Grateful Dead

Hey, great name there brother-sister.I hope that one of the enduring legacies of Fare Thee Well is that no one has to treat being a Deadhead as a contradiction to any other aspect of their life. When more non-Heads realize how many Head have been living in their midst all these years, they might start to recognize the common traits in them.

This is an interesting synchronicity peaceandlove. I just read this article and thought it would make a nice contribution to this forum :-) http://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionnow/2015/07/once-in-a-while-you-ge…

The blue moon this weekend makes me look back.: 5 young adults in my extended family went to FTW there with their Deadhead parents (not exactly dragged there). Each came away ready to confess: There is NOTHING like a Grateful Dead concert. The full sensory immersion, plus the overflowing love, peace and harmony shown by everyone there, did much more than would any amount of listening to recordings. But full credit to the band, to continue to experiment and innovate, to improvise new music in front of a massive crowd which did have its skeptics. Morgan40, I read the article you link below. There is unquestionably a message of hope and redemption running through the Dead music, but it would be too much to say that it is only draws on Biblical influences (which I know you did not). In the same way, I would not want anyone to think that my avatar implies I see a unique link between my faith and Dead-ism. That’s not any more true of my stealie than someone who inserts their favorite team logo on the Face.

what`s your religion. Music takes your spirit and gives you wings so you can soar upt to heaven if you want to.I`m very grateful to the spirits that my baby-grandson , born July 31 - two days ago - is healthy and so beautiful........

amen, amen. Thanks for your note, Graceful Dead. I feel very blessed by the Fare Thee Well event. I was fortunate enough to fly into the states and attend the last night. It was a bit sad to say good-bye, but really i feel like the music means as much to us now, and can lead us to shine our love lights into the future. Know our love will not fade away. Hey, btw... did you happen to see the following article??? http://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionnow/2015/07/once-in-a-while-you-ge… Peace be with you and yours, a sister down under

Turn around and I'll be there like a road leading home.We are everywhere⚡️

WE BID YOU GOODNIGHT

Heard Phil yell that after Box of Rain encore 12-18-93 Oakland col. Great show!!

I'm In Adelaide. I was lucky enough to see both Santa Clara shows. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to the guys as a group, but we can't say goodbye to the Music. What they started 50 years ago is still evolving, and will continue to as the legitimate genre it has become. Thanks, Guys! See you at Bluesfest, loveandpeace (Sat Tedesci Trucks, Lucas Nelson and Promise of the Real, and Joe Bonnamassa)

I'm in Melbourne. We're an American family with three children, who came here four years ago. I was blessed to attend the last night in Chicago... my original hometown. It was a beautiful night, spent with folks from tour 20+ years ago. I have to admit that i felt both inspired and sad after the shows. The spirit of the shows lingered for weeks and i was completely blown away by how the music and the vibe of a show was just as relevant and important for me now, as it was back then. In fact, it felt like it had just been too, too long. We need that music, and i think you are right... it's so important, that it will evolve and stay alive. anyways... i'll have the check out bluesfest. Any music suggestions are welcome, as i haven't got a clue down here. Peace be with you and yours, jennifer

Three observations about the infectious lilt that is the pace of Grateful Dead music (and that gives Deadheads their characteristic walk while listening to Jehovah's favorite choir). John Mayer said that the pace of Dead music made him notice how different it was from "everything ..processed and quantized and gridded out – to hear 'Tennessee Jed' played with that lope.." And in Kreutzman's recent interviews he stated that one of the main lessons he learned from Garcia about music was to play "a really full four beats. Don't rush to the end of the bar". Finally, learning that the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds have joined the Giants in planning Grateful Dead nights (thanks for the tip from Holly Hiker), makes me speculate that a steady, measured pace of things might make for more overlap between Dead fans and baseball fans than there is with football fans. I'm runnin', but I take my time.

You know who I mean. For their unrivaled track record of creativity and innovation, continuing even today, in light and sound. For the highest level of musicianship, sustained over many decades. For the breadth and durability of their own songbook. For their lively and invigorating interpretation of the traditional American songbook. And of course the testimony of the fan base, who the word "loyal" does not begin to describe. No other band has ever had anything like that following, neither in their heyday nor continuing so long, long after.

A mighty giant had laid down to join his ancestors. But he fell across the trail in the Pacific rain forest that we were hiking on. The forest service cut the tree to re-open the path, and left the fresh face of the trunk at about eye level, leaning up the hill side where it fell. The outer edge of the bark was a deep rust color, and the color had been seeping down in the month or so since it fell. In successive rings, though, the inner core had brighter and brighter tones, until the central core was virtually white. And centered there was a pattern that resembled a tree in outline, with a great canopy spread above the center point, and a vast root system below. At the well spring of life for that large creature was the very idea of Tree, the Form of what each tree of its kind should be. Though this particular embodiment of that concept was now to begin its very prolonged decay, it is succeeded by many, many others which sprang from the same source. Or maybe I am projecting my feelings about my father in his decline.

