Has this ever happened to you?12/30/1989
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I love this guy's videos- It's another JDarks YouTube videos! And!!! JDarks has a www.jdarks.com


Okay the countdown to kids coming home & everything returning to normal craziness is on!!!!!!
I have made a short list of things I WANT (not need to or should be doing) to do during the rest of my week.
I've been limited in my mobility due to a bone spur .. Stretching the ligament and otherwise resting my foot has been a big help. I got a few sedentary things from my list done. crocheted a scarf, got some of my wedding pictures into an online album. Actually dug through the iTunes store and found some songs I've been wanting to get. And as usual spent too much time on the internet!
The foot is feeling better and so I'm going to see about moving on down that list! There is too much I want to do!
I'll check back in a few days! I'm leaving old Buster here to watch the place til I'm back.



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This is my all time favorite holiday card!
It's from Lyn, Leif & their doggy, Vito!
Every year they scan themselves (Vito included!) into a scene.
Lyn's the hippie chick in the cool shades, Leif 's got the curly do (not his usual style). Vito's just hangin with them hippies!

The inside reads "Peace, Love & Happy Holidays!"

Listen here for a coooool Monkey & Engineer!!!!!!!!!!!!




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..........December 26th.................................












Do you like these Bobbydoggy pix?
I took them ! Actually, I videotaped a show (years ago) and these are stills from that video.
How long ago?
There's a young Sasha on the rail!
It's 1999!




I did figure out how to find Blogger help- not as easy at it seems since I had to open a Google account and continue on from there . It appears Weir Freaking isnt the only Blog unable to create new posts. Hopefully, whatever the problems are, they will be solved shortly.


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Merry Christmas!
Musicians ask Santa about Holiday Dreams

"BOB WEIR, RatDog/The Grateful Dead: I‘d like my band RatDog to record with the Kronos Quartet. We‘d spend a couple of days in rehearsal to kick ideas around, and then a couple of days recording in the Fillmore, all of both bands on stage, although from time to time breaking it down into different configurations. No tunes in mind — maybe an old chestnut or two, a new tune or two, whatever they‘d want to bring to the party, and then the "1-2-3-Go" approach. Find a pulse, and then people start playing, and see if that suggests a key or a mode, and if that suggests a harmonic development of some sort. Secondly, our sound mixer Mike McGinn wants us to bring in Dolly Parton , specifically to sing "Ripple," which seems to me to be an inspired notion."

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Dear Santa, Could you just tell me when Ratdog's next SF gig is???????
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Hey gifting Slackers!
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The eCards are an instant gift, easily sent for last-minute Christmas delivery. Your friends can redeem their gifts at leisure, and once they design a shirt, they will receive it within 10 -12 business days.
click here to check it out



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Yet another NEW Bob interview!

Weir Without Agendas
http://www.jambands.com/Features/content_2006_12_22.06.phtml
Taylor Hill
2006-12-22
Bob Weir needs no introduction.

I left it at that, and Dean, our glorious editor, tactfully said "why don't you give it another try?"

I still don't know how to introduce Bob Weir, and to sum up the Grateful Dead, who created this type of music, and created the magazine whose website I write for, is impossible. So I'll say this: Bob Weir, his bandmates, Robert Hunter, John Perry Barlow, along with Bob Dylan and a few others wrote the soundtrack to my adolescence. I grew up with a more open mind, and I grew up more comforted, because I had the music of the Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia died when I was twelve years old, and I'm one of the first members of the generation that knows the Grateful Dead only through audio. Plato once said that "when the mode of the music changes, the walls of the city shake." In the city of San Francisco, in the culture which Bobby and his band defined (with the help of a few Pranksters), and in the walls we all build in our own minds, there was a whole 'lotta shakin' goin' on.

Even without the concert experience, it is still some of the most powerful, moving, and joyful music I have ever heard.

I spoke with Bobby briefly in Atlanta before the interview proper took place after the tour, and he said, "I don't care what you ask me. I'm not pushing any agenda, but I really like questions I've never been asked before." So I tried to ask him questions he'd never been asked, and, when asking one that's probably in every interview, I tried to phrase it differently than anyone else would.

Thanks to Ann C, Dean Budnick, Mike Greenhaus, Randy Ray, Annie Bond, and everyone on phantasytour.com. I really appreciate your help in coming up with questions.


Taylor Hill: Tell me about your parents. Were they permissive, strict?


Bobby Weir: In the middle, I’d have to say. They sent me to private schools and stuff like that. I wouldn’t call them permissive and I wouldn’t call them real strict. Probably a little more on the strict side. They read Dr. Spock for instance. Dr. Spock in that day was sort of an authority on raising kids. And he was kind of on the permissive side, that was what he kind of preached. He loosened them a little bit.


TH: Were they Grateful Dead fans?


BW: Well, not at first. They wanted me to stay in school. I grew up in the shadow of Hoover Tower at Stanford University, and that was more or less what they had in mind for me, but, you know, the music was giving me the come hither and that’s where I went. And they weren’t all that thrilled with it at first, but when I started bringing home gold records they started to see the sense in it.


TH: So it’s New Years Eve, 1963. You’re sixteen, Kennedy was shot five weeks ago, and you’re walking by Dana Morgan’s music store in Palo Alto and hear a banjo playing. What happens then?


BW: I was with a couple friends I think. We knew who it was, we knew it was Jerry. We just dropped in to hang. We’d all sat plenty of times in his bluegrass ensemble, I think it was Black Mountain Boys – that outfit. We just dropped by and he was there practicing his banjo, and we asked “Can we listen?” or whatever and he said “Sure.” And then it came out that he was waiting for his students, apart from the fact that it was 7:30 on New Year’s Eve.I said, “I don’t think you’re gonna see many of your students tonight.” And he said, “you’re right.”


He suggested that we break into the front of the store ‘cause he had the keys, and break out some instruments and jam a little bit. We did, and it was fun. We started doing jugband stuff. I had picked up a lot, was sort of into that kind of stuff. We started playing that, and we had enough fun that we figured, “Let’s get together.” I think it was on a Tuesday night, and a couple rehearsals, and let’s get a band, and get some bookings, and make some dough. We did. Jerry brought in Pigpen and Billy Kreutzmann and the son of the guy who owned the music store that we were working at was willing to supply us with electric instruments if we let him play bass. So, that’s how it got started. But he couldn’t keep up with us and we had to … this is after the jugband.


We worked for about a year and became real popular in the San Francisco area. Jerry went away that summer for a few weeks. He wanted to do a little tour of bluegrass festivals back east. So, I took over his beginning and intermediate students. I played a little banjo back then, kind of like my French is gone now. By the time he got back from his bluegrass pilgrimage, the Beatles were big and the electric instruments – the Beatles and the Rolling Stones – the electric instruments in front of the store were starting to look attractive to us. So we added Billy, who Jerry had done some basic rock ‘n’ roll frat parties with, and the jug band turned into the Warlocks.


