November 24, 1968: Jam with Jefferson Airplane, Grande Ballroom, Detroit, MI (POSSIBLE)

In connection with another post that is taking me a long time to finalize, I have been looking at the various crossings of Garcia and the Jefferson Airplane. Among the many sources I have been using is Scott Abbot's JABase volume 3, available online at http://home.myfairpoint.net/srabbot/airplane/jabase.htm.

There, I find a listing for the Airplane doing two shows at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, MI on Thursday, November 24, 1968. Abbot notes a "jam with the Grateful Dead after the second show".

Deadlists shows a GD show on this date at the Hyde Park Teen Center in Cincinnati, OH. However,  Deadlists's own notes point to a flyer at http://cincinnati.com/blogs/eyeontheeastside/files/2011/05/thedead.jpg, which, if legitimate, indicates the Hyde Park Teen Center show was on 11/30. Both dates can be made sense of in terms of the GD itinerary, which has them at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago on Wednesday-Thursday 11/27-28/68 (where were they on Friday, 11/29/68?). The 11/24 Cinci gig would presumably have had to be in the afternoon, if it's accurate, and if the location of the GD in Detroit that night is to be believed. More likely, I think, is that the Cinci thing was on 11/30. This leaves the GD free between 11/23/68 in Athens, Ohio and 11/27/68 in Chicago.

Here are the mileages from Athens to Detroit (e.g., after 11/23), from Detroit to Chicago (e.g., after 11/24). The map also shows the distance Athens-Chicago.

So, they had a super-long drive from Athens to Chicago between 11/23/68 and 11/27/68, as well as the implied several free nights. Why the hell not pass through Detroit and jam with the Airplane? Check out the room in advance of their own billing the next week. Now, I note that this makes the 11/30/68 Teen Center thing seem less plausible -- why drive 430 miles for such a gig? I am not sure how all of this fits together.

I am really inclined to believe that members of the GD were at Grande Ballroom on 11/24/68 with the Airplane.

Oh yeah, one other thing (which would also cause problems for the 11/30/68 Teen Center thing), based on looking at the posters for the 12/1/68 GD date at Grande Ballroom linked from Deadlists. Can the posters be read to say the GD are playing 11/29, 11/30 and 12/1/68 at the Grande, with opening acts on Friday night (BS & T) and on Saturday (The Rationals), playing without an opener on 12/1? This would account for the open Friday night, which the late 1968 GD would absolutely abhor if it could be avoided in favor of a payday.

Rabbit's Epistemology: If It Says So, Then It Is So

Lyrics:

A map is not a guess
An estimation or a hunch
A feeling or a foolish intuition
A map is a dependable
Unwavering, inarguably accurate
Portrayer, of your position

Never trust your ears
Your nose, your eyes
Putting faith in them
Is most unwise
Here's a phrase you all
Must memorise
In the printed word
Is where truth lies

Never trust your tummies
Tails, or toes
You can't learn a thing
From any of those
Here's another fact
I must disclose
From the mighty pen
True wisdom flows

If it says so
Then it is so
If it is so
Well so it is
A thought's not fit to think
'Til it's printed in ink
Then it says so
So it is

Never trust that thing
Between your ears
Brains will get you nowhere fast
My dears
Haven't had a need
For mine in years
On the page is where
The truth appears

If it says so
Then it is so
If it is so
So it is
A thought's not fit to think
'Til it's printed in ink

Never differ from or doubt it
Or go anywhere without it
Thank goodness we've got this
So we don't need to fret about it

If it says so
So it is

2012 KPFA GD Marathon

http://cloudsurfing.gdhour.com/kpfamarathon_2012

Blogger Q: individual comment links

Am I the only one who no longer sees links to individual comments? I don't see them here or on any blogs, anymore. So have they killed this useful (no, crucial) piece of functionality, or am I missing something?

LN jg1983-05-06.jgb.all.aud-CC.xxxxxx.flac2448

Nothing much to hear here.

