing the new generation of ike minded folks and its great. Most of the kids I meet think its cool that I saw some of the shows they have heard about. And as I have before, any Michigan heads out there should check out Covert Operations (my Fave), The Ragbirds, Sprout, Glowb, to just name a few. If you want to know if and when these bands are in your area go to my space and search for them in the music section. Life never stopped when Jerry passed--its there and growing.
  • andré
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    Life Live
    (Bob's subject line inspired me to chose mine for the following.) I ran into this forum last night, read for hours and through all the posts. Smiled, got wet eyes and shook my head every now & then & now I chime in. The Grateful Dead have disbanded. They are history. But well, This band gave birth to something incredible, great and important, at least dead heads are aware of and familiar with, because this family is the enormous part of what became real, while this band continued to play for three decades. This topic and the whole dead net has lots and lots of stories that give proof to what Jerry brought to one simple sentence „We are in the transportation business“. Some of you wrote about their kids dancing to the canned music. Somewhere on dead.net I read a post by somebody, who wrote that his grandfather was a dead head, his father was a dead head and he himself started dancing to the music, wearing a diaper ... Those, who have moved elsewhere, have done so for some reason. And hopefully they will stay happy. Those, who are still here, know that „we are everywhere“, as the Grateful Dead will still follow us. Thanks to the tons of recordings, the music will never stop. And even more so the spirit won’t. I am a German, aged 52. Never saw the Grateful Dead live. Got into their music in 1978. Reading german translations of the Cool Aid Acid Test and Bill Graham’s biography, I definitely found out what I have missed. I joined dead.net about a month ago and I dig the atmosphere, reading posts and joining in. To me all this feels like I was born a dead head, although I never had „the“ experience. (maybe I am the oldest third generation dead head, whatever ... After last night’s reading trip I picked another picture to present myself here. Taking a bath in a bowl on my grandparent’s kitchen table). But I have had my share of being part of gatherings and experiences, I consider being similar to those on The Bus. Knowing very well, that there is nothing to compare to a good GD concert at a good venue. But I could tell stories about the two juggling conventions, organized by the Jugglers Against Gravity, I was part of, that will make you tell stories about your GD experiences, believe me. I am downloading and vining like mad, since I found out about it. Luckily unemployed, I got into doing double shifts, four weeks ago and seven days a week. So far I have filled CDs with the music of 110 concerts and I won’t stop. So personally I kind of live in the past. At the present time. My future looks bright, because I will never ever stop to wave my freak flag high. And I never really cared about differing between past, present and future. These constituents of reality are useful concepts to organize perception and experiences. But we all are free to not let any concept shackle the part of oneness that is the core of everything that is and this way of each of us. I was born in the past. I will die in the future. Best of all, I am here and now. Surfing each day with joy. And I am sure you don’t need no further invitation to "please come and join the ride", because I am sure, you all are in the transportation business, too. andré
  • Sunshine-daydr…
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    Dead Dead
    is keyboard heavy but there are family/friends to help with that plenty of people closly involved with the band gone too, Cowboy Neil, Kesey, Uncle Bobo, Olatunje, Rex Jackaon, the list goes on Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://spanishsunshinedaydream.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=633338979 Spanish Jam
  • Frankly
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    dead
    i believe you make a little mistake,there has to be thousands of us who stayed beside the road while the bus kept rolling....pigpen,keith,brent,jerry,vince...and thts only the group!how many lost there life on the road(i said life,NOT SOUL).......!!there has to be a pretty big DH-community up there,having fun with all the other guys.why should they come back..ibelieve that living is only a school to be prepared for what comes next......may you all rest in peace fellow souls!!!
  • jacksondownunda
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    dead after life - new topic? any takers?...yet?
    To answer the first question succinctly; there are a lot of us here, so it's not over, just different. But I'm here to pose a different question (possibly a related but new topic). This is a rather awkward query that requires a real leap of faith, and answers may not be forthcoming...yet. The debate about the "the afterlife" is as old as mankind. Answers range from "there is none" to "melting back into the great spirit/reincarnation" to "entities intact on the 'other side'". I personally don't pretend to know, but there HAVE been some very odd personal experiences in the vicinity of a loved one's passing that have piqued my interest. I was intrigued enough to read books by several mediums, who contend from their own experiences that there are intact entities "there". These entities reportedly usually congregate with other deceased former family members and loved ones, and also reportedly engage in activities in their other-side alternate-time/timeless state ranging from teaching and orientation, to menial activities such as playing checkers with their Grandad Joe. So my query is; Does anyone have a "medium" story to suggest that Deadheads congregate on the other side? This may be a premature question as there aren't a load of dead DeadHeads (20 years' time might be a more appropriate time to start compiling stories, if they exist), but if the dearly departed DO what they liked to do in life, then it would follow that like souls (possibly misfit souls?) would attract. I presume this would be a philosophical question at present, but would be curious if such reports will emerge (particularly from notable mediums) in time. Does anyone have a story to get the ball rolling?