It was just in the air. All the folkies were starting to – there was a wide range of stuff you could do on the electric instrument and they were popular. Our jug band was pretty popular, but we knew we’d be able to make more money and have a lot of fun with the electric instruments. And if we wanted to, we could always play the acoustic instruments for fun. Which we pretty much did all along, just for our own amusement. Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty have a lot of acoustic instruments. Not so much after that, but when we were out on the road somewhere we’d pack acoustic instruments and play them for fun.


TH: Regarding Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, what led y’all to start sending psychedelia back down traditional roads?


BW: Well, we started playing psychedelia when we started taking acid and playing the acid tests. After a while, we gained enough facility on our electric instruments so that we could. We started mixing the songs, and we also got better at writing them. We started writing more songs that tended to be a little traditionally-oriented. I haven’t thought about that, but we just started playing traditional songs.


The [acid tests] were all a lot of fun. A couple that stand out were the Fillmore acid tests before Bill Graham locked up the Fillmore.


TH: Did you ever meet Igor Stravinsky?


BW: Sure would have loved to but no. I have listened to a lot of Stravinsky. In fact, of the classical composers, he and Bela Bartok have most influenced my playing. I just love what they’re up to.


TH: A lot of people were shocked to find out about all the conservative Deadheads. What about the Grateful Dead do you think appeals to them?


BW: It’s Americana, and conservatives are drawn to Americana. It’s pan-partisan Americana. What we did was real, there was real interaction going on onstage and a sense of adventure about it. A certain kind of person requires a little adventure in their lives and likes adventure in their music. In the old days, it would end up being a jazz fest. But that improvisational, experimental music, at least with us, came out in a rock ‘n’ roll form people could dance to. And everyone found that attractive.


TH: What’s your favorite bumper sticker? What’s your favorite button?


BW: I always liked what we called the lightning chap, what most people called “Steal Your Face.” That pretty much said it all.


TH: Did the Laurel Canyon artists like David Crosby have any influence on Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty?


BW: Well we were hanging with those guys. They moved up to Northern California for a while. They’d come up to our river studios and hang out. Mickey had a little ranch and in the barn he had a recording studio. We kicked a lot of stuff around, and their style of harmony sort of rubbed off on us. We learned how to do it.


TH: When did the big touring machine start to get scary?


BW: A couple of times. We had that huge experimental P.A. (the Wall of Sound), that was a monster with a thousand screaming eyes. We had a huge crew that was required to sit it up. We’d go to a hockey rink for instance, and fill it out, but we couldn’t make enough on tour to support that beast. It sounded great, but it took two days to set up, so we had to rent the hockey hall or basketball arena. That was really extensive, and real difficult to maintain.


TH: Did you realize that your business model was a genius business model, or were y’all just thinking “These are our values. Let’s share the music”?


BW: Well, it was working for us. We were sort of backed into that position early. We didn’t see that hurting our record sales, because our record sales were expanding all the while. At the same time, we didn’t want to be cops. We didn’t want to have to be telling folks “No, you can’t.” We didn’t want to be busting people out in the audience saying “This is not legal, you know.” We had enough of a job just playing the music. So it was a conscious decision of ours to do it, but we weren’t doing it for promotional purposes, it was just the easiest thing to do, to let them tape.


TH: Are you saying the Grateful Dead weren’t ideal law enforcement officers?


BW: (Laughs.) We didn’t want to have to carry around folks whose job it was to go out and basically bust the kids in the audience, take their tape recorders and then give them back on their way out the door. It wasn’t what we were up to.


TH: You spent an entire weekend at Bonnaroo 2005. What do you like about Bonnaroo? Does it remind you of earlier times?


BW: Bonnaroo’s a fun festival. They’ve got quite an array of different kinds of music. They’re pretty good about putting that together, and they’ve been pretty good about putting that together. It was fun going around and catching – I almost never get the chance to go hear live music – maybe in a couple of years. Bonnaroo is a great chance for me to get out and about and hear a lot of stuff that I’ve been curious about.


TH: How do you keep songs fresh after almost forty years, other than never playing them the same way twice?


BW: At this point we have a repertoire that’s been growing for a number of years, and so really, it’s unlikely that on a given tour we’ll play a given song more than two or three times, unless it’s a new song and really want to work on it. That’s the way we keep it fresh – just having a big repertoire and so when I give a shot, it’s going to be my last crack at it for a while and I put whatever I have into it.


TH: Do you have a favorite Grateful Dead song? Do you think any Grateful Dead songs really suck?


BW: Both. A couple of the songs that I’ve written, the lyrics don’t get me that much, don’t work for me now, where they might have back in the 70’s. So I just dropped those songs from the repertoire. “Lazy Lightning” for instance. The lyrics, I just can’t get with. That’s one where I’m either going to have to rewrite the lyrics so I can sing them or just let that one live.


Favorites? They’re all favorites. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite out of that because I love them all. We get out there and we make it work.


TH: I’m sure you and Phil love each other and are family, but you haven’t played onstage with him in over two years. What is the block that keeps the two of you from being able to play onstage with each other?


BW: We all have our – I just played with Billy and Mickey’s band, but we all have our current hot hands. I’ve been coming on 12 years with RatDog, and Phil’s been working on his book. RatDog, for instance, plays much quieter onstage than the Dead does. I like that dynamic – it’s much easier to sing that way and I’ve got a real good working rapport with the guys in the band.
...
There is also a nice Jambands interview with DJ Logic- nice things to say about Bobstar in it- Clicky here


............................Dec. 22nd....................
.This is my new format until Blogger or I figure out why I can only update old posts but not create new ones.

A hearty hurrah to fellow Dot orger, PurplyBob on the creation of his sparkly new website! Go check it out!
Purply's Grotto, A playground for the mind!

.Still wondering what to get for your favorite pint sized rock star?
Here's something new from Little Kids Rock

I might have to treat myself to a Bobby Dazzler! from one of my favorite shops in London (located in right Covent Gardens)
..
David Gans has posted some unseen pictures on Flicker Gallery.
Some upcoming dates to see David perform in the Bay Area are:

TONIGHT---> Friday, December 22, 7-9:30pm: DG, Mario deSio, and Mokai at the Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave (at 65th Street), Oakland CA. Admission is free, but you have to buy a coffee and/or some food.

Thursday, January 4, 8:30pm: Henfling's Tavern, 9450 Hwy 9, Ben Lomond CA. FREE! 831-336-9318

Saturday, January 6, 9: 30 am to 1:30 pm: Grand Lake Farmers' Market, at Grand and Lake Park Avenues in Oakland CA (across from the Grand Lake Theater). FREE! Great produce, bread, baked goods, prepared food, and crafts.

