The Strangest of Places?

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May 29, 2007 - 9:51am

119 replies

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

Here's the place for that story about how you ran into Jerry in the halls of Autodesk. Or some such. Thank you for sharing!

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July 23, 2007 - 2:39pm

#81

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

kim!

was that Fred Lieberman's class? If so, I'm giggling at the "not a Deadhead" characterization; hell, he coauthored a book with Mickey! We need to get him in here, come to think of it...
July 21, 2007 - 10:01am

#82

kim

Joined:
June 25, 2007

Mickey at UC Santa Cruz

I was a sophmore at UC Santa Cruz, I think it must have been 1989-90. My friend was taking a music appreciation class. The teacher was a very straight guy, not a deadhead in the least. On one of the first classes, he played touch of grey as an example of a perfectly composed song. I heard through the grapevine that the professor was friends with Jerry. There was a very vague rumor that Jerry was going to come to class at some point in time. UC Santa Cruz in the late 80's had alot of hardcaore deadhead kids, so this rumor made us all nuts! So I went to that class every single session, even though I was not enrolled in that class. I think it was probably the only class I went to consistently during college. Anyways after many many many weeks, Mickey showed up! It was awesome. I think he lectured to us, but I can't remember for sure. After the class, I went up to introduce myself. He was very gracious. I remember asking him if he could PLEASE play shakedown street at the next california show. Then spent alot of time anticipating if they would..... They didn't but it was awesome meeting Mickey. My sister , who is not a deadhead, claims she met Bobby in a casino in Nevada. She got me a signed cocktail napkin from him. Im not sure if that really happened or if she was just pulling my leg.
July 16, 2007 - 3:12pm

#83

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

Okay Jim

I think you win. Say more about Bob at the Grove--or would they have to kill you?
July 16, 2007 - 11:19am

#84

Jim Vaughn

Joined:
June 19, 2007

Bohemian Grove

I met Bob Weir in the Bohemian Grove back in the 1990s. He played some fantastic music including "West L.A. Fadeaway" & "Misty". I may have been the first Dead Head to dance in the streets of the Grove! He was backed by the great band "Marley's Ghost". See them if you get the chance! "The experiment continues..."
July 12, 2007 - 2:55pm

#85

Jack_Straw22

Joined:
June 25, 2007

Branford Marsalis...The Baseball Fan

I took my then 3 year old son to a Mets game in the summer of 1996, one of those mid-week day games (Businessman's Special). Because the crowd was so sparse, we ended up moving to seats right behind home plate. I was looking around and there was a guy with 2 or 3 really BIG guys sitting there a few rows behind me. I heard him talking, bragging that this rookie named Jeter was going to be a big star with the Yankees. I chatted him up, saying the Mets rookie shortstop was going to be even better (Um...I was SO wrong...and he couldn't have been anymore right!!!). We laughed, and it just hit me that I was "Talkin' Baseball" with the one and only Branford Marsalis. I didn't want to let on and we just kept BS'ing about the Mets and Yankees. Finally I said "Man, you look an awful lot like Branford Marsalis." He and his boys laughed like hell, and he said he was. I told him that I was at the Coliseum shows in 90 when he played with the Boys. He replied that he "Had a LOT of fun playin' with those guys." We kept on chatting and I asked him to sign my program. He smiled and asked what my son's name was. I told him John and he signed it..."To John, Your Dad is a bigger baseball freak than me..." and signed his name. I shook his hand, thanked him and left. A GREAT memory... I love breaking that out and looking at it once in awhile.
July 9, 2007 - 8:17pm

#86

docks of the city

Joined:
June 19, 2007

Summer of 1966

I heard the Dead for the first time in Santa Rosa, about 50 miles north of San Francisco in the summer of '66. I had just turned 18. I heard Dylan play in the city in December of '65 and had been to the Fillmore once before but had never heard the Dead. It was an empty house but they played great---Dancin in the Streets, Good Morning Little School Girl, perhaps The Midnight Hour. The Jaywalkers, who played with them were really good too. I never heard of them again. We met some people with The Dead and were invited down to 710 Ashbury, whenever. We visited for the first time about a week later. Phil answered the door and told us our friend wasn't there but to come in. He took us to a really nice room on the same floor and told us we could wait there. We waited. It was a beautiful room, very, very cool and full of personal things. One thing kind of worrisome----what looked like a leather biker jacket with an Angels logo on the back. We waited a long time. Phil returned once, said nothing,but picked up a glass jar and shook it at us and gave us one of those "what"s doin" looks and left. About 20 minutes later, Pigpen walked in and said "Who the Hell are you people?" You should have seen three little hippy chicks come to attention fast. It's all an upward swirling after that. We spent the afternoon on the top floor with Jerry, Phil, our friends, whoever, listening to some albums we had brought along and ended up down at Fosters or Mannings on Market Street, downtown, eating piece after piece of blackberry pie and laughing our asses off. "Just a little light".
June 28, 2007 - 5:26pm

