Guest Lisacat Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Not too long ago, I was listening to some JGB with a friend and he said very off the cuff "Jerry is great." I replied to him saying "at least you were fortunate enough to see him." He replied back to me "well I'm sure you see him in your own way." That statement really stuck with me and I've been reflecting on it quite a bit in the past couple weeks. I haven't been online as much, as life has thrown me a curveball and I haven't been tied to my computer as much and had to change some of my summer plans (like Gratefulfest which I was heartbroken over not being able to attend) but I've been keeping up here and there reading this board. It saddens me to see some of the contentious dialogue on here, especially in the "other bands" section. I found the Grateful Dead through DSO. I will never forget my first show- I instantaneously "got it." I am eternally grateful for this band and love them with all my heart and soul. My life would not be the same, had I not found DSO. I have met amazing people and formed friendships for life, traveled all over this country, learned to spin, had mind-melting experiences, learned life lessons, and most importantly (in the context of the GD) have seen Jerry over and over and over again through the band and through all of you. Over the past 5 years, I've also seen several changes in DSO, including the most recent change. I'm not going to get into any sort of Furthur analysis but I will say I am so grateful Bob and Phil are still around keeping this music alive along with bands like DSO, JGB, Splintered Sunlight, Cubensis, and all the other dead cover bands. I am amazed that at 15 years after Jerry's passing, the Grateful Dead scene has managed to stay alive- and allow people like me to see Jerry through these other bands. There will always be strong feelings among DSO family about Furthur - that is a natural thing being that the lead guitarist left DSO for Furthur. But let's not let that detract from why we are all here. We are here as a community to keep this thing going- it is up to US. Jerry is gone, but his spirit is in every one of us. The more we argue and take sides in this thing, the more we are taking away from the Grateful Dead community- and in the big picture, that is who we are. I eventually want to have children and I hope and pray that I will be able to raise my children in this scene. It is a true blessing to be here. There is a whole new generation of kids out there now going to these shows and hopefully there are kids that are looking up on that stage and asking their mom or dad for a guitar, drum set, or a keyboard so they can learn to play this music and carry the torch when these bands are done. So lets keep this community going- as DSO fans and as deadheads so that our children and their children and all the other generations will have the opportunity to see Jerry in their own way as well. In the long run- it doesn't really matter what band you are going to see- the fact of the matter is that you are supporting the GD scene and helping to keep it alive. The sandbox is big enough for all of us to play in. I'm here to play nice- I love all of you for being here and I thank everyone for making it a nice place to be. Now off to state college! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP VincentPuleo Posted July 10, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugdog Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 So lets keep this community going- as DSO fans and as deadheads so that our children and their children and all the other generations will have the opportunity to see Jerry in their own way as well. In the long run- it doesn't really matter what band you are going to see- the fact of the matter is that you are supporting the GD scene and helping to keep it alive. The sandbox is big enough for all of us to play in. I'm here to play nice- I love all of you for being here and I thank everyone for making it a nice place to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP kdubfan Posted July 10, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Nice post Lisa! It was almost 5 years ago that I was able to take my two boys to see DSO and they love it. We have found a way to make it to Gratefulfest 4 years in a row and they want nothing else but to spend at least a week at NLQP every summer. With that said Gfest was the first time we got to see Jeff with DSO and we were blown away! Jeff is a madman! I will always respect and enjoy everything that JK does and I thought I would miss him a lot from his spot in DSO that I have expected his to carry on in but Jeff has seemed to fill the spot and then some. No disrespect to JK or anyone here I'm just sayin JEFF ROCKS! I am very happy to see DSO blowin minds left and right for years to come! This is a very good time to be a Deadhead!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jazz-man Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Terrific post, Lisa!! I want to keep our community strong and we can't do that if we dis other parts of the GD world and lead with our egos. And I have never understood how anyone who was lucky enough to see Jerry could hold it against someone who wasn't born at a certain time and never had that chance. Totally nuts and ego-driven, like that makes someone special because they were one of 60,000 @ Giants Stadium. Anyhow let's keep the love going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP acududeman Posted July 10, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Right on, Lisa!!!!! Thanks for reminding us to keep T H E B I G P I C T U R E............ When I really stop and take stock, there is nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile......... Have fun tonight!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugdog Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 And I have never understood how anyone who was lucky enough to see Jerry could hold it against someone who wasn't born at a certain time and never had that chance. Totally nuts and ego-driven, like that makes someone special because they were one of 60,000 @ Giants Stadium. Anyhow let's keep the love going. PRICELESS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelle Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 "All of life is composed of energy, and all energy can communicate. The transmission and reception of thought waves, which are a form of energy, are almost instantaneous.... Some people are able to hold these communications naturally, others require practice." Thousands of folks have felt great love and joy in listening to the music of the Grateful Dead. "The music is a vehicle for this love. Its energy, its vibration, breaks through the subtle barriers of human consciousness to free our inner selves." "Modalities are... rhythms or waves of energy that change in frequencies and modulate to one another and to the Universe