Hooterollin' Around

On the weekend of April 4-6, 1969, the Grateful Dead headlined at the Avalon Ballroom, the last rock show at the Avalon for almost 40 years. The final night was broadcast on KPFA-fm, generating a tape that was one of the few good quality '69 tapes in early circulation. The two opening acts were also broadcast, and those tapes circulated as well, if less widely. Second on the bill were The Flying Burrito Brothers, not a particularly successful band at the time, but who ultimately became quite legendary. Burritos' sets from the first night (April 4) and the last night (April 6) were ultimately released as an archival cd set in 2009. The third band on the bill, AUM, from San Francisco, have remained generally unnoticed by Deadheads over the decades.

However, AUM and their leader, lead singer and lead guitarist, Wayne Ceballos, shared the stage with the Grateful Dead a number of times throughout the Spring and Summer of 1969. Intriguingly, Ceballos jammed onstage with the Dead a number of times, a very rare occurrence for an opening act. As part of my intermittent series on acts who opened for the Grateful Dead, I am going to look at Wayne Ceballos and AUM and consider why Ceballos had the opportunity to jam with the Dead when so many other fine opening acts did not. Ceballos joined the Grateful Dead on stage four times in June 1969, and while the first time may have been partially accidental, his subsequent appearances confirmed that he was a welcome guest.

AUM
AUM appears to have been pronounced "ohm," and seems to be a reference to the Buddhist chant and possibly to the electrical term for a unit of resistance as well. The name was capitalized, but I don't think it stood for anything. The group probably formed in early 1969. The earliest date I have been able to find for them is March 11-13, 1969 at The Matrix. Since this was a weeknight booking (Tuesday thru Thursday), and AUM shared the bill with two other groups (All Man Joy and Birth), that is a pretty clear sign of a newly formed or newly arrived group. AUM was a power trio that featured Wayne Ceballos on lead guitar, harmonica and vocals, Ken Newell on bass and Larry Martin on drums. They performed original material and a few blues covers.

AUM released their debut album Bluesvibes, on Sire Records (distributed by London), in 1969. I have not been able to determine when in 1969 it was released, so I don't know when it might have been recorded. The album isn't bad, although it has some typical 60s excesses. In any case, all of the evidence seems to suggest that the band was formed, and quickly got management and the opportunity to play high profile gigs. Although AUM may have "gotten it together" in some out of the way place, less than a month after their Matrix debut, AUM was opening for the Grateful Dead at the Avalon. The next weekend, April 11-12, they were opening for Blood, Sweat & Tears and Albert King at the Fillmore East (Savoy Brown played April 12 in place of King--both acts were replacing Jethro Tull). Because AUM played Fillmore East in April, I have to think that AUM must have just released their debut album.

All signs point towards AUM as being a Bill Graham sponsored group. At the time, Graham was trying to branch beyond concert promotion, opening up different corporate branches for both Talent Management and Booking, and later starting a record company. I know that AUM was booked by Bill Graham's Millard Agency, just as the Grateful Dead were in early 1969. This accounts for the number of times that AUM shared the bill with the Dead, since they were booked by the same agency. I think Graham was also AUM's manager, through one of his various subsidiaries. Later in 1969, AUM released their second album, Resurrection, on Graham's own Columbia-distributed Fillmore label. They toured the East Coast a little bit, too, including another stint at Filmore East (October 20-26, 1969, opening for The Who and King Crimson)The band continued on until 1970, but eventually faded away. As far as I know, Wayne Ceballos is still touring and recording to this day.

June 6, 1969, Fillmore West: The Grateful Dead plus Wayne Ceballos minus Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia was never in a hurry to get to a show, and apparently that drove Bill Graham crazy. This was particularly true in the days when Fillmore shows went around the bill twice--the headliner would play the 3rd and 6th set of the night--and were thus tightly scheduled. Apparently, on Friday, June 6, 1969, when the Grateful Dead headlined over Junior Walker And The All-Stars and the Glass Family, Garcia was nowhere to be found. An angry Graham presumably told the Dead they were going to go on stage anyway. Ceballos was backstage, and Phil Lesh invited him to sit in until Jerry arrived. Obviously, there was an element of desperation, but clearly Phil thought Ceballos could handle it. The tape shows that he clearly could. There isn't any doubt about Ceballos' presence: Ceballos tells the story himself:

Seems to me "I" was playing guitar on "Beat It On Down the Line" that night. I was walking by the stage when Phil (Lesh) asked me to come up and sit in on guitar. I distinctly remember playing guitar on BIODTL. Things were so crazy that night- but I DO remember playing on BIODTL.

I can back up my statement up because Jerry (Garcia) himself states in Bill Graham's autobiography that

"...One night I came to the gig REAL late and there was this OTHER guy playing guitar with the Grateful Dead. This guy from AUM.(my band) He was a pretty good blues guitar player. I thought, 'Geez, Bill is gonna fuckin' kill me,' but he didn't say anything..." (P. 220- 222, I believe).

Photos of Wayne Ceballos' band The Sound Machine, from the 1966 SF Band ID Book

The Sound Machine
I have not been able to find out much about Wayne Ceballos career prior to AUM. However, Ceballos has said elsewhere that his friendship with the Dead went back to Warlocks days. The one firm trace I have been able to find of Ceballos was his band's picture in the 1966 Band ID book, dating from about Fall 1966. Some entrepreneur put together a little book of "hip" San Francisco bands in Fall 1966, with their pictures and management contact information (the Grateful Dead were part of it, too), and the odd little booklet has been a goldmine of source information for scholars ever since. Some of the groups are well remembered, and others are pretty obscure. I know absolutely nothing about The Sound Machine beyond the captions of the pictures (above and below). It appears that they were a trio with Ceballos on lead guitar, Ty Tolomei on organ and Lee Better on drums. The manager seems to have given the phone number of a bar on Powell Street for contact information.

Photos of Wayne Ceballos' band The Sound Machine, from the 1966 SF Band ID Book

An ad from the entertainment section of the SF Chronicle from August 6, 1966

update: I found an ad for The Sound Machine. There was an SF Chronicle ad in August 1966 for a joint called Lefty's, at 209 Powell Street. It says LEFTY'S Proudly Presents "The Sound Machine" Rock 'n' Roll Trio. I know nothing else about Lefty's. 209 Powell Street is near O'Farrell.

A late 60's ad for Lefty's, at 209 Powell. Francis "Lefty" was a San Francisco baseball legend

update II: Yellow Shark tracked down Lefty's. It turns out that it was the establishment of San Francisco baseball legend Lefty O'Doul. More:

Ty Tolomei is the link to Lefty's. Lefty's at 209, Powell was a bar being run by his mother, Margaret Tolomei, and hosted seemingly only a very few musical performances. Mrs Tomomei was subject to violent robbery after returning home with the takings in mid December 1967 and the bar seems to have closed pretty soon after - being re-incarnated as Lefty O’Doul’s right around the corner (at it's current location) at 333, Geary in early 1968. The Geary location also hosts occasional performances including three featuring Joe and Barry. These included Lee Houskeeper's Birthday Roast and shared stages with the likes of Carol Doda, the Rowens and Joli Valenti.

The Millard Agency
Bill Graham opened the Millard agency in Fall 1968. The initial clients were the Grateful Dead, Santana, Cold Blood and It's A Beautiful Day. In short order, Millard signed other promising local bands, including Elvin Bishop Group, Sanpaku and AUM. One of Millard's strategies was to take bands who had some status at the Fillmore and find bookings for them in the suburbs and other parts of Northern California. There were a lot of teenagers who wanted to go to the Fillmore but couldn't, so Millard effectively brought the Fillmore to them. A unique feature of the Fillmore was that the posters were very famous, so groups like It's A Beautiful Day, Cold Blood and Santana, who had not yet released albums, were still familiar names to Northern California rock fans.

Throughout the first half of 1969, Millard found bookings for the Dead all over California, and they were regularly supported by the above named Millard names. When the Grateful Dead played the Avalon on April 4-6, 1969, the Avalon was no longer promoted by Chet Helms, but the venue was reallytoo small to compete in the rock market. Nonetheless, Graham was more than willing to have his agency book shows with a competitor.

Based on the paucity of AUM shows prior to the April 6 KPFA broadcast, I think AUM recorded their debut album before they had played, or played much. Graham did not have a record company at this time, but I think part of the management deal was that AUM would be able to get good bookings on the heels of their release, which is why I assume Resurrection was released around April. Although AUM's name was on the April 4-6 '69 poster, I happen to know that the Millard band Sanpaku played the first two nights. Based on discussions with Sanpaku's road manager, I think Sanpaku took the first two dates, but AUM played the night of the broadcast.

AUM also opened a couple of shows for the Grateful Dead in May. AUM was one of many bands booked at the "Big Rock Pow Wow" at the Seminole Indian Reservation in Florida on May 23-25, 1969 (Ceballos has a few amusing comments in Blair Jackson's liner notes for the Grateful Dead's release of an archival cd from that weekend). A few days later, AUM played the People's Park Bail Fund Benefit on May 28 at Fillmore West. As a marker of Millard's strategy, the high-profile Wednesday night benefit featured three prominent Fillmore bands--Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and Creedence Clearwater Revival--supported by three Millard acts: Santana, AUM and Elvin Bishop (Bangor Flying Circus were from Chicago, but had Graham connections). Since the show wasn't for-profit anyway, Graham's bands benefited from the exposure.

Given the Millard affiliation, it's not surprising that Wayne Ceballos was hanging out backstage on June 6, even more so if he had been friends with the Dead since the Warlocks days. It was serendipitous that he got the opportunity to sit in, but he acquitted himself well. Various archive commenters have observed that Ceballos sounds somewhat like Garcia, but as others have pointed out, he was playing with Garcia's rig. It's also worth considering that Ceballos does not seem to have been tied to any specific style of guitar playing. Playing live with AUM, Ceballos had a sound reminiscent of Cream. but he surfed through various styles on the two AUM albums. While Ceballos didn't have the distinctiveness of, say, Neil Young, his versatility made him a good candidate for sitting in. You don't have to take my word for it--the Grateful Dead invited him on stage for substantial jamming three more times in the next 8 days.

June 8, 1969 Fillmore West
In an event shrouded in confusion and mystery, on Sunday June 8, Owsley brought a strange new concoction to the Fillmore West. It did not help anyone perform better. A lot of musicians appear to have been backstage, both because they probably had nothing to do Sunday night and because their had been a big rock concert in Golden Gate Park that day. I have written about this event at great length, but it appears pretty clearly that June 8 was the day when Garcia was just too out of it to play, and he seems to have missed most of the second set (remember, there would have been a two hour gap between set one and set two, while the other bands played). Elvin Bishop and Wayne Ceballos stepped up to the stage, and joined Pigpen in an extended "Turn On Your Lovelight," Once again, Ceballos was the man on hand when an emergency arose.

June 13, 1969 Convention Center, Fresno, CA
AUM and Sanpaku opened for the Grateful Dead at the Selland Arena (Convention Center) in Fresno on Friday night. This was a typical Millard gig. The Grateful Dead, while not hugely popular, were Fillmore legends, and AUM and Sanpaku got a chance to build an audience out of town. Wayne Ceballos and Sanpaku flautist Gary Larkey were invited on stage for "Lovelight," and this time it wasn't an emergency, so Ceballos was obviously in good standing.

June 14, 1969 Gym, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA
On Saturday night, Millard had booked the Dead, AUM and The Bitter Seeds (a Monterey group) played the relatively small junior college gym in Monterey, yet another chance to bring the Fillmore to those who could not get there. Once again, Ceballos joined the Dead for "Lovelight," so clearly the band was enjoying playing with him.

Aftermath
AUM continued to tour throughout 1969, and released their second album Resurrection on Bill Graham's Fillmore label later in the year. They played Fillmore East in October, and continued to tour around. The only time I am aware of that AUM played with the Grateful Dead again was at the San Diego Convention Center on January 10, 1970, with the Sons Of Champlin (who had replaced Savoy Brown). I do not know the Grateful Dead's exact booking arrangements, but they had stopped using the Millard Agency, so they rarely played with all the Millard bands again.

By Spring 1969, Lenny Hart was asserting control over the Dead's finances, and that must have been critical to the separation with Millard. It also appears that the arrangement with Millard was a quid pro quo for when the Dead had had to borrow some money from Graham in late 1968. In any case, AUM and the rest of the Millard bands stopped playing much with the Dead, and Ceballos never seems to have had the opportunity to jam with the Dead again.

By 1970, the Grateful Dead were bringing the New Riders Of The Purple Sage on the road with them as an opening act. By 1972, the Dead pretty much stopped having opening acts. Thus the days when a friend might be in the opening band and be casually invited on stage for the final rave-up were gone. Wayne Ceballos, while hardly a major name, seems to have a unique status in Dead history for the couple of weeks where he found himself backstage and then onstage with the Grateful Dead because they kept inviting him back.

AUM Discography
1969 Bluesvibes - Sire 97007 LP
1969 Resurrection - Fillmore 30002 LP
1970 Bye Bye Baby/Resurrection - Fillmore 7000 45
1970 Aum/Little Brown Hen - Fillmore 7001 45

Wayne Ceballos - Harmonica, Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Larry Martin - Drums, Vocals
Ken Newell - Bass, Vocals

The 1971 Fantasy album Fourty Niner by Clover. Clover was a true rarity, a Marin rock band that was actually from Marin.

The history of the Grateful Dead is usually divided into two relatively discrete periods. In the first period, set in the late 60s, the Grateful Dead are at the heart of the San Francisco rock scene, embedded with Ken Kesey, Bill Graham, the Jefferson Airplane and numerous other legendary figures, making historic appearances at the Fillmore, Fillmore West, Avalon, Woodstock and Altamont. Later, in the final period, the Grateful Dead are coelacanths who have lived past their time, survivors of the meteor strikes of previous epochs, yet still exerting their gravitational pull on a few retro friends and acquaintances.

Yet there was another, middle period, rarely remarked upon today. In the first half of the 1970s, the Grateful Dead's members had moved to Marin County, which at the time was the home to a large percentage of the rock musicians in the Bay Area. The Dead were no longer cutting edge, but they weren't uncool yet. As a result, the Grateful Dead were mostly--though not exclusively--an admired band on the local scene. They had made it doing their own thing, and many bands sought to emulate that at least, even if their own music was different. Thus the Grateful Dead had numerous personal and professional connections to working bands in Marin County, at a time when they were not yet representative of some hippie past that had traveled on.

Marin County had been a prosperous county at least since 1937, when the Golden Gate Bridge had opened. However, except for a few easily accessible places like San Rafael and Sausalito, which served as commuter towns for San Francisco, Marin County was mostly modest and rural. It was a largely agricultural county, with dairy farming playing a big role. When rock bands started to move to Marin in the late 60's, there was plenty of cheap housing out in the country, big farmhouses on relatively empty lots. When a few bands started to make a little money, they moved inland to nicer communities, but Marin still housed a lot of musicians at modest prices.

Marin County itself was thinly populated. There was only one real rock venue, The Lion's Share in San Anselmo. It was a pretty tiny place, and was basically a musicians hangout. For Marin bands to really get somewhere, they had to build up a following elsewhere, and that usually meant the East Bay. Oakland and Berkeley were just across the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge, and had access to a bigger pool of potential fans, while still being in range of newspaper reviewers and talent scouts. As a result, places like the Longbranch and the Keystone Berkeley were dominated by Marin County musicians and bands, since the clubs were both near to Marin yet critical to future success. The Longbranch was for bands that had just started to "get it together," and the better ones graduated to the Keystone Berkeley.

The recent, excellent, release of the Keystone Companions box set, with the complete Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders performances from the Keystone Berkeley on July 10-11, 1973, also included some Keystone calendars from that time. Thus I am taking the earliest calendar, from March 1973 (on disc 1), and analyzing all the acts at the Keystone Berkeley that month with respect to any connections to the Grateful Dead. Most of the acts, particularly the more well known ones, have numerous intricate connections to the Dead and its various members. It's a detailed reminder of how the Grateful Dead were seen as a successful band in early 70s Marin, not just as a leftover hippie band that had little connection to contemporary music.

The Keystone Calendar for March 1973

Keystone Berkeley Calendar March 1973
The March 1973 Keystone Berkeley calendar, like all Keystone calendars from that era, would have been posted on every telephone pole and University bulletin board within a radius of a few square miles of the club, because that was how club shows were publicized in those days. The Keystone also had a mailing list, but I think that was largely for people who lived out of town. In the upper left, we can see the address of the club, 2119 University (at Shattuck). University and Shattuck were two of the best known streets in Berkeley, so in the days before Google Maps, this made the Keystone Berkeley easy to find. The lettering of the various acts is nicely done and vaguely reminiscent of the Fillmore posters of yore, but done in such a way that each headline act's name can be read as one is walking by a telephone pole on your way to class or work.

In the lower right corner, we see some general information:

Doors Open @ 8:00 Music @ 9:00

Guys 21

Girls 18

The economic purpose of the Keystone Berkeley, as I have discussed, was to get patrons to drink beer. Lots and lots of beer. The club was nominally a restaurant, but apparently the only food they served was popcorn. The really archaic detail on the Keystone flyer was the admonition "Guys 21, Girls 18." Since the Keystone was technically a "restaurant," they could make whatever rules they wanted, and the rule they made--very common in California at the time--was that adult 18-year old women could come in, but men had to be twenty one.

You don't have to be a sociological genius to figure this one out. If you were a college senior, you were likely as not going to be dating a sophomore--your fellow senior women were out for greener pastures than some guy who was taking them to see Elvin Bishop at some joint with sawdust on the floor, where the special of the night was "popcorn"--so the Keystone Berkeley had that little niche. In theory, the 18-20 year old women were not allowed to drink, but something tells me they ended up with some beer anyway.

So, let's set the scene:

Easy parking in sleepy downtown Berkeley, a sketchy neighborhood but somewhat empty
Cheap beer, and maybe a seat at a table if you got there at 8:00 ish--otherwise on your feet
Popcorn, with a side of popcorn
Girls of just legal age who couldn't actually go to real bars

This was the East Bay/Marin hippie rock and roll universe in the early 70s, where the Grateful Dead were respected senior members of the fraternity, but not yet dinosuars. Most of the bands who played the Keystone Berkeley were connected to the Grateful Dead in some way, socially or professionally. This post will take the March 1973 Keystone Berkeley calendar and analyze each act with respect to its relationship to the Grateful Dead.

Rock My Soul, by the Elvin Bishop Group, originally released on Epic Records in 1972

Thursday, March 1: Elvin Bishop Group/Perry And The Pumpers
Elvin Bishop was an old friend of the Grateful Dead, dating way back to the 1960s. He had met the Dead back in 1966, when he was in the Butterfield Blues Band. When Bishop moved to Marin in 1968 to start a solo career, he jammed with members of the Dead at both the Matrix and the Fillmore West. By 1972, Bishop had released three albums and was a popular local attraction, but Columbia records had lost interest in him and he was effectively between contracts. Keystone Berkeley was always a well paying gig for musicians who had a following but little or no record company status. In Bishop's case, within a few years, he went on to much bigger success, but it was the Keystone Berkeley that helped keep him going. Betty Cantor has suggested in an interview that a tape she made of Bishop at the Keystone was essential in getting him signed by Capricorn Records in the mid-70s--I wish the tape would surface.

Bishop remained friendly with the Dead throughout the decades. When he opened for the Grateful Dead in Santa Barbara on June 4, 1978, Jerry Garcia sat in and took a solo on "Fishin' Blues." More importantly, in 1978 Garcia had a chance to hear Bishop's then-keyboard player, Melvin Seals, who ended up playing in the Jerry Garcia Band for 15 years. Bishop drummer Donny Baldwin played with the JGB for the band's final two years as well.

Perry And The Pumpers featured Perry Welsh on lead vocals and harmonica, along with guitarist Johnny Vernazza, who would end up in the 1974 edition of the Elvin Bishop Group. I expect that there was a lot of jamming on stage between the Bishop Group and the Pumpers.

Cold Blood's 1973 Thriller album on Reprise, with Gaylord Birch on drums. Back in the day, this cover was supposed to be sexy and alluring, rather than just violent.

Friday-Saturday, March 2-3: Cold Blood/Hoodoo Rhythm Devils
Cold Blood was more of an East Bay band than a Marin band, and the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils were more of a San Francisco band. There were some Grateful Dead connections, however. At some point in 1973, although not necessarily during this show, Gaylord Birch was the drummer for Cold Blood. Birch would play with Garcia a little bit during the Merl Saunders era, and he was a member of the 1979 ensemble Reconstruction.

As for the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils, they were a high energy rock band with great vocals who never made it beyond the local club scene. However, their bassist Richard Greene (not the bluegrass violinist--this one performed with the Hoodoos using the name Dexter C. Plates) ended up as a member of the vocal group The Bobs, who opened for the Grateful Dead on New Year's Eve 1984.

Clover's first album, released in 1970 on Fantasy.

Sunday, March 4: Clover/Alice Stuart and Snake
Clover was a rarity, a long-standing Marin band that was truly from Marin. Their first show had been on July 4, 1967, when three members of a Tamalpais High School band, The Tiny Hearing Aid Company (guitarist John McFee, singer/guitarist Alex Call and drummer Mitch Howie) had joined with bassist John Ciambotti (formerly of the SF group The Outfit). A fine, if somewhat obscure band, they had been kicking around the San Francisco scene ever since. Clover had released two excellent, if poorly recorded albums on Fantasy in 1969 and 1970. However, the albums flopped, since Fantasy had done nothing to promote them, but amazingly Clover stuck together.

By the mid-1970s, Clover was a six-piece band, playing 5 or 6 nights a week, all over the Bay Area. Clover had a sort of following at The Longbranch, and by 1973 they were trying to get established at the much-higher profile Keystone Berkeley. In a 1976 interview in the British fanzine Dark Star, members of the band described their long struggle to stay together in the seventies. Mickey Hart and Phil Lesh were big fans who saw Clover's shows at the Lion's Share, and Hart had let the band record demos at his barn (none of which have circulated, to my knowledge). The band members got by thanks to session work. Guitarist John McFee was the first-call pedal steel guitar player in San Francisco rock circles. He had played on albums by Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs and many others. In 1974, when Garcia couldn't play the parts on "Pride Of Cucamonga," CBS engineer Roy Siegel called on McFee (with Weir and Lesh's approval, and implicitly Jerry's) to play the part.

Clover was re-discovered in 1975 by Nick Lowe, who brought them to England. As a result, most of the band had played on the first Elvis Costello album My Aim Is True. Clover had two fine albums on Mercury in 1976 and 1977, but they couldn't get over the top. Still, most of the band members went on to bigger success. The 'newest' members (from 1971 onwards), Huey Lewis and Sean Hopper, went on to form Huey Lewis And The News. John McFee joined the Doobie Brothers (and is still a member), Alex Call went on to become a successful songwriter and John Ciambotti managed Carlene Carter for several years. Yet back in '73, they were just the band in Marin that had been together longer than anyone except the Dead, trying to make it happen on Sunday nights at the Keystone.

Alice Stuart was a guitarist and singer who had been around the folk and blues scene in the Bay Area since the early 60s. At various times she had been a member of The Mothers Of Invention (in 1965), and an occasional guest bassist with Commander Cody (in Fall '69), but by the early 70s she was an electric blues artist on Fantasy with a band called Alice Stuart And Snake. Snake's drummer was one Bob Jones, who had been an old bandmate of John Kahn back in the 60s, in groups such as Memory Pain. In fact, it had been Kahn who had encouraged Jones to switch from guitar to drums, which is how, as Jones put it, he was "Kahned into drumming." Alice Stuart and Snake, probably through the Kahn/Jones connection, were surely part of Garcia's circle. As proof, Alice Stuart seems to have sat in to sing a song with Garcia/Saunders the next year at The Lion's Share (Tuesday, June 4, 1974).

Monday, March 5: Grayson Street/Dixie Peach
Grayson Street was a funky East Bay rock and soul band, but with no Dead connections that I am aware of. I don't know anything about Dixie Peach.

Tuesday-Wednesday, March 6-7: Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders
When Garcia and Saunders played the Keystone Berkeley on a Tuesday and Wednesday night, they were packing the joint on nights when it would normally have just a smattering of casual beer drinkers. Thus Garcia's importance to the Keystones went beyond the fact that he filled the place--he filled it on nights when it would have barely been profitable, so the loyalty of the Keystone partners to Garcia was understandable.

On March 7, and almost certainly on March 6, the Garcia-Saunders group was joined by guitarist George Tickner, who seems to have played most or all the band's shows that Spring. Tickner had been in the Contra Costa band Frumious Bandersnatch, but he had left in 1968 to go to college. After what seemed like a sort of 'audition' for Garcia-Saunders, he would end up with the band Journey by the end of 1973.

Stoneground 3, on Warners, released in 1972.

Thursday-Saturday, March 8-10: Stoneground/Clover
Stoneground had formed in 1969, and they had many intimate connections to the Grateful Dead, although those connections had receded considerably by 1973. Stoneground had been put together by KSAN impresario Tom Donahue in 1969 for an intended movie about a 'traveling Woodstock' called Medicine Ball Caravan. The Grateful Dead were booked for the movie, but backed out at the last minute. However, Alembic sound had to honor their part of the contract, so the Dead stayed home and recorded American Beauty with Stephen Barncard, while Bob Matthews and Betty Cantor went on the road with Stoneground and the Caravan. Through Stoneground and their eventual trip to England, pianist Pete Sears got hooked up with Tom Donahue and eventually moved to the Bay Area. By 1973, Sears was already Marin-based and part of the Dead's scene of local musicians, although he was no longer connected to Stoneground.

Stoneground had released a number of albums that were popular locally, but they had never really broken through. By mid-1973, the band would break up, although they would continue to reform periodically over the years.

Note that Clover, the headliner on a Sunday night, was still an opener on the weekend. That was how bands typically built an audience at the Keystone.

Sunday, March 11: Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders
Garcia and Saunders were back on Sunday night, another night when the Keystone would have normally been pretty low key.

The Rowan Brothers debut album on Columbia, released in 1972. David Grisman produced the album An out-of-context quote from Jerry Garcia was used to hype the album, and it doomed the band. When Clive Davis lost his job as the head of Columbia, the Rowan Brothers were dropped.

Monday-Tuesday, March 12-13: Old And In The Way/Rowan Brothers
Given Garcia's special relationship with the Keystones, they were willing to book his new bluegrass band, a type of music that was contrary to the whole booking history of Keystone Berkeley. I have not done a thorough check, but I believe the only bluegrass bands booked there were either with Jerry Garcia or opening for him. In any case, from the Keystone's point of view, these shows were on a Monday and Tuesday night, so they didn't need a big crowd to make it worthwhile, and Jerry effectively guaranteed a certain amount of folks, even if they had no idea in this instance of what they were getting.

These shows would have likely been the fifth and sixth nights that Old And In The Way had performed (unless you think they played before March 2--stay tuned). It appears they were still a quartet, with no fiddler present. The only real publicity for the group had been their debut on KSAN ten days earlier. Most people who went to the show probably had little idea what to expect. I do note that the listing for the show carefully says "Jerry Garcia-BANJO," but I don't know how many people noticed. I also note that Peter Rowan was listed as a member of Seatrain, since that is how he would have been best known at the time.

The Rowan Brothers, Chris and Lorin Rowan, were Peter's younger brothers. They were managed by David Grisman and Richard Loren. By 1973, Loren was Garcia's personal manager and booking agent, so he would have booked them to open for his other client. The Rowans had just released their overhyped debut album on Columbia, which featured an out-of-context quote from Garcia where he said that they could become the next Beatles. A few months earlier (December 12, 1972) the electric configuration of the Rowan Brothers, with David Grisman on keyboards, had opened for the Dead at Winterland. I have to assume that they played the Keystone as an acoustic duo, perhaps with a guest appearance by Grisman. Based on a review, we know that the two younger Rowans also joined Old And In The Way this night to sing harmonies on "Panama Red," at least the second night (and probably the first).

This 1973 album was an effort by Columbia to reap something from their investment in Mike Bloomfield. The trio of John Hammond, Dr. John and Bloomfield wasn't a bad idea, but the players themselves weren't into it, and the album is eminently forgettable.

Thursday-Saturday, March 15-17: Mike Bloomfield and The Mob/Frank Biner Band
Mike Bloomfield had been the guitarist for Chicago's legendary Butterfield Blues Band, but he had moved to Marin to start the Electric Flag in 1967. He had been the first important musician to play San Francisco's Keystone Korner in 1969, continuing the tradition established at the Matrix of San Francisco heavyweights playing local clubs without a hullabaloo.

When the Matrix closed, the Keystones--first in San Francisco and then in Berkeley--and the Lion's Share in San Anselmo were the prime platforms. When Bloomfield had started playing the Keystones, John Kahn had been his first call bass player, and Bill Vitt was his substitute drummer (Bob Jones got the first call). That connection between Kahn and Vitt had led Vitt to call Kahn when Garcia had started jamming with Howard Wales and Bill Vitt at the Matrix in 1970.

However, for all the synergies and parallels between Jerry Garcia and Mike Bloomfield, they were not known to be friends. The caustic Bloomfield generally looked down on the Grateful Dead crowd. Nonetheless, the Dead's booking agent, Sam Cutler, booked Bloomfield's out-of-town shows, so Bloomfield wasn't without ties.

Frank Biner was a popular local soul singer. He put out a few albums over the years, and wrote a number of songs recorded by Tower Of Power. However, there were no Grateful Dead connections that I am aware of.

The 19722 Fantasy album Believin', by Alice Stuart And Snake. The band was a trio, with Stuart on guitar and vocals, Bob Jones on drums and vocals, and Karl Sevareid on bass.

Sunday, March 18: Clover/Alice Stuart and Snake
Clover and Alice Stuart were back on a Sunday night two weeks later. This was how bands tried to build audiences at the Keystone, or any club in the Bay Area.

After Elvin Bishop hit it big with "Fooled Around And Fell In Love" in 1976, Epic released Crabashaw Rising: Best Of Elvin Bishop, with material from his three 1970-72 Epic albums.

Monday, March 19: Crabshaw's Outlaws featuring Elvin Bishop
As near as I can tell, Elvin Bishop had two bands in early 1973. It appears that he still played shows with the latest iteration of the Elvin Bishop Group, with Jo Baker on vocals and Stephen Miller on organ. That band had released three albums on CBS, most recently the very good Rock My Soul, but they had just been (or were about to be) dropped by the label.

Meanwhile, Bishop played additional weeknight shows at the Keystone with a group called Crabshaw's Outlaws ("Pigboy Crabshaw" was a Bishop nickname). In that respect, Bishop was like Jerry Garcia, a compulsive performer with a Keystone-only band to fill up his off nights. I think some of the members of Crabshaw's Outlaws made up the core of the next lineup of the Elvin Bishop Group, which signed with Capricorn Records in 1974.

Graham Central Station's 1973 debut album on Warners

Thursday, March 22: Graham Central Station/Greg Errico, Larry Graham and Neal Schon/Pearl
Bassist Larry Graham had been a founding member of Sly And The Family Stone. In songs like "Dance To The Music," Graham's string-popping funk style revolutionized the bass guitar. However, after a string of massive hit singles, hit albums and exciting concerts, Sly And The Family Stone was in disarray. Most of the original members left the group. Drummer Greg Errico had split in 1971, and Graham followed by the end of 1972. Errico focused on production, and hung out with Mickey Hart in Novato (he played on the Rolling Thunder album, for example), but Errico still played around on occasion. Graham had initially signed on as a producer as well, of a band called Hot Chocolate. However, shortly afterwards, he joined the band, and they re-named themselves Graham Central Station.

Graham Central Station would release their first album in 1974, and they had a string of popular hits. In early '73, however, they were still figuring out where they were at in the rock and soul universe. Based on Keystone bookings, some shows were billed just as 'Graham Central Station,' and others, like this one, were billed as 'Graham Central Station, Neal Schon, Larry Graham and Greg Errico.' The implication seems to have been that GCS would do a set, and Schon, Graham and Errico would jam as well, with or without the other band members. Schon had just left Santana, and he and Errico were working on putting together a sort of "San Francisco Rhythm Section" for session work. Different players were involved, including Pete Sears and Prairie Prince. By the end of 1973, Gregg Rolie would leave Santana, and he and the above mentioned George Tickner would join Schon and Prince and (ex-Frumious Bandersnatch/Steve Miller) bassist Ross Valory to form Journey.

In the early 70s, Greg Errico hung out a little bit with Hart when he wasn't producing. However, by the late 70s, Errico had drummed with both Garcia and Weir's side bands, as well as sat in with the Grateful Dead. Errico was also intimately contacted with the formation of Journey, a band managed by long-time Deadhead Walter 'Herbie' Herbert (did you think it was an accident that Journey had an ubiquitous Kelly/Mouse logo from day one?).

I'm not sure about Pearl. In the mid-1970s, there was a man called Pearl who sounded very much like Janis Joplin who played her songs, and claimed that Joplin's last album was named after him, who played around the Bay Area. I saw him once in Sproul Plaza, about 1976--very strange. I don't know if that Pearl was the same one here.

Tower Of Power's third album, released on Warners in 1973. Tell me, tell me, what is hip?

Friday-Saturday, March 23-24: Tower Of Power/Graham Central Station
Tower Of Power, the pride of Oakland, had been discovered by Bill Graham at the Tuesday night Fillmore West auditions. They were initially signed by Graham's label, but after their initial 1970 album they were picked up by Warner Brothers. In late '72, they released their second album, the immortal Bump City. It included such classics as "You've Got To Funkifize,""Down To The Nightclub" and "You're Still A Young Man." In early '73, however, after a million gigs at the Keystone and every other dive in the East Bay, Tower Of Power were on their way up, giving hope to every band from Marin or the East Bay slugging it out on the circuit.

Tower drummer Dave Garibaldi was a long-time pal of Mickey Hart's, though I'm not sure how far back that went. For New Year's Eve 1982, the mighty Tower Of Power horn section joined Etta James and the Grateful Dead for a memorable third set. On January 23, 1988, Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir joined Tower Of Power for a truly epic jam, so the ties between the Dead and Tower ran deep, even if Tower was an East Bay band.

Graham Central Station, who had headlined Wednesday night (March 21), with the addition of Neal Schon and Greg Errico, were opening for the weekend. A few years later, these two bands would each be headliners at big theaters, but for tonight, they were laying it down at the Keystone Berkeley. Larry Graham defined funk bass to this very day, and Tower Of Power has one of the most iconic horn sections in soul music, and they were both playing for a few bucks cover and a couple of beers.

After many years as a session guy and hip insider, Dr. John hit it with 1973's "Right Place, Wrong Time," backed by the incomparable Meters. "I'd of said the right thing/But I must have used the wrong line." Been there.

Sunday-Monday, March 25-26: Dr. John The Night Tripper/Dixie Peach
Dr. John, the stage name of Mac Rebennack, had just released what would be his biggest and best-remembered song "In The Right Place," with The Meters in New Orleans. He was on tour behind the album, but the single hadn't hit yet, so he was still playing the Keystone. He was on his way up, however, and well-deserving of it.

Dr. John was based in Los Angeles, with roots in New Orleans, but he still ended up with a Dead connection or two. At some point around this era, New Orleans keyboard legend James Booker was in his band, and Booker played a few sessions in LA as well. This lead to John Kahn's ill-fated, if fascinating, suggestion to use Booker to replace Nicky Hopkins, an experiment that lasted for one weekend.

(Also, many years later, if memory serves, Dr. John opened for Garcia and Kahn at the Beacon Theater on April 21, 1982, and he played piano on the late show encore of "Goodnight Irene.")

The cover to the first Malo album on Warners, from 1972. The hit "Sauvecito" ('Little Sweetie') is still heard regularly today.

Thursday-Saturday, March 29-31: Malo/Hoodoo Rhythm Devils
Malo was another band on the way up. Their lead guitarist was Jorge Santana, Carlos' younger brother. Their first album had included the massively popular--and rightly so--hit "Sauvecito." Even if you say "I don't know that song," all I can tell you is "yes you do." Malo had come out of the Mission Street Latin/Jazz/Rock scene that had sprung up in the wake of Santana's success. That scene wasn't really part of the Grateful Dead orbit, yet there were still some connections.

Jerry Garcia had jammed with some of those Latin rock guys a bit, around 1972, and trumpeter Luis Gasca, a sort of elder statesman, had been essential to Malo's debut. Gasca had played the trumpet parts on "Mexicali Blues" when Ace was recorded. One of Gasca's replacements in Malo, trumpeter Bill Atwood, would play on Wake Of The Flood, so the Dead had plenty of professional connections to Malo, even if they weren't personally close to the members.

Aftermath
I could take any of the other four calendars from the Keystone Companions album--April, May, July and August 1973--and parse out all the Grateful Dead connections. There are plenty of other names who didn't happen to play in March: Nick Gravenites, Banana And The Bunch and Copperhead, just to name a few, have plenty of local Marin connections to the Dead. Out of town acts at the Keystone Berkeley during that time who have links to the Dead included Little Feat (spelled 'Little Feet') and Al Kooper. The Grateful Dead were very integrated into the Northern California rock scene in 1973, admired as prominent successes but not yet isolated as anachronistic freaks.

Within a few years, the music industry did its usual re-invention, and the Grateful Dead started to seem out-of-date. After some years in the wilderness, the Dead went from "out-of-date" to actually Jurassic, with all the attendant exceptions that goes with such status. Back in '73, however, they were just another band from Marin, a little older and a little wiser, but other than that connected to many of their long-haired peers trying to make it without succumbing to having a real job.

Matt Kelly, Tim Abbott and Dave Torbert of Shango, at an unknown venue in 1968. Photo courtesy of Tim Abbott.

Matt Kelly played harmonica on two Grateful Dead studio albums, and he joined the band on various blues numbers many times in the early 1980s. Kelly has also played with Bob Weir as a member of Kingfish, Bobby And The Midnites and Ratdog over a period of two decades. By any accounting, Kelly was part of the extended musical family of the Grateful Dead. The standard issue story has been that Kelly and Weir were friends from junior high school in Atherton, CA, and that is true enough. However, Kelly and Weir only played sports together, not music, and they effectively did not know each other after the eighth grade. They would only meet intermittently throughout the next decade. Having gone to junior high together did give Kelly and Weir a topic of conversation, but it was a footnote to their shared musical history. This post will begin a series on the musical history of Matt Kelly, who had numerous connections to the Grateful Dead.

An ad for Fremont's "teen" psychedelic venue, The Yellow Brick Road. Was "St. Matthews Experiment" Matt Kelly's band?

Matt Kelly
Matt Kelly had grown up in Atherton with Bob Weir. Atherton had been a wealthy community since its founding in the 19th century, and it certainly had remained so during Weir and Kelly's childhood. However, back in the 50s and 60s, Atherton residents were well off, but not crazy rich as they would become in the Silicon Valley era. So while Kelly and Weir had privileged childhoods, their day-to-day experiences were not necessarily so different than other kids their age in that time and place. Kelly first got interested in music as an adolescent when he spent several months in Mexico with his father, even though he mostly just played congas with some locals. The interest blossomed, and soon replaced sports.

By the mid-60s, Kelly had his own band, the St. Matthews Blues Band. Kelly played harmonica and guitar. I do not know who else was in the group, nor what they sounded like. I assume they played the sort of free-floating blues that most bands were playing at the Fillmore. I have also been unable to find out anything about where they played. The one trace I have been able to find is the ad above from an obscure suburban venue called The Yellow Brick Road in Fremont. I can't even say for certain that the "St. Matthews Experiment" listed is Kelly's band, but it seems probable. The Yellow Brick Road was a fascinating but short-lived psychedelic teen club experiment, finally undone by the rise of the Fillmore and constant harassment of the Fremont police. It seems a likely place for Kelly's fledgling band to have played.

According to an interview with Kelly, he picked up Robert Hunter hitchhiking in Palo Alto around 1966 or so, and took him to 710 Ashbury, and re-connected with Weir there. Since the interview was in the late 90s, I think Kelly has something wrong with the chronology, but I don't doubt that he took a hitchhiker to 710 and met his old pal from junior high school, even if they did not follow through musically for some years. Interestingly, like many 60s musicians, Kelly had numerous connections to various potential avenues of professional success, but they either did not work out or he chose not to pursue them. By the time Kingfish appeared in the mid-70s, seemingly from "nowhere" to Bay Area Grateful Dead fans like me, Kelly had in fact been a working musician for nearly a decade.

The New Delhi River Band
Kelly's first and foremost connection to the Dead, though it may not have seemed that way at the time, was The New Delhi River Band. The New Delhi River Band, to the extent that they are remembered at all, are recalled as a band that featured David Nelson and Dave Torbert before they were members of the New Riders Of The Purple Sage. They were both obscure and yet visible, in the way that only late 60s bands can be, with their name familiar from old posters, yet with no released or even circulating recordings. Yet the New Delhi River Band story was an interesting one, as they were Palo Alto's second psychedelic blues band. Despite being friendly with the first of the breed, and despite some good breaks in 1966, the New Delhi River Band never managed to find paying shows outside of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara County, never managing to cross over to the higher profile shows in Berkeley or San Francisco. In that respect, my detailed history of the group serves as a template for every 60s psychedelic blues band who were local heroes who couldn't break out beyond the county line.

However, the New Delhi River Band ground to a halt around February 1968. Nonetheless, the members of the New Delhi River Band continued to play a role in the South Bay music scene after the band broke up. Most famously, of course, Nelson and Torbert were anchor members of the New Riders. However, the New Delhi River Band was also the genesis of Kingfish, and a variety of other Bay Area 60s luminaries, a major record producer and even one 80s television star crossed their path as well. Matt Kelly had only joined the NDRB at the very end of their existence, in early 1968, but that connection was essential to his musical future.

In an earlier post, I looked at the interregnum in David Nelson's career, between the demise of NDRB in February 1968 and the formation of the New Riders in May 1969. In this post, I will begin to trace the paths of the other members of the New Delhi River Band. In fact, the story is so complicated that it will take more than one post, so I will only look at the careers of New Delhi River Band members in 1968 (thanks in advance to guitarist Tim Abbott, still rockin' it with the Chocolate Watch Band, who kindly provided so much for this post).

The New Delhi River Band, February 1968
I have dealt with the twists and turns of the New Delhi River Band at great length, so I will only briefly recap it here. In the Summer of 1966, a few bohemian Palo Alto musicians decided to form a blues band, kind of in the mode of the Butterfield Blues Band. They found a place to play, an obscure and legendary venue called The Barn in Scotts Valley, near Santa Cruz. After the usual personnel shuffles, they established a stable lineup and began to play around. The group was pretty popular in the South Bay, but although they played the Fillmore once, and played for free in Provo Park in Berkeley many times, they could never get over the hump. The primary lineup of the New Delhi River Band, from late 1966 until early 1968, was

Sweet John Tomasi-harmonica, vocals
Peter Sultzbach-lead guitar
David Nelson-guitar
Dave Torbert-bass, vocals
Chris Herold-drums

According to Matthew Kelly, his band The St. Matthews Blues Band opened for them at some point in 1967, and he became friends with the NDRB and jammed with them regularly. At the very end, according to Kelly, he became a member of NDRB. Whether he specifically replaced Tomasi or Nelson isn't clear, and it's possible he just became an additional member. It also appears that the NDRB didn't really break up, it just drifed apart. Certainly there could hardly have been animosity amongst the band members, since they kept joining groups with each other. In any case, the last performance date I have been able to find for the New Delhi River Band was January 28, 1968, and they seemed to have simply faded away after that.

David Nelson took a six-month hiatus from being professional musician, not to re-appear until Fall 1968, when he took a hand in the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa sessions. Guitarist Peter Sultzbach, meanwhile, joined the backing band for Linda Tillery. Tillery had left the Oakland group The Loading Zone to sign as a solo artist with Columbia Records, using the stage name Sweet Linda Devine. Torbert and Herold, along with Kelly, turned back to their recent past, and somewhere around February 1968, the remains of the New Delhi River Band reconstituted themselves as Shango.

A promotional photo of Shango from 1968, probably taken in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Photo courtesy of Tim Abbott.

Shango
The lineup of Shango was

Tim Abbott-lead guitar
Ryan Brandenburg-guitar, cello
Matt Kelly-harmonica, guitar
Dave Torbert-bass, vocals
Chris Herold-drums

According to Abbott, Dave Torbert was Shango's primary lead vocalist, although all three guitarists had vocal numbers as well. John Tomasi also sang and played with Shango on occasion, although I think on a more informal guest basis. Prior to the New Delhi River Band, both Herold and Torbert had been in a Redwood City blues band called The Good News, who were an exciting Peninsula band in 1965-66. However, the group had disintegrated in October 1966, and both of them had then joined the NDRB full time. Good News lead guitarist Tim Abbott went on to the Haight Ashbury Blues Band, and then to the Chocolate Watch Band.

The Chocolate Watch Band were the South Bay's finest band, both live and on record, and they never got the recognition they deserved in San Francisco. When Abbott had joined in June 1967, they were still riding high and making good money. However, Abbott left the group due to concerns about how that money was being handled, a perpetual issue throughout the history of the CWB. Thus Abbott was available when NDRB disintegrated, and he rejoined his old friends Torbert and Herold. I'm not sure how Ryan Brandenburg got connected to the group, nor how much cello he played, but with two or three guitars, plus a harmonica, and some cello, Shango was primed to go beyond the basic blues that had characterized rock music a few years earlier.

I have not been able to trace many dates by Shango. I would be very interested if anyone has any recollections even of the venues Shango might have played. There were many long-gone venues in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara County that I have been trying to excavate, and Shango must have played their share.

A poster for the Vernal Equinox Festival at Big Sur, March 22-24, 1968. A few thousand people showed up, and no such events were ever held at Big Sur again. Bands listed include The Bubble, Edsel Boogie, Electric Tingle Guild, The Flower, Puppy Farm, Weird Herald, Freedom Highway and Phoenix. Shango did play, however, and probably numerous other bands.

According to both Matt Kelly and Tim Abbott, the biggest event that Shango played was the Vernal Equinox Festival at Big Sur on March 22-24, 1968. Big Sur is a remarkable place, only accessible by one twisty coastal road, and completely isolated from the rest of California. It has been a counterculture haven from the day it was connected by road to the rest of the state. There were numerous hippie type events there in the mid-60s, but after something like 3000 people came to the Vernal Equinox, no such events were ever held there again. 3000 people--hippies or not--is just too much for Big Sur.

The event ended up turning into a kind of wake for Neal Cassidy, who had died in Mexico in February. The event was sponsored (so to speak) by the MidPeninsula Free University in Menlo Park, which had numerous Kesey connections, so the word had obviously gotten around. Although Shango is not listed on the poster--I assume many other bands were also unlisted, as there was supposed to be three days of music--many of the groups who did play are of great interest to those scholars interested in South Bay psychedelia. A brief synopsis of some of the bands will give an idea of Shango's peers at the time

The Bubble were a band of high school students who rehearsed at The Barn. Lead guitarist Ken Kraft would go on to join the legendary Santa Cruz band Snail.
Edsel Boogie, I'm fairly certain, evolved into Boogie. [update: I was fairly certain, but wrong. Edsel Boogie did not become Boogie.]~~Boogie was a trio featuring Barry Bastian on guitar (ex-Lee Michaels) along with John Barrett on bass and Fuzzy John Oxendine on drums (both of whom would end up in The Rhythm Dukes).~~
Electric Tingle Guild featured guitarist Mark Loomis, who had left the Chocolate Watch Band in a dispute over management's handling of money (to be replaced by Abbott, who left for the same reason).
The Flower were a Santa Cruz psychedelic band. I know that Gordon Stevens, who played electric viola in Moby Grape in 1971 (too long a story, even for this blog) was in Flower.
Puppy Farm, a light show as well as a band, lived in a commune in the Mountains not far from Kesey's old place. The aggregation is better known from posters under their "true" name, Black Shit Puppy Farm.
Weird Herald, true legends from San Jose, were extremely popular in the San Jose area, and limited recorded evidence suggests they were quite a band. Lead guitarist Billy Dean Andrus died unexpectedly in 1970, and the abrupt sadness generated two famous songs from his good friends: Jorma Kaukonen's "Ode To Billy Dean" and the Doobie Brothers Pat Simmons "Oh Black Water."
Freedom Highway were a Marin band, booked by Ron Polte and West-Pole, who were pretty good but never broke out of Marin
Phoenix, a band with a long and complicated history, was one of those bands that should have gone much further than they did. Much of our knowledge of the craziness of the Big Sur event (not for a family blog) comes from former members of Phoenix.

Shango were billed along with many other psychedelic luminaries--and Jack Jones and Jill St. John--for a Eugene McCarthy rally at Santa Clara County Fairgrounds on May 25, 1968

May 25, 1968 Family Park, Santa Clara County Fairgrounds McCarthy Is Happening

Jack Jones and Jill St. John/H.P. Lovecraft/Nitty Gritty Dirt Band/Clear Light/Flaming Groovies/Crystal Syphon/The Womb/Jimmy Nite and The Nite Caps/Phantasmagoria/The Howl/Anonymous Artists of America/Day Blindness/Shango/many others

Of all the events in this brief chronology, this event is the most peculiar. I only know the event from the poster--I have never heard of a review, memory or second hand account. It may not have even happened. However, the poster itself is very revealing. I have considered the event within the history of outdoor San Jose rock concerts in the 60s, and I have analyzed the various acts at length elsewhere, so I won't recap it all. Briefly, it appears that this was an effort to have a sort of "Hippie Fair."

Eugene McCarthy was running for President on an Anti-Vietnam War platform, and the California primary was June 4. The wording of the ad suggests that it is a pro-McCarthy event, but there is no evidence that its really a fundraiser. The peculiar double headline acts of HP Lovecraft, who headlined the Fillmore a few weeks earlier, and Jack Jones and his new wife Jill St. John, Las Vegas lounge headliners, is a truly headscratching combination. My assumption is that the organizers were trying to appeal to actual hippies and people about 10 years older, and that the effort was a failure.

The "McCarthy Is Happening" took place a week after the huge "Northern California Folk-Rock Festival" held just the weekend before (May 17-18, 1968), at the very same Fairgrounds, though not the identical location. The fairgrounds were also less than a mile from the park where the 1967 San Jose Be-In had been held on May 14, 1967, so two members of Shango (Torbert and Herold) had seen outdoor shows in San Jose go from relaxed free festivals to hyped up hippie fairs featuring Hollywood stars in the space of just slightly more than a year.

Another promotional photo of Shango, circa 1968, probably taken in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Photo courtesy Tim Abbott.

According to Tim Abbott, Shango faded away due to lack of gigs--I myself have only found two, as you can see--and Ryan Brandenburg left the group. Shango briefly changed their name to The Wind, but I have been unable to track down any dates. The Wind must have been together in the Summer of 1968 [update: Matt Kelly says the group actually used the name Wind Wind]

The Wind
Tim Abbott-lead guitar
Matt Kelly-harmonica, guitar
Dave Torbert-bass, vocals
Chris Herold-drums

The cover to the 1968 album Horses on White Whale Records. Matt Kelly, Dave Torbert, Chris Herold and Scott (Quigley) Quik were mated with lead singer Don Johnson, seen lounging in front.

The strangest story in the time between the New Delhi River Band and Kingfish was the Horses album on White Whale Records. Neither Shango nor The Wind had really gotten any traction, nor, it seemed, played many shows. Nonetheless, the band had somehow come to the attention of two songwriters, Tim Gilbert and John Carter. The pair had been the lead singer and lyricist of a Colorado group called The Rainy Daze. Back in '65, The Rainy Daze had hooked up with a local dj and aspiring producer, Dave Diamond, and he had moved the band to Los Angeles.

In 1967, The Rainy Daze had had a surprise AM pop hit with the song "Acapulco Gold." It was a catchy tune, and once public scolds discovered what the lyric of the chorus actually implied-- "Old dogs can learn new tricks/When the streets are lined with bricks/Of Acapulco Gold,"-- the record was banned in many cities. Producer Dave Diamond could hardly have been happier, since nothing improves record sales like the banning of a scandalous record. Diamond claims that to this day "Acapulco Gold" was the best selling single in the history of San Francisco, and he could very well be right. Carter and Gilbert went on to write the song "Incense And Peppermints," and Diamond found a Santa Barbara area group called The Strawberry Alarm Clock, and they had another huge hit.

The Rainy Daze soon disintegrated, however. Dave Diamond moved up to San Francisco, working at AM giant KFRC. Carter and Gilbert ultimately moved to San Francisco as well. The duo were more interested in songwriting and producing than being in a band, so they had written an album's worth of songs and were looking for performers, which was a typical way to make records in the mid 60s. Carter and Gilbert had a lead singer from Colorado named John Fifefield, who had been the star of a famous Colorado band The Astronauts (too long a tangent even for this blog). As a lead guitarist they had found one Scott Quigley, to be better known a decade later as Scotty Quik (when he played with Sammy Hagar).

Carter and Davis needed a rhythm section, however, and somehow came upon Torbert, Herold and Kelly. All parties are vague on how this actually occurred, but I presume the producers must have seen either Shango or The Wind in some tiny joint. Unfortunately for Tim Abbott, however, since they already had a lead guitarist in Quigley, he was left behind. Torbert, Herold and Kelly moved to Los Angeles for a few months in mid-1968 to work on what became the Horses album.

For many years, the Horses album was impossible to find, probably due at least in part to legal issues involving White Whale Records. Time passes, however, and in 2003 Gear Fab Records re-released the album on cd, including a detailed interview with producer Dave Diamond, who spelled out at least some aspects of the strange tale. The strangest part is this: halfway through the album, the producers decided lead singer Fifefield was wrong for the project. They held auditions for a new lead singer, and the singer was a handsome, newly-arrived lad from the middle of the country named Don Johnson.

Was Horses' lead singer Don Johnson the same Don Johnson who would go on to star in Miami Vice and other TV shows in the 1980s and beyond? No one seems really certain [update: Matt Kelly thinks the lead singer Don Johnson lacked the charisma to become the famous movie star, and thinks they were different people]. The timing is certainly correct, as that is when Don Johnson arrived in Los Angeles. Johnson was also an aspiring musician as well as actor. He co-wrote a song with Dickey Betts that appeared on a 1977 album ("Bougainvillea"from Great Southern) long before he was famous from television. Johnson also put out two solo albums in the 80s. And once, at least, in 1995, I saw the Allman Brothers at Concord Pavilion and Johnson came out and sang "Stormy Monday" without embarrassing himself. So the idea of Don Johnson as a potential rock star in 1968 is very plausible indeed. Yet was it him? All of the principals aren't sure, so you will have to look at the picture (above) and decide for yourself. Don Johnson himself remains quiet about his pre-Miami Vice life, so he's no help one way or the other.

Horses
Don Johnson-vocals
Scott Quigley-lead guitar
Matt Kelly-harmonica, guitar
Dave Torbert-bass, vocals
Chris Herold-drums

A flyer for a September 5, 1968 concert in Tracy, CA with San Jose's People!, supported by Horses

The only trace I have been able to find of a live Horses performance was this completely obscure flyer from the Tracy Ballroom on September 5, 1968 (thanks to Colin for this). Tracy is in Central California, roughly between San Francisco and Sacramento. People (actually People!) were a popular San Jose band who had a decent hit ("I Love You" reached #14 in Billboard in 1968, and #1 in Japan), so Horses would have been just filling out the bill. I assume this concert was after the band had finished recording the album, but then again this is so out-of-the-way it could be a different "Horses" entirely. However, People and Shango had worked the same circuit, so its more likely that this was a rare--perhaps the only--live booking for Don Johnson and Horses.

I don't believe the Horses album was even released until 1969, but Kelly never mentioned it until he was asked about it in Relix many years later, so I don't think he and Torbert were sorry to see it disappear. It's a heavily produced album, rather far from the bluesier sound that Kelly, Torbert and Herold were trying to lay down. Nonetheless it does have some decent songs, which would turn up in Kingfish repertoire years later. These include "Run Rabbit Run" which Kingfish re-titled as "Jump For Joy,""Asia Minor" and"Overnight Bag.""Asia Minor" was co-written by Tim Hovey (and Scott Quigley), a former child actor and friend of the band. Hovey would surface a few years later, as not only a co-writer of a number of songs with Dave Torbert ("Important Exportin' Man", Wild Northland" and "Goodbye Yer Honor", but also as the sound man for Kingfish.

Also, the track "Horseradish," credited to Carter and Gilbert, is pretty much the Little Walter classic harmonica instrumental "Juke," which was performed many times by Kingfish. Kelly's harmonica plays a notable, if muted role in the sound, except on "Horseradish," where it stands front and center. There are some organ and piano parts that aren't by the band members--typical for the era--but on the whole it seems like the band really did record the basic tracks.

Nothing happened with the Horses album. If lead singer Don Johnson was the actor, we know what became of him. Dave Diamond continued a successful career as a dj up until this day. Tim Gilbert ended up managing a TV station in Lexington, KY. John Carter went on to become a very successful A&R man and producer for Capitol Records. Carter was instrumental in promoting Bob Seger and Steve Miller, two huge Capitol acts, and he also signed and produced Sammy Hagar (which helps explain the Scott Quigley/Scotty Quik connection). Carter's most memorable production was probably Tina Turner's Private Dancer album. So despite the oddity of the Horses project, Kelly and Torbert had contacts that would bode well for any ambitious and aspiring 60s musician.

The Shango lads availed themselves of exactly none of the opportunities that there Hollywood sojourn might have afforded them. To be fair, I have never read a word of regret from any of them, and indeed for the most part I think they were happy to put it behind them. Nonetheless, it's important to remember that back in the 60s, when the music industry was still expanding, talented musicians in places like California often had to pick and choose what to pursue, and Kelly, Torbert and Herold very consciously chose the NorCal hippie blues sound over the SoCal songwriter sound, and thus set their path before them.

However, when the Horses project ground to a halt, Kelly, Torbert and Herold let their own enterprise grind to a halt as well. Herold formed a group with old buddy Tim Abbott called Haywire. They played a few gigs in late 1968, but it didn't go anywhere. At the end of the year, or perhaps in the beginning of 1969, Abbott reported that he and Herold got together for a jam with David Nelson with an eye to forming a group, but none of the pieces fit together. Everyone got along fine, but Nelson and Abbott's guitar styles didn't mesh particularly well, so nothing came of it.

Aftermath
The members of Shango had begun the year with high hopes, but ended with no band and little to show for it. However, although the Horses album lacks a bit of crunch to my ears, it isn't terrible by any means. Matt Kelly's bands played songs from the album for decades, as "Asia Minor" and "Jump For Joy" were Kingfish staples. They were even re-recorded for the 1976 Kingfish album on Round Records. At the end of 1968, however, that was a long way in the future, and the band members were at loose ends.

Chris Herold, like most young American men, had a national service obligation. He was a conscientious objector, so he agreed to alternative service driving a hospital truck. This only left him free to play on weekends. As a result, from 1969-71, Herold was the drummer for a legendary Santa Cruz "jam band" called Mountain Current, who are fondly though vaguely--ahem--remembered by music fans in the Santa Cruz mountains at the time. Herold's obligations prevented the group from being more than a weekend fun band, and the membership was quite fluid, but they still played an important role in the Kingfish story.

Dave Torbert had been struggling as a musician along with his friend Herold since at least 1965, so he seems to have decided it was time for a break. Torbert was also an avid surfer, and he took off for Maui, where he lived the hippie surfer life until around March 1970, when he would receive a fateful phone call.

But as 1968 ended, Matt Kelly was at loose ends. Somehow he had avoided the draft, but with Herold and Torbert effectively out of action, he did not have a band. However, his next two years would turn out to be quite interesting, even if he had no inkling that he would record with a well-known bluesman and then get to record in London. Those stories are too long to tell here, and will have to wait for Part II.

The Sebastopol Arts Center, in Sebastopol (Sonoma County), CA, where the Jerry Garcia played on March 22, 1978

The Jerry Garcia Band were a popular live attraction in Northern California in the second half of the 1970s. Mostly they played the Keystone Berkeley and the other Keystone clubs, but they played their share of concerts at theaters and small halls around the Bay Area as well. The popularity of the Garcia Band was not surprising, as the Grateful Dead continued to be a more and more popular concert attraction each year, even as rock fashions moved away from the Grateful Dead, so it's no surprise that concerts by the Dead's lead guitarist thrived as well. Yet a peculiar feature of the Jerry Garcia Band was the dark vacuum in which they performed: their shows were never reviewed, interviewers only asked band members about the JGB in passing, and even Deadheads shared surprisingly little information about the performances. Local Deadheads hardly considered a Garcia Band concert a big deal. People who regularly saw the Garcia Band at, say, the Keystone Berkeley, could not be bothered to drive an hour to see them at Keystone Palo Alto, and vice versa.

As a result, contemporaneous information about the Jerry Garcia Band was surprisingly hard to come by. If the band changed drummers, no announcement was made--you just showed up one night at the Keystone Berkeley and there was someone else in the chair. Nor would there be an explanation if the old drummer came back, or if singers came and went. Phil Lesh subbed for John Kahn a few times, and while Lesh's presence was advertised, no explanation was ever proffered for why Kahn was unavailable. Bay Area Deadheads took Garcia Band shows for granted, and if they went at all, it was generally on the spur of the moment, and they hardly paid attention to setlists, band members or any other details.

Garcia scholarship from the 1980s onward has been focused on trying to capture all that was missed in the prior decade. TheJerrySite is a remarkable recovery of history recaptured before it drifted away. Yet even for all the work at constructing an accurate historical record, unexpected blank spots show up on the landscape, even decades later. One such blank spot came in some recent interviews with former JGB keyboardist Ozzie Ahlers. Ahlers played in the Jerry Garcia Band from Fall 1979 through Summer 1980, and then moved on to his own band. Yet in a recent interview with dj and journalist Jake Feinberg, Ahlers said that in 1978 he filled in for Keith Godchaux on at least two occasions, when Keith was unavailable to play. According to Ahlers, one time was at "some benefit in Sebastopol with Maria Mulduar," and there was at least one other time in "Santa Cruz or Southern California." This is remarkable information worthy of closer analysis, and this post will try and pin down the dates.

