Grateful Dead

Currently in Carbondale Il. Originally from the Chicago-land area. Greetings 2 all. Happy 4th of July!

Thanks for the tip. I haven't been to Magfest or Spring fest but I will check it out!

Shout-out to Kim! do you ever go to Live Oak FL on the panhandle for MagFest or SpringFest? There are topics over in the Festivals forum - come see!

To comment to misngfingr from earlier in this thread - no your not the only NW/PDX out here. Although Im orig from SoCal,(lived in AZ and NoCal) Im now in W WA right acorss the river from Portland. The beautiful Columbia River Gorge is my backyard. - Eric

Hey now CC Joe I know that some sites have the access but not at Cedar Junction they are pretty much in lockdown for 23 hours a day probably at pre-release centers maybe if they are lucky but doubt it Mark

glad to see you are on the outside, when I saw your screen name I was wondering if brothers and sisters inside these days have internet access. peace. "The highway is for gamblers, you'd better use your sense. Take what you have gathered from coincidence"

My real name is Mark I live in a small town 19 miles southwest of Boston. It is an ever growing town which has two significant details; one is the Maximum state prison (Cedar Junction) and the other is it was also known for the manufacturing of angel dust nice claims to fame huh... Oh there are others too jsut not mentioning du to time constraints My town also has a few generations of dead heads as previously mentioned The Deads music has been played here since the early 70's in local bands and continues to be played in new younger bands as we speak My first show was at the Providence Civic Center in 1984 My last show at High Gate VT 95 I was dragged to my first but quickly learned how to get on the bus I was always planning my schedule around tours maybe that is why I saw so many on the east coast I met several friends along the way and till this day still meet up with them when I get the chance I believe someone said in earlier posts that they miss the shows and experience during the summer I agree but I have learned to support local bands especially those that keep the tradition alive. We are blessed to have those still willing to share their gifts with us continue to play our music but at the same time we continue to share with younger people the gift that we all were given at one point along the line or should I say the bus stop that we were picked up at . I would be interested to know if there was way to see users from each state listed at some point. The map offered is pretty overwhelming with those little red push pin icons Peace Mark AKA WALPOLECHINACAT

Hello Just reading through the stories of everyone makes me feel at home. Thought I would share my story. First got introducted to the Dead in 1987 when I was 16 by my older, more wordly wise boyfriend. Had to sneak out of the house cuz my parents would have killed me, first show was the Dylan and the Dead show in Oakland. I had never seen anything like it in my life, a was a bit taken back at first, didn't know what to think. Saw my second show at Shoreline, and with the "electric" atsmosphere there was no turning back. I had always felt like an outcast or different before the dead, but when I found the dead I knew it was home. Spent my senior year of high school sneaking out and going to shows alone ( previous boyfriend out of the picture and no one at my school listened to the dead....) and then picked going to UC Santa Cruz for college since it was close to the bay area and I could go to shows. Spent the next four years going to every show I could possibly go to, I think my last count was over a hundred Dead shows and at least that many of the JGB. I went to all the west coast shows, a couple trips back east for spring tour. Was thrilled to say got to see them at frost, the greek, and Henry J Kaiser. I also really loved camping out at Cal Expo, have great memories from there. Used to go to shows with a giant wooden spoon (I can't explain that even now....) and with the folks from the purple house in Santa Cruz. I have never felt so at home and myself and free and happy as in the dead community. Met sooo many great friends in Santa Cruz and the good times rolled. I took it and ran with it and the Grateful Dead was my life, it was who I was and my world revolved around the community, the music, the ideas. Then things changed, maybe it was me, I don't know. Around 92 I kinda drifted away. Got involved with other types of art and music, and kinda let the Dead part of me go..... My body told me that I couldn't drink and party and do the "things" that I used to. I kinda changed pathes and got myself into graduate school. Had to clean up my act and now am a doctor of veterinary medicine. Been sober now for maybe ten years, I don't know just kinda happened. Well, for a long time for some reason it was hard for me to really talk about the dead and my experiences. The emotions are so strong. The music will always be a part of me. Sometimes it is almost hard for me to listen to certain shows because it transports me back to that time of my life. There's so much emotion there, so many memories. I've changed so much (we all have I know) but there will always be that love for the dead. I haven't been around Deadheads for awhile, because of my own personal journey. I moved away from the bay area to south florida, I can't seem to find them here! It is hard to explain to people that weren't there or don't get it. I can't really put words to my experiences and how the dead make me feel. I miss it in a way I can't describe. I miss the music, I miss the freedom, I miss how young I was and not a care in the world, I miss the people that you would meet, the random acts of kindness, the sense of family. I miss dancing, I miss the set breaks, I miss the lot after the show. Been trying to see where that fits into me now. I am happy I found this site because I miss being around you all. Would love to figure out where to start in this digital/cyper world of trading shows. Trying to load up the old ipod.... Used to trade tapes like mad but thats kinda a thing of a past now I guess, right? Anyways, I am glad to be here.

Hey all my brother and sister Deadlings. I just though you might get a kick out of knowing how the name Uncle Deadhead came about. There's a few reasons. One is that I am a writer and sometimes choose other personalities as muses. Call it a fractured personality. Uncle DeadHead likes to write, well, in the more psychedelic and laid back style. Dastiver is the cat I invented for writing reviews and doing interviews with the metal scene. Each name has a distinct personality. But with Uncle DeadHead, it also had to do with survival. At the time he came along, life was very depressing and stressful. He allowed a way to slip into a really chilled out mode that could just let life kind of slide by. Now the Mike part (the real me) was worried and not able to function all that well during this period. What happened was the two finally came together and made someone who would worry about what was needed, but would let the other stuff just kinda slide by. His name was Uncle Mike, a cross between the two. In fact, just to kinda get the feeling again, I slipped into Uncle DeadHead through a trance like state through deep breathing. He's the chap doing the writing now. Anyway, now you know a little bit about the who and how of him. Peace and Freaks, Uncle DeadHead.

Hello, my name is Val, a.k.a. Valerian, and I live in Upstate New York. I am a real late bloomer when it comes to the music of the Grateful Dead, and because of this, I must sadly say, I never caught any of their shows. During my teen years (70s), I didn’t explore the music of the dead, my tastes leaned more towards musicians such as Frank Zappa (my first concert), Black Sabbath, Joe Walsh, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Rush, etc. At this point in my life, I can’t get enough of the Grateful Dead's recordings. As my site name suggests, I am also into guitar playing and all things guitar. Other interests include artwork, especially cartooning, and music in general. "May the four winds blow you safely home" God Bless and Peace!