Pribek

I know there are some Deadheads out there. Recently, I’ve been made aware of a goodly amount of hype about the upcoming Dead (sans Grateful) tour.

I was never huge in to the Grateful Dead. I had several albums, and I listened quite a bit. I would consider it more of a fond musical acquaintanceship than a passionate, deep relationship. I had many friends who were certified Dead Heads and hearing them wax about the countless shows they attended often made me wonder if I was missing out on something.

I went to only one show. It was actually Jerry Garcia’s second to last show and I don’t think it was representative. I won’t go in to detail but, it was a strange night that ended in tragedy. On the way home, we heard about a number of fans being crushed by a collapsed deck at a nearby campground. I’m not sure that I can explain it but, the whole thing had an air of finality.

So, I keep hearing about this new tour and, I was aware that the guys went out in 2004 but, I haven’t paid much attention. I would never hold it against any band for carrying on after a member or members have checked out. You just don’t give up playing music because the cast of characters has changed. That would be un-natural.

Also, nobody ever gets “replaced” because everyone is different and brings a different batch of stuff to the table. But, how do you go on without Jerry? It’s not enough to find a guy that knows Jerry’s licks you have to have genuine kinship.

Warren Haynes; I’ve been listening to that guy for a long time. He’s soulful and a truly adept musician. He has the ability to be a musical chameleon as well. And, like I said, you can’t really “replace” a guy but, Warren is the cat filling the chair.

I got curious and looked around YouTube for some clips of the Dead with Warren to see if I could get a little insight from the limited format of how it all works out. My first reaction was; it sounds like it should. Warren has some of that Jerry Garcia phrasing and tone but, he’s not copping his act. And, it isn’t The Dead/Mule or Dead/ABB; if you were walking down the street and heard it, you would think ahh…The Dead.

So, Warren seems to be pulling it off. It seems like there is something there.

These two clips, will be interesting even if you aren’t a Dead Head. They feature interviews with the “survivors” laced with footage of the current lineup.

The first one explains part of why it works; Jerry is still there. The second, has some insight in to the improvisation process, the “Group Mind”, without the mystical bullshit; “If you’re worried about something to say, sit back and sandbag it for a while.”

As always, join the band then click pause on the music player located in the side bar before playing the YouTubes.

So, Steve Miller was at an ASCAP event to receive a lifetime achievement award. I’ve been to a few of these kinds of things and I’ve noticed that when a person reaches the point that they are being recognized for a “lifetime of achievement” they sometimes don’t feel the need to pull punches anymore.

From Reuters.

Rocker Steve Miller may have honed his craft in San Francisco during the late 1960s, but don’t lump him in with local bands from that time, especially the Grateful Dead.

“I couldn’t stand that band,” Miller said on Thursday, during a panel at a music industry symposium, recalling the Dead’s interminable jams and lengthy tuning breaks between songs.

In fact, Miller said it was much more interesting to listen to frontman Jerry Garcia’s stage banter than to listen to the band play its psychedelic improvisations.

The San Francisco music scene was more of a “social phenomenon,” Miller said, and his eponymous band was more musical and more professional than the pack.

Ouch! Gary isn’t going to like that.

Actually, I’ve heard Miller say similar things about the San Fransisco scene before but, he used a little more tact. He’s always been more into tight and concise than free form jamming.

He also took a swing at the U.S. Postal Service.

He recalled that he allowed the United States Postal Service to license his tune “Fly Like an Eagle” in the 1990s under an $11 million deal that gave him final approval of every aspect. But the first few television ads aired before he received the submissions in the mail, and were “awful.”

Increasingly frustrated, he called the USPS and its ad agency, and told them, “You have to stop sending this stuff by Priority Mail … Use FedEx.”

That seems a little harsh as well. You know you want stuff to be right but for $11 Mil, you could probably leave out the FedEx jab. Me, for $11 Mil, I’d take the money and run.