It Doesn’t Have A Name Just Yet: Dead Ahead In 2015

(Originally published on Grateful Music)

  

Russell’s Round Room 

“There’s something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear.” In our jam band bubble, we are lucky enough to take in stupendous music year after year, yet some periods are more special than others, and 2015 is one for the record books. Enchantment is abundant in our world, and for the surviving members of the Grateful Dead not much has been run of the mill in respect to the various celebrations for their 50th anniversary. Since we aren’t talking about any band here, there’s no such thing as status quo when it comes to a Dead type tour, but for the first time in the post-Jerry years, the community that surrounds the surviving members of the group seems to be more vibrant than in any of the days since August 9, 1995.

While we’ve all been lucky enough to experience countless amazing musical and community moments since the passing of the unofficial patriarch of the Deadhead Diaspora, I can’t think of many instances that top what has already occurred during our current trip around the sun. Yes, there have been some top-notch tours with the Core Four, together and apart, but I’d be hard pressed to find a collection of post-Jerry shows that reached the collective heights of Fare Thee Well. And while the melodic merits of Santa Clara and Chicago will continue to be argued by every card-carrying deadhead, not one of us can deny the communal clarity that those final Dead shows brought to fruition. While I only imbibed via the movie screen, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that those concerts were the closest representations of bona fide Grateful Dead experiences to have taken place since the untimely passing of Jerry. Whether via the interweb or in person, everyone that has survived the highs and lows of the past two decades were there, basking in all the glory embodied in the phrase, “There’s nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.”

Now three of the core four have tapped into the notion that something special is transpiring in our promised land and formed Dead & Company. While I can’t blame Phil for not joining in, as I don’t have many details, other than speculation and hearsay from a handful of folks supposedly in the know, I do wish he were taking part. However there will still be plenty of chances to get our Phil fix through shows at the Capitol Theater in Portchester, NY, his rambles at Terrapin Crossroads, and the expected Core Four appearance, amongst other combos at Lockn’ Festival. Phil is celebrating GD50 in his own way, and I wish him all the best in everything he does. But while Phil does his personal thing, I am truly stoked for Dead & Company and all its possibilities. As I have subjectively high expectations for the shows about to go down, intellectually I know that this incarnation has every ability to fall flat on its face. Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann are taking an incredible risk introducing a complete outsider into our scene, and the backlash from some fans has been palpable. But Mayer is a commensurate guitarist and performer, and all evidence suggests that he is holed up somewhere right now studying his ass off for tour. While the potential to bomb is prevalent, this ensemble also presents us with the possibility of musical majesty and reinvention that has not been heard on such a large-scale in decades. And for those that think Mayer doesn’t have the chops to pull this off, rumor has it that he will have some help on the way from a smattering of different guitarists at various tour stops. With great possibility comes great risk, and I’m certain the boys are keenly aware of this and will do everything in their power to ensure success in autumn.

And thus far ascendancy has been the name of the game in respect to marketing this shindig. Not since the mid-nineties has a Dead oriented tour found so much response in respect to ticket sales. While famous venues such as MSG generally tend to sell out without much effort on any given tour, demand has varied even in the recent past. Tickets could be found lining chain link fences, or left on the lot as trash at show time for the Dead reunion at Penn State University in October of 2008. Dead Tour 2009, which is the most recent comparable arena sized tour, largely did not sell out. While this tour will more than likely have some dates added still, word on the wire is that every show pass will be claimed nationwide. For three dudes considered passed their prime, and a man that was until recently largely loathed by the majority of Deadheads, this feat is immensely impressive.

And while the expected sell out has been nursed along by a few annoying, but germane marketing practices, sales ploys can not be all that’s behind this triumph. Although the mere idea of the fiftieth anniversary being the last hurrah has drummed up a certain sense of nostalgia for older deadheads who got off the bus a while ago, and mustered the possibility of seeing the magic happen live and in person for younger deadheads that never got to go out on real Dead tour, the overwhelming energy currently felt within our community can not solely be driven by these factors alone. There is certainly something happening here, yet what it is truly cannot be defined. Luckily for us it can be wholeheartedly embraced! The various spinoffs of our favorite band are more popular than they have been in a long time, and the surviving members have been successfully tapping into this energy.