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....................December 21st...............................................................................
Bobby fans coming to SF for the Mac Conference take note:
— Book Signing on Tuesday, January 9th, 3:45 - 4:30 p.m. with Bob Weir (Grateful Dead). The legendary singer, songwriter and guitarist will be on hand to sign copies of the newly released book, Come Together: The Official John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Guide to Music and Video. The book and accompanying DVD feature the products and solutions found on the Lennon Bus, chronicles audio and video sessions recorded on board with students of all ages, and includes interviews with celebrated musicians like Bob who have worked on board. Pick up a copy and get it signed!
Check out the "Come Together" book !
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A lil NYE fun coming up!
Check out www.dead.net/cpstream for yummy info.

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View from the kitchen- Rainy day in Belmont, Ca.

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This was cute- Nancy Pelosi is the new Bill Graham!
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Just found this sparkling new fine Bobby interview Downloading with Bob Weir on Jambase!
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DOWNLOADING WITH BOB WEIR
By Andrew Wetzler

JamBase: Just out of curiosity, what kind of time do you spend on the internet these days?

Bob Weir: I'm something of a news junkie. So, out here on the [West] Coast I get the New York Times online every night. I spend 9:00 to 10:00, generally after the kids are down, reading the news and stuff like that. I do a fair amount of shopping, as much as I have a stomach for. I try to do that online. I spend a lot of time traveling, so when I'm home I like to stay home.

JamBase: Do you ever spend time online reading the reviews and message boards related to you?

Bob Weir: I used to but I don't have time for that anymore. I know what kind of show we had, and I can tell from the reaction of the audience what kind of show [they feel] we had.

Do you download music yourself?

Yes. I go to commercial sites you know, mostly [iTunes]. If I can't find something on Apple Music then I start drifting around. It is all pretty much the same quality. Actually, Apple Music is pretty good. They have the FLAC stuff.

Are you able to perceive a big difference between MP3 and FLAC?

Yeah. [FLAC is] way, way more dynamic.

You need a much bigger hard drive though.

Yeah, actually I got a bigger hard drive.

What kind of stuff are you listening to these days?

I don't listen to much pop music. I listen to old R&B. I listen to modern classical. I listen to jazz, mostly older jazz. Some blues.

What about some of the bands that would be more on the jam side of the fence today?

Not a whole hell of a lot of it because I don't want that stuff in my head, what other people are doing in my ilk. It's bound to happen where if something catches my fancy it's going to come out through my hands. I would encourage jam bands not to listen to each other so that they continue to develop their individuality.

Where does covering the Dead fit into that mix in terms of stifling creativity for other bands?

Whatever floats their mullet as the saying goes. If they love a tune, they should play it. That's what brings a lot of the joy to the music.

I find that as my kids are getting older I'm losing some control over the music that's being played in my house. Who controls the music in your house and what's being played?

Well, my kids are young. My oldest is nine. We do a lot of the Nutcracker for instance these days. They listen to a lot of ballets because the oldest is a ballet student. I imagine the younger one just listens to mostly what the older ones play. I don't play a lot of my music in the house. I tend to play that out here in the studio.

When you're deciding what songs you're going to play for a given show, to what degree does it enter your mind, "Well gee, is this something that someone is going to want to buy later on as a download?"

No, not at all. When I'm creating a set list it's a matter of flow and a matter of the evening's entertainment.

As you're going from Orlando to Boca to Jacksonville or wherever, do you give thoughts to what you played one night versus the next, so that it keeps it fresh?

The way I create a set list is I have a database so that the songs I've done for the last two years - and the last couple of times we've been around a given town - are automatically out. Then, say the last week's worth of shows, those songs are more or less automatically out, unless the set really, really needs them.

What happens if you play two "One More Saturday Night" in Boca Raton two years in a row?

Well, then you are going to get two "Saturday Nights." We'll try to make them different.




We may have saved our democracy in this last election. The cards aren't all down yet but it was slipping away, getting beyond reach. It was becoming a democracy in name only. A lot will have to be done to remedy what has been done over the last few years in terms of gerrymandering the country, rigging voting systems, and stuff like that.
-Bob Weir



The archive.org situation a year ago caused a great deal of commotion with a lot of passionate feelings being expressed. Looking back on it, is there anything that you'd like to share about what happened? Would you have done anything differently?
I've learned a lot from that. For instance, I learned that if we're going to go to the effort and expense of making a record that we have to be able to market it some way. We haven't really figured it out yet, but we're going to have to do that soon. If we're going to go through the effort and expense of making a record, we're going to need to at least get our money back out of it.

Did you expect such a backlash when you guys went the route you did?

I think for the most part that was your stock standard typical, very vocal minority. People were just not content to deal with the fact that a musician needs to make a living...

...that what you have is proprietary at the end of the day.

Right. They had no respect for intellectual property whatsoever. The musicians' needs are not being met. There's this myth that information has to be free. That was the big rallying cry back a year ago, and I don't buy that. It doesn't make sense. There is no way you can make it make sense, and I debated this with people who are big time web/internet blowhards who claim to know the situation inside and out. But, they don't know the situation legally and they don't know the situation morally.

Take a company like Google who got to a point where they said free information is nice but now we need to monetize it.

Yeah or we can't do business.

For some of the diehards out there, does there appear to be a disconnect relative to the Dead's willingness to let people tape shows forever?

Something of that nature. We let them make digital copies of our archival stuff, which is a major technological step further forward. So, you can get a hundredth generation digital recording with file sharing and still have a pretty good recording. We've actually gone way further in that direction then the Dead ever did. That's simply because the technology has changed since the Dead were around.

Just a couple other questions for you. "Easy to Slip" has been in your repertoire for a very long time. Did you spend any time around Lowell George?

Hell, yeah. He produced a record for us. The night I met him I was sort of the band's envoy to the various producers we were interviewing, and I picked him up at the airport. He was hungry so we decided to stop in [San Francisco] for Chinese food. He wanted to go to Golden Dragon Restaurant - which is a good restaurant - because there was a very famous Chinese gangland shootout that happened there. The bullet holes were still there, and he had to go up to the wall and put his fingers in the bullet holes and stuff like that. We had a lot of times. He was a great guy, fabulous musician, a lot of fun to hang with. We did a little drinking together. I think the worst I ever felt in my life was the morning after I got the news he died. A bunch of us were up in Portland and there was a Trader Vic's at the bottom of our hotel. So, we figured we've got to raise a glass or two to Lowell. I didn't feel so good in the morning.

You've sat in with The Radiators a couple of times when they've been in the Bay Area. What's it like playing with those guys?
They're a lot of fun. Great groove.

One of my fondest memories was seeing Bobby and the Midnights on the Riverboat in New Orleans during college. Any plans for that to happen again?

