General discussion

From Yahoo news: A former manager for the Grateful Dead has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for tax evasion, prosecutors said. Ronald Leon Rakow, 69, was ordered to begin his prison term in June for evading payment of $2.2 million in taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. attorney’s office … Read more

The story of Joshua Bell in the DC Metro (which I mentioned on Sunday) has been making the rounds. The URL has been passed around among musicians from coast to coast, and talked about on some mailing lists I’m on, and everyone I’ve gotten it from has given it a pretty warm response. In some … Read more

A friend in The WELL pointed to a story in the Washington Post by Gene Weingarten: Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation’s great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let’s find out. The setup: World-famous violinist Joshua Bell set up like any other busker in Washington’s L’Enfant Plaza metro … Read more

Two shows from my spring tour are available online: David Gans and Friends 3/23/07 Suwannee SpringFest, Live Oak FL https://www.archive.org/details/dgans2007-03-23.sbd.flac16 The friends are Ollabelle for the entire set, and we were joined by Jim Lauderdale for “Sin City.” Are You Ready For The Country Helpless Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Sin City (w/ Jim Lauderdale) … Read more

When I get off the road for a few weeks, I dig into the suitcase full of music I picked up at festivals and other stops along the way. And I also dig into the immense heap of CDs that arrive in the mail while I’m gone. Here, in no particular order, are some noteworthy … Read more

This just in from Doug Hagman: Subject: Press Release: GD’s Tom Constanten 4/20 You may have noticed over the past several months at Chicago’s best new music room; The Kinetic Playground, there’s been something special going on.  Whether it has been Jerry Garcia Band’s Hammond B3 legend Melvin Seals or 60’s Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten, the band … Read more

New CD, Twisted Love Songs, now available from CDBaby Desert of Love • Cassidy’s Cat-> San Rafael Swell • It’s Gonna Get Better • Prophet and Loss • Ran into God • Autumn Day • On Frozen Pond • These Apartments • Ship of Fools-> In Another World • Four Corners • Surely You Jest … Read more

Paul Liberatore in the Marin Independent-Journal: Who’s Marin’s greatest guitar player?It may seem too obvious a selection, but my vote would have to go to Jerry Garcia. I’ll go even further and say that he was our greatest musician. Not only was he a distinctive lead player (you only have to hear a couple of … Read more

Keller Williams and Bob Weir & RatDog Announce Sumnmer Tour Bob Weir and RatDog and Keller Williams will cross the country this summer, sharing a stage both separately and together, making music and doing what they do best.  The tour will begin in Atlanta on July 7th and end in Los Angeles on July 28th. … Read more

Rex Foundation Awards $78,000 in Grants to 15 Domestic and International Organizations Says Board Member Mickey Hart: “Rex is all about finding ways to make a better world where others don’t really go.” (San Francisco, CA, March 27, 2007) — The Rex Foundation, a non-profit charity established in 1983 by friends and members of the Grateful … Read more