So whatever reservations you may have about this tour: the cast of characters, the exorbitant prices, the runaround getting tickets, the redundant notion that this all is a money grab, and John Mayer being at the forefront of it all, I implore you to catch a show or two, or ten. This could be the last circus of its size, or not. But it will most certainly be the last group of shindigs for 2015, and if I could tell you one thing about this year, it has been full of symphonious sorcery with more to likely come. There’s been another band at the helm of our scene having its best year in a generation; you guys may have heard of them. For those piscatorial fellas and what’s left of the Dead, something mystical is in the air. Take it all in before it passes you by.

Words: Russell S. Glowatz

Crime of Convenience: Ticketmaster Strikes Again

(Originally published on Grateful Music)

Russell’s Round Room

 

On Friday morning, August 14th, at 10:00AM a virtual hand slowly slithered out of my computer screen, ripped my heart out, and slapped me in the face. I imagine many had a similar experience, and were left ticketless and despondent in their quest for permission to attend Dead & Company at Madison Square Garden. Don’t worry deadheads; you’ll get your chocolate bar with the coveted gold foil. There are plenty still out there in ticket purgatory and on the secondary market. Regardless, we should not be having these experiences. There is something seriously wrong with this system. 

While what I am referring to is the most perplexing first world problem I could think of, a quandary we are all very fortunate to have, it still sucks, and is a hardship we have to go through for every major show that we attempt to attend. Ticketmaster has a problem. Strike that, Ticketmaster has no problem whatsoever. It is an extremely successful company with limited to no competition, and makes out like a bandit with every major concert or event it puts on sale. If countless businesses in this country were to follow the model of Ticketmaster, they would not stay competitive very long, because they exist in a marketplace with competition. As did Ticketmaster once, but that hasn’t been the case since the world was proven circular. When it comes to most major events, they are the only game in town. While Ticketbastard (as many of us endearingly call it) is not fully responsible for our woes, they are the easiest target by far. And while they are not to blame for the bots that suck up tickets for the secondary market in milliseconds, they are complicit in not figuring out a way to stop them from stealing tickets from living and breathing beings. They put up those bot preventing coded barricades, but that does not thwart them. In fact, those stupid security boxes often prevent fans from checking out in the allotted time because of their ridiculous complexities. Ticketmaster, you might as well get rid of those enigmas because they don’t serve their purpose, and only piss off your sentient customers more.

What really bothers me about all of this is that it’s 2015. All these years of selling tickets, all this technology at our fingertips, and this is the best system we’ve got?! No, that’s ludicrous! It’s the most profitable system Ticketmaster can muster, and that is deplorable. I would love to ask Ticketmaster some questions: Who are you really serving? The bots and your bottom dollar, or your valued customers? Obviously you must not value the consumer very much because they HAVE to do business with you if they requisite seeing their favorite acts at face value. You have concertgoers stuck squarely between a scalper and a hard place, and you don’t even have the common courtesy of giving your clients a reach around. 

  
It’s a lack of options for us, and a crime of convenience for you. Only in America your business practices are perfectly legal.  In the world where moral fiber matters and karma is a bitch, you are committing misdeeds on a daily basis. While I appreciate that your proceeds matter, because after all you are a corporation, with a proper system for Friday’s general public sale of MSG tickets, you would have gotten every red cent you received from bots, but from real humans. After costs on an overhaul and reconfiguration of your network, your profit margins wouldn’t be affected in the least, and you’d do a great service to the show going community by virtually putting the online scalpers, such as Stub Hub, out of business.

In respect to solving this dilemma. I may have some notions, but I don’t have any answers. Yet you should have the solutions because this racket is your area of expertise! Wouldn’t it feel nice to provide a quality service as opposed to giving folks coronaries every time they decide to spend their hard earned money to attend a show? While from your perspective everything looks hunky-dory, your shit is all fucked up! I’m sure you’re comfortable letting business continue in this manner, but one day your company will face its reckoning. A few of the popular bands in the country have tried to go up against you, but they’ve failed miserably, because a monopoly is expensive to diminish, especially when you have already toppled most alternatives. Yet if you allow this business model to continue, one day in the not so distant future an institution will come up with a plan to put you out of business. All the while an army is forming to assure they succeed.

