Garcia

Going Down the Road Feeling Bad – The Last One 

This morning I received this post from a new contributor. Today, of all days, I wasn't looking
for a guest blog but I couldn't resist the opportunity to share this with you all. - rj

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/gd1973-06-10.sbd.miller.tobin.patched-89730.90979.flac16/gd1973-06-10d2t04_vbr.mp3|titles= Grateful Dead 1973-06-10 – Stella Blue]
When there are great upheavals in our lives, our culture, or our nations, they indelibly mark the calendar of this eternal time line that is the human race. For instance, anyone in the United States over the age of fifty could probably tell you where they were and what they were doing the day John F. Kennedy died. If they were forty or older, most could probably recount how they woke to the news that John Lennon had been shot. And of those, I would hazard a guess that many could probably recount how they went on to spend the rest of that fateful day. Some might even be capable of dialing in to the minutiae of the day, what they ate or the weather. These events do not have to be deaths either; they can be joyful celebrations, such as the first man on the moon. Or they could be somber reflections, such as those that settle at the conclusion of a war. Fifteen years ago today, one of these very happenstances marked a great many people, those that considered themselves part of a magical Tribe. That wonderful family carved out of chance, hope and the love of the unknown; these were Deadheads. And of course, you now know I speak of the passing of Jerome John Garcia, or as we affectionately call him, Jerry.

On that fateful day, fifteen years ago, I found myself running around Vancouver with my girlfriend, picking up groceries and supplies for a trip out to one of the islands. We had recently come off that summer’s Grateful Dead tour, one that, now looking back, had been marred with incidences and bad omens at every stop; a dark storm had been brewing. As I flicked on the radio, now stuck in rain and traffic, to my surprise the Grateful Dead’s Trucking came blaring out off the FM dial. I say surprise, because the Dead were not your radio friendly staple, especially around these parts. At its conclusion, another Dead song, Sugar Magnolia, came crunching out on the airwaves. Well, this was odd, but I chalked it up to the “daily double shot” or some other new fangled radio marketing lingo used to rile up daytime callers. But when this was followed by the tenderness that is Box of Rain, the signal rang true.

Without saying a word, I reached down and turned the tuning knob. Sure enough, the next closest rock station was playing the Grateful Dead. So this is how I would learn of Jerry’s passing, not with words but with song. Appropriate, for honestly, who would want to hear that a member of their family has passed while watching a news channel’s talking head read a teleprompter. I turned to my girlfriend to ask if she had her passport, which was needless as the entire contents of our lives were packed away somewhere in that van. Maybe I simply needed confirmation of our next move. Her welling eyes directed me to the next exit off the highway and there we were, headed for San Francisco. There had to be one last show, one last celebration; please, just one last ride……… Continue reading →

Such a Long, Long, Time To Be Gone

This post originally ran on August 9, 2007.
On this, the 15th anniversary of Jerry’s passing, I feel that it captures my thoughts well enough that I’d like to share it with you once more.

Jerry
12 years have flown by since Jerry Garcia passed.

Nations have come and gone. Guitars grown silent and new players risen. Friendships and love affairs both dissolved and formed. My daughters born and one grown into a young woman, already… and too soon if you ask me. Yet, the world keeps turning.

Looking back to that day, when the news spread from phone to phone and head to head, I can vividly recall the feeling that I’ve felt more than a couple times in my life. It’s the feeling of being punched in the stomach- without the pain yet with all of the breathlessness- combined with the dizziness of a headwound and the crushing weighted sensation akin to wearing one of those lead aprons they use at the dentist’s office. I had gone to work at the record store before hearing the news and, I’d stayed because I didn’t know where else to go.

Motion seemed impossible.

Through the plate-glass I could see the world and its unceasing activity and, inside my head, I screamed for it to stop. I begged the world to freeze in place and pay notice to his passing. Didn’t they know what the world had lost?

Of course, they didn’t. Had they known, as I and so many hundreds of thousands know, they actually would have stopped and marked the day. They would have bowed their heads or lifted their arms or clenched their eyes tightly or all of the above and given thanks and voice to their sorrow for the fact that Jerry Garcia lived, gave his music to the world, and on that day, could give no more.

Yes, we saw it coming. On our less-than-blindly-optimistic days we certainly would not have expected him to live to 65. But no matter how much you think you’re ready… You never are. Not really.

That was a hard month. Not long after Jerry passed, something unexpected arrived in my mailbox. Actually, it was not so much unexpected as it had been forgotten. Earlier in the year, Jerry and his side band had recorded two songs for the soundtrack to the film, Smoke. In a mailer from The Grateful Dead or, perhaps in Relix magazine, I had spotted an offer for a free videocassette of the music video for one of the songs. Although it was noted as a very limited offer, I sent away and promptly forgot. That is, until one day, I opened my mailbox and found a mailer inside.

I rushed inside and popped in the video as I read the enclosed note. The note said that they had been flooded with requests after Jerry’s passing and that I was one of the ‘lucky few’ whose request they would be able to fill. The music started and I saw his face and I cried. It was not the first time I’d cried since that day, twelve years ago, when Jerry passed. This time, however, was the first time my tears could resolve into a smile. Things would get better. Life would go on. Tears are normal.

As they say, “When a lovely flame dies, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEuJqlrfEZ0[/youtube]
Incidentally, this is the last studio recording Jerry did and, it was written by his namesake: Jerome Kern.

And it still makes me cry.

