Comments on: Diversions :: Dawes on the Grateful Dead

By: WW85

WW85 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:02:17 +0000

The author must never have seen Freaks & Geeks. That reaction to American Beauty seems far more normal to me than the delayed appreciation response he experienced.

Box of Rain either makes you a Dead Head the moment you hear it or it doesn’t. You get on the bus to summer school at the University of Michigan or you get on the magic bus and follow the tour…

I think Dawes must have had a lovely time at college…

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:31:31 +0000

If a band came out with a song like “New Speedway Boogie” today, the indie kids would be all over it.

By: Dawes & The Dead

Dawes & The Dead — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:44:05 +0000

The Dead are legends. Now check out Dawes!!!

By: CTL

CTL — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:14:15 +0000

Very nice article. So many folks have so many misconceptions about this band, but you did an excellent job in clearing away the smoke and giving a clearer picture about what these guys could do.

I love “Easy Wind”!

By: Hidden Track » Bloggy Goodness: Save The Date

Hidden Track » Bloggy Goodness: Save The Date — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:24:15 +0000

[...] Former Blips act Dawes discuss the music of the Grateful Dead [...]

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:18:48 +0000

Thanks for this. Now I can just forward my friends a link instead of yelling, “You don’t know anything about the Dead!” When I heard the dead, even as a bible toting, clean and sober suburb boy, I knew that I had found something that truly connected with me. It was a friend that let me borrow American Beauty, and I have not stopped listening since. Once you peel away some of the cult like obsession certain followers have (and that every band wishes they could create), you realize what beautiful, strange, and AMERICAN music these guys were making. Always a great site. Keep it up.

By: Gordon

Gordon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:32:50 +0000

I like the general feel of this article and some of the points you make about the sheer love of playing and experiencing music. On the other hand, I’m afraid you’re quite mistaken about how Jerry ’saw’ the music. You have only to read a LITTLE of Jerry’s interviews, quotes, thoughts to know that he was quite a perfectionist about the actual music that was being produced. Yes, it was loose and in some senses ’sloppy’ but this was due to the improvisational nature of the music they were playing. And, yes, it was brilliant. Phil and Jerry were virtuoso performers and they conceived of music that nobody else was even thinking about. And, yes, they cared about what the quality of music they were performing.

By: Shai Rosenfeld

Shai Rosenfeld — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:45:42 +0000

Amen!

By: Noah Weiner

Noah Weiner — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:49:33 +0000

Very nice read. Thanks for giving some “due” to the studio side of the Dead.

By: JFK

JFK — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:12:29 +0000

This is a great post. The Dead have been pigeonholed to the point of blurring
-nay- removing the line between the fans and the band. This has been most unfair to the music and the musicians. I like how this post strips the music of the scene and draws out what it is about the Dead that make them such an amazing band. Thanks,

By: Trav

Trav — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:16:50 +0000

“Sloppy”

I have heard that from Ted Nugent but no one else. And I think Jerry could play circles around him.

By: JC

JC — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:34:57 +0000

Amen!!!

But I also believe they are a lot better musicians than people give them credit for. Just look at Phil Lesh!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:11:16 +0000

Perfect! as a high school home tracker in the late 90s, discovering the Dead on my own without the bullshit legacy was an amazing education…I was the only musician in my school who knew Anthem of the Sun and American Beauty…now they are becoming staples of a balanced musical diet…cool that others listen to this band now too – dig the Austin, TX indie music after the Dead @ barnyardmusic.blogspot.com

By: Martin Luther Presley

Martin Luther Presley — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:12:57 +0000

This was fun to read, thanks!
and re: Bob Weir! I’d like to mention his ’solo’ album ACE from ‘71 (or ‘72?), one of the best Dead records in all but name.

By: Five From The Grateful Dead Including…”Ship of Fools” « Rock God Cred

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:28:31 +0000

[...] Click here to go to AD to check five from The Grateful Dead “Ship of Fools”, “Easy Wind”, “Candyman”, “He’s Gone”, and “Stella Blue” [...]