  • fillmore
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    Living in the past?
    Nicely put Frankly!
  • Frankly
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    Living in the past?
    since i had my first dead experience (..and thats 26 years now),i lost interest in anything that comes out of music buisness.My dreams became true when i had 3 possibilities to see them in concert which steamed up my interest in their music by lightyears and in fact until today if i want to settle down,having a good time than the only band i turn to are the dead !!sure as the day goes by i listen to music from elsewhere,but when i think about it,its mostly dead oriented.How could we be living in th past?with jerry passing away the GD where over.but that was the end of the band.not of an era!and here we are 12 years later and going through the forums there must be millions of people out there who love this band as if it stil was around.in fact i think that the boys influenced the world in a way we may never know,but they were playing hundreds of gigs in front of thousands every year.they played at universitys(dead at cornell,my alltime favorit)and if you count this together than there must REALLY have been millions of people who got a grasp of deaddom and we never know how these guys change the world we live in(think of jason lanier)but one is for sure.a huge musical legacy is left and as long as there is one new tune one can listen to,than we are present,past and future!
  • fillmore
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    It's the music!
    There isn't a band out there that can put me in the kind of state the Dead put me in everytime I hear a song. As silly as it sounds, I like the fact they make me smile everytime and that I feel just a little bit better after. I've heard comments from the non-belivers that it's all about nostalgia but I don't buy that at all! I just wish the boys would realize that time's a wastin and summer is around the corner.
  • turtlelove
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    The Dead is timeless music...dead heads are born everyday!
    Like Shakespeare, the Dead is timeless and will always be... Everyday there are new dead heads being born to this world and will grow up to somehow, someway begin enjoying The Grateful Deads music. There will always be dead heads in the world, old and young.Eventually there will be a generation of dead heads who will never have experienced a live show or even a gathering for that matter, but will love their music. There are people who are dead heads and don't know it! Either way, I was listening to the dead long before I knew I was a dead head.The music just hit home for me. Its where its at for me. I'm surprised the rest of the world hasn't caught on by now but whatever. There are so many songs and sounds that anyone should be able to find at least one they can identify with or like for whatever reason. Its universal timeless music. Rock N Roll!
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So twice in the last week I've gotten into conversations with folks who were pretty intense Deadheads back in the day, and their general drift was look, the band no longer exists, they haven't played for 12 years. It is so Over. Get on with your life. Which, of course, is a perfectly reasonable point of view. And yet, here we are. And "we" includes people who never saw the band in the first place but definitely consider themselves on the bus now. So what's up with this? Why are we here? Discuss...
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There's nothing wrong with being proud of, or preferring the music of your younger days. In fact, most of the music of the '60s-'70s-early '80's was better than most of the music of the last 20 years. But when I do hear something I like, like Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, or some other good stuff on Austin City Limits, it makes me especially enthusiastic and hopeful for the future. I wouldn't call being hooked-in to a lot of the popular music of the moment a critical asset!
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It's All Over Now? I beg to differ. If you have been to see Furthur then you know the boys in the band are still out there. In fact, they are again starting up a whole new interest from younger folks in their 20s and 30s who missed out on all the fun back "in the day." Mickey & Billy are out there somewhere on the road, with their various pick-up bands and projects also. But they seem a bit more transient as they forever shift between various line-ups. Of course, it is all over now as far as Letting The Good Times Roll and mass experiments in consciousness-raising. That is over now. Jerry passed and maybe it was time for the experiment to end. Which isn't to say that you can't do some exploring of inner space on your own. i find it fantastic to see the wide and diverse array that the deadheads have become. It is so over now and yet it is not. Clear, some have not gone Furthur enough and are still pushing their trips to the edge. Bravo Brothers & Sisters! We will survive. In fact we have survived and are thriving. So get over it, you who are "it's so over!"!
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as the lyricists said back in the day, new ones coming as the old ones go. Or, the future's here, we are it, we are on our own. I mean, just the other day my godson the college student was pointing his parents' Deadhead pals to his latest digitally remixed rendition of Speedway. The music has worked its way into all kinds of corners of life, and the four surviving guys seem to keep finding interesting stuff to do, and people keep finding it interesting enough to follow. Meanwhile, new people keep discovering the old stuff, too. It's good to be along for the ride, or portions thereof.
