Grateful Dead

People have always called The Dead scum. People have always called them biker criminal scum. Today - those same people have grandkids who call everyone a Nazi and scum and criminal scum. Republicans LOVE to call people Nazis. They all have rich Jewish friends and it just works for them. Call someone a Nazi - score points for the same blue bloods that beat up all of our grandfathers. The same people still rule America and can't change a tire, man. The useless aristocracy of sleazy gamblers who inherrited Daddy's cash. But hey - I've played tunes for billionaires before. It was pretty fun . . . I got drunk and ate well. Don't get me wrong - I'll play for anybody at this point. Just the act of someone actually listening to ONE NOTE from my guitar is enough to get me to play. Sure is frustrating. People think they know what I'm about and what I'm going to sound like without hearing me . . . when I'm just a Deadhead from California, man.

"One way or another, one way or another,One way or another, this darkness got to give." You're posting your rants on the wrong site dude... I no longer wish to hear you play, you sound like a real dick...perfectly honest.

"Please don't dominate the rap, jack, if you've got nothing new to say.If you please, don't back up the track this train's got to run today. I spent a little time on the mountain, I spent a little time on the hill I heard someone say "Better run away", others say "better stand still"." Flufhead - you DO realize that song is about Altamont? The trouble with the Hell's Angels? Well, I had Hell's Angels for neighbors back in elementary school. I'm not in a hurry to blacklist them from my shows just because of one little incident. You should hear my rendition of, "Rocky Mountain High". I totally ROCKED that song recently. I can't wait to trip Deadheads out on that song, man!!! WOO HOO!!!

I no longer wish to hear you play, you sound like a real dick...perfectly honest. Er . . . lead guitarists are supposed to be misunderstood and rebellious. It's a team captain thing, son. Rock n roll.

Do you know that one of the things that make Grateful Dead lyrics so special is that their meanings and interpretations are timeless...in this case I was applying the lyrics of NSWBoogie to you and your pointless, senseless, inappropriate, and highly repeatitve rants...your methods of self promotion are comical at best, certainly not productive...I'm definitely not gonna be rushing to one of your shows or buying, much less downloading your music knowing it comes from such an unhappy, angry individual...relax bro, where's the love? Take your hate elsewhere "If you please, don't back up the track this train's got to run today." "In a bed, in a bed, by the waterside I will lay my head. Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul."

Isn't that a Hanson song lol?? Mmmmmmmm bop. Maybe you should get into Hanson instead of the Dead, dude. Nothing wrong with that - and Taylor Hanson STILL looks enough like a girl to shag even though he's married and has 2 kids.

Isn't/wasn't Hanson that teeny-bopper group from the 90's?Wait a minute, judging by your previous post u have clearly been following their career(s)...hmmm "lead guitarists are supposed to be misunderstood and rebellious. It's a team captain thing, son." .....Perhaps you should get on Motley Crue or Black Sabbath's message board...Not that of The Grateful Dead...Jerry and his message was clearly understood. "In a bed, in a bed, by the waterside I will lay my head. Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul."

"Isn't/wasn't Hanson that teeny-bopper group from the 90's?Wait a minute, judging by your previous post u have clearly been following their career(s)...hmmm" Of course. I follow blondes anywhere. It's a California blonde thing - you wouldn't understand since you're not blonde and Californian. I am - and yes my eyes are blue. I'm thinking of dyeing my hair blonder. ".....Perhaps you should get on Motley Crue or Black Sabbath's message board...Not that of The Grateful Dead...Jerry and his message was clearly understood." What you say is true only if you're into late eighties Dead (the Midland era). If you're into that slowness you should stick to the old Dead shows. My shows are more young and have more energy. For instance, I'll probably never play the song "Looser" by the Dead. I play "Looser" by Beck instead. I haven't burned a guitar on stage yet (like in Beck's video) but I'm sure gonna!!!

