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    marye
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    So twice in the last week I've gotten into conversations with folks who were pretty intense Deadheads back in the day, and their general drift was look, the band no longer exists, they haven't played for 12 years. It is so Over. Get on with your life. Which, of course, is a perfectly reasonable point of view. And yet, here we are. And "we" includes people who never saw the band in the first place but definitely consider themselves on the bus now. So what's up with this? Why are we here? Discuss...

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  • Erica Evans
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    the memory remains ...
    I have to say, I think about this a lot. For me "The Dead" died the day Jerry did. I was always a Jerry side girl from my first show in 1981 to my last in 1995. That was my tenure. I just can't envision Bobby doing Jerry tunes. But this is me, and for me there is no Dead without Jerry. Sure there are other members, and other bands. But Jerry was such an integral part since day one. For me he was the heart and soul. Does that mean I don't love Bobby and Phil and Mickey and Bill too? Course not. So, for me, The Dead, the band is over. But for anyone who can still go see a show and feel the magic that was in my blood for 14 years, I say power to you brothers and sisters, because that was my life force. and I know the joy it brings. Now I have a house and a mortgage, and a job in corporate america, and many would say i sold out to the man. But I am still happy. And my heart still soars when I d/l a show to my mp3 player, and pop the ear buds in at my desk, and crunch my numbers in my spreadsheet; my soul is still in the same place it was at those shows oh so many years ago. I think that's part of the magic. That it lives on. I don't think there's any getting over it. Life is change. Things evolve and morph very often to our own greatest surprise. But the music and the memory and the magic remains. A part of me will always be on the bus. And my heart will always belong to Jerry.
  • Offbeat-Andy
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    ONE LOVE
    As I sit and read everyone's posts, I've come to the conclusion that everyone is still grieving in one way or another. Some people are angry over the loss, while others look back and fondly remember the "Good Old Days" We have a responsibility to move on and bring that universal message of "One Love" to the masses, no matter what we are listening to now. After all the music is what brought us together, but the ideals, beliefs & friendships that we discovered at the shows are what kept us together then and is keeping us together now. To all those who say "move on" just because the band is no more, I ask this one question WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? Maybe it's more than just the band, maybe it's the community we all made. The freaks, vendors, twirlers, trippers & potheads showed the world what was possible. So let your freak flag fly, because the world we live in now needs all the help it can get.
  • archure
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    Saw a cool Deadhead today at the Vegas Airport
    While waiting for my girlfriend to arrive (back from a computer confrence in KY, stardate: 2007.06.22..10:00am aprox), waiting in the Delta baggage area of the Vegas airport (the big one), I saw this guy with thick black hair, cressent bangs, with a multi-color grateful bears beads, kind of thing, and I thought that was cool, I want some bear beads too.- So regarding the question: Are Dead Heads just living in the past? Is it time to move on? Living in the past, living in the future, lving right now, gotta keep on truckin. When I was 14 in 1967 in Mendocino CA, I was cool and had long hair, but some of these other people had hairstyles from the 1950's (kind of old fashioned), so square. - An Anthropological perspective: people 10,000 years back wore cool beads, and were cool people (some were, some did). Always been hip people. Your just lucky to be you. - Music for the New Millennium by ARCHURE reg tmrk www.archure.net
  • SPACEBROTHER
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    Nothin' About It
    The Grateful Dead will outlive everyone here regardless of what a few people say. I also thoroughly enjoy the post Dead band member projects. Bach has been dead for 257+ years and people still listen to his music performed by musicians who never met the guy. Beethovin has been dead for 173+ years and same thing. Jimi Hendrix dead for 37 years. Zappa for 14+ years. The list of names go on and my point is that the Dead scene has never died. It's alive and well. The entity known as The Grateful Dead were only one part of this ride and the ride will continue. I say that if somebody says time to move on because Jerry id dead, they should also tell The London Symphoy Orchestra or The Boston Pops to move on to. Oh wait, they still perform music from guys who died hundreds of years ago and still turn on new fans.
