Grateful Dead

dead.net the official site

Doing my homework, I came across salient entries in the Skeleton Key: Dictionary for Deadheads (Shenk and Silbermnan, 1994).
Much like the sentiment expressed by MKAV and DAVEROCK, under the entry "No but I've been to shows" is:
"a reluctance to be tagged with the word "Deadhead", not wanting to be lumped in the category with Tour Rats or with the negative portrayal of Heads in the media".

And again, under the entry for Deadheads, Blair Jackson is quoted as saying, "I wish I had a dollar for every person I've met who said "I like the Grateful Dead but I'm not a Deadhead".

I'd say this is a different response than saying "I don't wish to be labeled that way"; many people have heard a few tunes and liked them, and otherwise do not show outward signs of having caught the bug (e.g. downloading shows).
Later Jackson adds "..what it IS about is a certain openness in spirit and attitude" and "...if you say you're a Deadhead, you are". Yep, no barriers, no qualifications to meet.

But I am left wondering how to regard those who appear to be Deadheads, but who have broader tastes that covers all the acts at a jam band festival: Jam Hearts?

PS Enjoying the holiday

I can remember reading an interview with Jerry Garcia once, in which he was asked about Deadheads and how many shows some of them had attended. The interviewer said words to the effect that no matter how many shows that was , no one Deadhead had attended all of them. Jerry responded by saying he was wrong, because he had. Pretty cool.

Hey, Sunshine Daydreamers!!

We weren't Deadheads at first, but once we morphed into that we were all in. Never viewed that label as derogatory. To us it always meant folks who are very into the music of the Grateful Dead. Not everybody made it to shows, but that didn't matter........

LOL everybody in my office knows I'm a Deadhead, one look at my car and you can just tell........

So Jeff, how do I join? Can I afford the dues? Are there meetings??? LOL maybe all these years I was an "honorary member" and never really knew it..............

Rock on!!

Doc
Everyone has a dark cloud hovering over them at some point, but then there is sunshine.....

And
Howdy Jeff!

What he said: Just exactly perfect HunterGatherer.

It's a simple answer: whoever loves and identifies with the music. I used to (36 years ago) resist the label for myself, but who am I kidding? It is just a love for the music, a love for sharing the live experience, and recognizing the very real alchemy that exists between this music/band and its listeners, especially in a live environment. There should be no gatekeeping, nor any stigma. Are you kind? It really doesn't need to go any farther than that. And we are especially kind and caring to each other at a show. Sometimes we are absurdly nerdy about the music (somewhat like an obsessed sports fan), but even this is not a requirement. Go to a show, and celebrate life with 15,000 of your best friends, most of them complete strangers! Maybe even convert others to the joy of subsuming your ego to the greater whole.

very elegantly, and accurately, phrased.

Nice essay!
A+
Cheers

To me "Deadhead" connotes a state of mind. "Deadhead" can’t be fenced in by a dictionary. It’s an elusive, subjective proposition. It can’t be reduced to a lifestyle or checklist or dress code. "Deadhead" seems to begin with a love of and fascination with the Grateful Dead and their timeless, transcendent, mesmerizing music. Almost from the start, at gatherings for Grateful Dead shows, "Deadhead" took on a broader, inclusive meaning that embraced folks from all walks of life. Just as individual shows coalesced into runs and tours and years, those in attendance merged into a dynamic, seamless experience that surpassed “ego” to become “tribe” or “family” or maybe something more cosmic. Whether attending a single show or following a tour, Deadheads eventually returned to their respective realities, but they were never quite the same. They became and always will be “Deadheads”.

Sadly, I didn’t get on the bus until a few years before the Fare Thee Well shows of 2015. In the weeks leading up to FTW, some of us banded together here on dead.net. After helping each other through “ticket madness”, we stayed together as a motley group we decided to call Sunshine Daydreamers. This Sunshine Dreamers Keep On Truckin’ thread is an artifact from that time. From our original homepage:

"Strangers stopping strangers, just to shake their (virtual) hand. We’ve been searching for miracles for our needy, gossiping, singing and dancin’ while counting down the days ’til FTW. There’ll be fireworks, calliopes, clowns and celebration.  We are Deadheads . . . we are everywhere . . . and WE MISS JERRY!"

We grew to just over fifty from fourteen states and two provinces with lots of other followers. We made a shirt that listed each of us along with our first Grateful Dead show. Unfortunately, for some of us FTW were our first shows, but we were quickly accepted as “Deadheads” by the more seasoned Deadheads. Maybe with a lowercase “d”, but “deadheads” just the same. Better late than never.

Because the Grateful Dead unselfishly allowed taping at their shows, catch-up for us late-to-the-bus has been an amazing journey. Maybe not like passing an Acid Test, or wondering if the show at Ugano’s really happened, or being at Veneta or Watkins Glen or Cornell . . . or. . . Maybe not like cherished first-hand memories, but, still, searching for the echoes (to paraphrase Phil’s book) has turned out to be a rich, never-ending, if vicarious trip.

Since Jerry shuffled, the various permutations of remaining band members with other incredible musicians, not to mention all the excellent tribute bands, are tending the flame and passing the torch to the next generations of Deadheads. Dead and Company became an annual pilgrimage for many including Sunshine Daydreamers. Not sure about the Sphere, but, then, maybe what’s over-the-top for some, is actually what keeps the Grateful Dead alive and relevant and meaningful for Millennials and Gen Z . The Music Never Stop(s).

The Sunshine Daydreamers got it right: “We are Deadheads . . . we are everywhere.”

I have turned on literally dozens of people of our generation, who, as you said, made a judgement about the band without ever having heard them. All of them were surprised by the breadth of songs the Dead played. I usually start out with a very curated list of songs from studio albums and/or shorter live versions of others' songs (Me and Bobby McGee, e.g.). This whets their appetite. Eventually, I'll introduce them to live shows. Some get the live shows; some don't.
All become at least luke - warm fans.