Jerry Garcia Band
Keystone
2119 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
May 6, 1983 (Friday)

CC aud shnid-137910

--set I (6 tracks, 50:39)--
s1t01. crowd and tuning [0:38]
s1t02. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [9:17] [0:10] % [0:31]
s1t03. I'll Take A Melody [13:12] [0:08] %
s1t04. That's What Love Will Make You Do [10:58] [0:07] %
s1t05. Mississippi Moon [10:39] ->
s1t06. Run For The Roses [4:50] (1) [0:07]

--set II (6 tracks, 58:18)--
s2t01. crowd and tuning [0:09]
s2t02. Mission In The Rain 9:50] [0:06] %
s2t03. Harder They Come [12:42] [0:03] %
s2t04. Knockin' On Heaven's Door [13:24] ->
s2t05. Dear Prudence [13:59] ->

s2t06. Midnight Moonlight [7:56] [0:06] %

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #15c
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: Greg Errico - drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [m:ss] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [m:ss] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19830506-01

! db: none as of 12/21/2011; https://etreedb.org/shn/137910 (this fileset)

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/LDc43

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/02/keystone-2119-university-avenue.html

! venue: URL http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/12/2119-university-avenue-berkeley-ca.html; URL http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2011/01/jerry-garcia-and-keystone-shows.html

! band: JGB #15c(http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html)

! R: Audience tape > 2nd gen cassette (Maxell XLII90, no Dolby) > Nakamichi BX-300 playback (Dolby off) > Pyle Pro cables > WaveTerminal 2496 > Samplitude 10.1 Download Version (record @ 24 bits/48kHz, normalization (98%, set II only) > CD Wave 1.98 (tracking) > Trader's Little Helper v2.4.1 (FLAC encoding) > foobar2000 (tagging).

! R: the tape is hissy. Nor great.

! P: nothing of much note here to my ears. This iteration of the JGB would get really, really hot for a week or so from late May into early June. It could be the poor tape quality, but I really don't have much to say.

! s1t06 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a little while. We'll be back in a few minutes."

! Disclaimer: This is part of a "Closet Call" project aimed at making missing Garcia dates available for study. These are "warts and all" ... straight transfers of the source cassettes with editing only of the most offensive tape transitions and such. If you don't like hiss, possible speed problems, etc., etc., then move along. And, to anticipate a FAQ: no, I don't plan on doing 16/44s of these. Thanks to wk for supplying these tapes!

B.B. King, Lawrenceville School, November 20, 1970

B.B. King
The Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
November 20, 1970 (Friday)
Early and Late Shows

--Early Show (14 tracks, 59:19)--

-Sonny Freeman and the Unusuals-
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t01. //Title? (instrumental) {4:02}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t02. Title? (instrumental) {3:42}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t03. Title? {6:48}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t04. band thanks and B.B. King introduction {2:37}

-B.B. King and Band-
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t05. Every Day I Have The Blues {1:41}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t06. Downhearted {5:24}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t07. Just A Little Love {4:43}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t08. Title? (instrumental) {3:05}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t09. So Excited {5:13}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t10. Chains And Things {5:25}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t11. Humming Bird {4:17}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t12. The Thrill Is Gone {6:13}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t13. band introductions (1) {2:11}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t14. Why I Sing The Blues {3:58}


--Late Show (16 tracks, 90:49)--

-Sonny Freeman and the Unusuals-
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t01. Title? (instrumental, Latin feel) (2) {4:42}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t02. Title? (lyrics: "I refuse to let you worry me") {3:47}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t03. Title? (instrumental) {5:09}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t04. talk (3), B.B. King introduction and plaque presentation {4:45}

-B.B. King and Band-
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t05. Every Day I Have The Blues {1:51}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t06. Downhearted {5:18}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t07. Just A Little Love {5:06}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t08. Title? (instrumental) {1:16}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t09. Title? (instrumental) {2:23}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t10. So Excited {5:27}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t11. Worry Worry {11:01}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t12. Humming Bird {5:29}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t13. Sweet Sixteen {4:32}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t14. The Thrill Is Gone {6:43}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t15. band introductions (4) {2:29}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t16. Why I Sing The Blues ... {4:01}


Band:
B.B. King, guitar, vocals;
Ron Levy, piano;
Weber Freeman, bass;
John Browning, trumpet;
Joseph Burton, trombone;
Earl Turbinton, alto saxophone;
Louis Hubert, tenor saxophone;
Sonny Freeman, drums.