You know, maybe in another five or ten years or something we'll get a little reunion tour together just for fun.

What's in the cards for you and for Ratdog in 2007?

Well, we're working on that right now. We'll be touring a fair bit, and I think we'll be recording a fair bit. I think we'll probably make some sort of deals with various online subscription and straight ahead commercial music [services].

Any parting words of wisdom?

Love what you do. Aside from that, register and vote. We may have saved our democracy in this last election. The cards aren't all down yet but it was slipping away, getting beyond reach. It was becoming a democracy in name only. A lot will have to be done to remedy what has been done over the last few years in terms of gerrymandering the country, rigging voting systems, and stuff like that. A lot of attention is going to have to go back to that because those folks aren't done trying to grab power.

JamBase | California
Go See Live Music!



What will Bobby remember about 2006???

Click Here! to find out!


Ello?
Can you see me?
I just moved the blog to beta. I don't really know/understand what that is all about but am now able to open my archives which was a problem all week. No more excuses for not finishing my assorted show reviews!
Anyhow....carry on!


Looking into a Ratdog summer?
Start at 10 lakes
Then check out GOTV

The 2007 fun begins on Jan 4th. If youre going to be in DC to CELEBRATE click me to see who will be entertaining you!

Lifetime Achievement Grammy for The Grateful Dead

A Grammy for GD!
December 19, 2006 02:00 PM Eastern Time
Joan Baez, Booker T. & The MG's, Maria Callas, Ornette Coleman, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, and Bob Wills Honored with The Recording Academy® Lifetime Achievement Award

Estelle Axton, Cosimo Matassa, and Stephen Sondheim Honored with Trustees Award

David M. Smith and Yamaha Corporation Awarded Technical Grammy® Award

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Recipients of the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical GRAMMY® Award were announced today by The Recording Academy®. Joan Baez, Booker T. & The MG's, Maria Callas, Ornette Coleman, the Doors, the Grateful Dead and Bob Wills will receive The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. Estelle Axton, Cosimo Matassa and Stephen Sondheim will be honored with The Academy's Trustees Award. David M. Smith and Yamaha Corporation have been named recipients of the Technical GRAMMY Award.

"This year's group of accomplished honorees are as diverse as they are influential as creators of the most renowned and prominent recordings in the world," said Recording Academy President Neil Portnow. "Their contributions exemplify the highest artistic and technical standards that have positively affected the music industry and music fans."

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium while the Trustees Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the industry in a non-performing capacity. Both awards are decided by vote of The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are determined by The Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing members and The Academy's Trustees. The award is presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.

Formal acknowledgment of these special merit awards will be made at an invitation-only ceremony during GRAMMY Week, as well as during the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which will be held at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007, and broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CBS Television Network.

Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees:

Joan Baez — As one of the most accomplished interpretive folk singers of the '60s, Joan Baez has influenced nearly every aspect of popular music in a career that is still going strong after more than 45 years. Possessed of an instantly recognizable soprano, Baez has received eight gold albums, a gold single, six GRAMMY Award nominations, and the 2003 Recording Academy San Francisco Chapter Governors Award.

Booker T. & The MG's (Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, (a)Al Jackson, Booker T. Jones, and Lewie Steinberg) — As the house band at Stax Records in Memphis, Booker T. & The MG's had tight, impeccable grooves that can be heard on classic hits by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Carla Thomas, to name a few. They also were one of the top instrumental outfits of the rock era, recording classics including "Green Onions," "Time Is Tight," and "Hang 'Em High." As a band that featured two blacks and two whites playing as a cohesive group in the highly-charged south of the '60s, they set an example of how music can transcend social ills.

(a)Maria Callas — Among her contemporaries, Maria Callas had the deepest comprehension of the classical Italian style, the most musical instincts and the most intelligent approach, with exceptional dramatic powers. She had a wide range from high E to the F below the staff, and an innate feel for the style of bel canto roles, but she was most notable for bringing a commitment and intensity to her dramatic portrayals that was unprecedented at the time. Her fame has transcended the usual boundaries of classical music, and she has been the inspiration for several movies, an opera, and a successful Broadway play.

Ornette Coleman — One of the most notable figures in jazz history, American jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman is considered one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the '60s. He has influenced virtually every saxophonist of a modern disposition and nearly every jazz musician of the following generation. Coleman's timbre is one of the most easily recognized in jazz: his keening, crying sound draws heavily on the blues. From the beginning, his music and playing were unorthodox, and his sense of harmony and chord were not as rigid as most swing music or bebop performers and were easily changed and often implied. His growing reputation placed him at the forefront of jazz innovation, and free jazz was soon considered a new genre.

The Doors (John Densmore, Bobby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and (a)Jim Morrison) — As one of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the '60s, The Doors' music included socially, psychologically and politically influenced lyrics. The band formed in 1965 — when Morrison and Manzarek were film students at UCLA — with a sound that was dominated by Manzarek's electric organ and Morrison's deep, sonorous voice with which he sang his highly poetic lyrics. Blending blues, classical, Eastern music, and pop into sinister but beguiling melodies, the band sounded like no other. The group's first album, The Doors, featuring the hit "Light My Fire," was a massive success, and endures as one of the most exciting, groundbreaking recordings of the psychedelic era. The Doors' music and Morrison's legend continue to fascinate succeeding generations of rock fans.

The Grateful Dead ((a)Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir) — The Grateful Dead were the psychedelic era's most beloved musical ambassadors as well as its most enduring survivors, spreading their message of peace, love and harmony across the globe for more than four decades. The ultimate cult band, the Dead were known for their unique and eclectic songwriting style, fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, country, jazz, psychedelia, and gospel, and for live performances, featuring long jams. The band released more than 50 albums, and was music's top-grossing live act year after year. As strong and passionate supporters of numerous educational and humanitarian charities, they established the Rex Foundation. Today, more than 10 years after Jerry Garcia's death, the legions of fans — called Dead Heads —have only grown larger and stronger.

(a)Bob Wills — Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with Western swing. He is credited with popularizing the genre and changing its rules. Wills' band, The Texas Playboys, combined dance music, blues, jazz, pop, and country into a uniquely popular form. The band gained fame playing for eight years on a Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station and ultimately influenced generations of country and pop artists with its iconoclastic approach and individual sound.

Trustees Award Honorees:

Estelle Axton — As co-founder of the legendary Stax Records — home to Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Isaac Hayes — Estelle Axton was known as "Lady A" to the artists who recorded for her. Stax was widely renowned as the premier label in the rich history of Memphis music.

During the turbulent '60s, Stax brought together black and white musicians who collaborated, creating the distinctive Stax soul sound which is recognized worldwide today. Axton's influence as a mentor and facilitator was crucial to the development of the Stax stable of artists and songwriters and their role in generating a defining sound in American music in the '60s and '70s.