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...cause I consider myself a bigger DH now than what I was from 89-95. It's sad but back then I thought being a deadhead mean't wearing tie-dyes and patchoulie and being stoned out of my fucking skull all the time. Of course I was between 17 and 25 at the time so perhaps I can be forgiven. Now being a deadhead means just listening to good music and to keep trying to be a good/kind person. I don't have the time to go on tour with Furthur or whoever else. I don't wear tie-dyes or get stoned anymore. And life is grand.
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until something more formal comes along:http://www.jambands.com/news/2012/02/13/bob-weir-warren-haynes-chris-robinson-jackie-greene-and-more-will-help-phil-lesh-open-terrapin-crossroads/ Published: 2012/02/13 Bob Weir, Warren Haynes, Chris Robinson, Jackie Greene and More Will Help Phil Lesh Open Terrapin Crossroads Phil Lesh has confirmed the opening run of shows at his new venue and restaurant Terrapin Crossroads. Lesh will perform in a number of different configurations throughout March and April, including gigs with Bob Weir, Jackie Greene, Chris Robinson, Jimmy Herring, Jaz Sawyer, Jeff Chimenti, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams and Warren Haynes......
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I missed the P& F webcast last night, but here's the setlist: Althea Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain Saint Stephen > Layla Cryptical Envelopment -> Magic Bus -> The Other One > I Know You Rider E: Unbroken Chain GDTRFB
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the music is what keeps it from being over. example jim morrison died in 1971, but the bands popularity with younger fans(im 20 so im in that boat as well) never went away. i love the dead, and so do most of my friends. so it aint over and it will not be over. flower children are still everywhere. plus lets not forget we have bands like phish too.
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Interesting. Life after Dead. Never posted here. The Grateful Dead is Still Rocking and Jamming. It just has different letters in Its' name now. Oh and a number too. Nothings changed. Life after Dead well I will let you know when we get there, if I am here then. Tomorrow Never Knows. I love you, all. It's still true.
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its quaint that sometimes i hear whispered in the background you know she used to be a dh just because i dont run around in tie dyes and the hipster hippy attire or pack my bags at a drop of the hat to play vagabond for a couple months. its assumedthat the dead is part of my past only something i used to do,but that is further from the truth, seeing shows and going on tour was only part of the picture the music was and is the mainstay, and although ill not see jerry again it doesnt stop the music nor creativity that is and will be immortal bliss what ended was just the bizarre sideshow tours became near the end when shakedown street became more like a dirty boulevard., after 92 it actually started to be a scary world out there and touring lost its appeal. my only regret was that i didnt go to more shows in the last years but made up for it,since then by seeing alot more of bob phil and mickey and many other great preformers and smile everytime something new comes on the radio that i can put my finger on and say wow you can hear the dead influence in that song. btw my favorite is a jerry tune only heard preformed live once in all my tours that u robert hunter for making it possible.and jerry for belting it out that night, and know what i found the keys to the rain afterall.the dead wasnt a lifestyle for me it was a journey and lordy be it was a long strange trip.with many roads still left to go.
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Hermann Hesse wrote a book titled Journey to the East, the theme of which is that while we are active participants in something we feel it is vibrant and happening but once we drop out of the thing we feel it has stopped for everyone, no matter if it remains as active and progressive for all other participants. Seems to be universal, in my experience.
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The time go? I remember being in the parking lot of a show reading a letter from the band with the usual stuff about people without tickets. The warning at the end was "When this stops ain't nothing going to bring it back." But then Jerry went to the limit and that seemed to effect the boys in the band quite a bit. I can imagine that they fely like they were in their prime as musicians and it would be a shame to break it up. Of course the name Grateful Dead was retired, as it should have been but the rest of the members of the band continued unabated. There was a period of a couple years of mourning but by 97' the Furthur Festival was back on tour as well as Ratdog and Phil & Friends shows and various side projects by the drummers. They drifted somewhat apart and to me,the closest they ever got to being back together was the 2002 Other Ones lineup that had Phil & Bruce returning with Baracco on lead. Mickey really stepped up to organize the playing and it was awesome. In 2002 the parking lot scene was still very reminiscent of a Dead show with very quality tie-dyes and other official and unofficial merch. out there. There wasn't the burnt edge of hard drugs being readily available among heads following the tour that became very evident in 2003-2004 as The Dead reunited. Then a few more years of going their separate ways and then one more tour as The Dead in 2009. Now we have Furthur for over three years thanks to Phil's transplant (Happy belated birthday Phil). The point is the scene had quality musicians and momentum and the musicians remaining seem to be willing to carry this body of music to their own deaths. And we can all remain around for the ride for as long or little as we like. Let the naysayers neg. on this one if they want. Jerry is gone along with the Grateful Dead but the music goes on and on and on and from this vantage point I see one or another of the boys carrying on for at least 5 more years. Dedication to The Heart Of Gold Band. You have to be Grateful
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They are out, both on MOFI, who are hot right, I am listening to MOFI's SACD of The ABB's "Brothers and Sisters", sounds so exquisite. They have now released "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty". Why isn't there a HDCD of "Mars Hotel" anywhere? Well,groovin' to "Jelly,Jelly"
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I've been reading in several news articles about a fan club pre sale on feb 9-11 but there's no information confirming that on the dead50 site or the gdtstoo site. I'm a member of several GD fan clubs but am not receiving any emails or info on a presale from them. Does anyone have more info? Thanks brothers and sisters, see you in chi town. Di
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◾Dead pre sale begins Feb 12th @ 10 a.m. CST via Dead Online Ticketing. Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required. Before checking out, all users must create an account after tickets are added and before completing the transaction.
