Week of July 23, 2007
Part 1 34:23
Grateful Dead 4/15/89 The Mecca, Milwaukee WI
SPACE->
I WILL TAKE YOU HOME->
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER->
MORNING DEW
Part 2 21:32
Grateful Dead 4/15/89 The Mecca, Milwaukee WI
ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT
Excerpt from Playboy After Dark Collection Two
Interview: Hugh M. Hefner and Jerry Garcia
MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
Bob Bralove, Stories in Black and White
COWBOY SUNSET
Donna Jean and the Tricksters, First Songs
ALL I GOTTA SAY
I’ve been on the summer festival circuit with Donna Jean and the Tricksters for the last several weeks, and I have to say I’m delighted with the music this band is making. Seven songwriters, seven lead singers, five first-rate instrumentalists – what’s not to love? First Songs is a sampler the band is giving out at shows and sending to radio and press; there are two studio tracks, including the one you hear in this week’s show, and a live recording from a recent show.
Bob Bralove came to work for the Dead in 1987, I think, bringing MIDI and computer-music skills to the band as they began to embrace new technologies that enabled them to play sampled and entirely artificial sounds with their instruments. When you hear Jerry playing a flute, a trumpet, a bassoon-like sound, or what Vince Welnick once described as “hitting a parking meter with a hammer,” that’s Bralove in the background making it happen for the guys on stage. Read his bio for more background on this fine musician. Bob is a formidable keyboardist in his own right – listen to the recordings he made with Tom Constanten as Dose Hermanos and you’ll see what I mean. Stories in Black and White is a new collection of solo piano improvisations, recorded in his living room with very small audiences listening in. After some of the decidedly weird music I’ve heard Bob play – including onstage with Phil Lesh and myself at some Broken Angels shows in late 1997 – I’m happy to hear the sweet, melodic, accessible music on this CD.
Notes on the Grateful Dead’s January 1969 appearance on Playboy After Dark here and here.
Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes this week from:
The Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival August 2-5 in Northern Michigan on the shores of Lake Michigan, with Dark Star Orchestra, Particle, Yonder Mountain, Keller Williams, David Grisman Quintet, Railroad Earth, Peter Rowan, and dozens more.
The Gathering of the Vibes August 9-12, with Bob Weir and Ratdog, Mickey Hart Band, Donna Jean & The Tricksters, Zero, Keller & The Keels, Dark Star Orchestra, Railroad Earth, Los Lobos, David Gans, and dozens of additional acts.
The Paradise Jam Music Festival August 17-19 near Pensacola, Florida, featuring Keller Williams, Galactic, Zero, The Radiators, Junior Marvin and The Allstar Reggae Band, JJ Grey & MOFRO, Dread Clampitt, Atlanta Rhythm Section, The Lee Boys, and more, on alternating stages. Tickets include three days of on-site camping with VIP packages also available.