Notes:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! R: Master soundboard reels > 7" first gen reels > Revox B77 playback > Alesis Masterlink CD/0 > EAC (extraction) > CD Wave (tracking) > Trader's Little Helper (flac encoding).

! R: early-t01 cuts in

! early-t13 (1) BB: "How 'bout a light over to the piano, there." ... piano ... bass ... trumpet ... trombone ("Lil' Joe from Chicago") ... alto saxophone ... tenor sax ... drums: "Young man who's been with me, this month it'll be thirteen years. And, you know, usually I say it's hard for a man and a woman to stay married that long. So a lot of you might wonder how two men manage to work that long together. Well, don't look at us funny. It's because the guy's a good drummer, he's a good friend, a great guy, ladies and gentlmen, Sonny Freeman."

! late-t01: (2) "We thank ya. The name of that little tune is called [inaudible -- oogla boogla?]."

! P: late-t03 nice instrumental work all around. Nice jump.

! R: late-t03 R channel back in @ 3:42

! late-t04: (3) [applause] Unidentified School Headmaster: "Thank you. Have I got a mic? Well that's a great beginning for a wonderful concert. And I have to match in words the tone and quality of those initial numbers. First of all, I welcome all our campus guests to this first concert of the Robert Thiele Center. A Center for American popular music, established with a goal of filling a vital need for comprehensive library resources and research archives for all forms of popular American music and the data relating to it. When equipped as envisioned by its founders, the collection will consist of ..." Etc. Invites Directors of the Center to the stage. Introduces B.B. King. Presentation of plaque to B.B. commemorating inauguration of the Robert Thiele Center for American Popular Music at the Lawrenceville School, November 20, 1970." Great provenance for the tape.

! Historical: Robert Thiele Center for American Popular Music: http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg16.php: "Bob Thiele, one of the more reliable good guys in the record industry (he was head of Impulse, ABC's excellent jazz division, before starting his own Flying Dutchman group) has started something called the Robert Thiele Center for American Popular Music at his old prep school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, by donating his own collection of records and books. Anyone who's into that sort of thing should understand that gifts are tax-deductible. Write checks to the Lawrenceville School with a notation about where you want the money to go." --Village Voice, Mar. 11, 1971.

! Historical: From the supplier of the recording: "The shows were at the Lawrenceville School theater in what is called the [700-seat] Kirby Arts Center. As you can hear from the headmaster's comments, these shows were to be the inaugural shows for what was to be the Robert Thiele Center. Thiele was a famous jazz producer, having produced John Coltrane and Gato Barbieri, amongst others. [He was head of Impulse, ABC's excellent jazz division, before starting his own Flying Dutchman group.] At the time [of the shows] he headed up Flying Dutchman Records and his son attended the school. The Thiele Center never came to fruition and these were the only shows."

! late-t15 (4) BB: "Thank you so much. How 'bout a light at the piano over there? How 'bout a hand for Ron Levy at the piano. Ron Levy. Thank you. On bass: Weber Freeman. How 'bout it for Weber Freeman. Thank you. Thank you very much. To my far right, on trumpet, John Browning, John Browning. Thank you. On the trombone, Lil' Joe from Chicago, Joseph Burton. Thank you. Alto saxophone, Earl Turbinton. Earl Turbinton. Thank you. Thank you so much. Tenor saxophone: Louis Hubert. Louis Hubert. Thank you so much. And on the drums, ladies and gentlemen, a young man that's been with me ... this month makes thirteen years. Sometimes I say it's hard for a man and a woman to stay together that long. Some of you might wonder how two men manage it. Well, don't look at us funny. It's because the guy is a good drummer, he's a good friend, a great guy, ladies and gentlemen, Sonny Freeman on the drums. Sonny Freeman. Sonny Freeman! Thank you. Thank you so much. And, of course ladies and gentlemen, this is Lucille."