Well...kids...It was the first time I dropped acid. It was Sandoz. My friend had a friend who lived in Livingston New Jersey near the Sandoz Lab where they first started making the shit in the U.S. The guy had a friend who had a connection. LSD was not yet illegal. He came down to Miami where I grew up. I was in my late teens...1968. It was good pure stuff and we dropped and went to Greynolds Park which was the hippie hangout in North Miami at the time. My buddy was experienced and hipped me to what to expect, etc. He was way into Leary and the Politics of Ecstasy on the East coast and Kesey and The Pranksters on the West Coast. It blew my mind permanently... in a good way....cosmic consiousness baby. As we all know, or should know, the term "on the bus" (You're either on the bus or off the bus) was originally coined by Kesey during the Prankster psychedellic Bus trip across country. It kinda became a metaphor that meant when you tripped and "Got It"...The whole on the bus thing regarding being a Deadhead came later...like...after they got on the bus. Memorialized in "That's it for the Other One". Now... go to bed kids...sweet dreams.

The song is titled "Loser" by both the Dead and Beck..."Looser"...not so much...and it's "Mydland", not "Midland"...I hate to correct anyone's spelling, but for a self proclaimed Deadhead one *should* be able to properly spell these things...not to mention "Looser" is a word and is naturally pronounced and defined differently than "Loser"And what does the energy of the band have to do with my response to *your* initial statement? YOU: "lead guitarists are supposed to be misunderstood and rebellious. It's a team captain thing, son." ME: ".....Perhaps you should get on Motley Crue or Black Sabbath's message board...Not that of The Grateful Dead...Jerry and his message was clearly understood." My implication being the fact that Jerry (lead guitarist) and The Grateful Dead's overall message and vibe they had was pretty clear...the songs were and are open to interpretation but Jerry was pretty clear about his views and people understood him/that.... And I am from Fresno, CA...so you follow blonde teenage boys "anywhere"....hmmmm..disturbing would be an understatement. "In a bed, in a bed, by the waterside I will lay my head. Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul."

You like the Merry Pranksters? My Uncle Dan Fincher is in the other room right now making a recording. He's played with Hendrix, B.B. King . . . he knows everybody in the music business today and lives in Oregon where weed is legal and he lives near some original Merry Pranksters. He can see 'em any time he wants to. Geez - got any questions you want me to ask Danny while we're ripping bongs later this evening? Lots of Deadheads in Oregon btw . . . it's pretty safe and good there except there's still some Crips and Bloods activity. F.Y.I. my brotha. Yo . .. you sure you Deadheads don't want to listen to a SINGLE NOTE of my music?

with you on that bro, you are either on or off, and even you made a stop in between your ticket is good forever, catch you at the next stop, hahahahahaha. further baby yea.

I went to my first Jerry Garcia concert on 10/24/75. The Dead weren't touring then and when I bought tickets to hear Jerry again on 4/1/76, rumors were circulating that perhaps this was to be a Grateful Dead show. It turned out that Keith and Donna played on that date, but the rest of the band was hanging at home. But in June, the Dead began to tour and I bought tickets for the July 2nd show at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, NJ. I'd been to the stadium before. It was an old, broken down piece of concrete that held maybe 30,000 or so people. Being as the show was scheduled for just two days before the big Bi-Centennial celebration, I figured this would be one for the ages. It would also be my first Grateful Dead show. But as luck would have it, it rained on Friday, July 2nd and instead of taking place the following night, as the ticket promised, the show was postponed until August 4th. All good things come to those who wait though. On August 4th, with the sun just starting to set behind the stage, the Dead came out and launched into Sugaree. There's a great video of this song that circulates and I can tell you that everyone was as happy to be at this long-awaited show, as the few folks on screen appear to be. I remember literally laughing out loud when the show started, I was so excited to be there. Big River (which has never been a favorite of mine) was especially good, as was The Music Never Stopped. And I was really pumped to hear the band end the first set with Scarlet Begonias. At the Intermission, I hung out in the field area with a couple of heads I'd met, going over the first set. We had agreed that it had been much better than we'd expected when we were interrupted by a lot of noise coming from the stage. A magician/juggling act was up there, blowing folks away. Fireworks were to follow too, as this had originally been planned as the Bi-Centennial show. The second set opened with Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower > Dancing In The Street > The Wheel > Samson And Delilah. I was right down front for all of it and recall being completely overwhelmed at hearing The Wheel. It was the one song I'd wanted to hear the most when I arrived that night. The singing was particularly good and I had to admit that Donna more than held her own. I went back to where my group of friends was sitting in the stands for the rest of the show. The guy sitting next to me (an old childhood friend) tossed a couple joints to people in front of us as the band started playing Sugar Magnolia. That was his favorite tune and they wailed on it for over eleven minutes! We got a Johnny B. Goode encore and the show was over. What struck me the most about the whole night was that I'd tapped into a community of strangers who were as passionate about something as I'd ever seen. Yeah, the Dead were a great rock 'n roll band, but there was something else going on and I wanted to find out what it was. I was on the bus and it was heading out of town, with me on board. "When it comes to humility, I'm the greatest!" - Bullwinkle Moose