Cosimo Matassa — Cosimo Matassa was essential to the development of the New Orleans R&B, rock and soul sound of the '50s and '60s. As an engineer and proprietor of J&M Studios and Cosimo Recording Studio in New Orleans, he was skilled at microphone placement and capturing the sound of New Orleans R&B with a naturalistic feel. Matassa developed the "Cosimo Sound," which consisted of strong drums, heavy bass, light piano, heavy guitar and a light horn sound with strong vocal lead. From Little Richard and Fats Domino to Dr. John and Allen Toussaint, some of the greatest artists recorded their work at these studios.

Stephen Sondheim — Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as one of the greatest Broadway show composers and lyricists. A winner of six GRAMMY Awards, Sondheim ranks with such masters as Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe and arguably even Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin of an earlier era. Sondheim received his first big break when he wrote lyrics to Leonard Bernstein's score for West Side Story. Since then, Sondheim's shows have been amazingly daring in terms of subject matter, with unusual musical ideas and stunningly original lyrics.

Technical GRAMMY Award Honorees:

(a)David M. Smith — A pioneer in high-resolution audio, David M. Smith's technical prowess at trouble- shooting anything in the studio, as well as his humble leadership, earned him wide respect from the music industry. Many landmark recordings were made under Smith's stewardship, and he built devices that preceded their commercial counterparts. From 1995 until his death in 2006, Smith served as Vice President of Audio Technical Engineering at Sony Music Studios where he oversaw and updated two dozen multi-format rooms encompassing every facet of audio production, installed a succession of "New York's first" consoles and personally designed custom mixing and mastering consoles in both analog and digital configurations. As a frequent consultant to the audio industry, he oversaw the transfer and digitizing of priceless master tapes sent from all over the world.

Yamaha Corporation — Since 1887, Yamaha Corporation has grown from producing reed organs to becoming one of the world's largest manufacturers of musical instruments and professional audio products. For more than 40 years, Yamaha Corporation of America has provided the professional audio recording industry with analog and digital products. In the forefront of chip and software design for effects and mixing, it began manufacturing its own DSP chips specifically for audio applications. Many of their products have become the industry standard for professional engineers, producers, recording studios and post production facilities worldwide. Today, Yamaha continues its successful history of further advancing its technology to provide powerful recording solutions that benefit the music industry.

(a)Denotes posthumous.

Established in 1957, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., also known as The Recording Academy, is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers, and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs — including the creation of the national public education campaign What's The Download® (WhatsTheDownload.com). For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.

Contacts
The Recording Academy
Jaime Sarachit, 310-392-3777
.....................................

Have a wonderful Day!

HBMW!


..............
Any blog with a kind Bobby mention is all right with me
.............
New GD/WEIR Blog Weirsbobby.blogspot!!!!

GDTSTOO:

Added to the Bob Weir and RatDog February West Coast tour:

Sunday, February 11 at the House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
Doors open at 7:00 PM. Show time is 8:00 PM.
21 years and over ONLY.
Mail order tickets are available at $46.00 Reserved (limited),
and $31.00 General Admission. Taper section will be in the
GA section.

Saturday, February 17 at the Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA.
Doors open at 6:00 PM. Show time is 7:00 PM.
All ages welcome. This is a General Admission show.
Mail order tickets are available at $40.50 per ticket.

First mail in dates for these 2 shows will be December 18
through December 20.

As always, mail order will remain open beyond 'first
postmarks' until further notice.

Detail about the Portland show:
The reserved seats at $43.00 will be in the Balcony.
The $30.50 General Admission tickets will be for the floor.

Stay tuned for more show information.

The Crew of GDTSTOO
12.18.2006





Kudos Darlene!


This Bobby elf thing is great! Darlene posted the link ;
Click here!!

Hmmm? Would you dine at Shakedown Street?

.................

My view of the SF Bay from my den.
Sweet and chilly December sunshine!
............
So, my Sasha has a classmate over, they are working on a final project for a class.
The classmate (someone new to us) turns out to be a huge fan of Janis Joplin and is fascinated by all our posters.
I did my holiday mitzvah and had her choose one of our surplus Chet fest benefit posters to take home.
She knew exactly who Chet Helms was too!
"The guy who brought Janis to SF?"
That made my day!
.........

Check out Paully's Plant a tree website. This Winter's Bay Area Benefit is being planned.





All enjoyed the first night of Hanukah!
I gave Mr Scotto the new book by Blair Jackson titled
"Grateful Dead Gear".
Since Scott doesnt browse around message boards, he didnt know the book was written, so it was a fun to see his surprise.
It's lots of text and photos. Having read Blair on many, many other occasions, I expect this will be another fine read!
Thanks Blair!
My younger kids want one big electronica item this year rather than a bunch of smaller priced stuff. Ipod for Suzy and a WII for little Billy...You might think that would be easier than rounding up gifts for each night but you'd be wrong....What exactly is a Wii and how come every store is out of them?
See what I mean?

Happy Hanukkah!

Another note about the Benefit coming up at Bimbo's:

The benefit concert will be web-cast live and available at www.lala.com. The show can be heard during the concert from 8-11:30 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) at www.lala.com. Lala.com is an online music site where fans trade CDs for $1, get music recommendations and listen to radio stations programmed by other fans and professional DJs. Lala.com created the Z-foundation, a nonprofit organization funding programs that encourage the creation and performance of music. Lala.com contributes 20 percent of its CD trading revenue to the Z-foundation and performing artists.

The January 18 benefit will also mark the release of the new CD entitled “Hi Fidelity Education” – a compilation disc of 18 rock songs from some of California’s best known singers, songwriters, musicians and bands. Proceeds from the CD benefit the California Music Project, which seeks to raise funds and awareness to aid music education in California’s schools.

Said Chuck Leavell: “It is widely known and accepted that children who take music courses in our schools do better in other subjects such as math, reading, history and geography. Music not only helps them in those subjects but also increases their social skills and gives them a more well-rounded level of education.”

..................................




Groove is in the Heart
A Night with The Werewolves

Bimbo's 365 Club
1025 Columbus Avenue (at Chestnut Street)
San Francisco, CA 94133
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007
6:00 PM - 11:30 PM
Details
Saints and Sinners Presents:

Groove is in the Heart

A Benefit Concert for Bay Area Music Programs

Starring: The Werewolves

Rolling Stones keyboardist and musical director Chuck Leavell has been rocking big venues like the Oakland Coliseum as the world’s greatest rock ‘n roll band toured the U.S. this year. On January 18, 2007, Chuck and his other great band, The Werewolves, will take the stage at the intimate Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco to rock the house and raise money for four Bay Area music programs for kids.