  • jakmac1
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    MY GOOF ....music AFTER
    MY GOOF ....music AFTER 8-9-95
  • jakmac1
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    MARYE - You stirred up a hornets with this topic
    If you read all the comments,there is a current that runs through it all. I think we all agree that the Grateful Dead spirit lives on and always will.The sense of family was our core. We always took care of each other,those that had helped those who didn't.All of you have to admit that when you run into a Deadhead you feel an instant connection. The MUSIC is timeless. Hal R said it better that anyone ..."The music is the soundtrack of my life" This where the argument starts. I have hundreds and hundreds of songs from albums,CD's,dowloads and wherever that I listen to over and over. Sadly,I have no interest in music prior to 8 - 9 - 95. The summer nostalgia bands- The Other Ones/The Dead- were a joke. Different line-ups every yr,no winter tours,no totally new music.Just a bunch of guys rehashing the same shit.The Dead spirit and 30yrs of damn good music is ALIVE.
  • jakmac1
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    THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG
    To get more info on the JG celebration go to ...jerryday.org . Take care my friends
  • jakmac1
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    FYI For Bay Area Deadheads
    Aug. 5th,2007 --- At McLaren Park [JG's childhood park] there will be a celebration of Jerrys life and music. A day in honor of a local kid who grew up to have an incredible impact on our lives. It is scheduled to start at Noon. I'm not hooked up with the people putting this together but when I get their web address I'll post it here. The Dead "spirit" lives,so lets get together to sing and dance.
  • brazilhead
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    Get over it?
    Oh yeah, like I haven´t tried that. The problem is... The wheel is turning and you can't slow down You can't let go and you can't hold on You can't go back and you can't stand still If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will
  • shipoffools
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    I'm still a Dead junkie
    I've been catching shows since 80, and when the Dead were not touring I was catching dead cover bands. I still go to see Bobby and Ratdog & Phil Lesh and Freinds, I went to Terrapin Station in Alpine Valley. I have been going to Zen Trickster shows since they were the Volunteers playing Crawdaddy's and the Right Track In. DSO are so much fun as well I love to see them. I miss Jerry. I'm thankful the music he and the boys created is still there for the taking. Some say their moving on & I say ok have fun.
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So twice in the last week I've gotten into conversations with folks who were pretty intense Deadheads back in the day, and their general drift was look, the band no longer exists, they haven't played for 12 years. It is so Over. Get on with your life. Which, of course, is a perfectly reasonable point of view. And yet, here we are. And "we" includes people who never saw the band in the first place but definitely consider themselves on the bus now. So what's up with this? Why are we here? Discuss...
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There's nothing wrong with being proud of, or preferring the music of your younger days. In fact, most of the music of the '60s-'70s-early '80's was better than most of the music of the last 20 years. But when I do hear something I like, like Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, or some other good stuff on Austin City Limits, it makes me especially enthusiastic and hopeful for the future. I wouldn't call being hooked-in to a lot of the popular music of the moment a critical asset!
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It's All Over Now? I beg to differ. If you have been to see Furthur then you know the boys in the band are still out there. In fact, they are again starting up a whole new interest from younger folks in their 20s and 30s who missed out on all the fun back "in the day." Mickey & Billy are out there somewhere on the road, with their various pick-up bands and projects also. But they seem a bit more transient as they forever shift between various line-ups. Of course, it is all over now as far as Letting The Good Times Roll and mass experiments in consciousness-raising. That is over now. Jerry passed and maybe it was time for the experiment to end. Which isn't to say that you can't do some exploring of inner space on your own. i find it fantastic to see the wide and diverse array that the deadheads have become. It is so over now and yet it is not. Clear, some have not gone Furthur enough and are still pushing their trips to the edge. Bravo Brothers & Sisters! We will survive. In fact we have survived and are thriving. So get over it, you who are "it's so over!"!
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as the lyricists said back in the day, new ones coming as the old ones go. Or, the future's here, we are it, we are on our own. I mean, just the other day my godson the college student was pointing his parents' Deadhead pals to his latest digitally remixed rendition of Speedway. The music has worked its way into all kinds of corners of life, and the four surviving guys seem to keep finding interesting stuff to do, and people keep finding it interesting enough to follow. Meanwhile, new people keep discovering the old stuff, too. It's good to be along for the ride, or portions thereof.
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...cause I consider myself a bigger DH now than what I was from 89-95. It's sad but back then I thought being a deadhead mean't wearing tie-dyes and patchoulie and being stoned out of my fucking skull all the time. Of course I was between 17 and 25 at the time so perhaps I can be forgiven. Now being a deadhead means just listening to good music and to keep trying to be a good/kind person. I don't have the time to go on tour with Furthur or whoever else. I don't wear tie-dyes or get stoned anymore. And life is grand.