Ozzie Ahlers was in the band Glory River, who opened for Mountain and the Allman Brothers at SUNY Stony Brook on July 10, 1970 (the ad is from the June 18 '70 Village Voice)

The Jake Feinberg Interview with Ozzie Ahlers
Jake Feinberg, a disc jockey and scholar, has undertaken a remarkable series of interviews with jazz and rock musicians from the 1960s and 70s. Although Feinberg's principal focus is on jazz, he has also interviewed a number of musicians who have played with Jerry Garcia, including Melvin Seals, Richard Greene, Bob Weir, David Grisman, Howard Wales and Peter Rowan. Feinberg recently had a lengthy interview with Ahlers, a wide-ranging conversation about Ahlers career and approach to music, but there was plenty of conversation about Jerry Garcia.

Ahlers, who was born and raised in New Jersey, had gone to Cornell University, where he had played keyboards in bands that were popular on the college dance circuit around 1967-70 (his Cornell band was called Oz and Ends). Ahlers ended up in Woodstock, NY, playing professionally with a group called Glory River. Glory River opened a few major rock shows, and even had a chance to record at Electric Ladyland Studios around 1971. The band did not pan out, however, and in 1972 Ahlers moved to the Bay Area to work with Van Morrison, whom he knew from Woodstock.

Ahlers did not actually end up playing that much with the mercurial Morrison, who liked to mix and match musicians and did not keep anything resembling a regular touring schedule. However, Ahlers played and recorded with Jesse Colin Young, alternating keyboard duties with Scott Lawrence, and he played in a lot of local combos around Marin and the East Bay. In early 1978, Ahlers was invited to join Robert Hunter's band Comfort. Ahlers had never met Hunter or Comfort, but he received a call out of the blue from Rock Scully. However, Ahlers had known John Kahn from Woodstock, where Kahn had worked with Paul Butterfield and Geoff Muldaur in the Spring of 1972. Presumably Kahn was the one who tipped Hunter, but even Ahlers himself does not know for sure.

Hunter and Comfort had been playing around the Bay Area since the middle of 1977--Comfort had existed before that--but keyboard player Richard McNees had left in December. Ahlers heard that Hunter had insisted on Ahlers by saying "I don't want your friend, I want a pro," but it does not appear that the remark had anything to do with McNees. McNees himself says that Ahlers is a great guy, and in any case McNees had already left for his own reasons. My suspicion is that Hunter, who was financing the band, wanted to make the sure the new player who came in was top-notch, and preferred a Kahn-recommended veteran to another local pal. In February and March of 1978, Robert Hunter and Comfort opened a string of shows for the Jerry Garcia Band in California and the East Coast, starting on February 18 at Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium and ending at March 18 at the Warners Theater in Washington, DC (the JGB played one more show without Comfort the next night).

Keyboard player Ozzie Ahlers with a great American, indeed, The Greatest

Jerry Garcia And Keyboard Players, 1978
As I have discussed elsewhere, 1978 was a critical year for Jerry Garcia's musical future, even though it may not have seemed that way at the time. Keith Godchaux held down the piano chair in both the Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band, and while both groups had some high moments during the year, their musical progression seemed stalled. Yet in retrospect, I have shown how all the important keyboard players whom Jerry Garcia played with from 1979 through 1990 were heard by him when they opened for the Dead or the Garcia Band. Melvin Seals played with the Elvin Bishop Group (opening for the Dead in Santa Barbara on June 4, 1978), Brent Mydland played with the Bob Weir Band (opening for the Jerry Garcia Band in the Pacific Northwest for the weekend of October 26-28, 1978) and Ozzie Ahlers played with Robert Hunter and Comfort for the Spring '78 Eastern tour.

I theorized correctly that Garcia heard Ahlers play with Hunter and judged him suitable for future use. I did not realize, however, that Kahn already knew Ahlers, and indeed may have recommended him for the gig. I also did not realize, nor seemingly did anyone else, that Ozzie had quietly filled in for Keith Godchaux for at least two shows in 1978. Thus when Garcia and Kahn decided to re-start the Garcia Band in late 1979, Ahlers had already passed the trial by fire of onstage performance.

Jerry Garcia was infamous as a musician who avoided rehearsal whenever possible. Thus, if Keith Godchaux was sick, the least of Garcia's concerns would have been that a last-minute substitute would have had no chance to rehearse. In fact, I suspect Garcia would have preferred the inherent risk and incipient possibilities of playing with a new band member who had no preparation whatsoever. With respect to the March 22 date, Ahlers would have just come off a road trip where he would have heard the Garcia Band perform ten different times, so he wouldn't have been in the dark about their music. Yet Ahlers lack of preparation would have insured that he mostly had to improvise his parts, which is exactly what Jerry would have wanted him to do anyway.

A long unseen poster for the Jerry Garcia Band/Robert Hunter and Comfort concert at the Sebastopol Veterans Hall on March 22, 1978. The concert was a benefit for the Sonoma Stump, a local paper. Thanks to JGMF for the scan

Veterans Hall, Sebastapol, CA March 22, 1978
The Jerry Garcia Band/Comfort tour of the East Coast went from March 9 through March 19, although Comfort did not play every date with the JGB. Three days after Garcia's last Eastern date in Pittsburgh, the Garcia Band played a show at the Veterans Hall in the tiny Sonoma town of Sebastopol (pop. 7,500). Sebastopol isn't particularly far from San Francisco or Berkeley (just an hour from each), or even San Rafael (about 45 minutes), but it isn't on the way to anywhere, so most Bay Area residents consider it "out-of-the-way." The peculiarly casual nature of Jerry Garcia Band performances in the 1970s was such that few East Bay or San Francisco Garcia fans considered driving to Sebastopol for the concert. Yet the Veterans Hall was tiny (see the photo up top), and the show must have had a great vibe.

In the Feinberg interview, Ahlers specifically recalls substituting for Keith Godchaux at a show in Sebastopol, with Maria Muldaur. Since the Garcia Band is only known to have played Sebastopol this one time, everything points towards the March 22, 1978 show. Ahlers recalls it as a benefit, ~~which is possible, but we don't even have a poster or ad from the show, so we don't even know that much~~ [update: now we do, thanks to JGMF. The concert was a benefit for the Sonoma Stump, a local paper]. I do not how much publicity the show received. Given what appears to be the tiny size of the room, I suspect it was practically a guerilla show, with very little notice.

I recently listened to the surviving tape of the March 22 show, hoping to be able to distinguish some difference in the piano playing. However, while it's true that I don't have the sharpest ears in the world, I can't myself say from listening that I can tell whether or not Ozzie is playing rather than Keith. Of course, Ozzie would be playing Keith's rig, which at the time was a Yamaha electric grand piano, so that would make the tape sound "just like Keith" in many ways. Also, Ahlers would have been borrowing Keith's licks, to the extent he could remember them, so that was yet another way it would be impossible to tell them apart. Certainly, if any readers give the tape a good listen, please put your insights and speculations on the keyboard player in the Comments section.

Could there be some mistake in all of this? Could Ozzie Ahlers somehow be mis-remembering the entire sequence of events? Of course, anything is possible, but I think all signs point towards Ahlers' memory of the show being completely accurate. For one thing, it had to be a dramatic event for Ahlers to have been asked to sit in for Keith Godchaux on almost no notice. For another, Sebastopol is an oddball place for a concert, since it was a tiny farming town. To me, the sign that Ozzie's memory is clear is the very specificity of such an obscure location for the show[update: we also now know for sure that Ozzie was there, since he was a member of Comfort at the time].

The question that has to be raised is how Ozzie's presence passed unnoticed all these years. However, a few points stand out. For one thing, Garcia shows in the Bay Area in the 70s were very different than Garcia shows there the next decade, much less Garcia shows on the East Coast at pretty much any time. Much as western Deadheads loved Jerry, he was just sort of There, playing the Keystone Berkeley every month and the occasional local concert. There didn't seem to be an urgency to catch every show, and people rarely went out of town. Thus, when I lived in Berkeley, I could usually find someone who went to the most recent Keystone Berkeley show, and try and quiz them about what the JGB played, but I could never find anyone who even went to Keystone Palo Alto, much less the wilds of Sonoma County. So if anyone from my circle of acquaintances went, I never met them, and I think the Berkeley solipsism of Jerry fans was common to every Bay Area county back in the 70s.

For another thing, how many of the Sebastopol fans may have even noticed that Keith Godchaux wasn't on piano? Donna was out front, along with Maria Muldaur, so how good a look did they get at the man behind the piano? Yes, of course, Ozzie doesn't look like Keith, but most Deadheads back then would have been hard-pressed to say what Keith Godchaux looked like. Finally, most of the people who went to the show--and there probably wasn't a huge number, as it was a small place--may only have been vaguely aware of the configuration of the Jerry Garcia Band, so it may not have occurred to them to note that the keyboard player wasn't the Grateful Dead's piano player, even if they had known who Keith was. So the fact that Ozzie Ahlers' presence at Sebastopol has gone unnoticed all these decades is hardly farfetched at all.

[update: it seems that the March 22 '78 Sebastopol show will be released as GarciaLive Volume 4, so we should find out if Ozzie played with Jerry that night. If not, where did he play with them? Rohnert Park Community Center on October 5 '78 seems like the next best choice.]
[update2: ok, we now know from the liner notes of GarciaLive Volume 4 that Ozzie played on the last four numbers: Mystery Train, Love In The Afternoon, I'll Be With Thee and Midnight Moonlight]

The "Other Show"-Southern California or Santa Cruz?
Of course, in the Feinberg interview, Ahlers mentions that he subbed for Keith Godchaux in the JGB at least one other time. He vaguely recalls that it was "Santa Cruz or Southern California." Of course, from March 1978 through the last Keith and Donna JGB shows in November, the band never played either Southern California or Santa Cruz. The Jerry Garcia Band would go on to play many shows at the Catalyst in downtown Santa Cruz, but Jerry Garcia's first show at that venue did not take place until early 1979. I don't think an undiscovered show at the Catalyst in 1978 is likely, either. The Catalyst had existed in downtown Santa Cruz since the beginning of the 1970s, but at first it was just a coffee shop. Its actual location was a room in a former hotel (the St. George) at 833 Front Street, and the club did not move to the converted bowling alley on 1011 Pacific Avenue (where it remains today) until the end of 1978. When the Catalyst was still on Front Street, I do not believe they could have afforded or accommodated the Garcia Band, so I feel comfortable ruling out Santa Cruz for Ozzie Ahlers'"other" show with them.

However, since the JGB did not play Southern California at all in 1978, where did Ozzie sub? A close look at the Fall '78 Garcia Band show list point directly at the Keystone Palo Alto. Palo Alto is about two hours from Marin, so if Ozzie was driven down, it might have seemed like a long trip, and he may not have known exactly where he was. There are a number of October and November JGB shows at Keystone Palo Alto for which we have no evidence beyond the advertisement of a show--no setlist, no tape, and of course, no review, since the band was never reviewed. So Ozzie could have sat in for Keith Godchaux and we would still be none the wiser.

Aftermath
As we know from both the Feinberg interview and David Gans' liner notes from the recent Jerry Garcia Band archival cd featuring the Ahlers lineup (March 1 '80), Ahlers was invited to join the Jerry Garcia Band when it was restarted in the Fall of 1979. It appears that John Kahn's jazz rock band Reconstruction was originally supposed to exist in parallel with the Garcia Band, but that was not in fact what happened. Ahlers joined the new look Garcia Band, and played his first gig with them on October 7, 1979 at Keystone Palo Alto--which would be ironic if in fact Ahlers had subbed for Keith there the previous year.

Ahlers played some fine music with the Garcia Band, but he only did two tours with them, first in February and then in July 1980. Apparently, Ahlers never rehearsed with the Garcia Band. When he was hired, Garcia just gave Ahlers a list of 15 or so songs that he liked to do, and Ozzie learned the chords of the ones he did not know (he commented "some of them were Dead songs, and they were, like, folk songs with half a bar missing"). Other than that, he just waited for Jerry to count off the songs and let it happen, but it turns out that he had already done that before, so Garcia and Kahn had complete confidence in his ability to roll with it. Although many Deadheads now find the Oberheim synthesizer sound that Ahlers used kind of dated, it turns out that Garcia and Kahn asked Ozzie to solo on that instrument, apparently because they were seeking a change of pace, and that too was a new experience for Ahlers.

It seems that Kahn and Garcia invited Ozzie to tour with them again in 1981, but the financial circumstances were not as good. Also, Ozzie had his own band, at the time called The Average Beach Band, later to change its name to The Edge. Ahlers knew that the Jerry Garcia Band would always be a part-time engagement, so for good or ill he threw in his lot with The Edge. Melvin Seals was invited to play organ for the Garcia Band, and the Garcia Band traveled on. The Edge, who played "reggae-rock," which seemed to be a coming style at the time, put out a couple of nice albums that went nowhere. They even opened for the Jerry Garcia Band once (Concord Pavilion, September 7, 1981).

Although The Edge did not make it big, Ozzie Ahlers ended up making a successful series of albums in a jazz-rock "New Age" style with Jefferson Starship guitarist Craig Chacuiqo. Yet Ozzie looks back fondly on his time on the Garcia Band. It is remarkable that after all these decades, we are still finding out more about the Garcia Band in the 1970s, when for all their relative commercial success they could invite a different keyboard player to sit in with no rehearsal and no fanfare, as it they were just some local cover band playing in some dive.

Palo Alto High School, at 50 Embarcadero Road, as it looks today, where Jerry Garcia saw Joan Baez in concert in 1961 in the auditorium. The old auditorium has long since been replaced.

One of Jerry Garcia's most enduring traits was that he chose playing music over everything else. The Grateful Dead played more shows than almost any band of their era, and yet Garcia had a massive performing career separate from the Dead. He recorded numerous studio albums, played sessions, recorded film soundtracks and generally found a way to make music for as many of his waking hours as he could manage. Although Garcia was famously sociable to those who met him, the truth was his preference was to have a guitar in his hand--or a banjo or anything else--and to be actively making music.

Like any great musician, Garcia had giant ears, and he learned from numerous musicians and recording artists throughout his career. Yet most of the live music he heard was played by musicians on the same bill with him. Early in his career, Garcia had very little money, and as he attained a level of success, he worked so much that he rarely had the time to go out. When the Grateful Dead achieved a certain level of economic success, Garcia responded by forming other groups--the New Riders, Garcia/Saunders, Old And In The Way, and so on--so he still had little time to see other artists.

Because Jerry Garcia's live appearances have been so carefully studied, just about all the times that Garcia has sat in with a band as a guest artist have been documented. However, Garcia was so forthcoming about his interests, and his performing history has been so well known, that we are generally aware when seeing another performer has influenced Garcia's music. At different times, for example, Garcia had mentioned how seeing a Pentangle or a Miles Davis when they shared a bill with the Dead had influenced his music.

Yet there is a short but important list of concerts and performers that Garcia was known to have seen that appears not to have been written out. Garcia liked to perform, and didn't like to hang out, so the number of times Garcia saw a show without playing is surprisingly few. Particularly in later years, I think Garcia attracted an extraordinary amount of attention, and going backstage or sitting in regular seats was probably not a relaxing experience for him. Nonetheless, Garcia did get out once in a while. This post attempts to document every known performance where Jerry Garcia attended the show, but did not perform, nor was scheduled. The emphasis is on different performers, rather than specific dates, although of course I am tremendously interested in actual dates where they are known. Anyone with additions, corrections, insights or entertaining speculation on this subject is encouraged to Comment or email me.

[update] Numerous readers have Commented or emailed me, and the entire Comment thread is at least as interesting as the post itself, and well worth a read. I have updated the post accordingly. Thanks to Light Into Ashes, Jesse, JGMF, ChicoArchivist, Nick, Legs Lambert and the ever-present Anonymous

[update] For a fascinating companion piece to this list, see this amazing post on Jerry Garcia's Record Collection.

ca. 1959, Fillmore, San Francisco and Roseland, Oakland, CA:Rhythm & Blues shows
[update] Tireless scholar and fellow blogger Light Into Ashes seems to have uncovered the earliest concerts that Garcia attended:

In the late 50s, round the time Garcia was going to the School of Fine Arts in SF, he was also going to see R&B shows: "Me and a couple of friends used to go out to black shows, not only at the Fillmore, but also at Roseland over in Oakland. I'd usually hear about the shows on the radio." (Troy, Captain Trips p.14) No bands named.

Joan Baez, circa 1961

1961, Palo Alto High School Auditorium, Palo Alto, CA: Joan Baez
Jerry Garcia was a struggling musician and former GI in 1961. However, he saw Joan Baez at the Palo Alto High School Auditorium and was instantly struck--this was something he could do. Joan Baez had gone to Palo Alto High School, but she hadn't graduated, as her academic father had moved the family to Boston for her senior year. However, she was still a local girl made good, and that had to give some inspiration to Garcia as well.

Both Pigpen and Bill Kreutzmann went to Paly High. Pigpen was probably a student at the time, although he was expelled and did not graduate. Kreutzmann did graduate from Paly (as did I, somewhat later). Paly High (as we all called it) was Palo Alto's first high school, opened in 1898. The old auditorium was replaced in the early 70s (and has probably been replaced again). Paly was not impossibly far from either downtown Palo Alto or Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park, so for a mostly-carless bohemian like the model 1961 Garcia, the fact that he could have walked there if he had to must have made it a relatively attractive event.

[update]: LIA:

Charlotte Daigle also remembered the Joan Baez show at Palo Alto High School in summer 1961:
"Jerry wanted to go to the Joan Baez concert and sit in the front row so he could watch her. He watched her intently, commenting, 'This is great, I can out-guitar her.' Jerry wanted to see what kind of musician she was...he was terribly excited that she was well-known and he was as good on guitar or better." (Troy p.30)

September 1961, Monterey County Fairgrounds, Monterey, CA: Monterey Jazz Festival, with Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane with Wes Montgomery, and many others
[update]LIA

In September 1961, Garcia went to the Monterey Jazz Festival. Charlotte Daigle recalled: "It was Jerry's idea to go to the festival. He bought the tickets for us, and we went two days. We had reserved seats, and Jerry took it very seriously. Jazz fans were very formal at the time, and other people were dressed up. Our crowd from Palo Alto was very beatnik-looking, and we stood out from the rest of the audience. It created something of a stir." (Troy p.34)

1962, Fox And Hounds, San Francisco, CA: Peter Stampfel
[update] In a recent and yet-to-be published interview, original Holy Modal Rounder Peter Stampfel says that Garcia told Stampfel he saw him play at the Fox And Hounds, a San Francisco folk coffee house. LIA also found a Garcia quote about that time

"'61 or '62, I started playing coffeehouses, and the guys who were playing around then up in San Francisco at the Fox and Hounds, Nick Gravenites was around then - Nick the Greek they called him - Pete Stampfel from the Holy Modal Rounders, he was playing around there then. A real nice San Francisco guitar player named Tom Hobson that nobody knows about...

I am not aware of any other performers that Garcia saw between 1961 and '64, other than nights he was performing. The Top Of The Tangent opened in early 1963, and a fair number of folk performers must have passed through. I would be very interested to know how many of them Garcia actually saw, outside of the nights he was performing. Garcia was married and living hand-to-mouth in 1963-64, and would not have been able to afford to go out much. [update: there are some interesting points in the Comments about this subject].

[update]: As ever, LIA was able to shed some light

David Nelson recalled Garcia taking him to see Jorma Kaukonen at the Tangent around the summer of 1962 [sic--it actually had to be 1963, The Tangent did not open until January '63]
"Garcia grabbed me and said, 'You gotta hear this guy.' I said, 'Who is he?' Garcia said, 'Jerry Kaukonen, he plays that Reverend Gary Davis and Blind Boy Fuller stuff, he does it right.' I remember going to the Tangent and peering out from the back room, which is where we put our instruments, and hearing him play and looking at Garcia who is looking at me, and we're just going 'Wow!'" (Troy p.39)

1963 or '64, unknown venue, San Jose, CA: New Lost City Ramblers
[update] LIA

One of Garcia's guitar students at Dana Morgan's in 1963/64, Dexter Johnson, recalled, "He turned me on to Mike Seeger and the New Lost City Ramblers. I remember once coming to a lesson and he wasn't there, and on the music stand was a note: 'Gone to New Lost City Ramblers concert in San Jose. See you next week.'" (Greenfield p.41)
Hard to say when Garcia would have first seen the Ramblers - he was already enough of a fan to do songs from their albums in his shows in 1962, so he wouldn't hesitate to go see them if they were anywhere in driving distance. As his folkie friend Marshall Leicester said, "In those days we all wanted to be Mike Seeger."

The first Jim Kweskin Jug Band album, released on Vanguard in 1963, which in its own way spawned a tiny revolution.

March 11, 1964, The Cabale, Berkeley, CA: Jim Kweskin Jug Band
The Cabale, at 2504 San Pablo Avenue, was not Berkeley's first folk club (that was The Blind Lemon), but it was the first important one. Although a tiny little cavern of a place, all the important early 60s folk acts played there. The city of Berkeley was very suspicious, and to this day it is illegal to have a business in Berkeley named "Cabale."

The Jim Kweskin Jug Band had released an album on Vanguard in late 1963, and their unexpected popularity all but single-handedly made jug band music popular. Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Band Champions followed shortly afterwards. Jerry and Sara Garcia and others made a pilgrimage to Berkeley to see them, and it triggered a lot of excitement about the possibilities of making music your own way.

Kweskin Jug Band singer Geoff Muldaur, later a good friend of John Kahn's and an occasional guest with Garcia/Saunders, reflected in a recent interview with Jake Feinberg about the importance of The Jim Kweskin Jug Band for folk musician in general and Garcia in particular. Up until then, even folk performers had "acts:" they dressed a certain way, they had onstage "patter" and a somewhat fixed set. The Jim Kweskin Jug Band was none of those things. The Jug Band wore whatever they happened to be wearing that day, bantered with the audience and generally did the music they felt like playing at that moment. In so doing, Garcia saw the nascent possibility of the existence of the Grateful Dead, even if it wasn't clear to him at the time.

Bluegrass legends Jim and Jesse McReynolds

May 1964, unknown venue, Dothan, AL Jim And Jesse
Sandy Rothman and Jerry Garcia took a trip across America in Garcia's white 1961 Corvair, and it was perhaps the only time in his life that Garcia was more music fan than musician. The principal purpose of the trip was to tape bluegrass musicians. After a stop in Bloomington, IN, to see old friend Neil Rosenberg and visit the "Mr. Tapes" of Bloomington (TV repairman Marvin Wollensak), Jerry and Sandy drove to visit old friend Scott Hambly at an Air Force base in Panama City, FL. Garcia in fact played his first out-of-California gig at an Officer's Club at Tyndall Air Force Base.

In any case, Jerry and Sandy's next stop was Dothan, AL, where they saw and recorded Jim And Jesse. Jim and Jesse McReynolds were one of the great brother duos of bluegrass, and for this week, anyway, Jerry was like the rest of us, hitting the road for the next gig so that he could come back with a good tape.

May 24 1964, Brown County Jamboree, Bean Blossom, IN Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys/other artists
Garcia and Rothman returned to Bloomington for Bill Monroe's annual bluegrass festival, the Gathering Of The Vibes for that crowd. Apparently their tape was ruined, per McNally, and of course Garcia was too shy to approach Bill Monroe for an audition, but it was a great day of bluegrass, and Garcia was just a fan like everyone else that day.

late May 1964, White Sands Bar, Dayton, OH Osborne Brothers
Garcia and Rothman's next stop was Dayton, where McNally says they got a great tape of the Osborne Brothers. I wonder if copies of these tapes have survived?

early June 1964, Bluegrass Festival, Union Grove, PA
Near the end of their little trip, Garcia and Rothman went to another famous bluegrass festival, in Union Grove, Pennsylvania (near Lancaster). This was where Garcia met David Grisman, so the event would have been historic in any case, but after struggling to hear real bluegrass on the West Coast, Garcia must have enjoyed hearing the real thing in prodigious quantities.

The posthumous 1975 live album of the Kentucky Colonels, Livin' In The Past, recorded November 15, 1964 at the Comedia Theater in Palo Alto, CA

November 15, 1964, Comedia Theater, Palo Alto, CA Kentucky Colonels
We know for a fact that Jerry Garcia saw the Kentucky Colonels at the Comedia Theater in Palo Alto. We know that because an excellent album was released featuring recordings from that show, and on that album we hear the band introduced by Jerry. It's not impossible one of Garcia's bands opened the show, but for now we will treat it as belonging on this list.

The Comedia was a tiny theater on Emerson Street. I think it may have become the Aquarius Movie Theater later in the 60s (for any of you old Palo Altans). Garcia had done the lights there at one point in 1961 (apparently for "Damn Yankees"), and that was where he first met Robert Hunter.

Buck Owens and The Buckaroos, outside of Carnegie Hall, presumably when they performed there on March 25, 1966. The Buck Owens album Carnegie Hall Concert was released on Capitol in July 1966

1964/65, Foresters Hall, Redwood City, CA: Buck Owens and The Buckaroos
According to writer John Einarson, Garcia went with Herb Pedersen and David Nelson, among others, to see Buck Owens and The Buckaroos at the Foresters Hall in Redwood City. The Foresters Hall is at 1204 Middlefield (at Main), and it is still there.The concert was around 1964-65, but I don't know an exact date.

Buck Owens and The Buckaroos were hugely popular, particularly in the West. They were proponents of "The Bakersfield Sound," a more swinging, rock-oriented approach to country music. Although some of the early 60s corniness of their music grates to modern ears, the Buckaroos are as good as a band ever got. Lead guitarist Don Rich and pedal steel guitarist Tom Brumley were hugely influential for rock and country music. Indeed, the Eagles and most of modern (Garth Brooks era) country music owes more to Buck Owens and The Buckaroos than they do to any other band. Even the Beatles had a hit with the Buck Owens song "Act Naturally."

1965, The Ash Grove, Los Angeles, CA: The Kentucky Colonels
[update] Intrepid scholar and Commenter Light Into Ashes reports that Blair Jackson writes, "On a couple of occasions in 1965 he traveled down to the Ash Grove in Los Angeles to see his friends the Kentucky Colonels." (Garcia p.75). The Ash Grove was the legendary folk club at 8162 Melrose Avenue (now The Improv, a comedy club), which was the hub for serious Southern California folk musicians. Garcia also probably saw the Colonels at the Cabale in Berkeley in 1964.

The hugely popular first album on Kama Sutra by The Lovin' Spoonful, called Do You Believe In Magic after the hit single of the same nam

August 4, 1965, Mothers, San Francisco, CA: Lovin' Spoonful
Mother's was Tom Donahue's night club in North Beach, at 430 Broadway, near the future site of The Stone (at 412 Broadway, then called The Galaxie). It was the first avowedly psychedelic night club, although its version of psychedelia was somewhat different than what would follow. The Lovin' Spoonful had a big hit with "Do You Believe In Magic," and the Spoonful played a week or two at Mother's. the Warlocks scrounged up enough money to go.The Warlocks were so impressed that they started playing "Do You Believe In Magic" (McNally p.86).

A poster for the second Family Dog dance, " A Tribute To Sparkle Plenty," held at San Francisco's Longshoreman's Hall on October 24, 1965

October 24, 1965, Longshoreman's Hall, San Francisco, CA: Lovin' Spoonful/The Charlatans
According to McNally (p.96), Lesh, Garcia and other members of The Warlocks went to Marin in the afternoon and then San Francisco. After a meal at Clown Alley, they went to Longshoreman's for the second Family Dog show. Midway through, Phil Lesh grabbed promoter Luria Castell and said "Lady, what this little seance needs is us!" He was right.

LIA (of course), found some great quotes from Garcia about the Family Dog show:

We ended up going into that rock and roll dance and it was just really fine to see that whole scene - where there was just nobody there but heads and this strange rock & roll music playing in this weird building. It was just what we wanted to see... We began to see that vision of a truly fantastic thing. It became clear to us that working in bars was not going to be right for us to be able to expand into this new idea." (Signpost p.20-21)

And, talking to Ralph Gleason in March '67, he looked at the show from a technical perspective:
"We went to the very first Family Dog show stoned on acid, or maybe it was the second one, the one where the Lovin' Spoonful were... We'd been playing out in these clubs - and we went in there and we heard the thing. And from the back of the hall you couldn't hear anything. You could hear maybe the harmonica. As you moved around you could hear a little of something, a little of something else, but you could never hear the whole band, unless you were right in front of it, and in that case you couldn't hear the vocal. So in our expanding consciousness we thought, the thing to do obviously, when you play in a big hall, is to make it so that you can hear everything everywhere. How do we go about this, we thought? And the most obvious thing was, we just turn up real loud. But that's not exactly where it is... It's more important that it be clear than loud." (GD Reader p.28-29)

July 26, 1966, Cow Palace, Daly City, CA: Rolling Stones/Standells/McCoys/Trade Winds/Jefferson Airplane/Sopwith Camel
Jerry Garcia attended the Rolling Stones Cow Palace show as a roadie for the Jefferson Airplane, apparently the only way he could afford to see the Stones.

October 6, 1966, Basketball Pavilion, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA: Butterfield Blues Band/Jefferson Airplane
Anonymous

The Airplane and Butterfield played at Stanford on October 6, 1966, the day acid became illegal in California. They split a $2,500 fee. Garcia sat right behind me.

The Butterfield Blues Band and the Jefferson Airplane headlined three memorable weekends at the Fillmore and Winterland in October of 1966. They had different opening acts on the bill, and on the middle weekend the Dead were booked. On Thursday, October 6, however, Butter and the 'Plane were at the Stanford basketball pavilion. This was the old gym at Serra and Galvez, now called Burnham Pavilion. The facility is currently used for other sports, as the Men's Basketball team plays at nearby Roscoe Maples Pavilion, which opened in 1969.

October 6, 1966, was quite a day. As the Commenter says, LSD was declared illegal in California. The Grateful Dead played a free concert in the Golden Gate Park Panhandle for thousands of people, and the entire hip, long-haired community in the Bay Area found out that there were a lot more of themselves than they had thought. Since October 6 was a Thursday, Butter and the Airplane could play Stanford, but Garcia would have been done by the afternoon, and would have been available to see the show. Legend has it that Mike Bloomfield borrowed Jorma's guitar that night.

Garcia's presence at the Stanford show may have been no coincidence. I know that Ken Kesey was at the Panhandle show. I have heard reliably that there was a free midnight concert scheduled for the San Francisco State campus, with the Dead, Airplane and Butterfield, effectively an Acid Test, if now an illegal one. Supposedly the police were very concerned with security, and Kesey and the bands agreed to cancel the event. Strange as this may sound, on the previous weekend the police had killed a young black man, and there had been riots in the Fillmore district, so the atmosphere in San Francisco that week was hardly peaceful.

June 1967, Garrick Theater, New York, NY: The Mothers Of Invention
[update] LIA:

Lesh wrote in his book that he took Garcia, Weir & Kreutzmann to see Frank Zappa & the Mothers at the Garrick, upstairs from the Cafe au Go Go in June '67. He says it was the day before they started their Cafe au Go Go run - but that would make it the evening of May 31, the day the Dead arrived in NY?

The Grateful Dead's first beachhead in Manhattan was a two-week run at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village. At the very same time, Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention had a summer long residency at the tiny Garrick Theater, above the Au Go Go. The marquee said "Absolutely Free." The lineup in June of 1967 would have been the classic early Mothers, with Ray Collins on vocals, Bunk and Buzz Gardner on horns, along with Motorhead Sherwood, Don Preston on keyboards, Roy Estrada on bass, and Billy Mundi and Jimmy Carl Black (the Indian of the group) on drums. I doubt Ian Underwood or Artie Tripp had joined yet.

My cousin actually attended a Garrick show on July 18, his 13th birthday (his notoriously cheap father thought the show would be free). To open the show, the quite unattractive Mothers came out in dresses and did a Supremes medley. Then it got progressively weirder. So whichever night he went, Garcia probably saw a pretty way-out show. A reasonable facsimile (albeit with Underwood on board) would be the album Tis The Season To Be Jelly, recorded on September 20, 1967 in Stockholm.

Ramrod and some other crew members would apparently participate in some of the madness with the Mothers when the Dead were not playing. According to the memory of Dead manager Rock Scully (in his book Living With The Dead), Frank Zappa’s enmity for the Dead partially stems from these two weeks when The Mothers were playing upstairs at The Garrick while the Dead played in the basement at the Au Go Go. The perpetually anti-drug Zappa resented that the Mothers would sneak downstairs to get high with the Dead. The Mothers were deathly afraid of being caught by Zappa, knowing that the punishment was more rehearsal.

August 22, 23, 24 or 25, 1967, Fillmore, San Francisco, CA: Butterfield Blues Band/Cream/Southside Sound System
August 29,30, 31 or September 1, 1967, Fillmore, San Francisco, CA: Cream/Electric Flag/Gary Burton Quartet
[update] LIA reports

Garcia definitely saw Cream at the Fillmore in September 1967, apparently more than once; he lavished praise on Cream's shows in an interview later that month. Cream played at the Fillmore from August 22-September 3, 1967 - the Dead were out of town for a couple weekends, but Garcia would have had ample opportunities to see Cream during the week.

The Dead played Lake Tahoe on August 19 and August 25-26, and, somewhat amazingly, the hotel was so tacky that Garcia and Mountain Girl camped for a day or two. However, LIA has found a strong suggestion that Garcia saw Cream both weeks, suggesting that he zipped back to San Francisco for a few days.

"I would say the Cream are damn near the best group there is... Their music is really strong. I mean, really strong... They're much better musicians than Jimi Hendrix... You should have seen them at the Fillmore...cause they played with a lot of very heavy bands. They played with Gary Burton's band. They played with the Electric Flag. They played with Paul Butterfield's band and with Charlie Musselwhite's band. And they made them all sound pretty old-fashioned..."

So he lists all of the bands who played with Cream in the two-week run, and they all came up short... That's what makes me think he saw Cream in both those weeks.

Cream's incredible two-week stand at the Fillmore made them. Already popular from the first free-form FM rock station, KMPX-fm, the format of two hour-long sets induced Cream to jam out their songs, since they had so few. The results were sensational, for the band, the audience and the music industry as a whole. The Gary Burton Quartet, with Larry Coryell on guitar, was also a brilliant, groundbreaking group. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band were still powerful, featuring Elvin Bishop on guitar and David Sanborn on alto sax, and Harvey Mandel and Charlie Musselwhite led the Southside Sound System, so it was a truly impressive weekend at the Fillmore. The Electric Flag, with Mike Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites, were very talented, but notoriously erratic live.

December 1967, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY: American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski perform Charles Ives' 4th Symphony
[update] LIA has another remarkable addition

It's not rock, but Phil mentions that he & the rest of the band went to see a performance of Charles Ives' 4th Symphony when they were in New York in December 1967 (at Carnegie Hall, the American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski) - this was a key influence on the Anthem album.

Cream's immortal Wheels Of Fire album, released on Atco Records in August 1968. The live half of this double album was recorded March 7, 8 and 10 at the Fillmore and Winterland in San Francisco

March 1 or 2, 1968; Winterland, San Francisco, CA: Cream/Big Black/Loading Zoneor
March 10, 1968: Winterland, San Francisco, CA: Cream/James Cotton/Blood, Sweat & Tears
Cream was the biggest and most exciting touring live act in 1968, and the band that really cemented the synergy between FM airplay and live performance as a pathway to huge record sales, all without benefit of a conventional hit. We know for a fact that Garcia saw Cream during the historic run in 1968 when they recorded the live parts of Wheels Of Fire over two weekends at the Fillmore and Winterland. We know that because Mickey Hart talked about it. The indispensable Deadessays blog has a complete account, but the key quote is this one, from Mickey Hart in a 1981 interview in the great English fanzine Comstock Lode:

"Ginger Baker did it for me once at the Winterland with Cream, we'd just finished mixing Aoxomoxoa or one of those [sic-it was actually AnthemOf The Sun], and we walked in just as he was getting into his solo. It was amazing. I turned to Jerry and said, 'They have to be the best band in the world,' and he said, 'Tonight they are the best band in the world.' They were that night.

It's hard to be certain of the exact date that Garcia saw Cream, and it's not impossible he saw them more than once. Cream played two weekends at Winterland, with some shows at the Fillmore as well. Cream played Friday and Saturday March 1-2 and then again on March 8-9-10 (they played Fillmore on Sunday March 3 and Thursday March 7). Since the Grateful Dead played the Melodyland Theater at Disneyland on March 8 and 9, we know that Garcia and Hart couldn't have seen those shows. There's also a photo of Garcia and Eric Clapton hanging out in Sausalito on the afternoon of March 10 (Cream was staying in Sausalito), so that seems to add to the likelihood of Garcia going to Winterland on Sunday, March 10, and maybe he did.

However, I would like to submit the possibility that Garcia and Hart saw Cream at Winterland on Friday March 1 or Saturday March 2. Most analysts routinely assume that the Grateful Dead were playing that weekend, since Deadlists shows them performing at the mysterious Looking Glass in Walnut Creek. In fact, JGMF has looked into this, and there is no sign that those shows ever took place, whatever The Looking Glass may have been, if it even existed. Whatever may have been scheduled and canceled in Walnut Creek, I think the Dead preferred to work on Anthem Of The Sun that weekend, rather than scramble to find another gig. Thus, when the night's work was over, Garcia and Hart would have been free to check out Cream. Anthem was being remixed at Columbus Recorders, at 906 Kearny Street (at Jackson), just 2 miles from Winterland (at Post and Steiner), so dropping by after work was done would have been easy.

A poster for the Bill Graham-produced Ornette Colenan show at Fillmore West on August 5, 1968

August 5, 1968, Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Ornette Coleman
In the recent book Owsley And Me: My LSD Family (by Rhoney Gissen Stanley and Tom Davis, Monkfish Press, 2013), Rhoney Gissen says that Garcia and other members of the Grateful Dead "family" attended the Ornette Coleman show at Fillmore West.

This Monday night jazz show at Fillmore West does not usually appear on Fillmore West lists (excepting the best one, of course), because those lists are mostly lists of posters, not concerts. However, Graham promoted this show, and even printed a poster, but it was not part of the collectible rock series, so the event has been obscured. I have no idea how many people attended the show.

Ralph Gleason's column in the SF Chronicle from Sunday, November 9, 1969

November 9, 1969, Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA: Rolling Stones/Ike & Tina Turner/Terry Reid (early and late shows)
The Rolling Stones played two shows at the Oakland Coliseum, an event described in detail by Sam Cutler in his book You Can't Always Get What You Want (2010: ECW Press). Keith Richards blew his amp during the first show, so the second show was delayed while the Grateful Dead's crew raced back to Novato to get Garcia's rig as a replacement. The late show was immortalized on a legendary bootleg called Liver Than You'll Ever Be.

The Byrds Untitled album was released in September 1970

August 21-23 , 1970, Ash Grove, Los Angeles, CA: Freddie King/The Byrds
I read in a Wolfgang's Vault comment thread that I can't recover that Garcia dropped in to see The Byrds when they played The Ash Grove. I'd love to get confirmation of this. Freddie King had an extended booking there that week, and The Byrds were added at the last minute. The Byrds were too big to "need" to play an LA club date, but sometimes they did such things, to work on new material or just have some fun. According to Christopher Hjort's indispensable Byrds chronology So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star (2008: Jawbone Books), the Byrds were supposed to have played "Fiesta Da Vida" in Anza, CA, in Riverside County. It was apparently supposed to be held at the Cahuilla Indian Reservation, but the Riverside County Sheriff blocked it at the last minute, so the Byrds were available.

The Kentucky Colonels had been good friends with Jerry Garcia and Sandy Rothman since 1964, and indeed they had driven across much of the country together. Clarence White, a true guitar giant on both electric and acoustic guitar, was a significant influence on Garcia as well. White played some amazing electric guitar with The Byrds--if you haven't heard live Byrds from 1969-73 with Clarence, you're missing out--and if this sighting was accurate, it's nice that on one of his rare "nights out" Jerry went to check in with his old friend. I don't know what Garcia would have been doing in Los Angeles, but perhaps he had business with Warner Brothers. Certainly the Dead were not booked, since their sound system was on tour with the Medicine Ball Caravan. In any case, the Dead did play an acoustic show in Los Angeles the next weekend, so Garcia's presence isn't so far-fetched.

[update] LIA found the link to the Wolfgang's Vault Comment

I was at this show. Freddie was the opening act for the Byrds! Jerry Garcia was in the audience. One of the most memorable shows I had the good luck to be at. Freddie tore the place down. Hot pink satin suit, white frilly shirt with French cuffs. He took his coat off after the first song and ripped! I never saw anyone sweat so much. just BURNIN!

1970 or '71, The Crossroads, Bladensburg, MD: Roy Buchanan
[update] Guitarist Roy Buchanan had been a legendary guitarist in the 50s and early 60s with Ronnie Hawkins and others, but by the late 60s he was a family man. He pretty much only played at one bar in suburban Washington, DC. Over time, visiting rock musicians, particularly English guitarists, passed the word around, and many guitarists made a pilgrimage to see Buchanan when they were in town. Eventually, Buchanan became such a legend that PBS made a documentary about him. LIA reports

Garcia apparently saw Roy Buchanan at the Crossroads nightclub in Bladensburg, Maryland sometime in 1970-71.
Garcia appeared in a TV documentary on Buchanan that aired in November 1971, saying, "He's probably just the most original country-style rock & roll guitar player, a Fender guitar player. He has the nicest tone, the most amazing chops technically, super fast. And much neglected."
The thing is, Buchanan didn't have any albums out yet. He'd been playing in the houseband at the Crossroads since summer/fall 1970 - I'm not sure when Garcia could have been in Maryland in 1971, but possibly he made a trip during the Dead's fall 1970 east-coast tour. (At that point Buchanan was an unknown, but word-of-mouth about him was going around the Washington DC area - the Washington Post ran an article on him in Dec 1970 - and some folks were even traveling from New York to see him.)

Kenny Burrell's classic album Midnight Blue, released on Blue Note in 1963

1971,El Matador, San Francisco, CA: Kenny Burrell
Tony Saunders was interviewed by journalist and scholar Jake Feinberg, and he had a variety of interesting revelations (continued here). One of the interesting details was that when Garcia found out that Merl Saunders knew Kenny Burrell, Jerry and Merl went to see Burrell play live in San Francisco, and hung out with him either before or after the show. The El Matador was the upscale jazz club in North Beach, at 492 Broadway, from back when jazz was popular music. They still had fine music, however, if not always particularly far out.

Kenny Burrell is one of the deans of jazz guitar, inevitably funky and sophisticated, but in a cool, laid back way, where the notes he doesn't play are as important as the ones he does. Garcia's playing in the earliest incarnations of the Garcia-Saunders band seems to owe something to Burrell, and it seems it was not a coincidence.

[update]LIA found the quote from Merl Saunders, in Robert Greenfield's oral biography of Garcia:

I found more details on the early-70s Kenny Burrell show, from Merl Saunders:
"One night, Jerry called me. 'Merl, you know Kenny Burrell?' I said, 'Yeah, I know Kenny Burrell, he's at the El Matador. Why don't we go see him?' After the show was over, Jerry wanted to meet Kenny Burrell. He asked him questions, and Kenny didn't know who in the hell Jerry was until after I talked to Kenny the next day." (Greenfield p.139)

October 14 or 15, 1971, Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, CA: Crosby And Nash
[update] LIA: in the Signpost to New Space interview (p.49, my edition), Garcia says, "I saw Mickey last night, he was at the Crosby & Nash concert."

"Killing Me Softly With His Song" was a big hit for Roberta Flack in early 1973

October 1, 1972, Civic Center, Springfield, MA: Roberta Flack
This one is a little different. The Grateful Dead were between gigs--September 30 in Washington, DC and October 2 at Springfield Civic. On the night off, however, and the night before the Dead's Springfield gig, Roberta Flack was playing there. The sound man was an old pal of the Dead's, former Fleetwood Mac sound wizard Stuart 'Dinky' Dawson, who by this time had his own sound company in Boston.

Garcia and Owsley sat at the mixing board with Dinky, checking out his state-of-the-art system, thinking about how they could build their own, research that would lead to The Wall Of Sound. Roberta Flack is a fine singer and had a great band, so even if Garcia was there for the PA, he probably enjoyed the music (there is a tape of it on Wolfgang's Vault). I have a post about this night, drawing from Dinky Dawson's description of the night from his fine book Life On The Road (for the record, Dawson's biggest problem was that he was very thirsty, since he refused to drink any liquid with Owsley around).

October 1973, The New Matrix, San Francisco, CA: Bob Marley And The Wailers
[update] Garcia was apparently intrigued enough by Bob Marley and The Wailers to check them out at the New Matrix, where they played several shows in October of 1973 (17, 18, 19, 20, 29 and 30). The Matrix had closed in 1971, but it reopened in 1973 on 412 Broadway, an address that Garcia and his fans would come to know well some years later when it became The Stone.

Planet Waves, by Bob Dylan and The Band, was released on Asylum Records in January 1974

January 14, 1974, Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA: Bob Dylan And The Band
Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that every San Francisco luminary was at the two 1974 Bob Dylan concerts in Oakland (early and late shows), although I no longer recall if he explicitly mentioned the Dead. So Garcia's presence is unconfirmed for now, but I would be pretty surprised if he didn't make it. I posited the idea that Garcia's presence at the show caused him to bring back "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" a few times in 1974.

May 29, 1976, Paramount Theater, Oakland, CA: Bob Marley And The Wailers
[update] JGMF: There are also eyewitness accounts to Garcia seeing BMW at the Paramount in Oakland in, I think, May 1976.

The Paramount, built in the 30s, was restored in the mid-70s, and Bill Graham put on a fair number of shows there for a while. Its a beautiful theater, but the sound isn't great, and deserved or not, downtown Oakland wasn't an appealing destination for many suburban fans. Nonetheless, seeing a show at the Paramount remains a treat. Marley and The Wailers did two shows. Garcia would have been rehearsing with the Dead over at the Orpheum, so he probably caught the late show.

The Last Waltz, by The Band, was a triple album commemorating their "final" concert at Winterland on November 25, 1976

November 25, 1976, Winterland, San Francisco, CA: The Last Waltz with The Band
The Last Waltz was the can't miss rock event of 1976 in San Francisco. Once again, Selvin reported that "everybody" was there, although I'm fairly certain he mentioned the Grateful Dead this time. Once again, I'd be surprised if even the homebound Garcia missed this one, but I don't have confirmation.

April 1, 1979, Old Waldorf, San Francisco, CA: Dire Straits
[update] LIA found an interesting quote from Garcia, in the 1985 Jas Obrecht article

Q: Any bands you'd go out of your way to see?
Garcia: "There are a few, yeah. Let's see - the last band I went to see is Dire Straits. That was the last band I went to see live, a couple of years ago. There are others that I would, but most of the time I'm out working and stuff. So I don't really get a chance. But there are more that I would go to see if I were in a situation where I wasn't working nights so much. I would go out more. But yeah, there's actually a lot of music that I would go to see. It's just the opportunity doesn't present itself that often. That's the problem. Time and space, you know."

I'm guessing a little bit about the date, but Dire Straits did not play the Bay Area very much. They played The Old Waldorf on March 31/April 1, and Reconstruction had a show the first night, so that points towards April 1. At the time, "Sultans Of Swing" was hitting, and Dire Straits was already a kind of retro sensation. For that initial tour, the Straits were just a simple four-piece.

The River, by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1980

August 20-24, 1981? Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA: Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band
I have never gotten confirmation on this. The San Francisco Chronicle used to have a great column called Question Man, and in one 1982 edition, backstage at The Bammies, she asked various musicians who was the best performer today. Jerry Garcia said the best performer today (in 1982) was Bruce Springsteen. I had the yellowed clipping for years, but I can't find it now.

This raises the question of when, or even if, Jerry saw a Bruce show. For years I had assumed he had seen one of Oakland shows on The River tour (October 27-28, 1980), but in fact the Dead were at Radio City Music Hall. Bruce did not play the Bay Area until 1984, so when did Jerry see him, if he did? The Dead were in Southern California in August 1981, so maybe Garcia saw one of the Sports Arena shows, right before the Dead's Long Beach show. Given how few concerts Garcia saw from this point on, I really hope Garcia got to see Bruce and the E Street Band in their prime.

[update] Given that we have learned that by 1985 Garcia had not seen anybody since Dire Straits, when did Garcia see Bruce? Maybe he just saw a video or something, and drew his opinion from that. Too bad, if it was the case.

July 28, 1981, The Stone, San Francisco, CA: High Noon
A commenter on a different post noted

Michael Hinton posted this little vignette at Facebook: "Played all 3 [Keystone family] venues in 1981 w/Mickey Hart's band High Noon. Most memorable was when Jerry Garcia came backstage and shook my hand at The Stone. Mickey said "we actually got Jerry to leave his house!"" Based on your list, this had to have been 7/28/81.

Mickey Hart put together a little band called High Noon, which I have written about them extensively elsewhere. High Noon mostly featured the original songs of Jim McPherson, who also played piano and guitar. Other band members included Merl Saunders, guitarist Michael Hinton, bassist Bobby Vega, harmonicat Norton Buffalo and percussionist Vicki Randle, with almost everyone singing.

June 1985, Opera House, San Francisco, CA: Wagner's Ring Cycle
[update} LIA

Also, in June 1985, Phil persuaded Garcia & others in the Dead to see Wagner's Ring opera done by the San Francisco Opera, even canceling some Dead shows in Sacramento to do so. Garcia didn't make it through the whole series though, even falling asleep during the performance on the third night: "In the end Jerry didn't make it back for the final opera of the cycle, having made previous plans to take his daughter Annabelle to see Phil Collins at the Oakland Coliseum. 'What?' I asked when he told me. 'You're going to pass up 'Twilight of the Gods' for Phil Collins?''If it was just me - but I promised Annabelle.'" (Phil's book p.273-74)
McNally mentions that 'Ride of the Valkyries' started popping up in Dead rehearsals...

No Jacket Required, Phil Collins third album, released in 1985. Although Collins had already been successful, and he was the singer and drummer for the very popular Genesis, this album made him a mega-star

June 7, 8 or 9, 1985, Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA: Phil Collins
In a unique occurrence, Garcia used his status to take his daughter to see Phil Collins at the Coliseum on his No Jacket Required world tour. Although Collins' music was far from Garcia's normal fare, Collins is an excellent musician who had a top-flight band (anchored by Darryl Steurmer, Pete Robinson, Leland Sklar and Chester Thompson), so there's no doubt Garcia could at least appreciate the professionalism.

December 19, 1986, The Omni, Oakland, CA: Go Ahead
In July of 1986, Jerry Garcia had a very close brush with the other side, but he returned. By December 19, he had already performed with both the Jerry Garcia Band and the Grateful Dead. Yet, perhaps in a different frame of mind, he made a rare trip outside to see Go Ahead, the new band with Brent Mydland and Bill Kreutzmann (for the complete Go Ahead story see here).

The Omni, formerly an Italian-American social club built in 1938 as Ligure Hall, was on 48th and Shattuck in Oakland. The owner was John Nady, who had made a fortune inventing wireless guitar pickups. He decided to use the money to open a rock club, and more importantly, a rock club near my apartment at the time. Unfortunately, The Omni was a terrible dump and mostly featured metal bands. I'm not surprised Jerry never set foot in it a second time.

September 1987, unknown venue, New York, NY: Suzanne Vega
[update] Per JGMF, Garcia caught Suzanne Vega while the Dead were in New York for their Rainforest benefit.

September 23, 1988, Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band/Peter Gabriel/Tracy Chapman/Youssou N'Dour/Joan Baez Amnesty International Benefit
[update] Chico Archivist: Some people I knew saw Jerry at the Peter Gabriel show at the Oakland Coliseum Arena [sic] Sept 23, 1988. Supposedly Jerry liked the show enough to ask around if anybody had taped it.
Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel and Sting played several stadium shows in support of Amnesty International, although Sting had to miss the Bay Area show. I wonder if Jerry got his tape?

March 14, 1989, Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA: REM/Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians
[update] This was confirmed by a couple of correspondents. Supposedly, when Jerry and Bob entered through backstage, a security guard who did not recognize Jerry told him to put out his joint. I saw this show, and it was great. So I can say that Jerry, Bob, me and my sister saw REM together.

March 15, 1989, Fox-Warfield Theater, San Francisco, CA: Gipsy Kings
[update] Legs Lambert: Jerry and Bob Weir attended a show by the Gipsy Kings at the Warfield in San Francisco (I'm told Bill Kreutzmann was there as well, but I did not see him).
During this period, Garcia seems to have gotten out to a relatively large number of shows. I believe it was the period when he was living with Manasha Matheson.

August 5, 1990, Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA; Bruce Hornsby And The Range
According to McNally, shortly after Brent Mydland's unfortunate death, Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia went to a Bruce Hornsby concert "in the Bay Area" to offer him the Dead's keyboard chair. Garcia had played that afternoon at the Greek Theatre, and I'm not even sure if he stuck around for the concert.

May 11, 1994, Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkeley, CA
[update] various people pointed out that Jerry showed up to watch Phil Lesh guest-conduct the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra in two selections - the Infernal Dance from Stravinsky's "The Firebird" and Elliott Carter's "A Celebration of Some 100 x 150 Notes,"

Coda
In the 19 years after The Last Waltz, Garcia seems only to have gone to see music five times: he saws Bruce Springsteen once--if he actually saw him--went to a Phil Collins concert with his daughter, and went out three times to see "family" members, one of those times strictly a business trip to try and line up a keyboard player.
Thanks to all the Commenters, we know that Garcia got out a little more often to hear music than I had originally feared. However, it seems to have been largely confined to a relatively brief period from 1987-90, and then he retreated into isolation. Although Garcia himself preferred playing over watching, it's still a telling sign that Garcia could not simply go out and enjoy some artist he would like without attracting a ruckus. In the larger picture of Garcia's life and career, it's not a big thing, but it's still a clear sign of how isolated Garcia had become once the Grateful Dead became truly iconic.

A Dixon Smith photo of Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys performing in 1966. (L-R) Richard Greene, Lamar Grier, Bill Monroe, Peter Rowan, James Monroe.

Violinist Richard Greene is rightly regarded as a giant in American acoustic music of the last few decades. Greene started playing professionally in 1964, and the first decade of his career had some critical intersections with Jerry Garcia. Greene and Garcia had met back in 1964, and in 1973 Greene was invited to join the seminal bluegrass group Old And In The Way. Greene left the group for financial reasons, but the next year he and David Grisman began the Great American String Band. Jerry Garcia was the group's initial banjo player, and that band evolved into the David Grisman Quintet, a seminal ensemble in American acoustic music. Richard Greene isn't usually seen as a major contributor to Jerry Garcia's acoustic music, but he deserves a bigger place than he is usually accorded.

Greene's career has been full of so many recordings and performances that it has been hard to get a handle on it. Greene's role in Old And In The Way is usually glossed over as well, since his place was taken by the great Vassar Clements, and Vassar played on the group's seminal album. However, a recent interview with Richard Greene by scholar and radio personality Jake Feinberg unravels some interesting threads in the Greene story, particularly in his first ten years as a performer. Thus, with accurate information from Greene himself, it's possible to put his career with Old And In The Way and The Great American String Band in its proper context. This post will look at Richard Greene's musical history from 1964 to 1974, with a special emphasis on Greene's musical connections to Jerry Garcia during that time.

In the Feinberg interview, Greene says that he was asked to join Old And In The Way because Jerry Garcia wanted him in the band. Of course, it's most likely that Greene's old pal Peter Rowan recommended him, but Garcia had known Greene back in his bluegrass days. What is intriguing about Richard Greene's early career was not his formidable bluegrass experience, but the fact that an historic stint with Bill Monroe was followed by jug band, jazz and rock groups. In that respect, Greene had more or less replicated Garcia's experience of having been grounded in bluegrass and using that discipline to play a wide variety of music.

Richard Greene On The Jake Feinberg Show
Jake Feinberg, formerly the play-by-play man for the Knoxville Tenneseeans AA baseball team, has a unique show on 1330 KWFN-am in Tucson. Feinberg has weekly interviews with interesting musicians, mostly from the 1960s and 70s. His interviews are up to 2 hours long, and he focuses on the intersection of jazz, rock and world music during that time, particularly in Northern California. Feinberg focuses on the type of musicians who worked with a wide variety of players, often crossing over various genres. The names are not always huge, but they are very familiar to anyone who has spent time looking at the backs of albums--George Duke, Ron McClure, Bob Jones, Emil Richards, Mike Clark, The Jazz Crusaders and Gary Bartz, to name just a few. There are many names that are familiar to Deadheads, too: Howard Wales, Bill Vitt, Melvin Seals, Tony Saunders and Bobby Cochran, for example.

Feinberg has a particular ability to get musicians to talk about their approach to music, and a particular interest in who they played with back in the day. Feinberg's persistence in asking each subject where and with whom they played back in their professional beginnings is invaluable to the likes of me. The Richard Greene interview goes on for nearly two hours (here and here), and is well worth the time to listen to. My quotes from the interview are rather casual transcriptions from my notes.

The Coast Mountain Ramblers (Ken Frankel, Richard Greene and Dave Pollack) at the Ash Grove in 1963

Richard Greene, 1964
The typical thumbnail sketch of Richard Greene has been that he was a classically trained violinist who discovered bluegrass, and his classical training gave him a huge advantage over more casual players. Greene himself considers the story an exaggeration. According to him, he had taken violin lessons but did not consider himself "trained." Now, I think Greene is being a bit modest--he got so good so fast as a bluegrass player that he was obviously pretty talented, but I take his point that he was no prodigy as a teenager.

Greene discovered bluegrass and old-time fiddle more or less by accident. The guilty party was Ken Frankel. Some readers may recognize the name, as Frankel played bluegrass with Jerry Garcia, David Nelson and others off and on from 1962-1964. The story from Ken Frankel:

Coast Mountain Ramblers - Old Timey Band with Dave Pollack and Richard Greene
I had played music in high school with Dave, who is as good a musician as I have ever met. In 1960 we were undergraduates at Berkeley, and were trying to put together an old-timey group. We put a few notices up looking for a third person, but couldn't find anyone. Richard was an excellent classical violinist from our high school, living in the same place as Dave (the co-op). Out of desperation, we decided to try to teach Richard how to play fiddle. He was a little resistant in the beginning, and made fun of the music. We put a few songs together and played them on a folk radio show (the Midnight Special on KPFA). Much to our surprise, and especially to Richard's surprise, everyone went crazy for us. All of a sudden, Richard was hooked. In the early 1960's, we played on the Midnight Special radio show often, and in small concerts and clubs. In 1963 we won the Ash Grove talent contest, which was a year long event. (Ry Cooder came in second). Our prize was to play for a week at the Ash Grove. We were so successful they held us over for a second week. Shortly after that, Dave and I graduated from Berkeley and went on to other types of endeavors. Richard made fiddle his career, which was a good thing for his many fans.

Feinberg's interview picks up the story in late '63 or so. Greene's breakthrough experience came when he dropped out of college around that time (alluded to in Frankel's story above). Greene had taken a job at a real estate agency. Across the street was The Ash Grove, the legendary folk club at 8162 Melrose Avenue (now The Improv, a comedy club). One day on his lunch break, Greene went over to the Ash Grove. Legendary fiddler Scotty Stoneman was playing for a very few people in the club. Solo fiddle performances are rare, but Stoneman was a rare fiddler indeed. Greene was transfixed hearing Stoneman play what amounted to an endless fiddle solo, hearing the High Lonesome Sound in one of its purest and most imaginative forms.

A Stoneman Family album from the 1960s

Scotty Stoneman had been the fiddler in the Stoneman Family band, and according to Greene he had gotten fired for excessive drinking, and thus was apparently more or less stranded in Los Angeles. Think for a moment how drunk he had to have been to be fired and left behind by his own family? (Although the actual story seems far more complex). Nonetheless, Stoneman was a phenomenal player. According to Greene, he was so transfixed by Stoneman's playing that Greene invited him back to stay at Greene's apartment. Greene effectively took bluegrass fiddle lessons from Stoneman for the next several weeks, although Greene said that the term "lessons" was misleading, since the very un-sober Stoneman just sat around Greene's apartment and played. How influential was Scotty Stoneman's fiddle playing for other musicians? Let Jerry Garcia tell the story (via Blair Jackson's biography)

I get my improvisational approach from Scotty Stoneman, the fiddle player. [He's] the guy who first set me on fire — where I just stood there and I don’t remember breathing. He was just an incredible fiddler. He was a total alcoholic wreck by the time I heard him, in his early thirties, playing with the Kentucky Colonels… They did a medium-tempo fiddle tune like ‘Eighth of January’ and it’s going along, and pretty soon Scotty starts taking these longer and longer phrases — ten bars, fourteen bars, seventeen bars — and the guys in the band are just watching him! They’re barely playing — going ding, ding, ding — while he’s burning. The place was transfixed. They played this tune for like twenty minutes, which is unheard of in bluegrass. I’d never heard anything like it. I asked him later, ‘How do you do that?’ and he said, ‘Man, I just play lonesome.’

Soon after Greene rescued Stoneman, Stoneman hooked up with Clarence White and the Kentucky Colonels. Garcia was already friends with Clarence and his brothers, so he would have heard Stoneman play many times. Indeed, there is a famous Kentucky Colonels live album recorded in 1964 (Living In The Past, originally released in 1976 on Sierra Records), where Garcia introduces the band during a Palo Alto performance (November 15, 1964 at the Comedia Del'larte Theater on Emerson Street).

The combination of having had fun in college with the Coast Mountain Ramblers and hearing the musical possibilities of bluegrass fiddle from Scotty Stoneman seems to have set Richard Greene on a new musical path. He wasn't interested in college, nor in real estate, but he got serious about bluegrass. Since he was based in Southern California, he played a little with the Pine Valley Boys, a Berkeley bluegrass band who had relocated South. At the time, the Pine Valley Boys included David Nelson on guitar. Greene had probably already met Garcia from his Berkeley days, but if not, he would have likely met him in 1964, through either the Pine Valley Boys or the Kentucky Colonels, as the California bluegrass world was quite tiny[update: Commenter Nick found an interview with Greene which says he met and played with Garcia around 1964].

