Here is the latest news from David Gans, producer and host of the Grateful Dead Hour.
Buddy Cage and Mark van Allen
Buddy Cage and Mark van Allen, originally uploaded by dgans.My best tour ever got even better after a truly amazing MagnoliaFest: on Tuesday, October 24 at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta, I had Mark van Allen with me for my opening set and then I sat in with the New Riders of the Purple Sage later in the evening.
Troubadour checks in
Reporting in from the road. I’ve had a great tour, in terms of both musical satisfaction and career development.
This past weekend was MagnoliaFest, my favorite gig of every year.
Friday morning: opened the mainstage w/ an hour-long solo set, well-attended and well-received. Broke in a new song, “If Only I Existed.”
Friday afternoon: looping workshop w/ Arvid Smith. Huge audience response, great feedback later.
Saturday night: Closed the Music Hall w/ an 80-minute set backed by all five Waybacks (for which we REHEARSED, even!), Joe Craven, and Bryn Davies on two songs. Several people later told me it was the highlight of their weekend.
Sunday morning: rehearsed vocals w/ Peter Rowan and Bryn Davies, then performed “Catfish John” in front of a full house on the Amphitheater Stage during the Bluegrass Jam, with Tony Rice standing right next to me and playing lead guitar. Also onstage were Warren Hood of the Waybacks, Alan Dalton on banjo, Sharon Gilchrist on mandolin, and Carroll Clements (Vassar’s cousin
and lifelong musical partner) on guitar.
Sunday evening: sat in w/ Donna the Buffalo on “Positive Friction,” with a long, DEEP jam in the middle.
All facets of my musical talents and skills were displayed over the weekend, and the feedback – from audience and musicians alike – was entirely positive. Best of all, people were talking about my SONGS.
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This tour started at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Georgia, on a bill with Caroline Aiken and Ralph Roddenbery. I had pedal steel ace Mark van Allen with me, and Mark and I joined Ralph for some of his set. The day before that gig, I went up to Caroline’s house and rehearsed with her and Satoshi Ueda, who she met in Amsterdam and who came over to play a couple of weeks of gigs with her. The three of us worked up two of Caroline’s songs, “Dry Spell” and “Between Hello and Goodbye.” Satoshi and I also did some jamming, with me using my loop station. Here’s a photo of Satoshi with his gekkin (aka “moon guitar” or “moon zither”), a three-stringed instrument he used in our jam at Eddie’s.
The next night, October 14, I improvised with the wonderful Joe Craven at the Melting Point in Athens, Georgia. I’ve got video of that, as well as audio of course, and I’ll get it posted as soon as I have some time.
Tonight I open for the New Riders here in Atlanta; then it’s two more solo shows and home. I’ve got a house concert in Forestville CA with Jim Page, and the Honky Tonk Hippies ride again on November 16 in Santa Rosa.
Grateful Dead Hour #944
Week of October 23, 2006
Part 1 36:28
Grateful Dead 3/30/83 Warfield Theater, San Francisco
BERTHA
PROMISED LAND
DIRE WOLF
CASSIDY
FENNARIO
MAMA TRIED->
MEXICALI BLUES
Part 2 19:52
Tom Snyder’s Electric Kool-Aid Talk Show
Interviews w/ Ken Kesey & Grateful Dead
SHE’S ON THE ROAD AGAIN
CASSIDY
Steve Goodman, Live at the Earl of Old Town
GRAND CANYON SONG
Tom Snyder’s Electric Kool-Aid Talk Show is a DVD taken from Snyder’s Tomorrow Show, on NBC. The Grateful Dead appeared, with Ken Kesey, in May of 1981. The interview material is hilarious, and there are four acoustic performances by the band. Also on this DVD are interviews with Timothy Leary and Tom Wolfe.
Steve Goodman was one of my favorite singer-songwriters in the ’70s, when I was a baby singer-songwriter myself. Great guitarist, and his songs had tremendous warmth and wit and a lot of heart. I interviewed him a couple of times when I was writing for music magazines, and he was always a pleasure to deal with. Goodman died of leukemia in the mid-’80s. Here’s a photo of him that I took at a Bread and Roses benefit in Berkeley in September of 1975.
Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes this week from:
Grateful Dead tribute band The Schwag and Camp Zoe, hosts of The Schwagstock music festivals and other events at the Southeastern Missouri venue throughout the spring, summer and fall featuring popular nationally touring acts including The Wailers, Michael Franti & Spearhead, George Clinton, Keller Williams, Zilla, and dozens more. More information is available at theschwag.com and campzoe.com
Rhino Records, presenting The Very Best of Jerry Garcia, a two-disc set spanning Jerry’s solo work from 1971 to 1990. The Very Best of Jerry Garcia, mastered in HDCD, includes a full CD of studio recordings plus a disc of live performances from the all of Jerry’s side projects, including a previously-unreleased recording of “Dear Prudence” by Reconstruction. It’s available in stores everywhere, and from rhino.com
Grateful Dead Hour #943
Week of October 16, 2006
Part 1 11:22
Grateful Dead 5/6/89 Frost Amphitheater, Stanford CA
BLACK MUDDY RIVER
New Riders of the Purple Sage
GLENDALE TRAIN
Part 2 44:14
Grateful Dead 5/6/89 Frost Amphitheater, Stanford CA
THE WHEEL->
I NEED A MIRACLE->
WHARF RAT->
AROUND AND AROUND
NOT FADE AWAY
Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes this week from:
Grateful Dead tribute band The Schwag and Camp Zoe, hosts of The Schwagstock music festivals and other events at the Southeastern Missouri venue throughout the spring, summer & fall featuring popular nationally touring acts including The Wailers, Michael Franti & Spearhead, George Clinton, Keller Williams, Zilla & dozens more. More information is available at theschwag.com and campzoe.com.
Rhino Records, presenting The Very Best of Jerry Garcia, a two-disc set spanning Jerry’s solo work from 1971 to 1990. The Very Best of Jerry Garcia, mastered in HDCD, includes a full CD of studio recordings plus a disc of live performances from the all of Jerry’s side projects, including a previously-unreleased recording of “Dear Prudence” by Reconstruction. It’s available in stores everywhere, and from rhino.com