General discussion

SING OUT FOR SEVA in honor of Wavy Gravy’s 71st Birthday. Friday, May 18 at the Berkeley Community Theater 1980 Allston Way, at the Berkeley High School Campus. Show time is 7:00 PM. Featuring: Mickey Hart & Friends ZERO Chris Robinson’s Wooden Family Sikiru Adepoju More to be announced soon. And more than likely surprise … Read more

I’m having a great weekend at the Suwannee SpringFest, as usual. This time around I did a full set with Ollabelle, a terrific new band that includes Amy Helm (Levon’s daughter). Awesome singers. We bonded over Neil Young, oddly enough, and worked up a set that included six Neil songs, three GD songs, and “Sin … Read more

One of the best pieces of equipment I use on the road is the D-TAR “Mama Bear” acoustic guitar preamp. From the product’s web site: For years, acoustic guitars have relied on pickups for amplification. One problem: Even the best acoustic guitars deliver an oversimplification of true acoustic tone complexity when amplified. Using something called … Read more

I’m on my way to Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Kentucky starting this Saturday. Weekend after next (March 22-25) I’ll be at the Suwannee SpringFest, a wonderful annual musical treat. Here’s the latest info on SpringFest, from the mysterious Iris Blooms: Dear Festival Folks, Suwannee Springfest is almost here!  The schedule is posted, we’re … Read more

The Music Box has an interview with Mark Karan of Ratdog, who expresses some sentiments I share: Karan appears visibly frustrated as he tries to explain how devotion to the perceived jam band lifestyle has replaced an understanding of what it was that made The Grateful Dead such an essential outfit in the first place. … Read more

This is hilarious! A Dylan-Doctor Seuss mashup! Go to the site and listen to the music. P.S. The same people who did that site appear to be the folks responsible for this site: Rad Monkey Electric Cowbells

Thursday, March 8, 8pm: Henflings Tavern, 9450 Hwy 9, Ben Lomond CA. No cover! 831-336-9318 Saturday, March 10, 9:30pm: Honky Tonk Hippies at the Connecticut Yankee, 100 Connecticut Street, San Francisco. Mario DeSio opens. 415-552-4440 Saturday, March 17, 8:30 pm: The Venue, 1020 Broad Street Camden SC. Naked Eye Productions Sunday, March 18, 9:00 pm: … Read more

Gala Benefit Concert for Young People’s Symphony Orchestra & the Jazzschool Set for Sunday, March 18 Grateful Dead Bassist & YPSO Alumnus Phil Lesh to Guest-Conduct Two unique Berkeley music institutions — Young People’s Symphony Orchestra and the Jazzschool — will benefit from a fund-raiser concert to be held Sunday, March 18 at 7:30 pm … Read more

Hello, friends – I just got back from a delightful tour of my favorite part of the world: Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado!   I’ve posted a number of photos from my travels:  https://flickr.com/photos/dgans/tags/feb07tour/ Here is the latest gig update.  More summer dates will be confirmed soon.  More info at https://www.dgans.com/gigs.html BAY AREA this week … Read more

This review appeared in the June 1983 issue of Record magazine: Zappa Wields Heavy Baton; Varèse Weeps The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players; Frank Zappa, conductor War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco CA February 9, 1983 By Phil Lesh with David Gans “How many of you are having trouble with the silence between the notes?” … Read more