I grew up--or perhaps failed to grow up--in Santa Fe, NM in the late '70s-early '80s. In middle school, a friend became fanatical about the Dead, but I hadn't heard much--I'd already abandoned commercial radio for NPR, and only heard tracks from "Go To Heaven" around school. Then three events over a couple of years:1. My dad owned a portable hot-tub business--we had a huge wooden hot-tub on a trailer and we'd deliver it to people's homes for a weekend for a flat $100 fee (remember, this was 1979). At one house we were invited to stay for the party. Walking through the house as the party started, there was an absurdly beautiful woman dancing alone in the middle of a persian rug to "Uncle John's Band." Entranced, I stayed and watched and listened and the music entered my soul. 2. Bobby and the Midnights played Santa Fe at a very small, acoustically perfect venue, the Paolo Soleri Amphitheatre. Two summers in a row, I saw that show--the last one ending with the audience so enraptured that they stood and demanded encore after encore, even after the house lights were on, and the crew was sweeping the stage. 3. The Dead played Santa Fe at the Santa Fe Downs racetrack, 10/17/82. My parents (God bless, they were (and are) wonderfully weird) borrowed my school's bus and took my classmates and me to see the show. They got box seats, we all stood 40 feet from the stage, dead center, and discovered the beauty of religious experience through Dead music. Though I'm not the most active deadhead in the world, I've had at least one foot and both ears on the bus ever since. Now if only they'd come back to Santa Fe...

has to be cleared. The song is about the Stones hired the ha to take care of security by GD recommendation. What finally was not. Enjoy the music and share the LOVE!

DUDE, GO ON A PICNIC OR A LONG WALKMaybe phish has a post board you can jump on to. "You can never stop learning," Phatmoye

I LOVE YOU MAN!"You can never stop learning," Phatmoye

I feel much better after working out with a friend. Besides, he has really nice pecs. Deadheads are starting to respond to my posts. I even got a private message. As things improve so does my mood. It's physics as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I have some negative vibes. However, I'm not the origin of these vibes so if you really want to nip it in the bud, you have to go deeper. I think I may even get a head or two to listen to my interpretation of the Dead's songs. Suddenly I've got an urge to go to Hawaii and play for Hawaii Deadheads. My Grandpa (Bill Fincher) uesed to go there with my German grandma (she played bass) and they jammed out for folks. That would be cool. I wonder if I would do some diving and paint some designs for ties just like Jerry did if I was in Hawaii? Sometimes the Jerry similarity in my personality disturbs even ME. It sure is wierd. Must be the acid, man.

My Dad is a semi-fameous guitarist so . . . when folks listen to me play and remark positively about my skill . . . I usually just let it go and don't tell them the TRUE STORY of how I learned how to play guitar. In reality my Dad never taught me a thing. Geez - it's almost like I went into the woods and had a bunch of fairies from the Other World teach me the scales and stuff for their own trippy purpouses. I've learned to omit a lot. I don't lie - but when I tell the truth like God is supposed to want me to people don't understand or think I'm making stuff up. I really ain't. My life is wiiiiierd dude. Peace, -E

Vibes are changin up for the better Parcher. Peace be with you. Hawaii sounds nice rite about now."You can never stop learning," Phatmoye

Let's not get Jesus freak here - heaven could mean another plane of existance or just about anything. After reading a very interesting article in, "Rolling Stone" I always pictured him in Hawaii painting with a funny hat and a robe-like shirt . . . making a savage slash with the brush just as some waves come crashing up against the rocks and the spray almost hits him . . . even though he's safe from the surf up on the cliff he's on. The cliff has grass and flowers and it's a majestic sky - with signifigant clouds just on the verge of darkening into rain clouds . . . If only we could see what Jerry is painting on his canvas . . .

Hell yeah. Nothing like having young people around you to cheer you up and lift the spirits. I think I'll try and score a hug this afternoon.