So wouldn’t it be better to innovate from within, do something constructive, please your customer base, and set your company up for perpetual prosperity by way of helping to get tickets into the hands of those that really desire them? It seems like a win-win to me. And while it’s not directly your system that is creating this virtual bottleneck every time we try to get tickets, you sit idly by and let other people, computers, and vampires disguised as companies suck the joy out of all you do. If it’s just about the balance sheet for you, what’s the bloody point? 

It shouldn’t be all about the Benjamin’s, it should be about pleasing the consumer as well and if it’s not then why bother, because all the money in the world won’t dig your company out of its karmic pit. You may not be solely responsible, but you are the only institution currently in the position to make a difference. So please attempt to address this glaring phenomenon already! Throw a bone to the people that put the food on your tables. No one has a problem with you making profit. But don’t only be a cost-effective business, be a good business too. And if you change your act, the next time we have to fork over our hard earned cash for something we love, we won’t even bitch about your inexplicable fees. I promise. 

Words: Russell S. Glowatz

Editor: Kevin Long

Welcome To The Dance: A Dead & Company Editorial

(Originally published 8/14/2015 on Grateful Music)

Russell’s Round Room

Dear John Mayer Fans: When The Circus Comes To Town, You’re Invited

Hello there John Mayer Heads! Is that what you call yourselves, because I really don’t know? You’ve probably been a Mayer fan for a while, and may be a bit surprised or confused by the fact that he will be touring, as Dead & Company, with these old geezers you likely don’t know. Well, if that’s the case, don’t fret, those elderly dudes can carry a tune, and they’ve been throwing parties like the ones about to take place for fifty years. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir are three of the surviving members of the Grateful Dead. If you’ve never heard of the Grateful Dead before, welcome. If you have heard of the Grateful Dead before, but don’t really know what they are about, happy to have you with us.

To give you a little background, the Dead and their various incarnations have been traveling the greater United States, and beyond for five decades now, opening minds and hearts to transcendent music, and the vibrant community that surrounds the band. From the outside, we must look a little odd to the masses, but I guarantee that once on the inside, you will see the merits of what we have to offer.

The Dead was officially formed in 1965. They have drawn upon countless different musical genres creating a synthesis of sound that you cannot find anywhere else. Their unofficial and often reluctant leader was Jerry Garcia, a true guitar virtuoso and exemplary songwriter that wrote the music for many of the tunes you will hear on the upcoming Dead & Company tour. Sadly in 1995 he passed away and left a huge void within the deadhead community and the world at large. Since then the surviving members have toured under various names, together and apart, with different lead guitarists, constantly reinventing their music for the masses.

Their tunes often lead into improvisation, and extended jams, and the songs they’ve composed are absolutely inspiring. I understand that for a newcomer, extended jamming can be an acquired taste. That’s the way it was for me and before I could appreciate the live marathon improv sessions, and studio albums were the perfect avenue for my journey into deadhead land. The seed was planted for me when my brother gave me the gift of Shakedown Street for Hanukkah when I was twelve. But I ultimately became a budding Deadhead when I discovered my father’s vinyl copy of American Beauty, arguably the greatest album of all time. There are plenty of other studio albums you can take the leap on as well, but American Beauty is my personal recommendation as a place to start in the lead up to MSG. If you jive with what you listen to perhaps you should jump into the Dead’s live catalog. Live is where they truly shined, and a starting point for many has been the Europe ’72 album. If you’re not feeling it after one listen, don’t give up. I guarantee you will discover something potentially life changing.

 We are absolutely a welcoming clan. While you may catch a few negative comments online about deadheads feeling queasy over the fact that thousands of John Mayer fans may be infiltrating our scene, those comments are not representative of our group as whole. Please don’t listen to the small but vocal group of Negative Nancy’s, as most of us are pretty decent people. At the very least you will have a real good time, and take in some tremendous tunes. If you find yourself a deadhead in training after these shows, you may desire to delve deeper into what we are about, and there is plenty of literature and archived show recordings to get you where you want to go.