Sounds like compassion ,pouring out of the pores. Very Beautiful, THANK YOU ,GOD BLESS .

PEACE ,TOO AWL,KEEP ON TRUCKIN. YEAH, LOV LIFE !

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WAIT,THEY REALLY DO ,EASIER SAID THEN DONE I KNOW ,BEING AS ONE WITH IN IS A GOAL,YOU CAN ALWAYS UP,WERE EVER YOU GET YOUR ENERGY FROM ,BE GRATEFUL!

Going thought some hard times ,same as everybody else ,just looking around,man its a different world,been sleepin,lol lol ,wake up tomarrow ,[spellings bad]lol.PEACE.

English!LOL

RAMBLE ON!

TIME TO SAY GOODNIGHT , GOOD NIGHT

I do hope that what sounded like a very good night for you did not turn in to a bad day come morning.

All is Good,All is Well,opened up a couple more doors, Thanks for Asking, Hows things on your end?

Thanks for asking, 1973. My Dad died two weeks ago; myself and my siblings were at his side, trying to comfort his passage. We can always wish that the inevitable will be put off a little longer, but his very long, very fruitful life had finally run its course. All of his 15 young adult grandchildren participated in his funeral (and two great-grandchildren delighted the very large crowd that gathered). One grandson did him proud, and moved everyone in attendance, by reading a passage from Saul of Tarsus: "Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you." What more could you want?

Very sorry for your loss.....it is never easy.....it sounds like your dads memory was honored and will continue to be.

I'm sorry. May God's peace be with you and your family. What God did in Saul's life, renaming him Paul, is amazing. HE can change us all one person at a time.

Im truly sorry for your loss,Saul to Paul,WoW, Strenth,Love,God Bless...

Prayers With You ...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!!!

love & peace to all

Thank You !!!

It is my impression that a high percentage of Dead Heads are 5-for-5 on the beliefs that William James lists in his 1902 book "The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature" as the "characteristics of religious life": 1. That the visible world is part of a more spiritual universe from which it draws its chief significance; 2. That union or harmonious relation with that higher universe is our true end; 3. That prayer or inner communion with the spirit thereof—be that spirit 'God' or 'law'—is a process wherein work is really done, and spiritual energy flows in and produces effects, psychological or material, within the phenomenal world. 4. A new zest which adds itself like a gift to life, and takes the form either of lyrical enchantment or of appeal to earnestness and heroism. 5. An assurance of safety and a temper of peace, and, in relation to others, a preponderance of loving affections.

Tom you hit the nail on the head, those words ring true here. glad that you are enjoying your new musical stash.... please pay it forward...

I am happy you are reading this because I need to get this off my chest..........

I for one, am glad that the 2025 box set is so large. I missed out on past multi show entries over the span of the 30 years. I have been saving my pennies ever since this box was announced.

I can not wait for May 30th....Because I am purchasing this Mega Box

I wish all of you peace.

Northbound Train Headlight
Indianapolis, In.

From Publisher Wipf and stock "Deadheads-and-christians"

wipfandstock.com/9798385240593/deadheads-and-christians

Thanks for this link. I have been curious over the years about the many Christian references in Dead lyrics, and haven't come across any real acknowledgement or appreciation of this. A fascinating and under appreciated dimension of their songs.

On closer examination, this book appears to be more about exploring the links between the Deadhead culture and t early Christians. I wrongly assumed it would be about considering the bands songs and approach to playing. Maybe more about Deadheads than The Dead. The clue is in the title ! I am still going to order it though.

Here is a commentary on that book

religionnews. com/2025/07/17/deadheads-and-christians

Having said I would order this book, I am ashamed to say I then forgot about it. So I am pleased to see it referenced again. I have just looked it up online, and read a very brief extract from it. One thing I wondered, though. Is it as clear now, as the author suggests, what a Deadhead is ? It used to be someone who followed the band physically, as indicated, but that has obviously not been possible for 30 years. I still listen most days of the week, but I don't have any interest in Dead and Co. And living in England, I only got to see the band 5 times anyway.
So I wondered, has the meaning of the word and what it refers to changed in the last 30 years ?

I also wonder about the term Christian. It is a definition that seems to have been appropriated by the political right wing - often as a justification for nationalism and at the worst extreme war. I would never want to describe myself in any way that linked myself to people and organisations who did that. That doesn't mean I don't believe in the Gospels, just the interpretations that have been attached to them. In defining myself as a Christian, I wonder if the meaning I attach to the word is different from what may have become the common understanding of it.

I generally feel loathe to attach any label or word to sum up my beliefs or experiences. They are reflected and made coherent by various works of art and religious works - but to attach any one label - Christian, Deadhead or anything else, feels unnecessarily limiting and misleading.

Still looks like a fascinating book, though.