In the second half of 1964, Greene was also a member of another band, The Dry City Scat Band. Bluegrass bands aren't like rock bands, in that much of the material was and is traditional and shared, so it isn't so hard to be a member of more than one bluegrass band. Also, there isn't much work for bluegrass bands, so conflicts are sadly rare. The Dry City Scat Band had evolved out of a Claremont, CA group called The Mad Mountain Ramblers, whose main gig in 1963-64 had been at the "Mine Train" in Disneyland, dressed in Old West gear (one of the few paying bookings for string bands).

The Mad Mountain Ramblers evolved into The Dry City Scat Band, who played mostly bluegrass with the occasional old-time string band number, a good match for Greene's experience. Dry City featured two other players besides Greene who went on to have substantial careers, namely banjoist David Lindley and mandolinist Chris Darrow, who both went on to have significant professional careers in the Los Angeles studios. Greene's easy transition into the studio scene in the 1970s was probably eased by having played with such established players many years earlier. The Dry City Scat Band mostly just played the Ash Grove, particularly two long runs: June 30-July 19 and September 22-October 11, 1964. Yet out of these thin connections, Greene somehow became a member of the first and most important bluegrass band, Bill Monroe And His Bluegrass Boys.

Bill Monroe And His Bluegrass Boys
Bill Monroe was a popular country singer prior to 1940, often performing as a duo with his brother Charlie. However, late in 1940 he made a conscious effort to create a new style of music, an effort that succeeded completely. At a time when music was moving forward but rural life in the South was changing, Monroe invented bluegrass, a style that had traditional harmonies and acoustic instruments like "old-time" music, but played at a breakneck pace in a sophisticated style, like be-bop. Bluegrass became a popular style, appealing particularly to people from the Appalachians who had relocated to big cities for factory work.

There were many other bluegrass bands besides the Bluegrass Boys, but Bill Monroe was the godfather. He also became a regular performer on the Grand Ole Opry. However, by the late 1950s, while Monroe remained a country music legend, he was no longer a popular artist on the radio, and he was reduced to being able to tour only by using a pickup band of local musicians. They would know his material--it was famous--but they wouldn't be rehearsed and they weren't his band. What saved Bill Monroe and bluegrass was the folk revival. Young kids in the suburbs, like David Grisman (Hackensack, NJ) and Jerry Garcia (Menlo Park, CA) went from hearing Joan Baez and the Kingston Trio to hearing bluegrass, and they were hooked. Monroe's star rose again, and he started having a regular band, tight and rehearsed in his trademark High Lonesome sound.

By the early 1960s, thanks to the folk revival, a new breed of suburban teenager had gotten interested in Bill Monroe and bluegrass, and Monroe had started playing for suburban "folk" audiences as well as his traditional Southern fans. In 1962, Monroe had his first "Northern" band member. Bill Keith was a banjo player from Amherst, MA, and had initially learned bluegrass from records. Keith was a phenomenal, revolutionary, banjo player, however, and a huge influence on the likes of Jerry Garcia. No small part of Keith's impact on the likes of Garcia was the fact that he had come from a suburban college town, just like Garcia had.

The cover of Bill Monroe's 1967 MCA album Bluegrass Time, when Richard Greene and Peter Rowan were members of the Bluegrass Boys

Bill Monroe And The Bluegrass Boys, 1964-1967
Although Monroe had a more fluid approach to bands than some performers, since his arrangements were fairly fixed, he still generally had a core band that he worked with. From the end of 1964 until the middle of 1967, Monroe had a quintet that was largely "Northern" save for himself and his son

Bill Monroe-mandolin
Peter Rowan-guitar [Wayland, MA]
Richard Greene-fiddle [Los Angeles, CA]
Lamar Grier-banjo [suburban Maryland]
James Monroe-bass

Peter Rowan had been a folk musician in the Martha's Vineyard area in Massachusetts, but he too had discovered bluegrass. Rowan is well-known to Deadheads, of course, but Rowan and Greene started playing together in late '64 in the Bluegrass Boys. I am not sure how Greene got hooked up with Monroe. It is interesting that the Summer of '64 is when Jerry Garcia and Sandy Rothman made their pilgrimage to the bluegrass festival in Brown County, IN, in the hopes of getting into Monroe's band. Garcia supposedly hovered around Monroe, waiting for an opportunity to meet him, in the hopes of becoming his banjo player, but no such opportunity arose. Ironically, some months later Rothman ended up in Monroe's band for a few weeks. Had either of them stuck around, they might have connected with Rowan and Greene in the Bluegrass Boys lineup that was to follow.

The Rowan/Greene/Grier configuration of the Bluegrass Boys worked on one contemporary album, Bluegrass Time, released on Decca Records in 1967, after Greene and Rowan had left the band. Greene and Rowan also appear on a few tracks on some archival live material. Rowan jumped ship to form a rock band called Earth Opera in Cambridge, MA with another young, suburban bluegrasser from Hackensack, NJ, mandolinist David Grisman. (This topic will be the subject of another post entirely). Richard Greene, meanwhile, seems to have stayed on the East Coast, eager to expand his musical horizons.

The August, 1967 Reprise album Garden Of Joy, by The Jim Kweskin Jug Band. Richard Greene had joined the Cambridge, MA based group by the end of the band's tenure.

Jim Kweskin Jug Band
The Jim Kweskin Jug Band had been a popular act on Vanguard Records since 1963. In fact, Garcia and others had gone to see the Kweskin band in Berkeley (at the Cabale on March 11, 1964), since they had already formed a jug band, and the Kweskin crew were the leading practitioners. By 1967, the Kweskin Jug Band had been through a number of personnel changes, but while sounding a bit outdated they were still a draw. They were based in Cambridge, MA, and Greene and banjoist Bill Keith played on their final album, Garden Of Joy, released on Reprise in August of 1967. Geoff and Maria Muldaur were the singers (joined by Kweskin on guitar and Fritz Richmond on bass). The disintegration of the Kweskin band is too strange to discuss here (google "Mel Lyman"), but suffice to say Greene and the others had to move on.

The back cover of Planned Obsolecsence by The Blues Project, originally released on Verve in 1968 (this is actually the cd released on One Way in 1996)

The Blues Project, 1968
The Blues Project had been founded in Greenwich Village in 1965, and they had been a seminal band on the early psychedelic circuit. The Blues Project had shown that a bunch of white suburban guys could play funky blues in an imaginative way. They put out some great albums on Verve Records and were influential everywhere they played, not least in San Francisco. When the group had disintegrated in mid-1967, organist Al Kooper and guitarist Steve Katz had gone on to form Blood, Sweat and Tears, who had become hugely successful. Kooper had then in turn split from BS&T, but he had gone on to fame as a producer and performer in his own right, so the Blues Project name definitely had some hip cred.

Two members of the Blues Project, bassist Andy Kulberg (b.1944-d.2002) and drummer Roy Blumenfield, had moved to the Bay Area by early '68. They formed a new band, and they called themselves The Blues Project, presumably because it helped them get gigs. The other members of the group were guitarist John Gregory and saxophonist Don Kretmar, both San Francisco musicians. However, Kulberg and Blumenfield seemed to have realized that trying to live up to the first Blues Project was never going to be a winning proposition, and they evolved into a band called Seatrain. Richard Greene, no doubt friends with Kulberg and Blumenfield from the East Coast folk scene, returned to California to join the group.

However, it appeared that the former members of the Blues Project still owed an album to Verve, so they couldn't record as Seatrain. Thus the members of Seatrain, including Greene, made an album called Planned Obsolescence, credited to the Blues Project, which was released on Verve in 1968. The same band members then recorded the first Seatrain album for A&M, which was released later in 1968. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Planned Obsolescence album had little to do with the original Blues Project, and that only the most trivial material was used for the album. Such was the 60s. It was hardly the strangest thing in the recording history of the Blues Project, who would go on to reform and release various albums over the years.

A Berkeley Barb ad from February 14, 1969 for Berkeley's Freight And Salvage. High Country was booked for Thursday February 20. Richard Greene may have played with the band (David Nelson definitely did).

High Country, 1969
Greene had returned to California in 1968, apparently to play in an electric rock band in Marin County. Nonetheless, he found some time to play a little bluegrass on the side, while still playing with Seatrain. Thus Greene was a sort of adjunct member of a Berkeley bluegrass band in early '69. Butch Waller, formerly of the Pine Valley Boys, had returned to the North and he had formed High Country in 1968, initially as a duo. Their home base was Berkeley's Freight And Salvage. Various members came and went throughout 1969. When Greene did play with High Country, he often played with David Nelson, another old pal of Waller's (I have addressed this murky subject elsewhere).

The first Seatrain album, released on A&M Records in 1969

Seatrain, 1969
Sometime in early 1969--or possibly in late 1968--A&M Records released the first Seatrain album, called Seatrain, according to the practices of the time. Seatrain included all the five players who had been on the Planned Obsolescence album (Gregory, Kretmar, Greene, Kulberg and Blumenfield). However, lyricist Jim Roberts, Kulberg's songwriting partner, was also listed as a full member. The album wasn't bad, and a lot of care had been taken in the writing and recording of the songs, but the first Seatrain album had a sort of stiff, baroque feel. It appears that in the Spring of '69, Seatrain relocated again, this time from Marin County to Cambridge, MA.

The 1969 Gary Burton lp Throb, on Atlantic Records, with Richard Greene guest starring on electric violin

Throb-Gary Burton
When Seatrain relocated, it gave Richard Greene a chance to play some real jazz with Gary Burton. Gary Burton is too fascinating a tangent to go into here, but--just to give you a taste--Burton was a groundbreaking vibraphonist who grew up in Nashville, TN, enjoying country and rock along with jazz. The first Gary Burton Quartet, with Larry Coryell on electric guitar, formed in New York in 1967, was a crucially important jazz-rock fusion band. The Quartet could play the Fillmore as well as the Village Vanguard, and shined in both places.

By 1969, Jerry Hahn had taken over the guitar role from Coryell, but the Gary Burton Quartet was still a great band. Greene played amplified violin with them on occasion. When Gary Burton recorded an album at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 20, 1969, in Newport, RI, Greene sat in. As a result, Greene appeared on the album Throb, along with Burton, Hahn, Bob Moses (drums) and Steve Swallow (bass). It's a terrific album, but it has never been released on cd, so it is hard to hear [update: a commenter tells me Throb was released as extra tracks on the Keith Jarrett/Gary Burton cd]. In any case, Seatrain went on tour right after the festival, and Hahn left the group, so although Burton continued (and continues) to have a stellar jazz career, the jazz side of Greene's violin career was left by the wayside.

The second Seatrain album (1970), but the first on Capitol, also called Seatrain, like the one on A&M. Peter Rowan had joined up with old bandmate Richard Greene for this one.

Peter Rowan and Seatrain, 1969-70
When Seatrain returned to the East Coast, they underwent a variety of personnel changes, not all of which I am certain of (and in any case too tangential even for this post). However, the principal change was that Peter Rowan joined the group on guitar and vocals, replacing John Gregory. With Rowan and new keyboard player Lloyd Baskin joining Greene, Kulberg and a drummer, Seatrain's sound became less baroque and more soulful country. However, as an East Coast band, they did not fall into the country rock bag of the Flying Burrito Brothers and The Grateful Dead, even if they shared some musical roots.

Richard Greene and Peter "Panama Red" Rowan at the Freight And Salvage on February 18, 1970

Panama Red with Richard Greene
It seems that Seatrain returned to Marin County for the Fall of 1969 and the Winter of 1970. Besides regular rock gigs, however, some of the members of Seatrain played some bluegrass shows at the Freight And Salvage with various Berkeley musicians. In February, March and April 1970, Peter Rowan and Richard Greene played three shows at the Freight under the billing "Panama Red and Richard Greene."The ad for one month actually indicated that Rowan was 'Panama Red', so it wasn't particularly a secret. Nonetheless, it is very interesting to see that the Rowan's Panama Red persona was in place as early as 1970, even if it seems that the song was probably not written until later.

I would love to know what songs Rowan and Greene did as a duo, and what it sounded like. I assume it was a forum for Rowan's own songs and some choice covers, but it would be intriguing indeed if a tape or even a setlist turned up.

The 1971 Capitol album Marblehead Messenger, by Seatrain

Seatrain, 1970-71
After April 1970, there were no more weeknight bluegrass gigs at the Freight for any members of Seatrain. All signs point to the band having relocated the East Coast again. Capitol laid it on pretty thick, a clear sign that the company had high hopes for the band. The 70-71 lineup was the "classic" lineup of Seatrain that everyone remembers:

Peter Rowan-guitar, vocals
Richard Greene-electric violin
Lloyd Baskin-keyboards, vocals
Andy Kulberg-bass, flute, vocals
Larry Autamanik-drums
Jim Roberts-lyrics

Seatrain carved out an interesting niche. They sang in a country rock style, with a little bit of R&B overtones. Yet they had no lead guitarist, so most of the lead lines were played by Greene on the electric violin. With his classical training, bluegrass chops and jazz experience, Greene was uniquely positioned to be a lead player, even if he played "lead violin" rather than lead guitar.

In the Feinberg interview, Greened describes himself as having been heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix. He used a wah-wah pedal on stage, probably one of, if not the, first electric violinists to do so. In that respect, Greene followed something like Garcia' arc, taking the music and discipline he learned from bluegrass, electrifying it, and playing at high volume in a rock band. Greene describes himself as "the first electric violinist" in rock. That isn't quite true (I think a guy named Eddie Drennon was first, who played in Bo Diddley's band, and members of the group Kaleidoscope also played electric violin from 1966 onwards), but it's certainly true that Greene was playing electric violin with no road map, and was blazing new trails as he did so.

Seatrain recorded two albums for Capitol in 1970 and 1971, Seatrain and Marblehead Messenger. Both were recorded in London with George Martin. The first Seatrain album on Capitol, released in 1970--rather unfathomably also called Seatrain, just like the '69 A&M album--was the first album George Martin had produced since The Beatles. Capitol would not have sent Seatrain to London to record with Martin if they had not rated them highly.

There is some nice material on the two Capitol albums, and they are very well recorded, but the albums are not exceptional. Seatrain has a nice cover of Lowell George's "Willin'," and Marblehead Messenger has a nice version of Rowan's "Mississippi Moon," but there were no classic FM tracks. Some live Seatrain tapes circulate, on Wolfgang's Vault and elsewhere, and Greene's unique role as lead violinist is well represented. Seatrain opened for a lot of famous bands, at the Fillmore East and elsewhere, and seems to have acquitted themselves well. Greene and Rowan did not lose touch with their bluegrass roots, as their typical show closer was a rocking version of "Orange Blossom Special."

By mid-72 or so, however, Seatrain seemed to have kind of run its course. A fourth Seatrain album, Watch, was released by Capitol in 1973, but it seemed to be made up of old tracks. Rowan played on a few of them, and Greene co-wrote one song, but the album was an afterthought. Rowan, with few options on the table, moved to Marin County, where his brothers were making a record with David Grisman and Richard Loren. Richard Greene appears to have returned to Southern California.

A 1998 cd of the original live broadcast of the impromptu bluegrass group that became known as "Muleskinner."

"Muleskinner" 1972-1973
On February 13, 1973, a KCET-TV program was scheduled to feature Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys. The hour long program planned to feature a live half-hour of Monroe, with an opening live "tribute" set by younger musicians. The group assembled became the basis of what is now known as the "Muleskinner" group (because of the 1974 album), but they didn't actually use the name Muleskinner. As it happened, Monroe's bus broke down in Stockton, and the openers played the entire hour instead. The band for this show was

Peter Rowan-guitar, vocals
Clarence White-lead guitar
David Grisman-mandolin, vocals
Richard Greene-violin
Bill Keith-banjo
Stuart Schulman-bass

Its important to recognize that the musicians went to great lengths to perform at this show. Clarence White was a member of The Byrds at this time, and according to Christopher Hjort's definitive chronology (So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star, Jawbone 2008), The Byrds were at Cornell University on February 10 and Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY on February 16. so White had to log some serious air miles to make the broadcast. Grisman and Rowan lived in Northern California, as probably did Greene, and they would have had to drive down. Keith usually lived on the East Coast, so he most likely had to make a special effort as well. Its a sign of how much respect they had for Bill Monroe and each other that they all made that effort.

The impromptu performance was so satisfying that the musicians played a week at The Ash Grove (March 17-22), the very same club where Greene had first heard Scotty Stoneman. They also made plans to record an album. According to Greene (in the Feinberg interview), the plan was that this ensemble would co-exist with Old And In The Way. An album was recorded, with the idea that it would be a sort of rock-bluegrass hybrid, and John Kahn played bass, with John Guerin on drums. The album Muleskinner-A Potpourri Of Bluegrass Jam was released in 1974, but after Clarence White's death on July 29, 1973, any serious plans for the group were dropped.

Part of the March, 1973 Keystone Berkeley calendar, showing Old And In The Way playing March 12 and 13.

Old And In The Way, 1973
I have also written at length about the genesis of Old And In The Way and Muleskinner, so I won't recap it all. Suffice to say, Jerry Garcia was living at the top of the hill in Stinson Beach, and David Grisman and Peter Rowan were living at the bottom of the hill, and they started to play bluegrass together. Garcia got his long-dormant banjo chops together, John Kahn was added on bass, and in March of 1973 the quartet started playing some bluegrass gigs at rock clubs (and possibly at some tiny place in Stinson Beach). There is a whiff that John Hartford was tried out as a member, but he played few, if any shows, possibly only working on a still-unreleased recording, but I have to assume Hartford's schedule did not allow him to be a member of a part-time band.

Greene's first performance as a member of Old And In The Way was on April 12, 1973, at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara. Greene went on to play fiddle at most, though not all, of the Old And In The Way shows for April and May. At the time, the band was just a curiousity: Garcia had surprised the rock world by playing as a sideman in the New Riders Of The Purple Sage on a secondary instrument (pedal steel guitar), and here he was doing it again on yet another instrument. Very few California rock fans even knew what bluegrass was. FM broadcasts of Old And In The Way were often the first bluegrass fans that many rock fans had ever heard.

Old And In The Way helped re-invigorate bluegrass in many ways. The most important way, of course, was the fact that Jerry Garcia's presence caused people to actually listen to it. Peter Rowan's original songs made bluegrass sound contemporary, instead of like a museum piece. Finally, unlike most typical bluegrass bands, Old And In The Way had relatively lengthy instrumental breaks that flirted with jazz. This was directly modeled on the style of Scotty Stoneman. Stoneman had influenced Garcia's guitar playing, and now Garcia had a bluegrass band with a fiddler who had actually taken lessons--of a sort--from Stoneman himself.

The free-flowing style of Old And In The Way owed a lot to Richard Greene. Ironically enough, when Greene had to leave the band, Greene was replaced by the even more incredible Vassar Clements, himself a true legend. Clements took flight in Old And In The Way's format, and the other musicians in the band all thought that Vassar was the best soloist in the band. Greene had established the template, however, and it was the critical need to replace him with someone good that caused the band to seek out Clements.

Loggins And Messina, 1973-76
Why did Richard Greene leave Old And In The Way? He was playing great music with friends, and he was able to merge bluegrass with jazz, and the band was rising in popularity. Greene explained the answer in the Feinberg interview: he got offered serious money to go on tour with Loggins And Messina. Old And In The Way gigs paid a little bit, by bluegrass standards, but they were only going to play occasional shows around the Grateful Dead and Garcia/Saunders touring schedule. Old And In The Way wasn't really going to pay Greene's way, and Loggins And Messina would.

Jim Messina had originally been Kenny Loggins' producer, but their initial collaboration went so well that they became a duo. By 1973, they had hit singles and were becoming hugely popular. Loggins And Messina would go on to sell something like 15 million albums in six years. Loggins And Messina were a pop group, but a very musical one. One of the cornerstones of their success was a country music sensibility without all the twangs and songs about trains. They already had a fiddle player in the band, Al Garth, but he also played saxophone and flute. By bringing in Richard Greene, it allowed Loggins And Messina to have a sort of Western Swing sound on stage, with either twin fiddles or fiddle and saxophone.

Interestingly, Greene's connection to Loggins And Messina was through Seatrain. Seatrain had played a number of shows with Poco, back in 1970 when Jim Messina was their lead guitarist. Although apparently they hardly spoke at the time, Messina was definitely listening, and when they needed a versatile violinist, Greene got the call.

According to Greene, Loggins And Messina made so much money touring, they traveled in not one but two jets. One was for Loggins and Messina, and the other was for the band. Obviously, Greene was getting a pretty good wage besides. Greene toured with Loggins And Messina for three years, until the duo finally broke up in 1976, while they were both still friends. Greene may not have played on every tour, but I think he played on most of them. He appears on some tracks on the 'posthumous' Loggins And Messina live album, Finale, releases in 1977. (Unfortunately, as far as I know, Loggins and Messina never did the slow version of "Friend Of The Devil" after '72, so Greene never got to play it).

An ad from the Sunday, May 5, 1974 Oakland Tribune, listing the Great American String Band's upcoming performance at the Keystone Berkeley that night

Great American String Band, 1974
In 1974, although Greene was making his living by touring with Loggins And Messina, he still had time for other music when they were off the road. David Grisman had precipitated the end of Old And In The Way because he wanted to go in a different direction than Peter Rowan. I'm not sure that Greene and Grisman had really played together prior to the 'Muleskinner' show in February 1973, and then Old And In The Way a few months later. Certainly, most of the younger bluegrass players all knew each other, so Greene and Grisman had surely picked a little, but they hadn't been in a band with each other.

By March of 1974, Grisman and Greene had hatched a new band, called The Great American String Band. It was initially based at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. The goal of the Great American String Band was to play all American music on acoustic instruments. Not just bluegrass, but jazz, folk, blues, swing and pretty much anything else, sometimes all at once. This was a pretty audacious goal, but the remarkable thing about the band was that it ultimately succeeded, and in so doing helped revolutionize American music. Whether you read about "New Acoustic" music, or see a couple of guys in a pizza parlor doing a swinging version of a blues song on mandolin and guitar, that can be traced back directly to the Great American String Band.

The Great American String Band debuted at the Great American Music Hall on March 9-10, 1974. The first night's lineup was Grisman, Greene, David Nichtern on guitar and Buell Niedlinger on bass. For the second night, Jerry Garcia joined them on banjo. Although there were some occasional adjustments to the lineup, Garcia and Greene were in the GASB through June of 1974. Garcia stopped playing with them after June, mainly due to having too many other commitments. Greene and Grisman continued to play in the GASB through the Fall of '74 (the band was sometimes billed as The Great American Music Band).

However, the Great American String Band ultimately stopped playing, I believe because Greene had too many commitments with Loggins And Messina. The Great American String Band evolved into the David Grisman Quintet, and it was the DGQ that really opened everyone's ears to the possibilities of acoustic music. It did not hurt that the Old And In The Way album was released in February 1975--a mere 16 months after it was recorded--and David Grisman's name became better known in Deadhead circles.

If Richard Greene had been on the Old And In The Way album, it would have been his name that was associated with progressive bluegrass fiddle and the Grateful Dead. If he had stuck with the Great American String Band, then the David Grisman Quintet (under whatever name) would have had two former members of OAITW. Whether that would have been good and bad would be impossible to say, but the fact was that Greene had to make a living, and making Loggins And Messina swing a little on stage was a pretty musical way to make a living, if hardly revolutionary.

Richard Greene's presence in Old And In The Way was not accidental, even if it was only for six weeks or so. Greene represented a straight line from Scotty Stoneman, and he had played with Bill Monroe, so his bluegrass pedigree was all that Jerry Garcia could ask for. And yet in the years before Old And In The Way, Greene had played old-time music, in a jug band, electric jazz and high volume rock and roll. In that respect, Greene came back to bluegrass in a very similar way that Jerry Garcia did, proud of the tradition and steeped in it, yet eager to enrich it with other kinds of music. Greene's breadth was essential to the foundation of The Great American String Band as well, and yet he departed both seminal groups long before they became famous.

Happily, many years later, the music world has caught up with Richard Greene and he is rightly revered as a master of violin and fiddle, crossing boundaries in a wide variety of ensembles. He may not be using a wah-wah pedal any more, but Greene's wide tastes inform his music in a variety of powerful ways. His presence in Old And In The Way and The Great American String Band was no accident, even though it took several more years for everyone to catch up with what Jerry Garcia and David Grisman already knew.

Richard Greene Discography 1967-76
[this discography is limited to bands where Richard Greene was a member]

Bluegrass Time-Bill Monroe (Decca Spring '67)
Garden Of Joy-Jim Kweskin Jug Band (Reprise August '67)
Planned Obsolescence-Blues Project (Verve 1968)
Seatrain (A&M 1969)
Throb-Gary Burton (1969)
Seatrain (Capitol 1970)
Marblehead Messenger (Capitol 1971)
A Potpourri Of Bluegrass Jam-Muleskinner (Sierra 1974, recorded 1973)
Old And In The Way (Round 1975, recorded Oct 8 '73)
Finale-Loggins And Messina (Columbia 1977, recorded live mid-70s)
Muleskinner Live: Original Television Soundtrack (Micro Werks 1998, recorded Feb 13 '73)

[For a more complete discography of Greene's work, including many of his session appearances, see the page on his own site]

The album cover of the final Grateful Dead Warner Brothers lp, The History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Bear's Choice), released in July 1973

While the Grateful Dead were legends almost from their inception, in their first several years, the albums they released on Warner Brothers played a huge part in spreading that legend. Of course, it was attending live Dead concerts that put people On The Bus, but for most fans in the early 70s, hearing some of their albums sparked the interest or willingness to attend a Grateful Dead concert in the first place. Most of the albums from the band's time on Warner Brothers are revered today, even if they weren't upon release, except one: the band's last release on Warners, in July 1973, with the provocative title of History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. 1, but usually referred to by its parenthetical add-on (Bear's Choice).

I can recall the anticipation when Bear's Choice was released, and the mystification and dismay when I actually listened to it. Time has not really improved the album's reception. Only the most thorough of Deadheads even recalls it, and the record is almost never mentioned in blogs, tweets or posts, much less with any fondness. As most Deadheads became more knowledgeable about the breadth of the band's music, we became aware that Bear's Choice consisted of tracks recorded from some of the finest Grateful Dead concerts of 1970, and I for one became convinced that the least attractive songs were chosen. The release of a bad, dated live album from a great set of tapes was a strange decision for a band to make, but it was actuallly consistent with the long-gone practices of the 1970s record industry. This post will review the History Of The Grateful Dead Vol. 1 (Bear's Choice) album in its proper context, and make some case for how such a peculiar release came to exist.

The rear cover of Bear's Choice (actually from the cd re-release)

The Bear's Choice Album

Most Deadheads today forget about Bear's Choice, if they ever even knew about it in the first place. Back in '73, however, there were only 10 Grateful Dead albums in existence (including the two dubious ones on MGM/Sunflower, Vintage Dead and Historic Dead). For all but the hippest of the hip in San Francisco or Brooklyn, there were no Dead tapes in circulation. In New York City, at least, there were Grateful Dead bootleg lps circulating, but they too were a rare commodity unknown in the outside world. The Grateful Dead were no different than Ten Years After or The Byrds: if the music wasn't available on LP at your local record dealer, that music didn't exist.

So when the Grateful Dead left Warner Brothers for their own self-financed label after the release of the Europe '72 triple-live album, it was not surprising to find out that they owed the label one more album. It was pretty exciting for a suburban 15-year old like me to read that they would release an album from three-year-old tapes. For me, 1970 was before I started listening to the Dead, so as far as I was concerned the forthcoming album would pretty much be a time machine, transporting me to the fabled, long-gone days of the Fillmores. But come July, and this strange album came out (details from Deaddisc, of course):

History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Bear's Choice)
Grateful Dead
Initial release : July 1973
Warner Bros. BS-2721
The Dead's last album for Warner Brothers. A single LP of acoustic and electric material from the shows on February 13 and 14, 1970 at the Fillmore East
Tracks

Katie Mae (Hopkins)
Dark Hollow (Browning)
I've Been All Around This World (Traditional, arr. Grateful Dead)
Wake Up Little Susie (Bryant/Bryant)
Black Peter (Garcia/Hunter)
Smokestack Lightnin' (Burnett)
Hard To Handle (Redding/Isabell/Jones)
Musicians

Jerry Garcia - acoustic guitar, lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan- acoustic guitar, organ, percussion, harmonica, vocals
Phil Lesh - bass
Mickey Hart - drums
Bill Kreutzmann - drums
Credits

Recorded Live by Bear: February 13-14, 1970 at the Fillmore East, New York, NY
Produced by: Owsley Stanley
Notes
The songs on Bear's Choice are taken from the following shows;
Katie Mae, Wake Up Little Susie, Black Peter and Smokestack Lightnin' - February 13, 1970
Dark Hollow, I've Been All Around This World and Hard To Handle - February 14, 1970

At the time Bear's Choice came out, I was probably a relatively typical Deadhead. I was a teenager in the suburbs, I had all but two of the Warners albums (I didn't have Anthem Of The Sun or Aoxomoxoa yet), and I had heard the Vintage Dead lp, but I didn't yet have any of the tapes or bootlegs. I had been fortunate enough to see the Grateful Dead twice already (Winterland Dec 12 '72 and Maples Feb 9 '73), but it all had been pretty overwhelming. Sure, there were crusty 24-year olds in San Rafael, the East Village or Montague Street who had seen the Dead a bunch of times over the years and had at least heard some tapes or bootlegs, but nationally, most Deadheads were more like me than those veterans.

Of the seven songs on Bear's Choice, three were acoustic, three were by Pigpen, six were covers, and they only electric Jerry song was the mournful "Black Peter" (I think Pigpen played organ on it). While I recognized that the record was a sort of tribute to the recently diseased Pigpen, it was a strange tribute: the "anchor song" was a seemingly interminable blues song ("Smokestack Lightning") that I knew as a Yardbirds cover. The Otis Redding cover ("Hard To Handle") was intriguing, but it had a strange, clunky arrangement. The Everly Brothers song ("Wake Up Little Susie") was cute, but trivial, and it was difficult to process. As for "Katie Mae" and "Dark Hollow" I knew nothing about the Dead's 1970 acoustic sets, nor did most fans--were these typical, or random?

And who was "Bear", and why did he get to choose?

Aoxomoxoa, released in June 1969, and recorded on the Grateful Dead's original contract with Warners

Grateful Dead Record Contracts 1966-1973

The strange, counterproductive tale of Bear's Choice can only be understood in the context of the Grateful Dead's record contracts with Warners, which in turn only makes sense because of industry practices at the time. Despite the Dead's best efforts to break that mold, efforts that largely succeeded, the band fell prey to the least forward looking approach typical of bands at the time, and they did not help their own cause.

The Grateful Dead's first record contract was signed with Warner Brothers executive Joe Smith around December 1966, although they had agreed in principle a few months earlier and had just spent time negotiating the details. The general outline of the deal was that the Grateful Dead agreed to deliver three albums to Warners, although Warners probably had an option for another album or two, per typical contracts of the time. However, the Dead had made somewhat better decisions than some of their contemporaries.

For one thing, the Dead's Warner Brothers contract gave them complete artistic control of their albums. For another, while typical album contracts of the era required that a band deliver a certain number of songs (tracks) to qualify as an album (usually 10 in the US), the Dead had a jazz-inspired deal. Thanks to Rock Scully, who had conferred with some jazz musicians, the Dead were only required to deliver a certain number of recorded minutes, like a jazz artist, rather than a specific number of tracks. There were still economic reasons for them to make up song titles on Anthem Of The Sun, but that had to with mechanical publishing royalties (a dense subject I have addressed elsewhere) rather than a record company obligation. The Dead also retained the music publishing rights to their own songs (through IceNine publishing), largely because Joe Smith and Warners did not realize that popular rock songs would have such a long shelf life and did not care (per Smith's own admission).

By mid-1969, the Dead had produced Aoxomoxoa, their third album, and were in a position to renegotiate their contract with Warners. The band themselves did not know that, however, and manager Lenny Hart negotiated an extension with Warner Brothers without the band members' knowledge. Both Columbia and MGM had interest in the Dead, but Lenny had his reasons for negotiating directly, mainly to get his hands on the advance money more easily. Thus the Dead ended 1969 with an extension from Warner Brothers.

I believe that Live/Dead was released (in November '69) as an option on the original contract, and that the Dead subsequently had a five-album deal with an option for two more, but it doesn't really matter. By the end of the year, the Dead had a substantial commitment to deliver more material to Warner Brothers. One of the confusing aspect of old record contracts was that double or triple albums could be construed as single or double albums as part of the contract, subject to negotiation between the artist and the record company. The negotiation was inevitably over how much the record company would charge for the album and what rate the band would get paid at. A band could deliver two albums worth of material to a record company, but the company could release each album separately or simply charge double for the album, wrecking sales.

Both Skull and Roses and Europe 72 were sold for far less than double or triple retail price, so I think in the case of something like those records, Warners counted the other LPs as part of one album so that left the Dead owing one more record to Warners to fulfill their contract. After the Dead had told Warners they weren't renewing, Warners wasn't going to do the group any favors (see the Appendix below for some coherent speculation about the Dead's obligations to Warners, which likely included the Garcia and Ace albums).

The remnants of the band Blues Project released an album's worth of blues jams on Verve in 1968, so that most of the members would be free to record as Sea Train on Capitol in 1969. Verve released it anyway, with the ironic title of Planned Obsolescence. I like both Blues Project and Seatrain, yet this was still a waste of tape.

The Early 70s Rock And Roll Record Business
The Grateful Dead have a reputation for having been true mavericks of the music business, blazing a trail for others to follow decades later. In many ways this reputation is justified. However, in many other ways, the Dead fell prey to much of the false logic of the record business of the time, and much to their own detriment. The strange song choices of Bear's Choice betray the Grateful Dead's acceptance of certain 1970s assumptions about the record business and the rock audience, assumptions that were proven fundamentally incorrect less than 20 years later. While the Dead had their own peculiar twist on these assumptions, the assumptions were still wrong.

Consider the Dead's position in early 1973. After being a sort of infamous cult band in the '60s, that had never sold many records, the group had climbed into the middle tier of touring rock bands. They had released four successful albums in a row (Workingman's, American Beauty, Skull And Roses, Europe '72), all of which had garnered good FM airplay, and their concert receipts had continued to increase. Rather than just being popular in a few strongholds like Northern California and New York Metro, the band could play profitable shows in Wembley or Wichita. If a band was ever going to go it alone, the Grateful Dead had picked a great time--on a roll with their releases, and playing great live shows in a booming rock concert industry.

Yet in order to go it alone, the Dead still owed an album release to Warner Brothers. Obviously they weren't going into the studio, and obviously they weren't going to give Warners any new, original material if they could help it. The effort and hopeful rewards of writing and recording new material would accrue to Grateful Dead Records. So it wasn't surprising to read in Rolling Stone (or possibly Joel Selvin's column in the SF Chronicle) that the Dead would fulfill their obligation with an LP of older live material. At the time, I was still 14 years old, and very few Dead fans would have been twice my age. Tapes and bootlegs were largely unknown in the suburbs, so a live album from the past was enticing indeed, since I had no other means of getting that music.

Successful groups changing record labels wasn't unheard of in the early 1970s. The Rolling Stones had moved from Decca Records (London Records in the US) to Atlantic in early 1970. Decca had punished them by releasing a terrible album of outtakes called Stone Age in 1971, which no one remembers. This was a typical record company maneuver. The reasoning was that rock fans were kids, fickle and with limited resources. If they bought the "next" album by a group and it was crummy, the kids would figure "this band's no longer hip" and move on, because they didn't have money to waste. Another variation of this was for a record company to release some sort of "Best Of" album when a group left the label (MGM released MotherMania when Zappa went to Warners in '68), with the idea that it would cut into sales of any newly released album by the artist.

On the other side, rock bands often had an equally hostile attitude towards their record company. When a group left a label, there was often a lot of hostility and frustration, usually over money. On one hand, record contracts were structured to overwhelmingly favor the label. New artists usually had no leverage, and particularly in the 60s, no one knew how much money was really going to be made. So artists with a quick hit often felt taken advantage of, with some justification. Of course, the same artists had no idea how much of their own money they were wasting on new gear and first class airline tickets, fronted by the label out of future royalties.

Thus when a band needed to turn in a final album to escape a record contract, they often had no desire to let their former employer have a good record. In one particularly emblematic case, there had been a groundbreaking group from 1965-67 called The Blues Project, who had been very hip and popular in the early days of the Fillmore, and had released two memorable albums on MGM-Verve. Although they were a Greenwich Village band, some members ended up reforming the group in Marin County in 1968. Rapidly they evolved into the interesting group Seatrain, and were signed by A&M. However, in order to escape their obligation to Verve and sign as Seatrain, they had to produce one more Blues Project album. They released an album of formless jams called Planned Obsolescence, a meaningless exercise. Verve released it anyway.

The Grateful Dead had released five successful albums in a row on Warners, going back to Live/Dead, and seven if you count Garcia and Ace. Yet they had been persuaded by Ron Rakow, with some justification, that Warners was taking too big a share of their receipts from those albums. Now, Warners had distribution and radio promotion with a lot of overhead, but according to Rakow at least, the Dead were getting only 31 cents from every album sale (albums sold for around 3 or 4 dollars at the time). Most Grateful Dead fans were like me--suburban or college kids, unconnected to any underground network, getting all their music from new lps. Yet the Dead had no plans to give Warners an album that would keep up the string of exciting albums they had released in the preceding four years.

The image from the 1967 Pigpen t-shirt, promoted by Warners

Owsley And Pigpen
I do not think the Grateful Dead actively planned to put out a strange album for their final Warners release. However, they did the next closest thing: they assigned the project to Owsley. The Dead had made the decision by the end of 1972 to go independent, and Warners must have made it clear that another album was required to escape the contract. I'm sure there would have been no other concessions on Warners part, either, like a good advance, so the band would have wanted to do it cheaply.

Owsley "Bear" Stanley had been in Federal Prison from July 1970 until about July 1972 on charges of illicit LSD distribution. The Dead's touring operation was on a solid financial footing by the time Owsley returned, and their sound system was handled by Alembic Engineering, a company that Owsley had helped found. However, for all his legendary status, Owsley didn't have a financial stake in Alembic itself, and he didn't really have an official job with the crew either. Owsley wanted to be in charge, of course, but it wasn't the sixties and he didn't have a role. Conversely, that would have meant Owsley could be spared to work on the record. Thus the album was indeed "Bear's Choice," and I think there was only general approval from the band, with no direct input, so it really was Owsley's album.

Pipgen had died in March 1973. He had not performed with the band since June of 1972, but until the end of the year there may have been some residual hope that Pig could have gotten healthy and at least continued on as an occasional guest star. It was not to be, and Pigpen died while the Dead were on tour in the East. So it seemed appropriate that Bear's Choice became a tribute to their fallen comrade. Owsley had been their since the beginning, so he was an appropriate steward, even if it was strange to have the Acid King construct a tribute to the only family member who didn't like his product.

Owsley liked the blues and he liked folk music. Thus he took the tapes from the Fillmore East shows from February 13 and 14, 1970, and tried to give listeners a taste of what they missed with from those days, with a big focus on Pigpen. However, to a normal suburban listener like me, the album was completely devoid of context. There were four acoustic songs, one by Pigpen, a mournful "Black Peter" for the only original, an 18-minute "Smokestack Lightning," and a rocking but clunky version of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle." Regular Dead material from those great concerts was entirely absent.

The acoustic material was fascinating, but mysterious, since there was only the faintest knowledge of Garcia's old-timey folk roots. And Weir singing an Everly Brothers song--had that been typical? The answer was "no," but how would I have known that? The slow, grinding "Smokestack" made sense in terms of a three hour show, but it made up most of side two and was kind of a drag to a teenager. Two years later I would get the Hollywood Palladium bootleg (August 6, 1971), and I could hear how "Hard To Handle" should really sound, but back in 1970 the Dead hadn't really figured out the arrangement yet.

Thus it appears that Owsley, given a free hand, and always his own man in any case, made his own tribute to Pigpen. With the knowledge of the Dead's music that we have today, it sort of makes sense: it featured some of the left-out corners of the Grateful Dead's music up until that time. Now we know that old-timey acoustic music, slow blues and psychedelic R&B covers were part of the Dead's broad pallette, but to my 15-year-old self it just seemed strange. I was enormously disappointed when Bear's Choice came out. So was everyone else, I think, because almost no one ever mentioned it again.

Dick's Picks Vol. 4, recorded Feb 13-14, 1970, released 1996

"The History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol 1"
The most tantalizing aspect of Bear's Choice was the actual title: "The History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol 1." It suggested that the album would be the first of many. In a way, it was, although the next installment was eighteen years later, with 1991's One From The Vault. Yet Bear's Choice shows us that the Dead had the idea to use their vault as a way to disseminate their music and provide some income far into the future, as long ago as the early 1970s. Granted, at the time, the Dead were competing with the presence of two almost-bootleg albums, Vintage Dead and Historic Dead, in MGM-Sunflower, both recorded in 1966, but Vintage in particular was a far catchier album than Bear's Choice.

I got excellent quality cassette recordings of the February 13-14, 1970 shows at the end of 1980. The music stunned me, of course, as I couldn't believe there was that much uninterrupted goodness out there to listen to. But it only made Bear's Choice more peculiar. With all that great music to choose from, why did Owsley pick the strange tracks that he did? If the Dead had ended their Warner Brothers run in '73 with an lp that featured Fillmore East performances of, say, "Dancing In The Streets" and "Alligator" (both from Feb 14 '70), it would have been another great seller. "Dancing" would have been all over FM radio, and the Dead's audience would be even bigger. But the Dead fell into the trap of sticking it to the record company, and turned in a purposely strange album that was bound to confuse all but a then-tiny number of old heads.

The Golden Road Boxed Set, released 2003

Final Coda
Bear's Choice was rightly forgotten, soon after it was released, and it has remained an orphan ever since. The one real effect of the album was limiting the scope of Dick's Pick's Vol 4. Volume 4, released in 1996, featured the relatively widely circulated Feb 13-14 '70 show at its finest. Yet the Bear's Choice tracks needed to be excluded, for contractual reasons. Now, granted, DP4 was already a three-cd set and anyone could make their own custom mix tape of the complete show, but the acoustic songs might have made a good addition and they had to be left off.

When Bear's Choice was released as part of the 12-cd Golden Road boxed set, a few additional tracks were included.

Bonus tracks on 2003 expanded CD release, all live recordings from Feb 1970;

Good Lovin' - February 13, 1970 at Fillmore East, New York, NY
Big Boss Man - February 5, 1970 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA
Smokestack Lightnin' - February 8, 1970 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA
Sitting On Top Of The World - February 8, 1970 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA

While additional live material from the Dead is always welcome, these seem to be a particularly random assortment of selections. "Sitting On Top Of The World" from 1970 was a rarity, but was another "Smokestack" called for? No matter. Bear's Choice was a contractual obligation, and it was designed to be a quirky artifact that would spite the band's former record company. The final, strange bonus cuts were an appropriately head-scratching appendix to a strange release.

Appendix: Grateful Dead/Warner Brothers Record Contracts
The Grateful Dead signed a three-album deal with Joe Smith of Warner Brothers in December 1966. If it was a typical contract of that era, Warners would have had an option for an additional album or two under the same terms.
The Grateful Dead (March 1967)
Anthem Of The Sun (July 1968)
Aoxomoxoa (June 1969)
Live/Dead (November 1969) While the Dead were touring in mid-69, Lenny Hart negotiated an extension with Warners. I don't know which contract Live/Dead was assigned to, but that was probably part of the negotiation. My assumption is that Live/Dead was considered a record company option on the original deal.

The Workingman's Dead (June 1970) I'm assuming that Workingman's was the first album of a five-album deal with an option for two more.
American Beauty (December 1970)
Grateful Dead [Skull & Roses] (September 1971) This double album was presumably considered one album, a conventional arrangement that would have been negotiated between Warners and the Dead.
Garcia (January 1972) It was conventional practice in the 70s for the "main" players in any popular band to be offered a solo album, though a "Key Man" clause. From Warners' point of view, they didn't care whether Jerry Garcia or the Grateful Dead were the ones with a hit. Now, Garcia could not have recorded a solo album with anyone other than Warners, but he might have negotiated a separate deal. If he did, then it would follow that Live/Dead was part of the second deal, not the original one.
Ace (March 1972) I know that Ace was recorded as part of the Warners deal, and was considered a Grateful Dead album for contractual purposes. Warners probably figured that they had a good chance of making a genuine rock star out of Weir.
Europe '72 (November 1972) The Dead told Warners at the end of '72 that they had no intention of renewing their contract, and told Clive Davis and Columbia they weren't signing with them either, but rather going independent. Double live albums were pretty common, but Europe '72 was a triple album, and the band's last release had been a live album as well. One way or another, the Dead had delivered six albums on the Warners contract, so they still owed a final album.
The History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol.1 Bear's Choice (July 1973) Although the Dead had left Warners by mid-73, they could not have released an album on their own label without having fulfilled their Warners contract.

The Dead put out two albums independently (Wake Of The Flood and Mars Hotel), as well as some solo material on Round. They then signed a distribution deal with United Artists, where they owed four Dead albums and Garcia and Weir solo albums. These obligations were only partially fulfilled, with two Dead albums, one a double (Blues For Allah and Steal Your Face), Reflections and Kingfish (which would have counted as the Weir album).

I do not know the structure of the Dead's 1976 contract with Arista. However, by that time the group was established and both the Dead and Arista knew what they were getting into. The royalties and other factors with releasing the inevitable double live albums were probably written into the contract from the beginning. The deal that was not fulfilled until In The Dark was completed in 1987, which was the sixth Grateful Dead album on Arista. Possibly the two Garcia solo albums and Heaven Help The Fool were part of the obligation as well, or maybe they were contracted separately. After that time, the Dead had an agreement with Arista, but it was basically an album-to-album deal, and Garcia himself was free to record for anybody.

Update
Appendix 2: The Dead on Bear's Choice
Fellow scholar LightIntoAshes comes up with some contemporary quotes from the band, from Cameron Crowe articles

Cameron Crowe talked to Garcia & others for a couple of illuminating articles in 1973-74: "Rather than choose the usual 'greatest hits' packaging, for their final [Warners] album commitment, The Dead dispatched production manager Owsley 'The Bear' Stanley to rummage through his collection of live tapes to find a unique performance LP with which to bow out... 'It’s a side of the group that never went on record,' says Jerry in retrospect... 'It shows a Dead you’ll never see or hear again,' Rock [Scully] picks up the story. 'The album is sixty percent Pigpen and the other forty percent is acoustic material. Needless to say, Pigpen is no longer with us and The Dead don’t do acoustic material onstage anymore. The record is very, very interesting if you know the history behind it.'" {from Circus Magazine, October 1973 issue)

But a later article revealed that the Dead themselves were "ambivalent at best" about the album: "Weir is upset about the inclusion of a flat 'Wake Up Little Susie' duet with Jerry. Garcia could care less about the whole thing. When handed his first copy of the album, he mumbled something about it having a less-than-stellar cover and didn’t even bother taking it home. 'We had to give that record to Warner Brothers,' says Jerry... 'We weren’t contracted for it originally, but we had [to] give it to them in order to make Europe ’72 a triple-LP. We could have been cut loose if we gave them two single records, rather than one triple album. We ended up giving them four discs instead of just two just to be able to go to Europe...'As far as I’m concerned, it’s something we owe them. I’m not interested in making Warner Brothers any richer. In a way, I’m glad it’s a low-profile, non-success record. It just means there won’t be any more energy going to WB via us. The music is what it is, us in early 1970... The stuff we were doing at the time never got onto any of our records before now. I might not like it, but I played it. If they were no good, it’s too late to take those notes back.{from Creem Magazine, January 1974 issue}

A handbill for the Vancouver, BC Trips Festival. at the PNE Gardens from July 29-31, 1966. The Grateful Dead played all three days.

A poster for the Grateful Dead performance at the Santa Venetia Armory on December 29, 1966. Santa Venetia is an unincorporated area near San Rafael, and the National Guard armory there was used for rock dances in the 1960s.

July 3, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Love/Grateful Dead/Group B
The show was on a Sunday night, but it was the night before July 4, so it was still effectively Saturday night. Love was much bigger than the Grateful Dead at the time. Group B was from Davis, and played a weird sort of baroque rock.

July 8-9, 1966 Armory, Santa Venetia, CA: Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service
Santa Venetia was an unincorporated suburb of San Rafael, and there were regular teen dances at the National Guard Armory there. Some years later, the Dead would rehearse with Keith Godchaux at the Armory. There apparently is a poster with Sopwith Camel instead of the Dead.

A poster for the Thursday night Fillmore show with the Dead, Big Brother and the no-doubt fascinating but unrecorded Hindustani jazz sextet with Don Ellis and Hari Har Rao.

July 14, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Big Brother and The Holding Company/Hindustani Jazz Sextet
This Thursday night show was presented by The San Francisco Calliope Company, rather than Bill Graham Presents. The Hindustani Jazz Sextet featured trumpeter Don Ellis and sitarist Hari Har Rao (a colleague of Ravi Shankar). Today it would be called "World Music," but the term didn't exist at the time.

July 15-17, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead
Sunday, July 17 was an afternoon show.

July 29-31, 1966 PNE Garden Auditorium, Vancouver, British Columbia: Vancouver Trips Festival
The Dead played the Vancouver Trips Festival along with Big Brother. Big Brother definitely took the train, but I don't know for sure about the Dead. The Dead played on all three days, I think.

August 3, 1966 bandshell, Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia: Grateful Dead/United Empire Loyalists[free concert]
This was the first time the Grateful Dead played for free in a park, memorably described by the then-teenage members of the teenage band United Empire Loyalists, and confirmed by Rock Scully. The idea was to popularize the upcoming Friday night show in Vancouver. It worked. The Dead took the idea home with them, and then around the country. The date has now been determined to have been Wednesday, August 3. A fellow scholar writes

The location is variously recalled as the gazebo at First Beach Park; a bandstand on English Bay Beach; or Haywood Bandstand in Alexandra Park. From what I can tell, these are all different names for more or less the same place

The poster for the Grateful Dead's performance at the Pender Auditorium in Vancouver on August 5, 1966

August 5, 1966 Pender Auditorium, Vancouver, British Columbia; Grateful Dead/United Empire Loyalists
There was only one night at Pender Auditorium. Lists that include Saturday August 6 did not look closely at the poster (a fact confirmed by numerous sources).

The Grateful Dead were booked at an afternoon benefit at Fillmore Auditorium on Sunday, August 7. However, it seems that the Dead did not play. Most likely there were problems getting back from Vancouver.

August 12-13, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead
Understandably, the Grateful Dead found Owsley's sound system too difficult to take on the road, so Owsley apparently sold it to Bill Graham. Left in place, and not having to be broken down every night, Owsley's system lived up to its potential. According to details I have pieced together, I think the Dead played this gig and left the sound system in place. Owsley bought the Dead a newer, simpler system, and focused on other business interests.

August 19-20, 1966 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Sopwith Camel
The previous time the Dead had played the Avalon, their PA was so loud that Avalon soundman Bob Cohen could not use his in-house intercom system to talk to his crew. So by this time, Cohen invented noise-canceling headphones to compensate, from which we have all benefited.

A flyer for the three day "Folk-Rock Festival and Bicycle Race" in tiny Pescadero, on August 26-28, 1966

August 26-28, 1966 IDES Hall, Pescadero, CA: Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service/The Induction Center Tour Del Mar Bicycle Race and Folk-Rock Festival
Pescadero is a tiny town on the coast, in San Mateo county but on the other side of the mountains from the suburbs, which are on the bay. IDES was a Portugese-American social club, whose halls were often available for rent. Larry Rogers, an old friend of the band, reported on Facebook that he attended one of these shows and said there was only a few dozen fans in attendance. The Induction Center were a local band. Rogers also said that the Dead only played the first two nights, and as our only eyewitness, it seems likely that at least the Dead did not play on Sunday, August 28.

September 2, 1966 La Dolphine, Hillsborough, CA: Grateful Dead/Walt Tolleson Orchestra
Bob Weir's sister Wendy had been a debutante, although she had debuted back in the Spring of '66. Nonetheless, when the very wealthy Mattei sisters (also known as the Mattel family, not connected to the toys) had a party at the largest estate on the Peninsula, the connections were in place to hire the Dead. Supposedly the sisters insisted--good for them. The Dead played for about 100 well dressed teenagers. The event was written up in the Society Pages of the San Francisco Chronicle.

September ?,1966 House Party, Cabin at 50 Wurr Road, Loma Mar CA
LIA reports

Larry Rogers (who had attended the Pescadero shows the previous week) writes: “I told them I was having a party soon and asked if they would like to come and to play. I asked them at the Pescadero event. Garcia was all for it… It was my house…the house was actually in Memorial Park… There were no neighbors and we were surrounded by redwoods and off the beaten path… There were maybe 20 folks there, lots of LSD… I remember that they played Midnight Hour for about an hour.” (Rogers also wrote the liner notes for the 4/14/72 CD release.)

Saturday, September 3 seems a likely date.

September 4, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service/Country Joe and The Fish
Since this was Labor Day weekend, a Sunday night show was like a weekend show. County Joe and The Fish were just an underground Berkeley band at the time.

September 11, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Jon Hendricks Trio/Elvin Jones/Joe Henderson Quartet/Big Mama Thornton/Denny Zeitlin Trio/Jefferson Airplane/Great Society/Wildflower/Grateful Dead (unbilled) Benefit for The Both/And jazz club
Among many other subplots at this lengthy benefit, Jack Casady asked Great Society singer Grace Slick if she would be interested in replacing soon-to-depart Jefferson Airplane singer Signe Andrsen.

September 16-17, 1966 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Oxford Circle
The Vintage Dead lp has the iconic Kelly/Mouse poster from this date, but was probably actually recorded from a later show.

While the Grateful Dead's free performances at The Panhandle, a park-like area between Oak and Fell Streets, just East of Golden Gate Park, have become legend, those events may only be part of the story. It seems that in the late Summer and Fall of 1966, soon after the Dead relocated to 710 Ashbury, the band began playing for free in Golden Gate Park itself. Apparently, they played shows in Speedway Meadows--no permits, no publicity, no cops, all fun. Those few who were there say that this was as fun as anything ever could be, but little trace remains of such events.

A poster for the mysterious shows at the Pioneer Ballroom in Suisun City, CA, on September 23-24, 1966. Nothing is known about these events, even if they were actually held, save for the surviving poster.

September 23-24, 1966 Pioneer Ballroom, Suisun City, CA: Grateful Dead/13 Experience
Save for an obscure flyer, we know nothing about these shows, nor even anything about the venue. I have to assume the Ballroom was still intact due to the explosion of music in Northern California due to World War 2, but even so, if the show occurred, it must have been strange indeed.

September 30, 1966 International Room, San Francisco State College, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/The Only Alternative and His Other Possibilities with Mimi Farina
There was a weekend of events at San Francisco State surrounding an Acid Test, the last legal one in California. New research has unraveled some of the exact details of who performed each day.

October 1, 1966 Women's Gym, San Francisco State College, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Congress of Wonders/Universal Parking Lot/Dino Valenti/San Andreas Fault Finders
Universal Parking Lot became the group Phoenix. The San Andreas Fault Finders were a sort of jug band. Ken Kesey was present at this performance.

A midnight performance at the Mens' Gym featuring the Jefferson Airplane and Butterfield Blues Band, who were headlining over at Winterland, was canceled at the request of the police. A young black man had been shot by the SF police, and there had been riots in the Fillmore district.

October 2. 1966 Commons Lawn, San Francisco State College, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/The Only Alternative and His Other Possiblities/The Committee/Congress Of Wonders

October 6, 1966 The Panhandle, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Big Brother And The Holding Company/Elektric Chamber Orkustra Love Pageant Rally
LSD was made illegal in the State of California on this Thursday, and the Dead and Big Brother held an unscheduled free concert in the Panhandle. There had already been at least one free concert in the Panhandle, with Country Joe and The Fish on August 13, and the Dead had played some free shows at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park, but this was the first free Grateful Dead show in the Panhandle (which, by the way, is not actually part of Golden Gate Park). This was a seminal event, as local freaks from everywhere in Northern California discovered that there were a lot more of them in the Bay Area than anyone thought, as a few thousand people attended.

October 7-9, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Butterfield Blues Band/Grateful Dead (Sunday Oct 9 was a 2pm Fillmore show)
Butterfield Blues Band and Jefferson Airplane were headlining three straight weekends at Winterland, with different acts on the bill, and this middle weekend was the Dead's turn. Due to the police having shot a black man in the Fillmore district, the neighborhood was very tense, and the shows (with the Dead replaced by Big Mama Thornton) were thinly attended. Thus, this weekend's shows were moved back to the much smaller Fillmore (confirmed by a Commenter from the SF Chronicle).

October 8, 1966 Mt. Tamalpais Amphitheater, Mill Valley, CA: Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service/Bola Sete "1st Congressional District Write-In Committee for Phil Drath and Peace Benefit"
This Saturday afternoon show began at 2:00pm. Joan Baez and Mimi Farina also appeared.

An ad from the student paper, The Stanford Daily, for the Grateful Dead concert at the Tressider Student Union on Friday, October 14, 1966. There were no rock concerts at Tressider after this show.

October 14, 1966 Tressider Memorial Union Deck, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA: Grateful Dead/Wildflower
In 1966, Stanford University regularly held concerts at the Student Union. But not after this one. The Stanford Daily implied that the Dead were banned from campus. Must have been a hella good time.

October 15, 1966 Sausalito Heliport, Sausalito, CA: Grateful Dead/Transatlantic Railroad
In the early 1960s, it was widely believed that Helicopters would supersede automobiles as personal vehicles, just as the automobile had replaced the streetcar. At the very least, helicopters were going to replace buses. So there was a profusion of helicopter-related commercial developments (I am not making any of this up). One such project was the Sausalito Heliport, owned by real estate entrepreneur Don McCoy, who was also a friend and neighbor (at 715 Ashbury) of the Grateful Dead. Since business was slow, and helicopter users didn't mind noisy rock music, initially the Heliport was used as a concert venue. Later it turned out that it was better suited as a rehearsal space, and many bands, including the Dead at one point (in mid-1967), rehearsed there throughout the 1960s.

October 16, 1966 The Panhandle, San Francisco, CA: Artists Liberation Front
A two-day festival was held on Saturday and Sunday (October 15-16), with the major San Francisco bands playing for free in the Panhandle. It's not clear which day the Dead appeared, but logic seems to suggest that it was Sunday, October 16.
update: commenter LIA cites the quote from Mojo Navigator

"On the 6th of October there was a rally in the Golden Gate Park Panhandle with the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & the Holding Co., and the Wildflower, followed last Sunday [the 16th] by another Panhandle festival, the Artists Liberation Front’s Free Fair. Bands appearing were the Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish... After the Fair, the Family Dog held its first anniversary dance at Avalon, with Big Brother & the Holding Company... Jerry Garcia played one song with the Holding Company..." (Later that night Pigpen & Garcia took part in a blues jam session.)

October 16, 1966 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother And The Holding Company
Per the great Mojo Navigator fanzine, we know that Jerry Garcia made a guest appearance with Big Brother, after the ALF event.

October 21-22, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Lighnin' Hopkins/Loading Zone
The Chocolate Watch Band may have played one night, possibly substituting for the Loading Zone, or possibly added to the bill.

October 23, 1966 Las Lomas High School, Walnut Creek, CA: Grateful Dead
This Sunday afternoon event was part of a series that was originally scheduled for the Walnut Creek Library. Phil Lesh's parent's attended this show. A great Comment thread over on JGMF collects some eyewitness accounts.

Pigpen making an appearance in the SF Chronicle society page (October 31, 1966), as the Grateful Dead played the opening of the fashionable North Face shop

October 26, 1966 North Face Ski Shop, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead
Doug and Susie Tompkins had a hip boutique in North Beach called North Face, a Yosemite reference. The Grateful Dead were hired to play at the opening of the store. I assume the band played just a few numbers. The opening was covered in the Society Pages of the SF Chronicle, marking a rare Pigpen appearance in that section of the paper. Doug and Susie Tompkins went on to found the Esprit clothing line.

The Dead and the Airplane were advertised for a show at St. Mary's College in Moraga on September 28, just over the hill from Berkeley. Later ads just have the Airplane, so it appears the Dead either canceled or were never really booked.

Fall 1966, American Legion Hall, South Lake Tahoe, CA: Grateful Dead
The whole history of rock bands in Lake Tahoe is complex and obscure, but the Dead played a big part in it. However, the band's first, unheralded appearance was well after the summer season. Apparently they only played to a few dozen people, and Pigpen wore guns on stage.

October 31, 1966 California Hall, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service/Mimi Farina
The Dead were touted for Ken Kesey's widely anticipated "Acid Test Graduation" at Winterland on Halloween, but they were already committed to the California Hall event. On top of that, the "Graduation" was going to attract a lot of unwanted attention from authorities, considering that LSD was now illegal. In the end, the Dead played California Hall, the Winterland event was canceled, and Kesey and the Merry Pranksters had their graduation at a tiny warehouse. However, author Tom Wolfe attended the warehouse event, and the Electric Kool Aid Acid Test followed 18 months later.

November 4-5, 1966, Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Oxford Circle
There are different dates on the poster and handbill (Nov 3-4 vs 4-5), but at the time Avalon shows were weekend only, so November 4-5 would be correct.

November 12, 1966 Old Cheese Factory, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Andrew Staples
The Old Cheese Factory, at 517 Washington Street, near Ghirardelli Square, was only used this one time for rock concerts. Andrew Staples was the re-named Group B, from Davis.

November 13, 1966 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Big Brother And The Holding Company/Quicksilver Messenger ServiceZeneift

November 18-20, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/James Cotton Blues Band/Lothar And The Hand People
The Sunday show (November 20) was from 2-7pm. I believe there was one admission for the afternoon show, and then the house turned over for the SNCC Benefit later that night, featuring the same bands with additional guests.

