Here is the latest news from David Gans, producer and host of the Grateful Dead Hour.
Grateful Dead Hour #991
Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes this week from: MagnoliaFest, a festival of American roots music October 25th through 28th at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida, just across the Georgia line. Toots & The Maytals, Railroad Earth, Donna the Buffalo, Peter Rowan & The Free Mexican Airforce, Col Bruce Hampton & The Quark Alliance, David Gans, and many many more. Information is available at 904-249-7990 and magmusic.com, where you will also find information on Music Farmers, a documentary about MagnoliaFest, now available on DVD. magmusic.com The Echo Project, October 12-14 outside of Atlanta – three nights of camping and music from Phil Lesh & Friends, The Flaming Lips, moe., Umphrey’s McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Tea Leaf Green & dozens of others. ArSeaEm Recordings, an artist-friendly record label, presenting the double live CD New Riders of the Purple Sage New Year’s Eve 2006, recorded, mixed and produced by Bob and Betty. The New Riders of the Purple Sage features David Nelson, Buddy Cage, Michael Fanzarano, Ronnie Penque, and Johnny Markowski. Audio clips, downloads, and more information are available at NRPSlive.com and in the iTunes music store. BackstageAuctions.com, presenting “Rock History – Cleveland Style” featuring the private collection of David Spero, Cleveland’s own rock n roll royalty. Four decades of rock and roll memorabilia – Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Who, Janis Joplin, The Beatles & dozens more including guitars, rare recordings, photos, posters, tour apparel and much more. Viewing begins September 16 with the auction starting September 23 running online for a week.
Debuting a new song this Saturday
I’m performing on Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live this Saturday, two songs in the two-hour show that airs 10am to noon PDT. It’s on KALW 91.7 in the Bay Area and on other stations as well (see station list).
Because they’re broadcasting from the Ferry Building farmers’ market in San Francisco, I was asked to do two songs about food. I’ll be doing Steve Goodman‘s “Chicken Cordon Bleus,” and I gave myself an assignment to write a new song for the occasion.
I’m about 90% there, I’d say, but the last bit is proving to be the hardest. I’ve got two more nights to work on it, though, and I will have something to present on Saturday morning even if it has to continue evolving afterwards.
The title might be “The Bounty from the County.”
My wife, Rita, is my co-author on this one: she is the produce maven in the house, and she has given me many colorful fruit and vegetable names and much information on what items happen in each season, etc.
I am very much under the influence of Steve Goodman in this process. Goodman was a huge influence on me when I was a pup, and I’m steeped in his music again as I interview the author of his biography online at www.well.com/inkwell/
(By the way, if you’re in the Bay Area you can attend the WCL show.)
GDH 301 online at DeadNet
Today’s archival GD Hour post is program #301, featuring an interview with David Grisman, some unreleased live Garcia-Grisman, and samples of what was then a brand new release on David’s Acoustic Disc label: Tone Poems, a collection of duets with Tony Rice played on vintage instruments.
We post a new program from the GD Hour archives every Wednesday on DeadNet. You can browse/search the GD Hour program log archives and make requests for shows you’d like to see posted by sending email to gdhour [at] dead [dot] net.
DNC jam in Chicago 9/20-21
I’m going to Chicago Thursday 9/20 to join Tom Constanten, Terrapin Flyer and a bunch of musicians who met on DeadNet Central for a all-night jam. We’re going to do it again on Friday, September 21.
There’s an article about it by Lilli Kuzma in the Pioneer Local:
The third “DeadNet Jam” will be held for the first time in Chicago at the Kinetic Playground on Thursday and Friday. The first two jams were held in the Tampa, Fla. area.
The idea for the concept originated with Berwyn’s Doug Hagman, 42, who is the coordinator of the Chicago event. Hagman’s well-know band, Terrapin Flyer, will be among the featured acts.
“It’s a jam, so it will be a cross-pollination of many different bands and individuals,” said Hagman. “There will be a bunch of folks from around the nation coming together, and people from all over Chicagoland, including a lot of people who never saw the band.”
….
Gans, of Oakton [sic], Calif., sums up the phenomenon of the DeadNet Jam as “a natural outgrowth of people hanging out together online.”
He described the unique character of the Dead community and the music that transpires from a gathering. “It is improvisation within a structure. [Musicians] slowly and quite organically drift from one song to another. You can step up on stage with a bunch of guys you’ve never met and make great music.”
And on Saturday, September 22, I’ll be in Kalamazoo with TC and friends. Details on my gigs page.