Why a weekly blog? Well, for a while now I’ve wanted to have a place where I can talk about music, issues, events and people related to the Grateful Dead and the post-GD world on a regular basis — and also hear what you have to say about this unique and fascinating universe we’re all wrapped up in to varying degrees. Basically, for the past few decades, much of my mind and spirit have been dominated by my interest in the Dead and the many tangents that have led from that incredible source of light and life. Of course, I’ve held jobs that have nothing to do with the Dead, raised two great kids, led what for all intents and purposes is a “normal” life, and listened to thousands upon thousands of hours of non-Dead music. But the Dead have always been at least in the background, and often in the foreground, of my life ever since Live Dead came out in November of 1969 and I subsequently saw my first show at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York, March 20, 1970. As Bob Weir sang (of a woman, I presume) in “Lazy Lightning,” “it’s an obsession, but it’s pleasing.”
I suspect most of you have seen my byline around this site on stories or product promos, have read liner notes I might have penned for various Road Trips and other releases, and some may go back to my days as editor/publisher of The Golden Road Dead fanzine, or even further to my years at BAM, the free Bay Area music magazine I worked for between 1976 and 1983. If you went to Pelham (New York) High with me in the very early ’70s, you might’ve read my first-ever Dead review—of the Vintage Dead album.
Regan and Blair on duty
at Red Rocks, 1987
After Jerry died, I spent a couple of years working on the book Garcia: An American Life (published by Viking in 1999), co-produced the So Many Roads box set with my buddies David Gans and Steve Silberman, and also got involved with helping put out posthumous Garcia releases, including the All Good Things box. When Rhino took over the management of the Grateful Dead’s archival release program a few years ago, I signed on to work occasionally for the re-vamped Dead.net website and joined with Vaultmaster Supreme David Lemieux to play a small role in shepherding the Road Trips series.
So, that’s who I am. In coming weeks, I’ll be bringing up various issues connected to the Dead world that we can bat around and (hopefully) have some fun with, I’ll talk about some recent books and films (good and bad) that have connections to the scene, no doubt take a trip or two down memory lane, and we’ll see where it all leads. If there are issues or questions you’d like to see addressed, let me know. Don’t be shy! We’re all friends here…
dead comment
Now, now...
...be nice, imcndbl! Schabs has a nice side... or so I'm told. ;-)
(For those of you who don't know who we're talking about... don't ask! You don't need to go there!)
Your mission, Mr. Jackson, should you choose to accept it....
GD Videos
what I would really LIKE to see.....(hear)....
I used to have those socks...
Hi!
I (Do) Know You Rider...!
JG vault
Link this?
Tha answer man...
Simonrob, I'm the last guy to ask about the techical things about links and such. Seems to me the best way to keep a thread going might be for everyone to just navigate over to the new blog discussion every Wednesday when it goes up, 'cause it's going to very complicated if some people are talkin here, some people are talkin' there as we move through time.
GRTUD, that was not me in your dining room in 1990. I think the last time I was in Maryland was something like 1975. I toured Edgar Allen Poe's house with a very creepy and morbid tour guide.
The mix-your-own-Dead thing is an interesting idea... but I can't imagine it happening for some reason. I know other groups have done that, though.... Personally, I think it would be more fun to mix some Mickey Hart percussion extravaganza....
Not sure what the state of various video possibilities is, so I have no comment on that. I know a couple of things are being looked at, so to speak...
Most of '91 is in the JGB vault, Providence included...
Hey ...
phil and the rhythm devils
europe '72 set marketing
Red Rock/Telluride '87
The Wheel—A Musical Celebration of Jerry Garcia
augustwest
Mick...
I would love to see a benefit release of the Rex show, and actually heard some talk about it around that time, but since then I've heard nothing... Obviously there are rights issues and such, but it seems like it would be a pretty amenable group. Well see...
As for Larry Campbell and P&F, that was was my favorite lineup ever of that band. Larry is great, and I'm also a big Jackie Greene fan, too. I thought they had the right amount of Deadness but also went in so many other cool directions as well. I still miss 'em. It was fun seeing Larry (and Teresa) at the Furthur Fest in Calaveras last spring.
Don't get me wrong--I love Furthur, but I always enjoyed how much non-Dead stuff that particular edition of P&F did. A tip o' the hat to Steve Molitz, too, that lineup's very interesting and underrated keyboardist!
I can't see beyond the box at the moment, as I'm in the thick of working on a humongo essay for it (boy, has that been fun! And time consuming...). So, I've been listening to little except E'72 stuff for about the past month. I have no idea what they'll come up with next year, but it's gonna be tough to top E72 Complete, to say the least. Fortunately, it's not a competition: '89 vs. '72! I love it all!
But I still manage to listen to other things. I'm quite keen on the forthcoming Robbie Roberston solo album "How to Become Clairvoyant"--very old school, classic RR sound, with lots of Eric Clapton on it. I interviewed Robbie yesterday for an article I'm writing about the album for the April issue of Mix. I've also been digging the new Paul Simon album, which is a return to form for him I'd say, after that rather disappointing collaboration with Brian Eno. Is that PS album out yet? I haven't been to a record store in a while. A couple of weeks ago Regan and I went to one of the Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary celebrations at the Freight & Salvage club in Berkeley and that was tremendous fun--Ry Cooder was the ostensible headliner; he's one of my all-time favorites and he didn't disappoint, doing a mixture of old songs like "Vigilante Man" along with a hilarious new tune called "No Banker Left Behind." Love that guy! Wish he'd tour more (or at all, for that matter). Hey Rhino guys, when do we get a big, deluxe Ry Cooder box? ;-)
And two nights ago, on Valentine's Day, Regan and I went out to the Rancho Nicasio in rural West Marin County and had a nice dinner and saw one of our favorite local groups, the Baguette Quartette, who play French music from the '20s to the '50s.
So, I try to mix it up. I watched the Grammys... liked Lady Gaga's song; thought Dylan was scary (but dug the Avett Bros.and Mumford et al); wish Eminem would cheer up a bit; liked one of the two Arcade Fire songs... couldn't care less about who won or lost anything, as the choices are almost always lame and disappointing. Not worth investing the energy in that part of it, but I like the spectacle for the most part...