Introducing Ourselves - Part 2

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September 28, 2007 - 11:08am

640 replies

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

Since the original topic now has hundreds of introductions and is getting a bit hard to navigate, this seems as good a time as any to launch a new one. The original is here, should you wish to catch up on the who's who since this opened up in May. If you haven't introduced yourself yet, please do! And if you already have, but have something new to tell us about you and your life, speak up! (A bit of housekeeping business so we don't have to repost everything we posted before--izzie and I are the moderators here, and for our more extensive intros see the original topic.) Thanks and welcome!

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October 30, 2009 - 2:25am

#221

kottonmouthjeff__

Joined:
January 29, 2009

workingmans dead!

wasn't even born yet my album of choice..
October 29, 2009 - 10:08pm

#222

inkogneetow

Joined:
December 19, 2007

Just along for the ride but they let me fly sometimes!

Just wanted to say hello to all and greetings from the great white north! Up here we like to jump out of (some say perfectly good) airplanes but this time of year it's a bit chilly at altitude so we have to find other things to fill our time. Pumpkin carving, for instance, can be fun and educational at times. I will post some photos of my jack-o-stealie if I can figure out how. Blue Skies!
October 26, 2009 - 11:53am

#223

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

welcome lee!

great story!
October 25, 2009 - 6:07pm

#224

johnman

Joined:
December 26, 2007

well, hell mr lee

welcome to the nutbox, sit anywhere ya like. the bus'll be along in a minute.
October 25, 2009 - 1:43am

#225

MrLee

Joined:
October 25, 2009

Hello

Hi all. This is a boring and long-winded post, apologies in advance :) My name's Lee - I'm a 29 year old British guy living in Colombia, although I'm about to embark on a around-the-world-overland-trip (seriously!), starting and finishing in Patagonia, Argentina. This is thanks to my grandmother (RIP), without whose inheritance such a thing would never have been made possible. Here's a map of my trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leehawkes/4041779820/sizes/l/ Let me tell you about the Grateful Dead, for me... When I was a teenager (90s), I played the guitar* and was into the rock-music-styles of the time - you know, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Chili Peppers - plus some of the older school stuff, Led Zep, etc... (*I still do, but now have a chronically inflamed middle finger, which limits my guitarring to slide blues with cigarette lighters - chords and scales are a thing of the past for me these days. But, I digress...) We had a friend called Howard, and he was *really* into The Dead. I mean *really*. His devotion was scary. All of us, myself included, were awed, mystified and intimidated by his devotion to this band. We never listened to the Dead, probably simply out of fear that we would become like him. Listening to the GD, for us at the time, seemed like a dangerous slope that, once embarked upon, one might never be able to climb up again. Howard would sometimes break out of a conversation he was in the middle of in order to listen to a GD song that suddenly came into his head; sometimes, he would close his eyes and rock his head to a GD song that he was simply singing along to mentally, he didn't need a walkman/discman (as portable music was back in those days). Howard was nuts for the Grateful Dead. I avoided them as if they were heroin. The Dead represented a scary alternate dimension, one which I left well-the-fuck-alone. For 10 years, I forgot about them. Then, while planning for my trip, I bought an iPod with 120GB storage. I started downloading discographies of anyone and everyone, and (almost as an afterthought) included a Dead discography in my shotgun-blast-of-bittorrent-discographies-to-download-because-why-the-hell-not. It wasn't *every* Dead album, naturally - but it was a collection of the studio albums plus a handful of live sets. That Grateful Dead discography sat ignored on my hard drive for about a week. Then, idly, I clicked on the "Aoxomoxoa" folder. From the first few notes of "St. Stephen", I knew I was in trouble. Big trouble. I felt like Howard. It *rocked*. I fell in love instantly. In a wild frenzy, I started clicking randomly on songs/albums just to see if everything was as good as Aoxomoxoa. I discovered "Black Peter" (on an album titled "History of the Grateful Dead"), then the next track: "Smokestack Lightnin'" - a cover which is actually *better* than the original (which doesn't happen often, I'm a big Howlin' fan). In fact, I'm listening to it right now. Wikipedia's biography of Jerry Garcia exacerbated my love for the band, and the plethora of live perfomances on Youtube was yet another distraction. I consider myself a little old and mature for cheesy hero-worship, but it's difficult not to be impressed by the life story of Jerry Garcia. "[Lee] has just discovered the Grateful Dead, and it is a life-changing, epiphanous event"... ...read my status update on Facebook - causing a couple of Facebook-acquiantances to respond... "Welcome...." (I paraphrase), "...you've got a lot of catching up to do...". Quite. GD fans/enthusiasts/addicts exist everywhere, so I have found. I tried to find a Dead song that I *didn't* like, just to see if there was one. I dutifully did ('Born Cross Eyed', Anthem of the Sun) - but it took me forever to find. The Dead have, for me, a greater "Good Song/Bad Song" ratio than any other band I know of. So why have I bothered to sign up here and puke out a semi-coherent stream-of-consciousness at a forum of people I don't know, about a band that I (really) know hardly anything about? I guess it's because I have to share it with someone - all of the above is a long-winded way of saying... "I just discovered The Dead, and it's really cool." Lee out :)
October 12, 2009 - 12:55pm

