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    "When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux

    We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.

    The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

    The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.

    The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.

    Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.

    (Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)

    ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
    Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.

    *Helpful hints for using your USB:

    Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
    On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
    On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.

    Viewing the digital book:
    You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.

    To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.

    Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
    When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
    PDF
    Text

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  • wave-that-flag
    Joined:
    Fine with Limited Runs for Now
    Last comment on this. I'm fine with things as they are, and obviously the current business model is working because we've got Rhino putting out phenomenal-sounding, quality shows at a rapid pace. This all works great for me and other Deadheads! The snooze and lose model for limited releases and bonus discs gets Rhino paid upfront and in-full. Still all good for me. I'm fine with my 3-CD FW69 set for now also (Maybe sometime I'll choose to drop a grand on Ebay for the full set If I really wanted to. That would be my choice, and I could listen to them with my new spouse after my beautiful wife would likely leave me in horror.) I'm just saying big picture, at some point in time, I have little doubt all the music will be available for release in digital format for all who want to pay a bit. Cost will be little to nothing to the music vendors who will no longer need to manufacture or stock hard inventory. For better or worse, the days of the CD are probably limited. I won't miss them honestly. I do love vinyl and have fond memories of reel to reels, but that's probably because that's what I grew up with. But honestly, big picture, I see music going digital with streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, or whoever in the near future. Want to listen to any Dick's Pick? Cue it up on your app and turn the volume up to skull shattering volume level. That's here now. I'm ecstatic to be buying GDM CDs for now, and I have dug Rhino for a long time. (Spent many hours going through the vinyl LP racks at the Westwood Blvd. store.) But after enough years have passed, and my limited run is up, when many of us are at the great festival beyond, where Jerry is always jamming and the show never ends, I would hope the music is available for all and not locked-away in lost box sets. That's why the "can't be re-released ever clause" with FW69 freaked me out a bit, and seemed whack. "Nuff said from me. Bring on Dave's 18 and Bicentennial fever. Listening to Cow Palace '76 again today. Also, can't hype 30TATS enough. Buy the Bolt now, if you don't have this! (Talkin' to you new girl who likes yo-yo'ing!) I should have. Bought my 30 Trips off Ebay and paid a bit more. And yes, the 90's shows are mind-blowing. I'd foolishly stopped listening to anything post-78 and had no idea what I was missing. Jerry and the crew will have their place in the Library of Congress and Smithsonian next to Woody Guthrie someday--no doubt of that. They are an integral part of American culture and have earned their place there. If folks want to wait awhile, it's allright with me. No hurry really. It's all good. Peace.
  • Thin
    Joined:
    1993 / '69 ark box / Ebay resale strategy
    Cousins of the... - I have spouted off about that 3/27/93 show many times, but I'll repeat: I was there as well and it was a great show - both sets are memorable, and a unique setlist: BT Wind, Broken Arrow, Casey Jones, Loose Lucy, Comes A Time, I Fought the Song encore with Vince jumping up to fire six shots toward center stage. We smiled and high fived each other all the way back to the hotel. Agree that Jerry's tone and technique got very subtle and understated mid '90s... sometimes too subtle and absent-minded on off nights, but shows like this one hit the bullseye. That 10/1/94 show from TTATS box also surprised me with its tasty guitar work by the Fat Man. (Remember the bumper stickers? "The Fat Man Rocks!") "69 ark box would be amazing!!! I'm salivating looking at those setlists - It's like the FW '69 box on acid. LoveJerry - totally agree on the Ebay strategy for resale. Makes sense. Keeping a library of all the releases stocked is expensive, so just doing a one-off run that sells out instantly is the cleanest way to do it without residual expenses down the road. Just press 16,500, collect the dough, and move on. Gotta be lean and profitable - a one time run is the only way to do that. And if some Ebay entrepreneurs make a few bucks, so be it. It's not like they're getting rich off it (unless some people actually buy at huge markups not realizing they're being fleeced.) As for re-releasing FW '69 - Realistically, How many would they sell??? My friends and 80% of the hard core fans already own it. The folks that want a copy should find a way to get one.... shouldn't be too hard to track down (I'm not too crazy about this - just ask a buddy for slightly compressed 320kbps version so you won't go to hell). They COULD re-release it for download only, but there's a ton of cost in that as well for a potentially MUCH smaller run.
