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    Owsley "Bear" Stanley - 1935-2011

    I met Owsley at the age of eighteen. I had just left home, having run off with a Rock&Roll band. Bear, as we knew him, was one of my all-time biggest influences. Always, when I think of him, I think of the endless stuff he taught me or somehow made me realize, all stuff that I've been able to use to the benefit of countless people who probably don't know much about him or how deeply he influenced me and the rest of the band. Most important was the approach he taught me and us: Always be open and engaging - always critical and questioning, but not negatively so much as playfully. He taught me to take myself and my interests out of the picture and work with the subject under consideration so that the best deductions or conclusions are made. I guess this means working from the point of view of the higher self, though that term never came up; it was always just assumed...

    -Bob Weir

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  • marye
    9 years ago
    Article in today's IJ
    About tonight's benefit at the Great American to preserve Bear's Sonic Journals:http://www.marinij.com/article/20151105/FEATURES/151109886
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    LockeSlate
    13 years ago
    Bear
    Just posted a poem, long thought about and now released on the poetry forum. I thought it might be appropriate to cross-post here. Wondering tonight if we'll get our mojo back, if we'll dream again, if we'll see the "rusty strings shine...". Bear …and was…but will not be again. No one saw the train leave the station Just heard about it over the radio Read about it over the internet The Kentucky bluegrass bent Bourbon not its best son But someone called Bear Master Illusionist Grand Experimenter A cowboy riding onward pushed by the dry desert winds to the Curious Dreamtime Say hello for me to the nut that drove the Bus To the one who ran FURTHUR To the one who made the rusty strings shine See ya down the Golden Road, Bear!
  • Mike Edwards
    13 years 7 months ago
    Bear Interview
    Thanks for posting audio of this interview, dgans. I've read it a number of times and it's pretty amazing listening to it now.
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Submitted by lilgoldie on

I met Owsley at the age of eighteen. I had just left home, having run off with a Rock&Roll band. Bear, as we knew him, was one of my all-time biggest influences. Always, when I think of him, I think of the endless stuff he taught me or somehow made me realize, all stuff that I've been able to use to the benefit of countless people who probably don't know much about him or how deeply he influenced me and the rest of the band. Most important was the approach he taught me and us: Always be open and engaging - always critical and questioning, but not negatively so much as playfully. He taught me to take myself and my interests out of the picture and work with the subject under consideration so that the best deductions or conclusions are made. I guess this means working from the point of view of the higher self, though that term never came up; it was always just assumed...

-Bob Weir

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I met Owsley at the age of eighteen. I had just left home, having run off with a Rock&Roll band. Bear, as we knew him, was one of my all-time biggest influences.

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16 years 1 month

Submitted by 4fryng on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 13:56

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Thanks MP51 for the Jimi tripper!
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17 years 5 months

Submitted by shawndog on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 14:31

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Shawndog Thank You....
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13 years 8 months

Submitted by Phaedrus65 on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 15:21

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I had the pleasure of meeting Bear at a Dead show in the late 80s or early 90s. We discussed his art, which he was displaying, and a couple of general things- I was pretty intimidated, to be honest. His influence went out so much further than our community alone, obviously. His influence on world culture vis-a-vis The Dead, The Beatles, Jimi, etc is literally incalcuable and beautiful. The Rolling Stone article on him a couple of years ago was fascinating and recommended reading. He was one of a kind and I am very saddened by this news. Blessings to his family.
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Submitted by 4fryng on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 18:35

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I would like to say Happy Birthday to Phil.Happy Birthday Phil! And many more!
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13 years 11 months

Submitted by Mr.TheEleven on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 20:52

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Once in a while you get shown the lightIn the strangest of places if you look at it right.
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17 years 5 months

Submitted by LIG71 on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 11:10

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Extremly grateful for Bear contribution. clearly the Grateful Dead would never have been the same and maybe not even the Grateful Dead.his passion for sound and his philosophy around it remain mindblowing to many even today. how many tapes do we owe him??? i cannot count. Merci Bear.
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Submitted by gcrueger on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 16:50

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A car accident is such a random, meaningless way to be absorbed into the next reality. All those thoughts, all those certifiably crazy ideas, all those sonic and psychic contributions, all those tentacles that affected me and you in such organically unorganized ways--they make one eternally grateful for Bear's contributions.
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Submitted by Brick in Oz on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 18:34

