R.I.P.: John Dawson

John "Marmaduke" Dawson, a longtime Grateful Dead collaborator who co-wrote "Friend of the Devil" and developed a devoted following with his psychedelic country group New Riders of the Purple Sage, has died. He was 64.
more HERE
obit HERE

Tom Davis Remembers...Sort of...

The original Saturday Night Live featured the comedy writing/performing duo of Franken & Davis.
That's Al Franken, who is now feverishly trying to become a U.S. Senator from Minnesota and...Tom Davis...he's the guy that was left in relative obscurity. Well, Mr. Davis has written a book about those crazy days...
The reviews are in...and they're not great...here's a sample...
"All the book consists of are the following... Tom did a lot of drugs...He slept with women...He's one of the "original" hippies...He partied with Jerry Garcia and followed the Grateful Dead around...He did more drugs...He occasionally wrote a sketch and did some comedy with some guy named Al...More drugs...Started out bitter, and grew more bitter...Partied with famous people...Did drugs with famous people...Wrote another sketch...Did some bad film work...Then wrote this book."
interested?
it's available HERE

'The Dead' On 'The View'

Yes, this morning Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Warren Haynes not only appeared on 'The View' in an interview segment but also performed the Grateful Dead classic: Friend of the Devil.
video HERE

It's official, WE'VE SEEN EVERYTHING...next week Ted Nugent and Bob Dylan in a duet?

The Dead at the Inauguation

click picture to play

The Dead to Tour in 2009

Spurred on by two reunions at benefits for President-elect Barack Obama, the surviving members of the Grateful Dead will embark on their first tour in five years this spring.
The Dead will hit the road beginning April 12 in Greensboro, N.C., and will play 16 "evening with" shows in 19 cities through May 10 in San Francisco. Tickets begin going on sale January 13.
official website HERE

Las Vegas Mirage Unveils New Volcano

The Mirage volcano is ready to rumble again. After several weeks of work, casino owner MGM Mirage plans to premiere the results of a $25 million renovation of the rock fountain attraction on the Las Vegas.
Fireballs, lava and a rumbling drum score that former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Indian tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain had a hand in will update the streetside feature that first erupted in 1989.
slide shows HERE

A Grateful Dead Parking Lot

Jerry Garcia Movie Biopic Coming Soon

A movie biopic about Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia is in development.
The untitled project aims to reveal the roots of the counterculture icon, focusing primarily on Garcia's early life in the Bay Area before he joined the band that would become the Grateful Dead.
more HERE

R.I.P.: Merl Saunders

SAN FRANCISCO, California -- Keyboardist Merl Saunders (above left), the gentle lion of the San Francisco music scene best known as co-captain of guitarist Jerry Garcia's solo excursions outside the Grateful Dead, died Friday.
The 74-year-old musician suffered a debilitating stroke 6 1/2 years ago and, although he lost the ability to speak, he made numerous sentimental guest appearances at shows over those years playing with one hand.
obit HERE

Europe '72 Shoe

available HERE
other Grateful Dead styles HERE

Obama/Grateful Dead FundRaiser

Barack Obama has the Dead on his side again.
The Democratic presidential candidate's campaign has confirmed a long-rumored fundraising concert that will include four remaining members of the Grateful Dead at Penn State University's Bryce Jordan Center.
Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart played at a get-out-the-vote concert in February in California for the campaign.
A Pennsylvania spokeswoman for the campaign says the trio will be joined by a fourth surviving member, Bill Kreutzmann, at the October 13, 2008 show in State College.
Other rockers expected to attend include members of the Allman Brothers Band. Tickets go on sale Friday September 19, 2008.
tickets available HERE

Dead Symphony No. 6

On Friday, Aug. 1, 2008 the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will feature the music of — or, at any rate, the music derived from — the Grateful Dead. On what would have been Jerry Garcia's 66th birthday, the BSO will perform an orchestral tribute by composer Lee Johnson. With each movement based on a Grateful Dead song, the work is titled Dead Symphony No. 6.
NPR story and podcast HERE
official website HERE

R.I.P.: Alton Kelley

obit HERE
tribute HERE

Rock n' Roll Pioneer Bo Diddley has Died

Archer, Florida -- Bo Diddley, the rock 'n' roll originator with the rectangular guitar whose signature beat influenced musicians from Buddy Holly to the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen, has died of heart failure. He was 79.
obit HERE
NPR story & podcasts HERE
watch/listen to a classic HERE

Steve Miller hates The Grateful Dead

"I couldn't stand that band," Miller said on Thursday, during a panel at a music industry symposium, recalling the Dead's interminable jams and lengthy tuning breaks between songs.