Simply put, we aren’t about much that’s definitive. Many of our creeds are interpretive and not set in stone. If a song lyric inspires you, your understanding of that lyric is as valid as it was for the thousands of other heads that found differing meanings. There are no rules in our community, yet a few generally understood ideas do exist. We strive to be kind to the best of our abilities, we aim to be tolerant of all, and firmly believe in the golden rule. If I had to pick a single principle that defines us, it’s karma. So be good and do good, and good things will come back your way.

And just to remind some of my fellow heads about our implicit principles, specifically in respect to newcomers: be karmic, be kind, aim to enlighten, and do your best not to belittle. Everyone was new once, even you, so remember that, and lend a hand to the beginners over the next few months. For many of the commonly young Mayer fans, these shows may very well plant the seeds of the next Deadhead generation, so please be hospitable. Lets set a good example for these folks.

So to all the Mayer fans out there that are intent upon seeing Dead & Company this fall, I am absolutely looking forward to having fresh faces at our perpetual party. Welcome! Be safe and “be kind.” But most importantly, come with an open mind. Let loose and have fun. Take in the music, the collective, and atmosphere, because in essence we are all apart of the show. The band feeds off our energy and vice versa. To sum up what we are all about in one word, it’s synchronicity. Synchronicity in music, mind, body, spirit, and community.

I know even after reading this, you may still have many queries. Feel free to ask me or anyone else. While some folks may give you shit about a so-called silly question, pay them no mind, and go to the next guy or gal for the answer. If you truly have the desire to find out what we are all about, no question is a stupid question, and there’s always Google. Stay kind John Mayer fans, and see you out there at MSG and beyond.

Words: Russell S. Glowatz

 

Dear Deadheads: Please Don’t Get Your Panties in a Twist

Russell’s Round Room 

My Dearest Deadheads,

Here we are again at the precipice of something big. I was inspired to write this post after reading this piece written by a lovely lady with a name that rhymes with Jerry. You should check it out! Her sentiment is filled with truthiness. Yet I can’t help but add my take on the events that have unfolded and the potential proceedings yet to occur. We have a new Dead incarnation to be thankful for today!

Out there in the vast vista that is the interweb, all the bitching and moaning has begun. Folks are dismayed that they forked over their first-born and took out a second mortgage on their house (among other things) to catch what was billed as the last Dead shows ever to take place. Guess what? They still were the last Dead shows that will ever take place! As someone who could not attend in person (only via the internet simulcast, and IMAX), I would love to go back in time and space with a wad full of cash to catch those shows live and in the flesh.

While I am ever so grateful for the opportunity to have shared those shows with you in real time from hundreds of miles away, and whilst I feel that I had a well-rounded experience in saying goodbye to The Dead, what I did, and what you did, are two different things, and I’m certain what you did was exponentially better. Be grateful for the experience. A happening that you will be recounting for decades to come. An exploit that when retold won’t involve the tidbit about the exorbitant amount of dough you slewed over to Stub Hub in your quest to Santa Clara or Chicago. In the short-term, the money game can be challenging and stressful, but in the long-term it really won’t mean much at all. In the end it’s all about the show.And we have another big show to go to real soon. A show that will blow the socks off many East Coasters and deadheads from around the nation that couldn’t otherwise make it to Fare Thee Well. This will be a show for the ages, and a potential tour to boot at that, but it won’t be the Dead. In the Deadhead Book of World Records, your shows are safe, and already apart of the annals of history. Your experience and everything you forked over for it was worthwhile, and you don’t have to feel “raped,” as one head put it, because some of the boys decided to throw the East Coast a bone as well (all the boys really with Phil at the Cap and Lockn’!).

So now as we embark on getting tickets, making plans, booking hotels, renting cars, taking off work, and amassing the money we need to pull off each of our personal expeditions to MSG, let’s be mindful of what it’s all really about. It’s about the show…the music…the passion…the communion…the spirituality…the gathering…the transcendence. Keep in mind the end result, and while you may eat some bowls of shit along the way, in respect to making all these things happen, let the notion of the end result stay at the forefront.

