A cornerstone of psychedelic music, 1968’s Anthem Of The Sun has long been unfairly brushed off by critics and heads alike. While the group were unhappy with their studio debut (the garage-y, fun, tuneful and […]
Category: Grateful Dead
Dead Notes #12 :: June 8,1974 — Oakland, CA
1974 is one of the greatest and most transformative years within the Grateful Dead’s history, with two major events setting the tone: the official unveiling of the infamous ‘ Wall of Sound ’ and the band ominously playing […]
Dead Notes #11 :: March 31,1973 – Buffalo, NY
Welcome to Dead Notes #11. Forty-two years ago, in the early days of March of 1973, Pigpen and a photographer friend sauntered into the band’s rehearsal space at Stinson Beach Community Center with the hope to have […]
Dead Notes: The Printed Word – Volume I
Dead Notes: “Where all the print is blood. Where all the pages are my days…” Late last year we compiled all our Dead Notes columns into a print ’zine that heavily nodded to the early original issues […]
Dead Notes #10 :: New Potato Caboose (8/24/68 Los Angeles, CA)
Welcome to Dead Notes #10 where we revisit Two From the Vault , recently released by Light in the Attic Records for the first time on vinyl. 1968 was a deeply exploratory period in the early history of the […]
Dead Notes #9 :: (2/22/69 Vallejo, CA)
Welcome to Dead Notes #9. In early 1969 we find our bohemian freaks spaced out on STP and nitrous oxide, holed up behind a 16-track recording console working on their palindromic 3rd album, Aoxomoxoa. The sessions are […]
Dead Notes #8 :: Alligator (5/18/68 Santa Clara, CA)
Welcome to Dead Notes #8 where we find our steadfast pranksters in the pivotal years of 1967 and 1968. Long gone are the proto-psychedelic fuzzy garage jams, replaced with long, exploratory suites awash in subtle instrumental and […]
Dead Notes #7 :: Hard To Handle (3/24/71 San Francisco, CA)
And we’re back. Welcome to the seventh installment of Dead Notes where we find our former psychedelic heroes continuing to shed their kaleidoscopic, meandering, ways. Tightening up, both literally and figuratively, by March of 1971 the Dead’s […]
Dead Notes #6 :: Operator (11/8/70 Port Chester, NY)
Welcome to the sixth installment of Dead Notes , where we find the Grateful Dead in the Fall of 1970, gigging at the famed Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY. Between 1970 and 1971 the band played […]
Dead Notes #5 :: That’s It For The Other One (9/2/68 Seattle, WA)
Welcome to the fifth installment of Dead Notes where once again we find ourselves in the great Northwest, at the Sky River Rock Festival, on the outskirts of Seattle in Sultan, WA. Oddly enough the inspiration for […]
Dead Notes #4 :: 9/19/70, Fillmore East / NYC
Welcome to the fourth installment of Dead Notes . Coming down from the 8/27/72 ‘Dark Star’ featured in #3 we’re heading to New York City’s East Village and the infamous Fillmore East . West coast rock & roll impresario Bill Graham opened […]
Dead Notes #3 :: Dark Star (8/27/72 Veneta, OR)
Welcome to the third installment of Dead Notes , where we find ourselves deep in the heart of Oregon at the Old Renaissance Fairgrounds in Veneta, August 27, 1972. The Grateful Dead have now been home 3 […]
Dead Notes #2 :: Viola Lee Blues (2/2/68 Portland, Oregon)
Welcome to round two of Dead Notes . We kicked things off with a “Good Lovin”’ from 1971 ; today we touch down in February, 1968 where we find the Dead eleven months after the release of their self-titled debut, tackling […]
Dead Notes #1 :: Good Lovin’ (4/17/71 Dillon Gym / Princeton)
Welcome to the first installment of Dead Notes. There is a raw stigma that runs parallel with the mention of the Grateful Dead. Far too often the circus surrounding the band trumps the actual music, […]
Grateful Dead :: Springfield Creamery Benefit Veneta OR – 8-27-72
Rhino Records (who I consult for) asked me to contribute to their upcoming series of posts/playlists centered around what would be Garcia’s 70th birthday, August, 1st. My piece goes live later this week and centers […]