  • Born Cross Eye…
    Joined:
    Ark 69 box
    I agree with Kayak Guy with a release of the Ark run as a box set.
  • Born Cross Eye…
    Joined:
    Re-release the FW69 box
    Re-release it as a "digital download" lossless formats only, sans bonus disc.Enough said on the subject from me.
  • Kayak Guy
    Joined:
    Limited Editions
    I think they (all hail TPTB) have smartened up and now the wording is much more specific as to what is limited. Limited Edition packaging is one trick, so is the Limited Edition bonus disk, which limits those items but leave the main content more open to future digital distribution or repackaging.
  • Mr. Jack Straw
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    here's the thing about FW '69
    I (gasp!) agree with Spacebrother. It shouldn't bother anyone if this treasure trove gets re-released. I opened mine the day I got it, flipped through the book multiple times, bent the pages by accident, nicked the corners of the box, and have played the CDs to death. The box is obviously well-loved, and I would hope everyone who wanted to hear the music owns a copy (although this obviously isn't the case). I wouldn't sell mine for a million dollars (ok, well MAYBE a million, but definitely not $999,999) The thing is, there's a difference between what should happen in a perfect world, and what happens in a real one. We live in a word where "limited" means something to certain people. When something is marketed as limited, 9,800 people might have no problem if TPTB went back on their word, but the remaining 200 might. And legally, they'd have a legitimate complaint. A re-release is legally out of the question, although it shouldn't be.
  • Kayak Guy
    Joined:
    A different Spring 1969 box
    The Ark box 3 days of shows at the Ark in Boston MA, 3 months before it became the 2nd Boston Tea Party location. Both the reels and cassettes of these shows from Bear have been returned to the vault. Still touring in support of Anthem of the Sun, and just about to release Aoxomoxoa, it has the Magnificent Seven lineup in all it's glory. April 21, 1969 The Ark - Boston, MA Set 1 (61:52) 01 - Introduction (1.29) 02 - Hard To Handle (5.26) 03 - Morning Dew (9.25) 04 - Cryptical Envelopment (1.57) > 05 - Drums (0.39) > 06 - The Other One (9.10) > 07 - Cryptical Envelopment (7.54) > 08 - Sittin' On Top Of The World (3.27) 09 - Alligator (4.06) > 10 - Drums (3.26) > 11 - Jam (7.46) > 12 - Doin' That Rag (7.02) Set 2 (89:57) 13 - Foxy Lady Jam (3.25) 14 - Dark Star (22.41) > 15 - St. Stephen (6.52) > 16 - The Eleven (10.59) > 17 - Turn On Your Lovelight (25.25) Encore: 18 - Tuning (1.08) 19 - Viola Lee Blues (13.48) > 20 - Feedback (5.39) https://archive.org/details/gd1969-04-21.sbd.miller.tomp.124439.flac16 April 22, 1969 The Ark - Boston, MA Set 1: d1t01 - Sittin' On Top Of The World d1t02 - Morning Dew d1t03 - Beat It On Down The Line -> d1t04 - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl d1t05 - Doin' That Rag d1t06 - Cryptical Envelopment -> d1t07 - Drums -> d1t08 - The Other One -> d1t09 - Cryptical Envelopment -> d1t10 - Death Don't Have No Mercy Set 2: d1t11 - Monitor Levels d1t12 - Dupree's Diamond Blues -> d1t13 - Mountains Of The Moon -> d2t01 - Jam -> d2t02 - Dark Star -> d2t03 - St. Stephen -> d2t04 - The Eleven -> d2t05 - Turn On Your Lovelight https://archive.org/details/gd1969-04-22.sbd.miller.88466.sbeok.flac16 April 23, 1969 The Ark - Boston, MA Set 1: d1t01 - Introduction d1t02 - He Was A Friend Of Mine d1t03 - Dark Star -> d1t04 - St. Stephen -> d1t05 - It's A Sin -> d1t06 - St. Stephen -> d1t07 - Cryptical Envelopment -> d1t08 - Drums -> d1t09 - The Other One -> d1t10 - Cryptical Envelopment -> d1t11 - Sittin' On Top Of The World -> d2t01 - Turn On Your Lovelight Set 2: d2t02 - Morning Dew d2t03 - Hard To Handle d2t04 - Doin' That Rag d3t01 - Alligator -> d3t02 - Drums -> d3t03 - Jam -> d3t04 - The Eleven -> d3t05 - Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) -> d3t06 - Feedback -> d3t07 - And We Bid You Good Night Encore: d3t08 - Not Fade Away tease d3t09 - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue https://archive.org/details/gd1969-04-23.sbd.miller.98968.sbeok.flac16
  • Cousins Of The…
    Joined:
    1993 Trip
    Getting to love this period of the Dead. For a while I thought Jerry's chops during that period were not as sharp as before, but after I listened to some of these 90's Trips, it seems his playing is deceptively low key, but just as good as any other previous year.The difference is, at least for the 93 Trip, he's mostly using a very clear, crystalline sound with no overdrive at all, except on songs like Hell in a Bucket and Same Thing. Would love to know what kind of pickup he had on that guitar...sounds like a single-coil Strat pickup to my ears, or something very similar. The solos in Bertha and Peggy O are top notch. He was definitely going for different, more subtle licks. I hear a lot of Hank Marvin in his tone, when he's playing really clean.
  • LoveJerry
    Joined:
    Cobo 76
    Wish i could take the credit, but anyway, this guy (maybe wjonjd) explained the record company business pretty good, and it made the most sense to me. Trying to get into this one, but having difficulty. I like most 76, and just had a great time with DP 33. I am really psyched for DaP 18.
  • dharwin
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Love Jerry
    You are spot on!
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17 years 8 months

"When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux

We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.