A poster for the SNCC Benefit at Fillmore on November 20, 1966

November 20, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service/James Cotton Blues Band/Johnny Talbot And De Thangs SNCC Benefit
Jon Hendricks also appeared at this event, and could have sang with the Dead, which is a nice thought. The Dead had just finished backing Hendricks on the soundtrack to a movie called Fire In The City, later released as a single under Hendricks' name. No one, including Hendricks, has mentioned him singing on state with the Dead, but I like to imagine it anyway.

November 23, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Bill Graham Presents Thanksgiving Party
Bill Graham celebrated his first year as a rock promoter with a Thanksgiving party. Originally scheduled for Thursday, November 23(it has been confirmed that the event was not delayed until November 27). The Grateful Dead and other bands played the event.

November 28-December 1, 1966 The Matrix, San Francisco, CA: Gratefuld Dead/Jerry Pond

December 2, 1966 Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Grateful Dead/Country Joe And The Fish

December 9-11, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Tim Rose/Big Mama Thornton

December 14 or 15, 1966 Gym, College of Marin, Kentfield, CA: Grateful Dead
The day of the week of this College of Marin dance is uncertain, but there is no doubt that it happened. Future Sons Of Champlin road manager Charlie Kelly returned home from Basic Training on his way to Vietnam, and saw the Dead a few days before The Sons debuted at the Avalon on his birthday(Friday Dec 16). So the week stuck in his mind.

December 20, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Otis Redding/Grateful Dead
Otis Redding played three mid-week nights (Tuesday through Thursday) at the Fillmore, and the Dead were the opening act the first night. The Fillmore had rows of folding chairs for these shows, and most of the tickets were bought by the largely African-American residents of the Fillmore district. It is likely that Otis Redding had played the Fillmore before for Charles Sullivan, Graham's predecessor.

The Grateful Dead headlined a show at the Continental Ballroom in Santa Clara (a San Jose suburb) on December 21, 1966

December 21, 1966 Continental Ballroom, Santa Clara, CA: Grateful Dead
The Continental, at 1600 Martin Avenue in Santa Clara (a suburb of San Jose) was a converted roller skating rink. The Warlocks apparently had played their the year before, when it was called The Continental Roller Bowl. San Jose had a thriving teen rock scene, and this Wednesday night show would have been aimed at teenagers who had the week off from school.

December 23-24, 1966 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Moby Grape/Steve Miller Band
These weekend shows were the ballroom debuts of both Moby Grape and the Steve Miller Band. Both of the acts had only played little clubs (save for a poorly attended debut for the Grape), but these shows brought their music to much wider audiences. Research by leading scholars has suggested that at least some, if not all, of Vintage Dead came from one of these shows.

December 28, 1966 Governor's Hall, State Fairgrounds, Sacramento, CA: Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service Beaux Arts Ball
The Beuax Arts Ball was a big social event at Cal State Sacramento, sort of a combination arts show and party. This show appears to have been the Dead's Sacramento debut. There is a whiff that the band may have played nearby UC Davis in the fall of 1966, but I am unable to pin that down.

December 29, 1966 Santa Venetia Armory, Santa Venetia, CA: Grateful Dead/Moby Grape/Morning Glory

December 30-31 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service
On Saturday, December 31, BGP inaugurated the New Year's Eve Fillmore blowout. The poster says "9pm-9am." No one remembers anything.

In 1994, Vanguard Records released a double-cd of Country Joe And The Fish Live At Fillmore West. The album included both sets from Sunday, January 12, 1969. Jack Casady played on both sets, and for the second set the band was joined by Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Steve Miller and Mickey Hart

Myths and legends often become myths and legends because tales of things that happened get told and retold, until the telling exceeds the reality. The Fillmore and Fillmore West and San Francisco in the 1960s have an element of that. Wonderful times, wonderful music, for certain, but many nights were just another gig at the local ballroom, however glamorous it may seem today. People would go and see a few bands play some music, dance and hang out, and it was really fun, and then they would go home. Once in a while, however, the myths and legends were not just tales--there were things happened in San Francisco in the 60s that won't be repeated in the rock and roll firmament. In the case of the Fillmore West show of January 12, 1969, however, a remarkable evening of music by Country Joe and The Fish and their friends has been largely forgotten and is rarely recalled, even though a double-live cd of their entire show was released in 1994.

The Sunday SF Chronicle"Pink Section" from January 5, 1969 had a photo of Country Joe and The Fish to highlight their upcoming weekend shows, along with Taj Mahal and Led Zeppelin

What Happened?
The original, psychedelic Country Joe And The Fish played their last stand at the Fillmore West on the weekend of January 9-12, 1969. Originally just the folk duo of Berkleyites Joe McDonald and Barry Melton, the band had expanded into an electric ensemble after the Butterfield Blues Band came to town in early 1966. By the end of '66, the band had been signed to Vanguard Records, and the first two Country Joe And The Fish albums were true San Francisco classics. To much of the world, Electric Music For The Mind And Body and Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die were just as important to San Francisco music history as Surrealistic Pillow or Anthem Of The Sun. By the end of 1968, however, Joe and Barry wanted to reconfigure the band. So while the group Country Joe And The Fish would continue on successfully for some more years, the January '69 Fillmore shows were going to be the last go-round for the original lineup that had arisen out of the Jabberwock coffee house in Berkeley.

If you're going to have a party, have a party. January 12 was a Sunday, and most musicians aren't working, so the last number of the final set of the original Country Joe And The Fish at Fillmore West was a 38-minute version of their song "Donovan's Reef," where the band was joined by their friends Steve Miller, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, Mickey Hart and Jerry Garcia. Yet no one seemed to recall it, and the event remained unknown until a 1994 cd release. How could such an event pass unnoticed? Could it be that the opening act, a new band from England with a guy who used to be in the Yardbirds, whose album hadn't even come out yet, overshadowed them?

Probably, yes. The mighty Led Zeppelin, young and strong, had only played 8 North American shows prior to arriving at Fillmore West. Their first album was not officially released, but it was probably already available in a few stores--things worked differently then--and KSAN-fm was already playing numerous tracks from it. The buzz was on, and curious fans came to check it out, and were steamrolled by the Shape Of Things To Come. Some guys from the Dead and the Airplane jamming with that Berkeley band? Yeah, whatever.

Zeppelin's Fillmore West debut was mentioned in Rolling Stone and the like, but Country Joe and The Fish were dismissed as last year's news. Who knows how many people actually stuck around for the final Sunday night set, and the event seemed lost to history. This post will reconstruct what we can put together from what turns out to be a fair amount of information.

The exterior of the Fillmore West, at 1545 Market Street as it appeared in 1970. It was the former Carousel Ballroom, and that sign remained intact throughout it's life as the Fillmore West. Note the ad for Workingman's Dead above.

Fillmore West, 1969
Bill Graham's Fillmore West and Fillmore East were the twin pillars of the growing rock concert industry in the 60s. However, although Graham had moved from the intimate Fillmore to the Fillmore West, about a mile away, the industry was starting to get even bigger, and some of the biggest acts could play much larger places. The Fillmores still had very high profiles, however, so most bands began or ended tours at one or the other place, often beginning at one and ending at the other. Fillmore East had an early and a late show, but Fillmore West let its audiences stay for every set. Throughout 1969, Fillmore West had the now-unheard of setup where they went twice around the bill, so the headline act played both the 3rd and 6th set of the nights. This allowed suburbanites or teenagers to go home early, and night owls to come late, as well as allowing the most committed fans to stay for 6 or 7 hours of music.

The bill at Fillmore West for January 9-12, 1969 was Country Joe and The Fish/Led Zeppelin/Taj Mahal. On Thursday and Sunday night (Jan 9 and 12), CJF would have played the 3rd and 6th sets, while Led Zeppelin would have played the 2nd and 5th sets. On Friday (10) and Saturday (11), there was typically an unbilled act that opened the show, but did not repeat. This band was usually drawn from acts who had played the Tuesday "audition nights," another forgotten practice. On those nights, Zep would have played 3rd and 6th, and CJF 4th and 7th. Weekend shows at Fillmore West often ended very late, past bar-closing of 2:00am.

Friday night tended to be the big night for reviewers. Writers could watch the early sets and make a midnight deadline, which was important in the newspaper business. So killing it in the early Friday sets at Fillmore West or East could really make a band's careers. This was particularly true for tours that started at Fillmore East, as the Friday night early show was always reviewed in Billboard and other trade magazines, and it could affect bookings for the rest of the tour, if not a career. So any formal or informal coverage of Led Zeppelin's debut at Fillmore West was probably on Friday, January 10, and probably did not include the late set. And probably a good thing, since Zep members had caught the flu in LA the week before, and were apparently a little flat on Thursday night. No matter--by the weekend they were rocking the house, and mowing down everything in their path.

Led Zeppelin's immortal cover for their January 1969 debut album on Atlantic. The cover art was by former Yardbird guitarist Chris Dreja

Led Zeppelin, 1969
Led Zeppelin had formed in the Fall of 1968. Jimmy Page had led the Yardbirds for 1967 and '68, and he had played the Fillmore a number of times, so he knew all about West Coast psychedelic ballrooms. The Yardbirds had been a terrific band who were bottled up by their management and record company, and Page was determined not to repeat the mistakes. Along with veteran road manager Peter Grant, Page assembled some crack cohorts and set out to conquer the rock music world that was to come, not the one that had passed. Zeppelin would only release albums, not singles, and their albums were geared for FM airplay. Zeppelin was loud, really loud, and they could bring it in a way that would make every concert memorable. This was the new English rock world, not the old one of catchy singles and brief television appearances on Top Of The Pops.

Led Zeppelin's first album was not due until mid-January, so their tour was set to begin on the West Coast with a week at LA's Whisky-Au-Go-Go and then Fillmore West, both hip palaces good for creating buzz. However, the Jeff Beck Group canceled some American dates, so Led Zeppelin began their American tour, filling in for Beck while opening for the Vanilla Fudge in Denver (Dec 26), Seattle (Dec 27),Vancouver (Dec 28), Portland (Dec 29) and Spokane, WA (Dec 30). After a few dates at The Whisky with local band Alice Cooper, some Zep band members got sick and they were replaced by Buddy Miles for the balance of the Whisky dates.

The Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin met only once, during this weekend. It was at a Herb Greene photo shoot--the Dead needed a promotional photo with their new organist, Tom Constanten, and Led Zeppelin had just finished their session. Herb Greene has written about the incident (via another scholar's research)

“The session was rolling along when I got a phone call. It was Rock Scully, telling me, "we got a new band member [Tom Constanten], so we need a picture right now – we're downstairs!"... I told him that I was kinda in the middle of something, but they came up anyway... Pigpen was wearing a little .22 revolver, in a holster, and he pulled it out and started firing it off into the theater seats. I guess I was almost done with the session when all this happened, because it was pretty disruptive, ha ha! Actually, it freaked Zeppelin out. They exclaimed, "these westerners and their guns!" In fact, Led Zeppelin got so distracted, that they quickly left and didn't pay me…
In retrospect, when the Dead called, I maybe thought OK, this is great, hands across the seas, we'll have a party, but that didn't happen. The Dead didn't want to hang out, they were just there to get a photograph. There was no interaction at all between them, no curiosity. Garcia didn't want to talk to Page, and I don't think Led Zeppelin even knew whom the Grateful Dead were.”

Hip record stores like Tower Records in Berkeley often had new albums before their "official" release date

The Record Industry, 1969
In those days, new albums did not have precise release dates. The supposed "date" of a release was just the time that promotion was planned. Long before FedEx, distributors would have had to have truck out their cardboard boxes weeks in advance. There was nothing preventing a hip record store from asking the local "rack jobber" if he had any copies of that new album by the so-and-sos. Accordingly, hip FM stations were also sent advance copies of new albums, in the hopes that they would play it before the promotional ads started.

The "official" release date of the first Led Zeppelin album is usually cited as January 17, 1969, but not surprisingly the biggest station in town, KSAN-fm, was already playing it. Thus listeners would come into the record store and ask for it, and distributors would let the stores have boxes. So plenty of people in SF (or any other hip town with an FM station) had the Zeppelin debut before it was "officially" released. Many people at the Fillmore West that night, even those looking to see Country Joe and The Fish, would have had some idea about how Led Zeppelin sounded, even if they didn't realize quite what they were going to see.

Taj Mahal, from Cambridge, MA but via Los Angeles, also had a new album. It was his second album on Columbia, The Natch'l Blues. Taj's first album, with Ry Cooder smoking on slide guitar, had been a sort of underground hit, even if he hadn't sold many records, so he would have gotten some airplay on FM as well. Ry wasn't touring with Taj, but it mattered little, since the great guitarist Jesse Ed Davis anchored his live band. Taj sang and played some harp and guitar, and Jesse Ed wailed over the rhythm section. Taj Mahal wasn't a big act, but he was worth getting to the show on time for.

Meanwhile, Country Joe and The Fish were an established act locally and nationally. The group had come out of the Berkeley folk underground in 1966 and "gone electric," establishing themselves as one of the classic Fillmore bands. When Country Joe and The Fish toured nationally, they headlined over many groups that have since surpassed them in fame, not the least the Grateful Dead, with whom they had shared bills all over the country.

It didn't hurt that Country Joe And The Fish were a great live act, with great songs and a loony edge, but an R&B-inspired discipline that kept them from going off the rails. The band was a well-established headline act at both Fillmore West and East, with many fans all over the psychedelic world. They had released their third Vanguard album, Together, in August 1968. While it wasn't as big as the first two, it was still a popular record.

However, all was not well in Berkeley. The membership of the group had frayed when bassist Bruce Barthol, a dedicated pacifist, moved to England in September 1968 to avoid the draft. Replacement bassist Mark Ryan was arrested on tour soon after (for the devil weed, of course), and then got ill right before a European tour. In the short range, this had been OK, since former bassist Barthol was already in Europe and took over his old gig for the Fall 68 European tour. However, when the band returned to America, Country Joe McDonald and Barry "The Fish" Melton wanted to reconstitute the group entirely. Thus, although Country Joe and The Fish would continue on for two more years after the January 1969 Fillmore West shows, and numerous reunions, these shows were a farewell to the configuration of the Country Joe And The Fish band that made the group legends. Lacking a bass player, old buddy Jack Casady stepped in for most of the remaining dates (Mark Andes of Spirit filled in for two SoCal dates). Appropriately, a farewell party was planned. In retrospect, it should have been a legendary event, but today all that anyone recalls is that an unknown English band called Led Zeppelin blew the place out twice a night.

In January 1969, Country Joe And The Fish's current album was Together, released on Vanguard in July 1968

Party Number One, Friday or Saturday Night
The first whiff that something interesting had happened on that weekend came in the Summer of 1977. KSAN-fm had a radio special on the 10th anniversary of the Summer Of Love in 1967, called "What Was That" and at night they had three hours of concert tapes from the Fillmore and Avalon. At the time, the taper world was in its infancy--I myself did not yet have a cassette deck--and hearing tapes from the source was like time travel. All three nights of the radio special ended with a 3-hour "concert," featuring 15 or 20 minutes from different bands. All the tapes weren't from 1967, but they were close enough.

The KSAN special put 60s tapes from numerous bands into circulation. I believe it was the original source of a fragment of Grateful Dead Oct 68 Avalon tapes, although of course we have them in their entirety now (it was also the source for a mislabeled Feb 12 '67 tape, but I have written about that elsewhere). The dating of the tapes wasn't very good, however--the dj would just say "here's the Jefferson Airplane from the Fillmore in 1967," or something vague like that.

A Country Joe And The Fish tape was played on the special with little introduction. With a band vamping the blues, the tape had Bill Graham telling the crowd [I am paraphrasing here] "I just talked to the man, and he agreed to walk around the block. We can go on here, but this is now a private party. Please remain seated and we can keep going." He then introduced the band: Chicken Hirsh, Mickey Hart and Dave Getz (of Big Brother) on drums, Jack Casady on bass, and David Cohen (organ), Barry Melton (guitar) and Country Joe McDonald. The band launched into an extended version of the Country Joe And The Fish classic "Flying High."

It took me many years to figure out what this tape fragment actually was. The tape shows up on various lists under various incorrect dates. In fact, this tape was one of the final numbers of either Friday (Jan 10) or Saturday (Jan 11) night. Casady was already on stage, of course, but we didn't realize that at the time (the KSAN dj in 1977 would have had no idea either). Dave Getz was a pal of Joe and Barry, and in fact would join Country Joe and The Fish on tour starting in February. Hart was a friend of Melton's, too, so obviously they all came for the party and stayed to play.

Almost all Country Joe And The Fish fans consider the band's April 1967 debut album, Electric Music For The Mind And Body, to be a time-tested psychedelic classic. The cover photo insets were from a little-known venue called The Barn in Scotts Valley, CA, near Santa Cruz.

Sunday Night, January 12, 1969
The final party remained a mystery until the 1994 release of the cd Country Joe And The Fish/Live! Fillmore West 1969 on Vanguard Records. There was no general awareness of the all-star San Francisco jam, much less the idea that it was professionally recorded. Yet with the rise of the archival cd market, here was a complete document of a remarkable event, previously unknown. Vanguard and CJF producer Sam Charters described the event itself in the liner notes:

When I look back in the last few months that Country Joe & The Fish were still trying to keep the band together and go on touring, I remember all the confusion and all the arguments and all the exasperation--but I also remember so many nights when they played with all their old magic and uniqueness. Since I'd been working with them for four years as their producer for Vanguard Records, I wanted to try to capture some of those last moments on tape, so with engineer Ed Friedner--who had worked with me on the album they did in New York [Together from 1968]--I stalked them for a number of nights on their last gigs.

We did the first recordings of them live at Fillmore East, but we couldn't catch them at their best. They were headlining, a bill that opened with Procol Harum, continued with Ten Years After and then finished with Country Joe & The Fish [September 27-28, 1968]. By the time the first two bands had finished it was the middle of the night, and Joe both the audience and Joe and The Fish were too wiped out to make their music happen.

We decided to make another try, so...we flew out to San Francisco to record what was to be their last gig together. Ed rented a moving large moving van and and set everything up outside the Fillmore [West] Auditorium on Market Street. The opening act was a new English band called Led Zeppelin, so we thought that there was a chance that the audience wouldn't be as limp for Joe and The Fish as they'd been in New York.
Since it was going to be the final night on stage together, the band decided to invite all their friends to join them and backstage there was a long party before they went out to play...

Back stage the party went on for so long that the band and their friends finally came out to play in a blaze of excitement and a heavy accumulation of controlled substances. But on stage all of them immediately became the stars that they were, and after I'd made sure that everybody was playing and the sound in the van was working, I went out front and looked up at the stage. Here was one of the greatest line-ups of San Francisco musicians I had ever seen--and each of them was his own stage personality. Jorma was bent over his guitar, Steve was swaying up and down, Jerry was studying his strings, Joe was half-smiling Barry was striding around his stage...It was one of those moments in the 60s that would never come again--and listening to it after all these years, brings back that moment and so much of the mood of those chaotic years.

The double-cd set captures the final set in its apparent entirety, complete with pictures. The core band (Joe on guitar and harmonica, Barry on lead guitar, David Cohen on keyboards and Chicken Hirsh on drums) along with Jack Casady on bass, performs a 77-minute set of classic CJF songs. They are joined on one song ("It's So Nice") by David Getz on a second drum kit. For the finale, Mickey Hart takes over the second kit, and the band plays a 38-minute version of the song "Donovan's Reef," mixed in with jams based on "Flying High." Jorma Kaukonen, Jerry Garcia (playing a Gibson) and Steve Miller all get substantial turns on lead guitar, and Miller adds some bluesy harmonica as well.

On November 27, 1994, the original Country Joe And The Fish band (Joe, Barry, Cohen, Barthol and Chicken) were scheduled to play at the Berkeley Veterans Memorial Building at 1931 Center Street. They were also scheduled to play Fillmore the night before, to promote the newly released Vanguard cd from 1969. Due to some unknown dispute, Barry Melton made a brief solo appearance at Fillmore and did not appear in Berkeley. The balance of the group played a fine set, as did Joy Of Cooking and Lazarus (the photo is ca. 1940).

Coda
No one recalled the final night jam. The participants were--shall we say--distracted, but observers only remembered Led Zeppelin's first trip to San Francisco (although John Paul Jones recalls watching Country Joe And The Fish) Recollections are only about the the coming of the Zeppelin. An attendee recalls (from January 10)

I remember zep coming on after taj and the fish. Had heard zep records on kkzx, wanted more. Got it. They blew up the ballroom. Carousel/fillmore west was never same. Page, plant, bonham, jones were rock gods that night. Saw them 2 more times but nothing compared to that night in January 69.

Led Zeppelin had likely opened their first set with their only familiar song of the evening, a turbocharged version of the Yardbirds'"Train Kept A Rollin,'" and I assure you that the train indeed kept rolling. The last stand of Country Joe And The Fish was already history when it began, as the 1970s were underway in San Francisco by January 1969.

The jam finally came to light when Vanguard released the cd in 1994. Country Joe And The Fish were going to reform and play the Fillmore and Berkeley Veterans Hall, but some ancient dispute intervened, and Barry Melton did not perform with them. Melton actually performed solo at the Fillmore, but did not stay for the band, in order to fulfill his contract, perhaps afraid that the specter of the late Bill Graham would haunt him. In any case, the un-reunion dampened enthusiasm for the album, and it passed somewhat unnoticed. But as Sam Charters said, there was hardly anything like it. This one wasn't even legend--there's a professionally recorded tape, officially released, with great photos by Jim Marshall, and yet it passes us by hardly without recall. Sic Transit Gloria Psychedelia.

The Natch[l Blues, Taj Mahal's second album on Columbia, featuring the great Jesse Ed Davis on guitar, was released in December 1968

Setlists (As Known)
Taj Mahal
A tape circulates for Taj Mahal from Friday, January 10, 1969
Taj Mahal , Fillmore West,SF
January 10,1969

1-//Checkin' Up On My Baby
2-Easy Rider
3-Aint That Alot Of Love
4-The Cuckoo
5-Everybody Got To Change Sometime
6-Leavin' Trunk

Taj Mahal-vocals, harmonica
Jesse Ed Davis-lead and slide guitar
Gary Gilmore-bass
Chuck Blackwell-drums

Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin's general setlists from the Fillmore West are known, but not precisely which songs were played in which order, so there may be some variation. There is a partial tape of one of the nights, although it is not clear which night it is (the entire story is explained here).

Setlist:

1st set: Train Kept a Rollin', I Can't Quit You Baby, As Long As I Have You (incl. Fresh Garbage), Dazed and Confused, How Many More Times

2nd set: White Summer / Black Mountainside, Killing Floor, You Shook Me, Pat's Delight (drum solo), Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Communication Breakdown, For Your Love.

The poster advertising Bill Graham's third benefit for the Mime Troupe, and his second at the Fillmore Auditorium, on January 14, 1966. This is the first known instance of the Grateful Dead being advertised by that name. Note that Graham, who hated the name, included "Formerly The Warlocks," apparently in an attempt to capitalize on their Peninsula following.

I have been working on this list for my own purposes, so I thought I would post it. Since there is no longer a definitive list of Grateful Dead shows that is easily accessible online, I have decided to post my own lists for brief periods of time. I will include links to where I have information on some dates that are not widely known, but I will be minimizing discussion of individual performances. In Tour Itinerary posts I have talked about even shorter periods of time, with the intent of creating a narrative that describes the Grateful Dead's activity during that window. This post is more of a simple list, however, to use as an anchor for research. My plan is to keep these lists up to date on an ongoing basis. Please suggest any additions, corrections or reservations in the Comments. For other posts listing Grateful Dead performances, see the link here. This post will list Grateful Dead performance dates from December 1965 through June 1966.
Prior to December 1965, the Grateful Dead had been known as The Warlocks. Elsewhere, I have made some efforts to look into Warlocks performances in the Fall of 1965, when they were still mostly working on the El Camino Real in the South Bay. This post begins my listing of performances of the Grateful Dead. While in general these lists do not include rehearsals and casual jams, for these earliest events there wasn't much difference between a show and a party, so I have taken a broader view of the listings. If people attended the show, I am considering it a performance, regardless of whether the event was scheduled or advertised. However, this is not a list of tapes, nor an effort to unravel spurious listings on tape boxes.

November 27, 1965 'The Spread", Dover Drive at Soquel Drive, (Ken Babbs' House), Soquel, CA: Soquel Acid Test
After a long series of LSD-infused parties, the Merry Pranksters decided to start inviting the public to them. The first effort was actually at Ken Babbs' property in then-rural southern Santa Cruz County. The house was torn down in the early 80s, but it was located on Soquel Drive in the town of Soquel, about a mile west of Porter Avenue, at Dover Drive. It is now the site of the 71 Dover bus stop, where a plaque commemorates the first official Acid Test.

Contrary to decades of rumor, the Grateful Dead did not in fact perform at this very first Acid Test. However, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir were there, and the Pranksters--who were not musicians--had some instruments, and they picked them up and played them. While not a performance, if anyone had asked Jerry, Bob or Phil "what is the name of your band," they would have said "The Grateful Dead." They had found the name the week before, and they were no longer The Warlocks or The Emergency Crew or any other such thing.

December 4, 1965 43 S. Fifth Street, San Jose, CA: San Jose Acid Test
The second Acid Test was held the very next Saturday night, in San Jose. The Rolling Stones were playing the San Jose Civic Auditorium, and since that was where the hip young people would be going, it seemed that downtown San Jose would be the best place to go. There was no formula yet. A friend let the Pranksters use his house, and the Grateful Dead played in one of the rooms. Mysterious signs led people to the house, and they paid a dollar, and all was revealed, sort of. The event began after the late show by The Stones ended, and went on for about 50 years.

The Grateful Dead were not advertised or even announced, but anyone there who asked "who is the band" would have been told "The Grateful Dead."The house was at 43 S. Fifth Street, long since replaced by city hall. The actual house itself was moved, and can still be seen not far away, at 635 E. St. James St in San Jose

An ad from the San Francisco Chronicle of December 5, 1965, for the forthcoming SF Mime Troupe Benefit upcoming on Friday, December 10. "9 P.M. Till Dawn". The Warlocks were one of the many, many others.

December 10, 1965 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Great Society/Mystery Trend/Grateful Dead/Gentleman's Band/Vipers Mime Troupe Appeal 2
Mime Troupe Financial Director Bill Graham had promoted a benefit concert at a loft on Howard Street to offset legal expenses from a recent bust by the local political theater troupe. It had been such a success, he held another benefit, this time renting a dance hall from African American promoter Charles Sullivan, who held the master lease on The Fillmore Auditorium on 1805 Geary Avenue, at Fillmore Street.

Ralph Gleason mentioned the Warlocks as having been present in his December 13, 1965 San Francisco Chronicle column. Whether they were announced as the Grateful Dead or The Warlocks is unclear. Since Gleason mentioned them as The Warlocks, presumably they were announced that way, even though they had changed their name. Apocryphally, Graham did not like the name Grateful Dead when he first heard it, although it's not even clear if Graham even met the band that night. The John Handy Quintet was booked, but did not play (apparently Handy was late, and Graham did not take kindly to it). The Vipers were a Palo Alto band. Ralph Gleason mistakenly listed the local San Francisco band The VIPs in his column, but that was incorrect.

The Muir Beach Tavern and Lodge circa 1942

December 11, 1965 Muir Beach Lodge, Muir Beach, CA: Muir Beach Acid Test
The Pranksters put on two Acid Tests on consecutive Saturdays in Muir Beach and Palo Alto. There is some dispute as to what order the actual events occurred. Since neither of the events was publicized in any sort of periodical, and all the attendees were on LSD, it's hard to say with absolute certainty what order they occurred. I did look into it at one point, however, and a preponderance of evidence--enough for a civil jury, but not a criminal one--suggests that Muir Beach was right after the Fillmore (December 11) and Palo Alto the next weekend.

The Muir Beach Acid Test was originally scheduled for Stinson Beach, also in Marin County, but moved at the last minute to avoid the cops. LSD was not yet illegal, but the cops didn't like it, and plenty of the attendees would have weed, speed or outstanding warrants, so police avoidance was sound policy. Some theorize that it was a Prankster plan to schedule the event at Stinson Beach, probably at the Community Center, and then move it at the last minute, but Pranksters don't really plan.

Muir Beach is in West Marin, an area that was abandoned for agriculture back in the 1950s, due to problems with the groundwater. Existing buildings were left in place, but no new development was allowed. The Muir Beach Lodge was just a sort of big room in the middle of nowhere, next to a windy beach--perfect for what the Pranksters had in mind. The Grateful Dead definitely played.

The building at 998 San Antonio Road that housed The Big Beat, where the Palo Alto Acid Test was held on December 18, 1965. The photo is from August 2009. The building was torn down in 2011.

December 18, 1965 The Big Beat, Palo Alto, CA: Palo Alto Acid Test
The Big Beat was Palo Alto's first rock and roll nightclub, not set to open until the New Year. Prankster Ken Babbs managed to rent it prior to opening, and Palo Alto had its own Acid Test. The Grateful Dead definitely played, too, along with a now-mysterious or possibly imagined all female band. The building that housed the Big Beat (above) was intact until 2011.

January 1, 1966 Beaver Hall, Portland, OR: Portland Acid Test
The Portland Acid Test definitely happened, but when it happened is another issue. Following Prankster logic, it would seem that it would have been on a Saturday night, but that would make it either Christmas 1965 or New Years Day 1966. It could even have been as late as January 7 or 14, but then you have to make sense of the Matrix dates below. Everyone seems to agree that there were snowy conditions in Portland, and that points towards New Year's Day. Keep in mind that all of the Grateful Dead/Pranksters crowd had no real family connections, so being out of town for the holidays was no big deal. The exception may have been Ken Kesey, but of course his family actually was in Oregon.

Beaver Hall was a small room at 425 NW Glisan Street that could be rented fairly easily. It was used occasionally for local Oregon rock shows in the later 60s and into the 70s. I did find a reference that said the Portland Acid Test was at a different Beaver Hall on the other side of town:

Many of you will fondly remember Beaver Hall on NW Glisan. But, did you know there was once another place named Beaver Hall near SE Hawthorne around 1510 SE 9th Ave? And, it was at this Beaver Hall that Ken Kesey's Portland acid test took place. City directory listings back up several memories of the event. I love research projects:

From George Walker: "Well, for starters, there was only one Portland Acid Test, in December '65. I don't know the exact date, but I don't believe it was on Christmas."

From Joe Uris: "I was at the famous Acid Test. In fact, I hold the original acid test poster. It was at an upstairs hall, I think off of Hawthorne in a place I’d never been before or since. In those days, in order to have a dance with underage people, you had to have a matron. And they had this black woman who was a very nice lady but she had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on. And they had spiked various things with LSD which I thought was not responsible. The Warlocks which later became the Grateful Dead were there and the movies were playing endlessly."

January 7, 1966 The Matrix, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead
The entire subject of the Grateful Dead playing The Matrix in January 1966 is confusing and contradictory. Labels on tape boxes are likely wrong, and mistaken details from a long-ago Owsley interview only confuse matters further. I am going with the best research on the performance dates of everyone at the Matrix, not just the Dead, so I am going with five dates, of which Friday, January 7, is the first. I look forward to any light anyone can shed on the subject (keep in mind that almost every link you find on the Internet will be of no value).

January 8, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA; Fillmore Acid Test
Kesey and The Pranksters finally held an Acid Test in San Francisco, and with historic prescience it was held at the Fillmore Auditorium. Although Graham had put on a show there, the room was still under the control of African-American impresario Charles Sullivan, and the Pranksters must have just paid his fee and gotten the date. The show has gone down in legend and need not be recounted here.

January 13, 1966 The Matrix, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead
I am assuming that the Dead played the Matrix on January 13 (Thursday), skipped Friday for the Mime Troupe Benefit at the Fillmore, and returned for Saturday and Sunday. This just seems plausible rather than based on any special knowledge.

January 14, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Great Society/Mystery Trend/Grateful Dead/Sam Thomas and The Gentleman's Band Mime Troupe Appeal 3
The Grateful Dead were billed as Grateful Dead (formerly The Warlocks) because promoter Bill Graham did not like the new name, since he was apparently hoping for the commercial appeal of the locally popular Warlocks. It appears that January 14, 1966 was the first date for which the name "Grateful Dead" was formally advertised.

January 15-16, 1966 The Matrix, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead
I am positing for now that the Dead played these two nights at the Matrix.

A notice about The Trips Festival in the Theater Listings of the Oakland Tribune, Sunday, January 16, 1966

January 21-23, 1966 Longshoreman's Hall, San Francisco, CA; Grateful Dead (22-23)/Big Brother And The Holding Company(22-23)/The Jazz Mice (21)/New Brothers (22)/Loading Zone (23)/others

The Trips Festival was the public, commercial version of the Acid Test. It was a three-day event held at a fairly large venue in San Francisco, and it featured music, lights, dancers, audience participation and a vision of a brave new world. It was not officially an Acid Test--no electric Kool-Aid--but it seems that everyone there was lit up. Not only did the Festival sell out, it invented the modern rock concert as we know it. Just two weeks later, Bill Graham and Chet Helms were promoting a weekend of shows at the Fillmore with the Jefferson Airplane, advertising "The Sights And Sounds Of The Trips Festival."

The Grateful Dead played Saturday and Sunday, January 22 and 23.

January 28, 1966 The Matrix, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead
This date is uncertain, but some other scholarship has made a pretty good case for dating a "mystery tape" as January 28, 1966, and the Matrix seems like a pretty likely venue.

On January 29, 1966 the Merry Pranksters had a recording session at Sound City Studios in San Francisco, CA. Jerry Garcia and maybe other Grateful Dead members participated, but this was neither a performance nor an Acid Test. The session makes a January 29 Matrix gig far more unlikely.

February 1, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Fillmore auditions
This Fillmore performance was not exactly a public appearance. Bill Graham took over the lease on the Fillmore Auditorium from the retiring Charles Sullivan, and he seems to have held an audition at the Fillmore for underground San Francisco rock bands starting on Tuesday, February 1, his first day of control. David Nelson was there, and he described it in Robert Greenfield's book. The band had auditioned as the Warlocks a few times, but I believe this to be the only time they auditioned as the Dead. Nelson:

I went up to their Tuesday night audition at the Fillmore. The other bands that were auditioning that same night were The Great Society and The Loading Zone. I remember I took acid that night, too. I walked in real early and nobody was even there. Bill Graham used to put a barrel of apples out. I saw the apples. I thought "Hmm. Probably for somebody private or something." I said "I'm hungry. I'll steal one anyway." So I took an apple and was just biting into it when Bill Graham walked in. I didn't know who he was. I thought "I hope he's just a janitor." I just started cooling it and then he walked by and I looked at him and nodded. He looked and nodded and then he did one of those Bill things. He stopped, did a slow double take and said "Who are you? Who are you with?" I said "Warlocks." I knew this would make him know I really was with them. Because this was the first night they were auditioning as The Grateful Dead (p.68-69).”

This must have been a pretty remarkable event, all the hip bands in the Bay Area hanging out in their future home, trying to get a gig. Bill Graham inaugurated his Fillmore shows with the Jefferson Airplane on February 4 and 5. The Dead seemed to have earned a booking on Saturday, February 12, but they went to Los Angeles with Owsley instead. Bill Graham probably wasn't thrilled.

February 5, 1966 Northridge Unitarian Church, Los Angeles, CA: Northridge Acid Test
The Grateful Dead joined Owsley in a mad adventure, in which he moved them to Los Angeles in order for them to make it in the record industry. Owsley financed this venture with his retail income. Owsley was no millionaire. The band lived together in a big three story house in Watts, and rehearsed there also. Any rehearsal tapes from this period were recorded in the Watts house. According to an equipment receipt (from the Grateful Dead Gear book), the address was 2511 Third Avenue, which as runonguinness points out, was just south of the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) and not that near Watts (assuming the address is accurate--Owsley could have used an accommodation address--the 4bed/3bath 3,967 sqft house is currently valued at a mere $951K)

The first Acid Test in Southern California was at a Unitarian Church in Northridge. There is some confusion about this date. It almost certainly was on Saturday night, February 5, but the date on the tape box is February 6. However, Owsley was not there, so he didn't tape it. It is likely that the tape is from another date.
update: fellow scholar runonguinness informs us that

The "Northridge Unitarian Church" (more properly the Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society) is still at 9550 Haskell Ave, North Hills. It is well worth a look at the "Onion" on their website

Some mislabeled tapes have circulated with a date of February 11, with a venue of The Questing Beast. This cannot be correct. We have looked into the history of the Questing Beast, and the Dead did not play there, notwithstanding they were in Los Angeles on February 11. The Questing Beast was a folk club in Berkeley with a psychedelic mural on the wall, not far from Owsley's cottage. Owsley probably had some affiliation with the place, and if the Dead had not gone to LA they might have rehearsed there, but they never actually did.

February 12, 1966 Youth Opportunity Center, Compton, CA: Watts Acid Test
An Acid Test was held in Watts on Saturday, February 12.

February 25, 1966 Cinema Theater, Los Angeles, CA: Sunset Acid Test
Another acid test was held two weeks later at an old theater in Los Angeles, at 1122 No. Western Avenue. The Cinema Theater was only a block off Sunset Boulevard, and this is sometimes called The Sunset Acid Test.

March 3, 1966 AIAA Hall, Los Angeles, CA: The Grateful Dead/"Psychedelic Experience"(film)
This was probably not an Acid Test. The AIAA Hall was at 7660 Beverly Boulevard and was used for various underground events through 1966. The most infamous was a hugely successful event with The Mothers on July 23, 1966, with a poster inviting everyone to "Freak Out." The address is now the site of The Broadcast Center Apartments.

March 12, 1966 Danish Center, Los Angeles, CA: Grateful Dead
There is some mystery about the show, although there is a tape. Of course, dating the tape has been confusing, too, but it seems to me that David Lemieux has confirmed that there are different March 12 and March 19 tapes. It is unclear where the Danish Center was. Most likely it was a social hall associated with the local Danish church, but I can't find any good information about a likely location for the venue (update: apparently 607 S. Western Blvd, Los Angeles, CA)

March 19, 1966 Carthay Studios, Los Angeles, CA: Pico Acid Test
Amazingly, Hugh Romney had managed to book UCLA's brand new Pauley Pavilion for an Acid Test, but at the last minute UCLA caught on and canceled it. The event was moved to the Carthay Studios. I don't actually know what the Cathay Studio was--perhaps a film studio--or where it was located (update: apparently 5907 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. A purported handbill is here)

March 25, 1966 Troupers Club, Los Angeles, CA: Grateful Dead/Del Close/Tiny Tim
All Night Harmonica Store Presents
The final show in Los Angeles was not actually an acid test, but a regular concert. Hugh "Wavy Gravy" Romney, one of Owsley's distributors, seems to have put on the show. Legendary improvisational comic Del Close was on the bill, but he seems to have provided a light show rather than comedy. Tiny Tim, an associate of all of them, and not yet famous from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, may only have appeared in some kind of video or recorded accompaniment to the light show. The Trouper's Club was at 1625 North La Brea.

On the March 25 tape, Phil Lesh encourages the crowd to come out to the band's shows on April 6 through 9th (Wednesday through Saturday). Due to a cut in the tape, we do not where these shows were booked, and in any case they were canceled. Once Rock Scully had gotten a booking at Longshoreman's Hall, Owsley and the band abandoned the Pink House in Watts and returned to the Bay Area.

April 22-24, 1966 Longshoreman's Hall, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Loading Zone
With the Bay Area rock underground booming, the Dead were offered $375 for three nights (per Rock Scully). This was enough money to get the band back from Los Angeles. Still, the group had no money, and band members couch-surfed until they could afford to move to Rancho Olompali on May 1.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ufls8DNTxPI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
A radio spot has recently surfaced that may be for this show, with a dj apparently reading a press release. It is hard to verify "authenticity" with old radio spots, but this sounds right. The slight mistakes (like referring to Stewart Brand's presentation as "Columbus Needs Indians" rather than "America Needs Indians") point towards the real thing, as after-the-fact re-creations tend to be too perfect. The spot lists The Answer as a band, along with the Dead and The Zone. The Answer were a Berkeley band, and future Ace Of Cups singer Denise Kaufmann (aka Mary Microgram) sometimes sang with them.

May 7, 1966 Harmon Gym, U. of California, Berkeley, CA: Grateful Dead/The Charlatans/Great Society/Billy Moses Blues Band
In 1966, a series of rock concerts were put on at Berkeley's basketball arena, Harmon Gym. The Gym was right off Bancroft Avenue, near Pauley Ballroom and the student union. Harmon Gym was built in 1931, and had a capacity of 6,500 (it replaced an older Harmon Gym, built in 1879, and expanded in 1900 to make the capacity 1,300, large for the time. The old site is now Dwinelle Hall). The middle Harmon Gym was replaced by a newer, larger facility (capacity 12,000) in 1999, and is now called The Haas Pavilion.

The band was billed as The Greatful Dead on the poster. As a sign that underground rock was not fully integrated into college campuses, even Berkeley, the show advertised an emcee, popular KYA-am dj Russ "The Moose" Syracuse. This was a typical teen show arrangement that had no part in the Fillmore/Avalon scene. Syracuse probably got a fee in return for hyping the show on his program. There was no FM rock radio at the time, so plenty of college students would have been listening to AM rock radio.

The Veteran's Memorial Building at 1931 Center Street in Berkeley (at Grove, now MLK Blvd), ca. 1940s. Provo Park and Berkeley Community Theater are just across the street. The Grateful Dead played the tiny auditorium on May 14, 166.

May 14, 1966 Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Berkeley, CA: Grateful Dead/Final Solution
One of the dynamics of the 1966 rock concert market in the Bay Area was that there was a huge audience for hip rock shows around the UC Berkeley campus. Numerous local promoters attempted to use various venues, Campus locations were usually limited to Friday and Saturday nights, and had all sorts of schedule conflicts and time restrictions. Various impresarios attempted to use in-town venues.

The Berkeley Veterans Memorial Auditorium was at 1931 Center (between Milvia and Grove, now MLK), right downtown and within walking distance of campus. I don't know who promoted the show. The building was only used a few times for 60s rock concerts. In 1994, I saw a concert there for a reunion of some old-time Berkeley bands (Country Joe Band with David Cohen, Bruce Barthol and Chicken Hirsh, Joy of Cooking and Lazarus) and I understood why. The room only hold a few hundred patrons, and was rapidly outgrown by the booming rock market in the area. Since a suitable Berkeley venue was never found, all of the students had to go over to the Fillmore and Avalon, and this was one factor in the success of the 1966-67 scene, before most of the bands had become famous.

The Final Solution was a hip band featuring some scenemakers like Ernie Fosselius, who played a big role in the TV show Sesame Street, providing animated films. He also made the movies Porklips Now and Hardware Wars. But back in 1966, Fosselius and his friends, all San Francisco State students, had an underground band that only played weird minor-key songs. On a whim, they named the group Final Solution while having no idea what it meant. They are rightly ashamed of that, and Fosselius and the others have refused any efforts to have an archival release.

May 19, 1966 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Wildflower/The Outfit Benefit for The Straight Theater
The Dead, the Wildflower and The Outfit all rehearsed at the old Haight Theater at 1702 Haight. The plan was to turn it into a rock concert venue, so the Haight hippies would have a place to see bands in their own neighborhood. Only in 1966 San Francisco would a benefit be held at one venue, the Avalon, for another venue that would compete with it, but such were the times.

Wildflower were a pretty good band who had formed at the California College of Arts And Crafts in Oakland. The Outfit were an interesting band, who at the time featured lead guitarist Bobby Beausoleil, now doing life in prison as a result of murders committed at the behest of Charles Manson, another Haight Street resident.

May 22, 1966 Rancho Olompali, Novato, CA: Grateful Dead/Loading Zone
The Dead had moved into the crumbling Rancho Olompali mansion on May 1, and there was an almost continuous party there through the end of June. Equipment was probably more or less permanently set up next to the pool, and jam sessions with whoever was present seemed to have been frequent. Nonetheless, the official party, with invitations and all, was held on May 22, and there was some kind of regular (ish) performance by the Dead. This was the event where the BBC camera crew was present. and the famous (and now probably illegal) photos of Julia Bridgen (aka "Girl Freiberg") casually lounging around naked circulated far and wide, even without an internet.

May 28, 1966 Avalon Ballrom, San Francisco, CA: The Leaves/Grass Roots/Grateful Dead
The Dead's return to the Avalon on Saturday May 28 was also their debut at an official Family Dog show for Chet Helms. Over the years, people have assumed that the Dead also played on Friday (May 27), but a closer look at the poster shows a text box that says "Sat. only" next to the Grateful Dead.

The Leaves were a popular Sunset Strip band, and they had a popular hit single with "Hey Joe." The Grass Roots were produced out of Los Angeles by Phil Sloan and Steve Barri, who had written a hit song called "Where Were You When I Needed You." Sloan and Barri recorded the song, but then needed a band to become The Grass Roots and tour behind the single. A Bay Area band called The Bedouins got the call. The Bedouins winners of the 1965 San Mateo County Fair Battle Of The Bands, and mostly played R&B and Rolling Stones' type music. They added a few Sloan/Barri singles to their sets, and got much better bookings as The Grass Roots. The former Bedouins had a falling out with their producers later in 1966, and they were "replaced" by an entirely different band from Los Angeles, who went on to become the better-known version of the Grass Roots.

May 29, 1966 California Hall, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Charlatans LEMAR Benefit
The Grateful Dead headlined this benefit for LEMAR, a foundation for Legalizing Marijuana. Ahead of their time as always, perhaps the evil weed will become legal while members of the band who played the benefit are still around.

After the show, the Dead dragged their equipment to Gene Estibou's Buena Vista Studios, on the top floor of a mansion in the Haight. There they recorded the tracks that would be released as their debut single on Scorpio Records, "Don't Ease Me In"/"Stealin'".

June 3-4, 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Grateful Dead/Mothers
The Dead had skipped out on their initial BGP booking (February 11) to go to Owsley in Los Angeles. It can't have sat well with Graham. However, once his competitor Chet Helms booked them, Graham couldn't let it lie, because Helms new better than Graham who was cool. One of these shows with Quicksilver Messenger Service was probably the one where Phil Lesh's amp broke, and John Cippolina invited their friend Dan Healy out of the crowd to fix it. When Garcia thanked him later, Healy criticized the sound system, and Garcia supposedly said "do you think you can do better?"

Frank Zappa's band was called The Mothers at this time. It was MGM who anxiously added "Of Invention" to their name. Besides playing one of the original Family Dog dances back in 1965, and the previous weekend at the Fillmore, the Mothers had just finished a lengthy engagement at a rock club in Fremont called Frenchy's (where the Warlocks had been fired the year before).

June 10-11, 1966 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service/New Tweedy Brothers
The New Tweedy Brothers were from Oregon, but they had moved to the Bay Area for the summer. This was probably the show where the Dead's relatively massive--by 1966 standards--PA not only blocked the light show but made it impossible for Avalon soundman Bob Cohen to hear his team on the in-house intercom. Next time around (in August), the Dead had hung white sheets on the sound system to facilitate the lights, and Cohen had invented noise-canceling headphones.

June 12, 1966 [private residence], [Marin County], LSD Conference Party
Weed was illegal, but not LSD. The University of California at San Francisco, primarily a medical school located very near the Haight-Ashbury, seems to have hosted a conference on the medical benefits of LSD research from June 13-18. Apparently, there was a party at a Marin mansion with a swimming pool, and the Grateful Dead performed. Memories seem foggy.

June 17-18, 1966 Veterans Hall, Santa Rosa, CA; Grateful Dead/Jaywalkers
There is a poster for this show, but nothing else is really known about it. Thunder Machine Productions implicitly suggests the Pranksters, but Kesey was on the lam in Mexico, so it's not clear exactly who the promoters might have been. Santa Rosa was mostly a rural agricultural community at this time. However, there was an extension of San Francisco State College in Santa Rosa, and it was a tiny oasis of long-haired stoners. SF State Extension became Humboldt State within a few years, but the seeds--appropriately enough--had been sown by the SF State extension.

The weekend of June 24-25 seems a likely candidate for a "lost" date or two, but none have yet turned up.

Greg Errico drumming in Sly And The Family Stone around 1968, laying it down for people who only need a beat

Grateful Dead fans have seen drummer Greg Errico's name over the years, sitting in on the odd album track here and there, or listed on tape boxes. Errico played on some projects with Mickey Hart, and periodically he was the drummer for the Jerry Garcia Band as well. Once he even played drums for Bob Weir. Some Deadheads are certainly aware that he was the drummer for Sly And The Family Stone, and some of them are aware that Errico has done more than that. Like many musicians associated with members of the Grateful Dead, Errico in fact has a long and fascinating musical history with a wide variety of musicians and a panoply of musical styles.

Interspersing some of Errico's music history with his participation with the Dead gives a nice overview of how Errico was so much more than just another drummer. It will not provide an exhaustive list of all of Errico's music, since that post would be too long. However, despite his low-key presence, Errico has had a fascinating musical career, and the music he has participated in offers some surprising contrasts to the music he has played with members of the Dead.

A photo of San Francisco's VIPs, performing in the 1960s, from the site of saxophonist Donald DeWitt (Greg Errico is not the drummer in this photo).

The VIPs
Greg Errico went to Mission High School in San Francisco, and one of the hottest bands in town was a dance band called the VIPs, featuring lead singer Leon Patillo. The VIPs were a popular group, probably playing R&B hits of the day, and making decent money. Errico was still in high school, but starting in about 1964, when the regular drummer couldn't make a gig, Errico would deputize for him. So even before he had left school, Errico had played some relatively big shows for the time, and obviously acquitted himself well.

This post is as good a place as any to clear up some confusion about the first Bill Graham show at the Fillmore on December 10, 1965, (the second Mime Troupe Benefit), when the Grateful Dead were billed as "Formerly The Warlocks". Due to a mistake in Ralph Gleason's review of the show, the VIPs were credited with performing at the show. However, it was actually a Palo Alto group called The Vipers (a predecessor of Mt. Rushmore and Phoenix), so there's no chance that Errico actually played the Fillmore that night, since the VIPs didn't play. The VIPs were a popular local group, and Leon Patillo went on to sing with Santana in the 70s, so it seems logical that they would play the Mime Troupe show at the Fillmore, but in fact it was The Vipers.

Freddy And The Stone Souls
Sometime after leaving high school, probably in mid-1965, Greg Errico joined a group with guitarist Fred Stewart, later to become famous as "Freddie Stone." The group was mostly known as Freddy And The Stone Souls, and apparently mostly played R&B covers. They were a very popular group locally (they played the Fillmore on Sunday evening, April 3, 1966, with the VIPs and The Invaders). They played around the same circuit as Freddie's brother Sylvester, then known locally as the popular DJ Sly Stone on KSOL-am ("K-Soul") out of Oakland. Sly's band was known as Sly And The Stoners, but they did not play around as as much, In early December 1966, Errico went to a Stone Souls rehearsal, only to find Freddie and Sly hanging out, and plans afoot to start an entirely new band.

Sly And The Family Stone, early 1967. Drummer Greg Errico is back row, middle

Sly And The Family Stone
Joel Selvin, quoting saxophonist Jules Broussard, said "there was Black Music before Sly, and there was Black Music after Sly" (Sly And The Family Stone: The Oral History. 1997: Dell Books). It couldn't be said better. Sly And The Family Stone were one of the most essential groups of modern music, not just the sixties. They merged all the virtues of sixties rock and sixties soul. They were a self-contained writing and performing unit, they were stylish and hip, and they could make any crowd dance to the music. Sly And The Family Stone's music still sounds great today, a fact we know because we hear it constantly on commercials and oldies stations.

Sly And The Family Stone began performing very quietly, in December 1966. Initially they only played one venue, a new joint called The Winchester Cathedral, on El Camino Real in Redwood City, a few miles North of Palo Alto. They played what were then called "Breakfast Shows," from 2-6am on Saturday and Sunday mornings (Friday and Saturday late night). In California, the bars close at 2am, so all the musicians would come to the Breakfast shows to hang out. Officially, liquor was not served at Breakfast Shows, but I'm sure some turned up somewhere. In any case, Errico played drums for the band. Brother Freddie Stone played guitar, cousin Larry Graham played bass, friends Jerry Martini (saxophone) and Cynthia Robinson (trumpet) were the horns, and Sly himself played keyboards and was the principal singer (sister Vaetta "Rose" Stone didn't join on vocals and piano until the end of 1967).

One of the many musicians who saw the formative Sly And The Family Stone at Winchester Cathedral in the early days was Mickey Hart. At the end of 1966, Hart was managing a drum store in San Carlos, with his father. Whether or not Mickey had any drum gigs at the time--a subject that has been elided over the years--like other musicians he found his way over to Winchester Cathedral for the Breakfast Show. Joel Selvin has written a great book about Sly And The Family Stone, full of eyewitness accounts, and Hart is quoted at length describing how powerful the original lineup was, a full year before the world found out.

According to an interview for a Jerry Garcia Band retrospective release that David Gans was kind enough to share with me, Hart and Errico became friends in about 1968. Hart simply invited himself over to Errico's house in Mountain View and introduced himself. They were both drummers, both in major Fillmore bands, and clearly had a lot in common, so they hit it off. In those days, both of them were constantly on the road, so they may not have had too many opportunities to spend time together, but the connection was made.

Rolling Thunder, Mickey Hart's solo album, released on Warner Brothers in September 1972

1971 The Barn, Novato, CA: Rolling Thunder sessions
Greg Errico left Sly And The Family Stone in 1971. Although the band was more popular than ever, there were numerous financial and chemical problems swirling around Sly, and Errico decided to step aside. Having toured non-stop for years, Errico chose to focus on studio work, as both a producer and session musician. Around 1970, Errico had spent some time living on Mickey Hart's ranch in Novato. Hart and Errico already went back a ways, but this brought Errico more directly into the Grateful Dead orbit. Errico worked on some projects and appeared on a few albums throughout 1971-72, but mostly he kept a low profile.

Errico is credited with performing on the track "Blind John," on Hart's '72 Warner Brothers album Rolling Thunder. The song was written by "Curly Jim" Stalarow (who introduced Bob Weir to the song "Me And My Uncle") and Peter Monk (nee Zimmels) who would later write the lyrics to "Passenger" with Phil Lesh. Members of the Jefferson Airplane played on the track, and the Airplane even performed it live a few times in 1972.

The credits for "Blind John" were:

Steven Schuster - flute
Grace Slick - piano, vocals
Mickey Hart - field drums, tympani
Greg Errico - drums
Tower of Power Horns
Barry Melton - guitar, vocals
David Freiberg - guitar, vocals
Paul Kantner - vocals

Thus the track included members of The Grateful Dead, Sly and The Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Tower of Power and The Fish--a true SF All-Star lineup.

Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles Live!, recorded in Hawaii on New Year's Eve 1971, and released on Columbia in 1972. Santana and a few members of his band sat in with the Buddy Miles Express, while Errico played drums.

The 1970s
By the end of 1972, Santana, another legendary San Francisco band, was falling apart as well. Santana guitarist Neal Schon teamed up with Errico and expatriate bassist Pete Sears and they informally had a kind of band. San Francisco had a thriving recording industry at the time, and the original idea was that the trio would become the SF version of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a recording unit for visiting artists. It was a good idea, but it never came to fruition in the way the members expected.

The Schon/Sears/Errico band played at least one show, on January 27, 1973, which was broadcast on FM radio.Whatever their plans, Pete Sears moved on, and seems to have been "replaced" by former Sly bassist Larry Graham. Graham had also left the Family Stone, and had agreed to produce a local funk band called Hot Chocolate (no connection to the British group of the same name). However, Graham liked the group so much, he ended up joining the band, and they changed their name to Graham Central Station.

However, before Graham Central Station became well known, they would play gigs at Keystone Berkeley, co-billed with Schon and Errico. It appears that Graham Central Station would play a set, and Schon, Graham and Errico would play some sort of funky jam set as well. Graham went on to huge success with Graham Central Station, and Errico faded away from working with Schon. Schon found other players, and they went on to form the monumentally successful Journey. Thus, Errico seems to have had opportunities to work with two hugely popular 70s bands in their infancy, and appears to have happily let them both pass by.

The debut album by Betty Davis, released in 1973 on Just Sunshine Records, produced by Greg Errico

Betty Davis
Betty Davis, though not a well-known singer in her day, has a considerably higher historical profile now. Greg Errico produced her debut album, now an influential record that is widely sampled. At the time, Davis was known as being Miles Davis' ex-wife (she was pictured on the cover of Davis' 67 album Filles De Kiliminajaro). In fact, Davis was a remarkable composer and artist, years ahead of her time. Errico recorded her debut album at Wally Heider's studio in San Francisco in 1972 and 73, with a variety of San Francsico heavies. Musicians included Errico and Larry Graham from The Family Stone, Doug Rauch and Neal Schon from Santana, Pete Sears, Merl Saunders and numerous other hot players.

Weather Report
In mid-1973, Errico was asked to join the groundbreaking fusion band Weather Report. This was a real departure for both Weather Report and Errico. At the time, Weather Report was playing very forward-looking music, picking up where Miles Davis had left off with Bitches Brew. The hiring of Errico was the first whiff that Weather Report's founders had any funky interests. Errico toured with Weather Report for the balance of 1973. Though the band never released any material with Errico, some fine live tapes of Errico and Weather Report can be found at Wolfgang's Vault. Weather Report's late 1973 lineup was:

Wayne Shorter-soprano and tenor saxophones
Joe Zawinul-electric piano, synthesizers
Miroslav Vitous-electric and acoustic bass
Greg Errico-drums
Dom Um Romao -percussion

Weather Report played electric jazz in a very open style, quite a departure for Errico at the time. Errrico had more or less replaced drummer Eric Gravatt, who was an excellent straight ahead jazz player. Head Weatherman Joe Zawinul recalled Errico's playing fondly, particularly on the song "Boogie Woogie Waltz"

Zawinul has called “Boogie Woogie Waltz” “a hip-hop in 3.” Long before “hip-hop” entered the vernacular, he described its structure to Jazz Forum magazine. “There are only five sentences. There is an introduction, an interlude and a dance at the end. And in between, everything is free.” [JF76]

He has also said that former Sly And The Family Stone drummer Greg Errico played ‘Boogie Woogie Waltz’ better than anybody. [DB01] Errico manned the drum chair for Weather Report between Sweetnighter and Mysterious Traveller, but never recorded with the band. He told Glasser, “[Zawinul] still tells me that to this day! He was talking about that song ‘Boogie Woogie Waltz.’ He said, ‘I finally stopped playing that song because I could never get someone to play it like that once you left the group!’ It was in 3/4, but not in the traditional way. I mean, it was in three but I would play four against it, and played it aggressively.” [IASW, 157]

David Bowie "Diamond Dogs" September 1974 tour
The ever-restless David Bowie had released the hit album Diamond Dogs in April of 1974, anchored by his classic song "Rebel Rebel." After an initial tour in the Summer, Bowie returned to the road for 12 dates in September of 1974, all in the Southern California area. His band included Errico on drums and Santana's Doug Rauch on bass. Guitarists Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar, and pianist Mike Garson headed up the front line, and there was an army of backing vocalists (including Luther Vandross). The tour continued on in October of 1974, but Rauch and Errico did not participate.

The July 1975 Keystone Berkeley calendar. When Ron Tutt was drumming, the band was billed as Legion Of Mary (such as on Sunday July 6

June 22, 1975 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Garcia/Saunders
Errico's first known live appearance with a member of the Grateful Dead was on June 22, 1975 at the Keystone Berkeley, with Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It is not impossible, however, that Errico had already subbed at an occasional Garcia/Saunders show as far back as 1974.

At the time, shows billed as Legion Of Mary had to include Ron Tutt on drums, along with Garcia, Saunders, John Kahn and Martin Fierro. If there was a different drummer, as there was on occasion, the show was billed as Garcia/Saunders, even if the repertoire was the same. Errico was as high-class as you can get for a fill-in. Think about it for a minute: Jerry Garcia wasn't able to get Elvis Presley's drummer for a night, so he got Sly's instead, replacing the drummer for one American musical giant with another.

The Keystone Berkeley calendar for December 1975. Note that this is a revised calendar, which advertises the Garcia Band's performance on Wednesday, December 1975. If Ron Tutt had been booked, it would have been a contractual obligation to advertise it, but he is not listed for either the 17th or 31st

December 17 and 31, 1975 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Jerry Garcia Band with Nicky Hopkins
When the Grateful Dead were off the road in 1974 and '75, Jerry Garcia did not play New Year's Eve for Bill Graham. Instead, he played quiet shows for Freddie Herrera at the Keystone Berkeley both years. The Jerry Garcia Band did headline a weekend of shows for Graham at Winterland on December 19 and 20, supported by Kingfish, Keith and Donna Band and Clover. These were well attended, but not sold out. Per Graham's standard contract, the Garcia Band New Year's Eve could not be publicized prior to the 19th and 20th, but that was alright. Keystone tickets were only sold at the door, the place would be packed anyhow, and neither Herrera nor the City of Berkeley wanted a false rumor around that the Dead might be playing there on New Year's Eve. The Garcia Band New Year's Eve show was only publicized the regular way, by flyers on Berkeley telephone poles and notices in the regular newspaper listings of local papers like the Oakland Tribune.

However, on New Year's Eve, the JGB drummer had a conflict: his other employer, Elvis Presley, was playing the Pontiac Silverdome, to a crowd of 60,00 or so. Thus Garcia needed a substitute for that night, and Errico got the call. Bob Weir and Matt Kelly played guitars (and harmonica by Kelly) for the second set, and Mickey Hart joined in on cowbell, per Errico's interview . New Year's Eve 75 was Nicky Hopkins last show with the JGB, as his unreliability made him an impossible fit for the professionals in the Garcia Band. The entire show was released as an archival cd in 2014, and you can hear it for yourself (incidentally, both Jerry and Elvis played "CC Rider" that night). Errico has a different style than Tutt, but he handled the chair admirably.