Be positive. Commiserate, fine. But try to keep it in a positive context, because I can say one thing about this show and potential tour for sure…those heads that maintain the positivity and intend on being in MSG on Halloween, will be in MSG on Halloween. I can’t say with any certainty how easy or hard of a ticket this will be. I can’t say whether some will have to take out a home loan to purchase a show pass on the secondary market. But when you wake up to buy tickets on Friday, August 14th, know that there’s a good shot you won’t get tickets…know there’s a good shot you will get tickets! And know that you not getting tickets from ticketbastard doesn’t mean its end game. Keep mindful. Keep that positivity front and center. Play the waiting game on the secondary market, and when the possible tour gets announced, we may find a plethora of cheap tickets available.

In saying all this, I’m reminding myself of such things, as much as I am directing it towards you. I already feel the potential stress of the journey to Dead & Company in my bones. And some of you probably feel it too. Don’t let it get the best of you. Be better than that, because we are better than that. When you feel the need to bitch and vent online…bitch and vent online. But keep it short and sweet, and end it on a note of positivity. For if you do, I guarantee I will see you in MSG on All Hallows’ Eve.

Sincerely,

Grateful Globotz (Glowatz+Robot=Globotz)

Credit: Matt Groening

PS- If you need something to de-stress I suggest you take this Dead Test. It takes some time, concentration, and dedication, but it may be one small thing to take your mind off the lack of tickets in your hand as we play the inevitable waiting game and hustle. Best of luck to all you seekers out there, and stay kind 🙂

~~Like our Facebook page, Grateful Globotz, or follow us on Twitter @GratefulGlobotz.~~

© Watts Glow Grateful Productions, 2015

Phish ain’t lyrically Dead: So Stop Comparing Them

Russell’s Round Room 

Source: Treyfuldeadmemes.com

by Russell S. Glowatz

Phish ain’t lyrically Dead, so stop fucking comparing them on that level! Pretty pretty please?! I imagine you won’t, but I’m asking anyway because your comparisons are nonsense. So stop. Or don’t. But either way, don’t like Phish lyrics? Fine. They’re not for everybody. There’s nothing wrong with that. Your ticker tape parade will be thrown on the Avenue of Heroes in NYC at the end of Phish tour. But to compare the two bands lyrically is not only foolish…it’s obtuse. End rant. As Ringo would say, I say all this with peace and love, a sincere desire to evoke empathy within the jam band community at large, and the notion, likely some of you realize, that while these bands share many things, lyrics are not one of them, nor were they ever intended to be.

Even putting aside the various collaborations that have occurred between members of Phish and the Grateful Dead in the post-Jerry years, these two bands are linked at the hip, and will inexorably remain that way until their songs and respective followings are snuffed out of existence (if that ever happens). This linkage largely exists due to the two bands’ proclivity towards improvisation in their performances, synchronicity on stage between band and audience members, varied and unique set lists, similar business practices, and an overlapping devoted fan base. However musically and lyrically, these two bands could not be any different. While both were heavily influenced by the American musical landscape, and the musicians that came before them, they also both came of age at completely different times, and this generational gap is reflected in the different style of music they put out.

While one bands verse may seem more profound than the other, I truly contend we should not be comparing these two bands on the lyrical level anymore, because it inevitably leads to hating. When it comes to lyrics and making comparisons, it’s like trying to compare the taste and texture of an apple to a pineapple. They are both fruits and have the word ‘apple’ in their respective names, but besides those similarities, their flavor and feel could not be further from each other. Yet both apples and pineapples are wonderful and delicious in their own right, but in spite of that I don’t see folks equating them very often. So as we don’t compare pineapples and apples, lets aim to do the same with Phish and the Dead on a lyrical level.