In fact, Miller said it was much more interesting to listen to front man Jerry Garcia's stage banter than to listen to the band play its psychedelic improvisations.
the story is HERE

Of course, this didn't stop Steve from booking gigs opening for the band in the 1990's when he couldn't get a headliner gig of his own...

Great Show; unfortunately, no one heard it...

When the idea of a Grateful Dead Reunion webcast for Barack Obama came, no one seemed to estimate the bands drawing power.
iclips.net, the provider who's bandwidth was less than required for the legion of DEADHEADS to hit Shakedown Street, basically allowed zero viewers to log-on.
Today, the day after, they've decided to re-broadcast it and STILL bandwidth is exceeded...

Get it over with! SELL THE DVD and do a summer tour; they will come as they have in the past and all will be happy...

By the way, here's the SET LIST:
I.: Playing in the Band*; Brown-Eyed Women†; Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo†; New Minglewood Blues*; Come Together*
II. (Acoustic): Deep Elem Blues; Friend of the Devil; Deal; Ripple
III.: China Cat Sunflower*†; The Wheel*†; The Other One*; Sugaree*; Eyes of the World*†; Throwin' Stones*; Iko Iko*†; Playing reprise*†
Encore: U.S. Blues*†%

Bob Weir, guitar & vocals; Phil Lesh, bass & vocals; Mickey Hart, drums & vocals; John Molo, drums; Jackie Greene, guitar, keyboards & vocals; Steve Molitz, keyboards & vocals.

* w/Mark Karan, guitar; † w/Barry Sless, pedal steel guitar; % w/Hippie Bill, flag

Grateful Dead Reunites for Barack Obama

SAN FRANCISCO - The Grateful Dead, the San Francisco cult rock band that has played at political events since the 1960s, will reunite on Monday for the first time in four years to rally support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama
Reuters story HERE
Members of the Grateful Dead will host a get out the vote concert in support of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday, February 4th at The Warfield Theatre in San Francisco.
Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir, joined by Jackie Greene, John Molo, and Steve Molitz, will play a show together in support of Barack Obama.
The video website Iclips will be producing a live simulcast streamed via the Internet on www.iclips.net at approximately 7:30 PM PST.

Scientology: So many Questions...

RadarOnline posted a few questions from that questionnaire the Scientologists give you during your audit. They use your answers to see how clean you are or something like that. It's way creepy. There's 343 questions on the thing and they ask you the questions while you're hooked up to an E-Meter. It's like a polygraph machine. The questions are bizarre and apparently real, but I would expect nothing less. Radar only posted a few questions...so here's a few of them along with my responses:

Have you ever enslaved a population?
Well I had a herd of goats once...

Have you ever consistently practiced sex in some unnatural fashion?
No, I'm usually naked for sex.

Have you ever made a planet, or nation, radioactive?
I set a globe on fire once, does that count?

Have you ever exterminated a species?
Okay...4th grade; some ants and a magnifying glass; it was me, I confess...

Have you ever set a booby trap?
(Trick Question) A: What is putting on a Bra, Alex...

Have you ever made a practice of confusing people?
Only when I ask them weird questions about Tom Cruise.

Have you ever castrated anyone?
Well there was this one time that the cord carrying blood to my right testicle twisted and became infected and it hurt really bad and they had to give me medication to make the infection go away and, and, and...

Is there any question on this list I had better not ask you again?
My testicles hurt now that I relived that issue in the last question so we could pass on bringing that up again...please...

Have you ever tried to make the physical universe less real?
Well, there was this one time in 1978 at Winterland Arena in San Francisco while attending a Grateful Dead show that I THINK I SAW PEOPLE FLOATING IN THE AIR, BUT IT WASN'T MY FAULT...THAT I KNOW OF...

Have you ever had a body with a venereal disease? If so, did you spread it?
I have stayed at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas and I have recommended it to others.

That was fun. The Scientologists should put this out for Xbox 360 and Wii! It would be a hit at parties; get drunk and answer the crazy alien questionnaire.

Visit Radar to read the other questions.

Jerry Garcia Court Moments

Grateful Dead free streaming today...

Listen HERE