The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.

The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.

Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.

(Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)

ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.

*Helpful hints for using your USB:

Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.

Viewing the digital book:
You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.

To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.

Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
PDF
Text

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Thanks to those kind souls that offered to hook me up with 12/6/73. Much appreciated everyone!
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17 years 2 months
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...with the weight of gold or of lead or of lavish GDM/Rhino product. Get it or don't but don't moan and... chillax! It doesn't matter if you own or don't own bad-ass box sets or many or few archival releases. If you enjoy the music in whatever form with friends or in your private head, you have (as your very own) the most important part of the trip. Archival fetish = tore up over nothin'
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You are 100% right! But this site is not about Live Music Archive, torrent sites, or tape collections. It is about catering to the "archive fetish" impulse so as to bring profits to GDM/ Rhino. For some reason that I myself don't understand, I , and many other people on this site, put greater emotional value on possessing "official" releases of Dead shows over possessing the non"official" versions. When our desires face hurdles we deem inordinate our emotional loads get a bit ugly! With a little internet effort I can get almost any Dead show in great quality for free but I still subscribe to Dave's Picks each year and I still hope to be able to buy whatever else GDM puts out. Lately the ensuing frustration has far outweighed the pleasure, (just like typing on this damn iPhone!). I still haven't listened to my DaP15. Maybe it will help my attitude when I do!
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Ask & you shall receive. A very kind MD soul a few months back on this site hooked me up with that bonus disc. Be forewarned the Dark Star will melt your brain. It completely floored me. A trip or perhaps an odyssey is the better term to use. Strap your seatbelt on & enjoy
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15 years 6 months
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You can say that in theory...you can get any grateful dead show...but the quality is sooo good on these box sets on these subscription series of dave's picks before that road trips before that dicks picks...it is expensive that's the only downside...but i'm on these grateful dead shows year round pretty much...i'm never totally off of these shows for very long totally addicted to it!
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12 years 11 months
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I come home from work about a half hour ago, and the wife is out with my sister on the kitchen table is a note from her asking me if I have this book underneath the note is a copy of "Grateful Dead 1977, The Rise of Terrapin Nation" the coolest thing about this book is not only it appears to be a fantastic read but the price is $19.77. I guess "nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile". GET THIS BOOK it covers EVERY show from 1977, & the pictures are AMAZING!!!!! Now I have to call her & give her a GREAT BIG THANK YOU!!!! DEAR I O U 1!!!!!! HAPPY FRIDAY DEADLAND!!!!!
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The Dave's Picks thing.. I saw a few come through my local record store and did nothing about it. I assumed it was a regular style release that I'd be able to pick up anytime I wanted. I didn't realize they were limited and would double in price shortly after release... or just completely disappear. I mostly regret missing the '72 show in Wichita, KS.. as I grew up right around there. But also the others would be nice to have if they weren't completely not affordable now. I would sign up for this year if it weren't too late and I could have the earlier ones from this year. Please let me know as soon as the 2016 subscription is up for grabs... if it happens. It's like a way better version of a wine club.
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In the wording for this box it is clear the cds are not limited. I would expect from the wording that after the box sells out or maybe before dead net offers all music edition in smaller sets. I think maybe 66-75, 76-85, 86-95 sets for about 250 dollars. The tptb put too much effort in this to limit this to people who can pay the 700 dollars. When Rhino has made representations they have stuck to them. The fillmore west 69 set is a prime example. The statements made in the sale pitch are well thought out with a plan.
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9 years 5 months
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My wife just yelled at me... painting the outside of the house. Jerrys morning dew solo.. I must have spun around several times... 2nd coat now needed..and windows need cleaned haha.. Bless all
