Grateful Dead

I was born and raised in Southern California; I'm the oldest of nine children and let's just say the Christmas scene at my folks' house is large and chaotic. In a good way. I'm the only one who managed to move north and stay here though; I live in Oakland. The family I live with consists of my dogs Rex and Callie. That's them in the picture in my profile, but factor in that Callie, a puppy on my lap in the photo, is now 9 years old, and Rex is pushing 13. I'm fortunate in having a large extended family of friends, almost all of them somehow traceable to some Deadhead connection, whether they're Deadheads or not. I'm hoping a lot of them will settle in here.

I'm married to a wonderful rock'n'roll Jersey Girl named Rita. She met the Dead in 1968, four years before my first show, but she was more of a Van Morrison fan when I met her in 1992. We got married on 9/11/94 and we live in Oakland with our two wonderful cats, Groucho and Hugo. Grateful Dead Hour blog: http://logblog.gdhour.com Station list: http://www.gdhour.com/stations.html

It's my wife, my dog, and me in Chicago. My wife, Marcy is a jewel and loving wife. She is not a deadhead, and enjoys telling most anyone we see that this is a mixed marriage. She is from the east coast, I'm from the west, we met in Chicago (that must be our middle ground), fell in love, and have been married since 2000. Our 4 month old puppy - Moose is our latest addition.

I'm marrying my sweetie in July. We've been together since '90. She's not much of a Deadhead, but she does appreciate them in due measure, and she saw them long before I did, sneaking up from Palo Alto when she was still in high school to see Chuck Berry at the Fillmore when the Dead happened to open, and then again at the wall of sound test in '73. My first show didn't come till '84. I also recently found a copy of the Golden Road single from '67 in her old 45 collection! We also live in Oakland. Reprazent, yo!

Married to Jill for 20 years come this December. Three amazing children: Phoebe, 16; Noah, 14; Milo, 13. 3 cats: 2 black kitties, Louie and Dinah; one love-bug orange tabby Hercules. A senegal parrot named Connie. A cockatiel named Ziggy. And a snake that everybody just calls The Snake.

married to dan, 14 years this month. living with him and my two boys, josh (22) and steve (16) and our 3 cats (7, 10 and 13 years old they are now). dunno if i'd call dan a deadhead, though the (gd) conference on the Well was where we first met. took josh to a couple dozen shows from the time he was 6 months old until the summer of '95 (when he actually went to one that i didn't, my last was '95 spring tour). poor steve is the odd one out, never did get him to a show...

Married to Beth since July, 1994. We are both Deadheads and we met on the front row of Charlotte Coliseum (which they just imploded YESTERDAY) on 6/17/92. She saw Pigpen a couple of times but I was a late bloomer, so I never did. I still listen to a fair amount of Dead music in the car. We have 2 cats, Sierra and Bitsy (now Mr. B since he's gotten big). We live in the steamy woods of northern Durham County, NC.

Been married ten years at the end of this month. FTR - xian, you are taking way longer to finish the process (sorry - inside joke). Two daughters - Cassidy is 6 and Jordan turned 4 last week. My secret theory of parenting - children are actually vampires. They somehow extract your life force and use it themselves. As a result, you are always tired and they never are.

Married to Beth for 15 years next month. Not that much of a Deadhead, but she had a suitably weird time at her first show back in '88 insides the dripping confines of the Rosemont Horizon. We're down to just one fur-child now, Lilly the rescued Berner, after we lost Auggie West at Christmas last year.

was married to a non-hed for about 14 years, but left a few years ago. starting the new chapter in my life with my two teenage kids, who are great. my daughter is just like me, very hippie!! nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