! R: late-t15 fades out near end.

! preview: Billboard, October 17, 1970, p. 6 [available via Google Books];
! review: Ian Dove, Billboard, December 5, 1970, p. 28 [available via Google Books];
! expost: Cordell S. Thompson, "New York Beat," Jet, December 10, 1970, p. 63 [available via Google Books].

jgmf.blogspot.com

Arnold, Corry. 2012. The Janet Soto List Manuscript Tradition

The Janet Soto List Manuscript Tradition

By Corry Arnold

For some reason that is unknown to me, GDP employee Janet Soto made a typewritten list of every Grateful Dead performance from January 1, 1970 to December 31, 1980. I have no idea why this list was created, but I'm glad it was. I received my copy in early 1981 (thank you Mike N), as it was being Xeroxed and circulated amongst the taper types who had suddenly found a Rosetta Stone. The source of the list appeared to be band contracts. The list seems to have been largely complete, with a few exceptions:

• last minute cancellations and additions were sometimes missing (or added)
• Bay Area shows from the early 1970s, BGP included, were missing

I assumed that the missing Bay Area shows were because the Dead had a different contractual arrangement with Bill Graham, at least up through the early 70s. This was generally confirmed by Dennis McNally in the mid-80s. He said that for a long time, while the Dead always had some sort of agreement with Graham (both entities were professionals after all), the specific contracts were a lot simpler, as both sides knew what was expected in terms of contract riders, etc. This might explain why the BGP agreements were presumably not in the same file drawer as the other band performance contracts. I assume that one reason for the absence of pre-1970 shows was a paucity of contracts, but I also suspect there was some reason for the list that had a specific timeframe, like tax records or something like that.

I immediately set about updating and correcting the Soto list. So did everyone else who actually cared about what they wrote on the index cards to their cassette tapes. The Soto list was the starting point to all the Grateful Dead performance lists that were subsequently promulgated: the list in Paul Grushkin's Book Of The Deadheads (ca. '83, which I think was actually McNally's list) a list produced by John Dwork that circulated for a while and finally the list that became Deadbase I in 1987. Information about Grateful Dead shows prior to 1970 was initially sketchy and often wrong because there was no Soto list to begin from; the community had to piece together the entire sixties list one show at a time. For my own part, as I added, subtracted and corrected information to and from the Soto list, I eventually started re-typing the list (yes, on a typewriter). Since typing was time consuming, I would handwrite other changes in pencil, since I might erase them, until I felt it was worth the effort to retype the pages. As a result of my re-typing, I no longer have the first several pages of the original Soto list, as I replaced them with my own list.

Once I had the Soto list in my possession, I immediately decided to keep it up. As a result, every time I called the Grateful Dead Hot Line (415-457-6388) to see if any new Grateful Dead shows were advertised, I would write down whatever was being announced, whether the show was in Syracuse or San Rafael. More or less on a whim, I started writing down all the other shows being announced, whether for the Jerry Garcia Band, Robert Hunter, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir or anyone else. At the same time, I noticed that many Bay Area shows by Grateful Dead spinoffs were not listed on the Hot Line, so any time I saw a Grateful Dead related show advertised in the Bay Area, usually in the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Datebook (the "Pink Section") or BAM, I wrote that down too. As a result, I had an extensive if not quite complete list of Jerry Garcia shows as well as all the other members' spinoff bands from January 1981 onwards. Soon I started calling the Hot Line every week or so, just to keep up my lists.

Within a year or so, despite the absence of an internet thingy, it was clear to me that I wasn't the only person trying to update the Soto list. I was very scrupulous about my own copy, but I considered it essentially for my own use. Since I hadn't met anyone making any kind of effort to track Garcia dates (much less Weir or anyone else in the band), I had an inkling that I had better do a good job of it, since it appeared that maybe no one else was doing it. As a result, as I accumulated information about Jerry Garcia Band performances, I typed them up in a facsimile of the Soto list. My one significant departure from the Soto list was that I would put the list of band members in the group as a header--they were usually announced on the Hot Line list--and insert a new header when the band members changed. Obviously, this wasn't necessary for the Grateful Dead since their membership was considerably more stable. At the end of each year, I would type up my list of Garcia Band shows for the year. I then did the same for Bob Weir, Robert Hunter, Mickey Hart and so on. If I learned about another date, or an opening act, or a different drummer, I would write it in pencil (because it might change), but the lists were basically fixed at the end of the year. I think that I typed them up when I had at least a page's worth of material, but it was more or less annual, although not exactly.