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After 5 nights of "adventure" sleeping the wife & I will be sleeping in our room tonight, I must say the room turned out very well, bright white ceiling, Dawn's Light on the walls, white high gloss oil on the baseboard trim & doors, peach carpet, a light orange combination ceiling fan/light & medium orange drapes in fact it's beautiful the wife is EXTREMELY HAPPY & that's most important as we husbands know a happy wife makes for a real happy husband. My only regret is not partaking in real adventure sleeping, my idea of adventure sleeping is an ironing board between 2 chairs however the closest we came to real adventure sleeping is the sofa & an air mattress, The wife was really out of her element all week so I'm glad to see she's slowly getting back to normal. She makes the bed EVERYDAY however since Monday night the only way she could make the bed was to "deflate" it, she's not been a happy camper ALL week. Baby you'll sleep well tonight!!!! Now this book "Grateful Dead 1977" devotes an ENTIRE chapter to Cornell, in fact the way this book is sectioned is "Before Cornell, Cornell, After Cornell. I always felt that 5/8/77 is OVERRATED however maybe I'm wrong, is this show that good that it requires a 17 page write up? For me, May 1977 stops & starts with 5/4/77, I have a 3 CD set titled "Dead In Cornell" that I purchased for $75.00 around 1992 from a little store in New Hope, PA, called the "Now & Then Shop" the place I use to call heaven. So with the wife so very happy & going to bed soon & the kids are away this weekend I'm going to give it a real good listen from beginning to end and give an honest assessment of the show. It's been a while, a long while since I listened to this one so let me say GOODNIGHT to the misses, let's hope that the wife has "OTHER" plans and won't allow me to listen the show tonight, WINK, WINK!!!!! ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT, DEADLAND!!!!!!
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Wissinoming, when I saw the subject on your last post I thought you were going to write about DaP7. I guess '78 has been on my mind a lot lately (for obvious reasons). It looks like the book you mentioned is the new Howard Weiner book that Muleskinner wrote about a few days (or weeks?) ago. Sounds pretty cool and Weiner seems to be good at zeroing in on very specific topics so this is perfect for him to write about. I finished Tangled Up in Tunes awhile ago and have just started Positively Garcia. Weiner does a great job in the latter book explaining why Jerry isn't held in higher regard by the uninitiated. I don't agree with all his opinions but he's very well spoken. I bet he has a lot to say about 9-3-77 in the new book; in Tangle Up in Tunes, his memoir, he writes about that tape being among those that really turned him on to the Dead. As for Cornell, I think it's possible for it to be spectacular and overrated at the same time. To me, it's the best show of '77 although I admit that familiarity is part of the reason for that. Great as it is, it would not crack my top 10 or 20 all time shows (theoretically speaking) as they would all be pre hiatus. It would be really cool if Weiner wrote a similar book about '73. I suspect that would take a little longer to research--longer shows with much more going on during the jams.
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Good job on the room, sounds real nice, I'm sure your wife is very happy. I think my wife wants me to be more active, or get a new hobby or something, instead of just drinking wine and buying expensive GD box sets. We were watching discovery channel the other day, some program where these guys wearing flying squirrel suits jump off cliffs and fly like 100 mph through jutting rock formations. She says to me, "Why don't you try that honey, looks like it would be fun, doesn't it?" I said, "I don't know babe, not really my thing." She says, "What about skydiving then?" I don't know where she gets these crazy ideas from.
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says...shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. Would suspect that means digital downloads will be an option.
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After a GREAT night of um, "sleeping" the wife & I went out to breakfast & check this out SHE treated, after we came home she went out to look for new bedding & a few things to accessorize the bedroom, while she was gone I decided to give the fabled show, May 8, 1977, Cornell a REAL good listen, do I still feel it's OVERRATED, yes, the thing I cannot get past is the fact that this show doesn't contain the "usual" 1977 concert staples such as MNS, H>S>F, 1/2 Step, Bob & Donna duet on LLR or the ANTHEM of 1977, Terrapin. Now with that said it does contain the BEST Scarlet>Fire of 1977, & the St. Stephen>Dew is a one time only masterpiece. For me 1977 begins & ends with 5/4/77 the BEST (IMHO) of 1977, that 2nd set with the most muscular of Estimated ever performed & the Terrapin>Playin>Comes A time>Playin is sublime & amazing ALL at the same time & the 1st set has the BEST tear jerking version of LLR ever done, IMHO & the other thing about 5/4/77,is that NO ENCORE was given it's as if the GD were saying we gave you the GREATEST of our BEST, nothing else needs to be said. To me 5/8/77, has more of a sentimentality going for it than the actual performance, it's played at an Ivy League School during a freak snowstorm on Mother's Day PLUS the tapes that were trading around 1981 of this show were the BEST sounding tapes up to that point in fact the only other tape I possess that even comes close to it in term of sonic clarity has to be a 4/21/84 Set II AUD that I received in late 1985, in fact 5/8/77 sort of spoiled us avid tape traders with the notion that ALL GD tapes had the same very high quality sound, alas we were fooled into thinking that every show was a "Betty Board" this was & still is the case, for this "OLD HEAD" I still look for the BEST sounding tape not so much for the performance itself, as I can & will find something I like in EVERY show I listen to. Now 1977 was a great year musically as Fleetwood Mac's Rumors was at the top of the charts, Frampton Comes Alive was the TOP SELLER of 1977, The Eagles released Hotel California & Pink Floyd released Animals. On stage Yes were selling out 90,000+ stadiums, Peter Frampton was selling out EVERYWHERE he played at, & yet the Grateful Dead became the consummate "professionals" without much fanfare, it seems as though the GD were saying we're not relying on the "JAM" alone we're going to play as professionals not on in the studio but also on stage. I often wonder if more "non" Deadheads would have gotten "on the bus" had 5/8/77 been released on vinyl at that time. IMAGINE THAT!!!! Now