Hey! I'm an East Coaster transplanted to the Seattle area. Me and my wonderfully amazing wife have been together around 15 years. She isn't a Head so to speak but she went to shows and I went to shows "back in the day" but we never went to one together, exactly. She was, however, at that DC show that View from the Vault II was made of. (I would be jealous if I hadn't attended some really wild shows). Anyhoo, we have a 4 year old boy whose favorite song is "Monkey and the Engineer." I, of course, have been playing guitar and singing that song to him his entire life, including in the womb. He now sings it. In fact, every night at the dinner table, we sing it together. The chorus is so much fun! I sing, "Big locomotive..." and he sings, "...RIGHT ON TIME!" (he yells everything.) The rest of the fam is back in NJ where they belong. This 3000 mile buffer zone sure helps with the genetic harmony! Great to see those of you here who also were on the old incarnation of the forums. More good times to come, for sure. It'll be neat to see how many of you I attended shows "with" without even knowing you. Funny how this GD thing will never die, huh?

i've been married to melina for 6 years and we have 5 year old twins, abigail and elliot.

my old lady and I have been together for many, many happy years... here is a pic of her dragging me out of the pool hall. peace.

I've been married for 25 years (to the same woman!!!) and we have three wonderful kids (they're actually all adults, now) together. Here's a picture of the family (thanks CCJoe!): "This aggression will not stand, man....."

why? do you struggle with opiate addiction?just wondering. peace & love

Well I never thought it would happen, but I have been married for about 3 years now with a 1.5 year old daughter who was actually born on Christmas morning! We had a big dinner on Christmas Eve and had friends over and in turn drank a lot of wine etc. My wife went into labor about 4 am as I had my Dead DVD up very loud. I actually drove to the hospital with one hand over one eye and my blinkers on while beeping the horn! This is actually normal in China and even after drinking a 12 pack one can still drive better than the locals! Ha ha. Anyway, we live in Century Park in Pudong Shanghai, China and actually had part one of our marriage in a government building under a giant emblem of the Communist Party. Part two of our marriage was actually at the Shangri la Hotel in Shanghai. Since my wife does not belong to any religion (formally) we did not get married in the Church. This is China of course and religions are officially not allowed in a communist state. Its strange to even use the word communism when speaking of China these days as in some aspects the market is even more wide open than the States. (This could be a good thing and a bad thing depending on what part of the economy you are actually analyzing). My wife is Chinese and lived in England during her masters’ degree at the University of Liverpool. She never heard of the Grateful Dead before and when we first met I used to listen to the music in the car etc. and asked her what she thought the band looked like etc. She thought they were a thrash band who wore make up and shit like that. Since I have bought some GD DVD's (here in China on the black market) she was surprised to see who they are. My Chinese mother in law calls Jerry the old teddy bear! Really. They actually like the music and my daughter actually spins when I play the Dead. Adriana Maria is my daughters name and when I am playing GD or Phish she really pays close attention and really gets it. When she was very little a few months or so we used to pay Symphony and Classical Jazz for her all the time. Anyway that that we are and it is nice to hear all the good stories out there. If any of you decide on a visit to China let me know.

Mrs.Right is somewhere out there, I have just been to busy listening to the Dead to find her....My guess is she is somewhere on this board..... Dead to the Core www.myspace.com/bongwizard

fine looking family you got there. peace. "The highway is for gamblers, you'd better use your sense. Take what you have gathered from coincidence"

20 plus years of marital ... marital? Hmmmm ... harmony. Dos daughters - one's like I am - poor thing. Both, however, have impeccaple taste in music. Peaches, the pug - a.k.a. varmant. Two red-eared turtles. Hamster Teddy and black-googley-eyed goldfish Mammy. Eso es. "From day to day, just lettin' it ride, You get so far away from how it feels inside, You can't let go, 'cause you're afraid to fall, But the day may come when you can't feel at all."

Wrote my first love poem to my then friend and gave it to her at the Weir/Wasserman show at Darien Lake summer of '91. She liked my bus and my words... We dated for four years and saw several Dead shows together in that time. Separated in July of '95...she was the one to call though and tell me Jerry had passed as I was slumming on Chappaquiddick and had little access to the media unless I was in town. Reunited in '96, split again in '98, reunited later in '98, made a baby, got married, now have kid two, Volks Bus #4 and still listen to the Dead regularly. My 8 year old told me the other day she wants to get me tix to a Grateful Dead show for father's day...insert tears here...I explained to her the situation and we agreed to see Phil when next he comes around. She can recognize Jerry's guitar from a host of other instruments in a heart beat... Two cats-Bean and Bella and one Shepard-Nesta...