#226

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

note re the above

as has come up on a list I'm on, the tour in question is NOT the one immortalized in Festival Express. It's much earlier.
October 9, 2009 - 6:57pm

#227

sam1984

Joined:
October 9, 2009

Looking for a Dead historian...

Hi! I am working on research for a film about DIY music venues, and in the process have stumbled across accounts of the Dead's 1967 "Great Northern Tour." I have read that this was one of the first instances of a major band financing an entire tour themselves. I do not know much more than this, or am I very knowledgeable about the Dead but I thought someone here might be able to answer some questions and shed some light on the history. Is there a board member I should talk to in particular? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Direct message me with any and all insights. THANK YOU -Sam
October 1, 2009 - 11:00pm

#228

OldCrow

Joined:
September 27, 2009

Got my chips cashed

Got my chips cashed in.............. Hello all! 36 year old recent convert to being a Deadhead, sayinh hi for the first time to ya all.
September 27, 2009 - 4:39am

#229

meL_

Joined:
September 27, 2009

NEW Here

NOW" One Of These Days... it will be over.. cut and dry..... " -- from my Surround Welcome to GodHeaven,, part 1.. :^) ho ho ho . . .
September 26, 2009 - 5:00pm

#230

Deploderer

Joined:
September 26, 2009

Thanks

Thanks starsleeper, I'll give Englishtown a try.

Since the original topic now has hundreds of introductions and is getting a bit hard to navigate, this seems as good a time as any to launch a new one. The original is here, should you wish to catch up on the who's who since this opened up in May. If you haven't introduced yourself yet, please do! And if you already have, but have something new to tell us about you and your life, speak up! (A bit of housekeeping business so we don't have to repost everything we posted before--izzie and I are the moderators here, and for our more extensive intros see the original topic.) Thanks and welcome!

hey, welcome!

glad to have you with us!

groovy and far out

hi. my name is andrew miller. im a musician, age 20. im in a doom/stoner metal band called witchdoctrine. im a lead guitarist. im very big into psychedelic rock, psychedelic art, and everything to do with the hippie culture and beliefs. been a dead head since age 14. my band witchdoctrine is actually doing a psychedelic jam album called colours of the dark, where we just instrumentally jam out the feelings of the colors at hand. so if youre interested in hearing that, ill keep you posted. i enjoy sitting with my guitar puffin on my pipe and just let my fingers go and close my mind. i practice meditation, and i like reading, drinking hot tea, and watching the history channel and the simpsons. im a vegetarian, and i reside in york, pa. i think i covered it all. any other questions, feel free to message me.

