orchiddoctor

Really, it's just as well. Downloading is very addictive. You don't have to do anything, and soon as it's done, on to the next one, and the next one . . . . Then you have way too much to listen to. An interesting book, usually available used on Amazon, i the G.D. taping compendium. While not complete or wholly up to date, they do provide a nice service in previewing possible acquisitions. DP is really--or was-great because you had time to absorb each disc at your liesure before another one came out. Hope they do this again.

Lon: Buy yerself a cheap used Windows operated computer! Think of the money you'll save. Oh, wait, all that downloading--we'll never hear from you again!

Along with some of those 73 discs, my picks are: 8 (Harpur college!!!! The Other One!!! Man's World!!! Dancin--and a great acoustic set) 11 (Fillmore East 2-13-14-70 the best of the bunch) 16 (Fillmore West-----humongous!!) 36 (I'm biased, having been at that one, but what a Dark Star---Dew!!!!!!!!!) 30 (Biased again--got to catch the whole run. shows just before the left for Europe--with Bo Diddly! 36 another good '72 effort 22--c'mon--Anthem of the Sun material!!! Okay, fine, like you didn't know my favorite period was '67--'72!

How many of you who saw the inadvertent link to the proposed Winterland Box would have jumped on it? I would have. I think if they do cds, it should be in a limited format so they don't keep getting stuck with product. They appear to have tons of DPS left on cd, and Rhino is releasing the first box set in single cd format. THe idea should be to sell out the runs and keep the mother rolling. But there is something nice about holding a product over downloading it.

19 is exceptional, but anything from europe '72 is well worth a listen. Then again, any of the dps from 1968-74 are mighty fine. Mostly, it depends on which dead you like the most. There's the raw, emergent dead from 67-68; the full blown psychedellic machine from 1969-70; the bar band of 1971; the reenergized keith band of 1971-72; the post pig jazzed out band of late 1972-74. Different song selections, obviously, with a greater array of tighly performed tunes later on. That's the thing about the dead: they certainly evolved as they grew. It's the part of the chain you like the most that matters. There aren't many genuine clunkers in the DP series.

This has been rumored for quite some time. I'm glad Phil got on board. Wonder if it will be download or if Rhino will produce cds? Download would probably be more cost effective, since it's easier, cheaper, and there would be no leftover copies to dump. Hope they can clean them up and fill in the gaps.

I think I posted this before, but you can download several of these programs in mac friendly form. Also, there are several recorders--like total recorder--that will allow you to download all those streaming files on archive. Just DON'T do anything else on your computer while recording. It's just like recording from disk to cassette, only any interference will give you snap, crackle and pop. Of course, my good friend, I keep tantalizing you into personal ruin by downloading and downloading and downloading and downloading. There is currently no cure for this!! Right now, I'm living on dimeadozen downloading art ensemble of chicago gigs. The only question is how one can listen to so much good music and still absorb it all?

Thanks, Lon. I wish that someone in a strong position would take up the banner for this type of illness as Phil has for Hep C. The problem is that it is an invisible, unmeasurable, unprovable illness about which so little is known. The stigma attached to those who are ill above the neck combined with fear and misunderstanding keeps it in the dark and those who suffer behind dark doors. Something like one in ten of us have one of these illnesses (depression, bipolar, schitzophreia, etc.), but only 1 tenth of those are diagnosed and even less get adequate treatment. There is no cure. There is no wonder drug. Treatment is hit or miss and often temporary. The illness hides, especially when the patient is on an upswing. Then, in the dark where noone may notice, comes the crash. And if/when that crash is too hard or severe, thoats are slit. You may know or be a member of this club and not know it. Noone could save Vince other than himself, but those who are informed can at least help. ____________________________________________________________________________ A pistol shot, at five oclock, the bells of heaven ring, Tell me what you done it for, no I wont tell you a thing. Yesterday I begged you before I hit the ground, All I leave behind me is only what I found. If you can abide it, let the hurdy-gurdy play, Stranger ones have come by here before they flew away. I will not condemn you nor yet would I deny, I would ask the same of you, but failing, will not die. Take up your china doll, take up your china doll, Its only fractured and just a little nervous from the fall. La-la-la-la-la-la-la.

