The Grateful Deadcast celebrates Bobby Weir’s 75th with the birthday boy himself, exploring Weir’s world with Don Was, Jeff Chimenti, members of the expanded Wolfpack, & orchestral collaborator Giancarlo Aquilanti.
Bobby 75 supplementary notes
by Jesse Jarnow
Bobby Weir turned 75 this October, which is just about one of the darndest things we’ve ever heard, so we’re just gonna have to trust science on this one. But he’s got a lot on his plate, as pretty much always, including a full slate of tour dates with the Wolf Bros. this fall, Dead & Co. next year, and more symphony gigs to come.
The always-formidable Grateful Dead Guide blog sorted through the different news accounts of the Dead’s March 1970 performance with Lukas Foss and the Buffalo Philharmonic.
Three new albums document the evolving Wolf Bros. & Wolfpack crew, including Live In Colorado, and Live In Colorado: Volume 2. And coming in January is Ace 50, featuring a live disc of the band performing the complete Ace in concert at Radio City Music Hall in April 2022.
David Gans and Blair Jackson have been keeping up with Weir and the other members of the Dead for a long time, and have graciously lent us audio for this episode from their 1981 Jerry Garcia interviews. Copies of Conversations With the Dead and This Is All A Dream We Dreamed are available via perfectible.net.
Comment
Giancarlo Aquilanti interview
Hi podcast gang!
I'm the Stanford Department of Music publicist and have talked to Giancarlo a number of times about Bob's orchestral project. I've just shared the Bobby 75 podcast on our Facebook page, as it is a great summary of the process that led to the Kennedy Center run of shows. I am wondering if it would be OK to use text quotes (not audio) from Giancarlo's interview in the Stanford Department of Music's publicity channels? If so, I'd appreciate feedback confirming that, and whatever crediting I should include.
Giancarlo walked me through the "Dark Star" score that was used with the Marin Symphony some years ago. More recently, I heard the MIDI simulation for his Overture, which is jam-packed with "secret Dead clues", and I was able to attend some closed rehearsals in January and August of this year that happened at Stanford with a student orchestra so that Bob and his guys could actually hear an orchestra onstage while they played. These were in some cases "cold reads" with no advance preparation for the orchestra — our Stanford kids and some community musicians did a tremendous job playing Giancarlo's orchestrations of songs such as China Cat/Rider and Lost Sailor/ Saint for the very first time with a full orchestra. Don Was looked visibly pleased!
We hope the eventual orchestra tour at some point can play at Frost Amphitheater, perhaps with our orchestra or the SF Symphony, which does a regular series at Frost each summer.
Thanks for your great series of podcasts!
William Keats
Hi podcast gang!
I'm the Stanford Department of Music publicist and have talked to Giancarlo a number of times about Bob's orchestral project. I've just shared the Bobby 75 podcast on our Facebook page, as it is a great summary of the process that led to the Kennedy Center run of shows. I am wondering if it would be OK to use text quotes (not audio) from Giancarlo's interview in the Stanford Department of Music's publicity channels? If so, I'd appreciate feedback confirming that, and whatever crediting I should include.
Giancarlo walked me through the "Dark Star" score that was used with the Marin Symphony some years ago. More recently, I heard the MIDI simulation for his Overture, which is jam-packed with "secret Dead clues", and I was able to attend some closed rehearsals in January and August of this year that happened at Stanford with a student orchestra so that Bob and his guys could actually hear an orchestra onstage while they played. These were in some cases "cold reads" with no advance preparation for the orchestra — our Stanford kids and some community musicians did a tremendous job playing Giancarlo's orchestrations of songs such as China Cat/Rider and Lost Sailor/ Saint for the very first time with a full orchestra. Don Was looked visibly pleased!
We hope the eventual orchestra tour at some point can play at Frost Amphitheater, perhaps with our orchestra or the SF Symphony, which does a regular series at Frost each summer.
Thanks for your great series of podcasts!
William Keats