just because I SAY 5/8/77 is OVERRATED I'm not saying that if TPTB saw to it to release it I wouldn't buy it, as YES I WOULD!!! So now begs the question will the fabled show played in Ithaca, N.Y. on Mother's Day 1977, ever see it's way as an "official" release? My response to that question is if we do it will be as a stand alone release, because a show of legendary proportions deserves to be released as just that a stand alone release. A show that has NO EQUAL, So To The Powers That Be LET'S RELEASE 5/8/77 as part of the 50th Anniversary of the band is not the BEST at what they do, but they're the ONLY ones who do what they do, the GRATEFUL DEAD!!! Where were you on the day Jerry died? I was at the Philadelphia Fire Administration Building filling out paper work to join the HAZMAT Unit. Local radio DJ Pierre Robert (93.3 WMMR) announced at 10:21am that Jerry Garcia was found dead of an apparent heart attack in his room at a California Rehab Facility & he PLAYED DEAD up until his shift ended @ 2pm, Such a sad, sad day in Deadland folks it's hard to believe 20 years have passed where has all the time gone, HE'S GONE AND NOTHINGS GONNA BRING HIM BACK FARE YOU JERRY GARCIA I LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN TELL!!!!! PLAY DEAD DEADLAND!!!!
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....gonna do it one day. It's on my bucket list. Not too crazy of an idea if you ask me.... ....on this, the most somber date among fans, I'm rejoicing by spinning Wichita. Love, love this show. It's got a top ten Cumberland for petes sake! I try not to be melancholy on 8.9, but rather celebrate the player. And what a player he was. Saw an interview with Jerry yesterday. He said something along the lines of, "I don't think I'll be remembered as a accomplished musician. I just want to be remembered as an adequate one." Sorry to disappoint you Mr. Garcia, but you are.... ....stay kind my friends, and Play Dead....
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....wissinoming and I both posted that comment at the same time. The Wheel is turning and it can't slow down....
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I don't know man... sounds like someone wants a life insurance payout!
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2.6.70 Smokestack Lightning (Let it Burn) Morning Dew Dire Wolf Sittin' on Top of the World Me and My Uncle ~ To be continued Edit - I think I flip flopped the Setlists order of Me and My Uncle and SOTOTW. After those 2 appears a cool China > Rider shows up. Wilfretjones it seems there may be some discrepancies in date for this show. I am almost 100% positive Dave L had this dated as 2.6.70. But after you mention I checked 2.8.70 and it's listed under that date... He's got 2.23.70 from Austin, TX tonight. Starting with Me and My Uncle until it cuts off in middle of Mason's Children. Get ready for a Black Peter people.
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I was curious enough to check (cause ya can't beat '70 dead) and that just might be a partial setlist from 2/8/70. Would be nice to have a board of that!
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That's another thing, she keeps feeding me bacon with every meal. I mean breakfast, lunch and dinner, sometimes even with dessert. I just thought it was because she knows how much I love bacon, but maybe you're onto something. Funny thing is, I haven't even told her yet that I cashed out the life insurance to pay for boxzilla...
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Well, Dantian, she might not need that life insurance policy if she's discovered how much some of those limited releases are going for on ebay.I actually showed my wife the DaP1 page on Amazon before bringing up the possibility of buying this box. ;) I've never sky dived but did have 49 static line jumps in my old Army days. It was just about the only think I enjoyed about the Army other than the topless bars.
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14 years
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Miss ya Uncle Jerry ...
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Great post, man; you make some good points about 5-8 but it's still my favorite from that year and I would add the Dancin' to your list of highlights. It's seems to be happening more and more but I altered my listening plans tonight based on something I read here--listening to 5-4-77 right now. The last time I listened to this was almost certainly on a cassette and Bill Clinton was probably the president. Fantastic. The LLRain is among the best and I'm really feeling the Dancin' as I type. Thanks for bringing this one up. Where was I when I got the news? I remember it well. I was a department head in a grocery store--took the promotion so I could afford to go more Dead shows, plus I got to write the schedule. I was writing a grocery order in aisle 8, the diaper section, when my newlywed wife walked up to me. I could tell right away something was wrong even though she was smiling. She just blurted it out, "Jerry Garcia died," and then she started crying. My first thought was, "There must be some mistake," but only a second later I realized it was probably true. For the rest of my shift people came up to me to break the news or offer condolences. One guy even said I should just go home. I said I'd been stressing about getting off work for shows for years so what was the point of taking off now that there were no more shows to go to. When I got home our answering machine was completely full. I listened to a couple messages and then turned it off--too depressing. Our wedding was only two months earlier and seemingly everyone who attended was calling to say they were thinking about us. In those days we had a group of friends who would come to our house three or four times a week to put a buzz on and listen to tapes. As it turned out I had a well liked co worker who's last day was the 9th and I was the one who organized the going away party. It was the last thing I wanted to do but it was the right thing to do so we went