Joining to ask for help on some GD tee shirts

Hi,We have been visiting this site and trying to learn about some of the GD tee shirts we have on our website Monstervintage.com. Since there is so much information out there when trying to look up a specific tee shirt it gets overwhelming and confusing, history of the artwork, concert or album . Many of you are very familiar with the albums, songs and concerts so we thought we might be able to get some help with factual information to clean up some of our tee shirt descriptions. Some of the tee shirts are priced high but where are we going to get another one when it sells? Original tee shirts that are not cheap reproductions are getting really hard to find. Any help we can get would be awesome and we would give members of the forum a nice discount code for participating. Perhaps it can be a fun way to put some of that GD knowledge to use and we can make some tee shirt lover a happy person. http://www.monstervintage.com/Vintage_Clothing/Mens/Tee+Shirts/Vintage+… Thanks Monstervintage.com Men's Vintage Tee Shirts Grateful Dead category

new on the scene

hi my name is jacob johnson, i am 15 years old. i am the youngest of 5 and my oldest brother was the one who introduced my to the grateful dead. although he showed me phish intending to get me more into them, i got caught on the grateful dead. i am a bit knew to this so i don't know what else to say except that i love the dead, and always will. oh, and happy early birthday jerry! thanks

welcome Jacob!

so glad you made it, make yourself at home!

New Here

After graduating from UNCW this past spring and writing my thesis on the Dead I am here to attempt to learn more about this fantastic community. The reputation of Dead fans proceeds itself through its fairly breif history. I am looking forward to sharing and learning from this active community of Heads. Cheers.

Peaceful Greetings

Hello,My name is Hillary and I am a lone DH living now in a small southern town. I am a lone liberal in a small southern town. There is no one who shares my passion for the music here. My first show was actually in '98 at Alpine Valley, WI. They opened with Dark Star and played it again in the last set, and I have been hooked ever since. I knew I had found my home, the place I belonged in my heart. My greatest regret in life is not seeing Jerry! I had a chance to see their last show in Memphis, but I was sick. I still found my way here anyway. My little boy is starting to really like them now. :) I would love some messages. Peace and Love to All

hey, welcome!

make yourself at home!

High Yall

Been here a few months, and thought I'd introduce myself. My given name is John, but because I'm a Junior, my parents nicknamed me Johnny at birth. I was born and raised in a small town in TN located exactly halfway between Nashville and Memphis. I discovered the Dead at the age of ten in 1976. Went to a friend's house, and his older brother was gone for the day. There was a stack of albums in his room, and Blues For Allah was on top. That was my introduction. On Saturday 12-16-78, I snuck to Nashville with a couple of high school guys I'd been buying joints from to see my first show. I accepted a Coke from a friendly stranger, and ended up getting dosed. Not only could I hear the music, but I could feel it, smell it, and taste it. That really changed everything in my life. Because of my location, I was only able to attend 5 more shows during my school years. 4 at the Kiel in St. Louis, and 1 at Boutwell in Birmingham. After graduating high school in 1984, I moved to Chicago to lay carpet with a friend who moved up there to start his own business. Attended a pair of shows in Alpine the next year. By the way, I thought Alpine was a great venue. Got tired of Chicago, and moved to Norfolk in January 1987. Got a job at Tracks Records, and attended every show at Hampton, Roanoke, Greensboro, and Charlotte from March 1987 until the last Charlotte show in 1995. If you bought tickets for any of these shows at the Tracks in Norfolk, it's possible that I sold them to you. Especially the 2 Warlocks shows in October 1989. I worked the ticket counter for the on sale date. Even took a trip to New Orleans in 1988 for a show, and drove up to Louisville for a show in 1990 when I was back home for a week vacation. Then Jerry passed on, and the trip was somewhat over. Did attend the Further Festival at Virginia Beach Amphitheater in 1997. In 1998 I decide to settle down at the age of 32. Met an upstate NY girl 11 years my junior{non Head}, and truly fell in love. Moved back to my hometown to raise our child in a more rural environment, and Malachi was born on St Patrick's Day 1999. I conformed, and got a good factory job with excellent benefits. Everything was good for 7 years. Bought a nice house, and she drove around in a new car while I drove back and forth to work in the 2nd paid off vehicle. 5 years of not so good marriage, which I stuck around for entirely because of my son. Come 2010, and my wife is working for a local attorney. She blindsides me with divorce papers, and because of her attorney connections, a restraining order having me removed the house. It was on the grounds that she was scared of me. I assure you that I am an extremely peaceful person, and never raised a hand to her. She was planning to move back to NY, and take my son with her. I hired an out of town attorney with an excellent reputation. I lost my house and everything I worked 12 years for, but I obtained full custody of my son. She moved back to NY, and pays not a penny of child support. So much for deadbeat dads, I have a deadbeat ex-wife. He flies to NY to see her 5 weeks every summer since the divorce. But other than that, we are still Truckin'. Thanks to all who take the time to read my bio, and my apologies for the length. I condensed it as much as I could. PEACE Johnny