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It not JUST about the shows,it's a way of life.It's about Peace,Love,Harmony,Music,Family,and telling those youngsters how it was and can be again.I'm 61,seen everybody from Areosmith to Z Z Top.I have played( drums) for fun & professionally.Most of the people I hang out with are 30-40 years younger than I am.I'm the "Old Hippie" that tells stories of huge gatherings of people from all walks of life to come and hear music and dance in the isles.That there was no black,brown,yellow or white there was only US a peaceful group of like minded individuals. I tell them we don't need no stinkin' guns.Spread the love,share the music,get involved,stand up against social injustice,Make A Difference.Pass those stories of awesome gathering and great shows on to the younger generation and have them pass it along.Is Hendrix,Janis, The Dead & Led Zeppelin still relevant? .........HELL YES Peace The Dude
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well, based on the phenomenal interest in Fare Thee Well before,during AND after both runs, I'd say this question is a bit premature. But if you're over it, that works for you. (the generalized "you" of course)
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It's safe to say FTW put a different aspect on things...
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....don't hear her singing yet..... that's just Donna ;-)
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Howdy folks, Been a .com member for a long time, but never had much to say...until Fare The Well. Put out for ppv for the first time for the last concert. Best 50 bucks I ever spent. It was profound for me. The Dead have been the sound track of my life since '65 and my wife and me from '72-'12. She would have liked this concert. Wait until November for the cd/dvd release? I'll never make it! Have some good video and instrument, but yet to find a good vocal video. The second set YouTube share of the complete second set from Zoe Alyse is the only video set I've found and the crowd sounds damp the vocals...like if you were there; the vibe is like live. Got the whole soundboard audio, no vid. YouTube is new to an old codger like me. Only Dead vids drew me in and then, not until I got a Roku Streaming Stick to access YouTube on my TV. High recommendation for a really inexpensive entertainment add-on. Just know you don't stream from your device to the TV, you get to access stuff you have "in the Cloud", which is pretty cool getting my Pandora and YouTube playlists played over good speakers and get that body feel and not just audio in my head. You can get me at rickpucko@yahoo.com also.
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I think not..for some maybe, but not me.September will be my third straight Lockn Music Festival in VA! Great fun Great vibes Great shows! Phil, Billy with their current bands this year...Bobby the last two as well. Also had the opportunity to meet and converse with Sam Cuttler (former band mgr) last year. Who knows what lies ahead unless you go furthur... Check out the 4 day schedule..so many great reasons to stay on the bus! iGrateful
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I never saw Jerry. I have a fear of buses and basically anything that resembles an "us". A friend tells me last December "Listen to an Althea" I was moved. Then I came here and found a beautiful family. I was blessed to be able to attend all 5 FTW shows. I was changed forever. Am I on the bus? Am I a Dead Head? I don't know but I am honored to share this earth with such a beautiful group of human beings.
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I have come to embrace the fact that the 'Grateful Dead' is an entity that lives on in all those incredible songs. They have an enduring quality that continues to have meaning for people. They really were Built To Last! Listening to Stu Allen rip it up at the last Jerry Day it occurred to me that Jerry's unique form of mind expanding guitar work could be thought of as a sort of spiritual or wisdom tradition wherein in a lineage of great guitar players could keep the music alive far into the future. I think any so called Head who has decided 'it's over' probably never really went to shows for the music anyway. Not that there weren't a thousand other good reasons to go, I guess. I can understand people not wanting to look back and there's a hell of a lot of great music out there to sustain them. Hey, each to their own.