ahead and went. I did my best to deflect questions about Jerry and keep the focus on our departing friend. After a couple hours my wife and I felt it was okay to leave and our Deadhead friends came over to listen to music and grieve together. One old college friend even drove down from Chicago to join us. He told his boss he needed to take off because someone close to him had died. I must have really been down because, for the life of me, I can't remember what we listened to that night, and that's the kind of thing I usually remember well. The first time I saw them it was, in part, because I wanted to see them before Jerry died and had no idea I would end up seeing them 10 times a year for five years. But somehow, by 1995, I had convinced myself that Jerry would go on forever. Even though he'd been obviously fading for at least a year or two I was sure he would eventually get it together and bounce back. It really hurt at the time, but tonight I can only be thankful for the limited experiences I did have and the legacy of wonderful music left behind and still available to us right now. Estimated, Scarlet>Fire to open the second set of 5-4. It's just beautiful and a great way to celebrate Jerry's life.
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"I haven't told my wife yet I cashed in the life insurance policy to get Boxzilla" - that's hysterical. ... but give it a few years, after the resell value tops out on EBay, expect the bacon to be replaced with strychnine and hemlock tea. rdevel - not sure showing your wife resale prices is a great long-term strategy. I think deadhead divorce attorney's came up on one of these threads a year or so ago.. specializing in the valuation of limited edition and out of print CD's and Box Sets. I was at work when I heard someone talking in the halls about Jerry's passing. I can't say I was surprised but I was still somewhat shocked and bummed out when I got the news. What a deflated feeling, the end of a grand era.
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I was at work when I heard it on the radio. I was devastated though not surprised. Had tickets to Jeff Beck & Santana that night at the Garden States Arts Center. Carlos dedicated the show to his friend Jerry and cried a few times as he spoke between songs. It was an emotional night to say the least and the end of an era.
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I love the "where were you (on 8/9/95) stories". We could all see it coming. My last shows were in Chicago '93. I viewed the party as being over then. But the news still hit me very, very hard. Much harder than I think I ever could have expected. I was living/working in NYC at the time. I grabbed my now-wife and immediately got my a$$ to Strawberry Fields and stayed essentially all night. I'd just met her the weekend before, so this was just the 2nd time we'd spent time together. She wasn't (and isn't) a Deadhead, but she indulges me - and did so that day. So sad. Will never forget that day. PS - My daughter told me today that she remembers where she was when she found out that Michael Jackson died...and I chuckled. Does that make me a bad person?
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1982-08-10 ..Iowa 82..was anyone there? If so I envy you..I wouldn't mind seeing a release of this show or one of the many other great 82 specimens out there for that matter, 2-19,2-20,9-17, red rocks etc..I think we're due for some 82
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I don't remember the specifics, but I recall reading a converstion that Jerry was having with another person (I can't recall who). The other person said that when someone passes away sometimes that person's spirit will stay with the body for a period of time. Apparently Jerry grabbed his belly and said "Stick around for this shit...I'm outta here!". Priceless.
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I hear this box set is so large that the person with the box cutter - who is slicing all the Dave's Picks Volume 15 - is getting an officially licensed Grateful Dead SYF machete.
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"It was a good rap".
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I sell home, auto, health, and life insurance, and the bad news for Dantian's wife is that his life insurance policy has an exclusion for sky diving. Slow death by bacon would be covered, however . . . Drove from Saint Paul to Milwaukee this weekend (with DP33) for the Brewers/Cardinals series with my Steal Your Brewers shirt on (there's a Brewers logo inside the face--wore my Steal your Cubs shirt Sunday-the Brewers shirt says "Steal Your Base"). On Saturday I happened to glance at the scoreboard while they were running fan messages, and I caught, "Jerry, we miss and love you". Amen.
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Chuckling doesn't make you a bad person…but your daughter is incredibly empathetic…you've done 'alright' with the child-rearing as evidenced by your daughter trying to share your pain…Michael Jackson was her Jerry.
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Wissinoming.....get this....the Now and Then Shop in New Hope, PA...my folks live in New Hope and I found that store back in the mid-90's as well....back when bootlegged CDs were really the only way I could find to get decent sounding GD (although it was really hit or miss once you opened up the package). BUT, I found the same "Dead in Cornell", 3-CD set and still have it to this day. That was an awesome store that sold tons of music as well as infinite paraphernalia...pretty sure I bought my first piece there too. Small World, Many Heads. Peace and Rock On.
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20 years shit! I had the pleasure of spending thanksgiving with Jerry at the Warwick hotel in i believe 78. Was at a Garcia band show the night before in NJ. Meet Donna Jean in the parking lot after show and she invited us up the next day. Went right in to front desk asked for Jerry's room the desk guy dial the phone spoke to someone and said go on up! What a great time Jerry was so animated that night showing us his art work, animation for the not yet released GD movie and a couple of his ties! Partied like rock "rock stars". Jerry had ashes and coke all over his black t shirt. Keith sat there like a mummy for 5 hours not saying a freaking thing!