Chuck is the keyboardist and musical director for the Rolling Stones. He is one of the most respected keyboardists in modern music history. His work both as a solo artist and as a musician with The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, Gov’t Mule, Train and many others is among the most accomplished of any living keyboardist. Chuck is also a strong supporter of music programs for kids.
The Werewolves, Chuck’s all-star band, includes:

Narada Michael Walden - drums (Sting, Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra, multi platinum producer
Norton Buffalo - harmonica (Steve Miller Band, Bonnie Raitt)
Bob Weir – guitar/vocals (Grateful Dead, Ratdog)
Jimmy Dillon - guitar/vocals (Clarence Clemons, Springsteen, BSMC Director)
Mark Karan - guitar (Ratdog, The Rembrants)
Ozzie Ahlers - keyboards (Van Morrison, Jerry Garcia Band)
Dewayne Pate - bass (Robben Ford Band)
... and more special friends of Chuck’s to be announced!

Tickets include an Italian hors d'oeuvres buffet and wine. Cash bar. The concert will benefit the following Bay Area music programs: Little Kids Rock, Blue Star Music Camps, Oaktown Jazz Program, and the California Music Project.

http://www.saintssinnersfund.org http://www.bimbos365club.com

Sponsors include: lala.com, Wells Fargo Bank, NAMM
Registration Services Sponsor: Acteva

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GDTSTOO::

We are just delighted to post these shows on the West Coast:
Bob Weir and RatDog will play the following shows:

Saturday, February 10 at the Ventura Theatre, Ventura, CA.
Doors open at 7:00 PM. Show time is 8:00 PM.
All ages are welcome.
Mail order tickets are available at $58.00 VIP General
admission in the front of the Orchestra,
and $42.50 General admission in the second half
of the Orchestra. A taper section will be available at the $42.50 level.

Tuesday, February 13 at the Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA.
Doors open at 6:30 PM. Show time is TBA.
This is a General Admission show. All ages are welcome.
Mail order tickets are available at $38.00 per ticket.

Friday, February 16 at the Roseland Theater, Portland, OR.
Doors open at 8:00 PM. Show time is 9:00 PM.
21 and over ONLY.
Mail order tickets are available at $43.00 Reserved, and
$30.50 General Admission. A taper section will be available
at the General admission level.

Sunday, February 18 at the Commodore Ballroom,
Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Doors open at 7:00 PM. Show time is 8:30 PM.
19 and over ONLY. Govt. ID required.
This is a general admission show.
Mail order tickets are available at US$45.50. Of course we
will accept Canadian postal money orders in US Dollars.

By the way: February 18, 2007 is Chinese New Year's,
ushering in the Year of the Fire Boar.

We will consider Thursday, December 14, through
Monday, December 18 as first postmark mail.

Obviously there are some gaps in the schedule. More shows
will be added when details are confirmed.
==============
Bob Weir and RatDog at the Beacon, NY in March, 2007:
Tickets are still available for all 3 shows, although of course
Thursday and Friday with better locations than Saturday.
This also means that all orders so far received will be filled.

We will not send out any tickets in December to avoid the
Christmas Rush.

We wish you all a very happy Holiday Season, with the
hope that 2007 will be a good year.

The Crew of GDTSTOO
12.13.2006

--

"Say, it might have been a fiddle,
or it could have been the wind
But there seems to be a beat, now,
I can feel it in my feet, now
Listen, here it comes again!"
Web Site: http://www.gdtstoo.com
email: GDTSTOO@dead.net
Customer Service Number: (415) 898-2364
Monday-Friday, 11am-5pm, PST.
To subscribe to our email announce list, send empty email to
GDTSTOO-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
.................
From the official Ratdog website. Ratdog.com:

2/09/07 San Diego, CA House of Blues
2/10/07 Ventura, CA Ventura Theater
2/11/07 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
2/13/07 Anaheim, CA The Grove

2/16/07 Portland,OR Roseland Theater

2/18/07 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom

and
Seattle 2/17
...........

Thanks Chez for finding this video:

Just a few days left to bid on stuff autographed by Bobby as well as many other cool items over at the Reef Relief online auction!

I don't know who'll be playing but heads up to Merl fans!

Great American Music Hall
February, 14 2007 at Merl Saunders' Birthday Party
859 O'Farrell St., SF, CA 94109,
Cost : $25

West Coast Tour dates

Check em out!
Ratdog.org Tour page

But don't make too many $$$ plans til the dates appear at Ratdog.com or via announcement from Ruby @ GDTSTOO.
I understand that unless it's been officially announced that ANY date/venue is subject to change.

Just a few days left to submit a song


Peace on Earth from 1984, by Country Joe has members of the GD in the mix. Bobby & others also helping Joan Baez out on this rare, live & classic disc

Music for your eyes has posted a nice blog today about The Grateful Dead
Hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season!?
............................

Today is Worldwide candlelighting day to remember the children who have passed on
((((Lee))))) & ((((Jared))))).
{{{All who are grieving}}}

Hippy Bertha Kemmie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!And Vera Queen of Diamomnds too!!!

Kemstar!
From whipping up a table of eats for the radio party to making beautiful girls late for their bus to tearing out of the county in the middle of the night for the promise of a glow, it's been another Hellafun year with Kemmie in Bob Land! Hope you are having a really lovely day! New Monsoon? Kimock? Oh where can that girl be now?
Queen-> it's the way she shines! I am glad to hear youve had a wonderful day!

Many Blessings to both of you!
.............

I think we are gonna have to stay tuned to The Philosopher's Playground Blogspot!. Steve keeps dropping these lil tidbits from his Bobby interview here and there. Today there is a blog regarding Cowboy Neal!
Very nice!

Like no other man alive

Early GD interview on Video

Grateful Dead artisfacts


Box office pre sale for Ratdog!
Ready,
Set,
GO!
CLICK HERE!

Take one down pass it around- It's a sweet tale and I'm advising you to go read "There is Nothing like a Grateful Dead ShowJoshua Wakefield.com


Ratdog to play 10KL Festy in July


Have you listened to Bobby's audio portrait yet?
Click on the bullets at this site to hear Bobby!


Somehow this Rockin at the Red Dog DVD passed under my radar! Anyone out there seen it yet?

Tis the season and before I forget -

O Come All Ye Grateful Deadheads Lyrics by Bob Rivers

BOB RIVERS - O COME ALL YE GRATEFUL DEADHEADS
O come, all ye Grateful,
Deadheads to the concert.
O come, Grateful Deadheads,
And camp in the street.
Bring rolling papers,
Don't forget your sleeping bags.
O come get us some floor seats,
We've followed them for four weeks,
O come get us some floor seats,
To see the Lord.
O come, all ye hippies,
Throwbacks to the Sixties.
Paint flowers on your van,
And don't wash your feet.
Wear your bell-bottoms,
And your tie-dye t-shirts.
O come let us adore them,
We've quit our day jobs for them,
O come let us adore, them,
Garcia's the Lord.