at large. Tone, sound, music, are all influenced by what is going on around them on the basis of energy. Sometimes a band is on and is magic, other times it is not. This is due in part to the outside influences brought to bear on the purity of the modalities. No one stands alone. All influence one another... It is an ongoing exchange, transmission and reception, of energies linked by avenues or channels or filaments, that transport these energies." "What we call music in our everyday language is only a miniature from that music or harmony of the whole Universe which is working behind everything, and which is the source and origin or nature. It is because of this that the wise of all ages have considered music to be a sacred art. For in music the seer can see the picture of the whole Universe... when one looks at the cosmos, the movements of the stars and planets, the law of vibration and rhythm, all perfect and unchanging, it shows that the cosmos is working by the law of... harmony." These quotes come from from Wendy Weir's book In The Spirit Now I could go on about physics, string theory, harmonic vibrations, sound therapy and healing ... fundamentally we all know how powerful music can be, and how amazing music can make us feel. Music serves to bring us together and takes us on adventures of the spirit. It is truly a gift to us all. In return, we smile and feel intense emotions at times. What a blessing the Grateful Dead community is to us all !! Thank you Dark Star Orchestra !! Thank you one and all for all that you do to make this world a groovier place !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dstone5553 Posted July 10, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 I haven't been online as much, as life has thrown me a curveball I hate curveballs! Sorry about yours...you've been missed around here Lisa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lisacat Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 I hate curveballs! Sorry about yours...you've been missed around here Lisa. Thanks David! Not all curveballs are bad! Just another bend in the road during this spin of the wheel. Actually things are going quite well and there is a good chance that I will land in your time zone before the end of summer! Traveling to SF on Thursday for an interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dstone5553 Posted July 10, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Thanks David! Not all curveballs are bad! Just another bend in the road during this spin of the wheel. Actually things are going quite well and there is a good chance that I will land in your time zone before the end of summer! Traveling to SF on Thursday for an interview Good luck--I'm sure you're a great interview! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advisory Board Herdygerdy Posted July 11, 2010 Advisory Board Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 I have never understood how anyone who was lucky enough to see Jerry could hold it against someone who wasn't born at a certain time and never had that chance. I've heard that so many times from other people who proclaim themselves as "Deadheads"... I saw Jerry 3 times in 94 and 95... That's all because I was 16 when I went to my first Dead show. It surely isn't my fault that I couldn't see the Dead back in the 60's, 70's, or 80's, and I have gotten a few comments because of that... "You saw The Grateful Dead in 94 and 95?? Well you aren't a Deadhead, because The Grateful Dead died when Brent died (or Keith, or Pigpen)..." "You are to young to be a Deadhead... you never experienced a real Grateful Dead show when Jerry was in his prime" "How can you call yourself a Deadhead when you only saw 3 shows?" My favorite was when I was sitting at a bar one evening, and in walks this couple in their 60's... we start chatting about beer and then onto music... I had mentioned that I was a complete Deadhead and that was my real only intrest in music... They both laughed at me and said I was to young to be a Deadhead... had I even seen Jerry? Of course I say, my first Dead show was at RFK back in 94... Well they just laughed and laughed... Apparently I had not seen the Dead back when Pigpen was alive, so in their mind, there was NO way I could call myself a Deadhead, and they seemed offended that I even stated that I was a Deadhead... I asked them how many shows they saw and they both stated that they only saw about 10 shows from 67-69, and that they were more of a Deadhead then I would ever be. I got irritated from that comment and said I had to go... I went out to smoke a cig, and they walked out the door, shoved their way through a small crowd that was sitting there smoking, and jumped into their Hummer. Before pulling out, the woman rolled down her window and threw out a wad of trash onto the sidewalk... The only people I ever run into who share those kind of comments about us in the younger age bracket are usually pompous windbags who think they know it all, and surely don't act like they even give a shit about the enviroment or the scene these days. Stuck up is what I call them. I don't care if you are 10 years old at this point and time... If you LOVE the music The Grateful Dead created, then what does it matter if you saw Jerry?? Anyone can be a Deadhead... its all about the music and the life that you lead... be it you are 10 or 100, it's all a lifestyle in my opinion... Besides being a Deadhead, I am a Starhead as well... I've seen DSO 283 times since 2000. Does that mean I am more of a fan then the kid who only saw 2 shows?? Of course not... it's all in what you make of it and yourself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jazz-man Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Right on, herdy. There is no real definition to being a Deadhead, certainly there is no "minimum # of shows attended" requirement. I always felt that Deadheads would be calm, mellow, agreeable, politically and environmentally aware and active, etc and I know Deadheads that aren't many if any of those things. I guess it just means you like the music of the GD, the rest is add-ons. I think Robert Hunter said if you think you may be a Deadhead you probably are one. But I like Deadheads that are calm, mellow, agreeable, politically and environmentally aware and active, etc. And young kids who never saw a show (or even older folks) but dig the music and want to shake their bones, well that's alright by me. Lots of room in the Deadhead tent. "Deader Than Thou" not wanted. To quote a line from an Allman Brothers Band song "people can you feel it, love is everywhere"... P.S. There seems to be more "Deader Than Thou" folks on DNC than here, that's a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP VincentPuleo Posted July 11, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Yes Herdy, people like that... you just have to watch them do their thing... they are the ones who do not get it. You