Got Memories…

We took Saturday off from Jerry Week because, hopefully, we all had better things to do than sit and read the interwebs on a Saturday. Today, I want to tell you about something that occurs to me on occasion and which struck me just yesterday as I drove listening to Friday night’s Phish show from Berkeley, CA.

Among the new rash of songs that Phish brought out since their return to the road in 2009 is one entitled “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan”. It’s a rocker with an angst-ridden blues guitar riff that, at first didn’t do too much for me. Then I found this shirt.


Some may bristle at the idea of Phish fans appropriating Grateful Dead icons for their lot shirts, but this one carries an awful lot of meaning. The lyrics describe a man living a new life, with new rules and responsibilities. He’s thinking of escaping and recapturing his freer past but knows that it’s not ever going to be the same.

Personally, I don’t dream of escaping my life. But I do often think back to a time that can never come again. Don’t we all? For me, of course, it’s the dream of seeing The Grateful Dead. That, obviously, is not going to happen but there are days when my memories turn into daydreams and those daydreams sometimes turn into real-life adventures (like Phish shows) that may be similar but will never be the same as seeing The Grateful Dead.

This song reminds me of those days but past and present and this shirt (which I’m wering as I type) ties it all together. Not being able to relive the past is a fact of our universe but at least I’ve got memories…

If you don’t know the song, check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4fewvLmnuI

Garcia/Grisman

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite Garcia side-projects, Garcia/Grisman. Jerry’s collaborations with Grisman go well back into their younger years. They first met at a bluegrass festival on the East Coast (well before that whole Grateful Dead thing) and a friendship was born. Later, Grisman was key to assembling the crazy successful Old & In The Way band. He played on The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty album and also he plays a bit of mandolin on one of the Garcia/Saunders Keystone records.

Time passed…

Enter the 90s and two old friends begin playing casually at home. Grisman decides to roll some tape. Before long, they decided to cut a record and play some shows around the Bay Area.

That record, the first of many, came to be called “Garcia/Grisman”.  It was an all acoustic affair with the pair accompanied by regular Grisman collaborators, Jim Kerwin on bass and Joe Craven on percussion and fiddle. The songs ranged from originals to covers of blues (“The Thrill Is Gone”) and traditional folk (“Two Soldiers”). At a time when many felt that Jerry Garcia was beyond doing anything new or different, this record came as a revelation.

Personally, I wore out at least one cassette version of the release as it was on constant rotation in my car and college dorm. But don’t just take my word for it.

Here’s their take on the Grateful Dead’s “Friend Of The Devil” :

[youtube width=”480″ height=”385″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JSm5TP13dY[/youtube]

Where the real pleasure of this collaboration arose was in the merger of their two unique styles of music. No song better exemplifies this than Grateful Dawg. Forgive the quality of the video… The audio of this live performance from 1990-12-17 is worth it.

[youtube width=”560″ height=”340″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4-gCehGrcg[/youtube]

The collaboration continued until Jerry’s passing and has, to date, resulted in seven releases (all but two were posthumous.) The second release, a collection of children’s folks tunes and the remaining albums mix folk and jazz and bluegrass much in the manner one would expect of two men so steeped in American music.

I’ll leave you now with one more song.

Here’s “Shady Grove” from The Pizza Tapes (with Tony Rice!)

[youtube width=”425″ height=”25″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0ODUbDLS7A[/youtube]

Unbroken Chain 

Today occasional guest-blogger Sophist jumps in with some of his thoughts. -rj

We find ourselves midweek, and it’s none other than that spell binding time of year where we honor the birth and death of one of rock music’s greatest, and most unconventional icons: Jerry Garcia.  He holds a special place in my heart for a few reasons, first and foremost, his uncanny playing style has always stuck out to me, and his innovative and evolving song writing catalog is just as unique today as it was when it unfolded at each show.   Garcia had a way of dancing his legato infused lines into your heart, soul, and mind.  While he could make you smile, at the same time he could hit the darkest depths of your soul and channel the human condition.  Garcia was and is more than music, he is an example of spreading the most carnal experiences of life through music, and this is why his legend will stand the test of time.

Musically speaking, Garcia is in a league of his own.  His use of bluegrass, jazz, blues, rockabilly, and avant garde styles melt into one kaleidoscopic sound wave of sonic bliss.  Garcia was always quoted for his love of leading tones, and his use of them did set him apart from other musicians of that era.  His technique lives on today with a plethora of jam band guitarists emulating their fallen hero night in and night out.

What is most unique about his playing style is his tone.  While other guitarists of the 60’s and 70’s where exploring the inner realm of Hendrix like dichotomies, Garcia found himself carving out a completely different sound.  It was as if instead of having Jimmy Page bitch slap you with 64th notes, Garcia would caress your ears and gently lift you up into the outer hemisphere.   This is what is commonly missed with non deadheads, it wasn’t about jaw dropping finger action, it was about gliding in and out of the confines of the space of the room, adding a new dimension to the venue.

Finally, we must also recognize the role model aspect of Garcia, and how he helped to refine multiple generations by infusing his philosophy world wide.  At the heart of the Grateful Dead is the love, compassion, and understanding that Garcia brought to each show.  He truly was and is a selfless human being.  He set the standard for the hippie movement, and the individuality that permeates the dead scene.  To be is to be.  It is the essence of Beat.  His modesty is something we should also not overlook, for it shows that even in his latter days, he still saw himself as a common man.  In closing, do more than just listen to Dead this week.  Recognize the beauty the fat man brought us, and go forth and make your own beauty in this crazy trip we call life.

-Sophist