Remember that? I doWe were married in 1981 and we have 3 kids who are adults now.My wife is not a Dead fan,nor are two of my three kids (so life isn't always perfect).I love all of them and the feeling is very mutual.

I've been married to my Toddy for going on three years now.He is very much a deadhead.We have three dog babies Monkey,Charlie and Macy.We have been trying to have children for the past two years,I hope it happens soon because Todd has already picked a name...Magnolia.Wish us Luck!Nikki

She moved in with me on our first date in the summer of '75. Life is grand!

I've been with my GF about a year and a half now. We live together with her 2 sweet children in Pennsylvania. We met on (of all places) myspace and hit it off right away. She is a great mother and an even better lover. I've truely been blessed by the goddess herself.

K,met the dude that into'd me to the dead in 80, married in 85, first kid Rebekah in 91, 2nd kid Melody in 91. 2 teenage girls!..had enough of their daddy in 2000...currently with my honey for just about 5 years. He's been helping with the kids and a darned good camper. Mike's more into the 80's hair band (ha, ha, ha) music. He's only seen The Dead once a couple of years ago, but says he's been to many parking lots of the real Dead shows. We met at a Cheap Trick concert at the local fair and have been together ever since. We go camping & go to concerts with the kids as often as we can. Good family fun! I love my girls and my honey and my furry kitty kids too....Xhou (Joe), Betsy, and the new kittens Olivia and Jimmy, not to mention the 3 rats my daughter brought home from the bay area last weekend. Nice. Then of course there's Faith the x sister in law (I just call her a sister) that keeps moving in with us, and her family....Hope the x cousin in law (I just call her a sister too) that was my first dance partner with the Dead back in 83. Life's too short to be blue...

greetings group - carol is very near and dear to me. we've had a two year friendship that developed a close bond. she's 41, and went into the hospital on wednesday morning - she couldn't breathe. she is in an intensive care unit hooked up to life support. she is covered in an ice blanket to keep her temp down. they put her in a coma. her pupils do not respond to light. they've had to revive her heart twice during the first morning. they are going to try and run the first tests saturday afternoon. the grateful dead community has always reached out. anyone that reads this could you please say a prayer for her. she's your typical mom who has never done anything bad. thank you group - chris

....keep us posted. I hope everything works out OK.

Hope she's soon well and back with her loved ones.

I've been married to Gill for 24 years now and still going strong. We have 2 kids, Will 13 determined to have long hair and listen to Heavy metal and Libby who is into all sorts like her ol man. Libby is at present doing a textile and and fashion course at college and loving it (she gets the arty side from me). Kind of decided Gill was the girl for me when she joined a pal and me at a 4 day beer fest and slept outside in a sleeping bag with us to be first in every day.Dedication, cant beat it. We used to go to loads of gigs and the theatre when back in London, but being in Suffolk now we dont get out much. Dont really need to with tons of decent pubs here. A quick PS to Chris, not being religous I will still be sending, as izzie calls it, beams out for Carol. Cheers Cliff

My wife and I have been married for about nine years now after dating for a couple before we said "I do." As I've posted on the TLEO board it is indeed a mixed marriage in that she is not a head at all. However, I have also noticed that my two and a half year old is starting to really get into the Dead and other jam bands (it's a trip watching her rock out to the Dead or Phish!) It is my hope tha she will continue to listen to this music throughout her life so we can always have something to talk about. We also have another on the way in November, so I'm hoping that the love of great music will continue on with the next child as well. "...the powerful plays goes on, and you may contribute a verse" -Walt Whitman-

The night I met my wife, we talked about Ohio State (our alma mater, though we didn't know each other there) and the Grateful Dead. I think I played Bird Song on the guitar for her.Six or so years later, we had a daughter. After our daughter overcame health problems, we moved to Florida from Ohio, and our creative energy reached new heights. Wife Anna is a jewelry designer and now the manager of my fledgling career and a singer/songwriter of family-oriented folk rock - Heads will dig it! Daughter Josie is starting on violin, sang backing vocals on one of the songs on my upcoming CD. Anna's favorite CD just might be the Mickey Hart/Mystery Box disc from 10 years ago. Josie loves Marley's "Three Little Birds." The music never stops around here. "Folk rock for groovin families!" myspace.com/chipwithrow chipwithrow.com