So there's a new book being written "The Grateful Dead and Philosophy"!!!
One of the author's posts about a bit from a recent phone call to our esteemeed Bobstar in it Philosopher's playground

Hippy Berthadays!!

To mr Jay! and Ms Colorado Rain!


Yay Bob Minkin's Rex Pictures are up!
Here's one of Mr Minkin's- Mr irenie is singing along in the bottom right corner there.







And some from Sue Weiand too












ANNNND Dave Clark's are up over on Ratdog. org!



A few nice comments about Rex Bebbie over on General Fuzz blogspot












........
Heads Up Oregon

SPECIAL CONCERT: FRI DEC 15 - 8 PM
BOHEMIAN SOUL- Jeff Pevar/Inger Jorgensen/Joe Diehl 

w/special guests Teri Cote (hand percussion) & Goa Lobaugh (Didgeridoo).
Wine tasting courtesy of Tom Reinhard - Eden Vale Winery.
 
Celebrate the holidays with the dynamic musical ensemble of Bohemian Soul...original music by the trio brings lyrical, soulful melodies with roots in funk, R&B , jazz, soul, folk, and rock. World renound guitarist Jeff Pevar is also a, performer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who has worked with a wide array of music's finest including Ray Charles, Crosby,Stills & Nash, Rickie Lee Jones, Joe Cocker, Marc Cohn, and many others... see www.pevar.com.   Inger Jorgensen is a vocalist, singer/songwriter, painter and part owner of Bohemia Gallery...see www.ingerjorgensen.com.   Joe Diehl plays with many projects all over the Rogue Valley and in the Bay area including Mad World, Annie Mac, Horsefeathers, and Billie Rock...see www.joediehlmusic.com.  Call 488-5227 For more info.
Doors open at 7:30...Seating limited...advance tickets $10 / $12 at the door.

Nice Victim posted over at Monkeyfister blogspot
 

It's not NYE but at least we have time to plan!

GDTSTOO:

We are happy to report that Bob Weir and RatDog will play
3 shows at the Beacon Theatre, New York, NY on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday, March 8, 9 and 10, 2007.
Doors and show time:
Thursday: Doors 6:30 PM, show time is 7:30 PM.
Friday and Saturday: Doors at 7:00 PM. Show time is 8:00 PM.
All ages are welcome.

All seats are reserved. A taping section will be provided.
Mail order tickets are available at $52.50 per ticket.

We will consider December 5, 6 and 7 as first postmark mail.

==========
Thanks to all of you who sent us reports and revues about the
Rhythm Devils' shows. You were absolutely right about that band
as we were able to find out for ourselves last Friday night.

The Crew of GDTSTOO
12.4.2006
--

"The thousand stories have
come 'round to one again
Arabian Night
our gods pursue their fight
What fatal flowers of
darkness spring from
seeds of light"
Robert Hunter

Web Site: http://www.gdtstoo.com
email: GDTSTOO@gdtstoo.com
Customer Service Number: (415) 898-2364
Monday-Friday, 11am-5pm, PST.
To subscribe to our email announce list, send empty email to
GDTSTOO-subscribe@yahoogroups.com



........
RIP ((((Oded))))
This one is for you, my dear...

__._,_.___

Very nice Rhythm Devils Rock The Warfield Review!!

Dec
02
2006

Rhythm Devils rock the Warfield
Posted by Jim on December 2nd, 2006
The members of the Grateful Dead were known for taking long, strange trips.

Even by the standards of those legendary psychedelic pioneers, however, the journey that brought the Rhythm Devils to San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre on Friday night was extraordinarily lengthy and bizarre.

The band’s origins stretch back to the ’70s, when director Francis Ford Coppola was looking for inspiration for the soundtrack to 1979’s “Apocalypse Now.” He found it at a Dead concert and would later ask three band members _ percussionists Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann and bassist Phil Lesh _ to go into the studio to record musical accompaniment for the film.

Some of that music would make the actual film soundtrack, but the lion’s share would be released on a separate album credited to the Rhythm Devils (reissued by Rykodisc as “The Apocalypse Now Sessions” in 1991).

On a lark, Kreutzmann and Hart resurrected the Rhythm Devils name to play what appeared to be a one-off ensemble gig with former Phish bassist Mike Gordon and Zero guitarist Steve Kimock at the 2006 Jammy Awards.

The four players had so much fun at the Jammys (the jam-band equivalent to the Grammy Awards) that they decided to invite some more friends onboard (including vocalist Jen Durkin) and take the show on the road.

That brings us to Friday night, when this version of the Rhythm Devils finally made its Bay Area live debut. The concert was a benefit for the Rex Foundation, the Dead’s charitable arm that has donated more than $750,000 to worthy organizations over the past five years.

Hart’s Planet Drum ensemble, which also features Indian tabla phenom Zakir Hussain, Puerto Rican conga guru Giovanni Hidalgo and Nigerian drum master Sikiru Adepoju, opened the show.

One has to like percussion _ really, really like percussion _ to dig Planet Drum. Most of the fans seemed to enjoy the set, yet nobody seemed disappointed that it was shorter than what one gets when Planet Drum headlines a show.

There’s always a major jolt of excitement that courses through the crowd whenever some Dead vets take the stage _ especially at a place like the Warfield, a venue that played such an important part in the band’s history. That was certainly true on Friday as Hart and Kreutzmann climbed behind their kits and the Rhythm Devils opened their two-set show with a superb take on the Janis Joplin classic “Piece of My Heart.”

Durkin, a 12-year veteran of the jam-band scene who is best known for her work with Deep Banana Blackout, sang lead on most of the tunes and did her best work with the bluesy selections like “Piece of My Heart.”

Gordon also did a fine job at the mic, especially during the band’s funky take on the Dead’s rambling country cut “Cumberland Blues,” and it was too bad that his vocals weren’t utilized to a greater extent.

The bassist was a terrific match for his percussion pals and seemed to push Kreutzmann and Hart in ways that were clearly reminiscent of Phil Lesh’s best years with the Dead. The weakest link in the chain was Kimock, who managed to sound somewhat like Jerry Garcia’s double without ever really taking over a song in true Jerry-like fashion.

The ensemble kept growing throughout the night, to the point where the entire Planet Drum group was onstage and pounding through such Dead classics as “Scarlet Begonias” and “Fire on the Mountain.”

Bob Weir even showed up and joined his fellow Dead mates for solid takes on his old band’s “New Speedway Boogie” and “The Other One.” Weir was in fine voice, but his greatest contribution was his rhythm guitar work _ which seemed to serve as the missing link between Gordon and Kimock.