It has recently come to light, via a Keystone Berkeley calendar (above), that the Jerry Garcia Band played the club on Wednesday, December 17, with Errico on drums. This was generally confirmed by Errico in the interview, although he didn't remember the exact date. Technically, listing Garcia on a Keystone Berkeley calendar was a violation of the band's proximity clause with Graham, but the Keystone calendar was just on Berkeley telephone poles, and a small mailing list, so even Graham would not have fussed about it. The Garcia Band's contract at the time required that Hopkins, Kahn and Tutt had to be named as performers along with Garcia, in type at least 75% the size of Garcia's name. Since Tutt isn't listed for either date, it is proof that he was not booked.

June 23, 1977 Santa Rosa High School Auditorium, Santa Rosa, CA: Maria Muldaur and Special Guest [Jerry Garcia Band]Benefit for Camp Meeker
[update] Commenter Nick reports that Errico sat in with the Jerry Garcia Band for a benefit show at the Santa Rosa High School Auditorium on June 23, 1977. JGMF has determined that the gig was probably added late, and since Ron Tutt was engaged with Elvis Presley in Des Moines, IA, Errico got the call.

War harmonica player Lee Oskar's 1978 Elektra album Before The Rain, produced by Greg Errico

Before The Rain-Lee Oskar (Elektra 1978)
In 1978, Errico produced a solo album for Lee Oskar, the harmonica player for the popular band War ("Why Can't We Be Friends,""Cisco Kid" and numerous other hits). Mickey Hart played on the record. Oskar actually had a variety of Bay Area connections from the '60s, but I believe the connection between Oskar and Hart came from the 1970s, possibly from Errico. The album was almost entirely instrumental, and covered a variety of jazz and funk styles. Of course, it was hardly the sort of hit that inspired a follow-up. However, since Errico produced the album, that seems to have been the connection that got Lee Oskar on stage with the Grateful Dead a few times at Winterland in late 1978.

December 31, 1978 Winterland, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead
In the Fall of 1978, starting at the October 1978 "From Egypt With Love" shows, it became common for various people to join Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann during their drum duet. Errico joined in on some occasions. Certainly, Errico was onstage during the drum solo on December 31, 1978, as captured by the Closing Of Winterland video (from the KQED-tv broadcast).

1979 Le Club Front, San Rafael, CA: Apocalypse Now sessions
In 1979, director Francis Ford Coppola invited Mickey Hart to create soundtrack music for his Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now. Hart created a mainly percussion ensemble that improvised music to footage for the movie that was shown on a giant screen. Some of the music was edited into the movie, and a larger portion of the music was used on the 1980 album on Passport Records, The Rhythm Devils Play River Music. The sessions went on for some days.

The recording ensemble was:

Mickey Hart - percussion
Bill Kreutzmann - percussion
Airto Moreira - percussion
Michael Hinton - percussion
Jim Loveless - marimba
Greg Errico - drums
Jordan Amarantha - congas
Flora Purim - vocals
Phil Lesh - bass

February 13-14, 1981 Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael, CA: Rhythm Devils
Hinton was a former drum student of Hart's. Hinton, Loveless and Amarantha had played with the Diga Rhythm Band. In 1980, music from the Apocalypse Now soundtrack sessions was released as an lp on the jazz label Passport Records. To publicize the album release, Micky Hart organized a concert of musicians playing in the style of the album, although of course the music was mostly improvised. The ensemble played two nights at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, on February 13-14, 1980, billed as The Rhythm Devils. The shows were very well received. Musicians included Hart, Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh (on fretless bass), Airto Moreira and Flora Purim and Mike Hinton. Other musicians also joined in, and I wouldn't be surprised if Greg Errico had been one of them.

The Trio: Cochran/Bogert/Errico
Instrument manufacturers played a big, if hidden, role in the rise of rock music throughout the 1970s and '80s. Guitarist Bobby Cochran was a consultant for Ibanez guitars, and through Ibanez rep Jeff Hasselberger he met Bob Weir. Weir and Cochran initially performed together at some NAMM (National Association of Music Manufacturers) conventions in 1979. Cochran also had some bands that mostly played NAMM events, including a trio with bassist Tim Bogert from Vanilla Fudge and Errico on drums.

In Atlanta in the Summer of 1979, Bob Weir had played with Cochran and his other NAMM trio, featuring Alphonso Johnson on bass and Billy Cobham drums. They had such fun that they conceived of the idea of Bobby And The Midnites. However, it took a few years for the band to come together. In the interim, Cochran played a few dates with Kingfish. On at least one of these dates (possibly the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, CA on June 30-July 1, 1980), "The Trio," with Cochran, Errico and Bogert, opened for Weir, Cochran and Kingfish.

January 13, 1980 Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA: Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead headlined a benefit organized by Joan Baez for the relief of Cambodian Refugees. The show was broadcast on FM radio, and also featured Jefferson Starship, The Beach Boys and guest appearances by Carlos Santana. A telethon raised money between acts. Djs mentioned that Greg Errico joined the Grateful Dead on percussion for their encore of "U.S. Blues."

July 18-August 9, 1980 member, Jerry Garcia Band (11 dates)
Greg Errico's first regular drumming assignment with a Grateful Dead member was with the Jerry Garcia Band for their Summer 1980 tour. Errico played 11 dates in total, including a few Keystone shows and a brief East Coast tour (Jerry Garcia Band #11b). The Garcia Band was in a transitional state at the time. They had reformed as a stripped-down four piece, with keyboardist Ozzie Ahlers and drummer Johnny d'Fonseca. Sadly, d'Fonseca had died in a car accident in the Spring, so Errico got the call to fill in. Ultimately Ahlers went off to focus on his own band (The Edge, with Lorin Rowan), and Garcia and Kahn probably knew that the configuration was short-time. Thus Errico was a perfect fit. A friend and a proven professional, Errico would not be looking for a permanent slot in the Garcia Band.

October 13, 1982-June 5, 1983 member, Jerry Garcia Band (36 Dates)
Errico's brief stint with the Garcia and must have been successful, because he got a return engagement. Once again, the Garcia Band was in transition after June 1982. Both female harmony vocalists (Julie Stires and Liz Stafford) had left the band, as had electric pianist Jimmy Warren. Errico played a few dates with the JGB as a quartet (Jerry Garcia Band #15a) and he also played the first shows with the new vocalists, who had been chosen by Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band #15b). Errico played 36 shows in all.

Once again, Errico seems to have been intended as a fill-in player. We know that John Kahn was calling Los Angeles producers, asking who was a good drummer. Eventually his old friend Michael Stewart suggested David Kemper, who debuted on July 20, 1983 and Kemper stayed in the JGB for 10 years (Jerry Garcia Band #21a and #21b). So Kahn and Garcia knew they were looking for a permanent drummer, and Errico did not seem to have any such aspirations.

March 10, 1983 Perkins Palace, Pasadena, CA: Bob Weir And Friends
Errico's last known performance with a member of the Grateful Dead was with yet another member, Bob Weir. Weir played a benefit for Medical Aid To El Salvador, and while he had most of his band on board, drummer Billy Cobham and bassist Alphonso Johnson were seemingly not available, so the band was billed as Bob Weir And Friends rather than Bobby And The Midnites. The show was put on at an 1800-seat venue called The Perkins Palace, on 129 N. Raymond Ave in Pasadena. Originally built in 1921 as The Raymond Theater, the building had an interesting music history (it was Van Halen's rehearsal hall from 1976 to 1978, before they were famous). However, the building was sold to developers in 1985.

On the hotline, Greg Errico was announced as the drummer, along with lead guitarist Bobby Cochran, bassist Tim Bogert and pianist Nicky Hopkins. Bogert had been in the Midnites in 1980-81, when Alphonso Johnson had not been available, and of course Cochran, Bogert and Errico had played as The Trio. A tape eventually surfaced, broadcast by David Gans on the KPFA 1986 Marathon (Jan 28 '06). The band rocked through mostly standard numbers that would not have needed much, if any, rehearsal. It turned out that Midnites member Dave Garland also played tenor sax and piano, and a few other guests sat in (complete details are below in the Appendix 2).

Coda
Greg Errico had a unique musical relationship with the members of the Grateful Dead. As a certifiable rock legend of the same vintage as them, he was a personal as well as a musical peer. Since his primary focus was on production rather than performing, he was only interested in part-time work, which suited the structure of Garcia's bands until the arrival of David Kemper. Unlike most of Garcia's other part-time associates, Errico had an ongoing relationship with Mickey Hart and thus performed onstage with the Dead on occasion, making him a singular contributor to the kaleidoscope of associates in the band's musical universe.

Appendix 1: Released Recordings with members of The Grateful Dead and Greg Errico
Rolling Thunder-Mickey Hart (1972 release on Warner Brothers, recorded ca. 1971)
Errico played drums on the track "Blind John"
Garcia Live, Vol. 5: December 31st, 1975, Keystone Berkeley-Jerry Garcia Band with Nicky Hopkins (2014 release on ATO, recorded Dec 31 '75)
Errico played drums for the Jerry Garcia Band on December 31, 1975. Both sets were released on an archival cd. Guests Bob Weir, Matthew Kelly and Mickey Hart (on cowbell) joined in for some numbers.
Closing Of Winterland-Grateful Dead(2003 release on Rhino/Grateful Dead, recorded Dec 31 '78)
Errico joined Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann for the "Rhythm Devils" percussion jam on this 4 cd set. The concert was also released on DVD.
The Rhythm Devils Play River Music-Rhythm Devils (1980 release on Passport, recorded 1979)
Errico joined in Mickey Hart's percussion ensemble to help create soundtrack music for the movie Apocalypse Now.

Appendix 2: Bob Weir with Greg Errico
A Commenter sent in some details about the Weir show with Hopkins and Errico in Pasadena:

March 10, 1983, Perkins Palace, Pasadena, CA: Bob Weir and Friends with Nicky Hopkins Benefit for Medical Aid To El Salvador

d1t01 Minglewood

d1t02 Big Iron

dit03 Feel So Bad

d1t04 CC Rider

d1t05 Dance On Baby

d1t06 Youngblood

d1t07 Brother Bill

d1t08 Easy To Slip

d1t09 Book Of Rules

d1t10 I Found Love

d1t11 Women Are Smarter -> Drums//

d1t12 Josephine

Notes:

-This show was also broadcast as part of the KPFA Marathon on Jan 28 '06.

Personnel:

Bob Weir - Guitar, Vocals

Bobby Cochran - Guitar, Vocals

Nicky Hopkins - Piano

Dave Garland - Keys, Sax

Tim Bogert - Bass

Greg Errico - Drums

Graham Smith - Harp

Freebo - Tuba

Mike Rogers - Steel Drums

The Stanford Daily of July 4, 1974, featured an article about the free Be-In at El Camino Park in Palo Alto on July 2.

July 2, 1967 El Camino Park, Palo Alto, CA: Grateful Dead/Anonymous Artists of America/New Delhi River Band/Solid State/The Good WordMary Poppins Umbrella Festival and Be-In [free concert]
Using equipment that they "borrowed" from the Monterey Pop Festival, the Dead played a free concert back in Palo Alto. I had thought that this concert was on Saturday, June 24, but an article in the Stanford Daily confirmed the date of Sunday, July 2. The Anonymous Artists Of America included Jerry Garcia's wife Sara (they were now separated), and future New Riders David Nelson and Dave Torbert were in the New Delhi River Band.

July 13, 1967 PNE Agrodome, Vancouver, BC: Grateful Dead/Daily Flash/Love-In
The Agrodome was Vancouver's largest venue. "Love-In" may refer to a title to the event, not a band. The Daily Flash were a popular psychedelic Seattle band.

July 14-15, 1967 Dante's Inferno, Vancouver, BC: Grateful Dead/Collectors/Painted Ship
Dante's Inferno, at 1024 Davie Street, would later become more famous as The Retinal Circus, Vancouver's principal psychedelic ballroom. Both opening acts were British Columbia bands. The Collectors evolved into the 70s group Chilliwack, named after a Vancouver suburb.

July 16, 1967 Golden Gardens Beach, Seattle, WA; Grateful Dead(afternoon free concert)
Golden Gardens Park is in Ballard, a neighborhood of Seattle. I do not know if the Dead actually played on a beach at the park (the park is on Puget Sound). I would expect they played on a grassy field rather than a beach. During 1967, the Dead tried to play outdoor free concerts in as many cities as possible, a strategy that paid massive dividends many years later. Golden Gardens is not far from El Roach, where the Dead played on August 20, 1969, when they were rained out of the Aqua Theater.

July 16, 1967 Eagles Auditorium, Seattle, WA: Grateful Dead/Daily Flash/Magic Fern
The Eagles Auditorium was at 1416 7th Avenue, at Union Street. It had been built in 1924 for The Fraternal Order Of The Eagles. By 1967, it had become Seattle's principal psychedelic ballroom, and The Daily Flash were regular headliners there. The Magic Fern were another Seattle-area band.

The Portland Art Museum today, at 1119 SW Park, now known as The Mark building. It was the site of the Masonic Temple, where the Grateful Dead played on July 18, 1967 (photo M.O. Stevens, from Wikipedia)

July 18, 1967 Masonic Temple, Portland, OR: Grateful Dead/Poverty's People/US Cadenza/Nigells
The Masonic Temple was at 1119 SW Park Avenue. The building was on the same block as the Portland Art Museum. One floor of the Masonic Temple was a ballroom that could be rented, and it was used for rock concerts in the 1960s. The then-small Portland market was useful for weeknight gigs in between California and Seattle. The Masonic Temple show was on a Tuesday night, and the opening acts were all local Portland bands. In 1992, the Portland Art Museum bought the Temple, and ultimately merged the buildings, an the ballroom is now part of the Portland Art Museum.

July 20-21, 1967 Continental Ballroom, Santa Clara, CA: Grateful Dead/Sons Of Champlin/Congress of Wonders/Phoenix
The Continental Ballroom, under various names, was the primary rock venue in the San Jose area in the 1960s. However, since it was never under the aegis of a single promoter, it was far less celebrated than places like the Fillmore or the Avalon. Nonetheless, there were lots of great events at the Continental, and plenty of them involved the Grateful Dead. The arena was a former roller skating rink, and the Warlocks had played there in 1965 when it was called the Continental Roller Bowl. The Continental was at 1600 Martin Avenue in Santa Clara, actually a suburb of San Jose, but generally part of the San Jose downtown.

In the Summer of '67, Quicksilver manager Ron Polte booked the Continental for several weekends that featured all the best San Francisco rock bands. San Jose and its suburbs had a huge indigenous teenage rock market, but all of them must have been happy to see the Fillmore bands nearby. At the time, the Sons Of Champlin, Congress Of Wonders (a comedy group) and Phoenix were all affiliated with Ron Polte's booking agency.

July 23, 1967 Straight Theater, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Big Brother and The Holding Company/Wildflower/Phoenix
The Haight Theater had been an old 1500-seat movie theater in the heart of the Haight Ashbury, at 1702 Haight Street (at Cole). It had been a rehearsal hall for the Grateful Dead and other bands in early 1966, and plans were afoot to turn it into a performance venue. However, the process had been delayed by city officials who refused to approve the new Straight Theater for a "Dance Permit," an antiquated means of city control that stemmed from Prohibition days.

However, the Straight had a debut weekend on July 21-23, with the Dead and Big Brother headlining on Sunday July 23. Quicksilver Messenger Service (Friday July 21) and Country Joe And The Fish (Saturday July 22) headlined the other nights. A tape circulates with Neal Cassady rapping over a "Lovelight" style jam. However, the issue of the Dance Permit was not yet resolved, and any dancers could potentially be subject to arrest (this was not a joke--it would actually have been illegal and dancers would be subject to arrest, no small thing to a hippie with a few joints in his pocket).

An aerial view of the former O"Keefe Center, at 1 Front Street East in downtown Toronto, ON, now known as the Sony Centre (as seen from the CN Tower on Sep 23, 2009). Bill Graham brought the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead to the O'Keefe for eight shows in six days from July 31 through August 5, 1967.

July 31-August 5, 1967 O'Keefe Centre, Toronto, ON: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead/Luke And The ApostlesBill Graham Presents the San Francisco Scene (matinees Wed Aug 2 and Sat Aug 5)
The ever innovative Bill Graham tried to take San Francisco on the road in the Summer of '67. He took the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead to Canada, with posters that said "Bill Graham Presents The San Francisco Scene." The two bands played the O'Keefe Centre (now the Sony Centre), Toronto's premier downtown performance venue, at 1 Front Street East. It had opened on October 1, 1960, with a capacity of 3,191. The Dead and The Airplane played six nights, from Monday through Saturday, including double-show matinees on two afternoons. Bonnie Dobson, the writer of "Morning Dew," attended one of the shows, but she was too shy to go backstage.

Opening all the shows were the Toronto band Luke And The Apostles, a happening electric blues band from the Yorkville district.Yorkville was the bohemian neighborhood in Toronto, sort of a Canadian Greenwich Village, and the locals over the years had included Neil Young, Joni Anderson (later Mitchell), Ian and Sylvia, The Sparrows (later Steppenwolf, when they went to LA) and Rick James (back when he was still just AWOL from the US Navy).

With his usual acumen, Graham had primed the pump by having the Jefferson Airplane play a free concert the week before, at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on July 23. Luke And The Apostles and a group called Spring Garden Road were also on hand, but the Dead were still back in San Francisco. However, in classic San Francisco fashion, the Airplane had already given their potential fans a free taste of what to expect, an absolutely unprecedented approach to promoting rock shows.

August 6, 1967 Palace Villa Marie, Montreal, QC: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead (afternoon free concert)
Montreal in the 1960s had a booming rock scene. Bill Graham came through the city with two of the hottest bands from what was the coolest city in rock at the time, and had them play a free concert downtown at lunchtime. This was unprecedented in Montreal, as it was everywhere else, giving it away for free with the implicit assumption that you couldn't resist paying for it. The only flaw in this strategy was that the Dead never played Montreal or Quebec again, and I'm pretty sure that the Airplane didn't either.

August 6, 1967 Youth Pavilion, Expo '67, Montreal, QC Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead (free concert)
The International World's Fair, known as Expo 67, was held in Montreal from April 27-October 29, 1967. By any standard, the fair was hugely successful. The Dead and The Airplane played for free outdoors at the "Youth Pavilion." The bands probably actually got paid, but as far as I know it was free for the fans, except insofar as they had had to pay for admission to the fair itself.

The Dead, being the Dead, inexplicably decided to do a runner on Graham and the Airplane, abandoning the tour. Graham and the Airplane went on to play shows in Rochester (Aug 7) and Springfield, MA (Aug 8), but the Dead had rented cars and driven to Millbrook, NY. Of course, the Dead had no money, but they had hooked up with some wealthy patrons who could finance the trip. Millbrook was the home base of Timothy Leary and his own patrons. The Dead weren't particularly sympathetic to Leary, but they could smell a good party from a few hundred miles away,

August 10, 1967 rooftop, Chelsea Hotel, New York, N:Y Grateful Dead
As part of their New York adventures, the Dead agreed to play a rooftop concert for Emmett Grogan of The Diggers. Grogan, a real character, had helped found The Diggers back in San Francisco. According to McNally (p.211), the concert on the rooftop of the Chelsea Hotel was something called Trip Without A Ticket. I have no idea how many people actually attended this event--probably not very many, but Grogan was very shrewd at creating what would now be called "free media."

August 11, 1967 Grande Ballroom, Detroit, MI: Grateful Dead/Rationals/Gang or /Southbound Freeway/Bishops
August 12, 1967 Grande Ballroom, Detroit, MI: Grateful Dead/Rationals/Gang or /Southbound Freeway/Ashmollyan Quintet/

The Grande Ballroom in Detroit had a lively rock scene that had been inspired by Detroit DJ Russ Gibb's visits to San Francisco. Starting in October 1966, The Grande was a happening underground scene, with posters and light shows rather than traditional industry support. For all it's San Francisco inspiration, however, the Detroit scene was louder and more R&B oriented than the San Francisco ballrooms. Bands like the Grateful Dead and County Joe And The Fish were just too folkie for the locals, who preferred harder rockers like the MC5. Numerous Michigan and Midwest bands made their bones at the Grande from 1966-68, and were popular throughout the region, even though they were not well known elsewhere in the country.

The handbill had Southbound Freeway with Bishops (Friday) and Ashmollyan Quintet (Saturday) opening for the Dead and The Rationals. A newspaper ad, probably produced nearer the concert, just had the Dead, The Rationals and Gang on both nights.

A current photo of the Bandshell at West Park in Ann Arbor, MI, where the Grateful Dead played a free concert on August 13, 1987. The metal sculpture was probably not there back in the day.

August 13, 1967 West Park, Ann Arbor, MI: Grateful Dead (afternoon free concert)
Ann Arbor, MI, home of the University of Michigan, was about 40 miles from Detroit. University of Michigan is always paired with UC Berkeley as the best public universities, and in the 60s they were also amongst the most forward looking and radical as well. There was always a lot of connections between Berkeley and Ann Arbor, in politics, music and other ways. In that respect, Ann Arbor was a far more fruitful pasture for the Dead than Detroit city.

On the Sunday following the Grande Ballroom shows, the Dead played a free concert in West Park in Ann Arbor, at 215 Chapin Street, under the bandshell. This was apparently the first outdoor free concert in Ann Arbor. McNally (p.211) reports that the free show was financed by Warner Brothers, to promote the album. Notorious Michigan radical John Sinclair was involved, so the Dead were right in the thick of the local political ferment, and there are color photos of the shows.

However, while Ann Arbor may have seemed like a perfect place for the Dead to build an audience with a free concert, a few things got in the way. The first was that the Midwestern weather in Ann Arbor is never very favorable to outdoor shows, and the August show was when school was out. Furthermore, most Ann Arbor students caught their rock shows in Detroit, so there was a lot of overlap. Thus, while I'm sure the Dead had many early adherents in Ann Arbor, those fans were more likely to move to Berkeley than build up the audience in Michigan.

The Kings Beach Bowl in North Lake Tahoe opened in the Summer of 1967. The debut concert on July 21, 1967 featured Country Joe And The Fish and The Creators. The Creators were the house band, along with the Simultaneous Avalanche Light Show, who were from the Sacramento area. The Grateful Dead played later in the Summer, along with other San Francisco bands.

August 19, 1967 American Legion Hall, South Lake Tahoe, CA: Grateful Dead
August 25-26, 1967 Kings Beach Bowl, Lake Tahoe North Shore, CA: Grateful Dead/The Creators
The Grateful Dead returned to the Bay Area, and promptly spent a week in Lake Tahoe, bracketing both weekends with shows on the South and North side of the Lake. Lake Tahoe was the winter and summer playground of San Francisco and Northern California, and there was a huge teenage population on any given night from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In the 60s, there was a unique and largely forgotten rock scene in Lake Tahoe that I have explored at length. Most or all of the teenagers at Lake Tahoe would have recognized the Grateful Dead and other bands from Fillmore posters, even if they were too far from (or not allowed to go to) the Fillmore itself.

The Grateful Dead played Saturday night (August 19) playing the Legion Hall on the South Shore for operator Jim Burgett. The next weekend (August 25-26) they played the new Kings Beach Bowl in North Shore, a converted bowling alley. In between, some band members returned to San Francisco, about a five hour drive. Amazingly, Jerry Garcia and Mountain Girl went camping, at least for a few days. Jerry Garcia probably returned to the City to catch Cream at the Fillmore during this week.

There is a reference to a canceled show at Mt. Tamalpais Amphitheater on August 20, where the power was cut and no bands played, and it turned into a "boogiefest" (implying a giant drum circle). However, while the Dead may have been initially scheduled for such an event, after the July 1-2. 1967, "Festival Of Growing Things,"there were no more electric rock events scheduled at Mt. Tam for decades. So while some local fans may have heard some rumors, there was no chance the Dead were going to show up.

August 28, 1967 Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother And The Holding Company/Grateful DeadChocolate George's Funeral (free afternoon concert)
After their return to Lake Tahoe, the Dead reappeared in San Francisco for the Monday funeral of a popular Hells Angel known as Chocolate George. Big Brother and The Dead played for free, and a ceremonial funeral was held with George's casket (I do not know where he was actually buried).

It was actually a momentous week for the Grateful Dead. Old pal Robert Hunter returned to California from New Mexico, ready to accept Jerry Garcia's offer to be house lyricist. Hunter made landfall at Karl Moore's house in Palo Alto, and Phil Lesh drove down to pick him up. Meanwhile, Cream was still at the Fillmore, and Garcia found time to see them again.

The history of poster collecting has made it appear that the Dead played a show in Santa Cruz County at Cabrillo Junior College on September 2, 1967. The poster was in the book Art Of Rock, and everyone assumed that the event had occurred. In fact, although rock events had been held at the Cabrillo College football field before, I looked into it, and the show was canceled before it happened, as neither the school nor the county wanted a Monterey Pop Festival on their doorstep.

September 3, 1967 Dance Hall, Rio Nido, CA: Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead do appear to have played a Sunday night gig at the tiny dance hall in Rio Nido, CA, a tiny unincorporated community in Sonoma County. There was a tiny dance hall, with room for a few hundred patrons, that dated back until at least the 1940s. It was an ideal spot for out-of-the-way activities where little scrutiny was desired, and the Grateful Dead had some good times there, before they simply outgrew the place.

It is the stuff of legend that the newly-arrived Robert Hunter was sitting outside the Rio Nido Dance Hall, listening to the Dead rehearse what would become "Dark Star," and started to write down the lyrics. Although the date may in fact be September 4, it would not likely have been an actual show. September 4 was Labor Day, although I suppose it is possible that the Dead did play a show that night. More likely, the Dead had left their equipment in place, and were rehearsing there because they could.

The Grateful Dead returned to Eagles Auditorium on September 8-9, 1967, headlining two shows over local bands Magic Fern and Fat Jack.

September 8-9, 1967 Eagles Auditorium, Seattle, WA: Grateful Dead/Magic Fern/Fat Jack
The Grateful Dead returned to Eagles Auditorium in Seattle for a weekend of shows. This was a consistent pattern with the Grateful Dead, where they would play a show in a city, and stick in a free concert in the afternoon, as they had in Seattle (with a free concert at Golden Gardens Beach on Puget Sound on July 16). When they returned, they had a bigger audience the next time around. I should point out that the Dead are hugely popular in Seattle to this day.

Opening the show along with Magic Fern was another newly-arisen Seattle psychedelic band, Fat Jack. Fat Jack was out of Bellngham, WA, where they had opened for the Jefferson Airplane (on May 27 '67) as The Safety Patrol, with Kathi McDonald as lead singer. One of the band members recalls

Shortly after this we fired Kathi because she wouldn't rehearse!!!! We were too dumb to realize that some people don't need to rehearse…they are born ready. It was the best thing we could have done for her, because she immediately went to San Francisco and got discovered by Ike Turner. She was replaced by Ken Cantrell. We had “conquered” Bellingham, so we drifted into Seattle. Our manager was in the right place at the right time when the band that was to open for The Grateful Dead at Eagles Auditorium couldn't go on after their drummer broke his leg in a wreck. So within one week of blowing into town we're on the stage with the Grateful Dead (fall of 1967). A lot of Eagles jobs followed, opening for Country Joe & The Fish, Charles Lloyd, John Fahey, Blue Cheer, etc.

September 9, 1967 Volunteer Park, Seattle, WA: Grateful Dead (afternoon free concert)
Once again, the Dead played for free, this time near downtown Seattle, just a few miles from the University of Washington.

September 15, 1967 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead/(Big Brother And The Holding Company)Bill Graham Presents The San Francisco Scene
Bill Graham was still taking the Fillmore bands on the road. He booked a concert at the huge Hollywood Bowl, featuring the Airplane, the Dead and Big Brother, although Big Brother actually canceled. I don't know how many people actually attended. The Hollywood Bowl, at 2301 North Highland, had a capacity of over 17,000.

September 16, 1967 Elysian Park, Los Angeles, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead (afternoon free concert)
The day after the Hollywood Bowl show, the Dead and the Airplane played a free concert at Elysian Park in Los Angeles. Elysian Park is in Central Los Angeles, near the foot of Sunset Boulevard, and not far from Chavez Ravine and Dodger Stadium. Elysian Park was established in 1886.

September 16 (?), 1967 Convention Center Rotunda, Las Vegas, NV: Grateful Dead
In Tom Constanten's autobiography, he recalls his live debut with the Grateful Dead at the Las Vegas Convention Center around this time (he writes "Sept. 67?"). TC was stationed with the Air Force near Las Vegas at the time. He would hardly have forgotten such a memorable moment, so I am confident that the Dead played Las Vegas Convention Center around this time. However, we cannot date it exactly.

Some time ago, I speculated about it at some length and thought that Saturday, September 16 was a likely date, right after the Friday night Hollywood Bowl show. However, it seems a lot less likely date now, since we know the Dead played a free concert in LA that afternoon. I doubt they played in Las Vegas that night, and I also doubt they played any weeknight. What seems more likely is that they played a weekend gig in Las Vegas in October, perhaps Friday October 13 or a night on the weekend of October 20-21, while they were recording Anthem Of The Sun in Los Angeles. The Convention Center Rotunda, built in 1959 with a capacity of 6,130 seems the most likely venue, if somewhat large for the band. Possibly they shared the bill with another group.

The third weekend for Chet Helms' Family Dog in Denver at 1601 West Evans was held on September 22-23, 1967, featuring the Grateful Dead and Mother Earth.

September 22-23, 1967 The Family Dog, Denver, CO: Grateful Dead/Mother Earth
Chet Helms had plans to expand the Family Dog footprint beyond San Francisco. His idea was that he could compete more effectively with Bill Graham if he could offer touring bands multiple weekend gigs in different cities. Helms' first effort was Denver, which seemed like a great idea. It was a booming town, and it made sense for rock bands to stop in Colorado on their way to and from California. For his venue, Helms leased a building at 1601 West Evans, the former site of a very mysterious franchise of the Whisky-A-Go-Go.

The Denver Dog, as it was known, had opened on September 8, 1967 with Big Brother And The Holding Company. Quicksilver headlined the next weekend, and the Grateful Dead headlined the third weekend. It was a great idea and a good plan, except for one thing: the County Sheriff. The Sheriff hated hippies, and constant harassment of the venue, the bands and the fans rapidly drove the Denver Dog into economic failure. The career of Canned Heat was ruined due to an untimely bust, and no doubt many lesser known patrons had their lives wrecked by pot busts and other problems. Bob Seger's song "Get Out Of Denver" immortalizes the view of hippies held by the Sheriff's Department at the time.

Helms had pulled out of Denver by the end of 1967, although some employees of the Denver Dog continued to put on shows through mid-1968. Their use of the Family Dog logo was tolerated, although from a historical point of view, the '68 shows were not Family Dog. One of the key figures in the 1968 operation was young Barry Fey, who became the biggest promoter in Denver and the Mountain West in general. Opening act Mother Earth was based in San Francisco, even though most of the members were from Texas, and lead singer Tracy Nelson was from Madison, WI.

September 24, 1967 city park, Denver, CO: Grateful Dead
True to their pattern, the Grateful Dead played a free concert at a city park in Denver. I'm not sure exactly which park it was, although there are photos. The photos show a very small and casual event, with not even a raised stage. Now, of course, the remaining band members can play Folsom Field, but it seems to have started with a little fun in the park on a Saturday afternoon.

September 29-30, 1967 The Straight Theater, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Sons Of Champlin
The Grateful Dead returned to the Straight Theater for a weekend of shows. The venue still did not have a Dance Hall Permit, but they discovered that dance lessons did not require a Permit. Thus dancer Anna Halprin began each evening's program with some dance instruction, and the bands provided a few hours of music for everyone to "practice." This charade sufficed to cause the police to leave the Straight alone. Some silent video circulates from this event.

Mickey Hart went to see the Friday night show (Sep 29), and at the break another drum set was procured so he could sit in. By the end of the show, Hart was in the Grateful Dead.

October 1, 1967 Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Grateful Dead/Charles Lloyd/Bola Sete
On Sunday, the Grateful Dead debuted at the Greek Theatre in UC Berkeley. "The Greek," as it is known locally, was built in 1903, modeled after theaters in ancient Athens. The funding was provided by William Randolph Hearst. The Greek has a capacity of 8,500, huge by the standards of 60s rock concerts, so it wasn't widely used until the rock market got big enough to absorb crowds of that size. The first performance at The Greek was of Arisophanes "The Birds." Speakers at The Greek have included Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and shoulda-been President Robert F. Kennedy. Musical performers at The Greek have been too numerous to mention.

Bola Sete was a popular jazz guitarist, and Charles Lloyd was friendly with the Dead. His quartet at the time probably included Keith Jarrett, Ron McClure and Jack DeJohnette. The Grateful Dead would go on to play many memorable shows at The Greek in the 1980s, as would Jerry Garcia. The venue is still going strong, after a recent seismic retrofit.

The Grateful Dead headlined a Saturday night concert at The Continental Ballroom in Santa Clara (a San Jose suburb) on October 14, 1967. The opening acts were local groups The Powers Of Evil and Om.

October 14, 1967 Continental Ballroom, Santa Clara, CA: Grateful Dead/Powers Of Evil/Om
The Grateful Dead headlined another show at the Continental Ballroom on Saturday, October 14. I don't know who the promoter might have been. The other acts are familiar names from psychedelic San Jose area shows at the time, although I know nothing about them specifically.

The famous "Trip Or Freak" poster was a collaboration of Kelly, Mouse and Rick Griffin. The poster was made particularly famous by Paul Grushkin's book The Art Of Rock. However, I cannot confirm that the concert advertised for Halloween 1967 was actually held, since the same bands had played Winterland just nine days earlier.

October 22, 1967 Winterland, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother and The Holding Company/Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service
October 31, 1967 Winterland, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother and The Holding Company/Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service
There is something odd and unexamined about these two posters from Winterland. BGP had first call on Winterland, but other promoters could use the hall. Often the San Francisco bands would finance their own shows at Winterland, sometimes hiring some or all of Graham's production staff to do so. Usually those shows were not on Friday and Saturday nights. Certainly, the October 22 show was a Sunday night, and the Halloween show would have been on a Tuesday. The posters advertise the same three bands for both events. There seems to be a vault tape of the Grateful Dead show on October 22, 1967, so it seems likely that all three bands put on a Sunday night Winterland show on that date.

However, Winterland had an official capacity of 5,400, which was huge for the rock market at the time (the Fillmore was about 1,500). Without Jefferson Airplane, there was no way SF bands could fill Winterland, given that they played around the area constantly. There's no reason to think that the bands didn't play on October 22. However, it seems extremely unlikely that the bands would repeat the booking just nine days later, even if it was Halloween. Is there any evidence other than the poster that the 1967 Halloween concert actually took place?

My hypothesis is that the "Trip Or Freak" poster is so memorable that it has become notable in collecting circles, as well it should have. However, many posters were produced for shows that did not occur, and I am waiting for evidence that the Halloween show actually happened. More likely, the bands were considering various dates, and more than one poster got produced.

November 10-11, 1967 Shrine Exposition Hall, Los Angeles, CA: Buffalo Springfield/Grateful Dead/Blue Cheer
The Grateful Dead had headed down to Los Angeles to start work on their second album. Once again, they recorded with Dave Hassinger at RCA Studio A (at 6363 Sunset Blvd), where they had recorded their first album. The sessions weren't that fruitful, as everyone knows, but in between the sessions they found time to play a weekend of shows at The Shrine Exposition Hall in Los Angeles with the Buffalo Springfield and the San Francisco band Blue Cheer.

The Shrine Exposition Hall was Los Angeles' premier concert venue in the 1960s, and there has been very little detailed history of it (I am working on it). Pinnacle was the first big concert promoter at the The Shrine, and they put on many classic shows that were immortalized by great posters. The Shrine was built in 1925 by the Al Malikah Temple of the Masonic Order. The building is in a Spanish Colonial Style with a Moorish flair. The main entrance to the Auditorium was at 665 West Jefferson Street. The stage is huge (186 by 72 feet) and it is a popular home for the Academy Awards. The Auditorium has 6,489 seats on three levels. The Exposition Hall, part of the same complex but around the corner at 700 West 32nd (at Figueroa) is a 56,000 square foot open area that was (and is) used for trade shows and conventions as well as rock concerts. Most rock concert listings that say “Shrine” are typically at the Exposition Hall rather than the Auditorium.

December 8-9, 1967 Psychedelic Supermarket, Boston, MA; Grateful Dead
Unhappy at RCA Studios, the Grateful Dead had trucked their equipment eastwards, and continued recording Anthem Of The Sun with Dave Hassinger at Century Studios in New York. While the band was in New York for most of a month, they presumably needed to play some shows in order to raise some needed cash. The Boston rock market was always booming, and by 1967 there were already competing psychedelic venues. The Dead accepted a weekend booking at a now-obscure place called The Psychedelic Supermarket. The Supermarket was a converted parking garage near Kenmore Square, at 590 Commonwealth Avenue. Actually, the entrance was in an alleyway, but the Commonwealth Avenue address made the place easier to find.

The Psychedelic Supermarket had been rapidly created to accommodate a Cream booking. Promter George Popadopolis had run a nearby folk coffee shop, called The Unicorn (at 815 Boylston), but he saw an opportunity when Cream was available. However, although numerous fantastic acts played the Psychedelic Supermarket, the venue is not remembered fondly by either bands or fans. The promoter was notoriously cheap, the venue unattractive and the sound was terrible. The Supermarket lasted through the end of 1968, briefly changed its name to The Unicorn, but faded away by mid-69. The venue became a movie theater called The Nickelodeon, and was ultimately torn down to provide a new science building for Boston University.

December 9, 1967 Atwood Hall, Clark University, Worcester, MA: Grateful Dead (afternoon show)
Atwood Hall was a relatively tiny auditorium, capacity 658, on the campus of Clark University. Although an April 20, 1969 performance was known, the Archive comment thread indicated that Jerry Garcia apologized for the band's previous appearance 18 months earlier. Thanks to the internet, my post on this subject brought forth the details, including the hitherto unseen poster at the top of the post.

As the Dead were playing Boston for a payday, an afternoon show at a nearby University was another way to get some funds. Since the show was probably subsidized by Clark U, the band could get their fee even at a tiny place. By the same token, since the venue was small, the booking wouldn't interfere with any agreement with the Psychedelic Supermarket. Clark University, founded in 1887, was a small liberal arts school in Worcester (pronounced, I believe "wooster"), about an hour West of Boston.

Although I am not generally interested in debunking incorrect dates, I should point out that there is no evidence whatsoever, none, that the Grateful Dead played the Shrine Auditorium on December 13, 1967, much less debuted "Dark Star" there. For one thing, the band was on the East Coast, and for another, there were never weekday shows at the Shrine. In any case, there is no other evidence.

An ad for the December 22-24, 1967 Grateful Dead concerts at Palm Gardens on W.52nd Street in Manhattan. The Palm Gardens was an old ballroom from the 1920s, and seemed to be a base for The Group Image, who were a band, a commune and a sort of community organization all at once.

December 22-24 Palm Gardens, New York, NY: Grateful Dead/The Gray Company/Aluminum Dream/Group Image

The Grateful Dead had finished their unsatisfying NYC recording effort by the end of December. With all their equipment and crew in the East, the band must have needed money to get home. The band played a weekend show at The Palm Gardens. It was at 310 W. 52nd Street, right near Midtown and the Broadway theaters. Of course, Its All The Streets You Crossed has the best information. The Palm Gardens seems to have been a ballroom from the 1920s, and was one of the home bases of the NYC hippie rock band The Group Image, who acted sort of as hosts of the Grateful Dead when they were in town. I don't know anything about The Gray Company or Aluminum Dream.

December 26-27 Village Theater, New York, NY: Grateful Dead/Peggy Emerson/Take Five
The Grateful Dead played a weekend in old theater in the East Village, at 2nd Avenue and 6ht Street. The Village Theater would become famous a few months later when Bill Graham and Albert Grossman would refurbish it and open it as the Fillmore East, but in late '67, it was just another old theater. According to numerous sources, on at least one night, the rundown building had holes in the roof, and when it snowed, it was actually snowing on the stage.

December 29-30, 1967 Psychedelic Supermarket, Boston, MA: Grateful Dead
The Dead seemed to have returned to The Psychedelic Supermarket for another weekend. This suggests that the first weekend must have gone pretty well. I have to assume, by the way, that there were opening acts for both Supermarket weekends, but I don't know who that might have been. The Supermarket just had generic flyers, not posters, and there was no specific information in the MIT student paper (the best source) nor the Harvard Crimson.

>December 31, 1967 Winterland
The Grateful Dead were scheduled to arrive in San Francisco during the day, and expected to go jam with Quicksilver Messenger Service at Winterland that night. Quicksilver was playing that night along with Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother. The story goes, however, that while the band arrived home in time, someone made them some brownies, and they all fell asleep--no doubt due to the delicious chocolatey goodness--and they never got to Winterland to jam. It's possible that Bob Weir and a drummer did turn up on stage later that night, but there wasn't a quorum of band members.

Rodney Albin (1940-84), probably in the late 1970s. (Photo: Christopher Newton collection)

Jerry Garcia, like everybody, had many friends who died before he did. Yet Jerry didn't perform at many wakes--six by my count. Two of these performances were for friends who are always placed next to Jerry in the firmament: Janis Joplin's wake at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo (October 26, 1970) for a few invited guests, and Bill Graham's memorial concert in Golden Gate Park (November 3, 1991) for 300,000 friends who dropped by. Back in the Summer Of Love, the Grateful Dead had played a "funeral" at Golden Gate Park (August 28, 1967) for a Hell's Angel named Chocolate George. Another event was "The Bob Fried Memorial Boogie," at Winterland (June 17, 1975), for the family of poster artist Bob Fried. While Fried's name was not well-known, his posters were popular classics of psychedelic California rock poster art. Similarly, when Bay Area traffic reporter Jane Dornacker died in a helicopter accident, Garcia, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart played at the Benefit concert at The Warfield (November 22, 1986). While Dornacker had deep roots in the Haight Ashbury underground, she had also been a popular local radio personality.

Yet the other wake is for a character far less known, the Rodney Albin Memorial Concert at a club called Wolfgang's in San Francisco, on August 28, 1984. Jerry Garcia and John Kahn were the headliners, but they played along with many old friends of Rodney Albin's that night. Rodney Albin's name was hardly known amongst Deadheads at the time, and even those who knew of him hardly realized his impact, but he was an absolutely critical figure in the history of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, and the Haight-Ashbury as a whole. This post will take a closer look at why Rodney Albin (1940-84) was such an important figure, and why his memorial concert brought together so many old friends.

The Boar's Head, Summer 1961
The Fillmore, the Avalon, LSD and the Haight Ashbury hippies all came to the surface in the Summer of 1966, and they went nationwide the next year. Although it is 60s teenagers who recall the incipient clarion call to open minds and freedom from that time, the actual participants were in their 20s. The likes of Owsley, Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia had been around for a while, trying to create a tiny alternative universe, only to discover they had built a new paradigm. In order to found that new world, a few lonely pioneers had been searching for the next iteration in places like San Francisco and Cambridge. They found each other because there wasn't that many of them.

Rodney Albin, like Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, was searching for something different. Rodney and his younger brother Peter were from a well-to-do but not wealthy family in Belmont, a suburb of San Francisco, nearer to the City than Palo Alto. In 1961, Rodney was a student at the College of San Mateo, a junior college in the Mid-Peninsula area. He was friendly with some Stanford University freshmen who liked folk music, among them Ted Claire and Richard Astle. How they knew each other isn't exactly clear, but there would have been only a small number of "folkies" in the area and somehow they made the connection. In the early 60s, Stanford University was respectable, but not the West Coast Ivy school it is today. Thus, a Stanford freshman would have seen a student at a nearby JC (San Mateo is about 20 miles North, nearer San Francisco) as a fellow college man.

Rodney Albin started the first folk club in the South Bay, called The Boar's Head. The Boar's Head was a tiny loft that seated at most 40 people (per McNally), above a metaphysical book store called the San Carlos Book Stall, at 1101 (or 1107) San Carlos Street. Rodney's brother Peter's best friend was a fellow Carlmont High student named David Nelson. Rodney had already guided Nelson's future career by saying "you know what you would like? Bluegrass," but he was about to have an even bigger influence. In a remarkable interview with the JGMF research staff, Nelson describes Rodney Albin getting Peter and Nelson into a car to go to Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, because Rodney said,“c'mon boys were going down to Kepler’s bookstore, and pick up some of those beatniks, get them to come to our club." He also added, "we've got to find this guy Jerry Garcia."

A January 2011 aerial view, from Hoover Tower, of the Wilbur Hall Residence Complex at 658 Escondido Drive on the Stanford University campus. The Wilbur complex consists of 8 residence halls and a Dining Commons. In 1961, Jerry Garcia and Bob Hunter played their first gig at the lounge in Arroyo Hall. This umpaid gig likely connected them to Ted Claire and Richard Astle, and ultimately to Rodney Albin

How did Rodney even know about Garcia? It's hard to say for sure, but Garcia and Bob Hunter's first, unpaid gig had been at Stanford's freshman dorm (Wilbur Hall), and they were apparently regular, if informal, performers at the Stanford University coffee shop and some fraternity parties. So the evidence seems to point towards some Stanford freshmen who had met them, particularly Ted Claire. In any case, Nelson and the Albins found Garcia holding court at Kepler's, and invited him to play the Boar's Head. According to McNally, after Garcia cheerfully agreed, Rodney added "can you bring anyone else? Tell everybody." Garcia and Hunter played the Boar's Head in the Summer of '61, and Rodney had set the wheels in motion.

The Boar's Head, Summer 1962
The Boar's Head had packed the space above the San Carlos Book Stall in the Summer of '61, and it needed more space. However small it was, folk music was happenin'. For the Summer of '62, The Boar's Head was located at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Belmont. The newly organized Wildwood Boys, with Garcia, Hunter and Nelson, were regulars, and Garcia played with various other aggregations. The earliest widely circulated Garcia tape, from June 11, 1962, an old-timey configurations with Marshall Leicester and Dick Arnold, under the name Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers, was from the Boar's Head. The Boar's Head actually lasted through the next two Summers, up to 1964, when it eventually faded away.

Christopher Newton's book The First Few Friends I Had (2013 Pondering Pig Press) is an insightful look at Bay Area teenagers who were too late for the Beats and too soon for the hippies.

The Proto-Hippie Wilderness
Most rock music fans pay attention to San Francisco and the Haight Ashbury in the mid-60s. Depending on your exact interests, attention usually gets focused on the Summer of Love in 1967, or the opening of the Fillmore and Avalon in 1966, or the Acid Tests and Mime Troupe Benefits in late 1965. Yet in order for those events to happen, there had to be a community of like-minded souls, a few years older than the teenage hippies who recall the Summer Of Love so fondly. And there was. Jerry Garcia, Grace Slick, David Crosby and a few other legends are the most famous of those characters, but there were enough of them to form a subculture, just after The Beats but still before the hippies. If you look hard enough, you can find their stories.

Christopher Newton was a mid-1950s teenager in suburban San Mateo, just South of San Francisco, midway between the City and Palo Alto, bordered by the El Camino Real. Today, young people set off after high school with all sorts of options--not just sensible college majors like BioStatistics or Hotel Management, but less prudent ones like Rhetoric or Contemplative Studies, or Outward Bound opportunities in the Great Outdoors, all in the service of a better inner and outer life. No such thing existed back in the 1950s. If neither factory work nor middle-class conformity appealed to you, what did you do? For all of those seekers, the answer was pretty much the same: read Jack Kerouac, and search for something different and meaningful on the margins of American life.

Newton has written a very interesting book about his efforts to find his place in the Bay Area pre-hippie wildnerness, from the mid-50s to the mid-60s. The First Few Friends I Had (Pondering Pig Press, 2013) is a very personal tale of Newton's friends and life in those days, but famous characters like Jerry Garcia and Chet Helms wander through the narrative, as they were part of that world. Newton has also written a blog (The Pondering Pig) that includes additional material, and between the blog and the book, we get a sharp picture of how Rodney Albin was so personally important to those seekers in the early days.

San Francisco State College
After some false starts, Newton ends up at San Francisco State College in the Fall of 1962, at the new (and current) campus at 19th Avenue and Holloway, near Lake Merced. Up until 1959, SF State was on Buchanan street, which was why so many SF State students still lived in the Haight Ashbury. It was there that Newton met Rodney Albin. He describes the encounter and their growing friendship in some detail in his blog:

Late one morning in, I suppose, the Fall of 1962, I exited San Francisco State’s HLL building, where the boring part of my initiation into high Western culture took place, and ambled across the lawn towards the Commons to get coffee and see what was up...
On this particular morning, I happened to notice a new folkie sitting cross-legged on the lawn, surrounded by the regulars and passing around a dulcimer he had just built. He was a tall gangly kind of folknik, just transferred in from the College of San Mateo, a junior college on the Peninsula. He was wearing bright red trousers, a stove-piped hat and tails, and he was playing The Battle of New Orleans on his fiddle. No. Wait a minute. That’s got to be my imagination. The top hat and tails didn’t come until later. OK, he was dressed like a normal person. It was his dulcimer that was extraordinary.
Interested in dulcimers myself, I forgot about the coffee (never easy to do) and squeezed into the circle. That dulcimer was pretty cool, all right. Shaped like Jayne Mansfield with soft flowing curves and strummed with a sea gull feather, you could tune it to any interesting modal scale you might be in the mood for, brush its strings with that quill, and there you were, mournful and lost in the holler, sounding like you’d been born in Viper, Kentucky instead of San Francisco. I started in on an improvised, sea gull strummed Pretty Polly, and pretty soon I was hooked. The Commons fled and there I was in some longago fog shrouded mountain glen, watching some no-goodnik do in Pretty Polly while the pretty little birdies mourned. It sounded like magic, and Rodney had created the damn thing out of a piece of spruce.

I got to know Rodney after a while and discovered he was from the next holler over. My holler was called San Mateo and his they called Belmont. He and his younger brother Peter were still living with their parents in an upper middle class shack in the Belmont hills. I also discovered that Rodney wasn’t the new guy – I was. He was well-known in folk circles up and down the Peninsula and across the Bay in Berkeley. He’d masterminded the folk music festival at the College of San Mateo where young Jerry Garcia made his debut to an unappreciative audience of frat rats. Rodney and George ‘The Beast’ Howell [one of Newton's best friends] had opened the Boar’s Head the preceding summer, a folk-oriented coffeehouse in the loft above the book store in San Carlos where George worked. Garcia and the other Palo Alto folkniks regularly showed up there to jam into the weekend nights.

Over the next few years, Rodney Albin facilitated Newton's passage into the nascent but growing little counterculture that would flower a few years later.

I started dropping in to see Rodney when I was down that way. On my first visit, he showed me the six string balalaika he’d built out of orange crate wood. It was his first sort of crude try at building an instrument. He was way beyond now of course. He’d already finished a viol de gamba, and now he was building a harpsichord on his bedroom floor. Its parts spread hither and thither across the carpet; tools, a reel to reel tape recorder and an unmade bed filled the rest. He used the tape machine to record performances at the Boar’s Head. Apparently some of these tapes still exist and are passed from hand to hand in Deadhead circles. They would include: Garcia, Ron McKernan, David Nelson, Rodneys’s brother Peter of course, and other less talented performers who went on to become teachers and bureaucrats and accountants – but still played pretty good.

The Society Column from the San Mateo Times of September 3, 1964, announces that the folk music entertainment for Caroline Reid's debutante party was provided by the Liberty Hill Aristocrats.

The Liberty Hill Aristocrats
Folk music had been popular since the 1950s, thanks to groups like The Weavers and The Kingston Trio. By the early 60s, however, there started to be some interest in colleges and suburbs with more serious American folk music, whether bluegrass like Bill Monroe or like its predecessor, generally known as "Old Timey" or String Band music. With new folk clubs like The Boar's Head and The Top Of The Tangent in Palo Alto, which opened in January 1963, there was room for Rodney Albin to start his own aggregation, the Liberty Hill Aristocrats.

The Liberty Hill Aristocrats featured Rodney Albin and his younger brother Peter, along with various other members, some of them part time. One apparently semi-permanent member was fellow student Ed Bogas, a classically trained violinist and pianist who would moonlight on fiddle. Peter Albin, already a fine musician by the end of High School, played guitar and banjo, and Rodney played more exotic folk instruments, many of them apparently constructed by himself.

Unlike rock bands, traditional folk music groups could have floating memberships, since there was no need for amplifiers. A friend could be invited up from the (usually tiny) crowd to sing along or play harmonica on a song they knew. So attempting to work out the actual membership of the Liberty Hill Aristocrats beyond the Albin brothers and perhaps Ed Bogas is a futile exercise. Also, at places like the Boar's Head or The Tangent, groups of fellow musicians would climb on stage for one-time performances of songs that may have been rehearsed just a few minutes before. A widely circulated tape of the Albins and Pigpen, along with singer/guitarist Ellen Cavanagh, playing blues at The Boar's Head as The Second Story Men seems to be one such group. The Second Story Men existed alongside the Liberty Hill Aristocrats, as there were no practical barriers to having multiple bands.

The Liberty Hill Aristocrats played what gigs they could. There were a few gigs at folk clubs, and since folk music was now cool, they seemed to have played at least one debutante party, and probably more. By September 1964 (the date of the Society item from the San Mateo Times clip posted above), both Albins were attending San Francisco State. However, the Albins probably knew the debutantes from around Belmont. By this time, Ted Claire may have been a member of the Liberty Hill Aristocrats, at least some of the time, and another guitarist named Jeffrey Dambreau may have played with them also. In any case, both eventually joined the band. A decade later, Robert Hunter would also play with the Liberty Hill Aristocrats on occasion.

1090 Page Street
Newton also has a detailed recollection of Rodney Albin's most critical contribution to the rise of Haight Ashbury (from the blog):

Sometime in the spring or summer of 1964, Rodney Albin’s uncle acquired a twenty-two room Victorian boarding house on the corner of Page and Broderick Streets in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. The place had seen better days. Built in the 1880s by the owner of a high-toned downtown haberdashery, it had all the modern 1888 conveniences – speaking tubes, a doorbell that rang on each floor, and gas lighting sconces on the walls for when the electricity went out. Its pearl, though, was in the basement: a full-sized ballroom with a stage in one alcove. The entire room was lined with glowing virgin redwood panels.

But in the 1940s, 1090 Page Street was downscaled from a mansion to a boarding house. Life Magazine mentioned it in a 1961 story titled “The Irish in America.” It featured a full-page photo of thirty ‘typical Irish’ working stiffs and Mrs. Minton, their landlady, all leaning out the windows of 1090 Page waving madly.

For Rodney’s uncle, the building was strictly a business investment. He was planning to tear it down and replace it with federally funded senior housing. But the deal was bogged down in Washington somewhere, so Rodney approached him – he knew a way his uncle could make some money on the place while he waited to finalize the deal. Why not rent rooms to San Francisco State students? Why, it happened that Rodney himself was a State student. With his connections he could easily fill the place with the most respectable type of student, earnest and studious. Rodney guaranteed him $600 a month, and was soon installed as landlord of what would become possibly the most renowned proto-hippie/scruffy student pad in San Francisco’s short history. By fall, the place was jumping. Since rooms began at $15 a month, it was affordable, to say the least.

A ticket to a jam session in the basement in 1090 Page Street, hosted by Rodney Albin (calligraphy by Rodney as well)

Big Brother And The Sopwith Camel
In the basement of 1090 Page Street there was a huge ballroom. Many of the boarders were budding musicians, and they started playing music down there. A resident of a nearby building, a Texas transplant named Chet Helms, started organizing regular Wednesday night jam sessions, early in 1965. After repeated jams, some actual bands started to form. The first one to form was in late 1965, with Peter Albin and others. They made a list of possible names, and chose Big Brother And The Holding Company. Chet Helms became their manager, and they debuted in Berkeley on January 15, 1966. By the middle of 1966 Big Brother were regulars at Helms' new venue. the Avalon Ballroom. They were missing something, however, so Helms recruited his Texas friend Janis Joplin, and stardom followed.

The second band to come out of 1090 Page Street surfaced in early 1966. They took the same list of possible band names as Big Brother had, and chose another name: Sopwith Camel. They lacked a bass player, however, and auditioned various 1090 Page jam session participants. Much to the surprise of everyone, Rodney Albin tried out as their bass player. Rodney was a folk purist who appeared to look down on rock and roll, yet here he was trying it on. However, he didn't get the gig. Sopwith Camel isn't widely remembered today, but they were one of the first San Francisco bands signed in 1966, and they had one of the first hits with a song called "Hello, Hello," so once again Rodney passed on another opportunity. He may not have entirely wanted it. Newton alludes to the fact that even back in 1965, Rodney Albin had a persistent ulcer, and the late nights and travel of the itinerant rock and roller may not have been desirable, However, thanks to 1090 Page and the jam sessions, Rodney Albin was still a crucial fulcrum in the history of the Haight Ashbury,

A business card for Rodney Albin at Haight Street Music, at 1418 Haight (at Masonic). In 1967, the address had been a boutique called Wild Colors; now it is a restaurant called Hippie Street Thai Food

Haight Street Music, 1418 Haight Street (at Masonic)
Rodney Albin's musical activities are fairly undocumented from 1966 through 1973, a curious fact for such a critical figure in the usually well-researched Haight Ashbury scene. Brother Peter, of course, rose to the top with Big Brother, only to see it crumble when Janis left the group at the end of 1968, He joined Country Joe and The Fish for the first part of 1969 and then Big Brother reformed in 1969 and put out two pretty good, if unheralded albums (Be A Brother in 1970 and 1971's How Hard It Is). Peter remained in Big Brother through 1971, so Rodney certainly had connections to the electric rock world.

However, I do know that Rodney worked at Haight Street Music, a store that seems to have emphasized acoustic string instruments rather than the more popular electric instrumentation. I know that the Liberty Hill Aristocrats continued to play, although exactly where remains obscure. By the end of the 60s, Ted Claire and Jeffrey Dambreau were definitely members of the group, whatever exactly that meant.

I suspect that Rodney Albin made a living during this period primarily as a luthier, building and repairing instruments. He seems to have been a San Francisco version of David Lindley. While no one can compare to Mr. Dave's ability to excel on infinite stringed instruments, some custom made, Rodney seems to still have been a source for instruments that may have needed special constructions. I have learned that in the late 1960s, Rodney Albin was building electric violins for various musicians. What few extant electric violins there were had been hand built at the time, so any violinists who wanted an electric axe would have welcomed Rodney's work.

On August 3, 1969, the Grateful Dead played The Family Dog On The Great Highway, and they were joined by a saxophonist and an electric violinist. Fellow scholars and I have searched in vain for their identities. There were so few electric violinists at the time, that some of the obvious choices like David LaFlamme (It's A Beautiful Day) and Michael White (John Handy, The Fourth Way) have personally indicated that it was definitely not them. A lesser known electric violinist from that time, John Tenney, who played sessions (including the mysterious Pigpen sessions for Mercury in 1969) and in two cover bands, This Ole World and Mother's Country Jam, assured us it was not him, either, but he had some intriguing insights in a personal email:

Don't know what to tell you about the fiddle player. It doesn't sound like LaFlamme to me either... He was much more melodic, and that scrubby bluegrassy (but non-authentic) playing at the end of "Caution Do Not Stop on Tracks" sounds weird in places, almost as if played on a 5-string hybrid violin/viola (I'm hearing high E string and also low C string both). That was not common yet that early; came in a lot more when real electric string instruments were developed in the 70s and 80s. Do you know anything about a player named Rodney Albin? He was brother of Peter Albin, who played in Big Brother. Rodney was a violin maker, also was I believe the manager of the famous house on Page Street (1090?) where the Dead lived early on. He could have made a hybrid 5-string, definitely had the capability for it. He was not an excellent player, but then again neither is the player on these tracks. Incidentally he also made the electric violin that I played on then.

So we know Rodney was making custom electric violins in 1969, and there is even the chance that he is the mysterious electric fiddler at the Family Dog.

Roadhog
As the Grateful Dead became more famous, Robert Hunter remained a mystery. Thus it was a great surprise to Deadheads in 1976 when Hunter started appearing locally with a bar band called Roadhog, singing many of the songs from his two Round Records solo albums. In fact, it turned out that Roadhog had surfaced in 1973, and Hunter had been working with them since their inception. Initially, Hunter appeared to have been the "staff writer," like he was with the Dead. By 1974, he was surreptitiously appearing on stage with Roadhog under the Nom Du Rock of "Lefty Banks."

Commenter runonguinness, a fellow scholar, tracked down a quote from theGrateful Dead newsletter:

The idea for a Hunter album goes back to the start of Round Records in the Spring of 73. Here's an announcement from the Deadheads newsletter #10 from May 73 page 5:
"Robert Hunter has written the material for his own album and recorded it with Liberty, a Bay Area band. To be released."

I have never come across another mention of a band called Liberty and suspect this was actually Rodney Albin and friends. His early 60s band was the Liberty Hill Aristocrats and my theory is he was still using a variant of the name.

And here he finds the money quote, from a 1979 issue of the British fanzine Dark Star:

And here’s Hunter discussing Roadhog from the third and final part of a Ken Hunt interview in late 1979 published in Dark Star No 25 p 43
KH: How did you come to get involved with Roadhog? As far as I can tell, they were an existing band.
RH: Well, I had played with the band that became Roadhog, oh, ten or twelve years ago. They used to be called the Liberty Hall (sic) Aristocrats. It was Rodney Albin’s band. He just kept the band together for years and years and years. He was always inviting me to stop by and play with them. And I did. I went under the name of Lefty Banks, ‘cause I knew I had a reputation that I didn’t want to destroy at that point – until I got good enough as a performer to use my real name. So I had to join the band to learn how to play electric music. It’s funny, I used to be very at ease on stage playing along, but then after all those years when I got in with Roadhog, I was having shaky legs. I was terrified. There was one time we were playing a fraternity party over in Berkeley and Rodney said, ‘Now Lefty’s going to sing a Robert Hunter tune for you,’ and I did “Must Have Been The Roses”. There was some kid there and he said, ‘Gosh! That sounds just like Robert Hunter!’ That was a great masquerade.

