August 1-9 is Jerry Week (born on Aug. 1 & went home on Aug. 9) In celebration of his life and legacy, I'll be creating a new offering for each of the 9 days. I got a very hang loose idea of a plan...but will show up each day opening myself to the musical muse of the universe and allowing her flow to come through my fingers and onto the keys...
Feel free to offer your ideas, experiences...
SUNRISE: August 1, 1942
FIRST DAZE…Dec. 1964 – Nov. 1965
--in these two songs ("All My Trials" and "Trouble in Mind") we can hear some of the pain that’s already part of his life/musical path…and, we can see his early identification with the common man and how he used the folk music genre to tell our stories…the ones the crow told him...and us...
“Well, the first days are the hardest days
Don't you worry anymore
'Cause when life looks like Easy Street
There is danger at your door”
THE WARLOCKS
The Warlocks were formed in Palo Alto at the end of 1964 when Jerry Garcia, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and Bob Weir—the original members of Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions—decided to “plug in” at the urging of McKernan. They added a rhythm section: Dana Morgan Jr. on bass and Bill Kreutzmann on drums. Their first performance was in May of 1965 at Magoo’s Pizza in Menlo Park. After a handful of performances, Phil Lesh replaced Dana Morgan. (Source)
THE GRATEFUL DEAD
(from this article):
--December 4, 1965: The Grateful Dead’s first performance as the Grateful Dead occurred in a home in downtown San Jose now the site of San Jose’s City Hall.
--By any measure, the night of December 4, 1965, is one of rock and roll’s most significant dates – which makes the address of 43 South Fifth Street in San Jose one of the world’s most historic musical spots.
--The Rolling Stones were in town and after their gig, stopped by the Grateful Dead house party...
(from this article):
--The Grateful Dead are thought of as a San Francisco band. That was certainly true after 1966 when the group planted itself in Haight-Ashbury and occupied a “band house” there. But before then? The band’s members began their musical journey largely in the South Bay – leading epically to their first show under the “Grateful Dead” name at a house in downtown San Jose.
In that regard, here are the bullet points that document all of that history and all of those connections to San Jose and Santa Clara County:
-- includes "high" lights of years1962 - 1965
-- click on link for more
(from the article)
--Forming up around the same time as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead were no doubt inspired by the psychedelic rock sounds produced by that age. But they went a step beyond: behind their lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Jerry Garcia, they infused their music with whiffs of country and bluegrass, rhythm & blues and soul, and long, winding improvisational sessions. They inspired legions of followers, more fanatics than fans, who called themselves “deadheads,” following the band on tour from city to city. They contributed, as much as anybody, to the 60s shift in American music and culture. On this day, December 10, in 1965 the Grateful Dead played their first concert at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The week before they played their first gig together as the Dead, at Ken Kesey’s “Acid Test” public party in San Jose, California. The Fillmore concert, the first recorded performance of the Dead, also featured Jefferson Airplane, The Great Society, The John Handy Quintet, The Mystery Trend, and Sam Thomas. Organized by Bill Graham for a “Mime Troupe Benefit,” it was staged in protest of racism and segregation, and sponsored in part by Berkeley’s Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the very same ones that staged a 1,000-member sit-in on campus around the same time.
--includes 17 tracks, one of which is labelled "Ice Cream Man"...Hmm...wonder is Ben & Jerry were listening..."Cherry Garcia" will be included in one of the 9 Jerry Garcia Week posts.
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