#87

queenjane

Joined:
June 25, 2007

Jerry & Santana 1989

It was a superbowl sunday - and it was a benefit for Jaco Pastorius at the Omni in Oakland, CA - bobby played with herbie hancock . .. it was before my 1st show - about 1/2 way through the show we went upstairs to the bar - at the end of the bar near the curtain that went backstage were Jerry & Santana having a drink . .. I walked up and introduced myself In 1994 they opened a new Ben & Jerry's in the Marina in SF and bobby was there to scoop ice cream for the grand opening - it was the first time i ever saw bobby outside of a show - i got his autograph In 1995 day before Vegas shows my boss asked me to take his daughter to a swim lesson in marin - i sat down at the pool and the guy next to me looked just like Phil - i was there is no way - then i looked down and saw LESH written on his backpack - his son and my boss' daughter were in the same swim class . . .when we were leaving i walked up to him in the parking lot and said "Hi Phil, I'm Kris and I'll see ya tomorrow in vegas!" The following week i was at another swim lesson and Phil was there too. I was telling the nanny all about my trip to vegas and i'm sure phil was listening - i had some pics for the shows and asked him to sign one - he signed it "Keep on Truckin" Phil . . . I did some volunteer work for the rainforest action network in san fran and in 1994 they had a friends of the rainforest awards dinner at the stanford hotel in SF - i had suzanna millman take a pic w/bobby who was in a tux w/a purple paisley bow tie - then contacted suzanna and she sent me an 8X10 . . In 1996 ratdog played at earthday at forte pointe SF -my friend was hired to set up sound board/do sound so we got to come to sound check the day b4 the show - it was bobby, wasserman and jay - they soundchecked wang dang doodle - bobby looked right at me and sang "gonna have one fuck of a time" . . . i was by myself spinning and i'm sure wasserman thought i was nuts In 2001 i went to the big island for my boss' 30th wedding anniversary party - he and his family arrived a cpl days b4 the guests . . after i got there my boss daughter was tugging on my shirt trying to tell me something - she tugged again and blurted out "kris that grateful dead guy is here" - i thought they were joking around- i was like you're kidding right - she said no - i said which one and she said the one you like (om that would be bobby) . . . sure enough he was there with his wife and daughter - that night i was taking pics of a rather fabulous sunset with bobby about 5 feet behind me - the following day i saw him at the beach and chatted with him a moment about John Lee Hooker who had just passed away - and my boss' wife snapped a picture . . . Mickey at the book signing conference for Spirit of Sound the magic of music . . downtown SF maybe 99 or 2000 .which was awesome - mickey broke it down like i'd never heard it before - i am a lucky girl ~KRISSY~
June 24, 2007 - 12:24pm

#88

Friend of the Devil

Joined:
June 14, 2007

Phil at the Falls....

In July of 86 on the off day between Akron and Buffalo me and my 3 buddies crossed the border into Canada to check out Niagara Falls and have a few beverages. We were in front of the Falls taking pictures when up rolled a limo and out popped Phil. In our condition, we thought it would be great to have Phil take our picture rather than the typical fan asking to have our shot with him. He laughed, said sure and took the shot. Of course when we got the film back we realized there was no way to prove it. Guess that is why he was laughing. Still one of my favorite moments.....
June 22, 2007 - 8:22am

#89

DrkStr

Joined:
June 6, 2007

Meeting Jerry

I have had quite a few times that I got to meet Jerry and talked to him for a bitI tried to post my favorite time, but as I previewed my Post my computer crashed, I only type with two fingers and it was a long story, but a really good one, so I let it go for now... I'm not sure if it was the first time the Dead played in Vegas , But it was at the Alladin hotel My friends and I were Staying there. I went down to the lobby and as I got back in Elevator to go back up Jerry and Phil got in behind me. The door closed and there we were, Jerry smiled ( He was always gracious every time we were together. A lesson to us all) Phil didn't look to happy. Jerry asked If I was from SF,He said he recognized me from all the JGB shows at the Keystone"s. I thanked him and Phil for all the Music and Amazing Times. Then I took a chance and asked them if the would play Morning Dew at the show. They both laughed and said we wll see what we can do... And that night they did play Morning Dew.. Very Cool Always Grateful Paul
June 21, 2007 - 7:54pm

#90

Marshun

Joined:
June 5, 2007

the man behind the curtain

Sort of similar brush with Bill Graham as KJ7XJ. way out on the edge of the Greek at an '88 afternoon JGB(electric) / Bobby & Brent (acoustic) show. Bill was making his rounds with his walkie-talkie and huge smile taking in everything as he kept his eye pealed and gave us a nod. he kind of looked like a pilot with a khaki shirt that had red, white and blue epulets. *cool show with Bobby & Brent ending their set with "Blackbird" setting the table for Jerry. "sound of the thunder with the rain pouring down"

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

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Encounters

Here's the place for that story about how you ran into Jerry in the halls of Autodesk. Or some such. Thank you for sharing!