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I'm reminded of the night Jerry passed. My wife and I were lucky enough to be inside at the Hampton Beach Casino for Bob's scheduled show. After "Knocking on Heaven's Door" we filed out in what I can only call a stunned silence, only to be greeted by what seemed 50,000 deadheads outside singing the NFA chant. I still get goosebumps. I know that in all our hearts is ringing the same chant in unison. Thanks, Bear, for everything. We love you more than words can tell...
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Submitted by Spaceman555 on Fri, 03/18/2011 - 01:46

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I got a chance to meet Bear at one of the shows at the Boston Garden in the early 90's. I was kinda afraid to walk up to him. Being that my mind was melting in a very serious way. All I wanted to do was shake the man's, and thank him for all that he has done. We happened to make eye contact. Maybe because I was staring at him. He smiled, my fear went away, And I completed my mission. He was very nice. I asked if I could shake he hand. He said something funny, of which I can not remember now. We talked for a minute and that was that. He knew I was tripping, and just kept giving me this smile that just went through me. I'll never forget it. To this day I'm so glad I took that opportunity to meet him. Good luck on your new adventure Bear. And thank you for all the adventures that you gave us.
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Submitted by fellow deadhead on Fri, 03/18/2011 - 10:13

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truly a loss that touches all our hearts! jerry was enough now bear,his influence changed a culture and generation and the world forever and i am so grateful to have been part of it! when i heard this my heart filled with sadness! R.I.P our brother! prayers and condolences go out,words cant say enough!....god bless ya brother and will see ya when i get there! you will be greatly missed as one more of us drops off out of this world into the next! peace!!!
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Submitted by DeadFred on Fri, 03/18/2011 - 21:33

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Peace and Love on your next trip...
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15 years 4 months

Submitted by DK-Deadhead on Sat, 03/19/2011 - 05:50

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I too had an email correspondence with Bear, it was back in the late 1990s, and was about his Wall of Sound recordings and the spatiality one can hear in them. I was amazed he answered my mail, and was intrigued by his comments. Those '73 concerts are really something special. 5 minutes on wikipedia and it is obvious that live rock concerts owes the Bear so much! My first Dead show was in 1981 (Rainbow, London), and I was hooked straight away because of this fantastic powerful, clear sound where one could hear the instruments and every note being played - awesome! 30 years later I have 30GB GD concerts on my iPhone which I listen to in strict chronological order... Thanx to Bear and Garcia...
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Submitted by Ungnome on Sat, 03/19/2011 - 20:56

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The Octet is broken. It is up to all of us to renew it.
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15 years 10 months

Submitted by Markusadoobie on Sun, 03/20/2011 - 10:41

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While the music played you worked by candlelightThose San Francisco nights You were the best in town Just by chance you crossed the diamond with the pearl You turned it on the world That's when you turned the world around..... So long Kid Charlamene! You tuned it in and you turned us on
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Submitted by Gypsy Cowgirl on Sun, 03/20/2011 - 18:38

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Bear's funeral will be Tues about 2pm in Australia. So, if you can figure out the time change to where you are in the world, send him off with good vibes......
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Submitted by Strider 808808 on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 14:32

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Yesterday was my 57th birthday. I was thinking of what mountain to climb as can be my b.day custom and thought of the "Bear". So on the top of Bear Mountain on the continental divide outside Silver City,N.M. is a written memorial to Bear in the summit register. Why they say some of Bears Choice is up in these hills somewhere. Thank you Bear for your work.
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Submitted by Mike Edwards on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 14:55

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Thanks for posting audio of this interview, dgans. I've read it a number of times and it's pretty amazing listening to it now.
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Submitted by LockeSlate on Fri, 11/04/2011 - 17:16

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Just posted a poem, long thought about and now released on the poetry forum. I thought it might be appropriate to cross-post here. Wondering tonight if we'll get our mojo back, if we'll dream again, if we'll see the "rusty strings shine...". Bear …and was…but will not be again. No one saw the train leave the station Just heard about it over the radio Read about it over the internet The Kentucky bluegrass bent Bourbon not its best son But someone called Bear Master Illusionist Grand Experimenter A cowboy riding onward pushed by the dry desert winds to the Curious Dreamtime Say hello for me to the nut that drove the Bus To the one who ran FURTHUR To the one who made the rusty strings shine See ya down the Golden Road, Bear!