It was the summer of 89 and I had just finished my sophmore year in high school. I was at home just getting ready to have some lunch when my dad's friend Greg came over and said "I got you guys some Grateful Dead tickets for deer creek" . I was like oh boy great can I get some acid there. Typical teenager I guess. Well the day of the show finally arrived and we get to Deer creek at about 1pm and the place was already gettin crazy. As we were walking around the lot we saw some guy puffin on a bong so we went over and sat down next to him. We fired up some of our Indiana stank bud and he was pleased. After a few minutes we asked him about some doses and he was like "oh ok" and pulled out some blue unicorns (Remember those?). I bought 5 of them for a buck a piece. I was so stoked and couldnt believe that I just paid a buck a hit. Shortly after that as we were just sitting next to the van a couple of cops and security guards tap my dad on the shoulder and say "Just put it out on the ground" . Well needless to say the hippie dude freaks out and starts dumping his nugs onto the ground. The cops says "na man you dont have to dump it out, just dont let us see ya smokin it" . The dude starts putting his buds back into the bag and the cops just stroll away. We were like did that just really happen?? I proceeded to take 3 doses and we all got up and started walking around. Not much more to say but I was so on the bus after the show.

I miss those. I think I had 2 sheets of them once. I took 4 and got into lotus position at the beach and was peaking watching the waves roll over me as I sat on the wet sand just below the surf. I felt like that dude from, "Stranger in a Strange Land". Pretty intense. I then played guitar with Liquid Lacy on the boardwalk and soon we had a wall of flesh around us. All the cops saw whenever they rolled up was people's backs. I was working on my fameous rendition of, "Franklin's Tower" even back then. They rhythm sort of took over as the sky pulsed and the tide started going backwards. Lacy had glowing gold spheres circling around his head and our music made the ground vibrate.

Yeah - that immage helped me through some tough times. I would picture that majestic face serene and calm and my troubles would melt away and disintegrate into tie dye swirls. I really think Jerry was trying to get folks to give stoners a break. Bridging the gap between Yuppies and Deadheads. Yuppies can be pretty trippy - and they love to drink wine!! We all love to trip out on nature and be creative. It's just that some are more creative than most, that's all.

i met my college room mate at freshman orientation & he had a steal your face sewn on the back of his jean jacket.. & had a couple of friends who had just finished their freshman year of college & had started to turn me on, but once my first day of college arrived & i heard birdsong i was on board... 9 months later (june 26, 1988) i saw my first show...

I first heard Truckin when I was in high school and that was the only dead song I knew for a long time and I really liked it. I heard Touch of grey later when they did the (1987) video. I wasn't really hooked until I attended my first Dead show of 92 in Vegas. I knew from that point on I wanted to see them as many times as I could and get my hands on any bootlegs that I could. Little did I know that I was going to be an adventure like Ive never been on before.

I found the dead purely by accident, a punk with multi colored hair until i entered into the military. Came home got a job and boy was that security gaurd cute. took me to a hockey game and played scratchy dead tapes all the way there. I kept thinking what is this crap. By the second date I was hooked. In fact I was so hooked, that I listened to my first show on the radio, back when they used to play the new years shows on the radio. Had no idea what I was in for. I slept over night for the tickets and drove to the lot the night before my first show july 89 and never looked back, I don't know if it was the drum circles or the food or the people or that feeling of belonging or the strawberry pancakes in the morning before the show or just the kindness. I was soooooo into it I drove all the way to Giants stadium non stop just to experience one more time less than 24 hours after my first show. 20 years later I have the same butterflies as I pull out the old stuff that has been boxed up for the last few years and prep for tour. I have never gotten off the bus, time just marches on faster that I can and leaves none for slowing down to listen to the music play

Generally, it was hearing their WB albums and seeing The Grateful Dead Movie. Oh yeah, and one of the New Year's concerts in which "Hell in a Bucket" just steadily blew me away. Big time. Unfortunately, I was never able to see the Dead in concert. Came this close sometimes, but something always seemed to happen and the tickets never came through. Did get to see the '94 Floyd tour, though. 11th row on the floor, dead in front of David Gilmour. When the fireballs erupted, I just basked in the heat, since I'd given my flannel shirt to a friend so she could cover up. Gets cold up in Birmingham at night.

