Saturday, October 25, 2014

JGB at Vassar: it was not meant to be



It's tough being Jerry. He won a poll at Vassar about who students would most like to see, but "Garcia … was only available in the middle of the week. It was also rumored that Grateful Dead fans were notorious for destroying concert halls and that the chapel would suffer the same fate. Since the committee felt that a concert would not do well in the middle of the week, the idea of a Jerry Garcia concert was abandoned." Carroll, Homer. 1976. Knocks & Swipes: Concert Blundering II. Vassar Miscellany News, November 5, 1976, p. 7.

Palate Cleansers, etc.

Been soaking in some bluegrass, as research around Jerry but mostly just to listen to it. Cheesy collections that nonetheless bring together some amazing material:

Classic Bluegrass Collection (TimeLife, 2006)
Stanley Brothers Definitive Collection 1947-1966 (TimeLife, 2007)

I'd like to hear more Louvin Brothers, more of everything, of course.

I have also been spending time with Herbie Hancock (Empryean Isles, Maiden Voyage, Mwandishi - The Complete Warner Brothers Recordings, Headhunters, Thrust) and a weird grab bag of everything else under the sun.

This has been in lieu of Garcia listening, which is a fine thing, nice to just follow my ear, especially when it usually brings me back to the subject at hand with fresh ears.

Click the bluegrass tag to see my sadly illiterate but hopefully earnest engagements with this obviously crucial patch in the quilt.


Monday, October 06, 2014

gd1984-10-06.127557.set2.schoeps.oade.BCE.flac1648


https://archive.org/details/gd1984-10-06.127557.set2.schoeps.oade.BCE.flac1648

Spinning this now. Oade.

Garcia gave an interview to the Boston Globe guy around this time in which he sounds very happy and positive about the Dead. It's stunningly orthogonal to so much of the other stuff going on in his life around this time. But I love that the big fella could just plain have a great day and enthuse about his work life.

And why not? He's fronting one of the world's great live acts, a band that has Philip Chapman Lesh on the bass guitar, Bob Weir on rhythm, Bill Kreutzmann on drums, among others, playing stellar live rock and roll; playing songs written by Robert Hunter

It's good to count the blessings you have, when called to think and speak on what's happening.

The Scarlet -> Fire is a delight, and I have high hopes for the Playin' > China Doll that's coming down the pike.

Friday, October 03, 2014

Dirty Business


Jackson, Blair. 2014. Classic Track - New Riders of the Purple Sage, 'Dirty Business' Mix Online, January 1, 2014. URL
http://mixonline.com/classic-tracks/classic_track_-_new_riders_of_the_purple_sage_dirty_business/, accessed 10/3/2014.

I have had this in my "xfer-incoming" folder since it was published, still need to read it. It looks awesome. Note to self.