The members of Roadhog were

Jeffrey Dambreau-guitar, vocals
Ted Claire-guitar, vocals
Shelley Ralston-vocals
Rodney Albin-bass, electric violin, vocals
Bill Summers-drums
withLefty Banks [Robert Hunter]-acoustic and electric guitar, vocals
--the guitarists, including Hunter, would play bass when Rodney played fiddle

Tales Of The Great Rum Runners, Robert Hunter's debut album on Round (RX-101), released in June 1974. Rodney Albin was credited on two tracks. This was likely the first time he had recorded on a record that was released.

The genesis story of Roadhog and Robert Hunter will make a remarkable post, when I get around to writing it. I have written a detailed post of Hunter's publicly announced appearances with Roadhog. Back in 1973, Roadhog recorded what appears to be an album demo at Mickey Hart's Novato barn. Hunter wrote many, but not all, of the songs, and sang lead on quite a few of them. Most, but not all of the Hunter songs turned up on Hunter's June 1974 solo album, Tales Of The Great Rum Runners, which was the first album released on Round Records (RX-101).

Albin and Ted Claire play on Rum Runners, and Jeff Dambreau is thanked. Rodney Albin plays fiddle on the title track, and Claire and Rodney join in on the vocals for "Boys In The Barroom."For all Rodney's essential history, his appearance on Hunter's solo album appears to have been his first appearance on a publicly available recording.

The A-side of the privately released 1974 Roadhog single, with the song "Rotate Your Stock," written by guitarist Jeff Dambreau. The b-side was Van Morrison's "Wild Night"

Throughout 1974 and 1975, Roadhog continued to play around the Bay Area and occasionally elsewhere. Robert Hunter appeared with them regularly, but was never billed. There is at least one instance, at a 1975 show in Oregon, where his identity on stage seems to have been acknowledged. Without an internet, however, such information was generally unavailable to Deadheads. Rather oddly, Roadhog had a privately released 45 rpm single, available only at shows. The tracks were a Jeffrey Dambreau original, "Rotate Your Stock", backed by a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night," sung by Shelley Ralston. The tracks were recorded at a legendary SF studio called Funky Features. Funky Features, also known as Funky Jack's. Proprietor Jack Leahy had built a studio in the basement of his Haight Ashbury home at 142 Central Avenue, and it was a fine sounding alternative to more expensive studios like Wally Heiders.

I don't think the Roadhog single was really a commercial proposition. Back in 1974-75, demos were expensive, and not every nightclub even had a cassette deck. However, by giving a club the 45 rpm single, the booker could hear what Roadhog sounded like. I believe that is why they recorded a straightforward cover of "Wild Night," to show that they played danceable covers along with original material. Obviously, if Roadhog sold a few singles to fans, they were happy with that, but it probably wasn't a big part of the plan. I don't think Hunter played on this record, but Rodney Albin surely did.

Robert Hunter and Comfort
Around Halloween '76, Roadhog called it a day. Round Records had already folded, so no further solo albums seemed in the offing. Hunter played a few gigs with Barry Melton in November, but he put his performing career on hold. Nonetheless, he explained what happened next to Ken Hunt of Dark Star:

RH: …I got out of the business for nine months or so. And then (resignedly), Rodney had another band after a while, Comfort, and they were such a good band. He told me that they were going to break up unless I joined them, ‘cause they couldn’t afford to stay together any longer. So back to a life of music.

Comfort had actually formed back in 1973, as a sort of songwriting collective. Comfort had even shared bills with Roadhog at some smaller clubs in the Bay Area. By 1977, however, Rodney Albin had joined up with them, and he persuaded Hunter to join, too. Hunter actually supported the band through his Grateful Dead songwriting royalties, putting the band on salary and paying for recording an album at Front Street. It was Hunter's most serious effort at being a rock musician, and it came to pass because Rodney Albin persuaded him to do it.

The members of Comfort were

Robert Hunter-vocals, guitar, harmonica
Kevin Morgenstern-lead guitar
Rodney Albin-fiddle, mandolin, vocals
Marlene Molle-vocals [later married Rodney Albin]
Kathleen Klein-vocals [married to Larry Klein]
Richard McNees-keyboards
--replaced by Ozzie Ahlers in January 1978 [Ahlers recommended by John Kahn]
Larry Klein-bass [not the Larry Klein who married Joni Mitchell]
Pat Lorenzano-drums

Hunter wrote various songs for Comfort, and was the primary lead singer. The main composition was a remarkable suite of songs called "Alligator Moon," with lyrics by Hunter and music by McNees and Morgenstern. Their was also a sort of dance production that went with the suite, and on a few occasions in the Bay Area (in February 1978) Comfort added three ballerinas to the show as well. Video was made, but it has never surfaced to my knowledge. The entire production was financed by Hunter.

Comfort recorded an album at Front Street Studios, financed by Hunter--though I don't doubt that Front Street proprietors Jerry Garcia and John Kahn didn't charge him much. The tracks have circulated, and the 18-minute "Alligator Moon" is a unique composition for Hunter as a vocalist. However, Hunter was unhappy with the production, and the album has never been released. A few tracks did come out on the Relix Records compilation Promontory Rider. Comfort was a serious enterprise, nonetheless. On December 5, 1977, at a Monday night "Fat Fry" on Gilroy's KFAT-fm, Hunter financed a live broadcast of Comfort at the Keystone Palo Alto, engineered by no less than Bob Matthews and Betty Cantor. This live performance, including the complete "Alligator Moon," stands as Comfort's best musical legacy.

In March of 1978, the Jerry Garcia Band toured the East Coast, in anticipation of the release of Cats Under The Stars. They were joined by Robert Hunter and Comfort, presumably still expecting to release Alligator Moon. Comfort opened nine JGB shows at theaters and arenas, and also played some club dates. They returned East in May for a few more club dates. For all Rodney Albin's long history in the San Francisco scene, the 1978 East Coast tour with Comfort seem to have been his only true rock road trip.

Many aspiring musicians, or nostalgic fans, wonder what it would have been like to have been in on the ground floor of something like San Francisco in the 60s. Rodney Albin was right on that ground floor. He introduced David Nelson to both bluegrass and Jerry Garcia, he found Garcia and Hunter and brought them to the Boar's House, and Pigpen as well. He was in on the founding of Big Brother and The Holding Company and Sopwith Camel, and he made and sold instruments to San Francisco throughout the 60s and early 70s. Yet he did not accelerate his musical career with any of these connections until a dozen years later.

Rodney Albin had introduced Nelson, Garcia and Hunter, and the trio had formed the Wildwood Boys in 1962, the first of Jerry Garcia's many bluegrass aggregations. After many curves in the road, the JGB tour found itself at an old hockey arena called the Suffolk Forum, in Commack, NY, on March 12, 1978. The bill was Jerry Garcia Band/New Riders Of The Purple Sage/Robert Hunter and Comfort, the only time all three original members of the Wildwood Boys played in separate bands on the same bill. By this time, by my count, they had 31 albums between them. I speculated in the past on whether the three of them even noticed backstage how far they had come from their first gigs in the South Bay. I also wonder now whether they recognized that Rodney Albin was there, too, and without Rodney, there wouldn't have been any Wildwood Boys at all, and no giant gig at a hockey arena in Long Island.

However, because Hunter, Rodney and Comfort were invited to join the Jerry Garcia Band tour, they played the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ on March 17, 1978. At the Capitol at the time, every show was videotaped, even the opening acts, and the tapes have finally surfaced. Thus we get a chance to see Rodney Albin in action, in Comfort's opening set for the Garcia Band. Rodney Albin plays fiddle and mandolin, and his featured appearances are his fiddle solo on "Tales Of The Great Rum Runners" and his lead vocal turn on the Johnny Horton classic "Battle Of New Orleans." It's nice to be able to put a face and a style to such an important figure who otherwise remained in the background.

Rodney Albin, 1940-84
Comfort ground to a halt in June 1978. The Alligator Moon album was not going to be released, and Hunter could no longer afford to keep supporting the band. Rodney Albin had married singer Marlene Molle, and they had a child. While there is no doubt that Rodney continued to play music, he retired from his very brief sojourn as a touring rock musician, leaving that to his old friends Hunter, Nelson and Garcia.

By 1984, Rodney Albin was very sick with stomach cancer. Just 44 years old, with a wife and a child, it must have been a shocking intrusion of mortality. Many rock and rollers pass from excess or recklessness, but Rodney by all accounts lived a quiet, sensible life and yet left far too soon. Amongst the old San Francisco crowd, there had been a few tragedies in the 60s and early 70s, but by and large everyone was around from back in the day. After Rodney's death, a benefit concert for Rodney's wife and child was arranged at Wolfgang's, on Columbus Street, Bill Graham's primary nightclub venue at the time. Psychedelia was at a low ebb, and most of the San Francisco legends barely had paying gigs, but they all showed up. The one with paying gigs was Jerry Garcia, but he was there, too, just as he had been for Janis and would be for Bill Graham. Jerry played an acoustic set with John Kahn, and seemed pretty out of it, but for once he could hardly have been blamed.

Rodney Albin's final musical legacy was on the Robert Hunter album Amagamalin Street, released in 1984 on Relix Records. Hunter had brought recording gear to Rodney's hospital room, and Rodney recorded a mournful violin solo, perhaps his last musical performance. He died soon after, but his legacy remained with his friends. George Newton summarized it best in his book. Newton, by his own admission an indifferent guitar player, had received a mandolin as a gift in 1963, but he didn't really know how to play it. Rodney taught him some chords, some fingering and a few songs. Not only that, now that Newton could play the mandolin, Rodney invited him to join the Liberty Hill Aristocrats, as well, when they played a gig at The Top Of The Tangent with Garcia and Nelson. Newton protested that he wasn't that good yet, but Rodney didn't care. In his book, he said

That was Rodney, he got people going, and he included them, even if it affected the professionalism of the music. He had his priority list, and friends were higher up than professionalism. You had to love a guy like that, and I did.

Music for friends, a sound concept. Rodney Albin's friends--David Nelson, Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, Peter Albin, Pigpen, Chet Helms and all of us, were all the better for it,

My notes from the Rodney Albin Memorial Concert at Wolfgang's in San Francisco on August 28 1984, written down as soon as I got home.

Appendix: Notes from The Rodney K. Albin Memorial Concert
August 28, 1984 Wolfgang's, San Francisco, CA: Rodney K. Albin Memorial Concert Dinosaurs/Jerry Garcia and John Kahn/Country Joe and Friends/David Nelson/Rick and Ruby/others
Since there seems to be no other record online of the concert, I am publishing my notes from the concert, along with what I recall. I did not take notes at the show, but I wrote everything down as soon as I got home, so they are pretty accurate. The list of performers is approximately in the order which they appeared. Songs are what I could remember that evening. The Garcia, Dinosaurs and Country Joe setlists are complete to my knowledge. Garcia appeared early in the show, and the Dinosaurs were the "headliners." After the Dinosaurs set, various friends came on stage to play songs on the Dinos equipment. I left before the jam session ended, as it was 2:00am or later (an additional partial list of the show can be seen here).

Wolfgang's. 901 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Wolfgang's in the heart of North Beach in San Francisco, had a variety of prior lives. It had been a place called The Village, which advertised itself as "The Fillmore West for The Gay Set," and Garcia/Saunders had played there back on September 1971. It was a disco for a while (Dance Yer Ass Off) and eventually it became the "new" Boarding House. Robert Hunter had played there a few times. Eventually the new Boarding House failed, and Bill Graham took the club over, naming it Wolfgang's, a variation of his birth name, (Wolodia, in Hungarian). For a few years, Wolfgang's was Bill Graham Presents'"prestige" club, where hip acts played to impress tuned-in fans and industry people. Mostly, that did not include anyone associated with the Grateful Dead or old hippie bands, although Robert Hunter and the Dinosaurs had played there a few times.

MCs: Peter Albin, Bill Graham, Chet Helms
Every act had something nice to say about Rodney Albin, as did the MCs, but it has been so long I no longer remember what they said. Apparently, Peter Albin read a poem that Rodney wrote shortly before his death, but I do not actually recall that. Nonetheless, I very much got the impression that even though I only recognized Rodney as Peter Albin's brother and Robert Hunter's bass player, he was far more important than that. Some tapes have circulated of the concert, and some fairly primitive video is available on YouTube. If there are better links, please add them in the Comments.

David Nelson Band

David Nelson-acoustic guitar, vocals
Ed Neff-fiddle, mandolin, vocals
Tom Grant-banjo, vocals [probably Tom Stern]
Sara ?-bass

Ashes Of Love/ Dim Lights, Thick Smoke/ Teardrops In My Eyes/ Diamond Joe/ other songs
David Nelson opened the show with a bluegrass quartet. I only recognized a few songs, but it wasn't a long set.

The Rick And Ruby Show

Rick-guitar, vocals
Ruby-vocals
Righteous Raoul (Josh Brody)-piano

Rick and Ruby were a sort of parody lounge act. They were alright, but somewhat out of place with a bunch of old hippies.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lt4bMO7OgwM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Jerry Garcia and John Kahn

Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
Deep Elem Blues
I've Been All Around This World
Friend Of The Devil
Little Sadie
Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie
Goodnight Irene
Ripple
To the surprise of most, Garcia and Kahn came out early. This was not uncommon at Bay Area benefits. Garcia generally wanted to do his bit and leave, rather than hang out. While everyone of course hoped that Jerry would stick around and jam, he never actually did that at when he played acoustic at a benefit. The set was short, and Jerry seemed out of it. Unlike some other shows, you could hardly blame him this night. Jerry, as usual for him but alone amongst the performers, said nothing about his lengthy friendship to Rodney Albin, but Jerry's presence said plenty.

Country Joe McDonald And Friends
Country Joe McDonald-lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica
Peter Walsh-lead guitar, vocals
David Bennet Cohen-lead guitar, organ, piano
Boots Stuart Houston-tenor sax
Dorothy Moskowitz-electric piano, vocals
Bruce Barthol-bass
Chicken Hirsh-drums
Chet Helms introduced the band. No one introduced Chet--everyone seemed to recognize him except me, and even I quickly figured it out. He went through the players, and the crowd was wondering why Barry Melton wasn't on stage. Little did we know there was a long-running dispute between Barry and a member of the band. Still, when he finished introducing each player, Chet said "you know these guys--they used to play the Avalon every New Year's Eve: Country Joe McDonald [dramatic pause] And Friends.

The lineup was 4/5 of the band from Avalon days, and two regulars from Joe's band. They absolutely, positively killed it. Joe always delivers the maximum, and they were the best set of the night. They got the only encore of the evening, and knocked it out of the park again.

Flying High
[instrumental-probably Masked Marauder]
Janis
Superbird
Janis
Feel Like I'm Fixin To Die Rag
LSD Commercial
Rock and Soul Music
[encore]
Not So Sweet, Martha Lorraine

Ed Bogas-violin
Gary Cohen-piano

Canon In D

Ed Bogas was a neighborhood friend of the Albin brothers. He had even been the fiddle player in The Liberty Hill Aristocrats, at least some of the time. By now, Bogas had been a highly regarded jazz producer for Fantasy Records for many years. For a change of pace, Bogas played some carefully rehearsed classical music, just to give some breadth to Rodney's musical interests.

Marlene Albin And Friends

Marlene Molle Albin-vocals, congas
Kevin Morgenstern-guitar
Gary Cohen-piano
Paul Scott-bass
Pat Lorenzano-drums

In My Life/ Me and Eddie/ other songs
Rodney's wife fronted a band that included two other former members of Comfort (Morgenstern and Lorenzano). There were some original songs and some covers. Many of the audience seemed to know her personally.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wGXHex0QGZc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Dinosaurs

John Cippolina-lead and slide guitar, vocals
Barry Melton-lead guitar, vocals
Robert Hunter-acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
David LaFlamme-electric violin, guitar (*), vocals
Merl Saunders-electric piano, Korg synthesizer, vocals
Peter Albin-bass, vocals
Spencer Dryden-drums

Who Makes The Moves [Melton and Hunter, lead vocals]
The Dance [Melton]
Boogie On Reggae Woman [Saunders]
Better Bad Luck [Hunter]
Blind Man [Albin]
Who's Gonna Love Me Now* [LaFlamme]
[unknown to me at the time] [Cippolina--may have been "Motel Party Baby"]
Turn It Up [Melton]
Promontory Rider [Hunter]

The Dinosaurs were the headliners, meant to rock out the house for the night. At the time, the Dinosaurs were a pretty regular act in clubs and small halls around the area. Other than the Grateful Dead, there were no other bands playing old-school psychedelic music, and there was no kind of jam band scene. It really did seem like the Dead and the humorously named Dinosaurs were the last of their kind.

The Dinosaurs were in a transitional stage. Robert Hunter had "officially" left the band, more or less replaced by Merl Saunders (the Dinosaurs had actually been playing around for a while with Saunders and without Hunter, but under another name). David LaFlamme, ex Its A Beautiful Day, had also been announced in BAM Magazine as a new member. So this show was Hunter's last with the Dinosaurs, his only one with Saunders, and LaFlamme's second. In contrast to a typical Dinosaurs set, Hunter had a higher proportion of songs. At the end of their set, they announced that some friends were going to jam, but the crowd thinned out pretty heavily.

After Hours Jamming
"Howard Hughes Blues"

Michael Wilhem-lead guitar, vocals
John Cippolina-slide guitar
David LaFlamme-electric violin
Merl Saunders-electric piano
Peter Albin-bass, vocals
Spencer Dryden-drums

Michael Wilhem had been in The Charlatans, who had started the whole thing at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, NV in the Summer of '65.

"Rock And Roll Music"

[ex-Charlatans?]-lead vocals
Michael Wilhem-lead guitar, vocals
John Cippolina-slide guitar
Merl Saunders-electric piano
Peter Albin-bass, vocals
Fritz Kasten-drums

Someone was introduced, but I didn't figure out who, and sang a Chuck Berry song. My note says "ex-Charlatan?" It may have been Richard Olsen. Fritz Kasten had been the drummer in Joy Of Cooking.

"That's How Strong My Love Is"

John Cippolina-slide guitar
Snooky Flowers-baritone sax
B. Vaughn-alto sax
Merl Saunders-electric piano
Mitch Holman-bass, vocals
Chuck Jones-drums

Snooky Flowers had been in Janis Joplin's band (in '69) and various other aggregations. Mitch Holman had been in Its A Beautiful Day, and Chuck Jones had been the original drummer in Big Brother, way back in the 1090 Page Street days. He had played one or two shows before Dave Getz took over the chair permanently.

There were still musicians coming and going, but we were at our own witching hour and headed home.

[update]
Appendix 2: Rodney Albin Farewell Message
A number of correspondents sent me Rodney Albin's "Farewell Message." I think this was read at the concert, although I no longer remember precisely. In any case, it captures Rodney's generous spirit and good humor

[Text Of The Letter]
Dear Family And Friends,

At this moment you probably all know where you are, most of you anyway, but you're not too sure about where I am.

Since for the time being it's unlikely we'll meet fact to face, I'll tell you where to look for me. Look for me in a well made guitar, and in a well played violin. Find me wherever good rock & roll is being played, or at any performance of a Wagner opera. I'll be anywhere a kind word is being spoken, or a kind act performed. I'll be there when someone speaks out against dogmatic foolishness, or stands up in defense of science against superstition. When you open your heard, broaden your mind, lift your spirit to embrace life, I'll be there.

If you wish to remember me, join the Academy of Science, spare the life of an insect, or put one under a microscope. Stay out of the sun. Remember me by giving money to a street musician, unless he's no good, in which case tell him to get off the street. Pick up a derelict and treat him to the opera. Read an Uncle Scrooge comic. Finally, in remembrance of me, wear the same clothes for two weeks running, and be kind to ducks.

Cheers and farewell,

Now and eternally,

Rodney Kent Albin

The front cover to Pistol Packin' Mama by The Good Old Boys, released as Round Records RX-109 (distributed by United Artists) in March 1976. The album was produced by Jerry Garcia, and recorded by Dan Healy in Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder Barn studio in Novato, and it featured David Nelson along with bluegrass legends Frank Wakefield (mandolin), Don Reno (banjo) and Chubby Wise (fiddle).

In March 1976, Round Records released Pistol Packin' Mama (Round RX-109), a bluegrass album by a group called The Good Old Boys. Although the primary lead singer and guitarist was old friend and New Rider David Nelson, the anchor to the group was three certifiable bluegrass legends: banjo player Don Reno, fiddler Chubby Wise and mandolin legend Frank Wakefield. Bassist Pat Campbell, a younger player, filled out the band. It was a fine album of bluegrass classics, plus the New Riders "Glendale Train," itself a bluegrass classic by this time, but unlike every other Round release, there was no significant Grateful Dead member performing contribution. Jerry Garcia produced the album at Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder Studios in his Barn in Novato, with Dan Healy as engineer, and it was mixed at Bob Weir's home studio (Ace's, above his Mill Valley garage), but other than an uncredited Garcia harmony, no member of the Dead played on the record.

Round Records was basically Jerry Garcia's label, in partnership with the Dead's manager Ron Rakow, as Garcia and Rakow had a far larger appetite for the risk of the record business than the other members of the Dead. It is my proposition, however, that if Round Records would have had a future, it would have looked a lot more like Pistol Packin' Mama than, say, Reflections (Round RX-107) or Kingfish (RX-108). I think Garcia wanted to release music that he liked on a cost-efficient basis, playing whatever role he needed to play, whether guitarist or just producer. As had happened many times in the 1970s, the Garcia and the Dead had started the train rolling before the track was complete. This post will sort out the peculiar backstory of the Good Old Boys and the strange history of the release on Round Records, as well as raising some intriguing mysteries about Garcia's participation.

The back cover to Pistol Packin' Mama by The Good Old Boys, released as Round Records RX-109 (distributed by United Artists) in March 1976. Producer Jerry Garcia's photo is inset on the back.

Pistol Packin' Mama-The Good Old Boys (Round Records/UA RX-109)
The historic confusion of Pistol Packin' Mama stems from the perpetually confused financial condition of Round Records. The album was released in March 1976, a year after the Old And In The Way album was released, and some time after Garcia was known to have played banjo in public. Yet in fact the album had been recorded in January 1975, and it was linked to several other Garcia projects, including the Great American String Band. Garcia had even played banjo on stage with the Good Old Boys, and may have done so more than once. Yet no one knew that in 1976.

In 1976, Round had gotten a cash infusion from United Artists in order to produce and distribute the forthcoming Steal Your Face double-lp. Along with relatively conventional rock releases, Round released some fairly quixotic projects. In fact, these projects had been underway for years, but record buyers had little inkling of that. Prior to Pistol Packin' Mama, the last Round release, Seastones (RX-106) had been back in April 1975, and it had been the decidedly uncommercial electronic musical work of Ned Lagin (although billed as a Phil Lesh project at UA's insistence). After the Blues For Allah release in September 1975, Round came out with four albums the next Spring. Two were typical rock releases, Garcia's new solo album Reflections and the Kingfish album. The other two, however, were Mickey Hart's Diga project (RX-110), an unprecedented world music all-percussion ensemble , as well as the bluegrass album featuring a member of the New Riders and some players unknown to hippie rock fans. No live performances supported either release. By May '76, the Dead had announced their new tour, Round Records was done for, and all discussion of the label's lesser releases were forgotten.

The Greenbriar Boys album was released on Vanguard Records in 1962

David Nelson, Jerry Garcia and The Greenbriar Boys
The importance of Frank Wakefield has its roots deep inside David Nelson and Jerry Garcia's love of bluegrass. For young suburban musicians who learned about bluegrass from records, the music seemed like a cultural tradition that could only be mastered by those inside the tradition. The 60s question of whether "white men could sing the blues" was just as real a question to non-Southern bluegrass musicians who had learned about it from records. This was doubly true on the West Coast, because players like Nelson and Garcia had no local bluegrass tradition to learn from. Bluegrass legends rarely played the Bay Area (compared to, say, Cambridge, MA or Greenwich Village). The Greenbriar Boys were the first group that told the Garcias and Nelsons of America that they didn't have to come from some Kentucky hillside if they wanted to play bluegrass.

The Greenbriar Boys were formed in 1959 in Washington Square Park, a "holler" of sorts, to the extent that a holler on 10th Street and 5th Avenue that is within walking distance to the 1, 2, N, Q and R subway lines, not to mention the PATH, can be called a local community, but that it was. The players were all New Yorkers. The band's first album was released on 1962 on Vanguard Records, and it was the first indication that "Northerners" could play authentic bluegrass. For the likes of Nelson and Garcia, it set them free. The Greenbriar Boys were from New York and New Jersey, not the South, and they inspired suburban bluegrass pickers everywhere with the idea that bluegrass could be learned, even if you weren't born to it. Supposedly, a promotional photo for the Black Mountain Boys was posed identically to The Greenbriar Boys, as an homage.

By the early 60s, the members of The Greenbriar Boys were John Herald (guitar), Bob Yellin (banjo) and Ralph Rinzler (mandolin). Rinzler, among many other things, had introduced his teenage neighbor in Hackensack, NJ, young David Grisman, to the bluegrass mandolin. By 1966, Rinzler had left to work at the Smithsonian Institute, and his place had been taken by mandolinist Frank Wakefield. Wakefield was on the fourth and final Greenbriar Boys album, Better Late Than Never (Vanguard 1966). This, too, was a benediction: Wakefield was a certified bluegrass legend himself, and when he joined The Greenbriar Boys, it showed that Northern city kids and Southern pickers could all make bluegrass together.

Frank Wakefield had joined the Greenbriar Boys in 1965. Although not famous outside of bluegrass circles, he was already a mandolin legend (age 31) at that time. David Grisman's unforgettable quote about Wakefield sums it up: "he split the bluegrass mandolin atom. Some of us will never be the same again." Wakefield had been born in 1934 in Emory Gap, TN, but his family had moved to Dayton, OH, where he started performing in 1951. Throughout the 1950s, Wakefield toured with Jimmy Martin, The Stanley Brothers and others. He had joined Red Allen and The Kentuckians in 1958. Around 1960, he moved to Washington, DC with Allen and gave private lessons, including to a young David Grisman. Wakefield also played with New York Philharmonic ('67) and Boston Pops ('68). Wakefield began a solo career in 1970, and released his first solo album on Rounder in 1972. The Greenbriar Boys released four albums, the last in 1966, and toured up until 1970. The Greenbriar Boys broke up in 1970, but they apparently played occasionally anyway. Bluegrass groups aren't like rock bands, and can "reform" for a single gig in your living room, if they are so inclined.

Good Old Boys Performance History
The foundation of the Good Old Boys was at a fascinating but now cloudy event called The Golden State Country And Bluegrass Festival, produced by Judy Lammers at the Marin County Fairgrounds in San Rafael from April 26-28, 1974. The story is a dense and complicated one, and only JGMF has attempted to do it justice, but it is complex reading. Briefly, although bluegrass was never a lucrative promotional vehicle, Judy Lammers and her husband produced a festival with many of the major stars of bluegrass at the time. The show also featured a momentary reformation of Old And In The Way--this is how bluegrass works--and that has swallowed up the history of festival itself. A famous photo of Jerry Garcia, John McEuen and Steve Martin playing banjos has drowned any other mention of the festival. The GSCBF was a remarkable event in many ways, but I am going to focus on one aspect that JGMF could simply not get to, namely the formation of the Good Old Boys by David Nelson and Frank Wakefield, and Jerry Garcia's prominent and yet unexplored role.

Bluegrass Festivals, even at the highest level of musicianship, are characterized by musicians hanging out and picking together, showing off their chops and sharing licks. It's acoustic music, so no one has to wait for a roadie. The classic bluegrass material is widely known, so any bluegrass picker who can't join in on "Wheel Hoss" at the count of four ain't much of a picker. Old friendships are renewed, new ones are made, and the real players find out whatever other gunslingers are in town. The Good Old Boys got their start at the Marin Fairgrounds, probably backstage picking. David Nelson explained in a 1976 issue of Dead Relix (Vol. 3, #1 quoted JGBP via JGMF):

D.R.: When did the Good Ol’ Boys begin?
Dave: It started at the Vassar Clements California Bluegrass Festival, put on by Judy Lammers, at the Marin County Fairgrounds. The real biggies that were there were Jim and Jesse McReynolds, the Virginia Boys, Frank Wakefield, Vasser, Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, Maria Muhdaur, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Doug Dillard.

Whether Wakefield and Nelson actually performed together at the Festival isn't clear to me, but it doesn't matter, since they were playing live a week later. In any case, Garcia (and Vassar) sat in with Wakefield and the Greenbriar Boys, which probably meant a lot to Garcia. Wakefield very likely had little idea who Garcia was.

An ad for the Keystone Berkeley for the week of May 5, 1974 from the Oakland Tribune of the same date. The Great American String Band headlined on Sunday May 5, and The Good Old Boys opened the show

May 5 1974 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Great American String Band/Good Old Boys
Although the Keystone Berkeley was hardly a bluegrass venue, bluegrass is lively music that can be improved by beer. In any case, Jerry Garcia had played many a weeknight with Old And In The Way, and on a Sunday night, the Keystone always enjoyed having Jerry in any format. To the extent this show is noticed at all, it is because it is a very early iteration of the Great American String Band, the "new acoustic" ensemble that featured Garcia, Richard Greene, David Grisman, guitarist David Nichtern and various friends. The Good Old Boys opener is known from other listings.

No tape or eyewitness account circulated about this show, until a comment popped up on a post I wrote about a 1974 Peter Rowan demo session. An anonymous Commenter wrote

I saw Great American String Band show at the Keystone on May 5, 1974 and can attest to the fact that Peter Rowan and Jack Bonus were brought out for two songs - Midnight Moonlight and Hobo Song and the show was recorded professionally for what folks at the gig were hearing would be a future album. Gee, didn't get it until now that I might have actually seen Peter play with Jerry for the last time together (and it was my ONLY time with that privilege). Interestingly, considering it was recorded with studio mikes onstage, I am surprised that a recording of this concert with these two songs with Rowan and Bonus has not surfaced (and have not heard of anyone else acknowledging that they showed up at this gig).

So we know from this Comment that there are unheard, professionally mic'd tapes of a lost GASB show at Keystone Berkeley, including guest appearances by Peter Rowan and Jack Bonus (he wrote "Hobo Song" and recorded on Grunt Records). What's more intriguing is what I think is the likelihood that there was a recording of The Good Old Boys with Wakefield and Nelson, and that Garcia played banjo.

Let me respond to the obvious question first: how could the entire Grateful Dead community have missed a Jerry Garcia banjo appearance with David Nelson at the Keystone Berkeley? There are two critical points to make here:

Very few people probably actually saw the Good Old Boys. The Keystone Berkeley had no reserved seats, and you often ended up standing anyway (depending on what year we are talking about). So if you weren't planning to get there early, it made more sense to get there right before the headliner came on. There is a listing for The Good Old Boys opening, but all sorts of unknown local bands opened at Keystone Berkeley, and most locals just skipped them. There was no indication of who The Good Old Boys might have been, so few would have shown up early.
Seeing Jerry Garcia at the Keystone Berkeley just wasn't that big a deal back in '74. So for those who were there, even if they saw Jerry play with the Good Old Boys, they were going to see him play banjo with another group an hour later. We don't have any other eyewitness account of the GASB show, which honestly is typical of the era, and they just don't recall. I am hoping this post will jolt some long-dormant memories.

The second question is this: who says that Jerry Garcia played banjo with The Good Old Boys? The answer is that Frank Wakefield says so, and one of his friends and fellow musicians has even heard a tape. So Garcia had to play with Wakefield at some point, and the Keystone Berkeley fits the timeline. Back in 2006, Wakefield described his experience of playing with the Good Old Boys on a somewhat outdated (but still accessible) website (hosted by fiddler Jim Moss):

In 1975 David Nelson, Don Reno, Chubby Wise, and Jerry Garcia made an album out in California. That record sort of came about on the spur of the moment. I was out in Marin County, in Northern California staying at David Nelson's house and doing shows with his band, The New Riders Of The Purple Sage. Me and David... and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, were also doing some shows together. When we did shows David would play guitar and Jerry played banjo.

Whenever Garcia played with me and David, we would always have a full house. I thought it was because of me. I never had heard of Garcia or the Grateful Dead before. It took me a while to realize that people were coming to the shows because Jerry was playing with us. When we played shows together we played acoustic. I didn't know any of the Grateful Dead's music and the fact is I still don't. The audience that was coming to see us was mostly Grateful Dead fans. Most of them had never heard Bluegrass music before, but they really loved it when they heard it.

The site was run by bluegrass fiddler Jim Moss, who played with Wakefield (and everyone else, of course) many times. On the site, Moss recalls "Jerry Garcia actually was a member of the Good Ol' Boys on several occasions. I have heard the live tapes from at least one of these shows." So we have confirmation that Garcia played with Wakefield and Nelson more than once, and that at least one was taped.

June 8, 1974 Oakland Coliseum Stadium; Grateful Dead/Beach Boys/New Riders Of The Purple Sage/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
In the midst of Garcia's acoustic gigs, the Grateful Dead headlined a baseball stadium show with the Beach Boys. I have written about it at great length, and you can see the whole story here. The New Riders came on stage about noon that day, and they were joined by Wakefield for one song, Red Allen's "Teardrops In My Eyes," which the Riders had recorded on Panama Red. Wakefield's appearance at the Coliseum definitely puts him in town at the time, and it lends some color to Wakefield's explanation of the Good Old Boys album, which seems mildly exaggerated, as we will see below.

The June 9, 1974 Oakland Tribue Keystone Berkeley ad shows the Great American String Band playing June 13 and 14 (Thursday and Friday) "plus--The Good Ol' Boys."

June 13-14, 1974 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Great American String Band/The Good Old Boys
The Great American String Band played two nights at Keystone Berkeley, following a Wednesday night show (June 12) at the Lion's Share. Tapes of the GASB sets circulate for both nights at the Keystone (JGMF has the whole story, of course), but there is silence on The Good Old Boys. Few people may have been there for their set, and since regular tapers made Keystone GASB tapes, I have to assume if they were present they would have taped Jerry with The Good Old Boys. However, this does not exclude the possibility that the shows were recorded by Round for possible release, per the description of the May 5 show. Jim Moss heard some tape, and there was apparently more than one tape, so three Keystone shows make good sense.

In June of 1974, Grateful Dead Records was still riding pretty high. The Dead were selling out to record crowds throughout the country, they were about to release their second album on their own label, and Round had just released new albums by both Garcia and Robert Hunter. Sure, now we all know what was happening--The Wall Of Sound sucked up any excess cash, Mars Hotel wasn't really a hit (nor was Compliments Of Garcia) and that doesn't even count the forthcoming debacle of spending $100,000-plus that the band didn't have on filming their retirement. But it didn't look that way in the Summer of '74.

There's plenty of evidence that Garcia was at least contemplating all sorts of releases, like a live Garcia/Saunders album that might have followed the Fantasy album. There were plans afoot for an Old And In The Way album, a Keith And Donna album, something involving Seastones and no doubt other ideas. The record companies all had stars in their eyes at the time, and there were no "Indies" putting out well-recorded music in the hopes of a modest profit. Bluegrass was barely being recorded, with the East Coast label Rounder Records being about the only option. If there was a Rounder, why not a Round? I think the Good Old Boys show were taped because Garcia and Nelson were thinking about a live album, similar to how Old And In The Way ended up getting released. What became of these tapes?

November 29, 1974 Academy Of Music, New York, NY: Waylon Jennings/Good Ol' Boys
In the fall of '74, the New Riders of The Purple Sage played three nights at Manhattan's Academy Of Music as part of their East Coast tour. A Jerry Moore tape endures of a brief performance by the Good Old Boys, apparently opening the show. Along with Nelson and Wakefield, Riders' bassist Skip Battin joins in, along with a banjo player (Dave something--I couldn't quite catch it) and fiddler Kenny Kosek. Kenny Kosek was in an Ithaca, NY band called Country Comfort that had backed Wakefield on his first Rounder solo album in 1972. Sharp-eyed fans may recall that just 13 years later, Kosek ended up playing with Nelson and Garcia in the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band.

At the Academy, the Good Old Boys play 27 minutes. The group does seven tunes. John "Marmaduke" Dawson comes out to sing the bluegrass classic "Live And Let Live." I don't know if Good Old Boys opened the other two shows (Nov 27 and 28). Nelson introduces Wakefield as "the Evel Kneivel of bluegrass."

Wakefield picks up the story:

The way the Pistol Packin' Mama album came about was me and David were sitting around talking when I told David I'd like to do a record of me and him with Don Reno and Chubby Wise. First, David thought I was kidding. When he realized that I was serious he said, "Boy, I would love too, but that you could never get to talk to people like Don Reno and Chubby Wise". I had already recorded with Don and Chubby back in 1959, so I said to David, "Why don't we call them, but first lets go talk to Ron Rakow." Rakow was the fella who ran Round Records, the Grateful Dead's record company. So we went over to Ron's office to talk to him and he was really interested after I told him that Chubby and Don were some of the original people in Bluegrass. Ron had actually never heard of them. Ron asked me how much I thought it would cost to do the record. I said, "Oh,maybe three or four hundred dollars." David looked at me kinda funny and said "Frank, it will cost more than that". Then Ron Rakow said, "You'd have to have at least five thousand to start off with." That sounded good to me so I said, "Well, I ain't gonna argue with that".

Then Ron asked me who would I like to have produce the album? At that time I still didn't know Jerry's last name even though I had played with him about five times. So I didn't think about having Garcia produce the record. I thought we might have John Dawson from the New Riders produce the record, I did know his name. Then later that day Ron called me and David and asked how about having Jerry Garcia produce the record? I said "who?" --"The guy who has been playing banjo with you." I told him that that sounded fine with me because "he's alright."

Well, this is a pretty good story. Bluegrass legend plays with some young, admiring hippies, and agrees to make an album with his legendary bluegrass friends. Then, surprise--it turns out that the banjo player owns his own record company and can finance the whole thing! Good times. Now, to be clear, I'm sure Wakefield had no idea who the Grateful Dead were in 1974, and that when he first met Garcia backstage in Marin or at the Keystone, he had no idea who he was. Garcia, for a rock star, was notably self-effacing around other musicians, and Wakefield would not have been the only band member to play the Keystone Berkeley who did not realize that the crowd was there for Jerry.

However, for this story to be convincing Wakefield has to have "not noticed" that his banjo player's band was headlining a concert at a baseball stadium in the midst of all those Keystone gigs. I guess it's possible--maybe Wakefield left early and didn't see his banjo player backstage. But I think Wakefield was exaggerating for effect. Initially he didn't know who Garcia was, but later he did, but it's a funnier story the way Wakefield tells it now. Fair enough. In any case, Nelson, Ron Rakow and Wakefield seem to have agreed to have Garcia produce an album with some other legends. The sessions were booked for January 27-28, 1975. Wakefield:

So, after that, I called Don Reno. I talked to him for a few minutes and asked him if he wanted to come to California to do a record. Then I told him that David wanted to talk to him. Don said, "David who?" I told him David Nelson from the New Riders of the Purple Sage. I am not sure if Don knew who they were or not, but I handed the phone to David. David held the phone for a long time and said nothing. I said, David is Don still on the phone? Did you get cut off? Finally, David said, "H-h-Hello?, Don, Don Reno? Dave kept stuttering, "I can't believe I'm talking with you." After a while David calmed down. He and Don talked for awhile then I got back on the phone and asked Don what he would have to have to do the record. Don said, "what could you pay me?"I said about $800 plus a round trip ticket and a plane ticket for his banjo. He would also get a hotel room. Don said "That sounds good to me. When do you want to do it". When I called Chubby it went exactly the same way. Again, David was speechless to talk to Chubby also.

In a few days Don flew out and me, David and Garcia picked him up at the airport. Chubby wouldn't ride in a plane. So he drove out from Texas in his Cadillac. it took Chubby about a week to drive to California, but he got there. We went into the studio and I would call off a song and we would do it. David and Garcia knew all the old Bluegrass songs. Don practiced with us for about an hour before we recorded. Chubby got to California the night before we were going into the studio. Chubby didn't get a chance to practice with us at all.

We were in the studio a total of 12 hours, two days, 6 hours each day. We recorded about 28 songs in those 12 hours. We did "Leave Well Enough Alone" twice. That was a song I had wrote and forgot. Garcia suggested we do it. Jerry had to tell me the words. Don was suppose to sing baritone on it, but he had never heard it before. Don couldn't remember the words so Garcia came out from the control room and did the baritone with us on it.

The Pistol Packin' Mama album was recorded in two days at Mickey's Barn in Novato. The sessions are usually listed as January 27-29, so maybe Jerry and Healy spent an extra day mixing. It's notable that Nelson and Garcia knew all the material, even though neither had played much bluegrass in the intervening decade since The Black Mountain Boys. Garcia even recalled a song that the other band members had forgotten. The notable detail is that 28 songs were recorded, a fact basically confirmed by Nelson (who said they recorded 25 songs). Where are the other songs? Even if there are some flubbed numbers, wouldn't there be enough for another album of outtakes? The window to release them may have closed, as the cd market has shrunk, but it seems unfortunate that a Garcia-produced session of authentic bluegrass legends has sunk under the waves.

January or February 1975 Paul's Saloon, San Francisco, CA: Jam Night
Fiddler Jim Moss recalls a remarkable aftermath of The Good Old Boys in California. Although Deadheads are understandably Garcia-centric, in fact in the early 1970s there was a significant revival of bluegrass amongst young hippie pickers. Jerry was the most famous, of course, but it was happening all over the country, as young players appreciated how the beauty and discipline of bluegrass lent itself to good music played in a simpler acoustic setting.

In the Bay Area, this revival had been led by a now-forgotten group called The Styx River Ferry. Styx River Ferry played what few folk clubs there were, but they also played Fillmore West on audition night and put on bluegrass shows in Ghirardelli Square. The band members were mostly Southern transplants who had come to San Francisco like everyone else, but they found themselves flying the bluegrass flag. As I understand it, Styx River Ferry was looking for a bar to play in, and they stumbled onto a place called Paul's Saloon in the Marina District (I believe the address was 3251 Scott Street), owned by one Paul Lampert. By the early 1970s, there was bluegrass almost every night of the week at Paul's. Paul's Saloon was the real nexus of Bay Area Bluegrass, where all the pickers swapped licks, beer and tall tales. By about 1973, many of the key members of Styx River Ferry had returned to the South, but Paul's Saloon remained the nexus of Bay Area bluegrass activity.

Fiddler Jim Moss continues the story:

One night in 1975 at Paul's Saloon in San Francisco, a jam night as I remember, musicians were standing around getting ready to put together a pickup band and jump up on stage to play a few songs. At the time this was how musicians kept in shape and how bands were formed. I seem to remember this was how the Phantoms of the Opry, the Good Old Persons, and the Done Gone band first got together. Paul's was an incubator for SF Bay Area bands. Paul himself was very difficult... to say the least.

On this night things would be different. In through the swinging doors came Frank Wakefield, Don Reno, Jerry Garcia, Pat Campbell and David Nelson. What a buzz in that place that night. They went to the back room, the warm-up room. Before long all but Garcia had left for the stage where they would perform 2 sets. Some of us hung back in the warm-up room to see up close what kind of a Bluegrass guy Garcia was. Garcia sat there with his banjo around his neck. Robbie McDonald the banjo player for the Phantoms of the Opry, in true gun fighter fashion blasted off a tune in a fiery fashion. This was clearly a challenge to a big time rocker! A big time rocker with a missing finger on his right hand at that! What would happen next? Well, Jerry Garcia simply looked at Robbie and said, "nice playing". I would go on to meet Garcia several more times at different places in California only to see the same unpretentious character who each time seemed interested in any Bluegrassers that might be there.

Jerry Garcia actually was a member of the Good Ol' Boys on several occasions. I have heard the live tapes from at least one of these shows. Maybe Frank will find a record company to invest and put these out for all to hear someday. I know that Frank has said that he would like to find some photos of them playing together in that band someday. I know that Paul of Paul's Saloon took pictures of that night in 1975, but who knows what ever happened to him after he shut down Paul's.

February 21, 1975 1685 Commercial Way, Margarita's, Santa Cruz, CA: The Good Old Boys
There is one final known appearance of Jerry Garcia with The Good Old Boys, and it makes even less sense than these other appearances. On Saturday, February 21, 1975, about three weeks after the album was recorded, The Good Old Boys played an out-of-the-way venue in Santa Cruz called Margarita's. It was at 1685 Commercial Way, not near downtown (but near Moe's Alley at 1534 Commercial, if you know Santa Cruz). Nelson, Wakefield and bassist Pat Campbell were joined by Jerry Garcia on banjo. We are fortunate indeed to have an impeccable eyewitness, CryptDev himself:

Jerry Garcia's second appearance in Santa Cruz during the 1970s was a very low key affair. As was the case elsewhere in the Bay Area at that time, he could show up at a club, get a reasonable but not unmanageable crowd, and get to play some music without a lot of the hoopla and baggage that came with a Dead show. Because Margarita's had just opened, publicity for this show was pretty miniscule - a concert schedule listing in Santa Cruz weekly rag Sundaz was about all there was. I had learned about it when I went to the Kingfish opening show, but found a relatively sparse group in attendance when we showed up at the show. The Jerry Site gig list shows two Margarita's dates for the group, on Feb. 20 and 21st, but to the best of my recollection they only played the one night I heard them.

At Margarita's the Good Old Boys comprised Garcia on banjo, mandolin player Frank Wakefield, New Riders guitarist David Nelson, and standup bassist Pat Campbell. During the course of their set, it became apparent that the group, less Garcia (who had produced) and augmented by bluegrass legends Chubby Wise on fiddle and Don Reno on banjo, had just recorded an record an album, Pistol Packin' Mama, that came out a few months later [sic--it was a year later] on the Dead's Round Records label. Clearly Reno and Wise, who participated in two days of recording for the album, had already decamped back down south, so Garcia was recruited to fill the banjo slot.

I wish my memory of the set was more substantial, but it is no surprise that they played most, if not all, of the material on the album, which included the title tune, "Ashes of Love,""Dim Lights," and "Glendale Train" from the NRPS repertoire and "Deep Elem Blues" (Wakefield's version) which was a regular in the Dead's 1970 acoustic set lists. I do not remember any Garcia lead vocals, although a reputed GOB tape I had at one point had him singing "Russian Lullaby" (I suspect that was actually derived from a Great American String Band set rather than a GOB set) but they definitely did not play it that night. Further details are lost in the sands of time, and complicated by the fact that I was just starting to learn the traditional bluegrass repertoire at the time. Nonetheless, it was a fun, low-key evening, and Garcia, Nelson, Wakefield, and Campbell seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

When The Good Old Boys played the Bay Area in 1974 and early '75, almost no Deadheads in the Bay Area had any idea of the connection. David Nelson's name was never mentioned, much less Garcia's. How many shows did they play? It's not really clear, but Wakefield and Moss seem to suggest that Garcia played several shows, and Wakefield specifically said that he had "already played with Garcia five times" before the album. That fits with the known or likely events at Keystone Berkeley (May 5 and June 13-14), Paul's (early 75) and Margarita's (Feb 21 '75). Since bluegrass bands have no amps or roadies, we can hope that there were a few more at places like The Lion's Share or The Inn Of The Beginning, but on the whole there were likely no more than about ten (JGMF found an ad for an outdoor show in Berkeley on July 7, 1974, with the Great American String Band and Good Old Boys, but since GASB didn't play, I don't think Good Old Boys would have either).

Good Old Boys 1975-76
The Good Old Boys started to play shows on the East Coast in 1975. The New Riders Of The Purple Sage were a popular act on the East Coast, and his name would have attracted some people. Also, by early 1975 the Old And In The Way album had been released, so it may have seemed that Nelson was doing what Garcia had been doing, playing some bluegrass on the side, which wasn't untrue. With hindsight, it seems plausible that the shows were booked in anticipation of a Summer '75 release of Pistol Packin' Mama, but of course financial trouble at Round delayed any such plans. Nelson played at least one more show with Wakefield in the Good Old Boys in 1976. Round finally released Pistol Packin' Mama in March, almost a year late, thanks to a final cash infusion from United Artists.

By early 1976, The Good Old Boys were touring East Coast clubs with Peter Rowan on guitar instead of Nelson, along with Wakefield and a few other players. On at least one occasion (Feb 25 '76), David Nelson appeared with the band, presumably in anticipation of the still-delayed Round album. On other occasions, according to tapes, the likes of Vassar Clements and David Grisman joined in. From the point of view of East Coast Deadheads, who may have known very little about bluegrass, it must have made a lot of sense. The Old And In The Way album was released in March 1975, and Pistol Packin' Mama a year later. Rowan and Wakefield touring together, performing a mixture of songs from both albums (such as "Panama Red" and "Deep Elem Blues") as well as bluegrass classics made for a coherent expression of Garcia and Nelson's bluegrass roots, even if neither of them were present.

Up through the mid-80s, Wakefield mostly used the name Good Old Boys (or Good Ol' Boys) for his band when he toured, regardless of the membership. Since Pistol Packin' Mama was well-known, he regularly performed songs from that album, but many of them were bluegrass standards anyway. Relix Records released two albums in 1992 as Frank Wakefield and The Good Old Boys (Frank Wakefield and The Good Old BoysandShe's No Angel). In typical Relix fashion, there is no helpful information on the liner notes, but an article suggested it was from a 1975 show (possibly June 6, 1975--see below). David Nelson is listed as a member on both albums, but there is no other information about other band members, recording dates, or anything else, save for song titles. Since banjo player Tom Stern helped produce the album, and was a later member of Good Old Boys, it seems plausible to assume that he was in the '75 lineup, but I'm not sure about the fiddler or the bass player.

Aftermath
"New Acoustic Music" rose to a deservingly prominent position in the 1990s, not least because of the David Grisman Quintet. The rise of the cd market, which re-released a lot of long-lost material to music fans, brought a renaissance for many artists in a variety of genres. Frank Wakefield was one of many bluegrass players whose catalog across many decades was suddenly accessible, and he continued to tour successfully well into the 21st century. I myself saw Frank Wakefield play the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley in November, 1997--just a brief 23 years after I had seen him with the New Riders at the Oakland Coliseum Stadium--and he was tremendous. Plus, it was Berkeley--Peter Rowan showed up for a few numbers, and then David Nelson did, too. It was a great night. Wakefield is still with us, I'm happy to say. He's not a young buck anymore, so I don't think he plays much, but he split the atom, so he doesn't have to.

Appendix 1:
Pistol Packin' Mama-The Good Old Boys
Initial release : March 1976

Round RX-109 / RX-LA597-G

The only Round Records release that does not include a major playing contribution from a member of the Grateful Dead. This bluegrass album was produced by Garcia. Garcia has stated in an interview that he sings harmony on Leave Well Enough Alone.

Tracks

Ashes of Love (Anglin / Anglin / Wright)
I'm Here to Get My Baby Out Of Jail (Traditional arr Wakefield)
Long Gone (Public Domain / Reno)
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (Fidler/ Maphis / Maphis)
Deep Elem Blues (Traditional arr Wakefield)
Pistol Packin' Mama (Dexter)
Banjo Signal (Reno / Smiley)
Toy Heart (Monroe)
Leave Well Enough Alone (Traditional arr Wakefield)
Too Wise Special (Wise)
On Top of Old Smokey (Traditional arr Wakefield)
Barefoot Nelly (Reno / Davis)
Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan (Reno)
Glendale Train (Dawson)

Musicians

David Nelson - guitar, vocals
Frank Wakefield - mandolin, vocals
Don Reno - banjo, vocals
Chubby Wise - fiddle
Pat Campbell - bass
Jerry Garcia - harmony vocals (on Leave Well Enough Alone)

Credits

Producer - Jerry Garcia
Engineer - Dan Healy
Mixing - Jerry Garcia, Dan Healy
Production assistants - Kidd, Steve Brown
Art direction - Ria Lewerke
Album design - Leonard Spencer
Photography - Ron Rakow, John Allen
Recorded at Rolling Thunder
Mixed at Ace's

David Nelson, Winter 76 Round Records Newsletter

When Anton Round asked me to write a few words about the "Pistol Packin' Mama" album, I tried to think of what to say and couldn't even come close to what a fantastic trip it was, doing that session. In two days we had 25 songs down on tape, and upon listening back, some of the tastiest, most fun, and liveliest bluegrass ever recorded! I felt like a kid with dreams of the big leagues who was approached by Mantle, DiMaggio, and Ruth and told "well sure we'll play with you, and all your friends too!"

These three guys wrote the book on banjo, mandolin and fiddle. Chubby Wise is the dearly loved daddy of the country fiddle. He played on the sessions which are today regarded as the definitive bluegrass music. Don Reno is a phenomenal all round musician as well as one singer, guitar picker, and innovator in the highest degree.

What can I say about Frank Wakefield? He's Brer Rabbit jumping through the briar patch, in the flesh. I'd have to quote Oxford's Dictionary and say, "luxuriously prolific, virtuosity abounding, technical ability overflowing with spirit." All I can say is that it was so much fun doing this album. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Appendix 2: Good Old Boys with David Nelson (additional live shows)

June 6, 1975 The Other End, New York, NY (early and late)
David Nelson played at least a few shows with The Good Old Boys in June 1975. It seems that the shows were planned as publicity for the Round Records release of Pistol Packin' Mama, and presumably the dates were fulfilled anyway. We are lucky to have a fine Jerry Moore audience tape. On the tape, Nelson says that the groups has been "on the road about three days," so presumably there are a few other dates. Band members not announced (the lineup is DN, FW, banjo, fiddle, bass--Tom Stern may be the banjo player).

At one point the band tells the crowd

[Nelson]:"We just made a record on Round Records. I imported Frank out to California and Garcia produced it. We did 25 songs in two days. It blew our minds. It's coming out in June or July, I think." [Wakefield]: "it was supposed to be out last week."

These comments hint at the confusion surrounding Round Records. The album had been recorded four months earlier, and Old And In The Way had come out in the Spring, so another bluegrass release made good sense. Good sense, however, didn't always figure into Round calculations.

The Other End was at 147 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Back in the early1960s it had been a coffeehouse called The Bitter End, and had played a critical role in the 60s folk scene. Prior to that, in the '50s, 147 Bleecker was called The Cock And Bull, and Hugh Romney was a regular performer (before he became better known as Wavy Gravy). In 1974, the venue became a nightclub called The Other End. It was a hippie rock hangout during a period when New York music was evolving in various different directions. Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue got its start performing on an ad hoc basis at The Other End. At the end of the '70s, the club reverted to the more famous name The Bitter End. It remains open and apparently thriving today.

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December 20, 1975 My Father's Place, Roslyn, NY: Good Old Boys
[update] Correspondent Keats writes in with an excellent link to what sounds like a Jerry Moore tape recorded at My Father's Place in Long Island. Possibly this is a source tape for the Relix album. The mc begins each set by saying "Will you please welcome Frank Wakefield and Dave Nelson, The Good Old Boys. " There are two sets, the first about an hour and the second 40 minutes. There are many songs from the upcoming album, and some bluegrass classics.

The Good Old Boys are a quintet, with Nelson doing most of the lead vocals (Wakefield handles a few). The balance of the group is Tom Stern (banjo, harmonies), John Glick (fiddle) and Rick Lindner (bass).

Nelson and Wakefield do refer to the forthcoming album. Wakefield says, mock plaintively, "when's that coming out" and Nelson says "March or maybe February." Once again, the New Riders were touring the area, having played the nearby Calderone Arena in Hempstead, NY on the previous weekend (Dec 12 and 13).

December 23, 1975 The Red Rail, Nanuet, NY: Good Old Boys/The Rowans
[update] A Jerry Moore tape has preserved the group's performance at the Red Rail (as well as a tape of The Rowans). Nelson alludes to "coming back one more time to the Red Rail, so I figure they may have played there in June. Nanuet was Southwest of Manhattan, near Nyack and the New Jersey border

February 25, 1976 The Other End, New York, NY (early and late)
w/Wakefield, Nelson, Peter Rowan (mandola), Tom Stern (banjo), John Glick (fiddle), Rick Lindner (bass)
The Good Old Boys apparently played regularly around the East Coast in 1976, as we have tapes from February, April, July and November 1976. Frank Wakefield led the band, of course, but the guitar and lead vocals were handled by Peter Rowan rather than Nelson. To Deadheads, this must have made perfect sense. Most Deadheads had just discovered bluegrass via Old And In The Way (I certainly had), so Wakefield and Rowan touring together presented the two leaders of the "Grateful Dead Bluegrass Scene," such as it appeared. The Good Old Boys with Rowan performed a mixture of songs from Pistol Packin' Mama, Old And In The Way and bluegrass standards. The balance of the band besides Rowan (guitar, vocals) and Wakefield (mandolin, vocals) was Tom Stern (banjo), John Glick (fiddle) and Rick Lindner (bass).

However, for one show at The Other End, on February 25, 1976,David Nelson "rejoined" the band. Rowan played mandola instead of guitar, but he sang as well. Clearly, this show was intended to publicize the release of the album, but once again the album was not even released yet. We have a fine tape of the show, but I don't know whether or if Nelson appeared at any other Good Old Boys concerts after that show.

Appendix 3: Don Reno and Chubby Wise
Don Reno (1926-84) was a legendary banjo player in bluegrass circles. After time in the US Army in WW2, Reno joined Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys in 1948, replacing Earl Scruggs. For a player like Garcia, Don Reno was a foundational player in the three-finger picking style. In 1950, Reno formed his most famous bluegrass partnership with guitarist and singer Red Smiley, which lasted until 1964. Reno continued to perform until his death in 1984. He is buried in Lynchburg, VA.

Fiddler Chubby Wise (1915-1996) was a member of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys from 1942-48, making him a critical member of the band that invented bluegrass. He had an extensive career after Monroe, including becoming a member of The Grand Ole Opry (essentially meaning he was in the house band). He worked on numerous country sessions as well.

Appendix 5: Frank Wakefield On Meeting Jerry
Here is the complete Wakefield interview about Garcia and Nelson, from Jim Moss's excellent Candlewater site. I have excerpted various parts as appropriate above, but here is the whole interview.

Frank Wakefield: In 1975 David Nelson, Don Reno, Chubby Wise, and Jerry Garcia made an album out in California. That record sort of came about on the spur of the moment. I was out in Marin County, in Northern California staying at David Nelson's house and doing shows with his band, The New Riders Of The Purple Sage. Me and David... and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, were also doing some shows together. When we did shows David would play guitar and Jerry played banjo.

David and Jerry started out playing music together in a Bluegrass band before they got into Country Rock and they both really loved Bluegrass music. Whenever Garcia played with me and David, we would always have a full house. I thought it was because of me. I never had heard of Garcia or the Grateful Dead before. It took me a while to realize that people were coming to the shows because Jerry was playing with us. When we played shows together we played acoustic. I didn't know any of the Grateful Dead's music and the fact is I still don't. The audience that was coming to see us was mostly Grateful Dead fans. Most of them had never heard Bluegrass music before, but they really loved it when they heard it. Both Jerry Garcia and David Nelson helped create a lot of Bluegrass fans. I still meet fans who say that they first heard Bluegrass back when we were doing those shows with Garcia and David in the Good Ol Boys back east in 1976 and 1977 [sic].

The way the Pistol Packin' Mama album came about was me and David were sitting around talking when I told David I'd like to do a record of me and him with Don Reno and Chubby Wise. First, David thought I was kidding. When he realized that I was serious he said, "Boy, I would love too, but that you could never get to talk to people like Don Reno and Chubby Wise." I had already recorded with Don and Chubby back in 1959, so I said to David, "Why don't we call them, but first lets go talk to Ron Rakow." Rakow was the fella who ran Round Records, the Grateful Dead's record company. So we went over to Ron's office to talk to him and he was really interested after I told him that Chubby and Don were some of the original people in Bluegrass. Ron had actually never heard of them. Ron asked me how much I thought it would cost to do the record. I said, "Oh, maybe three or four hundred dollars." David looked at me kinda funny and said "Frank, it will cost more than that". Then Ron Rakow said, "You'd have to have at least five thousand to start off with." That sounded good to me so I said, "Well, I ain't gonna argue with that".

Then Ron asked me who would I like to have produce the album? At that time I still didn't know Jerry's last name even though I had played with him about five times. So I didn't think about having Garcia produce the record. I thought we might have John Dawson from the New Riders produce the record, I did know his name. Then later that day Ron called me and David and asked how about having Jerry Garcia produce the record? I said "who?" The guy who has been playing banjo with you. I told him that that soundedfine with me because "he's alright."

So, after that, I called Don Reno. I talked to him for a few minutes and asked him
if he wanted to come to California to do a record. Then I told him that David wanted
to talk to him. Don said, "David who?". I told him David Nelson from the New Riders
of the Purple Sage. I am not sure if Don knew who they were or not, but I handed
the phone to David. David held the phone for a long time and said nothing. I said, David, is Don still on the phone? Did you get cut off? Finally, David said, "Hh Hello?, Don, Don Reno?" Dave kept stuttering, "I can't believe I'm talking with you." After a while David calmed down. He and Don talked for awhile then I got back on the phone and asked Don what he would have to have to do the record. Don said, "what could you pay me?" I said about $800 plus a round trip ticket and a plane ticket for his banjo. He would also get a hotel room. Don said "That sounds good to me. When do you want to do it".

When I called Chubby it went exactly the same way. Again, David was speechless to
talk to Chubby also. In a few days Don flew out and me, David and Garcia picked him up at the airport. Chubby wouldn't ride in a plane. So he drove out from Texas in his Cadillac. it took Chubby about a week to drive to California, but he got there. We went into the studio and I would call off a song and we would do it. David and Garcia knew all the old Bluegrass songs. Don practiced with us for about an hour before we recorded.
Chubby got to California the night before we were going into the studio. Chubby
didn't get a chance to practice with us at all.

We were in the studio a total of 12 hours, two days, 6 hours each day. We recorded
about 28 songs in those 12 hours. We did "Leave Well Enough Alone" twice. That was
a song I had wrote and forgot. Garcia suggested we do it. Jerry had to tell me
the words. Don was suppose to sing baritone on it, but he had never heard it before.
Don couldn't remember the words so Garcia came out from the control room and
did the baritone with us on it.