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until something more formal comes along:http://www.jambands.com/news/2012/02/13/bob-weir-warren-haynes-chris-robinson-jackie-greene-and-more-will-help-phil-lesh-open-terrapin-crossroads/ Published: 2012/02/13 Bob Weir, Warren Haynes, Chris Robinson, Jackie Greene and More Will Help Phil Lesh Open Terrapin Crossroads Phil Lesh has confirmed the opening run of shows at his new venue and restaurant Terrapin Crossroads. Lesh will perform in a number of different configurations throughout March and April, including gigs with Bob Weir, Jackie Greene, Chris Robinson, Jimmy Herring, Jaz Sawyer, Jeff Chimenti, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams and Warren Haynes......
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I missed the P& F webcast last night, but here's the setlist: Althea Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain Saint Stephen > Layla Cryptical Envelopment -> Magic Bus -> The Other One > I Know You Rider E: Unbroken Chain GDTRFB
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the music is what keeps it from being over. example jim morrison died in 1971, but the bands popularity with younger fans(im 20 so im in that boat as well) never went away. i love the dead, and so do most of my friends. so it aint over and it will not be over. flower children are still everywhere. plus lets not forget we have bands like phish too.
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Interesting. Life after Dead. Never posted here. The Grateful Dead is Still Rocking and Jamming. It just has different letters in Its' name now. Oh and a number too. Nothings changed. Life after Dead well I will let you know when we get there, if I am here then. Tomorrow Never Knows. I love you, all. It's still true.
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its quaint that sometimes i hear whispered in the background you know she used to be a dh just because i dont run around in tie dyes and the hipster hippy attire or pack my bags at a drop of the hat to play vagabond for a couple months. its assumedthat the dead is part of my past only something i used to do,but that is further from the truth, seeing shows and going on tour was only part of the picture the music was and is the mainstay, and although ill not see jerry again it doesnt stop the music nor creativity that is and will be immortal bliss what ended was just the bizarre sideshow tours became near the end when shakedown street became more like a dirty boulevard., after 92 it actually started to be a scary world out there and touring lost its appeal. my only regret was that i didnt go to more shows in the last years but made up for it,since then by seeing alot more of bob phil and mickey and many other great preformers and smile everytime something new comes on the radio that i can put my finger on and say wow you can hear the dead influence in that song. btw my favorite is a jerry tune only heard preformed live once in all my tours that u robert hunter for making it possible.and jerry for belting it out that night, and know what i found the keys to the rain afterall.the dead wasnt a lifestyle for me it was a journey and lordy be it was a long strange trip.with many roads still left to go.
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Hermann Hesse wrote a book titled Journey to the East, the theme of which is that while we are active participants in something we feel it is vibrant and happening but once we drop out of the thing we feel it has stopped for everyone, no matter if it remains as active and progressive for all other participants. Seems to be universal, in my experience.
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The time go? I remember being in the parking lot of a show reading a letter from the band with the usual stuff about people without tickets. The warning at the end was "When this stops ain't nothing going to bring it back." But then Jerry went to the limit and that seemed to effect the boys in the band quite a bit. I can imagine that they fely like they were in their prime as musicians and it would be a shame to break it up. Of course the name Grateful Dead was retired, as it should have been but the rest of the members of the band continued unabated. There was a period of a couple years of mourning but by 97' the Furthur Festival was back on tour as well as Ratdog and Phil & Friends shows and various side projects by the drummers. They drifted somewhat apart and to me,the closest they ever got to being back together was the 2002 Other Ones lineup that had Phil & Bruce returning with Baracco on lead. Mickey really stepped up to organize the playing and it was awesome. In 2002 the parking lot scene was still very reminiscent of a Dead show with very quality tie-dyes and other official and unofficial merch. out there. There wasn't the burnt edge of hard drugs being readily available among heads following the tour that became very evident in 2003-2004 as The Dead reunited. Then a few more years of going their separate ways and then one more tour as The Dead in 2009. Now we have Furthur for over three years thanks to Phil's transplant (Happy belated birthday Phil). The point is the scene had quality musicians and momentum and the musicians remaining seem to be willing to carry this body of music to their own deaths. And we can all remain around for the ride for as long or little as we like. Let the naysayers neg. on this one if they want. Jerry is gone along with the Grateful Dead but the music goes on and on and on and from this vantage point I see one or another of the boys carrying on for at least 5 more years. Dedication to The Heart Of Gold Band. You have to be Grateful
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They are out, both on MOFI, who are hot right, I am listening to MOFI's SACD of The ABB's "Brothers and Sisters", sounds so exquisite. They have now released "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty". Why isn't there a HDCD of "Mars Hotel" anywhere? Well,groovin' to "Jelly,Jelly"
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I've been reading in several news articles about a fan club pre sale on feb 9-11 but there's no information confirming that on the dead50 site or the gdtstoo site. I'm a member of several GD fan clubs but am not receiving any emails or info on a presale from them. Does anyone have more info? Thanks brothers and sisters, see you in chi town. Di
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◾Dead pre sale begins Feb 12th @ 10 a.m. CST via Dead Online Ticketing. Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required. Before checking out, all users must create an account after tickets are added and before completing the transaction.