26 years ago today, in fact, at this very hour 3 PM, I at 19 arrived in Richmond VA with a general admission ticket to see the Dead at the Richmond Coliseum. This was about the 8th show I had ever seen and it was different because I was brave enough to go the show with quite casual friends, In effect, this was truly my first Dead show basically alone. The weather was a day very much like today. Fall in the south, crispy bright sunlight, upper 70s, to cool down to upper 50s on the overnight. These were the days of Dead shows where the floor was all general admission and they were never sold out. Anyway, I do not remember much of the pre-concert festivities, I do remember that the party materials were awesome. The Show I remember the inner joy when the lights went down and the band took the stage…..I was on the floor near the sound board in front of the tapers……The band tuned up for what seemed like an eternity….a full 2 minutes of tuning….endless…..then broke into a seriously musically intense Song 1 Feel Like A Stranger…..Jerry’s jam at the end showed he was seriously on tonight and I remember him teasing us with a few Franklin’s Tower licks…..then, another long tuning and I moved closer to the stage….the folks that had crowded up dissipated some……Song 2 Friend of the Devil, a crowd pleaser but not my favorite….slow song that doesn’t match my buzz….The jam was long and mellow…..more people left the floor in front of me so I moved ever closer….by now perhaps half the floor from the stage….Jerry-side…..Song 3 New Minglewood Blues…..body rush, great song, tight band, great smoking version….it was an on music night……I danced my way closer…..from Minglewood…into Song 4 BROWN EYED WOMEN….one of the best songs ever….closer and closer I danced up…..at this point I was 10 or 15 feet from Jerry and mesmerized……..I had plenty of room, owing to the huge barf splat and a naked dude dancing to left of me….no matter, I had the Dead and I was so dancing with glee….and Jerry and I made eye contact….my first direct eye contact….Jerry - such a nice person…..Song 5 Cassidy...yay…Song 6 West LA Fadeaway….Song 7 Hell in a Bucket….at this tour both songs were brand spanking new…..finally Song 8 DEAL….a great version, great first set…… Set 2….after a lot of dithering and tuning….Jerry, obviously playfully annoyed with Bobby, who Jerry wanted to pick the song and Bobby didn’t….breaks into a set opening Day Job….odd but true…..then…..and I say then with incredibly body rushes as I type this…into Playin in the Band – Jam – Crazy Fingers…..this was and remains one of the best 80s dead playing in the band jams…..and crazy fingers…..”something new is waiting to be born”…..drums…space….s smoking Truckin out of space….incredible Spoonful….Wharf Rat….again me, maybe 4 or 5 people deep directly in front of Jerry….mega eye contact….into the continuation of the Bobby play fight…Jerry starts Sugar Magnolia….then Bobby changes it to Good Lovin!.....”you may be weak you may be blind…but even a blind man knows when the sun is shining….cuz he can FEEL IT….”……oooooo got to have lovin! US Blues encore….and me from this moment on a forever Dead head. This show, this day, changed my life. God Bless the good old Grateful Dead.

wow all i can say was back right after harvest in 73 ish...i went to Winterland as i always did .. i think it was a three or a five day run,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but that did it

I had a deja vous which began earlier that afternoon and kept recurring. The mini-journey into Red Rocks is quite trippy...like another land...I knew I was walking into a time standing still zone and just kind of went with that. I was with my sis so it felt like home. Linda Ronstadt was playing before they went on and somewhere in that space I entered the bus stop zone. Flash forward to today and all the miles inbetween...think being on the bus is the moment when you can completely show up as yourself and vibrate freely with the perfect c and g sound that's in everything. They have that sound going on..that gift, so it's really when you are able and ready to tune in to the offering...

Ever since I was in my mothers womb i was a complete dead head. From the night my mom found out she was pregnant up until she went into labor my dad would play the dead to her stomach every night, not missing a night. It's in my blood and bones I feel I was developed by the grateful dead. My first show (i remember vividly, not including shows of a young girl) was absolutly amazing. It was at the Gorge Ampitheatre and I had never felt so right in my entire life. Just amazing. All people reading this would probably agree The Dead isn't just music, it's a way of life that just moves you so deeply. To just dance under the stars, and feeling as free as I felt that night words can't even explain It's my way of life, I live for the music, and it's the best!