The sad thing about all of this is that we assume (or do we?) that musicians are to be held to a higher standard or, barring that, that their personal lives are supposed to be tragic. Who knows what the truth is? No doubt Vince had a heavy load to carry. Bipolar, despite Dr. Tom Cruise's lecture to the contrary, is a real disease, as real as cancer or diabetes. It is a genetic issue; it is inherited. It and depression affect more people than any of us may realize, and musicians are not immune. In fact, "artists" tend to have a higher percent of chemically unbalanced members than the populace at large. And who knows about the facts of Vince? Bobby hired him to play in Ratdog; Vince attempted to eat some valium (85 tablets: sorry, you need a lot more plus alcohol to trigger the reaction; don't ask how I know). It was a cry for help. You don't do a show and tell before swallowing the buggers unless you are seeking attention for your illness. The worst thing Bobby could have done was to keep Vince on the tour with all the rigours and stress. Sending him to the nearest hospital was the right thing to do. Bringing him back when he was in bad emotional shape would be disasterous all around. Did the Dead reject him, or did they care about him enough to keep him away from the touring life? Who are we to say what the motivation was. As much as many folks feel he was shunned, and he may have been to some extent (who really knows much about this disease?), who would want to be responsible for triggering another, perhaps successful attempt? Being on the bus, figuratively and literally, requires some serious fortitude. It got Keith (another manic depressive who could not accept the power of his gift), Brent (yeah, him too), and finally Vince. It wasn't the airplane; it was beauty killed the beast.

That is all of that show (supposedly) that exists. The song has been booted for years. They played for a tiny crowd and figured they'd have fun, and fun they had. I should probably check, but is that Viola Lee Blues from Chicago 1969? If so, it continued past the "end" with feedback over which Owsley played a tape of "What's Become of the Baby." This was the only time they did that. I can imagine the acid drenched crowd digging that--though I never did. People pan the Phil Zone disc as being disjointed--they want whole shows, not just a sampler. But, as samplers go, it's pretty damn good.

I can't say it's BAD; it's just that there are so many superlative shows from the same era. If you get the time, go on archive and play the gaelic park show. It's from a week or so later. The last Hard to Handle Pigpen sang. Maybe the last St. Stephen until 1976? Sounds almost like they knew this and rose to the occasion. It was a very strange venue with a great crowd. Gaelic Park is at the end of the Broadway line in the Bronx (at Mahattan College--go figure). You could feel the subway (it's elevated) but you couldn't hear it over the band. The only time I arrive early for a dead show and they had already begun. Still, hope you enjoy the rescued tapes.

Steel, most likely. He was playing around with in on all sorts of tunes, including a few versions of Hard to Handle (which suck big time). As to the Houseboat Tapes--relatively weak imo. More like a nice discovery that hadn't made the rounds. They weren't on a tour, so they weren't as sharp. And the introduction of Keith was only two months away. Empty Pages, though--well . . . .

The Grateful Dead, by all accounts, were as rough a group to work for as anyone. They always embraced the notion that other members' vices and personal issues were not a band matter--with the exception of Jerry's huge drug habit. They didn't exactly stand by Pigpen or Godchaux or even Brent. Live and let live--or die. I don't think anyone was intentionally mean, but looking the other way is just as unacceptable. Live and let die?

Just trying to keep my reply from seeming too serious !

Let's tickle the question. What has the New Testament to do with the Old Testament? Ever match them up? They don't fit to begin with. The New is not an extension of the Old. It may borrow, but it does not subscribe. The twelve disciples can't seem to agree on that much either. None of this should be surprising. The "scriptures," or writings, paradoxically come from an oral tradition, much as Homer's works did. What was chanted in 500 B.C. was not the same as what was finally written down--in, I believe, Latin! Thence to English via King James and others. Like the various Christian--and Jewish--sects, there is much disagreement about the language and intent of these tomes. This is not to belittle or dismiss the value or beauty of either work. The Old Testament is the history of a people, complete with moral code and even dietary law. Christ's appearance signals a new approach to God, and as such offers a new moral order and path towards a redemption that the Old Testament never mentions. But both are rife with metaphor and themes from the collective unconscious (most religions have a flood, for example). In fact, neither Judaism nor Christianity are unique in their thought or content (please explain the Easter eggs. Oh yes, fertility and renewal). None of this is meant as critical commentary or blasphemeous opinion. It is just my 2 cents on how to perceive the paradoxes that can drive one crazy. I view these books as a kind of wonderful poetry from which to derive, in part, my own moral ethic. "Poetry," wrote Shelly, "should teach and delight. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Words of faith, words of beauty. What was the question again?

Then again--do you think that group is destined for sainthood? They are just as bickering a bunch as anyone else. I'm sure they saw Vince as a hired hand. If he seemed to be a compenent player, it was only because the dead had sunk to being at best a competent band. Of course, if Hornsby died, that would be different. Vince allegedly died from suicide, as did Brent Mydland. Pattern?