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It not JUST about the shows,it's a way of life.It's about Peace,Love,Harmony,Music,Family,and telling those youngsters how it was and can be again.I'm 61,seen everybody from Areosmith to Z Z Top.I have played( drums) for fun & professionally.Most of the people I hang out with are 30-40 years younger than I am.I'm the "Old Hippie" that tells stories of huge gatherings of people from all walks of life to come and hear music and dance in the isles.That there was no black,brown,yellow or white there was only US a peaceful group of like minded individuals. I tell them we don't need no stinkin' guns.Spread the love,share the music,get involved,stand up against social injustice,Make A Difference.Pass those stories of awesome gathering and great shows on to the younger generation and have them pass it along.Is Hendrix,Janis, The Dead & Led Zeppelin still relevant? .........HELL YES Peace The Dude
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well, based on the phenomenal interest in Fare Thee Well before,during AND after both runs, I'd say this question is a bit premature. But if you're over it, that works for you. (the generalized "you" of course)
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It's safe to say FTW put a different aspect on things...
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....don't hear her singing yet..... that's just Donna ;-)
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Howdy folks, Been a .com member for a long time, but never had much to say...until Fare The Well. Put out for ppv for the first time for the last concert. Best 50 bucks I ever spent. It was profound for me. The Dead have been the sound track of my life since '65 and my wife and me from '72-'12. She would have liked this concert. Wait until November for the cd/dvd release? I'll never make it! Have some good video and instrument, but yet to find a good vocal video. The second set YouTube share of the complete second set from Zoe Alyse is the only video set I've found and the crowd sounds damp the vocals...like if you were there; the vibe is like live. Got the whole soundboard audio, no vid. YouTube is new to an old codger like me. Only Dead vids drew me in and then, not until I got a Roku Streaming Stick to access YouTube on my TV. High recommendation for a really inexpensive entertainment add-on. Just know you don't stream from your device to the TV, you get to access stuff you have "in the Cloud", which is pretty cool getting my Pandora and YouTube playlists played over good speakers and get that body feel and not just audio in my head. You can get me at rickpucko@yahoo.com also.
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I think not..for some maybe, but not me.September will be my third straight Lockn Music Festival in VA! Great fun Great vibes Great shows! Phil, Billy with their current bands this year...Bobby the last two as well. Also had the opportunity to meet and converse with Sam Cuttler (former band mgr) last year. Who knows what lies ahead unless you go furthur... Check out the 4 day schedule..so many great reasons to stay on the bus! iGrateful
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I never saw Jerry. I have a fear of buses and basically anything that resembles an "us". A friend tells me last December "Listen to an Althea" I was moved. Then I came here and found a beautiful family. I was blessed to be able to attend all 5 FTW shows. I was changed forever. Am I on the bus? Am I a Dead Head? I don't know but I am honored to share this earth with such a beautiful group of human beings.
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I have come to embrace the fact that the 'Grateful Dead' is an entity that lives on in all those incredible songs. They have an enduring quality that continues to have meaning for people. They really were Built To Last! Listening to Stu Allen rip it up at the last Jerry Day it occurred to me that Jerry's unique form of mind expanding guitar work could be thought of as a sort of spiritual or wisdom tradition wherein in a lineage of great guitar players could keep the music alive far into the future. I think any so called Head who has decided 'it's over' probably never really went to shows for the music anyway. Not that there weren't a thousand other good reasons to go, I guess. I can understand people not wanting to look back and there's a hell of a lot of great music out there to sustain them. Hey, each to their own.