My first show was at RFK in June of 1993. I was 14 years old. It really opened my mind to the Grateful Dead's music. I didn't know any of their songs. I was there with my Dad, my brother and my best friend at the time. We saw everyone jumping over the gates to get down on the feild. I figured it was a once in a life time chance, so I grabbed my best friend by the hand and we ran down to the feild! Sting was playing at the time. We made our way up the field and found a good spot to stand! Everyone was dancing to the music and so were we. We liked "Uncle John's Band" the best because of the line "How does the song go" ... we could relate! Ever since that show I have loved the Grateful Dead! Since then I have been listening to their music and in 1998 when I was 19 years old I hit the road with the Further Festival! The Grateful Dead has brought me so much joy, peace and happiness! I hope to keep touring as much as I can! Thank you!

My father was responsible for my interest in music, and more specifically, my journey with the Grateful Dead. A little background: after a brief obsession with 80's metal, I moved on to classic rock throughout high school. The Doors, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix were my preferred sounds at the time. The Grateful Dead were very much under my radar except for the typical top hits overplayed on corporate radio stations. One day it finally clicked for me. I was on a road trip with my dad and the Grateful Dead Hour came on the local public radio station. We were just flipping through channels so it wasn't like this encounter with this program was planned at all. Playing In the Band was the song at that moment. I never caught the date of that particular performance but my recollection of it tells me it must have been an early version, guessing '72 cause it went WAY far out. As I listened to this music something in me turned on. This was the music I had been waiting for! I was completely enthralled, and I HAD to get my hands on more of this stuff. Sidenote:It is hard to pinpoint why this music hit me as hard as it did. I like to attribute it to the fact my dad introduced me to improvisational music early on (mostly blues and jazz). I recall dancing to fusion jazz (Miles Davis, Weather Report) when I was very little. Anyway, on that same trip with my father, we went to a record store and I immediately went to the Grateful Dead section. I pulled out two cassette tapes: Blues for Allah (because I loved the artwork), and Two From the Vault (because I recognized the stealie). I brought my tapes to the counter and amazingly, the cashier was a Deadhead. He was very excited I was getting these particular tapes and proceeded to point out the gems on each (Franklin's Tower, Crazy Fingers, Morning Dew, Dark Star...) I guess the rest, for me, is history. This band has seen me through every peak and valley in my life. I was fortunate enough to see Jerry one time- second night of three in Salt Lake City 1995 (thanks again dad!) Although things at that time were not the best they had been for Jerry and the band, I was forever a deadhead. That year I graduated from high school and had plans to go on tour for a year before I went to college. Unfortunately, we all know how 1995 turned out. In any case, that one radio program led to something nearly indescribable. The relationship I have to this music is intimate. It is in my very soul and I live day to day on its underlying principles. Above all, along countless peaks and valleys, this one thing has remained true and I am ever so Grateful I got on the bus :)

hi guys, my favourite band for a long time has been mewithouYou, they are from Philidelphia. great music. anyway, they had never come out to Australia until a couple of years back they got a small stage at one of our music festivals. it was such a beautiful night, people were crying, people were singing together, laughing. they decided to do a cover of ripple and before they did the lead singer told us to listen to Grateful Dead if we didn't already and went to talk about garcia's lyrics. the name seemed familiar to me but i couldn't remember if had heard the dead before, maybe my mother showed me. anyway when he started playing ripple that was it. it was one of those moments when the music really speaks to you. i went straight home to find out anything i could about them. and last year my wife came back from a trip to melbourne with a second double lp best of. it's not in the best condition but it still sounds great. i would like to buy one of the boxsets when i get some cash. they really do make great music. and it makes me feel happy to know that there is such a large community of deadicated fans. would love to meet some you. but i live in brisbane, QLD, Australia. thinking about travelling round USA next january though. -Dana William Ashford

I came to the Dead late... 1984. Canada's Wonderland... and it was. June 21st. 1984. Grad form High School that same day. Summer Solstice. The Band opening for the Dead... WOW. Looking for old buds who went with me to this show. Dave C. from T.O. Whos out there...

brought me to eugenbe 8/28/88. loved cray and was a birthday present to go see him. oh ya and also jimmy cliff and the grateful dead who both i knew of and heard acouple of songs by both. robert was great, jimmy very energetic. the scene on the lot were my type of ppl. BUT when the dead played! magical. i was dancing, everyone was dancing! and i was singing words to songs i didnt know. i got highjacked by the bus and its been a wonderful ride! :)

Growing up my Uncle Mickey would let me borrow his Terrapin Station and Workingman's Dead albums and I would listen to them over and over. He started seeing them at Englishtown in 77 and I can remember him going up to MSG and down to the Cap Center. I kept nagging my mom to let me go, but her response was always the same "I know what going on at those Grateful Dead shows". Once I got to college I headed up to the Spectrum and caught 3 out of 4 nights and I was hooked. I knew there something special going on!!! After a few outer body experiences at the Pitts. Civic Arena and JFK back in Philly, I was lucky enough to go down to a mecca in Hampton Va for the two Warlock shows. I knew then that there was no looking back from there!!!! Nassau with Branford was another night that reconfirmed that I was with my kinda of people listening to my kinda music. It a been a beautiful ride so far and I'll keep coming back!!!!