cannot define what it means to be a deadhead... it is simply indescribable. "...the gold ring, down inside" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP anddave Posted July 11, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 all too easy to call oneself a deadhead and self-assess as "getting it". all too easy to cast aspersions on those who "don't get it" whether they're old and judging the young or young and judging the old. we all have heard and read more people profess their deadheadness than we can remember. God Willing They ALL Mean it in some kind of way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP found Posted July 12, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Everyone is a deadhead. some just don't know it yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP gr8fulpair Posted July 12, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 I don't care if you are 10 years old at this point and time... If you LOVE the music The Grateful Dead created, then what does it matter if you saw Jerry?? Anyone can be a Deadhead... its all about the music and the life that you lead... be it you are 10 or 100, it's all a lifestyle in my opinion... Besides being a Deadhead, I am a Starhead as well... I've seen DSO 283 times since 2000. Does that mean I am more of a fan then the kid who only saw 2 shows?? Of course not... it's all in what you make of it and yourself... I saw the Dead a bunch of times from the mid 80's to mid 90's. The scene was much cooler back then, what with venue parking lot camping and all (a major exception being Gratefulfest!) but for me, the music is much better now. I would have loved to see Jerry and the gang back in the late 60's and through the 70's (my favorite era), but I was just too damn young. My parents would not let me (despite my pleading) move to San Fran and join a commune when I was 7. Seeing DSO (especially now with JM) is taking me back to the era I love and I missed. EVERYBODY MISSED SOMETHING. So who's keeping score? I'll tell you who, that douche-bag Herdy said threw that piece of trash out the window of his Hummer after bustin' his chops for lack of creds. For me, I realized it was all about the music when I stopped saving ticket stubs..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty the Scoob Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 For what it's worth, Herdy, you saw Jerry exactly three more times than I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advisory Board Herdygerdy Posted July 13, 2010 Advisory Board Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 For what it's worth, Herdy, you saw Jerry exactly three more times than I did. And Rusty... that doesn't make you any less of a Deadhead then I am... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanAY Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Jerry left us when I was seven years old, so in some way I'll always feel I missed out. But I've seen ~22 DSO shows since 2007...DSO wasn't just my first experience with the Grateful Dead, it was my first live exposure to any live jam band ever. From the first time I saw JK belt out "Brokedown Palace" on that cold night in Cleveland to absolutely losing my mind during JM's "Viola Lee" solo this past week in NY, I've never felt a connection with a one band's music the same way I have with DSO. Sadly, I too know about "show quota" prejudices...as recently as this past week, in fact. But I don't let it get me down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP John A Posted July 13, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 For me, I realized it was all about the music when I stopped saving ticket stubs..... Awww, man, all real Deadheads keep their ticket stubs. And the set lists are hand written on the back. If they've "seen Jerry" then they stopped doing this after he passed. If not, they do it for DSO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugdog Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 I save my laminants, ticket stubs, flyers, etc. to refresh memories for when I'm 50 and can't remember what consumed my youth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP gr8fulpair Posted July 13, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Awww, man, all real Deadheads keep their ticket stubs. And the set lists are hand written on the back. If they've "seen Jerry" then they stopped doing this after he passed. If not, they do it for DSO. That's funny. I have a few early Dead stubs where they ripped off too much of the ticket (down to the small perf'ed stub) and I taped paper to the stub and re-drew the graphic and the show info on it to match the previous nights stub. That was back when the tickets were mail order and had raised ink with glitter in it and some pretty cool graphics. You had to have your shit together to be successful with mail order, so it was kind of a prize if you got tix. Now the tix are ink-jet on cheap paper and by the time you get home from the show they've gotten torn and wet and mostly illegible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dstone5553 Posted July 13, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Awww, man, all real Deadheads keep their ticket stubs. And the set lists are hand written on the back. I just found a whole bunch of my mail order tics in the garage a few weekends ago during a spring cleaning (my wife is VERY organized). I used to bend and almost have them entirely teared for the person at the door so as to avoid their butchering of our precious tickets. I also forgot that I had some sparkling unused tics for the Brent Shoreline run that got cancelled when he passed and the fall '95 fall tour. Made me sad all over again. I actually had a little book that I wrote the set lists on--after the show of course. If they've "seen Jerry" then they stopped doing this after he passed. If not, they do it for DSO. Same goes for counting shows...those who saw Garcia don't count shows anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP New York Steve Posted July 13, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 I just found a whole bunch of my mail order tics in the garage a few weekends ago during a spring cleaning (my wife is VERY organized). I used to bend and almost have them entirely teared for the person at the door so as to avoid their butchering of our precious tickets. I also forgot that I had some sparkling unused tics for the Brent Shoreline run that got cancelled when he passed and the fall '95 fall tour. Made me sad all over again. I actually had a little book that I wrote the set lists on--after the show of course. Same goes for counting shows...those who saw Garcia don't count shows anymore... So true! But if you held a gun to my head and said how many times did you see the gd, I couldn't tell you. I know I never left unhappy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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