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Wow... it's hard to believe that 20 years can go by so fast. That was an especially trying day for me. I was 25 and I was getting ready to relocate from Northern VA to Louisville, KY to attend law school (no jokes, please). I was in my hometown for a few days (in PA) so that I could see some friends and family before relocating to KY, since it would now be a much longer drive to go home than the 2.5 hr drive from DC. Late that morning, I was on the way to the hospital to see my grandpa, who'd suffered a pretty serious stroke about 6 weeks earlier (oddly enough, he had his stroke on the same day I saw my last GD show at RFK Stadium in June). It would be the last time I saw my grandpa alive, as I headed out to KY the next day or so, and he ended up dying in September as a result of the damage done by the stroke. As I was pulling into the parking lot of the hospital, I heard the news on the radio. It hit me like a sucker punch. Sure, we'd all seen Jerry's condition deteriorate over the years, but this was Jerry F'ing Garcia. He was larger than life, and I suppose that we all thought that he'd be fine and straighten himself out. I had to get it together though, as I had a more pressing concern in visiting with my grandpa (sorry, but if you knew my grandpa and what he meant to me as a kid growing up, you'd understand that statement completely). I went in and had a nice visit with my grandpa. He was still very fuzzy from the stroke, and communicating with him wasn't as easy as it used to be, but the connection was certainly still there. On some level, I suspected all the time that I was there that the visit could be the very last one I had with him. It was. And then I went home and spent the rest of the day and night having to hear over and over about Jerry's passing, and that just made things worse. All in all, it was a bittersweet day. Now, when someone mentions the death of Jerry Garcia, I relate it to the death of my grandfather. In some ways, I suppose that's a bit appropriate.
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Since it's been brought up twice now,,, I figure I'd pipe in.First time I went to New Hope was in 8th grade, this was 1970 just before we graduated. This is where the class trip was to. They let all the kids run wild around New Hope and of course the Now and Then shop was a big hit with 13 year olds (it still was hippie time) After letting us run wild we went to the Bucks County Playhouse and saw the play "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off",,, it was very good to this kid. I think back on this and think "they let us run wild",, the teachers wandered around by themselves and the kids just ran wild. I remember in 6th grade we had a class trip to NYC, and they let us run wild in Central Park. (that was about 68) But the let 11 year old kids loose! You see that woman had the cops called on her for letting her kids walk 3 blocks to the playground by themselves (heaven forbid) I think about being 6, leaving home at 8 in the morning and being told to be home for dinner at 5. The four kids in our group would be miles from home,,, hell we played in the swamps (they call them wetlands now :-) I guess it was just a different time!
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What a great show, Claney actually turned me on to it with his post here long ago extolling the virtues of that Comes A Time out of Playing. Love it. @Dennis Wilmont, I remember those days just as you described. I'm a few years younger than you, but remember as a kid in the 70's having lots of freedom to run around and play outside unsupervised in NYC. They called kids like us "latchkey kids" since we came home from school to empty homes due to our parents (or parent) still working and not there to supervise us. I remember going to the corner store on 11th street and Bleecker, buying a Spalding rubber ball, and playing stoop ball for hours with friends. They don't even have such neighborhood stores anymore, and no one would let their 8 yr old walk home alone, or play in the streets until dark. A different world indeed. @Deadheadbrewer, thanks for the info. Got to go now, wife says my bacon-wrapped ham cubes with melted butter are ready...
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12 years 11 months
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Today my wife found out that the Kenyan Governments' Department of Land & Preservation will hear her case on property that her family has in Kenya, Kenyan law states that every 10 years any land owned by a family must be transferred to another family member, originally the land was owned by her grandfather until 1975 who turned it over to his daughter my wife's mother, etc, etc you get the idea now the land has a home built on it, the very home my wife grew up in until she became a student at The University of Penn in 2003, now the land & home must get deeded to the wife or the government seizes it as part of eminent domain. As of now the land is in her sister's name, has been since 2005, hopefully in 2025 we can put it our daughter's name. The problem is it takes about 2 weeks to get this done as no computers exist in gov't offices so EVERYTHING is done by hand. How she explained it to me is no deed exists as what they call them is "land titles", so you have to go to one office to get the "old" title take it one office to get a "new" title issued, then take that to another office 2 days later to have it revised than 4 days later get the "new" title, then take it to another office to get it stamped, then get it revised again, then a hearing is granted just to make sure the property is titled to an heir & not just some fly by night "family" member. The whole process takes about 2-3 weeks for