hey, welcome

so glad you made it here.

Holy smokes, Johnny

Dosed at 12 years old. I'm happy you're experience turned out o.k.

Welcome Hockey John!

I have enjoyed your posts and wish you and your son the best. Was your spouse a deadhead? I'm betting not. My spouse and I aren't, and though we make it work, there is a substantial piece missing, fairly important. There is a whole thread devoted to that on this website (I forget the name at the moment). We hope you stick around and find some community. We're all changing leaves on the tree...

the mixed-marriage thread

They Love Each Other, But...

Thanks for the welcome!

PonchoBillThe jury is probably still out on whether I'm ok or not. It was certainly weird being that young, and having no guide for my first trip. I guess that's why I used to try to help first timers at some of the later shows I attended. Anna My ex-spouse was a non Head. It did not work because she aspires to have lots of possessions. I just want good music, and a space to get my head right. That's all I need. And... I am looking for a little community. Solitary Dead Head where I live.

Let's see if I can get this

Let's see if I can get this up here hey y'all what's swingin?!

I is gonna try put words on

I is gonna try put words on magic screen to make friends and have all kinds of fun.

Hi everyone

Hi. I'm Eirik, originally from Sweden but now living in the US.

Been a deadhead for almost 25 years. My dad would play vinyl's of their classics and it didn't take me long to pick up on it. Really love the design of this site and looking forward to contribute more. I see that the introduction section has been "dead" for a while, but I'll still give it a go. As for my private life I'm married with 2 kids, and work as a database programmer. I also run my own personal economics blog - https://www.refinansiere.net/. Might have to add another section on the GD soon though :)

Hi!

Hey everyone! New to the Dead here with a recent mind blowing revelation of how great this band truly is. I watched the amazon special and now exploring on Tidal a lot of there stuff. I grew up listening to best hits but could never get into their other stuff. Fast forward 25 years and with regular mj use the dead is really opening my mind. This looks like a great site to learn about this epic band !

Hi

Hi,I grew up in a southern town too. Mechanicsville Virginia. About 20 minutes from Richmond Virginia. I graduated high school in 94 and saw the dead on 10-9-94. It was crazy seeing jerry and Phil and everyone. So fun. The only thing I have seen from them since was in 1999 I saw Phil and friends at the mosque in Richmond. They played strawberry fields forever. And a lot of dead. It was great. Now I am living in cocoa Florida and am a professional illustrator. Just wanted to say hi.

Loudest Soul

To get the most recent day to day updates about celebs, politics, health and wellness, travel, entertainment, beauty and so much more related various niche. Visit the loudestsoul.com today.

Listen to the Music Play 🎶

Hi! I am just a millennial who missed the original bus, but caught the later spin off buses!😂 From the south and listen to Dead all the time with my cat. I hope to move out west soon, and leave the south for a while!

Keep on Truckin and hope to see y'all on the lot, GratefulGal7277! 🌹⚡

Welcome Gratefulgal

Head over to the Dave’s Pick 34 and June 76 Box pages, that’s where the current action is.