All things being equal, Pearl Jam's latest release IS the best thing they've put out in ten years. By being equal, I mean if you like rock, if you like very punchy guitar riffs, that sort of thing. Yes, it seems derivative in spots (the opening chords sure do sound like Keith Richards), and "Worlwide Suicide" is awfully catchy and clever, but it do shake the roof. I state that with the understanding that I haven't listened to much rock since I first heard Roscoe Mitchell breathing life into "Old." I stopped listening to much by way of rock and roll after that--certainly for most of the seventies, and the eighties were really loud and obnoxious. But something about Pearl Jam wakes me up. Sure, Eddie's an asshole--what lead singer isn't? But I'm not there for his wit and wisdom. I like his voice, I like Mcready's ripping leads--I like the sound. I can see the stones heading my way even as I hit "add reply." But I still love you, Chuck--and I await the cd of Nonaah!

I was googling for info on the fate of dead.net when I found this classic article from 1999; http://www.stereophile.com/news/10430/ Interesting: the dead's attorneys shut down a site that was allowing mp3 downloads of live material. Sound familiar? But this was 1999, long before the archive fiasco! This is the amusing part: "That's the essence of GDP vs. MP3 as it now stands, but it's only the tip of the iceberg regarding the Grateful Dead's revenue stream. On Saturday, January 17, 1998, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ken Garcia (no relation to Jerry) wrote a blistering report on the Dead's proposed "theme park"---a $60 million hotel/restaurant/museum complex to be called Terrapin Station. The project, with the blessing of the San Francisco mayor's office, would be funded by a small amount of seed money provided by band members and GDP, with the bulk of the financing to be raised by the issuance of non-participating stock---meaning fans could help build the place, but wouldn't share in the profits. The complex would feature a Mars Hotel, a Dancing Bear Café, and a souvenir shop selling everything from little skull Christmas-tree ornaments to American Beauty golf shirts." I can just imagine: there would be a "sugar cube" ride through a series of chambers thematically grouped around each l.p. as played out in dayglo and mirror balls. There would naturally be a roller coaster called "The Acid Test." And, of course, there would be rides that involved the patrons just sitting there, in soft chairs, staring at the laser show in the sky. Not to mention all of the cute, cuddly "Jerrys" that would wander the park for child hugging photo ops. Don't lick the postcards. And one wonders why these wide eyed dreamers are broke!

You can download software called total recorder for a few bucks. It will capture streaming files and turn them into downloads.The process is as simple as a cassette: turn on record then stream the show. This will reopen the archives for you. One note: it actually records, so don't do anything else on your computer--if, for example, you open a window while recording, you will get a sonic blip on your copy. Also, Sugarmegs.org has a ton of streams. Sugarmegs still has the Europe '72 shows streaming (or did last month). Try also Dime a dozen.org for dead as well as Coltrane, Art Ensemble--thousands of Bit Torrent downloads--some DVDs as well.

"Asking you nice, now, to keep the mother rolling one more time." Whew. I wasn't sure if I thought I'd been erased or if my thoughts has been erased or if I weren't real, in which case you are not real either.. This has been a problem for me since 1967 when someone handed me a funky bottle of "apple juice." Considering how wonderful this board is to begin with, well, I'm just glad to be able to post and read posts. Our host does an excellent job, and if the mothah gets bumped around--well, we can no longer count on Ramrod to fix it before the big gig. Now another member of the tribe is gone. When did we all start to whither on the vine? Thank God Phil's still cooking. I can see Woodstock 2009, forty years on. We'll be rolling in on wheelchairs--after the Feds require handicapped access through the mud--with joints hanging out of our respirators, wearing ratty old Dead t-shirts, and our pacemakers beating time to the music. There will be food tents providing organic mush and facilities for composting our Depends. Our great grandchildren will be dancing naked in the sun. But we will be there, damn it, and we will surivive. And no computer glitch is going to slow us down.

Yikes. It appears that the powers that be erased my file. Maybe that's a good thing. As to Ramrod, RIP. I "met" him once in 1970--if you can call it meeting him. While the band was busy having fun, Ramrod was busy keeping things in place, checking wires, running gaffer tape, a true mother hen. I attempted a hello which was met with a brief eye contact. There was no animosity; rather, there was a sense of cosmic urgency about keeping the machine running. Hell of a driver, too, from what I understand. Well, I hope he's partying with Jerry, Neal Cassady, and Kesey. He deserves it. As to Dead.net: hmmm, remember all the acrimony about the sbd downloads on archive? Now you know why they had to pull the plug. Business is business. When you issue a Dick's Picks and sell only 10,000 copies, there just ain't much profit. The number of remaining copies is large as is evidenced by the3 various "sets" that are available. I think they went to downloads to save on pressing costs. Most bands who sell their own concerts (e.g. Pearl Jam who started the idea of selling each live show after the event) have reverted to downloads to cut costs. Remember, Dead.net was converting the whole catalogue to downloadable form to try to entice extra sales. I'm sure that the live releases will be resurrected as soon as Rhino can get them going.