I went to the first night of the Nov '78 Uptown Theater, Chicago run. It was because I had a car, and the guys wanting a ride were not in my high school, but heck yah! We had mezzanine seats. It was kind of hard to figure out what I had experienced. But, it was really fun, so the next day I had to work and didn't go, but a second friend was there working with me saying he so wanted to go. So, I went to the third night show. A third friend I knew from elementary school and I were scheming ways to make that happen anyways. My buddy scored 4 hits of some greendragon blotters at school. We ate them and headed into the city. By the time I got to the venue I was starting to really get off. We parked in the lot building thinking we were lucky. But, me being a youngster, I bought two more hits of Phoenix Rising blotters just in case. Got in line out on the busy city street sidewalk. Others were selling doses and got arrested right in front of us which was a total feakout. Then a homeless lady about 9 months pregnant was sitting on the curb with a sign that read "anyone want a baby" and an arrow pointing to her belly. Our suburban sensibilities were being tweaked. But, we got into the show because some disco dan and his debutant date that won free tickets on the radio didn't like the deadheads. My buddy got two hits of Mr Natural blotters in the bathroom just in case. We were not saying anything about the extra hits. But, we split them between us not knowing what Phoenix nor Mr Natural was? And we got to our 7th row center seats. 4 hits in my mouth was a bit much. We survived the first set. Man, that was huge! Then the 2nd set started. Scarlet Fire opener was how the bus doors opened. I really did have the telepathic experience with Jerry. He assured me everything was alright and Bobby singing Need A Miracle next confirmed it. Of course Jerry had to mess with me by singing He's Gone before they went into The Other One>Meltdown Jam. Yah, that was it. The Dead never got within 500 miles of me without me twisting and contorting my path towards them. I saw them somewhere in the triple digits worth of shows. Still seeing what's left of them (Dead & Co) at Ak Chin Pavillion PHX 2021 fall tour. It is still so much fun! Happy Trails Campers.

Interviews With Dead Heads

Would be happy to chat and share..

Re: Interviews With Dead Heads

Hello. I am a 21 year old deadhead. I totally understand if you don't want to interview someone who never got the see The Grateful Dead. However, I have been very much involved in the Grateful Dead scene since 2017. I've seen Dead and Company, Bob Weir and the Wolf Bros, Dark Star Orchestra, and JRAD live in concert and have been researching the Dead to improve my knowledge on this wonderful band and music that I love so much. If you are looking to get input from a younger deadhead, I would love to be apart of your series of interviews.

Interviews

I'd be glad to participate. I have an interesting story about my introduction to the Dead in 1976, and all that happened after that.

re:Interviews with Dead Heads

Would be happy to chat and share; although, I was somewhat late getting on board, with first show Sept '72.

We interrupt this program,

our regularly scheduled nonsense to bring you this important service announcement.
Remember to smile, relax, and be kind this extra insane holiday season!
Oh, yeah, and “wash your hands!” (That’s mom from the great beyond lol)

Garciasforest, check your PMs

*

interview with dead heads

I would love to do an interview with you. What is the best way I can reach you? I'm not too sure how to use this website lol

Outside The Stone late 80's

My friend Janine slept and didn't get Greek tickets. She said matter of factly "I'll give Jerry a card asking for tickets and I'll get them" So the JGB was playing The Stone in SF. We go to the show, she has the card with a Joint inside.

We walk out, just as Jerry is coming to the limo. I step up, thank him for the show and hand him the card. He thanks us back and off he goes.

She never got tickets. I can't blame Jer. The joint was horrible.

lol

happy 4/20

Phil on the F train!

I saw Phil sitting on the F train in NYC, I guess I was coming home from work? It was pretty crowded, I was certainly star struck, and he got off before I could overcome my inertia and just say "thank you." This was maybe summer 2015? Not positive, but there he was, on his own, just another face in the crowd :)

funny

This made me laugh. Thanks!

I smoked Jerry's Weed

It was 1974/75 and I was living in upstate New York at Albany. I was running weed from Jamaica. I tracked down Jerry w/ Merle Saunders at the Capitol Theater and met him at the hotel. I went up to speak with him to ask if I could soundboard record them with a new DBX compression device I had. He said, "Get in the limousine and let's talk". I made arrangements to go home and pick up my equipment promising Jerry that I had some great Jamaican weed. At home, I rolled three big blunts and put them in my front shirt pocket. When I got backstage, I asked Jerry is he wanted to smoke some phenomenal weed. "Sure", he said. I reached for my shirt pocket only to realize that I had changed shirts and had NO weed. I was flabbergasted and apologized to Jerry. "No problem," he said. "we'll smoke mine". And we did and all was well.

Interviews

Now would be a great time to compile a bunch of interviews from all the generations that have experienced the wonderful music and songwriting of the Grateful Dead. Honestly, when I went to my first show in 1987, I didn't know a single song, maybe Casey Jones or Truckin that might have gotten some airplay. But then I was hooked and now I can sing along with 90% of their songs and play/sing at least a dozen on my guitar.

Hell, John Mayer was a front man for the last 10 years or so and he wasn't born until 1977, and this is a quote from him on FB, "This music has made me a better player, and this band made me a better person. I was given the opportunity of a lifetime - to have access to the greatest songbook in modern music, and the deepest well of life memories shared by hundreds of thousands of Deadheads who extended their grace and acceptance to me?