Click on your account picture in the upper right, then click on ‘recent posts’.

new (old) member

Had an account long ago... hadn't logged on for a while and so maybe it was wiped? Set up a new account. Wannabe writer, I have 2 books on Amazon/Kindle and working on a third. Was a staff artist for Relix and Unbroken Chain magazines back in the mid-1990s. Saw shows from mid-eighties to mid-nineties. Here's info about my writing --- jdwilsonbooks.com

hey folks

hey all
my name's mike
hopped on the bus 2 years ago, was way too revved up playing in punk bands in college and finally slooooooowed down and it's been a trip ever since
i live about an hour north of NYC so i'm lucky for east coast shows
i hike and snowboard and build guitars and i enjoy listening to music outside and with no commitments
just here to say hi and give all you nice people something to read while you're at home during this unfortunate time
give me a killer show from '73 (EVIL DEAD) that i haven't heard yet

Esau_Esau...

....hi. You need to move to the other more active boards here. There are 3 going strong. Magic number.

Hi!!

Hey everyone! I'm Marnie, 20 from UK, hope to make lots of friends here!

sup

Cute Doodles

Hi guys, I arrived at this site just now. I hope to make many friends.
I'm kind of crazy because of the pandemic and I'm creating a channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC2bcLGSymsTt9mXBe3YhWg

Hi folks

Just a little late night web browsing led me here again, and out of curiosity tried to log in after years and years and found my account was either deleted or never existed. So here I am again or for the first time, who knows? Saying "Hi"

-Joby

well glad you're here now!

welcome back!

The Sad, Broken Legacy of a Great Band (tl;dr?)

Hello Bob, Phil, Bill and Mickey…..

I can probably state this is my first and last post as I’m done. I registered to put this one post up. I wouldn’t be surprised if the moderators didn’t look kindly on the following “appraisal” which I will now explain:

I was still in the final years of school when Europe ’72 came out which puts me a generation behind the initial Dead fan base. In recent years I have become totally obsessed by the Dead, and the culture that surrounded the band. (Notice I said “surrounded”, as in past tense?)

On July 4 2021 (I am not from the USA) I ordered the DVD digipak with bonus disc of Long Strange Trip from the Dead.Net Store.

This is what happened next (copied from my communications with the Store with contact details redacted):

My Initial Request:

This 3 DVD digipack of Long Strange Trip has Disc 2 marked "Bonus Content" and does not have the second half of the documentary on it as stated on packaging. The bonus content is the same as that on Disc 3 which is supposed to be the bonus content for this 3 DVD set. Also Disc 1 which does have the first half of the documentary on it does not have a Dolby 2.0 audio option as stated on the packaging. It is questionable whether any of these discs are the one supposed to be packed in this version of the release. After the time and expense of getting the shipped from the Grateful Dead source this is extremely disappointing.

Where we are at now:
The replacement copy just sent has the same problem of discs mislabeled and packaged. It must be from the same print run as the first copy I received. Disc 2 is again bonus content NOT the second half of the documentary.

Please... I'm begging you. I ordered this July 4 and I still haven't gotten the full movie. I'll buy a Region Free Bluray copy. Just send me an invoice for the difference in price. Whatever.... please.

NOW:
I'VE JUST RECEIVED A THIRD COPY OF STRANGE TRIP AND YOU'VE DONE THE SAME THING AGAIN. YOU DIDN'T CHECK THE DISCS AND HAVE SENT A COPY THAT DOES NOT HAVE DISC 2 OF THE MOVIE. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME; YOU HAVE RIPPED ME OFF.

There you have it.

So this is Grateful Dead 2021; just another commercial juggernaut that wants to extract money from people by selling clothes, pet accessories, garden accessories (or whatever!). Another cash machine that cares nothing about the only thing about the band that matters and what is truly real about Grateful Dead.

But hey! When it comes to delivering the sound and vision which is the history and legacy of a great band this is what you get.

Oh! Commercialism! It can’t be!

Well take a good look at eBay. The egregious amount of profiteering there is disgusting to the point of being abjectly blinding. The CD warehouses will get copies of Get Shown the Light, but they sell out in a day or two and will be resold at triple the price.

I’ve got some seriously rare Dead CD’s and they are now worth a small fortune. After what I have experienced with the Store I am so disgusted and, more to the point disappointed, that I am seriously thinking of “getting my chips cashed in” (remember that old chestnut I just paraphrased?) and eBaying my whole collection.

You can’t say there ain’t a buck to be made out of the good ‘ol Grateful Dead!