As part of my recognition that no one seemed to be collecting dates for Garcia or any of the spinoffs, I started to write down dates prior to 1981 for any Garcia Band, Garcia-Saunders, Kingfish or any other tape, or any time I found a poster or old advertisement. This was rather scattered, but it was better than nothing. I did fairly well with late 1980, since there will still hard copy sources laying around (literally--probably in my room) but before that it was kind of random.

Cut to about 1984. By a chain of events I no longer recall, I was in touch with Blair Jackson (I had probably sent a letter to the Golden Road). Through Blair, I met Dick Latvala and Dennis McNally. McNally at the time was the official Grateful Dead Historian, but he was working for Bill Graham Presents on cataloging the BGP Archive. Dennis was great, as I was just some nobody, but he was incredibly nice to me. About the second time we met--possibly the last, I don't recall--Dennis gave me his own extensive Jerry Garcia list. This was a byproduct of his research into the Grateful Dead, but I think he was discovering that chronicling the Grateful Dead was an impossible task, so he was simply passing on trying to do Garcia as well. As a result of Dennis's research--which was a great list, but did not have specific sources--I interpolated his information into my sketchy pre-1981 data, and then I had a kind of working Jerry Garcia list.

Cut to the early 1990s. In late 1985, I had started a job that would consume me for the next 15 years, and my life changed in many ways. I was as big a music fan as ever, but work was so self-enveloping that I generally only talked about music with people I worked with. Although I continued calling the Hot Line and writing down dates from the Pink Section, it was a kind of solitary activity. I had let all my nascent Grateful Dead contacts, like Blair Jackson, Dennis McNally and Dick Latvala, slide away. Nonetheless, when Deadbase had come out in 1987, I was as thrilled as anyone. The Soto list was one thing, but here was a performance list complete with songlists to boot--wow! At some point, I wrote Deadbase a letter with some bits and pieces about dates and venues, which was my area of expertise. I was in some kind of correspondence with Stu Nixon in New England, but remember this wasn't email--we probably exchanged a letter a year or something. At some point, probably around 1992, Stu Nixon called me. I think I had said in some letter that I had a list of Garcia shows, and I think Stu was in touch with Blair, who had presumably confirmed that I was linear (in late 80s Deadhead world, this was a more crucial question than it might appear today).

Anyway, Stu Nixon called me and said they were planning to introduce a "GarciaBase" and maybe a "WeirBase" into the next edition of Deadbase, and asked me what I had to offer. I don't know what he was expecting, but I suspect he was pretty surprised when I told him I had a list of every Garcia show from 1981 onwards, a lot of them before that, and every Weir show from 1981 as well. Plus they were typed and mostly legible. Now, Stu's thing was Setlists, and I don't do setlists, so I couldn't help him there, but I gave him a baseline for Garcia and Weir from 1981 onwards, and thanks to McNally and some of my own work I had a pretty good taste of the Garcia 70s as well. Stu and his co-editors did a great job editing in all the setlists that were floating around from tapes and reviews and other sources, but the core list of Garcia dates was mine, including the format where the band iterations have their own paragraphs. All the mistakes were mine, too.

The Jerry Site built its original core list on the GarciaBase list from Deadbase IX, and replicated the process. This is why I'm so confident in rejecting or correcting TJS info when it says "Deadbase lists such and such" as the only source--that's me, and I can see through many of my own blind spots as more information comes to light. Conversely, if there's some information about bandmembers, like Gaylord Birch playing drums, its because I wrote it down when it was on the taped message of the Grateful Dead Hot Line, so I don't wonder about the provenance of the information.