I decided on the name for the album. Pistol Packin' Mama sounded like a good
name for an album. We put four of Don's songs on the album, "Banjo Signal,"
"Barefoot Nellie,""Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan" and "Long Gone." Don sang
lead on the vocals he wrote. We put an instrumental of Chubby's on the record too.
Chubby didn't have a name for the tune. I always called him Chubby Too Wise,
so I said, "Why don't we call it the "Too Wise Special"?" Well, that really tickled
Chubby. When Chubby would start laughing with that big laugh of his, it would
start his belly to shakin all around. He said, "That sounds mighty fine Little Frankie!"
Chubby would always call me "Little Frankie".
(Jim Moss interview-2006)

Frank Wakefield's debut album in 1972, on the Cambridge, MA label Rounder Records. The backing musicians were an Ithaca, NY band called Country Cooking, who included Kenny Kosek (fiddle) and Pete Wernick (banjo).

Appendix 6: Frank Wakefield (Rounder)
Frank Wakefield's first solo album was released in 1972 on Rounder Records, out of Cambridge, MA. Although there are not track-by-track credits, the backing group was a band of young bluegrass musicians in Ithaca, NY, called Country Cooking. As a sign of how tiny the hippie bluegrass world was back then, it is worth noting that while Country Cooking fiddler Kenny Kosek would go on to perform in the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, banjo player Peter Wernick had already played with both Nelson and Garcia. Back in the Summer of 1963, Wernick had played a few shows in a group called The Godawful Palo Alto Bluegrass Ensemble with Jerry Garcia and Eric Thompson. In the Winter of '69, Wernick had played with Nelson in a bluegrass group called High Country.

Wernick, although a regular in the Greenwich Village folk clubs, was also getting a PhD in Sociology from Columbia University, thus earning the name "Dr Banjo," by which he is still well known. In the early 70s, Dr. Wernick had an academic appointment at Cornell , which is how he came to found a bluegrass band that still had connections in University enclaves like Greenwich Village, Cambridge, Berkeley and Palo Alto (looking at you, Dr. Humbead).

e shut down Paul's.

An Alton Kelley poster for Dinosaurs at Keystone Palo Alto (Jan 22 '83) and Cotati Cabaret (Feb 18 '83)

Around 1973, Robert Hunter slowly surfaced from a decade-long hiatus as a performer. Initially, he appeared under the Nom Du Rock"Lefty Banks," playing with some old folk pals in a rock band called Roadhog. Hunter also released two albums on Round Records, although initially the fact that he was performing was a kind of secret. By 1976, Hunter was appearing under his own name with Roadhog, who played in a sort of honky-tonk style. Although Roadhog skidded to a halt, Hunter came back on stage a year later with another band, Comfort. They recorded, though did not release, an entire album, and toured the East Coast with and without the Jerry Garcia Band. Comfort was a little more fluid than Roadhog, but still a songwriter-focused aggregation, appropriate for the mid-70s. Yet after the demise of Comfort, while Hunter continued to perform as a solo act, he mostly stepped away from performing in a rock group.

Yet the electric Robert Hunter did make another major landfall. Starting in the Fall of 1982, he started to appear with some old psychedelic Fillmore peers in the aptly named band Dinosaurs. All of the other members were veterans of now-retired legendary Fillmore bands, and although the group formed without Hunter, he joined for their second real engagement, and thus could be called a founding member. Hunter's presence provided a Grateful Dead bloodline to the Dinosaurs. While the other band members played old songs they had already written years before, Hunter provided his usual steady stream of new material. And while Roadhog and Comfort had been more in a "folk-rock" vein, Dinosaurs--not "The" Dinosaurs--was a true, lumbering psychedelic beast. Hunter knew a little about writing those kinds of songs too. This post will look at the formation of Dinosaurs, and Robert Hunter's two years in the band. Appropriately, it was Hunter's last meaningful foray into playing in an electric rock context.

Hunter remained a regular member of the Dinosaurs through the Summer of 1984. Throughout the whole period, Hunter continued to perform as a solo act, particularly in East Coast nightclubs. He left Dinosaurs on amicable terms, and The Dinosaurs continued on until 1996. This post will review the performance history of Robert Hunter and The Dinosaurs from 1982 to 1984. Anyone with any recollections, corrections or reflections should put them in the Comments. Besides correcting any errors, I am particularly interested in any missing shows with Hunter, as well as opening acts and any guests who may have sat in at each show.

The Dinosaurs only album was released on Relix in 1988. Robert Hunter had left the band in 1984, but he returned to sing on one song

Overview and Fossil Record of Dinosaur Formation
In July of 1982, Barry "The Fish" Melton, formerly of Country Joe and The Fish, invited former Big Brother and The Holding Company bassist Peter Albin and Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden to play a one-off gig at the Russian River. The band Dinosaurs acquired its name from an off-the-cuff remark by Barry "The Fish" Melton at an early gig when he responded to an audience request as to whether they knew a specific song by saying "No, we're just a bunch of old Dinosaurs." Although Melton, Albin and Dryden were under 40, they felt a long way from the Avalon and Woodstock, when their bands headlined and their albums were bestsellers. This inspired Melton to form a group of players from that era to play occasional gigs in the style that brought them to fame in the first place. Their first shows were in August and September of 1982. The lineup of The Dinosaurs was

Barry Melton-lead guitar, vocals (ex-Country Joe and The Fish)
John Cippolina-lead guitar (ex-Quicksilver)
Robert Hunter-acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
Peter Albin-bass (ex-Big Brother)
Spencer Dryden-drums (ex-Jefferson Airplane)

The band was regularly joined by a variety of guests of similar vintage, who would generally sit in for a song or two. Hunter was not initially a member of the band, but he did make a guest appearance at their first "official" show, and seemed to have decided to stay. Hunter's presence gave Dinosaurs a connection to perhaps the five most iconic San Francisco bands of the 60s.

For the most part, Dinosaurs played in the loose style we associate with the Avalon and Fillmore of the 60s. This wasn't exclusively just a conscious choice by the band--it was who they were. Most Dinosaurs material was blues based, from Melton's various albums and also from the general zeitgeist of folk and blues covers that were characteristic of Avalon bands. The difference with Dinosaurs, other than their formidable pedigrees, was Hunter's original songs. Hunter would play the occasional Dead song, songs recorded on various albums in the 1970s, and even new material. Roadhog and Comfort had played in fairly intricate styles, but Dinosaurs weren't like that. The assembled Dinosaurs were great musicians, but they just counted to four and kicked off a shuffle, because that's how they had done it in the old country. It turned out that Hunter had a good feel for writing that kind of song, and performing them with a minimum of rehearsal. Who would have guessed?

In the early 1980s, psychedelic music seemed to be down for the count, and free form blues jamming was going to go with it. Only the Grateful Dead and their satellites were really out there making a success of playing that way, and they seemed to be the last of their breed. Sure, many artists from the old days, like Jefferson Starship and Steve Miller Band were still drawing good crowds and selling records, but they weren't playing what they had played at Fillmore. The ironic, unapologetic Dinosaurs seemed to the last of their kind. All that remained were the Grateful Dead, the Brontosaurus of psychedelia, and Dinosaurs as some sort of Triceratops. Hunter was actually writing new songs, but he was Hunter, and when the boys from Big Brother, The Fish, the Airplane and Quicksilver played them, it had that Cretaceous feel to it.

In the early 80s, Dinosaurs strictly played the West Coast. For practical reasons, most of their gigs were around the Bay Area, but they played some shows in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest. Although Dinosaurs were not directly involved in the rise of jam bands in the 80s, they did show that there was a market for that sort of music at the time. The difference between the West and other parts of the country, however, was that just as the likes of Phish, Moe and Widespread Panic were establishing themselves in their own regions, the West Coast still had the not-yet-extinct creatures of prior epochs.

July 5, 1982 Marin County Fairgrounds, San Rafael, CA: Dinosaurs(billing uncertain)
The story of the Dinosaurs was told best in Dinosaur manager Steve Keyser's liner notes of the 2005 Acadia Records double cd release of Dinosaurs music called Friends Of Extinction:

Like many of the good things in life, the band formed pretty much by accident in July 1982. Dinosaurs played around 130 shows until they called it quits in June of 1996. Melton and Albin had known each other for many years and still play together on a regular basis. In fact, all the members had many years of high profile experience, but more than that they didn't bring an attitude with them. Melton recalls the early days, "I was on the board of directors of this organization called The Freedom Foundation which met inside the San Quentin State Prison. The chairman of the organization was this guy called Dennis Jones who was doing life for three counts of conspiracy to commit murder - he is out now. Well, he was promoting concerts at the time, and Spencer was also on the board of directors along with Norton Buffalo. Peter and I had a trio and we booked ourselves a gig on the Russian River, this was 1982 and our drummer fell out, so I asked Spencer if he still played as he'd been half managing the New Riders. He said sure." It was at this show that the "Dinosaur" quip came and afterwards they decided that what they had was probably part of some bigger idea or concept. "When we got back we called Cipollina to see what he was doing." John, of course was in a half dozen bands at the time and as Melton jokingly remembers "The offer to be in another band was more than attractive to him, so he joined up." By the time they played their second gig things were beginning to take shape. "We booked ourselves as a quartet and we called ourselves Dinosaurs, just Dinosaurs. There never was a "the" in front of the name."

The July 5 show is generally believed to be the first Dinosaurs show, but I don't know how it was advertised, nor how the band was announced. Still, the timing fits. The performance is somewhat unlike subsequent Dinosaurs shows. The dominant instrument is tenor saxophone, played by someone announced as "Beans Banaka." Peter Walsh plays guitar along with Melton and John Cipollina. Walsh was probably a regular member of the Barry Melton Band at the time, but three lead guitars and a tenor sax makes for an odd sound. Still, the existing tape is enjoyable, if not really revealing of what is to come. When Melton ends the tape, he announces Mickey Hart, Airto and Vince Delgado, presumably all sitting in on assorted percussion instruments.

The Marin County Fairgrounds in San Rafael is part of the same complex as the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium. All the shows at the Fairgrounds were on a formal stage, but outdoors.

August 10, 1982 Uncle Charlie's, Corte Madera, CA: jam
I have a note that there was some kind of "jam" with the Dinosaurs crowd at Uncle Charlie's in Corte Madera. Most likely, this was a sort of stealth warmup gig. August 10 was a Wednesday, so an unpublicized show would have been easy to pull off. It is possible that Hunter played on some songs here or at Cotati two nights later--see the comment below on the August 13 Old Waldorf show from a former roadie.

August 12, 1982 Cotati Cabaret, Cotati, CA: Dinosaurs
The Cotati Cabaret was at 85 La Plaza in Cotati. Cotati's first rock venue had been the venerable, if tiny Inn Of The Beginning at 8201 Old Redwood Highway (aka CA-12). The club had opened in 1968, and all the Marin musicians played there. It had been a good place for the New Riders of The Purple Sage or Old And In The Way to work on their chops, or for Janis Joplin to sit in with Big Brother even though she had left the band two years earlier. In 1966, Sonoma State College had opened in nearby Rohnert Park. However, Cotati was the nearest town to Sonoma State College, so it was both a college town and a hippie enclave. Calling Cotati "bucolic" almost does it a disservice--even today, it is so much nicer than just bucolic.

At some point in the 1980s, Mark Bronstein, the manager of the Inn Of The Beginning moved the action to the Cotati Cabaret, a different building that was still within walking distance of the old site, at the same downtown plaza. His partner was Ken Frankel, who had played mandolin in the Hart Valley Drifters back in 1963 with Garcia, Hunter and Nelson. All of the members of The Dinosaurs had played the Inn Of The Beginning at one time or another, in various incarnations.

The Alton Kelley poster for the Dinosaurs show at San Francisco's Old Waldorf on August 13, 1982. At the time, Kelley was as much a Dinosaur as anyone in the band

August 13, 1982 Old Waldorf, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs/Flamin Groovies
The Dinosaurs made their official debut at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco. The Old Waldorf, at 444 Battery Street in the Embarcadero Center, was opened in 1975 by restaurateur Jeffrey Pollack. It was a new type of rock club for San Francisco, similar to places like The Roxy in Los Angeles or The Bottom Line in New York. Large for a club but much smaller than any concert venue--it probably held around 600 patrons--the Old Waldorf generally featured up and coming bands that were rising on FM radio. The club sold a lot of drinks, often to invited guests on the record company tab. The waitresses were intimidatingly pretty. It was not a rowdy downtown beer joint like the Keystone Berkeley, but rather a more expensive place with good parking, for rock fans with a good job who wanted to take a date to a nice place. There was a tiny dance floor off to the side, but to get near the stage you had to get there early and sit at long tables running perpendicular to the stage, which meant you had to buy drinks. There was a two-drink minimum.

In 1981, Pollack had sold the club to Bill Graham Presents. In general, the same sorts of bands appeared, salted in with a few old Graham staples. In the case of Dinosaurs, all their bands had played for Bill Graham many times. Another old-time San Francisco act, the Flamin' Groovies, opened for them, and there was even a light show, an all but unprecedented attraction for the Old Waldorf. The Dinosaurs were advertised as Melton/Cipollina/Albin/Dryden. As it happened, Robert Hunter was invited out of the crowd to sing "Jesse James." Joel Selvin reported this in the Monday SF Chronicle review. Also stepping on stage at The Old Waldorf for a number or two were ex-Charlatan guitarist Michael Wilhelm, ex-Stained Glass (and High Noon) organist Jim McPherson and ex-Quicksilver drummer Greg Elmore.

There was also a poster for the show by Alton Kelley. More from the liner notes:

Manager Steve Keyser elaborates "Barry pointed out that there were a lot of Dinosaurs and it would be very presumptuous to say that they were "The Dinosaurs." There were many other Dinosaurs, and one of the nice things about about their live shows was they would do whatever they could to get other "Dinosaurs" to sit in, which happened a lot." In fact, it happened right from the first show! Melton takes up the story again. "I wrote up a press release for a gig at the Old Waldorf, Alton Kelley did up a poster. "We did it the old way. We went through the city and distributed the posters and the first night we played tons of people showed up. It sold out. A lot of our musical contemporaries showed up, Bob Hunter among them. Garcia was there but didn't play. Hunter jumps up on stage and starts playing harmonica."

Of course, there was no call for psychedelic rock posters anymore, either, so Kelley was as much of a Dinosaur as his musician friends.

Now, an Archive commenter does say that Hunter was already a "member," , which contradicts everyone else's memory, so perhaps a more complicated plan was afoot.

Robert Hunter WAS actually a member of the band at this time. This was "The Dinosaurs" First actual gig. I had worked with Barry and the boys previously and had done 2 rehearsal type shows with Hunter prior to this, but this was the First Dinosaurs Gig, complete with the red and green Poster from Kelley.

September 16, 1982 Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, CA: Dinosaurs
Hunter joined the Dinosaurs for some dates in Los Angeles. The Golden Bear was on the Pacific Coast Highway in Orange County, and was in its second decade as a folk and rock nightclub. The Dinosaurs were also listed as being at KRLA-fm in Los Angeles, but I don't know if they actually played, or just talked on the radio. I think the latter is more likely. A friendly dj would certainly take the time to interview some rock legends for a few minutes, but there was no record company to organize a live broadcast.

Alton Kelley's poster for Dinosaurs and Canned Heat at The Roxy on September 17-18, 1982.

September 17-18, 1982 The Roxy, Los Angeles, CA: Dinosaurs/Canned Heat
The Roxy was Los Angeles' premier rock showcase club, on the Sunset Strip. Usually the bands that played there were heavily backed by record companies, but of course The Roxy had to fill up every weekend date, and a band of aging rock legends--all of them just around 40 years old, mind you--was the next best thing to some up and coming band. On the first night (Sep 17), legendary pianist Nicky Hopkins sat in for some numbers, as did Bay Area pals Righteous Raoul (piano) and Dave Getz (the drummer for Big Brother). To close the September 17 show, Hunter performed his newly-written "theme song" for the band, "Dinosaur." This wasn't insignificant--it meant that Hunter was taking the Dinosaurs seriously, because he was writing original material just for the band.

We don't have a tape or eyewitness account for September 18, to my knowledge, so I don't know who showed up or what the band played. Canned Heat, Dinosaurs themselves, was a band from way back in the day, but at this point the only Jurassic member from the 60s was drummer Fito Parra.

September 21, 1982 Uncle Charlie's, Corte Madera, CA: Dinosaurs
The Dinosaurs returned to Marin county for a show at Uncle Charlie's. Uncle Charlie's was mainly a hangout, although bands did play there regularly.[update] Guests apparently included Nick Gravenites, Elvin Bishop, Scott Lawrence (Youngbloods pianist) and Merl and Tony Saunders.

October 2, 1982 The Saloon, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs
The Saloon was a tiny bar on 1232 Grant Street in North Beach. It first opened in 1861. Barry Melton probably played there shortly afterwards. The Barry Melton Band played there literally hundreds of times over the decades. During this period, the Barry Melton Band often included Cipollina, Peter Albin and Dryden, along with other players.

November 19, 1982 Sweetwater, Mill Valley, CA: Dinosaurs
[update] Dinosaurs played a stealth show in downtown Mill Valley, per a Commenter, probably as a form of public rehearsal. Mickey Hart was present, apparently.

November 20, 1982 KFTY-TV studio, Santa Rosa, CA: Dinosaurs
November 20, 1982 KVRE-fm, Santa Rosa, CA: Dinosaurs
The Dinosaurs did make some "media appearances" in Marin. KFTY-tv, UHF Channel 50, was a local station in Santa Rosa, whose signal did not go very far. I assume that the band played a few songs in the studio. I also assume that the songs were broadcast--possibly simulcast--on KVRE-fm. These dates are from very old listings that I cannot confirm, but that seems to make sense.

November 21, 1982 Cotati Cabaret, Cotati, CA: Dinosaurs
The Dinosaurs began the steady habit of becoming regulars at Marin and Sonoma clubs. I think they used these gigs to warm up before more high profile shows. I doubt they rehearsed much, if at all.

December 8, 1982 KTIM-fm studio, San Rafael, CA: Dinosaurs
An old listing has The Dinosaurs playing on KTIM-fm in San Rafael. KTIM was the leading rock station in Marin County, but it didn't have a strong signal. It was just barely audible in Berkeley and San Francisco. Another old listing has the Dinosaurs at the Hun Sound studio in San Rafael. My suspicion is that the band played Hun Sound for a broadcast on KTIM, as KTIM had no facilities for a real live broadcast.

Dinosaurs returned to the Old Waldorf on December 10, 1982, and Kelley made a new poster for it

December 10, 1982 Old Waldorf, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs/Dan Hicks
Since many of the older San Francisco musicians were hardly working anymore, it turned out that they were very available for guest appearances. One of the perhaps unexpected dynamics of the Dinosaurs was that the concept was a perfect platform for old friends to get together on stage, since the fan base of all those groups was by now largely the same.

Although the five Dinosaurs, now including Hunter, were the core group, both Old Waldorf shows featured numerous guests who each sat in for a number: Merl Saunders, Country Joe McDonald, Mickey Hart, David Nelson, Greg Elmore, Dave Getz (Big Brother drummer), Sam Andrews (ex BB guitarist, now playing saxophone) Michael Wilhelm, drummer Harold Aceves and pianist Righteous Rauol. Nicky Hopkins sat in on piano for the entire late show. Old friend Dan Hicks (an ex-Charlatan himself) opened the shows. Given that almost none of the band members or guests had record contracts or current albums at the time, there was a fair amount of attention given to the Dinosaurs. There were early and late shows, but although the night was well attended, I don't believe that either show sold out.

Hunter sang "Franklin's Tower," a critical indication that Grateful Dead songs would not be off-limits for this endeavor.

There is a spurious tape listing for an Old Waldorf show on December 18. The Dinosaurs did not play the Old Waldorf that night. The booked bands at the Waldorf were Steel Breeze, The Payolas and The Silhouttes. The Old Waldorf wasn't like Marin--bands didn't just casually substitute on a Saturday night. Probably this tape is a mis-dated set from the previous weekend (Dec 10).

Another confusing issue for tracking Dinosaurs shows was that all the band members would regularly play without Hunter, under different names. Not only was there the Barry Melton Band, but Cippolina played in numerous local bands, sometimes with other Dinosaurs. Sometimes there were more casual aggregations, too. For example, on December 21, 1982, at Uncle Charlie's, there was a benefit for The Freedom Foundation. The show was billed as "Freedom Foundation Jam." At least based on the surviving tape, the lineup was Cippolina, Melton, Albin, Dryden, Bob Weir and Norton Buffalo. It is sometimes listed as a Dinosaurs show, which strictly speaking it wasn't, though it was part of the same evolutionary tree.

December 31, 1982 Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA: Grateful Dead/Dinosaurs
In a unique occurrence, Dinosaurs with Robert Hunter opened for the Grateful Dead at Oakland Auditorium on New Year's Eve, 1982. This was the only time that Hunter opened for the Dead. A whole spectrum of Dinosaurs made guest appearances onstage, including Nicky Hopkins (who played electric piano most of the show), Kathi McDonald, Country Joe McDonald and saxophonist Stevie "Teenage" Douglas.

I attended this show--it was great--and wrote about it elsewhere at some length.

January 20, 1983 Phoenix Theater, Petaluma, CA: Dinosaurs
The Dinosaurs settled into the steady habit of playing a couple of shows a month, mostly around the Bay Area, but occasionally elsewhere. Melton and Hunter shared the vocals, although both Cipollina and Peter Albin would each sing a number, too. Melton's material was mostly his own, blues-based songs from prior albums. Hunter would mix in songs that Deadheads recognized (like "Fire On The Mountain,""Promontory Rider" or "New Speedway Boogie") with new material. Guests were routine. Although Dinosaurs were a jamming band rather than a rehearsed one, they were more like Quicksilver than the Dead, in the sense that the jams stayed within a safe scope.

January 22, 1983 Keystone Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA: Dinosaurs
One attraction for local promoters was that with the Jerry Garcia Band and Bobby And The Midnites regularly playing well attended local gigs around the Bay Area, the Dinosaurs added another option. The Dinosaurs played many of the venues that Garcia and Weir played during this period.

February 15, 1983 Mabuhay Gardens, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs
The Mabuhay Gardens was not a typical venue for any Dead related bands, nor any bands remotely like that. The Mabuhay Gardens was a Filipino Restaurant on Broadway, just across from The Stone. Since the mid-70s, the basement of the restaurant hosted punk rock shows, and the "Fab Mab" was a foundational venue for both local and touring punk and new wave bands. It was still around in the 80s. All of the Dinosaurs had a good sense of humor, and probably enjoyed reminding themselves that once they were the outlaws in town with the scary hair.

February 18, 1983 Cotati Cabaret, Cotati, CA: Dinosaurs
Matthew Kelly was a guest at this show (on "Lawdy Miss Clawdy"). Although Kelly was slightly younger than the Dinosaur crew, by the '80s, this hardly mattered. Kelly went back to the day with the rest of them.

February 22, 1983 Recreation Center, Corte Madera, CA: Dinosaurs
Although the Corte Madera Rec Center was probably a small gig, it was prime hunting ground for Dinosaurs. Guests this night included Matthew Kelly, Norton Buffalo, David Nelson, Kathi McDonald, Michael Wilhelm, David Cohen, Michael DeJong, Richard Olsen, Greg Anton and Mark Unobsky. David Cohen is listed as a sax player, which is either a mistake, or else it wasn't that (the CJF) David Cohen. The intriguing name is Mark Unobsky, a pretty good slide guitarist who was a key figure in the Red Dog Saloon way back In The Day, but had chosen to make a living in a profession besides music.

March 24, 1983 Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, CA: Dinosaurs
March 25, 1983 Country Club, Reseda, CA: Dinosaurs
In Southern California, there were far fewer opportunities to see either members of the Grateful Dead or former Avalon legends like Cipollina, and Dinosaurs filled that need. The Country Club was out in the suburbs, and Deadheads who were a little bit older were happy to go buy a few drinks at a nearby club rather than make some giant trek.

Kelley's poster for Dinosaurs at the Kabuki in San Francisco on April 9, 1983

April 9, 1983 Kabuki Theater, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs
The Kabuki Theater was in Japantown, right across from the old Fillmore, appropriately enough. The parking was great, which mattered to a Dinosaurs audience. Old friends included Greg Elmore, Charley Musselwhite, Pete Sears, Richard Olsen and Michael Wilhelm.

April 20, 1983 Barbary Coast Room, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs played an afternoon show at San Francisco State. Guests included some pretty obscure friends, drummer Chuck Bernstein (from It's A Beautiful Day) and horn player Richard Ralston from The Charlatans (neither of whom rings a bell with me, and I'm good with obscure names).

May 20, 1983 Porter College, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA: Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs played Porter College--College Five for you old-time Banana Slugs--, probably in the Dining Commons. A commenter says it was "the night before Kresge Day '83." New Hunter songs like "Amagamalin Street" were starting to turn up in Dinosaurs sets. Keyser:

We only rehearsed about twice and with Bob Hunter we really needed to rehearse. Sometimes on stage with Hunter he would start a song that we that we had never heard. He wouldn't even say what key it was in, what the tempo was or the feel was. He would just start a song and just go for it. In a way I liked that kind of concept but for putting out recordings it just didn't work."

June 17, 1983 Keystone Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA: Dinosaurs/New Riders Of The Purple Sage/Mark Castro Band
June 18, 1983 Phoenix Theater, Petaluma, CA: Dinosaurs/New Riders Of The Purple Sage
By this time, the New Riders were just John Dawson and some other guys, with multi-instrumentalist Rusty Gauthier being the key player. Still, they were Dinosaurs too (Mark Castro, as I recall, was a blues harmonica player).

July 3, 1983 Civic Center, San Rafael, CA: Dinosaurs
This is a very old listing, which I cannot confirm. It could either be the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium or the Marin County Fairgrounds, which are actually right next to each other. Or it could be a canceled or never-held event.

When Dinosaurs first played the Pacific Nothwest, Kelley made a poster for the three shows (Apr 14-16, 1983)

July 14, 1983 Starry Night, Portland, OR: Dinosaurs
July 15, 1983 4th Avenue Tavern, Olympia, WA: Dinosaurs
July 16, 1983 Paramount Theater, Seattle, WA: Dinosaurs
The Dinosaurs went out for a weekend tour in the Pacific Northwest. The Dead were as popular as ever there, but save for the occasional Garcia show, spinoff bands never played there, and the other Dinosaurs didn't play there much either. As a result, Dinosaurs could headline the Seattle Paramount, where the Dead had headlined a decade earlier.

September 16, 1983 Rainbow Music Hall, Denver, CO: Dinosaurs
Denver was another place where Deadheads were legion, but the spinoff bands didn't play there much. I have no idea whether this was well attended, but my guess would be that it did pretty well. [update] A Commenter reports that this show was well attended.

September 17, 1983 Salt Air Pavilion, Salt Lake City, UT: Dinosaurs
With a Friday show in Denver, it made sense to play a Saturday show within striking distance. According to an Archive commenter, it may not have been a financial pleasure:

I was living in SLC at the time...remember seeing a small poster for the show at the Smiths in the Ave's. I do not think more than 50 people showed up...funky hall out on a jetty in off the great salt lake...they had everyone arm in arm doing the hokey pokey at the end.

David La Flamme was a guest Dinosaur this night. I believe he had family ties in Utah.

September 24, 1983 Wolfgang's, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs
Wolfgang's was Bill Graham's new San Francisco nightclub, more or less superseding the Old Waldorf. While Jerry Garcia still played The Stone, in SF the Dinosaurs mostly played for Graham, just as they always had.

Wolfgang's was at 901 Columbus, formerly the site of The Village, and later a disco (Dance Yer Ass Off), and then the New Boarding House. Wolfgang's (called after Bill Graham's birth name, Wolodia in Hungarian, but Europeanized to Wolfgang) was mostly filled with hip rock acts, but it had to be open all the time, so the old Fillmore guys got their shots.

October 13, 1983 Phoenix Theater, Petaluma, CA: Dinosaurs
October 14, 1983 Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA: Dinosaurs
October 15, 1983 Keystone Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA: Dinosaurs
All three of these Bay Area venues regularly booked the Jerry Garcia Band. Outside of Graham's SF territory, Dinosaurs were the next-best-alternative to a JGB show (Bob Weir drew many Deadheads, of course, but his appeal was less to the old hippie demographic).

At the October 15 Keystone Palo Alto show, the legendary Skip Spence made an appearance. Skip didn't really have it anymore, but by this time just saying that you saw him was worth something.

November 5, 1983 Cotati Cabaret, Cotati, CA: Dinosaurs
David Nelson was guest Dinosaur at the Cotati Cabaret. His regular number was "Crooked Judge."

November 9, 1983 Last Day Saloon, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs
The Last Day Saloon was at 406 Clement, near between 5th and 6th Avenue, in the Inner Richmond between The Presidio and Golden Gate Park (it's still a live venue, but now called Neck Of The Woods).

December 2, 1983 Cabo's, Chico, CA: Dinosaurs(early and late)
Dinosaurs played two shows in Chico. There is a tape, but other than that I know nothing about it.

December 1983 MuSiC
In December 1983, Cippolina, Melton, Albin and Dryden started playing shows with Merl Saunders on keyboards, but without Hunter. They used the name MuSiC for these bookings. Saunders gave them a Dead connection, and a different sound as well. Several months later, Saunders would "replace" Hunter in Dinosaurs, but in fact he had been playing with the crew for several months.

There is a studio rehearsal dated December 1983, but the first publicly advertised show that I know about was Keystone Berkeley on February 11, 1984. I attended, and the old fossils sounded great with Saunders on organ. Given that each Dinosaur, save for Hunter, tended to perform the same numbers, it was nice to both hear some new songs and a different feel on some of their regular material.

Kelley's poster for Dinosaurs appearance at the Corte Madera Rec Center, at the Arista Records Christmas Party on December 17, 1983

December 17, 1983 Recreation Center, Corte Madera, CA: Dinosaurs Arista Records Party
The Grateful Dead were still on Arista, even if they weren't really doing anything with them at the time. Still, there must have been a convention--East Coast labels liked to go California in the Winter--and presumably the Dead still had enough clout with Clive Davis to get their friends hired.

December 22, 1983 Union Square, San Francisco, CA: Nobody For President Rally
Wavy Gravy had a sort of comedy/activist routine called "Nobody For President" ("which politician is going to look after your needs? Nobody!"). Wavy would headline and emcee these sort of Rally/Protests around the Bay Area. The Dinosaurs were supposed to perform at a noontime rally in the tony San Francisco shopping district of Union Square, but rain interfered. The rally was still held, and Robert Hunter played a solo set instead.

January 28, 1984 Wolfgang's, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs/Country Joe McDonald
Country Joe McDonald, a true Dinosaur, had already made several guest appearances with the band. Now he started being booked with them. He would open the show with a solo acoustic set, and then join the rest of the band later in the show for a few numbers. Once again, for fans who had already seen them several times, this made for a nice change.

February 4, 1984 Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA: Dinosaurs

February 17, 1984 KFOG-fm, San Francisco, CA.
I have an old listing for Dinosaurs on KFOG on February 17. I have no idea if they performed or were interviewed, or if the listing is spurious. Since February 17 was a Friday, I'm more inclined to think it was an interview.

February 18, 1984 Keystone Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA: Dinosaurs

March 2, 1984 Cotati Cabaret, Cotati, CA: Dinosaurs

April 26, 1984 BJ Kelly's, Eugene, OR: Dinosaurs
April 27, 1984 Hub Ballroom, U. of Washington, Seattle, WA: Dinosaurs/County Joe McDonald
April 28, 1984 Starry Night, Portland, OR: Dinosaurs/County Joe McDonald
Country Joe joined Dinosaurs for the two big weekend shows in Seattle (Friday) and Portland (Saturday).

May 26, 1984 Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA: Dinosaurs

June 1, 1984 Wolfgang's, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs

June 8, 1984 Palace West, Phoenix, AZ: Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs made a little foray into the Southwest. I don't know anything about the Palace West in Phoenix. June 8 was a Friday.

June 9, 1984 Dinosaurs Cafe, Santa Fe, NM: Dinosaurs
Very appropriately, Dinosaurs played Dinosaurs Cafe in Santa Fe. Once again, I know nothing about the venue. On one hand, the various Dinosaurs would almost never have played Santa Fe, so it might have been exotic. On the other hand, there may not have been an audience for them, either. There are still a lot of old hippies in Santa Fe, even now, but I don't know if they were the sort who went out to see touring bands.

June 10, 1984 Peggy's Hi-Lo Bar, Boulder, CO: Dinosaurs
The Southwest excursion ended with a Sunday night show in Boulder. My notes come from some very old listings that the venue was either the Blue Note or the Olympic Lounge. Regular Commenter CryptDev, however, says that it was Peggy's Hi-Lo Bar, a roadhouse outside of town that mostly booked country acts.

July 15, 1984 Marx Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA: Dinosaurs/others
Robert Hunter had decided to leave Dinosaurs. All of the band remained friends, but Hunter's musical interests didn't really fit in with Dinosaurs at this time. It was announced, probably in BAM Magazine, that Hunter would be replaced with Merl Saunders, and that the show in Golden Gate Park would be Hunter's last appearance with the band.

Appropriately, given the history of the band members, Hunter's final Dinosaurs show was a free concert in Golden Gate Park, at Marx Meadows. Hunter, in fact, was the only Dinosaur who had not already played for free in Golden Gate Park. Michael Wilhelm was the guest Dinosaur that afternoon.

>August 10, 1984 Cotati Cabaret, Cotati, CA: Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs first gig without Hunter was once again in an out of the way venue, appropriate for a band that used live gigs as rehearsals. Along with Merl Saunders on organ, old friend David LaFlamme joined the group on electric violin, along with occasional vocals and electric guitar. LaFlamme, too, was announced in BAM as a permanent addition.

August 28, 1984 Wolfgang's, San Francisco, CA Dinosaurs/Jerry Garcia and John Kahn/Country Joe McDonald and Friends/David Nelson/Rick and Ruby Rodney Albin Benefit
Robert Hunter had left Dinosaurs, but sadly and appropriately he appeared with them one final time. Rodney Albin, not only Peter's brother but an absolutely essential figure in the careers of Jerry Garcia, Hunter, Big Brother and The Holding Company and many others, had died far too soon of stomach cancer in 1984. All of his friends came out for a memorial and fundraiser for him, headlined by Jerry Garcia. The whole night featured dinosaurs of every stripe, and I have written about both Rodney Albin and the benefit concert at Wolfgang's at great length.

For the only time, Hunter played the whole Dinosaur set with both Merl Saunders and David LaFlamme, along with the original quartet. Dinosaurs closed the show and rocked the house hard. Hunter's career as a performing electric Dinosaur ended on this night, but of course the community of old lizards remains intact to this day.

In 2005, Dinosaurs released the Friends Of Extinction cd. Disc one was the Relix album, and disc two was live material from the late 80s, after Hunter had left the band (although he guested on occasion, and thus sings on one track of the live album as well)

Dinosaurs: The Post-Hunterazoic Era
Dinosaurs continued on without Hunter, generally quite successfully. Merl Saunders was a great addition, and songs like "Sugaree" kept the Dead connection alive. However, John Cipollina died in June 1989, and that left a hole in the band. Still, there were still plenty of Dinosaurs around. Initially, electric violinist Papa John Creach took over Cippo's slot, amusingly appropriate since he was an even older Dinosaur than the rest of them. The music sounded great, but ironically enough, with the rise of cds, the Dinosaur appeal shrunk somewhat. For one thing, many old bands like Big Brother and The Holding Company got resuscitated, and that conflicted with any Dinosaur gigs. Guests still regularly dropped in on Dinosaur gigs, including, at least once, Robert Hunter himself (he sang "Amagamalin Street" at Keystone Palo Alto on October 25, 1985. I don't know if Hunter sang or played on other songs).

After Hunter left Dinosaurs, and even before, numerous other bands existed in tandem with them. The most famous, of course, was the reformed Big Brother And The Holding Company, which featured the original quartet, along with various singers. Another band was the Melton-Cipollina Band, usually billed as Fish And Chip. It initially featured the original Dinosaur quartet (Cipollina, Melton, Albin, Dryden), although in later years Doug Kilmer and Greg Elmore sometimes held down the rhythm section. Yet another configuration was the Barry Melton Band, sometimes called Fish Stu, which featured Melton, Albin, Dryden and keyboard player Stu Blank. Fish Stu mostly played The Saloon, and at times various other old friends participated or substituted.

Dinosaurs finally went into the studio in 1988, and released a self-titled LP on Relix Records later that year. The album mostly featured songs that had not been released on other albums. Robert Hunter reappeared to share vocals on the song "Who Makes The Moves" that he had co-written with Barry Melton. It had been a fairly regular part of the Dinosaurs repertoire when Hunter was in the band. Hunter also co-wrote a song with Merl Saunders, "Resurrection Rag." The album got a certain amount of attention, but like all Relix releases its footprint was not large.

Dinosaurs: Decline and Extinction
Even after the unfortunate death of John Cipollina in June, 1989, Dinosaurs soldiered on. Papa John Creach joined the group and the band continued to play. After a while, Papa John stepped down and was more or less replaced by Jerry Miller, formerly of Moby Grape, bringing another species into the band's DNA. At a certain point, however, the larger pool of fans interested in Dinosaur music had seen the band a few times, and since the group didn't rehearse, the fact that Dinosaurs didn't really vary their sets much started to weigh on fans' interest. Albin recalls

"When we first started as Dinosaurs we definitely had a following with Dead Heads but when they realized we were playing the same songs over and over again they stopped coming. We did the same set all the time. Barry didn't want to do a set list, he refused saying that every audience was different and that he had to feel out the audience and then pick the song, well he picked the same songs all the time!"

Dinosaurs casually ground to a halt in 1996. There was no announcement or plan that I am aware of, only bookings became fewer and fewer and the band just stopped playing. Something might have been said in Relix, but even then it was pretty casual. All Dinosaurs, including Hunter, generally remained good friends and periodically appeared with each other when the opportunity arose. As the band members aged, their desire to go on the road, or even stay out late at night, faded somewhat.

In 2005, Acadia Records released a double cd of Dinosaurs material. All the songs from the Relix lp were included, along with two unreleased bonus tracks, and there was a variety of live tracks from 1987 to 1989 (for exact details, see the Appendix below).

Appendix: Officially Released Dinosaurs Material
Dinosaurs (Relix 1988)
Friends Of Extinction (Acadia 2005, double cd, original LP plus live tracks 87-89)

Dinosaurs
Initial release : 1988
Relix 2031 (US) / Big Beat WIK83 (UK) / Line Records (Germany)

Robert Hunter performs on one song and co-wrote two of the song on this album.

Lay Back Baby (Saunders / McPherson)
Strange Way (Melton / Zimmels)
Do I Move You? (Simone)
Butcher's Boy (Traditional arr. Melton)
Good Old Rock 'N Roll (Melton)
Resurrection Rag (Saunders / Hunter)
Who Makes Moves? (Hunter / Melton)
Mona (I Need You Baby) (McDaniel)

The CD release includes two extra tracks;
Fossil Fuel (Cipollina)
Motel Party Baby (Cipollina / Philippet)

Musicians
John Cipollina - guitar, vocals
Barry Melton - guitar, vocals
Peter Albin - bass, vocals
Spencer Dryden - drums
Merl Saunders - keyboards, vocals
Robert Hunter - vocals (Who Makes Moves? only)

Credits
Producer - John Cipollina, Merl Saunders and Dinosaurs
Engineer - Tom Flye, Bob Hodas, Bob Skye
Remix - Tom Flye
Mastering - George Horn
Post-production - John Hadden
Project coordinator - Steve Keyser
Front cover - Dennis Nolan
Graphics - Alton Kelley
Back cover photo - Alan Blaustein
Graphics - Mike Dolgushkin
Liner notes (Linosaur Diner Notes) - Robert Hunter
Many thanks to - Avrom Ash, Kevyn Clark, Sindi Cooper, Thad Cordes, Greg Elmore, Charlie Kaiser, Kenn Roberts, Hal and Sandy Royaltey, Mike Somaville, Dan Watham, Wally Watham, Debbie Wilensky and especially Rick Hubbard
This project was recorded at Tres Virgos Studios, San Rafael; Studio D, Sausalito and remote recording by The Plant Studios at The Cabaret, Cotati
Remixed at Prairie Sun Recorders, Cotati and Fantasy Studios, Berkeley

Friends Of Extinction-Dinosaurs
Initial release : 2005
Acadia Records

Double CD comprising a remastered version of the Dinosaurs only studio album plus previously unreleased live material. Robert Hunter, Merl Saunders and Barry Melton perform and contribute to the song writing.

Disc 1 (Original album);
Lay Back Baby (Saunders/McPherson)
Strange Way (Melton/Zimmels)
Do I Move You? (Simone)
Butcher's Boy (Traditional arr. Melton)
Good Old Rock 'N Roll (Melton)
Fossil Fuel (Cipollina)
Resurrection Rag (Saunders/Hunter)
Motel Party Baby (Cipollina / Philippet)
Who Makes Moves? (Hunter/Melton)
Mona (I Need You Baby) (McDaniel)
Honky Tonk Jekyll & Hyde (Cipollina)
Overnight (Cipollina)

Disc 2 (Dinosaurs Are Alive);
The Dance (Aceves)
Amagamalin Street (Hunter)
No More Country Girl (Creach)
The Love Machine (Melton)
I Can't Get Started With You (Gershwin / Duke)
Built For Comfort (Dixon)
Blind Man (Traditional)
Codine (Saint Marie)
Closer (Melton)

Musicians Disc 1:
John Cipollina - guitar, vocals
Barry Melton - guitar, vocals
Peter Albin - bass, vocals
Spencer Dryden - drums
Merl Saunders - keyboards, vocals
Robert Hunter - vocals (Who Makes Moves? only)

Musicians Disc 2:
John Cipollina - guitar, vocals
Barry Melton - guitar, vocals
Peter Albin - bass, vocals
Spencer Dryden - drums
Merl Saunders - keyboards, vocals
Papa John Creach - violin, vocals
Stu Blank - organ (on The Dance)
Greg Elmore - drums (on Love Machine)
Doug Killmer - bass (on The Dance and Love Machine)
Kathi McDonald - vocals (on Blind Man)
Robbie Hoddinott - guitar (on Closer)
Robert Hunter - vocals (on Amagamalin Street)

Credits
For the original album (Disc 1)
Producer - John Cipollina, Merl Saunders and Dinosaurs
Engineer - Tom Flye, Bob Hodas, Bob Skye
Remix - Tom Flye
Mastering - George Horn
Post-production - John Hadden
Project coordinator - Steve Keyser
This project was recorded at Tres Virgos Studios, San Rafael; Studio D, Sausalito and remote recording by The Plant Studios at The Cabaret, Cotati
Remixed at Prairie Sun Recorders, Cotati and Fantasy Studios, Berkeley
Honky Tonk Jekyll & Hyde and Overnight were recorded on February 5, 1985.

For the live disc (Disc 2);
Producer, mastering - Mick Skidmore
Executive producer, tape archivist, project coordinator - Steve Keyser
Track selection - Steve Keyser, Mick Skidmore, Barry Melton
The tracks on disc 2 are live recordings from the following sources;
The Dance - Chi Chi Club, San Francisco, October 17, 1987
Amagamalin Street - Keystone, Palo Alto, October 25, 1985
No More Country Girl - The Backstage, Seattle, August 12, 1989
The Love Machine - Chi Chi Club, San Francisco, December 5, 1987
I Can't Get Started With You - The Backstage, Seattle, August 12, 1989
Built For Comfort - Starry Night, Portland, October 22, 1988
Blind Man - Parker's, Seattle, November 1, 1987
Codine - Chi Chi Club, San Francisco, April 8, 1989
Closer - Mabuhay Gardens, San Fransisco, June 22, 1985

The David Nelson Band, which was formed in 1994, now includes Pete Sears on bass, due in no small part to some undisclosed plans of Jerry Garcia

Creative people are famous for their ideas, and that is as true of Jerry Garcia as any other artist. The Grateful Dead, Old And In The Way, "Dark Star," Round Records and many other famous and infamous Garcia endeavors were the end products of a fertile, creative mind. Yet we all know creative people, in every profession and avocation, and for every good idea that sees the light of day, there's several more that never got executed.

Jerry Garcia, a wealthy and successful 20th century rock star by any accounting, had numerous bands on the side, far more than any other peer from his era. For all his success, Garcia had the endless energy to play bars and smaller auditoriums with a variety of ensembles playing a wide variety of music. Remarkable as that was, that wasn't even the whole story. This post will look at some planned "Garcia Bands" that saw the light of day but never got off the starting line, with just an odd jam session or album track to show for it.

On March 11, 1968, the Grateful Dead opened for Cream in Sacramento. Jerry Garcia and Jack Casady were so impressed with the Cream that they considered forming their own power trio

"Power Trio" with Jack Casady (ca 1968)
Cream was the biggest thing to hit rock music in the Summer of '67, and they had only gotten better when they came back in March of 1968. Garcia saw Cream a number of times in August 1967 and March '68, and the Grateful Dead even opened for Cream on a Monday night in Sacramento (March 11 '68). The story goes that Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady chartered a Lear Jet so they could get to the Sacramento show.

Afterwards, it seems that Casady and Garcia talked about forming a power trio. There was no talk about leaving their bands, just some kind of side exercise. Casady, a phenomenal bass player by any standard, had a style far more appropriate for a power trio than Phil Lesh. Of course, there were no junior Ginger Bakers on the San Francisco scene, but the idea was out there. Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart appear to have been dually recruited to equal one Ginger. The story goes that Jerry and Jack asked Janis Joplin to front the band, and she said "do I have to look at your ugly mugs?" or words to that effect.

Of course, while Janis was a close friend, she was still relentlessly ambitious. She might have even been willing to form a band with Jerry and Jack, but not a side band. Janis would hang with her friends, but she wasn't going to put her energy into playing the Matrix on a Tuesday night. More's the pity. The one whiff of this ensemble seems to be a photo of Garcia and Casady jamming at Rancho Olampali on July 28, 1968 (I'm not certain who played drums). Somehow this idea morphed into Mickey And The Hartbeats, which had an intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying history. Still, it's a thought--do you think Jerry and Jack could have burned up "Down On Me?" Yeah, I think so.

Collaboration with David Crosby (ca early 1970s)
From their debut in 1969 and throughout the 1970s, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were one of the biggest groups in rock. So David Crosby hardly "needed" Jerry Garcia to help his career. Yet in the spring of 1970, when asked if he would like to work with Garcia, he said

"Man, I would. Now I think Jerry Garcia probably needs me like he needs a third eye. Excuse me, a fourth. He has a third. But I would be just so knocked-out to play, or sing, or do any kind of music with that dude...and he’s not the only one. What about Lesh?"

As 1970 wore on, CSNY, the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and others recorded almost daily at Wally Heider's studio in San Francisco. These became known as the "PERRO" sessions (for Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra). Among the many recordings from that period were Garcia's initial solo album and David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name, where Garcia and other Dead members played prominent roles. More or less uniquely amongst the PERRO crowd, Garcia and Crosby, along with Lesh and Kreutzmann, actually performed. They played three weeknights at The Matrix, probably December 14-16 (Monday thru Wednesday) and also at Pepperland in San Rafael on December 21, 1970. I have written about these shows at length, so I won't recap it all here, but within the context of the post some summarizing is still in order.

Based on the material played and Crosby's comments on the 'rehearsal' tape, the Matrix excursion seems like a Crosby project. It appears that Crosby wanted to play some of his new material live, and encouraged Garcia, Lesh and a drummer to back him. From that point of view, Garcia's participation is reminiscent of the New Riders--someone else's material, with Jerry as a sideman. However, unlike Garcia's tenure in the New Riders, he leads the band on a few songs clearly of his own choosing. I have no doubts that Crosby would have been amenable to whatever Garcia wanted to perform, and would have been more than willing to split vocals evenly with him if that had been what Garcia wanted. Whether or not Garcia saw the Matrix enterprise as a 'Crosby venture' or a 'joint venture,' Garcia would have been free to step up to the microphone to whatever extent he felt like it. Thanks to CSNY, music business orthodoxy was less fixated on the supposedly unbreakable partnership of a rock group and heading towards looser, temporary solo or duo arrangements.

Garcia and the Dead were always in a cash squeeze--what if Garcia, Crosby and Nash had decided to tour for a few dates? Crosby and Nash, as members of CSNY, were huge, and Garcia was at least a genuine rock star himself. If they had played some new material along with "Long Time Gone" and "Casey Jones," not to mention "Teach Your Children," it would have been very popular indeed. Do you think Crosby and Nash could have handled the harmonies on "Uncle John's Band?" Garcia could have made a ton of money playing a half-dozen dates with Crosby and Nash, and he would have made really good music besides. Certainly the record company would have loved it (Warner Brothers and Crosby and Nash's label, Atlantic, were linked corporately). Yet Garcia took the opposite tack of every other rock star in the 1970s, and kept his solo career separate.

Electric Band with Pete Sears and David Nelson (ca. 1988)
Pete Sears was an English musician who played bass and keyboards for a number of pretty obscure English bands in the lat 1960s (Google if you want to know--they were really obscure). By chance, he became friendly with Leigh Stephens, the former guitarist of San Francisco's infamous Blue Cheer. Stephens was living on a houseboat on the Thames River in London in 1969 to get away from the madness of Blue Cheer (surely you remember Stephens' album Red Weather? You don't?). Sears and Stephens became jamming partners, and when Leigh Stephens struck a deal with Tom Donahue of KSAN, Sears and Stephens formed Silver Metre. Silver Metre recorded one OK album and played some Fillmore West gigs, thanks to Donahue (there's even a live tape from July 10 1970), so Sears got a taste of the West Coast.

Another result of the Donahue connection was that Sears ended up in Stoneground--the Medicine Ball Caravan, with Bob and Betty and Alembic doing the sound, was in London, another long tangent-- and came back to San Francisco with the band. In the early 1970s, Sears had alternated between playing with West Coasters like John Cipollina (he was in Copperhead) and Kathi McDonald (he produced her Insane Asylum album) and doing session work in London with the likes of Long John Baldry and Rod Stewart (Sears played on Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells A Story and Never A Dull Moment). Jefferson Starship had reformed in early 1974, but Peter Kaukonen (Jorma's brother) was not a fit in the band (although he was an excellent player), and Sears took his place in Jefferson Starship in mid-74. Sears finally left the Starship after a 13-year career with the band where they were phenomenally successful. In 1988, however, Sears was only playing in a few local Marin ensembles. Enter Jerry. Sears tells the story on the David Nelson Band website:

At one point Jerry Garcia suggested I get together with a good friend of his and form a band…his friend was David Nelson of the old "New Riders of the Purple Sage". I had just left "Jefferson Starship" after 13 years [around 1987]. At Jerry's urging, David came over to my house in Mill Valley and we spent a wonderful afternoon talking about music and the worlds problems. However we didn't get the band together…the time wasn't right.

This quote is pretty remarkable. Here it is 1988 or so, and Garcia is talking to Pete Sears and David Nelson about putting a band together. It's unclear from the syntax whether Garcia intended to be a "member" of that band. Around the middle of 1988, Garcia seemed to have lost interest in the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. Neither Nelson nor Sandy Rothman had lost their interest, but Jerry had a way of simply moving on when he was done with things. However, it appears that Jerry had some other plans that we were not aware of at the time. My own assumption is that Garcia wanted to find something else for Nelson to do, something that maybe Garcia could drop in on from time to time. Sears, like Garcia, had been a successful rock star who would be fine with a part-time group. What would a band with Garcia, Sears and Nelson have looked like? By all means, please put your speculation in the Comments, but here's my line of thinking.

Since Garcia would not have been full-time--obviously--perhaps the idea was that Nelson and Sears would have a band, with Nelson as the lead singer, and Garcia would have just dropped in on occasion. Maybe Kahn would have still played bass when Jerry wasn't there, which would have made economic sense.
If Garcia had still wanted to have done an acoustic thing (which Sears could have handled), I think he would have been more likely to keep the JGAB together, not get a new group, so I think the Nelson/Sears pair was seen by Jerry as an electrical connection
Sears invited to Garcia to make a rare Golden Gate Park appearance on July 16, 1988, the afternoon before a Greek Theatre show, so the contact fits the 1988 time frame (Garcia sat in with Zero, and Sears was a member). So we know that Garcia and Sears were definitely in touch at the time
The other time Sears played with Garcia was on April 29, 1990, with Nick Gravenites (at the South Of Market Cultural Center in San Francisco). Although outside the time frame, Sears played piano, and that leads me to think Garcia liked Sears as a piano player. Remember, during this period Sears was playing piano with Hot Tuna as well.
Garcia did everything with John Kahn, so I'm assuming Kahn could have been in this new band, which also makes Sears a keyboard player. Sears can play anything--he's not a bad guitarist as far as I can tell, besides bass, organ and piano--but my assumption is that the lineup would be Garcia and Nelson-guitars and vocals, Sears-piano and keyboards, maybe Kahn on bass and then a drummer.
The 1988-era Jerry Garcia Band was pretty much an R&B ensemble, although obviously one with a unique Garcia twist. Melvin Seals' gospel influenced organ and the twin vocalists added some soul mojo to even the most hippiest Dylan and Hunter songs, much less Smokey Robinson covers.

All this leads me to think that the Garcia/Sears/Nelson band would have played American honky tonk music. In some ways, it might have found a sweet spot between the current David Nelson Band and the Nicky Hopkins configuration of the JGB. If or when Garcia showed up, it might have given him a chance to play some Chuck Berry and New Orleans numbers that had kind of fallen out of the Garcia Band rotation. Nelson as a guitarist and possibly singer suggests that some California country music was in order, too (since, of course, all they had to was "Act Naturally"). Maybe Nelson would have been the lead singer, with Garcia as a special guest. Can anyone think of a mutual friend who might have helped Nelson write some original material? Hmmm...

Your mileage may vary, but it makes sense to me. Garcia decides to let the JGAB fade away, and starts thinking about jamming out some honky tonk with Nelson and an Englishman who was actually reliable this time, Now, maybe Garcia never intended to participate in the Sears/Nelson band, but I can't help but think that if Garcia had been the musical godfather of the band, he would have dropped in when he could. The key fact to me is that Garcia--always a busy man--found time to facilitate a meeting between two musician neighbors. A casual favor? Not in my book. Garcia didn't get to be a rock star by accident, and the Sears/Nelson meeting was no accident, even if we can only guess at Garcia's reasoning.

Still, it was not to be. However Garcia may have conceived of any role in a Nelson/Sears band, it got pre-empted by his ongoing partnership with David Grisman, who filled Garcia's need for a "third way" separate from the structured worlds of the Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band. And who was responsible for the return of David Grisman into the Garciaverse? Amusingly, it turns out to have been Pete Sears. In 1988, Sears had left Starship, and made the album Watchfire to publicize the human rights crisis in Central America. He invited the finest musicians in Marin County to join him. Since Sears had been busy touring, he did not know that Garcia and David Grisman had not spoken for over a dozen years, due to financial disputes relating to Round Records royalties for the Old And In The Way album. Thus, Sears invited both of them to the same session, and a rapprochement followed. Garcia found a daytime home at Grisman's garage studio, and he did not need a "third" band. Whether or not Garcia had intended a Nelson/Sears ensemble as a part-time endeavor for himself, the new partnership with Grisman superseded any other ideas. Sears joined Hot Tuna, and Nelson started tour with Zydeco artist Al Rapone.

Improvisational Trio with Rob Wasserman and Edie Brickell (ca. 1993)
The late, great bassist Rob Wasserman (1952-2016), a musical partner of Bob Weir's for many years--"the John Kahn of Bob Weir," for regular readers of this blog--had recorded an album of duets in 1988 (Duets on MCA Records), so he followed it up with an album of trios. The record was recorded over a few years. Each track was a specific trio. The songs "Zillionaire" and "American Popsicle" were recorded with Jerry Garcia and former New Bohemians singer Edie Brickell.

In the liner notes, Wasserman wrote:

This was the first trio I recorded and I feel it set the tone for the entire record. I first met Edie when I picked her up at the San Francisco airport. My car door wouldn't open, so she proceeded to climb in through the window! - I liked her immediately. Later, when we jammed at Jerry's house, he and I were both astonished by her ability to spontaneously create a song at the very moment she was singing it. "Zillionaire" was the first song that we came up with that night. Jerry played a grand piano as we were writing the song so he decided to record with it as well - a very rare occurrence. Several hours of music were recorded during that session. In fact, we all agreed that someday, just for fun, we would perform as an all improv band - no set list, no material!

The rumor mill had the Wasserman/Edie/Jerry tour occurring around 1993. Edie Brickell dropped in at a Grateful Dead show at Madison Square Garden on September 20, 1993. Some versions of this story have Bruce Hornsby as part of the crew along with Edie and Wasserman, although it's hard to tell if this was really plausible or just wishful thinking. Nonetheless, the consistent story is that a tour was considered, but never occurred because Edie Brickell's husband, Paul Simon, objected. Edie had married Simon on May 30, 1992. The exact timing of the reputed tour is unclear.

Deadheads are full of theories about why Simon didn't want Edie to tour with Jerry. Was he jealous? Was he worried about the notorious bad scene around the Dead? We may never know. However, there's an easy way to get an idea of Simon's thinking. Just go into the other room and tell your Significant Other, "hey honey I'm going to go on tour with the Grateful Dead for a few weeks." The look your S.O. gives you? That's what Paul Simon looked like, and it's hard to blame him. Paul and Edie have three kids, and Edie still records and even performs once in a while, and Jerry doesn't, and I'll leave it at that.

[update] Scholar and Commenter DLeopold has even more information, including a band name:

But it does not appear to be Simon who pulled the plug on any touring, but rather Garcia's partner at the time, Manasha. In McNally (p. 601) he discusses her vetoing "one of Garcia's better and more fanciful music ideas, Garcia's Mystery All Star Darkness and Confusion Band, which would have taken him, Branford Marsalis, Bruce Hornsby, Rob Wasserman and Edie Brickell out on tour with no material, relying totally on improvisation, because she was convinced that Jerry had romantic as well musical eyes for Edie."

Still, Manasha the same as an other S.O. when told "honey I'm going on tour."

Trios was released on MCA in 1994.

Zillionaire;
Edie Brickell - vocals
Jerry Garcia - piano, electric guitar
Rob Wasserman - electric upright bass

American Popsicle;

Edie Brickell - vocals

Jerry Garcia - midi guitar

Rob Wasserman - electric upright bass

Coda
Jack Casady is still playing with Jorma, as he has been since New Year's Eve 1959, which is as it should be. Crosby has no band at all, except occasionally when Crosby, Stills or Young plays with him, depending on who has embittered whom most recently. Edie Brickell and Paul Simon still appear to be married and raising their family in the Northeast somewhere, and good for them.

Pete Sears has a final observation, He didn't form a band with David Nelson, but eventually some other guys did, and they were a really good band. Sears occasionally filled in for the keyboard player of the David Nelson Band (Mookie Siegel), and ultimately he was called in to sub for and later replace bassist Bill Laymon, who had some health issues. Now, to this day, 20-odd years on, Sears is the bass player for the David Nelson Band, along with various other ensembles. Sears reflects on the past:

Anyway, I often think about Jerry wanting David and I to get a band together back in the late 1980's, which didn't end up happening, and here we are playing together. David and I have a good laugh about it once in a while…we still miss him.
We have so much fun it's like Jerry's up there looking down with that wry smile of his, and saying, "See, I told you guys".
Thanks Jerry, you were right.

An ad for Joe Cocker and Kingfish at Golden Hall in San Diego, on Sunday May 23, 1976

One of my ongoing projects has been to untangle the web or relationships linking Grateful Dead spin-off bands that did not directly stem from Jerry Garcia. Garcia, understandably, is always the focus of Grateful Dead scholarship, but he is not the only axle on which the wheels turn. In particular, the maze of relationships with David Nelson, Dave Torbert and Matthew Kelly goes far beyond the Jerry Garcia connection.

As part of this, I have an ongoing series about Kingfish, with and without Bob Weir. The recent posting of an excellent summary of Bob Weir setlists has reminded me that I have an unfinished gap in my series. From January to August of 1976, Bob Weir and Kingfish were making a genuine stab at rock stardom, producing an album on Round and touring heavily. In some ways, this was the least provocative, yet still the most productive period of the band's career. However, there has been no complete list of the shows during that time, and I myself still have not completed the research. However, in order to have continuity, I have decided to post my list as it currently stands. I am hoping that anyone with additional information or corrections can post it in the Comments and I will add the show to the list. I am particularly interested in finding out the names of any opening acts. Ultimately this should be aggregated to the Weir list linked above.

A complete list of my extensive posts on the Performance History of various non-Garcia Grateful Dead spinoff bands is presented in Appendix 2 below.

Kingfish Performance History January-August 1976
This list is focused on Kingfish performance dates and venues, with opening acts. For setlists, see the Weir setlist site . Anyone with additional information, about previously unknown shows, opening acts or eyewitness accounts (or lacking that, interesting rumors and speculation), please post them in the Comments.

Kingfish kicked off 1976 with four nights at the legendary Golden Bear in Huntington Beach

January 16-19, 1976 Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, CA: Kingfish [Friday-Monday]
Kingfish had had a successful East Coast tour with the Keith And Donna band, culminating with a two shows at Winterland (on December 19-20 '75) headlined by the Jerry Garcia Band. After a break, Kingfish played four nights at the Golden Bear in Southern California. The Golden Bear was at 308 Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, an Orange County town midway between Long Beach and Newport Beach.

January 31, 1976 La Paloma Theater, Encinitas, CA: Kingfish [Saturday]
Encinitas was near San Diego. Phil Lesh and Ned Lagin had played a show at this theater on November 22, 1975, and the promoter booked a few other Dead-related shows as well. Since January 31 was a Saturday, I suspect there may be another booking in Southern California on this weekend.