It’s so sad to see the band’s unique contributions, their legacy, being torn up in this way.

There’s a general tenet of art theory that states that art is but a reflection of society. I have been fascinated by the fact that the Dead weren’t a band, but more of a “scene”; a family, a society, if you will.

Garcia used to talk about evolving humanity, the society, through psychedelics, art, music, culture etc. Well society and humanity, the truth is:

Welcome to capitalism.

It’s just as well “faith” is but a word and, therefore, counts for very little. (As I’m sure is the case with my words written in this post).

Peace out.

Goodbye.

__________________________________________________________________

Addendum:

I was going to make the above post my first and last post until, upon registering for these forums, this email arrived:

Hey there Grateful Dead Fan,
We’re so glad you got on the bus! You’re in for a mighty fine time.
As a subscriber to Dead.net, you’ll be the first to know about the Grateful Dead’s exclusive limited-edition releases, breaking news on the band, community events, and so much more. It’s all happenin’!
We’d like to thank you kindly with 10% off* your next order. Simply use this coupon code at checkout:

Oh, wow! Thank you master! This wage-slave is so uplifted by your magnanimous offer! Thank you so much for extending the cosmic joke you have played upon me, and more fool me!

Talk about adding insult to injury.........

I think I’ll pass, as ten percent of nothing, which is what your organisation has given me, is nothing.

How about giving me back ten percent of the purchase cost of the flawed and incorrectly packaged item that I spent money on in July? I would be happy with ten percent of what your organisation has defrauded me.

Now I’m done.

Hey now!New to the site. Kind souls connect with me!

I'm 44 and was blessed to start seeing The Grateful Dead when I was just 12! Rich Stadium in Buffalo. Hit mostly all the East Coast shows until 96' and then our lives changed for sure. Went to Penn State University and I am a social worker. My son is almost through high school and then I'm looking for adventure! I am not sure where what or with whom? Auroraville, Peace Corp, meet the man who rocks my world??

hello i am Billy Cyprus how…

hello i am Billy Cyprus how are you?

Thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

I understand this thread is half-dead, but I need to let you guys know how much you (yes, you) mean to me. How's everyone doing? I'm Alex and this is not my first post (oops!). But I am so happy to be here. I am in the midst of losing my dog who is the light of my world and the DeadHead family has made me feel at peace. I know this is my introduction but I already have so much thanks to give!! I have been a DeadHead for the better part of my life, living adjacent to the middle of nowhere. So I have always been the black sheep of the friend group listening to this hippie drone music. I called in to Tales from the Golden Road right before Tucker's (my dog) diagnosis with Lymphoma, nervous as all get out about my first Dead & Co show for my birthday here in a few weeks, and as soon as I was connected with Dave and Gary, all anxiety melted away, it didn't matter how many listeners I was on the air with, I truly felt like I was just shooting the shit with some old friends. I felt at home. And now more than ever, I need a little home. And each and every one of you make me feel at home in this strange world. As I make my entrance, I already am feeling beyond welcomed.. So thank you. A lot.

hey now

Nice to see you here, make yourself at home!

DERZELL

Welcome aboard the Bus! You may want to try posting on the Ala Carte DP42 thread also.

I'm sorry to hear of your beloved dog...

Many Thanks!!

Dave and Marye, thanks for welcoming me aboard. I can truly say that in this crazy world, I feel like I have found my "forever home" here. I moved from a big town to a little one for work and can't say there are many like-minded folk in this land of sparse population, so it is really comforting knowing I have my buddies right here :)

As for as the puppy, thanks for the concern and kind words Dave. Lymphoma is kinda scary in dogs I've found out. But my little fur ball is started up on prednisone and has his puppy energy back!! Just one of those things where he's gonna keep rocking until he can't and more than likely he will lay down for a nap and just drift away. Which when you think about it, I know that I would definitely want to go that way if I had a choice.

I will need to check out that thread! Any others I should look into? I am eager to join the party! I do love storytelling and digging into music theory!

Much love to you both and thank you again, from the bottom of my heart!

-AZ