Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    


First, the canned bio:

BLAIR JACKSON has written about Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead for
nearly thirty years.  From 1984 to 1993, Jackson and his wife, Regan
McMahon, published the Dead fanzine The Golden Road in their spare
time.  Jackson's books include Grateful Dead: The Music Never Stopped,
and Goin' Down the Road: A Grateful Dead Traveling, Companion.  He
currently works as executive editor of the professional audio trade
magazine Mix.  He lives with his wife and two children in Oakland,
California.

Blair is the author of GARCIA: AN AMERICAN LIFE, published in August by
Viking, and he is also one of three producers (along with Steve Silberman and
myself) of the Grateful Dead boxed set SO MANY ROADS (1965-1995), to be
released by Grateful Dead/Arista on November 9.

Blair, it's great to have you here in the WELL!
  

    

Let's begin with the book, of course, and with a Big Question:  What is it
about Jerry Garcia that makes his life worthy of so damn much documentation?
  

    
I think part of it is that his life spans so many interesting epochs
of American cultural history. He has roots in both Beat culture and
suburbia (both post-War phenoms). He was the son of an Americanized
immigrant. His story encompasses the "folk scare" (as he liked to call
it), the dawn of the mid-'60s counterculture/drug culture, the
post-Beatlemania rock world, the Haight, Woodstock, Altamont, the rise
of independent labels (their own), the rise of coprorate rock, etc.
It's the ultimate "alternative" music story in a way...
  

    

I've always thought the Dead embodied the true spirit of "rock'n'roll" as
defined by the godfathers of rock journalism, e.g. Dave Marsh Greil Marcus,
et al.  They did it their way, goddammit, and they succeeded hugely.  Why do
you suppose the Dead wound up on the outs with all those critics?
  

    
One word: hippies. Because the conventional rock crit thinking is that
hippiedom either died or should have died in about 1974, the Dead were
perceived as being the leaders of a movement that was old and in the
way (so to speak). Then, when punk and new wave started bursting out of
the garages in '76 and '77 part of it was in reaction to what those
groups saw as the excesses of late-'60s, early '70s music--long guitar
solos, which were always termed "self-indulgent" (and most of 'em
were!) and the complicated structures of the dreaded "progressive"
rockers, from ELP to Yes and Genesis. The new wave was a chance for
guys (and girls) to get in on the ground floor again, with limited
knowledge and/or expertise. That was a good thing! But I think the Dead
were swept away in the minds of many for being just more '60s
detritus. We won't get into personalities, but I've always thought Dave
Marsh is a total jerk with an extremely limited and myopic view of
rock n' roll. Greil is obviously brilliant in that Greil kind of way;
I'll leave it at that...  
  

    
Heh!

>The new wave was a chance for guys (and girls) to get in on the ground floor
>again, with limited knowledge and/or expertise.

Good point.  And that's how it always goes: all of these great waves of music
began as DIY scenes.  The Dead and their peers started out playing in their
own communities, and their audience grew over time.

I suppose it worked out well for everyobdy.  The Dead were free to create
their music in front of a loving audience, and the demands of the "real"
music industry were totally irrelevant.


Why do you suppose this stuff works so very well for our thin slice of the
demographic pie, while leaving so many other humans absolutely cold?
  

    
Jerry was mentioned at the GG Park memorial in his honor by one of his
daughters as a "true American" (or something to that effect) and your
title seems to reflect that. Jerry was truly American in so many ways.
Care to comment on how you came up with the title and reflect on Garcia's
life as a "true American"?
  

    
It's a life that couldn't have happened anywhere else, and its so
wrapped up in American ideals of liberty, freedom of expression,
democracy, etc, but in completely left-field ways. Frankly I was going
a little for irony with the title.

David, in response to your last question, would it sound too flip to
say: You had to be there? But seriously...obviously there is something
the Dead tapped into that was deeply emotional for many people, and
Jerry's guitar playing was probably the most overt expression of that
expansive Grateful Dead emotional landscape. But I've often wondered
what the Dead would have become if they'd never hooked up with Hunter? 
He gave the repertoire its heart and soul to a large degree. When I
hear all the neo-hippie jam bands, I'm always struck by the fact that
as well as they all play, none of them have found their Robert Hunter.
I don't think you can overstate Hunter's importance to the whole
equation. But then, I've always been a word guy. I know folks who saw
the Dead hundreds of times and never really absorbed the words. There
was plenty for them, too. I loved both sides; one fed the other.
  

    
Hunter is great and I agree that many "jam bands" have not found their
"Hunter" (with, maybe, the exception of Phish). It's also interesting that
there are a few songs that many people think are Hunter songs but are
actually traditionals, "I Know You Rider" for example or "Morning Dew".

If I state to some non deadhead that Jerry was a "true American", I get a
good laugh. How do you think history will regard the contributions he and
GD have made to the musical patchwork of our American lives as a society?
  

    

Years ago, I said to anyone who would listen, "If we think the Grateful Dead
deserve a place in history, we'd better start writing the books."