something we can do in mere minutes, the power of technology "gotta love it". Now the conversation the misses & I had was in regards to her being out of the country for at least a month, as she's looking forward to seeing family & friends she hasn't seen in 5 years she also has a fear about the kids & I, which to me is highly understandable as even I have an understated fear. Now the very question she asked me was when is this "thing" you ordered scheduled to arrive? I say because I went for the NBD shipping option it should be September 18th or Monday the 21st at the latest, she then says to me her exact words were, "don't forget you have 2 school age children, don't get so wrapped up in your music that you forget to feed them, clothe them, get them to school".. in other words don't let them starve to death, don't let them run around like naked savages & don't let them get dumb I say to her the day my love for the Grateful Dead allows me to ignore my most precious gifts, divorce me, take the kids & RUN don't walk away from me, she said to me "that's all I have to hear". When was the last time anyone checked out 9/26/81? I think it's to revisit that one as it's a good one, a rather unusual set list, CHECK IT OUT!!!!! HAPPY MONDAY, DEADLAND!!!!!
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KYTrips, that is a moving story - sounds like your priorities are just right. I was actually with my father in Florida staying with my grandmother for a week, painting her house. She broke the news to me - she was a gentle southern woman with a soft Georgia accent, basically conservative. But she said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I know what that man meant to you." Wissinoming, as Dantian confirms, 5/4/77 holds a special place for me too. Dantian, wow man, it makes my day that you remember that. Yeay! Think now that my wife is in bed, I may just need to pull out that and give it a spin...(or look for a better version on the archive!)
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The "Celebrating Jerry" section of dead.net has the following:Our fourth and final listening party celebrates Jerry's finest moments from our upcoming 30 Trips Around The Sun release. Listening to it now with earbuds, sounds amazing. First up - Dark Star.
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Thanks for the heads up Allman! That Dark Star is from 10/20/68, one of the shows I'm most looking forward to from 30 Trips. Edit: and then comes the 11/14/73 Eyes. Loving this listening party, and getting more psyched to receive boxzilla. Edit2: OK, listened to the whole thing, very nice. If anyone's interested, this is what's included: '68 Dark Star '73 Eyes '77 Terrapin '95 Visions of Johanna
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First of all, my girls (5 & 9) run around like naked savages even with my wife in the house, so I need to get some parenting tips from you on that one. Second - Sounds like you're really saying "party at my place". I'm thinking I should just bring my kids to your place that week. I think 4 eyes on 2 sets of kids in one place is better than 2 eyes on one set of kids in 2 places. Third - Do you still have the keys to that penthouse in center city? I have an idea.... Fourth - those are some fucked up rules in Kenya...
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Designed to encourage large families?
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(1) As of now our 4 year old is always naked she's sort of a free spirit, she makes the wife nuts however it isn't like she runs outside in the nude so the wife sort of, reluctantly allows it, now our 9 year old doesn't even like to wear a bathing suit in public so she's either our lady of modesty or just like the wife, a prude. The both them sort of drive my Hippy Spirit insane, however I cannot imagine life without em. (2) What "PARTY" that's all the wife has to hear, however for some reason I believe my sister is going to be here for a long..long time during the little woman's leave of absence. (3) As for the Center City penthouse we finished that job on Friday, we're now out on the Main Line (Radnor) painting 2 kids' bedrooms, a hallway & the Master Bathroom. Now as for that Grand Piano.....I forgot to put sheet plastic & a drop cloth over it.....SO SORRY!!!! (4) Quite a few countries have the same type of rules, I know Greece does as my sister married a man from Greece he had to go back last year for the same type of situation. __________________________________________________________________________________________ DARK STAR 9/16/72, LISTEN NOW, DO NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE, IT'S A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEAD!!!!!!! NOW TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF, YOU ALL COME BACK REAL SOON!!!!
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the sound quality of the '77 show from 30 Trips is several orders of magnitude better than what is available on the archive.
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17 years 3 months
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Thank you for the heads-up about the new listening party. It's all great, but the big revelation for me was the 1995 Visions of Johanna. Jerry's singing gets better as it goes along until it's just viciously beautiful and powerful. I am looking forward to ALL of these shows.
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Good call, claney. There's several songs that took life late in the game. So Many Roads, Black Muddy River come to mind, there's a maturity and mortality to them. To me, the 95 Visions are the best - they do a magnificent job and its a great song. I am looking forward to all shows too. I wonder how the '80's shows are going to sound? J. Norman has been a miracle worker of late, the Dave's series on average sounds very good. ..but 80 shows is a lot to master and coffee and red bull do not always lend themselves to tasks that require a patient ear. We will see, but I am also psyched.
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