Grateful Dead

2/11/89

Yup, that percussion is none other than Danny Carey, the man who had a drum kit made of melted down Paiste drum cymbals, yes you read that right, and one were the drum bodies are made from a sustainably harvested tree that produces the vines used in ayahuasca brews. He is probably the single most amazing drummer I have ever come across and dare I say a step beyond, Moon, Bonham, Mason, Baker, and the Rhythm devils. Not so much better, just picking up where they left off and blasting into f-ing space with it. Literally one of the most humble but intensely interesting people you can find out and talk to, especially in music. Check out his side project Volto! for some nasty jazz fusion where he really gets into some nasty technique. He is also a student of Aloke Dutta and explores numerous different cultures explorations of rhythm and time.

Here is a sample for any others just wondering what all the fuss is about and you get glimpse of his melted cymbal drum kit.

If you enjoy hearing phenomenal musicians explain themselves, their technique, and equipment checkout the first clip in the list, it's a 1of 3 part interview.

Artist spotlight and TOOL from Boston, MA. Part 1 of 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t1lt99CWnA

Lateralus Drums:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqftunIOqe0

Random Fake Mustache Drum Solo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4WeTxbYeQw

Drum Clinics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3z__10bhg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwjsGPMIhxc

VOLTO! Grip it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_D_Ds6pWTg

VOLTO! Tocino.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIChFldH6Y0

Sorry for the long posts, but it should be obvious that TOOL makes me too excited, gives me verbal diarrhea, and its embarrassing.

That one sounds pretty nice on vinyl too.

That new Tool song is fantastic! Rolling Stone has a link to it. I can't believe how great the production is - the percussion alone is among the finest things I've ever heard. Can't wait for the album to drop. \m/

Have seen, but forgot about that video, sooooo mtv, love the leather jackets and hairdos ; )
Think that was my favorite Brent tune. Thanks for that Vguy. Can’t remeber if there were more? Rember TOG obviously, and the Bucket video with the duck, this one and???
That back lighting totally reminds me of the first time Lee Esdee and I hung at a show. It was the first time I saw the new vari lights and at a “certain” point where I was convinced I’d died and gone to heaven, Candace had the lights all white behind the band, and being in the front row they were sort of blinding to my aaaaa, “affected” vision, eventually as I could start to focus again I came to the realization that I may have died, but it was alright cause the dead was playing in front of the light at the end of the tunnel 😃

Edit: have only seen videos but yaaassss that Billy Strings does look awesome!

I'm going to see him on Saturday at a festival outside of Baltimore called Hot August Music Fest (formerly Hot August Blues.) On the same bill is JGB with Melvin and the ladies. No idea whose else is playing with them, but it will be nice to see Melvin. A local jam band Pigeons Playing Pingpong is also playing, and while they are not my usual cup of tea, what I've heard sounds like it will be fun :)

I've also had a chance to see Billy at a local brewery here in town, and he is a damn fine musician, (and does a killer Deal!)

Peace

....Just a Little Light was a great tune IMHO - there are some good ones on the Spring 90 boxes, one of which (I can't recall the exact show) that was played late in the tour was exceptionally good - sort of an extended intro between Jerry and Brent; then when they get into it, there is a pretty spacey/drawn out jam where Jerry sort of goes off on a walk around the block, wah-wah included. I always loved when Jer would fire up the wah-wah pedal and I feel like this tune had some fantastic potential to really open up on that - using the aforementioned example as a reference/starting point.

Had no idea there was a video - MTV's gems uncovered....well done VGuy

Sixtus

Great information as well. I had no idea the bands were linked as such, and would have never thought it, but just goes to show........

Think I will wait for this next one on vinyl....maybe turn it up to 11 after a veggie pizza and see what happens....what could go wrong? I will check out Aenema again as well. This is one reason I hang out here, and truth is I listen to music totally different then I did back then...my GD listening habits probably being the best example of that.

Side note: my cousin told me that the new CD has a miniature chargeable speaker in it and also a USB drive or something similar...sounds gimmicky but might be fun to check out...wonder if the vinyl will have that or something similar?

Another great song. Only available on Dick's Picks 30. Unless you get into the Jerry Garcia Band. Donna sounds great. Can't hear Keith.

Awesome that you are diving in head first with a friend. You are spot on with your first observations about them and GOGD. Ive seen TOOL over 20 times since 1998 and been listening to them from before. They've been psychedelic since the first album and Al Jorgensen (Ministry) apparently dosed them during a 1991 Lollapalooza tour stop. Al was living with Tim Leary in an apartment at the time and would give him liquid to take on tours. Well, Al would put some in Jack Daniel's before every tour stop and would drink it before and during a show, one day he passed the bottle off to the next young man walking on stage, after a congratulatory "great show!". He forget he had dosed the bottle and the rest is history. TOOL while heavy and not your typical "tripping" music, but is more akin to the feeling some might get smoking large amounts of DMT or being blasted apart in fractalized white light at the heart of a galaxy. Heavy? Yes. Psychedelic? Oh most certainly but only for the most intrepid of travelers. I mean Third Eye came out in 1998, and if that's not psychedelic, I quit life. Once anyone starts down the TOOL rabbit hole, listen to the lyrics (they make tongue in cheek references to the GD), understand how they put their music together (Lateralus is nice example), and check out their art ya know it's nothing but from the divine. Maybe not so much the Ken Kesey crowd vibe, more so the Tim Leary vein, but both are cut from the same "cloth." One of their songs that mentions the GD though in a somewhat sarcastic and possibly mocking tone is called "Lost Keys(Blame Hoffman)"->"Rosetta Stoned". Not that they mock the GOGD just the prevalence of "Estimated Prophets" that Bobby has already warned of :)

Anyone who starts collaborating with Alex Grey to start do their artwork has been off the deep end more than once. :)

In case its not obvious I'm obsessed with TOOL, and they are carrying the torch of psychedelic expansion, personal evolution, and disruption of perception of established social norms more than any "band" around right now. And like most hard trips, it's not really acceptable for many, if most jamband music is akin to mushrooms, TOOL is like a shaman mainlining ayahuasca into your cerebral cortex.

It's all finally on streaming platforms after all these years so check it out. Aenema is arguably the single greatest rock album ever made, though that's a hard sell when all their albums are THAT good.

I could make more comments but feel like I've said too much, like someone's first experiences with psychedelics it should develop naturally without too much input from some one else. "Just start climbing that spiral up and out, and watch out for your brother (and sisters)."