I had met some new friends (they were a family three sisters and a brother) at school, and they had just moved up from Los Angeles. They invited me to come along with them to a show. My younger brother always was playing Grateful Dead records early in the morning so I thought that since I was somewhat familiar with their music, it would be interesting to go with them. Boy was I in for a treat. It was a bonbon of epic proportions. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that my life was about to drastically change forever. I felt so at home, the music hit such a nerve in my soul and could make my mind and body feel so grand. I never ever felt anything like it in my life. I loved seeing everyone dancing together and when a song would start, people knew the names of the songs within notes of them playing them. I noticed people writing the songs down on paper. It really struck my curiosity for they were so into them with such passion. I look back now, and I would have never have imagined that going out to hear a rock band was actually taking a part in some real American musical history. I feel so blessed to be a part of it. I was a fan from my first show and I loved going to hear Jerry play at the Keystones and the Stone often. My first ride on the bus was certainly a doohickey of a ride and I would never take it back it I had to in a million years. I am eternally grateful.. Oh and by the way I want to thank you for a real good time. Jesus paid for our sins, let's get our $$$ worth.

So some friends to a group of us to the see the Dead. We were all a bunch of dedicated pot smokers, having graduated from HS at the time of protests over the war, women's rights, civil rights, we were pretty alienated from "normal" society and trying to find our way in this stupid world. Nobody was normal that I knew, but being from the mostly white, safe suburbs we didn't have anything to really replace our "normalcy" with other than smoking pot and not feeling connected to anything. The whole world was mad, but there was no sane island. The show itself was indeed mad, the energy was almost visible, the crowd was like a bubbling, frothing sea of arms a flapping, bodies jumping, hair a flying. We were off to the far right, in a slightly elevated area where we could see. I can't remember anything of the music itself, just the energy and interplay of the crowd and band, it seemed like the band was sweeping the crowd with waves of music and the crowd would respond by breaking upon the shore of the music, it was too powerful and mysterious to fathom or absorb. Months later I was alone at my friends, smoking again, and found "Live Dead". I must have listened to that album all night, over and over, I certainly got it, the first so many chords of that Dark Star will forever be apart of my DNA of the neural pathways to rebalance and transcend all BS of the "normal" world. So I'll always look upon the music and the scene as a personal experience of awakening, and wonder if it's the same or similar for others? Even now when I attend a show I'm lost in a near trance like deep space of thought that goes out and out...

I'd been into the music in my own little world for years but had not made it to a show until the Dead came to Deer Ck (Noblesville) in 2004. I dragged my wife along and had an amazing time! Walking about before the show, people were so friendly and nice. Always offering a handshake, a beer, or more. I'd been to "alternative" festivals before (Lollapalooza, Warped, etc) and people were always so angry... fights, cliques, etc. But here it was like seeing old friends we'd never met before. So we walked about taking it all in. Finally we went in. As we took our seats and the show began, I noticed all the different types of people there, grooving together. Behind us sat this cute older couple (grandpa aged). He in his overalls, she in her gardening hat, both in home made tie-dyes. Beside us sat parents and their 3 children. I thought, where else can you get so many generations together and have them all get along so harmoniously? It was really an awesome thing. Then, as the music began and everyone started grooving in their own way, I saw how a bunch of individuals became also one, and how the band too became part of that one. It was magical. Anyway, after that, I was hooked. Tried to see them when I can. They don't come through Indiana much anymore but when they do, I go. And, I am trying to teach my kids to follow the path as well. -Dave

Just got really hard into all this a couple of years ago, despite living in the bay area for years and 20+ years in the retail music biz.

Was fooling around wasting time not going in any direction.Met 2 smoking pals was high one night some one put on deadset and the void was filled this was what id been looking for there it was right there and id stopped searching as well. The music never stopped.