So far, the recently-launched Grateful Dead Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio has been pretty much about wall-to-wall music by the Dead and its musical descendents, 24 commercial-free hours a day. And that suits us all just fine. But we also know that when Dead Heads aren't listening to the music, they love talking about it, and other subjects near and dear to our community.
Bearing that in mind, the Grateful Dead Channel proudly announces Tales From The Golden Road, a live monthly forum with an emphasis on conversation and audience participation. Grateful Dead members and other guests will join hosts David Gans and Gary Lambert in the studio to discuss a different topic each month, with listeners invited to call in with questions and comments.
The first program, to be broadcast on Sunday, January 20th at 4 pm (ET), will focus on the Trips Festival, the trailblazing 1966 event that helped put the San Francisco music scene on the national map, and was a crucial moment in the development of the Grateful Dead as a performing band and cultural phenomenon.
Joining the discussion will be filmmaker Eric Christensen, who attended the Trips Festival and has just released a fascinating documentary on the event; Grateful Dead biographer/publicist Dennis McNally, who will provide insight into the historical context; and Bob Weir, who saw it all from the inside and lived to tell the tale. Also featured will be audio segments evoking the event, and some Grateful Dead music from the band's formative days.
The Grateful Dead Channel can be found at Channel 32 on Sirius Satellite Radio. If you're not yet a Sirius subscriber, you might want to check out the free three-day trial the service is offering, which will not only allow you to sample all that glorious Dead music, but any of Sirius' other 100-plus channels of music, talk and information for every taste.
For more information, visit www.sirius.com/gratefuldead