As part of our celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the legendary Grateful Dead shows in Gizah, Egypt, we're offering a new 35-minute interview with former Grateful Dead manager Richard Loren. Richard is also Executive Producer on Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978.
Here Richard Loren talks with David Gans about the inspiration and planning that brought about these monumental shows. Richard also shares some very cool behind-the-scenes anecdotes.
Click here to hear the entire interview (35 minutes).
(Note: There's a reference to "IA guys" - that means stagehands, members of the IATSE, International Association of Theater and Stage Employees.)
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this sounds cool
i will check it out in the morning, thx richard and david
Thanks David and Richard
Thanks for the "back story" on how this incredible chapter of Dead history came about.Now I am waiting every so patiently for my copy to arrive. Is it Tuesday, yet?
Peace
Rick
Nice
I for one would like to have seen the long form Egypt documentary that Mr. Loren proposed.... but like he also said, I'm just grateful for what I do get. Thanks guys for a nice interview. Now I just gotta find my little Murine bottle before those discs get here....
Murine bottle.....
I must admit that sounds mightily permissable, a nice bottle of vintage Murine!
Murine, Visine?
Both were commercially available eye drops at the time. The actual product was this clear liquid that the packaging happened to dispense in single drops, see, and, um....
Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.
Absolutely amazing!
Yet another story of how the Grateful Dead played Egypt, absolutely amazing!. Where's my Murine bottle? I didn't need Murine way back then, still don't Thank you very much.
thanks for the...
the next note with Jerry really is always a mystery. thanks for the grate interview
~littlebri
A story about the concerts
In college, I had a class with Herman Eilts, who had been the US Ambassador to Egypt at the time of the concerts. As mentioned in the interview, Eilts was part of the negotiations with the Egyptian Government to allow the Dead to play. He told me a story of the first concert.
It was before the first concert. Everything was set up. The crowd was there and the show was soon to start. Then an Egyptian Engineer decided that he wasn't receiving enough compensation and turned the power off, demanding a large some of money to turn the power back on. No one was going to pay him, and even if they wanted to, no one had enough money to cover the bribe. In came Herman Eilts - he negotiated with the engineer, telling him that they didn't have any cash and the best they could do was write him a check. Of course the engineer wasn't going to accept a check because that would prove he was extorting money. Finally, the engineer relented and turned the power back on, enabling the show to go on.
Bonus disc countdown.....
Well with time running out, I sure hope sales snowball so Mr. Loren has a chance to make a subsequent, comprehensive video. I have been out of work and coin is gettin low but I bought the full package. Can't wait. Thank you guys for the great interview.
The dire wolf collects his dues while the boys sing round the fire.
Murine factoid
If you put Murine in your eyes you can see it glow yellow under a blacklight!
TRIP & DANCE
THE VISINE & MURINE BOTTLES WERE PERFECT LITTLE DISPENSERS FOR WHEN QUINN THE ESKIMO GETS HERE..............
.."...Here Richard Loren
..
"...Here Richard Loren talks with David Gans about the inspiration and planning that brought about these monumental shows..."
Why, oh, why attempt to perpetuate this MYTH about Egypt? It was a VACTION for the Boys and the Family. Why do the people new to the band have to be "indoctrinated" into this wrong-headed concept?
There are LITERALLY a hundred EPIC shows to experience. Continuing to tell us that Egypt was "monumental" is an insult. I can live with differing opinions about the 80s and 90s (it's not music I care for, but to each his own) but would Dead.net also tell us that Montery Pop was "monumental"? Or that the Woodstock set was "breathtaking"?
Come on!!! One of the key parts of being a Deadhead is being able to LISTEN to the bad as well as the good; to chuckle a bit when Bobby stops playing to mess with his equipment or grin in good nature when a transition doesn't go off with clinical precision. I love the early versions of Mama Tried when the Boys can't quite decide what the timing is supposed to be between the first and second verses, or when Donna wails off-key during Playin. It's ALL GOOD. It's like listening to old friends talk about good times.
..
Hullo Heads.
WOBBLY585I will be getting hitched in April and when I got word that the Dead were back on the road I realised that some serious saving had to be done. I live in a beautiful part of England Scarborough so it is gonna need an extra big piggy bank. I look forward to meeting you all. God bless the Dead and all their fans. Luv Wobbly585