February 6, 1976 Civic Auditorium, San Jose, CA: Elvin Bishop Group/Kingfish/Carrie Nation [Friday]
February 7, 1976: Winterland, San Francisco, CA: Elvin Bishop Group/Kingfish/Carrie Nation [Saturday]
Unlike Jerry Garcia, Kingfish was willing to play second on the bill at conventional local rock shows. Bishop was a headliner based on his hit "Fooled Around And Fell In Love."Carrie Nation were a band from Nevada City, CA, who had moved to Atlanta, and then back to the Bay Area, who played in a style broadly reminiscent of the Allman Brothers.

February 19-21, 1976 Electric Ballroom, Atlanta, GA: Kingfish early and late shows all nights [Thursday-Saturday]
The Grateful Dead always had a good following in Atlanta, so it's no surprise that Kingfish could play three nights there without even a record.

Feb ??, 1976 Lisner Auditorium, GWU, Washington, DC: Kingfish
I have to think there are more dates than just three in Atlanta and one in DC. However, I don't know how long this East Coast tour actually was.

The cover of the debut album by Kingfish, released on Round Records in March 1976

>>March 1976 saw the release of the Kingfish album (Round RX-108) on United Artists/Round. Release dates were not exact in the 70s, but I think an approximate date of Tuesday March 9 seems likely. Some record stores would probably have already had the album by then, and FM stations would already have received promo copies.

March 7-8, 1976 The Savoy, San Francisco, CA: Kingfish [Sunday-Monday]
The Savoy was a tiny club in North Beach, on Grant Street. I think the band was just using these shows to get warmed up. Weir was not typcially inclined to schedule a lot of rehearsal time, so I think playing a few quiet local gigs was a way to get in shape.

March 10-13, 1976 The Roxy, West Hollywood, CA: Kingfish [Wednesday-Saturday]
The Roxy was Los Angeles' premier showcase club, out on the Sunset Strip (at 9009 Sunset Boulevard). It was standard practice for bands with a new album to play some dates at the Roxy, so that their record company could invite every dj and promo man, and buy them free drinks (which would ultimately be charged to the band). The fact that Kingfish took this route meant that they were trying for conventional rock success.

The March 11 early show was broadcast on KMET-fm. Former KSAN-fm dj Thom O'Hair was the host. United Artists would have subsidized this. There were probably early and late shows for every night, although there may not have been separate admissions.

March 23, 1976 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Kingfish [Tuesday]
The Keystone Berkeley was perhaps the biggest of the Bay Area rock clubs, but the big dates were on weekends. Bands like Kingfish that could bring a good house on a weeknight were always welcome. The exact attendance did not matter as much as the amount of beer sold. Kingfish would play multiple sets, and the fans would get all hot from dancing, so the bar must have been busy indeed.

March 26, 1976 Masonic Temple, Scranton, PA: Kingfish (early and late shows) [Friday]
Kingfish seems to have played the Eastern seaboard to support their new album, but I do not think we do not have all the dates. Scranton was a few hours north of Philadelphia (the I-476 was not yet complete, so travel times were longer). The Grateful Dead and various members had played Scranton numerous times in the 1970s.

March 27, 1976 Calderone Theater, Hempstead, NY: Kingfish (early and late shows) [Saturday]
Hempstead, NY, in Long Island, was the home base of WLIR-fm, a station which emphasized live broadcasts. Many WLIR broadcasts were from a club called My Father's Place in nearby Roslyn, but they also broadcast from a local studio (Ultrasonic) and sometimes from the Calderone Theater. The early show was broadcast on WLIR, apparently on a delayed basis.

An ad for the Kingfish show at Princeton University on March 30, 1976, from the student newspaper (The Princetonian March 29, 1976)

March 30, 1976 Alexander Hall, Princeton U., Princeton, NJ: Kingfish [Tuesday]
The Princeton show was a midweek gig on a Tuesday night. Princeton had a lot of rock shows on campus during this era. I have to think there was one or two more shows during this week, as the Beacon show wasn't until Friday.

The cover of the 1996 cd of Kingfish Live In Concert, recorded by the King Biscuit Flower Hour at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on April 3, 1976

April 3, 1976 Beacon Theater, New York, NY: Kingfish (early and late shows) [Sunday]
A professional photographer took some great photos . Both shows were recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The Biscuit probably broadcast their usual 25-minute highlight around June, on their syndicated FM radio show. Ultimately, both shows were released as a double cd in 1996, which stands as the definitive official live Kingfish release.

April 4, 1976 Bridges Gymnasium, New England College, Henneker, NH [Sunday]
Bands featuring members of the Grateful Dead were always welcome in small New England colleges (and still are, I believe).

April 6, 1976 Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA Kingfish/Les Dudek [Tuesday]
Les Dudek was a guitarist who had made his name in Florida playing on the Allman Brothers Brothers And Sisters album (on "Jessica" and "Ramblin' Man"). He had later moved to the Bay Area, where he toured with the Steve Miller Band and then Boz Scaggs. By 1976, he had released his first solo album on Columbia.

April 25, 1976 Student Union Ballroom, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT: Kingfish [Sunday]
The Grateful Dead had probably played this same ballroom in 1969. It does raise the question of whether Kingfish had toured all the way from Boston to Utah, and we are missing numerous dates, or whether they were just flying out for a Mountain West booking. I am more inclined to the latter. Since April 25 was a Sunday, I do suspect that there are Friday and Saturday booking (for April 23-24) somewhere as well, perhaps in Colorado.

April 28-29, 1976 River City, Fairfax, CA: Kingfish [Wednesday-Thursday]
After Kingfish returned home from their Eastern tour, they returned to playing local clubs.

May 13, 1976 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Kingfish [Thursday]

May 14, 1976 River City, Fairfax, CA: Kingfish [Friday]
River City was a small club in the Marin County town of Fairfax.

May 16, 1976 The Savoy, San Francisco, CA: Kingfish [Sunday]

May 18, 1976 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Kingfish [Tuesday]

May 23, 1976 Golden Hall, San Diego, CA: Joe Cocker/Kingfish [Sunday]
Since Kingfish opened for Joe Cocker on a Sunday, there may have been another Southern California show that weekend. Joe Cocker was probably backed by Stuff, the great band of New York session men.

An ad (probably from the SF Chronicle) for the Kingfish/Charlie Daniels Band/Cate Brothers show on Friday, May 28, 1976 at Winterland. Charlie Daniels had a national profile, but San Francisco was still the Grateful Dead's town.

May 28, 1976 Winterland, San Francisco, CA: Kingfish/Charlie Daniels Band/Cate Brothers [Friday]
The Charlie Daniels Band current album would have been Saddle Tramp, on Epic. Earl and Ernie Cate were Levon Helm's nephews. They had recently released their debut album on Asylum Records. Based on the newspaper ad, it appears that Kingfish were the headliners. Charlie Daniels had far more of a following nationally, but this was San Francisco, and Weir and Torbert had the home court advantage. Note, however, that Kingfish was not headlining both weekend nights, as Winterland was dark on Saturday, although that may have been because Bob Marley was at The Paramount, along with Roy Buchanan and Firefall at Berkeley Community Theater. Nonetheless, Jerry Garcia could have drawn against Bob Marley and Roy Buchanan, but Bob Weir and Charlie Daniels did not.

Keep in mind that there is a circulating tape of a Grateful Dead rehearsal at The Orpheum on the night of May 28. It seems that Weir would have rehearsed, and then he and any relevant crew members--Rex Jackson was Kingfish's road manager--would have gone over to Winterland.

The Grateful Dead were on tour from June 3 through June 29, followed by a week of July shows at the Orpheum in San Francisco (July 12-18). Kingfish did not perform during this period.

July 21, 1976 Roxy Theater, Northampton, PA: Kingfish [Wednesday]
Weir and Kingfish seem to have gone out for one final push the week after the Orpheum shows.

July 23, 1976 Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL: Kingfish [Friday]
Given that this was on a Friday, I would have to think there was another Kingfish date in the Midwest on Saturday night (July 24). The Dead had just played the Auditorium Theater the previous month as part of their "Return" tour.

July 28, 1976 Pinecrest, Shelton, CT: Kingfish [Wednesday]
The Pinecrest Country Club in Shelton, CT, was a semi-regular concert venue in the 1970s. This was a Wednesday night, so a suburban place like Pinecrest was a good place to pick up a paying booking on the road. Apparently a professional photographer has some pictures, although I have not seen them.

July 30, 1976: Wollman Rink, Central Park, New York, NY: KingfishSchaeffer Music Festival [Friday]
The Schaeffer Music Festival was a month-long series of rock shows in Central Park, sponsored by Schaeffer Beer. The festival is fondly remembered by New Yorkers of a certain era.

July 31, 1976 The Casino, Asbury Park, NJ: Kingfish/Flying Burrito Brothers [Saturday]
The Casino at Asbury Park has been made famous by the lyrics of the first few Bruce Springsteen albums (Madame Marie was probably still telling fortunes in person at this time). The Casino was the smaller venue on the boardwalk, as Kingfish wasn't big enough for the much larger convention center nearby.

The Flying Burrito Brothers had reformed, again, and at this time the only original member was pedal steel guitarist Sneeky Pete Kleinow. Other members were Joel Scott Hill (guitar, vocals), Gib Gilbeau (fiddle, guitar, vocals), Gene Parsons (drums, vocals) and ex-Rider Skip Battin (bass, vocals). The band had just released the Columbia album Airborne. I saw the Burritos around this time and they were a terrific live band, even if their album was run-of-the-mill compared to the groundbreaking music of earlier years.

August 1, 1976 Calderone Theater, Hempstead, NY: Kingfish [Sunday]
Bob Weir's initial run with Kingfish ended with a Sunday night show in the well-conquered territory of Long Island, where Kingfish and The Grateful Dead had played many times before. The next night the Grateful Dead would play Colt Stadium in Hartford, CT, and Weir would not play with Kingfish for about four more years.

Appendix 1-Album Credits
Kingfish

Round Records RX-108 (distributed by United Artists)

Released March 1976

Lazy Lightnin' (Weir / Barlow)
Supplication (Weir / Barlow)
Wild Northland (Torbert / Hovey)
Asia Minor (Carter / Gilbert / Quigley / Hovey)
Home to Dixie (Kelly / Cutler / Barlow / Weir)
Jump For Joy (Carter / Gilbert)
Good-Bye Yer Honor (Torbert / Hovey / Kelly)
Big Iron (Marty Robbins)
This Time (Torbert / Kelly)
Hypnotize (Torbert / Kelly)
Bye and Bye (Traditional arr. Weir / Barlow)

Kingfish;

Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
Dave Torbert - bass, vocals
Matthew Kelly - guitar, harp, vocals
Robby Hoddinott - guitar, slide guitar
Chris Herold - drums, percussion

Additional musicians;

J.D. Sharp - string symphonizer (This Time, Lazy Lightnin' and Hypnotize)
Pablo Green - percussion (Hypnotize)

Credits

Producer - Dan Healy, Bob Weir
Arrangements - Kingfish
Recording - Dan Healy, Kingfish
Engineer - Rob Taylor
Mastering - George Horn
Technical consultants - Jim Furman, Furman Sound Service, Tim Hovey
Production assistance - Richard Hundgren, Dean Layman
Cover painting - Philip Garris
Trident logo - James A Nelson III
Photography - Bob Marks
Special thanks - Frankie, Rondelle, Otis, Frank, Bruce
Recorded at Ace's

Appendix 2:
David Nelson>Dave Torbert>Matt Kelly>Bob Weir Performance History Posts
I have an ongoing project to sort out the histories of the various Grateful Dead spin-off bands that played multiple shows but did not include Garcia. Some of these posts have complete lists of shows, and others just emphasize the personnel changes and time frames. In this list, I have not included posts about individual shows or events that feature some of these bands.

The Good News Performance History 1966
--The Good News were from Redwood City, CA, and featured Dave Torbert and Chris Herold

New Delhi River Band Performane History Summer 1966 (David Nelson I)
--Palo Alto's second psychedelic blues band, The New Delhi River Band, featured David Nelson, Dave Torbert and Chris Herold
New Delhi River Band Performance History Fall 1966 (David Nelson II)

New Delhi River Band Performance History January-June 1967 (David Nelson III)

New Delhi River Band Performance History July 1967-February 1968 (David Nelson IV)
David Nelson Musical Activities February 1969-May 1969 (David Nelson V)
--After the demise of The New Delhi River Band, David Nelson lays fairly low

New Riders Of The Purple Sage Personnel 1969-81
--I have numerous posts about the New Riders, but this post has a complete list of their personnel changes from 1969-1981. Jerry Garcia's last performance as a member of the New Riders was on October 31, 1971

Shango, Horses and Matt Kelly 1968 (Matt Kelly I)
--The backstory to Matt Kelly's links to the Grateful Dead start with his band Shango, with Torbert and Herold, back in 1968.
Gospel Oak/Mountain Current/33 1969-73 (Matt Kelly II)
--The Matt Kelly story goes to England, the Santa Cruz Mountains and throughout the United States
Lonesome Janet>Kingfish Performance History 1973-74 (Matt Kelly III, Kingfish 0) [in development]
--Matt Kelly returns to the Santa Cruz Mountains with the predecessor to Kingfish, and then Dave Torbert joins up in early 1974

Bob Weir and Kingfish Tour History Fall 1974 (Kingfish I, Matt Kelly IV)
--Bob Weir joins Kingfish, as the Dead have stopped performing

Bob Weir and Kingfish Tour History January-June 1975 (Kingfish II, Matt Kelly V)

Bob Weir and Kingfish Tour History July-December 1975 (Kingfish III, Matt Kelly VI)

Bob Weir and Kingfish Tour History January-August 1976 Kingfish IV, Matt Kelly VII) [this post]

Kingfish Performance History 1977-82 (Kingfish V, Matt Kelly VIII) [in development]

--after Weir's departure, and until his return, Kingfish had a strange, complicated history

Bob Weir Band Beginnings 1977 [in development]

Bob Weir Band Performance History Fall 1978

Bob Weir Band and Bobby And The Midnites 1977-84

--an overview of the connections between the Bob Weir Band and Bobby And The Midnites

Kingfish with Bob Weir 1984-87 (Kingfish VI, Matt Kelly IX)

--Weir began to re-appear regularly, though not permanently, with Kingfish in late 1984

In the interests of completeness, here are the other spinoff group posts:

Hoffman's Bicycle>Bycycle (The Secret Life Of Dan Healy) 1968-69 (Healy I)

Keith and Donna Tour History April-December 1975

Robert Hunter and Roadhog Performance History May-October 1976

Robert Hunter and Comfort Performance History 1977-1978

High Noon Performance History May-December 1981
Dinosaurs with Robert Hunter 1982-1984

Bill Kreutzmann's All-Stars 1984

Kokomo Performance History 1985 (Brent Mydland I)

Go Ahead Performance History 1986 (Brent Mydland II)

Go Ahead and Bob Weir Performance History 1987-88 (Brent Mydland III)

Robert Hunter, The Ghosts and Healy-Treece Band 1980 (Healy II)

The cover of Skeletons From The Closet-The Best of The Grateful Dead, released in February of 1974 on Warner Brothers Records. It is the best-selling Grateful Dead album ever, having certified sales of over 3 million units (Triple Platinum)

Ask anyone--what was the best selling Grateful Dead album of the 1970s? Some may argue for the persistence of Workingman's Dead or American Beauty over the immediate popularity of 1971's Grateful Dead (aka "Skull And Roses"), but it doesn't matter, because none of those were it. The best selling Grateful Dead album was a February, 1974 release on Warner Brothers Records called Skeletons From The Closet-The Best of The Grateful Dead. The album went Triple Platinum, which means that 3 million units were sold. Even In The Dark only went Double Platinum, so Skeletons seems to be the best selling Grateful Dead album of all time. I am not concerned with the final tally, however, notwithstanding I have no reason to believe record company assertions in any case. Rather, I am interested in focusing on the forgotten fact that Skeletons From The Closet was the introduction to the Grateful Dead for a legion of suburban young people who very well may have forgotten it.

The Eagles-Their Greatest Hits (1971-75), released in February 1976 on Asylum Records. It is the best-selling ablum of the 20th century. As of 2009, the RIAA had certified sales of 29 million copies, only behind Thriller. The album didn't even include "Hotel California," which hadn't yet been recorded. The members of The Eagles were not happy it was released, and had no input.

"Best Of" Albums

In the universe of the 1960s music industry, artists didn't have much leverage. One way in which artists were beholden was that they had no direct control of the repackaging of previously released material. If a band had put out a couple of albums and then changed labels, for example, their old label would put together a "new" album of their best known songs as a "Greatest Hits" or "Best Of" (if they had no hits). The "Best Of" album inevitably competed with any newly released material, thus punishing artists for changing labels.

Even into the 1970s, the Best Of album still had a lot of leverage for record companies. While records-only retailers like Tower Records, Sam Goody's and others were opening stores in major markets, and while hip college towns and downtown neighborhoods had sophisticated independent record stores, the majority of albums were still sold in department stores and the like. They would have a few hundred pop albums, mostly current hits, rather than the thousands of albums at a place like Tower. Particularly out in the suburbs, younger rock music fans had to take what they could find at the music departments of stores like Macy's or Payless. If you liked a group, and a Best Of was the only available album at the store, buying the record was often your only choice.

Truth be told, back in the early '70s, buying a Best Of album might have been your best choice, too. Information about rock albums was surprisingly hard to come by, unless you lived in some college town, read Rolling Stone every week and made a study of it (not that I am referring to anyone in particular). For example, if you somehow heard some Canned Heat on the local FM station and got intrigued, you might not have had a lot of choices at your local JC Penney's record section. If it was 1973, should you buy their current album, One More River To Cross, or Canned Heat Cookbook: The Best Of Canned Heat? Typically, those might be your only two choices, It's easy to say that you should have wanted 1967's Boogie With Canned Heat or 1968's Living The Blues, but you might never see those albums without moving to the big city. The fact was, Canned Heat had changed labels, and One More River To Cross was their first album on Atlantic, and it was pretty weak. All the good stuff was on Liberty, so you were better off with Canned Heat Cookbook.

Wake Of The Flood, released October 1973 on Grateful Dead Records. It was the band's first release, and the current album when Skeletons was released several months later

State Of Play, Grateful Dead 1973
Let's set the stage. In mid-1972, the Grateful Dead were coming to the end of their Warner Brothers contract. The Dead had released three successful albums in a row, and Warners were interested in re-signing them. Columbia (CBS) was also interested, as label head Clive Davis had always been a fan of Jerry Garcia and the Dead. The Dead were an increasingly popular touring act, which meant that any new albums would not be solely dependent on radio airplay for success, although in fact Dead songs like "Uncle John's Band" and "Truckin'" got pretty good airplay on many FM stations. With two major labels bidding for them, the Dead were in a pretty powerful position. Of course, being the Grateful Dead, they chose instead to eschew any major labels and go completely independent. Warner Brothers was stunned, and not happy, either.

The Grateful Dead closed out their obligation to Warners with the triple-live release of Europe '72 in November of 1972, and the peculiar archival release The History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol 1 (Bear's Choice) in March 1973, assembled and produced by Owsley "Bear" Stanley. The strange Bear's Choice album was seemingly designed to insure that any momentum from Europe '72 and incessant touring would not accrue to Warners, since only the most devoted of Deadheads would buy the album. This, too, was par for the course in the early 70s record industry. If a band was leaving a label and owed an album, you just delivered some relatively uncommercial music to spite your old company.

Warners may have thought that there was a last-second chance to re-sign the Dead, but it was not to be. The Grateful Dead released Wake Of The Flood on their own label in October, 1973. Wake wasn't a bad album, and it had some pretty good songs, but the biggest problem for Grateful Dead Records was distribution. The entire subject is too hard to get into here, but the essence of it was that rock fans were mostly young teenagers in the suburbs, and when they went to their local Macy's or Payless, they were going to buy something that was available in the record store. If it wasn't a Grateful Dead album, it might be Shootout At The Fantasy Factory (by Traffic), Close To The Edge (by The Yes) or Brothers And Sisters (by the Allman Brothers) because that's what was in the store. It was all well and good for teenagers in Greenwich Village, Berkeley or Palo Alto to have their own wide, snobby choices, but that was a relatively rare privilege. Most teenage rock fans bought the best available album at whatever time Mom drove them to the store. That was how albums went Gold, and Warners excelled at making sure their albums were in every imaginable outlet, through WEA, their mighty distribution arm.

The back cover of Skeletons From The Closet

Skeletons From The Closet-Grateful Dead (Warner Brothers Records, February 1974)

The Grateful Dead don't really talk about Skeletons From The Closet, but the truth was that they participated in its production. There isn't any doubt, as house engineers Betty Cantor and Bill Wolf were credited as editors. That means that Warner Brothers allowed the Dead to put the album together, subject to Warners' approval of course. This, too, was a common arrangement. Given that Warners was going to put out some kind of Best Of The Grateful Dead album, it made sense to give the Dead at least a little input into the album itself. The hidden hammer was that Warners could spite the band by putting out a bad album, and the Dead would lose out on the potential royalties. There was actually a lot of money riding on the album, and the Dead were sensible enough to participate.

I'm not aware of any interview with Betty about the subject, but it's not hard to figure out the parameters of her participation:

Choose the songs, subject to Warners approval

This meant that popular FM songs like "Truckin',""Uncle John's Band,""Sugar Magnolia,""Casey Jones" and "Friend Of The Devil" were mandatory, or Warners would reject the album. Within reason, the other songs were probably Betty's choice. I have no idea if she consulted with band members

Sequence the album

Note that the album is not in time order. "Golden Road" is first, but "Friend Of The Devil" is last.

Possibly some technical input, though not remixing.

Betty may have had some say about making sure the volume levels for each track were in sync, but it appears that nothing was remixed, as it would be too expensive, and arguably inappropriate (since buyers would have wanted the original sound of each track).

If you think about the song choices for the album, Betty's hand can be seen. It's all well and good to say "how could you reduce the nine Grateful Dead albums (with 13 lps) to a single album?" But that is what the 70s record industry did, because it was good business. All of the released material (and actually, the unreleased material) was controlled by the record company. Betty Cantor, on behalf of the Dead, could participate or let some stranger do it. So clearly, the Dead at least wanted their own spoon stirring the pot.

While the five songs mentioned were clearly mandatory, the rest were not. Length had to be a factor, so a 23-minute "Dark Star" was out of the question, however important we think it was. It is plain that the goal was to have a broader spectrum of shorter songs that gave some idea of the Grateful Dead's range, beyond the basic appeal of their "hits." Here is the track list:

The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) (Garcia/Lesh/Weir/Kreutzmann/McKernan)
Truckin' (Garcia/Lesh/Weir/Hunter) [from American Beauty]
Rosemary (Garcia/Hunter)
Sugar Magnolia (Weir/Hunter) [from American Beauty]
St. Stephen (Garcia/Lesh/Hunter) [from Aoxomoxoa]
Uncle John's Band (Garcia/Hunter)
Casey Jones (Garcia/Hunter)
Mexicali Blues (Weir/Barlow) [from Ace]
Turn On Your Love Light (Malone / Scott) [from The Big Ball]
One More Saturday Night (Weir) [from Europe '72]
Friend Of The Devil (Garcia/Dawson/Hunter)

A few details stand out:

Only Betty Cantor, and perhaps Bob Matthews, would have included "Rosemary" (from Aoxomoxoa) on a Best Of The Grateful Dead album. It's not a bad song, but most Deadheads, myself included, do not recall the melody or the lyrics. Bob and Betty were the engineers on the original recording.
The studio "St Stephen" was shorter than the Live/Dead version, even if it wasn't as good
The track list includes writing credits for all the existing band members, save Keith and Donna Godchaux, who had none on Warner Brothers. Kreutzmann and Lesh would have got royalties from "The Golden Road" and (in Lesh's case) from "Truckin'" and "St. Stephen." For what turned out to be a triple platinum album, this was no small thing
Including a song from Ace insured a writing credit for John Barlow
Mickey Hart was not a working member of the Grateful Dead in 1973, so he got no writing credits. Granted, there were few choices, but note that Barlow and Kreutzmann got credits
There were no tracks from Anthem Of The Sun or Grateful Dead {Skull & Roses}
The album was sequenced like a mini-concert, with a "Lovelight" rave-up and a "One More Saturday Night" encore, and a soothing "Friend Of The Devil" finale. The point of this was to make the album fun to listen to, since an LP could hardly be put on Shuffle.

John Van Hamersveld's poster for the November 10-11, 1967 concert at Los Angeles' Shrine Expo, featuring Buffalo Springfield/Grateful Dead/Blue Cheer

Cover Art: John Van Hamersveld
Another non-trivial factor in the success of Skeletons From The Closet was the front and back cover art, by poster artist John Van Hamersveld. Album covers were far more influential in selling records back in the 1970s. For one thing, the album needed to catch your eye in the store. For another, albums are big, and people in your dorm room could see what you had. An album with a cool cover was often a talking point, but an anxious teenager would feel that an album with a dumb cover made you look like a dweeb. Many "Best Of" albums, while full of good music, had cheap text or bad pictures on the cover, and they weren't appealing to teenagers who thought that albums were a form of self-expression. But Skeletons had a clever, appropriate cover, the kind that would have been in contention even if the Dead had been picking the cover. It was no accident.

John Van Hamersveld was a legendary psychedelic poster artist. Among many other things, Van Hamersheld had made the iconic movie poster for the 1964 surfing movie Endless Summer, and famous album covers like Magical Mystery Tour and Jefferson Airplane's Crown Of Creation. He had also made the wonderful posters for concerts at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles in 1967 and 1968. He even made one for the Grateful Dead/Buffalo Springfield concerts on November 10-11, 1967 (above). So although Van Hamersveld had been contracted by Warners, he was the sort of artist the Dead would have hired themselves. The front and back covers are excellent, and they insured that Skeletons looked cool in any dorm room record collection, no small thing in 1974.

The Big Ball, a double lp album from Warners featuring 30 different artists, including the Grateful Dead

The Big Ball-Warner Brothers Records(1970)

The one edited track on Skeletons was a shortened version of "Turn Your Lovelight," from Live/Dead, reduced to 6:30 from the 15:30 minute version on the original album. Whether or not you thought an edit was sacrilegious--I thought so at the time--it was a necessity in order to fit onto the album. What was not widely known was that the edited version of "Lovelight" had already been released in 1970, on an interesting Warner Brothers promotional album called The Big Ball. The Big Ball was actually a pretty creative approach to record promotion, and the edited "Lovelight" probably helped spread the sound of the Dead to people who had never heard them. I myself had owned The Big Ball since 1972, and although I had already known about the Dead, I discovered a lot of acts from that album.

In 1958, Warner Brothers Records had been established as the recorded music division of Warner Brothers Pictures. Studio head Jack Warner was not actually interested in the music business, however, so while Warners released some soundtracks and the like, it was considered the most backwards and least creative of the major record labels. In 1963, Warners merged with the failing Reprise Records, which had been Frank Sinatra's label. More importantly, Reprise head Mo Ostin became President of the new Warner/Reprise Records, and Ostin turned out to be far more important than Sinatra.

Under Mo Ostin, Warner Brothers took steps to catch up with the times. When rock music hit Los Angeles hard, Ostin and Warners dived in. One reason that Warners VP Joe Smith could sign the untamed, anti-commercial Grateful Dead in 1966 to Warners was that the label was desperately trying to be hip. Signing the coolest, most anti-establishment band from the hippest rock city was designed to give Warner Brothers industry credibility, not sell records. Warners made a similar move at the end of 1967 when they signed Frank Zappa away from Verve. They even gave Zappa and his manager two labels of their own, Bizarre and Straight. Once again, this was to look cool to other rock bands, rather than a commercial proposition (although in the end it worked out very well for Warners).

By 1970, Warner/Reprise had signed a lot of rock artists, and put out a bunch of records. Some of them were good, and some of them were even successful. Warners, however, like every other label, was pretty much dependent on AM or FM radio to publicize their artists. If records didn't get played, no one heard them. Even when a record was reviewed in Rolling Stone or elsewhere, there was literally no way to hear even one song, unless you heard it on the radio. Every teenage consumer had spent their allowance money on some album by a cool looking band with a great cover, only to hate it from the first note, so we were all cautious about buying albums where we hadn't heard any song at all.

Warner Brothers attempt to break the radio bottleneck was to release a series of double albums that were sold for only $2.00, when a typical double-lp was $5.99 or so. The album had one track by multiple artists on Warner and Reprise, with a little blurb about each one, along with a picture of the album. For a teenage record buyer, this was a very good deal. The first and most famous of these was The Big Ball, released sometime in 1970. I heard the record in 1972, because a friend of my sister's had it, and I got it for one song. However, as a result, I discovered numerous Warners artists, and probably bought albums by them far sooner than I would have otherwise.

The song which caught my attention was from Truckstop, a solo album by Ed Sanders of The Fugs. The song was called "The Iliad," although we called it "Johnny Piss-Off." It would never, ever be played on the radio. Once I got the album, however, I could contemplate the other 29 artists (see the appendix below for the list of tracks). The lp sides were divided thematically: side one was "folk-rock," side 2 was all English bands, side 3 was "singer-songwriters" and side 4 was "freaks." I of course gravitated to side 4. Other than the Sanders track, there were 5 tracks from different artists on Zappa's labels (The GTOs, Captan Beefheart, The Mothers, Pearls Before Swine and Wild Man Fischer) and the shortened version of "Turn On Your Lovelight." In my case, I had already heard the long version, as my sister had Live/Dead, but just as I discovered Captain Beefheart and the Mothers "WPLJ," not to mention "Johnny Piss-off," other fans must have discovered the Dead. Since the track was already edited, Betty Cantor could use it for Skeletons since she wouldn't accrue any additional expenses by having to re-edit.

A framed copy of the RIAA-certified Gold Album for American Beauty

Gold And Platinum
Hundreds of thousands of people saw the Grateful Dead in the 1970s, and even more in the 1980s and 90s. Yet the historical record is skewed by those Grateful Dead fans--Deadheads--who saw the Grateful Dead many times over the decade, and indeed have remained dedicated fans unto this day. I am certainly among that number. Because of the unique scope of Grateful Dead fan devotion and attention, it is commonplace to read an article, blog or discussion group post from someone who first saw the Dead in the 60s and 70s, saw them numerous times thereafter, and paid scrupulous attention each time (this blog is a typical example). In fact, however, the persistent diligence of hardcore Deadheads gives a narrow picture of who actually saw the Dead. Nothing illustrates this more than the fact that Skeletons From The Closet outsold every other Grateful Dead album.

In February of 1974, when Skeletons was released, the rock audience was mostly young. Sure, a few groovy people had been rock fans since the Beatles hit, and maybe they were in their late 20s. But most rock fans were high school and college age. In particular, the booming rock concert market was getting bigger and bigger because more and more people wanted to see popular bands in person. A rational look at the Grateful Dead's touring schedule tells us that outside of San Francisco and Manhattan, the overwhelming number of people who saw the Grateful Dead were seeing them for the first time, or at most the second.

Of course, we read stories of a group of hippies from Brooklyn--very often Brooklyn, but that is a different topic--who made some pilgrimage to see the Dead in Tennessee or Virginia, but remember, they were the exceptions. It is an odd skew of the Grateful Dead that the outliers, the hardest core of fans, are the ones defining the historical Grateful Dead experience. The truth is, most people who saw the Dead in Madison, WI or the Jai Alai Fronton in Miami had never seen them before. Seeing the Dead was like seeing Dave Mason or Ten Years After when they came to town. It was fun, but rock concerts were a thing you did with your friends or a date. Sure, the Dead toured for so long that many of them may have ended up seeing them again a decade later or something, just as they saw Mason or Alvin Lee in the 80s.

If people saw a band and liked them, what did they do? They went and bought an album. The Dead had no revered classic like Dark Side Of The Moon or Rumors, so fans were on their own. If you were just planning to buy one album, then why not buy the album with the most songs that you knew? Most Deadheads don't even own Skeletons, and often don't know it exists, and yet it is the best-selling Grateful Dead album of all time. Since it shifted at least 3 million copies, that tells us how many people out there saw a Dead concert or wondered what the fuss was, and grabbed the record.

Skeletons was certified Gold (500,000 units sold) on March 14, 1980. On December 15, 1986 it was certified Platinum (1 million sold), which means it was still selling long before "Touch Of Grey." It was certified Double Platinum (2 Million) on June 27, 1994) and Triple Platinum (January 31, 1995), as many cassette and cd copies must have been sold as well. Note that the last threshold was reached before Jerry Garcia died. RIAA Certifications (Gold, Platinum etc) are notoriously vague, but the sheer volume of record sales means that the album was a huge seller by any marker. Skeletons was the album of choice for casual Grateful Dead fans, and it turns out there were a lot of those. Sure, lots of fans bought Skeletons and then "got on the bus," but they got the album when they were still thinking of the Dead as a regular rock group,

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been, a double-lp compilation of Grateful Dead music released on Warner Brothers in October, 1977

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been-Grateful Dead (Warner Brothers Records, October 1977)
It is often difficult for regular rock fans to grasp the frustration and bitterness with which Classic Rock musicians viewed their former record companies. After all, the company would have signed the band, financed their rise, and made them rich--why all the vitriol? "Best Of" albums bring those old relationships into focus. The Grateful Dead had decided to go independent in Fall of 1972, but had to release the triple-lp Europe 72 and Bear's Choice to exit the deal. They had released Wake Of The Flood in November of 1973 on their own Grateful Dead Records label. The album had done alright, but not great. But the Grateful Dead were working on another album, and they were prepared to tour hard throughout the summer to support it.

Yet come February of 1974, what Grateful Dead album was easiest get? Skeletons From The Closet, because the Warners distribution arm made sure that it was in every department store music section in the country. When the Dead started playing big places in May, expanding their audience in Reno and Montana and Santa Barbara, what album were the newbies most likely to buy? Even when Mars Hotel was released in late June, Warners distribution far outpaced the new, independent Grateful Dead operation. All those great shows in Miami, Springfield and New Haven were selling Skeletons, not Mars Hotel. The Dead's touring was supporting Warner Brothers Records more than Grateful Dead Records.

Even when the Dead signed with Arista Records at the end of 1976, they found themselves up against Warner Brothers again. The Grateful Dead had released Terrapin Station in July of 1977, and toured heavily throughout the year. Once again, Terrapin was popular, but not a huge success. The Dead missed out on Summer touring because of Mickey Hart's auto accident, but they had numerous dates lined up for October and November 1977. And Warner Brothers? They just released another Best Of The Grateful Dead album.

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been was a double-lp released by Warners in October of 1977. This time, nobody from the Grateful Dead seems to have been involved. The album mostly featured live tracks. There was also a genuine rarity, a re-release of the "Dark Star"/"Born Cross-Eyed" single from 1968. Warners were shrewd, too, about who might be buying the album. Deadheads like me only had to decide if we wanted to buy the album for the rare single, since we had all the albums. The most likely buyers probably already had Skeletons, so save "Truckin" from American Beauty, there were no repeats from Skeletons, making it a nice purchase from that point of view.

WALSTIB didn't have Skeletons numbers, but it still was a fair success. By 2001 it had gone Platinum. It may seem that the Dead should have been happy with the royalties they were going to get from the albums, and they surely were, but it was a decidedly mixed blessing. Record companies were notoriously slow and stingy about remanding any money to acts who had left the label, generally forcing them to sue the company. This was one reason that labels were slow to "certify" Gold and Platinum Best Of albums, because they didn't want to even acknowledge the sales. WALSTIB was certified Gold and Platinum on the same day in 2001, a clear sign that Warners had not been doing the Dead any favors.

So after 1973, the Dead found themselves in competition with their own label. Since Warners distribution was the best in the industry, they could out-do Arista as well as Grateful Dead Records, and it would have been something that rankled. As if that wasn't enough, the Dead, like any group, wanted to name albums or projects after phrases associated with the band name, and Warner Brothers had used two of the best choices.

Biograph, the 5-lp set of classic and unreleased Bob Dylan music released in 1985. It established the Boxed Set as a viable commercial proposition

Biograph, The CD Revolution and the Afterlife of Skeletons
The late 20th century record industry kept finding new ways to make money, but the artists who made that music were not always included. For a variety of reasons, the Grateful Dead managed to evade some of the record industry trends at the end of the century. Bob Dylan's Biograph, a five-lp set, was released in 1986, and it ushered in the era of the boxed set. The Grateful Dead were rare amongst major 60s bands in not releasing a multi-album set in the early 90s with classic tracks, rarities and live cuts (they released So Many Roads after Garcia died). It was Warners who would have benefited, and the Dead weren't particularly interested.

Similarly, the record industry made a lot of money re-selling everyone their own record collection on compact disc. The Dead were in no hurry to assist Warners in this enterprise, although once again they did so after Garcia's death. It seems to me that the beginning of Two From The Vault and Dick's Picks, which featured music from the Warner Brothers period, indicated a rapprochement between Warners and the Dead. Ultimately, after many mergers, Rhino Records, owned by Warner Music, a successor to Warner Brothers Records, took over the Grateful Dead catalog, and everyone seems to have benefited.

Incredibly, the audience for Grateful Dead music has continued to expand into the 21st century. Downloads, archival cds and newly performed and recorded music have continued to generate millions of dollars in sales every year. Yet the audio cd of Skeletons (released 1990) still has non-zero sales on Amazon, so it has continued to sell over the years, at least to some degree. The sheer volume of released Grateful Dead music, not to mention the extraordinary availability of "unreleased" Dead music, appears to still leave an opening for the new or casual fan to dip their toes in the water, and Skeletons From The Closet yet remains poised to provide that entry point, even if few Deadheads recall that the best-selling Grateful Dead album even exists.

Skeletons From The Closet-Grateful Dead

Initial release : February 1974

Warner Bros. W-2764

Single LP compilation of tracks from the Grateful Dead Warner Brothers albums plus one tack from Bob Weir's album Ace.

The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) (Garcia/Lesh/Weir/Kreutzmann/McKernan)
Truckin' (Garcia/Lesh/Weir/Hunter)
Rosemary (Garcia/Hunter)
Sugar Magnolia (Weir/Hunter)
St. Stephen (Garcia/Lesh/Hunter)
Uncle John's Band (Garcia/Hunter)
Casey Jones (Garcia/Hunter)
Mexicali Blues (Weir/Barlow)
Turn On Your Love Light (Malone / Scott)
One More Saturday Night (Weir)
Friend Of The Devil (Garcia/Dawson/Hunter)

Credits for the compilation;

Editing - Betty Cantor, Bill Wolf
Artwork - John Van Hamersveld
Art Direction - Bob Seidman

Certification	Date
Gold[4]	March 14, 1980
Platinum[4]	December 15, 1986
Double Platinum[4]	June 27, 1994
Triple Platinum[4]	January 31, 1995

The Big Ball-Various Artists

Initial release : 1970

Warner Brothers PRO 358

A Warner Brothers/Reprise double LP loss leader sampler that includes an edited version of Turn On Your Lovelight from Live/Dead.

Tracks / Musicians

Side 1

Nice Folks - The Fifth Avenue Band

Red-Eye Express - John Sebastian

This Whole World - The Beach Boys

New Orleans Hopscotch Blues - Geoff & Maria Muldaur

Coming in to Los Angeles - Arlo Guthrie

I Was the Rebel, She Was the Cause - Eric Andersen

Jubilee - Norman Greenbaum

Ivy - Savage Grace

Side 2

Caravan - Van Morrison

Oh Well (Parts 1 & 2) - Fleetwood Mac

Sally Go Round the Roses - The Pentangle

Nothing Is Easy - Jethro Tull

Flying - Small Faces

No Mule's Fool - Family

When I Turn Out the Living Room Light - The Kinks

Side 3

I'm on My Way Home Again - The Everly Brothers

Happy Time - Tim Buckley

Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell

The Loner - Neil Young

Approaching Lavender - Gordon Lightfoot

Mama Told Me Not to Come - Randy Newman

Fire and Rain - James Taylor

Sit Down Old Friend - Dion

Side 4

The Illiad - Ed Sanders

Kansas and the GTO's; The Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes; The Original GTO's - The GTO's

Ella Guru - Captain Beefheart

WPLJ - Mothers Of Invention

The Taster and The Story of the Taster - Wild Man Fischer

Footnote - Pearls Before Swine

Turn On Your Love Light - Grateful Dead

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been: The Best Of The Grateful Dead

Initial release : October 1977

Warner Bros. 2W-3091

A double LP compilation of music from the Grateful Dead recordings on the Warner Brothers label.

LP 1 - side 1
New, New Minglewood Blues (McGannahan Skjellyfetti)
Cosmic Charlie (Garcia/Hunter)
Truckin' (Garcia/Lesh/Weir/Hunter)
Black Peter (Garcia/Hunter)
Born Cross-Eyed (The Grateful Dead)

LP 1 - side 2
Ripple (Hunter/Garcia)
Doin' That Rag (Garcia/Hunter)
Dark Star (Garcia/Hunter)
High Time (Garcia/Hunter)
New Speedway Boogie (Garcia/Hunter)

LP 2 - side 1
St. Stephen (Garcia/Lesh/Hunter)
Jack Straw (Weir/Hunter)
Me and My Uncle (Phillips)
Tennessee Jed (Garcia/Hunter)

LP 2 - side 2
Cumberland Blues (Garcia/Lesh/Hunter)
Playing In The Band (Weir/Hart/Hunter)
Brown-Eyed Woman (Garcia/Hunter)
Ramble On Rose (Garcia/Hunter)

Credits For the compilation;

Executive Producer - Paul L. Wexler
Art supervision - Paul L. Wexler
Art - Rick Griffin
Photography - Arthur Stern
Additional photo - Ed Perlstein
Tape assembly supervision - Paul L. Wexler
Tape assembly - Loyd Clifft
Engineering - Bob and Betty
Mix down - Bob and Betty
Honorable mention - Hal Kant, The Phantom Finger Cult and Taper Bob

Certification
Date :Gold, Platinum August 24, 2001

Jerry Garcia's history as an improvisational musician has been groundbreaking not just for his formidable talents, but also for the breadth of available recordings. A few great 60s jazz artists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane have a fair number of live and studio recordings circulating, both official and unofficial, but even those legacies are dwarfed by available Garcia material. Not only did the Grateful Dead themselves and Deadheads tape relentlessly, Garcia toured far more than almost anyone else of his stature so there are literally mountains of Garcia tapes.

There are tapes of perhaps 2000 out of 2400 Grateful Dead shows, and about 1300 of 1600 Garcia shows. This doesn't count studio sessions, jams with various friends and who knows what else. I suspect there are few, if any, people who have heard them all. Nonetheless, Deadheads of all stripes rarely fail to marvel at the sheer breadth of Garcia's musical adventures: from spacey "Dark Star" to Bakersfield-inspired "Big River," from traditional bluegrass picking on "Pig In A Pen" to a reflective "Babe It Ain't No Lie," from playing steel guitar on the #1 hit "Teach Your Children" to processed guitar on Ned Lagin's electronic music. It is a true challenge to make a whole out of all Garcia's known musical parts.

Yet for all that, there are still undiscovered Garcia countries. These countries are so distant that we may never visit them, but we know from other travelers that they really existed. Most Garcia scholars focus on recordings that exist, to attempt to calculate the scope of the known universe. This post will be an attempt to expand the known Garciaverse itself by listing some of the known Garcia jams and guest appearances for which we appear to have no recordings, in order to contemplate the vastness of it all.

Missing Garcia Music
A few ground rules

This is a list of untaped or unheard Garcia jams or guest appearances that expand our idea of Garcia's music. If we are ever lucky enough to uncover any of this material, whether good or bad it will expand our picture of what kind of music Garcia was trying to play, whether we like it or not.
This is not a list of every untaped or undocumented Garcia jam. Someone ought to make that list, but that someone is definitely not me.
This isn't even list of undocumented Garcia that contains known components. I'd love to hear a Blues For Allah rehearsal that had Ned Lagin playing electric piano on "Crazy Fingers" instead of Keith Godchaux, if it exists, but that's just a different combination of known elements.
Nor is this a list of Garcia jams where we only have a slice of the pie. I'm sure the Rob Wasserman Trios session outtakes with Garcia, Wasserman and Edie Brickell are cool, but we have two album tracks, so for this post that counts as the known universe
If you think I left something off that belongs in this list, please add it in the Comments

Searsville Lake, near Stanford University, in the early 60s. Jerry Garcia performed at parties here, playing electric bass with The Zodiacs

Troy Weidenheimer and The Zodiacs: Searsville Lake and elsewhere, ca 1963-64
Jerry Garcia was a folk musician in 1963, giving lessons at Dana Morgan Music in Palo Alto. He was also just a musician, and a broke one, too, so when store manager and guitarist Troy Weidenheimer had a gig and didn't have a bassist, Garcia filled in. Leaving aside the idea of live Garcia bass playing, itself unprecedented, Garcia himself identified Weidenheimer as a significant musical influence, and I am aware of no known tape recording of Weidenheimer's music, even without any famous friends.

The Zodiacs apparently played fraternity parties around Stanford University at places like Searsville Lake. The band had a floating membership, but Garcia would sometimes play bass, Bill Kreutzmann would sometimes play drums, and Pigpen would sometimes play harmonica. The band's membership could float because they had no songs and didn't rehearse. According to Garcia, Weidenheimer would just call out a key, stomp his feet in time and start to play some blues. At the time, Garcia was mainly a bluegrass musician, but the Zodiac approach to electric blues sure came in handy a few years later.

Big Brother and The Holding Company: Avalon Ballroom, October 16, 1966
Big Brother and The Holding Company were part of the same underground scene as the Grateful Dead, and bassist Peter Albin went all the way back to Garcia's folk days. The Dead and Big Brother had shared bills many times, so Garcia surely knew all their material. We think of the jagged, structured Big Brother sound as on a different plane than the free-flowing Grateful Dead. Yet on Sunday, October 16, 1966, the local fanzine Mojo Navigator reported that Jerry Garcia sat in with Big Brother for a few numbers at The Avalon Ballroom. He would have known the tunes--I wonder which ones they were?

The grounded ferry boat Charles Van Damme, in Sausalito, where it was a venue called The Ark in the mid-1960s

Jerry Garcia, Jerry Miller, Michael Brown, others: The Ark, Sausalito, CA ca October 1966
Guitarist Jerry Miller had been in a Tacoma group called The Frantics, who ultimately ended up in San Bruno, of all places. One late night Miller found himself in a pickup joint called The In Room in nearby Belmont, and found a very strange band playing there, and became friends with another guitar-playing Jerry.

Just a year later, Miller was in a band called Moby Grape, and rehearsing on an old paddleboat steamer in the Sausalito Harbor called the Charles Van Damme, which was better known for housing a nightclub called The Ark. The Wildflower, another local band, had formed at the California College Of Arts And Crafts in Oakland, and was also regular part of the underground scene. As the Grape were always rehearsing in anticipation of a November '66 debut, guitarists like Jerry Garcia and the Wildflower's Michael Brown regularly dropped by The Ark to jam with Miller and anyone else who wanted to play.

Jerry Garcia, Peter Green, Pigpen, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood: Novato, CA January 13, 1969
Most Deadheads are aware that Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green twice jammed on stage with the Grateful Dead (Feb 1 and Feb 11 '70), as fabulous Owsley tapes endure of both nights. What is less well known is that Green and Garcia had jammed a year earlier and the circumstances were quite different. In the 60s, it was expected that when English bands played the Fillmore, they would jam with whatever San Francisco bands were in town, not just to share music but to show that they were fearless gunslingers. Most of these jams were not recorded.

On Fleetwood Mac's second trip to San Francisco, the Dead were in town, so on an off day, the Mac went over to the Dead's rehearsal studio. According to Mac road manager and soundman Dinky Dawson, the lineup that day was Green, bassist John McVie, drummer Mick Fleetwood, Garcia, and Pigpen on piano. On the menu: Chicago blues, with Pigpen as Otis Spann. Wow. Don't stop thinking about tomorrow.

Rubber Duck (Joe McCord): various, mid-1970
The Rubber Duck>Garcia connection is a very odd one, which had largely been ignored until JGMF managed to unravel some of the story. Joseph McCord was a mime who performed in Berkeley and the Bay Area in 1969-70, backed by a floating contingent of rock musicians, generally using the name Rubber Duck. On several occasions, Rubber Duck opened for the Grateful Dead or related aggregations. It seems that much of the music for the performances was somewhat improvised.

Remarkably, on several occasions in 1970, Jerry Garcia was part of the ensemble improvising behind McCord. JGMF managed to pin down some dates at Mandrake's, in Berkeley, on June 2 and 3, 1970 (the lengthy comment thread, including comments from McCord, is quite informative), and it appears there were some others, too. I'm not certain who else played with Garcia when he backed McCord.

Later in 1970, McCord converted his performances into an off-Broadway show called Tarot, which played briefly in New York in early 1971. An album also called Tarot, apparently consisting of the backing music to the show was released on United Artists in 1972, although the show had long since folded. The record was credited to a group called Touchstone, and included organist Tom Constanten. Constanten had been one of the musicians backing McCord in Berkeley, though it doesn't appear that TC and Garcia backed him on the same dates.

Your mileage may vary with mimes, but Garcia's performances with McCord are not at all similar to his other endeavors, since he was in effect providing "soundtrack music" rather than making an exclusively musical presentation.

Jerry Garcia and Howard Wales were advertised as playing the Matrix in the Monday, June 22 edition of the SF Chronicle. In fact, Vince Guaraldi took over the keyboard chair for Wales.

Jerry Garcia, Bill Champlin, Vince Guaraldi, John Kahn, Bill Vitt: The Matrix, June 22, 1970
The principal Jerry Garcia side exercise, jamming R&B in nightclubs with a variety of keyboard players, got started in 1970 at The Matrix, first with Howard Wales, and then with Merl Saunders. Yet at least one night, when Wales was unavailable, the surprise guest was jazz legend Vince Guaraldi. Although Guaraldi was best known for his "Peanuts" piano theme, for this night he was playing a well-amplified Fender Rhodes.

So this is something else entirely, Garcia and his regular rhythm section of John Kahn and Bill Vitt, improvising with an amplified Vince Guaraldi. We figured out the date--June 22, 1970--and thanks to Guaraldi biographer Derrick Bang, we even have an eywitness. The eyewitness, the Head Son himself, Bill Champlin, was invited by his pal Bill Vitt to sit in, so we not only have Jerry and Vince, we have Champlin on rhythm guitar. Did I mention Vince Denham on saxophone? What did it sound like, and what tunes did they jam off? There's no tapes, of course. We'll just have to wonder.

Jerry Garcia, Vince Guaraldi, Seward McCain, Mike Clark: Pierce Street Annex, Summer '72
In the Summer of '72, Merl Saunders and John Kahn had departed to Woodstock, NY, to join the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Garcia was left with no side band. It turns out that for amusement, he played some fusion jazz on weeknights at a Fern Bar called The Pierce Street Annex--which happened to be the re-named Matrix. And he didn't play it with just anyone.

Once again, Garcia connected with Vince Guaraldi, but instead of playing "Linus And Lucy" on the piano, Gauraldi played a Fender Rhodes straddling two 150-watt amplifiers. Garcia had his usual array of amps, and on drums was the titan of Oakland funk, Mike Clark. There's no doubt about this, according to both bassist Seward McCain and Clark (saxophonist Vince Denham probably sat in at least once, too). The idea of Garcia, Vince and Clark playing "Bitches Brew" style music, as Clark described it, is mind-boggling. Of course there's no tape. I speculate at length, elsewhere. Try and wrap your brain around this one.

Ned Lagin has released a fine new album, Cat Dreams

Jerry Garcia and Ned Lagin "electro acoustic" ca. 1972-73
Ned Lagin has a unique place in the history of the Grateful Dead. The musically trained keyboard player met the band at MIT in 1970, after having written them a letter. He sat in with the band on organ and electric piano various times in 1970 and '71, visited the band in the Summer of '72, and ultimately moved out to the West Coast in 1973. Deadheads recall his remarkable experiments with Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Jerry Garcia, collectively known as Seastones. Deadheads also recall Ned some 1974 performances where he bridged his modernist synthesized experiments between sets with Phil Lesh with some jazzy electric piano, as the Dead returned to the stage. There is plenty of recorded evidence, too, carefully curated in a wonderful website.

Yet buried in the list of Ned Lagin's many endeavors with members of the Dead are some unheard experiments. In particular, it seems that in both '72 and '73, Ned regularly played acoustic duets with both Jerry Garcia and David Crosby. Lagin probably played a clavichord. What music did Lagin play with Garcia (or Crosby, for that matter)? Even if they played old folk songs, and they very well may not have, Jerry and Ned playing "Dark Hollow" would be very different than, say, Garcia and David Bromberg doing the same thing. According to Lagin, he and Garcia had some kind of long-range plan for recording "electro acoustic music," whatever that might have been.

Jerry Garcia and David Bromberg: Grateful Dead Headquarters at 5th and Lincoln, San Rafael, ca. 1973
Esteemed scholars Blair Jackson and David Gans included too many amazing quotes to count in their wonderful oral history of the Grateful Dead, This Is All A Dream We Dreamed. One remarkable comment came from Grateful Dead Records employee Steve Brown, who casually mentioned that David Bromberg dropped by a few times to jam at the 5th and Lincoln HQ (1016 Lincoln in San Rafael), and Brown had wished there had been a tape recorder. The truly staggering talents of Mr Bromberg are too various to mention, but they idea of free jamming between him and Jerry--never mind the instruments, Bromberg plays 'em all, and he knows every old timey and blues song ever--is too much to contemplate (yes, I know Garcia and others played on a few Bromberg album tracks in 1972, but this is different).

Good Old Boys with Frank Wakefield, David Nelson and Jerry Garcia: various 1974-75
Garcia's bluegrass performances with Old And In The Way were both legendary and influential. It's far less well known that Garcia played a few shows in the Bay Area with banjo legend Frank Wakefield, along with David Nelson. The shows seem to have been from mid-1974 to early 1975. Unlike many other entries on this list, a reliable source claims to have actually heard a tape. So we may yet hear another side of Garcia's banjo playing, accompanying Wakefield, himself a bluegrass legend. This story is too long to tell here, but fortunately I have done it elsewhere.

Jerry Garcia, Tony Rice and David Grisman jammed in 1993, but not for the first time

David Grisman Quintet with Tony Rice and Jerry Garcia: Mill Valley, CA 1975
Garcia fans are familiar with the casual but brilliant acoustic collaboration of Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and guitarist Tony Rice, recorded on two evenings in 1993 at Grisman's garage studio, and released in 2000 as The Pizza Tapes. Rice, an acoustic guitar titan, had been the guitarist in the original David Grisman Quintet back in the mid-70s.

In the liner notes, however, Grisman skates over his complex history with Garcia by merely mentioning that Rice and Garcia had not played together since the time Garcia dropped into a DGQ rehearsal in Mill Valley in 1975. Think about it: one of the most important ensembles in American acoustic music, young and in their prime, rehearsing, and hey--the mandolinist's old bluegrass buddy drops in for a jam. I wonder what they played?

Jerry Garcia and Pete Sears: Mill Valley ca mid-1980s
By the mid-1980s, Jerry Garcia was touring pretty heavily with both the Grateful Dead and The Jerry Garcia Band. The shows were lucrative, and Jerry was an icon, so there was a lot less opportunity for him to just hang out and play music. Nonetheless, Garcia seems to have found time to jam regularly with Pete Sears, an Englishman who had spent a decade in Jefferson Starship, and would spend another decade in Hot Tuna. Sears lived in or near Mill Valley, and Garcia would apparently drop by and trade licks, blasting away on his electric guitar while the versatile Sears carried the day on his electric piano.

Garcia even introduced Sears and David Nelson, with the idea that maybe the two should form a band together. I couldn't help but think that maybe Garcia was setting the table for another group with which he could make guest appearances. We do have a few instances of Garcia and Sears playing together, but never as a free-form duo, without the pressure of a rocking crowd and heightened expectations. Ultimately, Sears joined the David Nelson Band, so Garcia got his way, but he wasn't around to sit in.

Once "Touch Of Grey" hit, Garcia was in a gilded bubble of his own making. It was hard enough to find places where he could just play music in peace, which was one of the many attractions of hanging out in David Grisman's garage. But the opportunity to randomly stop by with an old friend or have a new one drop in out of the blue were pretty much gone. It remains remarkable, however, that for the thousands of hours of known Garcia tapes, there are still things we wish we would get to hear.

Who among us can ever forget the catchy tunes and lilting rhythms of Magma's second album, released in 1971, 1001 Degrees Centigrades?

Appendix: Everybody Else
The other members of the Grateful Dead got around, if not quite like Jerry, but for the most part their collaborations are either on tape or would not expand our perspective. However, there are still a few appearances that may cause us to think again about the band members' music.

Jimi Hendrix, Bob Weir, others: music pavilion, Monterey Pop Festival, June 17 or 18, 1967
At the Monterey Pop Festival, various equipment companies had displays backstage in little tent-like pavilions, to encourage musicians to try out different gear. Bob Weir was jamming away at one of them, with several other musicians, including a frizzy-haired black guitarist who could really play. On Sunday night at the Festival, Weir saw that same guy come onstage right after the Dead.

Cleanliness And Godliness Skiffle Band with Mickey Hart: The Matrix, San Francisco, Spring or Summer, 1969
The Cleanliness And Godliness Skiffle Band were not a major band, with only two albums to their name, but they played an important part in Berkeley rock history. Skiffle music is essentially jug music with a New Orleans beat, and eventually the group evolved from a folk ensemble to a full out rock band. In any case, a band member recalls two nights at The Matrix opening for a very loud Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady (before the name Hot Tuna was in use). Mickey Hart dropped by, probably to see Jorma and Jack, and was intrigued by the skiffle band. The next night Hart bought along a New Orleans style rubboard, and sat in with CGSB.

Sometime later, the CGSB opened for the Grateful Dead in Santa Rosa. On the first night (June 27) Mickey Hart was late, and CGSB drummer Tom Ralston sat in for several numbers. On the second night (June 28), as a sort of thank you, Jerry Garcia sat in with the CGSB on his new pedal steel guitar. You can decide for yourself if the Garcia/CGSB set would belong in the first list.

Jerry Granelli, Phil Lesh, members of Magma: Chateau D'Herouville, France, June 1971
In a little noticed passage in Phil Lesh's autobiography, he mentions that when the Dead went to France to play at Chateau D'Herouville (eventually performing on June 21, 1971), Lesh got a chance to jam in the studio with "drummer Jerry Granelli...and members of the French band Magma, who really stretched me out musically."

Jerry Granelli was a well-known Bay Area jazz drummer, who had played with Vince Guaraldi, among many others. But Magma, well--there's a tale. Let's just go straight to the Wikipedia introduction (remember, this is real, not some weird invented time travel fantasy-emphasis mine)

Magma are a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a group of people fleeing a doomed Earth to settle on the planet Kobaïa. Later, conflict arises when the Kobaïans—descendants of the original colonists—encounter other Earth refugees.

Vander invented a constructed language, Kobaïan, in which most lyrics are sung.

Now, sure, there have been ensembles who suggested they weren't from Earth. Jazz pioneer Sun Ra (Herman Blount) was from Chicago via Birmingham, AL, but said he was from Saturn. George Clinton and the Parliament/Funkadelic gang funkified the Sun Ra vision, but it was the same idea. And there was a French progressive rock band called Gong, led by Australian David Allen, a truly great and very odd band, all of whose numerous albums told the story of aliens from the Planet Gong, known as Pothead Pixies, who arrived on earth in flying teapots. The music was brilliant but the interstellar lyrics were a joke, even if not everyone got it. Gong were label mates with Magma, on BYG/Actuel, but even Gong did not make up their own language. The leader of Magma was the sort of bandleader that made up their own language, and not as a joke. The Grateful Dead, from that point of view, were just another California country rock band. I wonder if they made Phil sing harmonies in Kobai-an?

Allman Brothers Band with Bob Weir and Ronnie Montrose: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC June 9, 1973
Back in the day, Bob Weir rarely made guest appearances, and almost never without Garcia. When the Dead played two nights with the Allman Brothers in 1973, members of the Allmans sat in with the Dead on the final day (June 10). It is somewhat forgotten that on the first day, the Allmans closed the show, and Bob Weir and Ronnie Montrose sat in for "Mountain Jam." Montrose, in fact, was a great, underrated guitarist. He played on Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey album, for example, even though he had the most success as a hard rocker with Edgar Winter ("Frankenstein" and "Free Ride") and his own band Montrose, featuring lead singer Sammy Hagar ("Bad Motor Scooter" and "Spaceage Sacrifice").

But how did Weir acquit himself with the Allman Brothers? There are a fair amount of Allman Brothers tapes around from the early 1970s, but I don't know if there is a circulating one from the end of the June 9, 1973. Weir playing rhythm for Dickey Betts and Ronnie Montrose was a pretty intriguing proposition.

Lost Live Dead Individual Show List

April 6, 1969, Avalon Ballroom: Grateful Dead/Flying Burrito Brothers/AUM (Wayne Ceballos)

Keystone Berkeley March 1973 (Marin County Musicians LinkedIn)

Shango, Horses and Matt Kelly-1968 (Matt Kelly I)

March 22, 1978 Veterans Hall, Sebastopol, CA: Jerry Garcia Band (Ozzie Ahlers-piano?)

Jerry Garcia Concert Attendance 1961-90

Richard Greene-violin (career snapshot 1964-1974)

Coast Mountain Ramblers - Old Timey Band with Dave Pollack and Richard Greene

Album Economics: Bear's Choice-The History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Why?)

History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Bear's Choice)

Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead Performance List July-December 1966

Fillmore West, January 12, 1969: Country Joe And The Fish And Their Friends (Plus Opening Acts)

Grateful Dead Performance List December 1965-June 1966

Greg Errico Career Overview 1965-1983

Grateful Dead Performance List July-December 1967

Rodney Albin 1940-84 (Folk Headwaters)

The Good Old Boys: Jerry Garcia, Producer (and some banjo)

Dinosaurs With Robert Hunter 1982-84 (Fossil Record)

Lost "Jerry Garcia Bands" 1968-92 (Dept. Of Might-Have-Been)

Kingfish Performance History January-August 1976 (Kingfish IV)

Album Economics: Skeletons From The Closet (The Lost Door)

Lost Jerry Garcia Jams (Meta-Jerry)