Here is the latest news from David Gans, producer and host of the Grateful Dead Hour.
Scarlet Begonias
DG w/ Rumpke Mountain Boys 9/4/12
I sat in with the Rumpke Mountain Boys at Stanley’s Pub in Cincinnati on Tuesday, September 4. I sang “Bertha,” “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Jackaroe,” and “US Blues.” Next time, we’ll work up some original material. Check out the rest of the band’s show, too!
Grateful Dead Hour on DeadNet
We post a show from the Grateful Dead Hour archives every Wednesday on DeadNet. It’s a somewhat random collection – a couple hundred of ’em by now – with an emphasis on interviews and unique features. Check ’em out!
“Duquesne Whistle”
Just got the new Bob Dylan album, Tempest. I’ve heard it half a dozen times or so, not enough to really know what’s going on, but I have some first impressions to report.
The first part of “Duquesne Whistle” sounds like something from one of my favorite compilation CDs: a Bob Brozman-curated collection of Hawaiian steel guitar recordings from the ’30s. The rest of the album seems to go for a similarly distant feel, as if he wishes he were releasing his stuff on 78s. Like band recordings of that era, it feels like he’s singing into a mic with the band playing some distance behind him. Retro to the max.
But really, the thing about “Duquesne Whistle” is that GROOVE! I was hooked instantly.
Tempest keeps drawing me in, as opposed to allowing me to take it out of the player and put something else in there. Last time that happened for me was Love and Theft, which remained in my top ten for a couple of years and still haunts my brain radio.
Additional notes: Robert Hunter has partial credit for the lyrics of “Duquesne Whistle.” Lyrics by Bob Dylan “with” Robert Hunter. I wonder how that worked.
Bob’s voice is really, really shot. Last time I saw him live, in Santa Rosa April 2006, I pretty much decided I’d stick with the records. His voice sounded like a tin can being shredded. But on this record, he makes pretty good use of what he’s got.
Jon Carroll on religion/spirituality
As is so often the case, Jon Carroll speaks my mind:
I have no investment in my beliefs. They’ve changed over the years, but not much. I really don’t care whether you believe what I believe or not. If you don’t believe what I believe, you are not a bad person. “Belief system” is way down the list of criteria I use when choosing whom to hang out with.