Blair and I have done our part, and so have dozens of others!  I have been
going through my bookshelves here, preparing for a garage sale, and I was
thinking about the impressive number of Dead books we have now.  When Blair's
first book, "The Music Never Stopped," came out, there were only a handful --
Hank Harrison's books and "The Official Book of the Dead Heads," and maybe
onr ot two others...
  

    

>David, in response to your last question, would it sound too flip to say:
>You had to be there?

That's probably the truth.  The tapes can only record so much.


>obviously there is something the Dead tapped into that was deeply emotional
>for many people, and Jerry's guitar playing was probably the most overt ex-
>pression of that expansive Grateful Dead emotional landscape.

Well said.  They made their maps as they created the terrain; it was usually
Jerry pointing the way.



>But I've often wondered what the Dead would have become if they'd never
>hooked up with Hunter?   He gave the repertoire its heart and soul to a
>large degree.... I don't think you can overstate Hunter's importance to the
>whole equation.

Amen to that!
  

    

From: Ktrnka
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 14:04:21 EDT
Subject: Blair Jackson interview


Hi David,

I don't have a question.

But I want to thank both Blair AND you.

Even though my first show was in 1969, my husband and I had all the
LPs, and always went to Grateful Dead concerts when they came to our
vicinity, I never considered myself a Deadhead.

After we returned to the Bay Area in 1983, I went to the Psychedelic
Shop in San Francisco for a poster artist event. (There's one happening
tomorrow at Great American Music Hall, you know.) One of the guys at
the Psychedelic Shop turned me onto "The Golden Road" - the very best
Grateful Dead publication EVER, imo.

And about the same time, you (David) had an earlier version of the
Deadhead Hour on KFOG.  (I think)

For the first time I realized that I, too, was a Deadhead. The people I
thought of as Deadheads were actually a subgroup of Deadheads
(Tourheads I began to call them). I carried around the statistics Blair
published that about 80-90% of the fans at any given show being from
the area of the concert, and a smaller percentage of fans who actually
followed the band.

And I also learned about the taping community, that the Dead never
played the same song during a run (which wasn't true when I began going
to their shows, you know), and later I found the online community
because of you two,

Thank you to both of you. You have enriched my life and members of my
family (the notorious McElhineys) and god(dess) bless you.  :-)

LATVALA!

Kathy Lutes
 (Katrinka)
  

    
Too early to tell, Mouse. I think a lot of what the Dead did and Jerry
in particular played is really more comparable with  someone like
Coltrane than their rock brethren. I don't hear that much specific
Grateful Dead/Jerry musical influence in other bands, but you see their
approach, both to jamming and to how they handled their career, in
many, many groups obviously.

Mouse, do you really think Phish has a Hunter? I really don't want to
get into a debate about Phish (I'm pro-Phish, though I don't actually
listen to them much; I think they're great musicians, cool guys, great
attitude, etc., but they don't really do it for me, if you can dig the
distinction) but I can't say I've ever been moved by any of their
lyrics. A lot of 'em seem kind of lightweight to me, though I can see
they're trying hard to go somewhere with 'em. 

But Hunter draws from such a deep reservoir of different song/poetry
forms, not to mention his own life experiences, which shaped him so.  
  

    
Hi Blair, Thanks for the book and for the outtakes on your website.

There are lots of great words in the world. If someone wanted a Hunter
type lyric they could try setting 'Song of Myself' or 'Mexico City
Blues' to music, couldn't they?

I feel that the connection between Jerry and Hunter was more than just
a lyricist/musician deal, though, yes?
  

    

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 15:05:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: Joe Tucker <jtucker@anselm.edu>


Blair,

Much has been made of Garcia's life and music,
and I continue to discover new pearls of musical
wisdom through the Dead's music.

Still, I cannot help but feel that Garcia's appetite
for narcotics seriously dimmed his musical abilities
for long stretches of his career, yet many Deadheads
came back again and again.  Some kept coming back for
the hope of great music, but many more came for the
party/travelling market.

Do you perceive a point at which the level of Jerry's
musicality becomes almost irrelevant to the 'Heads
and do you feel that Jerry's awareness of this fact
contributed to his malaise?

Joe T.
  

    

There's a full page roundup of Grateful Dead-related books in the 10/28
Rolling Stone.  "Readingman's Dead" is the title of the page, and GARCIA: AN
AMERICAN LIFE is the first book mentioned.  "Jackson's biography offers
refreshingly unromantic glimpses of the band's gestation, the acid trips, the
Haight-Ashbury atmosphere, the stadium tours and Garcia's last days...."

I'm thrilled to add that my book CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEAD is also
favorably mentioned.  Blair's book and my book are the two covers pictured
out of nine titles reviewed.  There's also a terrifric photo of the band
playing live.
  

