30 Days of Dead
It's a Dead Head's most wonderful time of the year! Welcome to another 30 days of unreleased Grateful Dead tracks from the vault, one for every day of the month, selected by archivist and producer David Lemieux. The tracks are yours, 100% free gua-ran-teed, but the real fun is taking part in the challenge for the chance to win some sweet swag from the Dead.
Those of you who know what to do, feel free to skip right on ahead. For those of you who need a refresher, here's the drill:
You know your Ables from your Bakers from your C's, but can your finely tuned ears differentiate the cosmic "comeback" tour from a spacey 70s show? Each day we'll post a song from one of the Dead's coveted shows. Will it be from that magical night at Madison Square Garden in '93 or from way back when they were just starting to warm it up at Winterland? Is that Pigpen's harmonica we hear? Brent on keys? If you think you know, lob your answer in and you just might find yourself taking home our daily prize of a 2025 Grateful Dead wall calendar or the grand prize – a copy of limited, numbered, FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: APRIL '78 boxed set!
Thought this one might be a tougher find, but they gave us a leg up by accident (I assume). November always flies by - don't want the fun to end!!
345 performances yet today's UJB was Easy Peasy for me. One of my faves. Here's a trip: try playing it at 2x speed. It's like hearing a song you know well for the first time.
and look in last year's file first.
late November Dave likes to start throwing UJBs from this year and this particular slot in the show. problem is, he often times doesn't check to see what he's already thrown before.
Saw the title and thought it would be a long haul. Took a listen and picked up a couple clues that would make it easier. Put on headphones for a second listen and picked up a clue that made it very quick. A most excellent song in a great show, have to listen to the whole thing today.
Was wondering what would show up for my birthday today. Seeing Uncle John's Band just put a big smile on my face! One of my very faves.
Then I started listening and, HAH!, had to laugh at all the flubs with lyrics, and wrong chords, and verses. Seemed to take "God damn!" to bring them back. And then, Jerry's beautiful solo coming out of it, and the rest of the song...pretty sweet. Then they blasted out of it like no other ending I've ever heard. Thinking about it, it's kinda like my life....flubs & turns & twists, becoming quite beautiful over time, and well, not sure about the blast off part yet!
A long ago memory...I remember sitting on the floor with friends listening to this album over & over in the summer of 1970 when it 1st came out, reading every word on the album cover (remember when we used to do that!), listening so close. Then hearing it again & again on KSAN, the radio station of such a special time & place. It'd just catch my ear every time, and it's wafted thru my life ever since.
Wo-oh, what I want to know, where does the time go?
So much gratitude for the band, for all of you, for this life, for the smiles!
(~);-}