This is my second marriage. I was introduced to the Dead by a neighbor, who would become my best friend, as my first marriage was ending. I attended my first show with my then 8 year old son Paul (he's now 29). I'm sure other parents and children have attended shows together, but am curious if there are any others who went to the first show for both together. Anyway, The Dead have been a very significant part of our lives ever since and have been part of many special times together. My 27 year old daughter Lora has never been a full blown Deadhead like her brother, but did attend 2 shows and made a special effort to join her brother and I at the Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman show in Richmond, VA shortly after Jerry's death. She also has Uncle John's Band in her music files on her computer, so I think the music has had an impact on her as well. I have been married to the love of my life, Deana, for 11 years. She attended her first Dead show with me after we'd been dating for three weeks. She only got to two shows before Jerry's death. She does not consider herself a Deadhead, but appreciates much of their music. We have two children together, Joshua, 10 and Rachel,7 . We have been blessed and challenged by the fact that Joshua has autism and Rachel has Down Syndrome. They both see the world in their own very unique ways ( they truly are the "Eyes of the World") and both love all kinds of music and really seem to appreciate the music of the Dead. Last year I finally worked up the courage to take Joshua to see some live music with me and the results were incredible. His first show was Yonder Mountain String Band and we later saw Railroad Earth 3 times. At all of these shows he danced, clapped and stomped to the music and seemed to truly have found a comfortable space for himself. He's been listening to a lot of the Dead with me and really loves their music. He is particularly fond of Dick's Pick's Vol. 21. He especially likes the "Gloria" on this one and thinks Bobby is the greatest. He is super excited about going to the Allgood Festival in a few days and finally seeing his hero live!!! So obviously the music of the Dead family is becoming an important part of our shared experiences, just as it was with his older brother and me. The next adventure will be getting Rachel to some live shows. I'm sure the results will be worth the effort!

Been married over 4 years now to an incredible woman. She's a nice, smart southern girl from Georgia, I'm from N. California, and we met in San Francisco, go figure. We met at a Dead Night at Nickie's on Haight Street. Seeing as it was Dead Night, I didn't have to figure out if she liked the Dead or not! We got married in '03, and last October we had a son, Jerome (we call him Jerry). Even before my wife was pregnant we knew we were going to name our son after Jerry Garcia. And if it was a girl, Althea. Some decisions are so much easier when you're married to a Deadhead! Our son heard his first show when he was in the womb, Phil and Friends. And a couple of months ago we took him to his first show outside of the womb, Ratdog. I'm a stay at home dad, because my wife is smarter then me and has a better education, so it makes more sense for her to work. But that means I get plenty of opportunities to expose Jerry to lots of good music. We currently live in North Carolina with our dog Sugaree and our cat Franklin. Yep, it's all good!

Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name. Psalm 74 Married to Patricia since 1976 ...both saw Dylan together but not The Grateful Dead. Had planned on going to the last Deer Creek show Noblesville (Indy); have seen three Dead shows since 1999, the Dead with Warren Haynes, Robert Hunter, one with Bob Dylan and one with Joan Osborne We are hoping the Dead will tour next summer somewhere close.... One cat Annie and one dog Barrett our lovely children have all flown the roost...

Living alone. Hey I've got a great job and my own condo and I like The Dead! Any nice gals out there? I'm 44.