    
Joe, I think there was always a segment of Deadheads who didn't care
about the musicality of the experience in absolute terms; i.e., who got
off on it more generally than specifically: "Wow! All right! A
Grateful Dead show!" That's fine. There were times when I wish I
could've been less critical a listener; I would've had more fun. Toward
the end, I definitely found myself trying to listen a little less
critically. Maybe that's why I had more fun in '94 and '95 than a lot
of my friends who were constantly fretting about whether Jerry had
"lost it" or whatever. I don't think Jerry's awareness of this
uncritical element at his shows affected his playing. Certainly he
appreciated the latitude that Deadheads gave him, but I'm not cynical
enough to believe that he phoned in performances knowing that a lot of
people didn't care about quality. If he phoned in performances from
time to time, it's because he occasionally didn't care/didn't want to
be there. 

Alan, I agree that Hunter/Garcia was more than just a
lyricist-composer relationship. This wasn't Lerner and Lowe or Goffin
and King, but something deeper. I'm loathe to characterize it beyond
that, as there are levels I'm sure we'll never fathom. But it's pretty
obvious there's a deep level of communication going on between the
lines in many of their songs. 
  

    


From: "Teddy GoodBear" 
Subject: Re: Blair Jackson interview on the web
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 16:43:18 -0400


Hi David & Blair,

Thank you both for the work you've done over the years. I'm extremely
excited about your new book Blair!!!

As a Deadhead & as my main hobby, I research Dead & pre-Dead history &
trade music online via high speed modem.  I found the 1st few chapters
of your book so fascinating I've read it over at least 3x! I can't wait
to get to the rest of the book!!!

I'm, along with other caretakers, documenting these early years for the
non-profit project at www.deadlists.com.  I'm hoping I can use the
photos & historical facts you wrote of in your new book & incorporate
it within DeadLists w/o violating any copyright laws?  That way 100 or
more years from now the history & origins of the Dead can live on.

I think the GD will live on in history like classical musicians have.
It's so neat with the technology we have these days.  You can click
your mouse & information & music comes into your computer & then you
can make CDs or DVDs all within a few hours & soon to be within a few
minutes!

My predication is that the GD related history will continue to grow on
the internet & have the biggest amount of information available then
any other rock group or sub-culture.

      Teddy :^) www.goodbear.com Teddy-AT-GoodBear.com
                Art Pages: http://www.pompano.net/~goodbear
Home of AUD Etree(s) & Tree(s) http://www.goodbear.com/tree.html
  

    

(I want to point out that www.deadlists.com is a terrific resource!  Along
with DeadBase, the WELL and the Tapers' Compendium mailing list, deadlists
was a hugely valuable aid to the producers of the boxed set.)
  

    
I agree. I have it bookmarked! 

That said, I feel like legally I have to stick up for photographers,
some of whom may not want their stuff on the web for whatever reasons.
And, quite frankly, if one were to indiscriminately reproduce the
photos from the book on the web it somewhat diminishes the value of the
book--I paid for those photos to be in there and I'm proud at how many
are exclusive to the book. Hate to sound like a tight-ass about it...
  

    

That brings up one of the most interesting aspects of the gd phenom... the
peculiar and particular intellectual property assumptions of the deadhead
culture.  I always found the tension between 'sharing' tapes, drugs, sex,
rides, whatever... and the entrepreneurial instinct of the GD
artist/logomaker/knockoff folks very interesting.  Folks wanted to have
their cake and...

Or rather to sell their burrito and share it, too.
  

    

Teddy GoodBear replies:



I understand. I'll be looking forward then to paraphrasing & quoting the
words only from your book, giving credit to you & your book in the reference
footnotes. That way the book can be promoted & deadlists members can get
their tummies full of burritos, <g>.

BTW, thanks to both you and David for choosing some 1994 songs on that boxed
set. IMHO, that was a fine year for me. I got to see nearly 50 wonderful GD
shows & travel throughout the country.
  

    
Hey Blair...it's great to see you here!  I don't have anything to ask or
comment upon at the moment, but I just wanted to tell you I loved the book.
It's rekindled my desire to listen to my tapes, which has been dormant for
a long time.  Having all the fresh analysis of the music in my mind is
making me want to listen to it again, with somewhat "new" ears.  It's great
not only to hear the music but to stir up some very fond memories, of
dancing at the Greek or Cal Expo or Kaiser or whatever.
  

    
Blair:  What writing made you want to be a writer?
  

    
Hi Carol,
Regan told me you were thinking of calling in when I was on David's
show to ask about Jerry singing "Wake up to find out the you are the
size of the world" during one of his more rotund periods! What a
crackup. I haven't heard that, I have a couple of tapes where he sings
"the heart has its sneetches"--must be the Dr. Seuss influence.

Steve, I don't think there was any particular writer who inspired me
to be a writer. Growing up the son of a jornalist, though, our house
was awash in piles of magazines and newspapers at all times and I used
to read 'em all. I'm not very well-read, bookwise. I've always
preferred non-fiction; biography is my favorite form, appropriately
enough. 
  

    
You went to Northwestern, Blair.  Did you major in Journalism?