For those who missed the show, the good news is that the Rhythm Devils show no sign of slowing down. Dead lyricist Robert Hunter has written a bunch of new tunes for the band and there are rumors swirling that there is a 2007 tour in the works.

In other words, the trip should grow even longer, and possibly stranger, for the Rhythm Devils.

10 Great Songs for a Saturday night!

Rexalicious!

Vibes for Peace

Posted by "Zooey"
Also Jay Lane sat in on a few tunes in the 3rd set.
Wavy Gravy spoke at some point.

Set 1

Jen sings lead for:

Piece of My Heart
Comes a Dawn
7 Seconds
Cumberland Blues
Your House

Bobby joins for:
Fountains of Wood
New Speedway Boogie
Good Lovin'

Set 2

With Bobby:
Scarlet Begonias
Fire on the Mountain

Bobby leaves for:
"Love is the Ocean, Time is the Tide" (Jen) (not sure of the name of this one)
Drums

Bobby returns for:
The Other One
"What do you know" (Jen) (not sure of the name of this one either)
Lovelight

Encore:
See You Again (Jen)

Fountains of Wood was the highlight of the show. Bobby seemed to really enjoy playing with Kimock and walked over to stand across from him during 2 or 3 jams. There were some sound problems off and on, especially with Bobby's mike.
..............
..............
..............

I'm still groggy right now. Slept in and sore from moving different sets of muscles.
Yesterday was fun all around!
After confirming that Mom would for sure be completely in charge of the kids, I had no worries about going in to the city with El Scotto bright and early yesterday morning.
It being the first of December, the pawn shop was packed!! It's always a funny scene in there. Some TV people were for a while nterested in doing a reality series (like "Tattoo Ink") but it didnt go through. Too bad because pawn shops are widely misunderstood...As soon as other businesses began to open, I took off to shop around Valancia Street. Forget the Haight, The Mission is where it's at. Every kind of food you can think of including Vegan is available there. I chose the wonderful Boogaloos I knew once the day got going there wouldnt be food til dinner at Rex, so I opted for a big fatty filling breakfast. I spent a few hours just poking through all the shops. My faves are Dog Eared books, Encantada, Therapy, Botanica Yoruba, Cut.loose outlet, Beadissimo. Oh, oh,oh and of course Good Vibrations!!. The cafes are all internet access and full of nice looking urban hipstrers. New College is located right on Valencia. Maybe when my kids are finished with school, I'll take some classes there.
........
I had 3 large boxes to schlep to the Warfield. Two held over 500 party bag favors and one had a set of bongos & a tambourine. The instruments were donated for the silent auction by Mission Music, which is the new legal name for the pawn shop's music division. We are quite excited by the possibilities of Mission Music.
I was all packed up like a mule and about to head up to BART but then things slowed down a little at the shop and Scott was able to take off and drive me to Market Street wherte the Warfield is.
I knocked on the door and explained what I was there for and let in. I was immediately directed to the goody bags and spent the next hour or so dropping goodies into them. Someone had already placed copies of Relix and a cd in each one. There were a few different cds contributed enough for everybody to receive one. I added my thingies as well as cute dancing bear keychains that were donated by Grateful Graphics. Beautiful Vera was there helping out too. She placed Cliff bars in each bag (bags were donated by Birkenstock). The rest of the time was spent getting all these bags to the tables and then setting up the tables. As luck would have it, soundcheck was taking place as we scurried around - folding napkins and whatever. It was sweet to see Vadim & Hippie Bill again. I realized it was getting late and left to BART back down to the Mission. BART was running late and I was a little concerned about walking around the Mission in the dark. The Mission is still kinda scketchy by the 16th street BART station which is the stop closest to the shop.
Made it to the shop and Scott & I changed into our party clothes in the family's flat above the shop. Kemmie came by and we three then drove up to the benefit together.
It was cool to walk right in without dealing with lines. There was a drum circle at the entrance and some of the volunteers I had met earlier were dressed in costumes and dancing around. We had dinner tix and felt quite regal floating down the tiers to our fabulously located table. We were right in front of the stage. We were the rail!
Dinner was delicious- not sure what the vegetarians ate but there was an incredible spread of Cajun meats. There were salads and a yummy mushroom pie thing. Dessert included cakes and "you must taste this" ORGANIC chocolates donated by Jeff (Cheffy) from Lillie Belle Farms.
Wine and water were complimentary for diners and I did pretty well with the merlot. Jeff had been putting packs of his Hippie Crunch toffee on the tables during soundcheck. I opened one of the packs on our table. Scott and I shared a few bites of that. Wow!
Kemmie and WendySue from Deadnet were also at our table the rest of the party didnt show up til the music started- a group of nice looking men. I missed Tim and Linda. This turned out to be our first Rex benefit without them. (((Feel better soon!!))).
After I was done eating, I saw folks started lining up their stuff by the stage. I figured I better nab a spot before everyone congregated. I know, I'm obnoxious about my space but since I was already sitting 4 feet away that I might as well enjoy the proximity just a little more. I was able to chat with bunches of other raildogs who floated down to scope out spots. Security showed up before the music started to gently ask folks to go back to their seats. Ah darn, it was gonna be absolutely stellar rail crew too - Vera, Allison, Deadnet Goddesses. I really can't/didnt complain because my seat was right in front.
It was wonderful to see all the Bay Area deadheads and Rex people again. I had a lot of merlot fueled fun. Got my courage up and went over to meet Bob Minkin and thank him for all the years of fine looking Bobby pictures. He was kind and very gracious.
The lights dimmed and the Rhythm Devils were introduced. Security was serious about keeping folks off the floor- the only folks in front of us were photographers- there were loads of them too.
So where are all the pictures already??
Anyhow, at different points of time, front row peeps would stand to dance but security asked us in the front row to stay in our seats or to move to the aisle to dance. It wasnt easy to stay seated but I wasnt giving up my view for anything. I rocked in my chair (and woke up with some serious aches in muscles I didnt know I had).
The lights went up and setbreak was on!
I decided to mosey up to the lobby and see if I needed to bid on anything. I still hadnt seen the auction items.
Lots of folks moving around- among the Hippy celebrity set mingling were Barry Sless with Flying Other Brother Roger McNamee, Mountain Girl and Wavy Gravy, on the stairway Jay Lane was schmoozing with a gaggle of the Ratdog railcrew.
On the next level up, Merle Saunders was sitting with his lady at one of the tables. It was good to see him!
The auction was going well. Aside from Mission Music bongoes and the newly autographed tambourine that I had schlepped were several lovely framed photographs of Grateful Dead family, a nice poster of the Klezmorim designed by Robert Crumb, some game tix (Warriors?) and the new Grateful Dead board game- autographed by members of the GD.
I returned to my seat in time for set 2 to begin.
I'll have to log back in later so stay tuned-