I met my husband Ken at The Band with Al Stewart concert ( in Philia Pa.) in 1984.We have been together since. We got married June 1988. Now we have 3 kids together. A set of twin girls , they will be 18 soon (seniors this Sept.) and a little boy 11. They are all the loves of my life.I'm lucky my hubby loves the Dead too! We did alot of tours together.We still go to concerts ( Ratdog and Phil shows) :) Still having fun 23 years later! :) Our wedding song: If I Had The World To Give If I had the world to give, I'd give it to you Long as you live, would you let it fall, or hold it all in your arms? If I had a song to sing, I'd sing it to you as long as you live, lullaby or maybe a plain serenade wouldn't you laugh, dance, and cry or be afraid at the change you made I may not have the world to give to you But maybe I have a tune or two Only if you let me be your world Could I ever give this world to you But I will give what love I have to give, I will give what love I have to give, I will give what love I have to give, long as I live. If I had a star to give, I'd give it to you long as you live, would you have the time to watch it shine, watch it shine or ask for the moon and heaven too? I'd give it to you. Well maybe I've got no star to spare, or anything fine or even rare, only if you let me be your world, could I ever give this world to you. could I ever give this world to you. Peace..Gigi.... Gratefulmom

Married since 95, three kids - Alexandria, 10; Brian, 6; Sarah, 3. I'll have to agree with the above theory, but add that they give you back that energy when you need it. Think: You are tired and want to relax after hours of energy drainage... so there you are sitting around sipping tea and reclining, zapped. Suddenly there's a loud crash in the kitchen. Surprise! Immediate adrenaline, energy returns! Now wasn't that a nice, unexpected return for your earlier energy spent?

Married a little over a year ago!!! We have 1 child and 1 on the way. Should be here around 10/26/07, or so the Dr's think!! Peace everyone

i was born and raised in WORCESTER MASS,for those who always ask are you from boston?ornewyork?hummm...mum of one 16 yr old daughter she used to like the dead /loved rat dog took her to some shows.now im living her out in sacramento ca.not married,lost my heart 3 in half yrs ago.hated the dead when we got hooked up but that all changed.ha was a big bobby fan loved brent.me too..grateful at times im 3000 mls from most of my family.miss real seasons.checking out lots of cool music all over ca...glad you are all here,glad im here too. peace,heathaafeathaa

Been with Andy since '96. He's a great husband/father, not to mention a phenominal Chef. We made the agreement when we got married that if he'd do the cooking, I'd wash the dishes. It's worked out well, although I've gained 25lbs since we got married. Damn!He's not into the Dead anymore & I can tell if he's pissed at me bc he'll start playing "Nightmare Hippie Girl" by Beck, too funny. When I decided a Home Birth was the way I wanted to go, he supported me (imagine the horror of the rest of our family) and all those years of Baseball paid off, bc he did an excellent job of catching the babies. We have 3 interesting, kind hearted children. 1. Kramer who turned 10 last Friday. He really wanted Guitar Heros for his Birthday, so the house has been rocking. He's into the Allman Brothers & (to my distate) Wired Al Yankovic(sp?) 2. Cassidy who's 8 and a total Drama Queen wants to be a singer when she grows up. Hannah Montana is her favorite, although Cass sings a mean "Mercedes Benz" Thank you Janis. 3.Sam- last but certainly not least- is two. Quite a surprise for everyone. Sponge Bob and Chocolate Cake rank high on his list. We went camping at the beach last month, and every morning when we wake up he says "go to the beach again"? He's not leaving our bed anytime soon, which is fine by us. We have 2 dogs, a cat, and soewhere around 47 fish. Between the kids and animals we need a bigger bed. I'd love to hear some commentary, esp. from people who've raised teens, bc that is just around the corner! Thanks for allowing me to go on and on....... Have a Great Halloween PEACE Thanks for listening!

iknowurider_ ok this sounds awful, I know! But my dogs name is cassidy! :) And my daughter's name is samantha (sam) would have been sam either way! I have to go start a big fire, but I'll be back to post about my happy family!

Names Deadheads Give Their Animals wouldn't be a bad topic... Back in the day I lost track of all the dogs named Iko, but the funniest moment I ever had in this regard was walking through some parking lot (Park City, I think, but all the years combine) and hearing some dude calling his dog: "Barlow! Barlow!" I forget whether I ever had the nerve to tell Barlow this story...

My son is named Cassady, we were always going to name him that, but someone in our family gave us a book of Irish names and with this spelling, it translates to 'clever' in gaelic. That's how we avoided the 'hairy eyeball' from our families......lol. ~I was concealed Now I am stirring And I will lay my love around you...~

my brothers dog is iko. i love that name cuz i can sing it too my baby girl!