Here is the latest news from David Gans, producer and host of the Grateful Dead Hour.
“Jesus is watching you”
My friend Stu took this photo in Farmington NM in February.
I see a lot of nasty “religious” messages in my travels. Today, driving across Pennsylvania on I-76, I saw a billboard whose exact wording I don’t recall, but it included the phrase “God is to be feared!”
Who the fuck wants to live like that?
Who benefits from this belittling of the human spirit?
Who Will Save Us from the Saved?
This new song has been very well-received on tour, and it’s already gotten a little bit of airplay. It is on my new CD, Solo Electric; you can hear the track here (mp3).
WHO WILL SAVE US FROM THE SAVED?
Words and music by David Gans
Such a lovely planet
Wonder how it came to be
Was it chaos or creation?
Was it God or entropy?
Now the spirit may be sleeping
But it dwells in every heart
I put my faith in nature
Of which we are a part
There are many here among us
Who believe this world is theirs
When it’s beaten and depleted
They will rise into the air
And the ones who don’t believe them
Face a dark, eternal grave
No one knows, but they are certain
Who will save us from the saved?
I put my faith in nature
What I hear and smell and see
Til I meet that higher power
I’ll do what makes sense to me
And if what I would call a good life
Is what you must call depraved
Give me freedom from religion
Who will save us from the saved?
I honor your traditions
And insist you honor mine
In a world with any justice
Blasphemy is not a crime
You believe what you believe in
I respect your wish to pray
But if you try to make me join you
I’ll resist you all the way
I’m not saying I know better
I’m just saying we don’t know
Til the day we get an answer
I go where my heart says go
It’s a narrow-minded Jesus
I see reflected in your eye
He was all about compassion
If he knew you, he would cry
I put my faith in nature
What I hear and smell and see
Til I meet that higher power
I’ll do what makes sense to me
And if what I would call a good life
Is what you must call depraved
Give me freedom from religion
Who will save us from the saved?
©2005 Whispering Hallelujah (BMI). All rights reserved.
DG interview @ jambands.com
Nice interview by Randy Ray on jambands.com
From the intro:
After the demise of Garcia in August 1995 and the subsequent collapse of the Grateful Dead, I continued to listen to Gans on a weekly basis but I became more interested in Gans himself, instead of his program. Ironically, it would be this ten-year period&emdash;from 1995 to 2005&emdash;that would see the artist become much more than a radio personality. I finally decided to ask him for some discussion time after almost 20 years of listening to his voice, reading his books, groovin’ to the albums he worked on as a producer and his own amazing recordings with lyrics that aren’t afraid to dig deep into an issue to reveal raw truth. To my delight, Gans did not hesitate. He asked if we were going to cover Dead activities post-1995 or his career and I quickly replied: “Yours.”
An exchange from the interview:
RR: You have grown as a musician as you have branched out in the last ten years. What are your studio and live highlights as a songwriter, musician and producer?
DG: Co-producing Might as Well: The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead with Persuasions leader Jerry Lawson was a most precious and life-changing experience. Being present, and being able to assist, while they learned those songs and made them into Persuasions songs, taught me a great deal about how music is made, and shed new light on a group of songs that have been dear to my heart for years.As for my own performances, I have had more high times than I can enumerate. I’ve been writing songs and performing, solo and in bands, for more than thirty years; since I started touring in 1997 I’ve been on stages and in living rooms (and back yards), in front of audiences ranging in size from the low one digit to upwards of five thousand, alone and with other players. As long as there is someone to connect with, I’m happy.
More Jerry Garcia stuff…
Lots of stories in the media today, on the tenth anniversary of Jerry’s passing.
Daily Kos
Sacramento Bee
Paul Liberatore’s front-page story in the Marin I-J
On the Al Franken Show today, they decided to start a campaign to get Jerry on a postage stamp.
high Times piece by Mark Miller.
Dog Days at SBC Park 8/6/05
Our first Giants game of the season – August 6, 2005. It was the Giants’ ninth annual “Dog Days” event. Fans brought their dogs and had a parade before the game, and then sat in the bleachers to watch the Giants beat Houston 5-2. Rita and I went with our friends Sandy and Ron and their lovely dog Bonnie (not pictured), who has the best ears in the business. These two fellers were not fighting, by the way – just having some fun!
Click on the picture to see more images from this sweet event.