tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post4365152606842848767..comments2024-03-26T23:10:34.814-07:00Comments on Grateful Dead Sources: January 1968: Praise for the DeadLight Into Asheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-19228833558303290512017-04-07T00:33:44.561-07:002017-04-07T00:33:44.561-07:00I found another source for this article - the desc...I found another source for this article - the descriptions of Pigpen & Bill, and parts of the last two paragraphs, were copied from an article Jann Wenner wrote on the Dead in early '67: <br />http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2017/04/early-1967-dead-praise.html Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-48415949666042437202014-08-03T07:32:16.783-07:002014-08-03T07:32:16.783-07:00Gotta' get down to Mazatlan.....mebbe pick up...Gotta' get down to Mazatlan.....mebbe pick up a Weir<br /> designed Teej.s.c.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12448126423107499410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-50261595066456223372014-08-03T00:07:25.234-07:002014-08-03T00:07:25.234-07:00The author probably didn't know about Mickey. ...The author probably didn't know about Mickey. My guess is he might not even have left his office to write this; just used some previously printed articles to put it together. <br />For instance, the line about Weir comes from the fake bios (which were printed in Rock & Roll magazine, and maybe elsewhere): "Only 18 years old, he is, nonetheless, the youngest rhythm guitarist ever to play with the Dead." A couple other fake biographical details also come from there: <br />http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2013/06/mayjune-1967-band-biographies.html <br /><br />Lesh's line about being "born in a jail cell," etc, comes from an alternate set of band bios, written by the band: <br />http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2012/02/june-1967-band-biographies.html <br /><br />The description of "their hard, hoarse, screeching sound" and Garcia's line that "I don't believe the live sound, the live excitement, can be recorded" come from a Newsweek article about the SF music scene printed back in December '66!<br /><br />So I assume other bits of this were taken from other articles I haven't spotted. A lot of KRLA Beat's reporting on bands was this kind of second-hand news compiled from other sources - nothing wrong with that (that was its main purpose, after all), so long as we know that's what it is & recognize the writer probably isn't drawing from any personal knowledge of the Dead.<br /><br />It strikes me that the Dead's high stature here (and in other '67 articles) is based almost entirely on their live shows - since they had just one album out, and I assume it wasn't flying off the shelves in Los Angeles. So aside from the early notice of Garcia's followers' "almost religious respect," it was also recognized very early on that Dead recordings weren't "where it's at."Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-29727907709137827392014-08-02T12:15:35.674-07:002014-08-02T12:15:35.674-07:00There was no mention of Mickey Hart and the author...There was no mention of Mickey Hart and the author stated that "the rhythm guitarist is one of the youngest ever to play with the Dead".That is a very odd statement and seems to imply that there were guitarists other than Garcia and Weir who had played in the band.Somehow I am always surprised at how early in their career the Garcia worship had set in,this is the earliest instance I have come across it being mentioned.jerlouvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-52735413069266101632014-08-01T20:33:46.347-07:002014-08-01T20:33:46.347-07:00KRLA Beat was a charming Los Angeles pop-news maga...KRLA Beat was a charming Los Angeles pop-news magazine that ran in the mid-'60s. While it mostly focused on news & gossip in the top-40 pop-music scene, it also ran interviews & reviews - for instance, the 3/9/68 issue has a lengthy interview with Jefferson Airplane, and the 3/23/68 issue has a long article on Cream's show in Santa Monica.<br /><br />While the Airplane got more coverage due to their success, here KRLA turns its attention to the Grateful Dead... You'll notice the tall tales here: I suspect this reporter didn't actually talk to the Dead, but took his quotes from previously-printed stories about them. A few details, for instance, come from the fake promo-biographies the Dead gave to the press in '67. Ralph Gleason is quoted in praise of Pigpen, and reviews of his may have been used here; and a couple lines may come from a Newsweek article that mentioned the Dead. <br /><br />Nonetheless, though this doesn't have any original reporting, it does at least show the perceptions of the Dead that were being printed at the time - that they were "taking over" from the Airplane as the leading SF group; that their audiences say their sound "cannot be duplicated on records;" that Garcia already "commands an almost religious respect among his copious followers." <br />There are a couple serious comments from Garcia, too, that the audience "makes a big difference" in how they play; and "I don't believe the live sound, the live excitement can be recorded." (Of course, the Dead were recording their shows for their second album when this was printed...)<br />It's uncertain whether this reporter had even seen them or cribbed his descriptions entirely from the SF press - he notes their "hard, hoarse, screeching sounds" - but he does mention their "closeness, this ability to become one being" that's present in their music.Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.com