Putting the musicianship aside, which most would agree is stellar coming from both bands, even if you don’t personally jive with both bands, lets focus on the words. For many years I have been trying to explain the lyrics of Phish to friends and strangers alike that just don’t get it. They’ll complement the musicianship of the band, but then explain away their inability to get into them as due to Phish’s “idiotic” locution. Invariably the topic will always digress into a conversation about how compared to the prophetic nature of Grateful Dead lyrics, Phish lyrics are generally gibberish and of a juvenile nature. One friend even used to slap a bunch of random rubbish together, and sing in a Phish like way, gyrating as if to imitate one of the band members, ultimately showing me that this is what Phish sounds like to him. While I never got through to that friend, and we are no longer friends at that (for completely unrelated reasons), and it’s okay that he doesn’t get Phish because it’s not for everyone, but wherever he is, I hope he stopped contrasting the damn lyrics to those of the Grateful Dead, and ceased upon hating on folks for their musical predilections. The lyrics are not meant to evoke the same things, and are written in completely different context as the different bands and lyricists relate to society as a whole on a different level.For those who have trouble relating, it is imperative to look at Phish lyrics differently than you do to those of the Dead. Hunter/Barlow lyrics are exceptionally prescient, in a non-dogmatic way. They are meant to be that way, and have remained true to form throughout the years. Phish lyrics, often written by the likes of Tom Marshall and Steve Pollak (The Dude of Life), are for the most part not supposed to be viewed as prophetic, however a few insightful gems exist amongst their massive catalog. While commensurate storytellers, the Phish lyricists seem to base their compositions in a fantasy world…a world where nursery rhymes are written for adults. Perhaps influenced by the song Prince Caspian, I often compare Phish lyrics to a Narnia Chronicles for grownups.

And on top of the whimsical fairytale like atmosphere many Phish lyrics convey, some of them are just plain silly, but that’s not a reason for scorn. They are supposed to be silly, silly. Whether it’s an inside joke between the band members, or the phan community as a whole, these comedic lyrics create an atmosphere unlike anything ever achieved at a Dead show. They convey comedy and commentary much like several of Frank Zappa’s lyrical odysseys. While Phish lyrics may not be as politically influenced as Zappa’s, the resulting madness is similar. A community of phans not only meeting their spiritual needs through transcendent jams, but achieving their therapeutic needs through sheer comedy as well.

While I write this piece in jest in part, specifically some of my words in the introduction, my sentiment remains true to heart. I have a deep connection to both of these bands. Their music and verse has seen me through some of the hardest times of my life, as well as the most marvelous moments of my existence. I do my best to see each of them for what they are, and while I can be as critical as the next person, as much of the respective fan bases tend to be, I try to keep the criticism in the constructive sense. Recently I saw a deadhead in a Facebook group say that those that appreciate Phish are a seriously troubled group of people. I responded with the tidbit that oddly enough, the vast majority of society feels the same way about Deadheads…they look at YOU as troubled. So in essence, it’s easy to cast aspersions when ignorant towards something that seems weird to you. It’s a lot harder to take the time to understand and empathize, even if it ultimately isn’t your cup of tea.

Over the past seven months plus, I’ve seen a lot of vitriol thrown towards Phish’s way due to the news of Trey Anastasio’s inclusion in Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead. While this hate has more or less always existed, much like the recent upswing in racial tensions in our nation, the inclusion of Anastasio in the final Dead performances has brought all this animosity to a boil. While the inauguration of our first African American president may have in part stoked the racial tension in the nation at large, and this analogy only serves to highlight my point in the most superficial of ways, we as a community, a community a jam band devotees, are supposed to be better than the rest of society.

And if we are not better, we should aim to be better, because betterment is the core of human existence, and I can not think of a much better place than a Phish or a Dead-oriented show, where humanity is better represented in all its possibilities. And taking those show vibes to the next level, as a community, and as individuals in this community, instead of hating, we should aim towards love, and empathy. Empathy is key here. If one can’t grasp someone’s love for Phish and their lyrics, at face value, instead of publicly hating on them, perhaps one should try to put themselves in that phan’s shoes. And while this may be common sense for some, on the surface it seems that it’s a long lost notion for others. Without empathy we are a farce. “It’s completely insane, it’s a revolving cast, but it’s the same old game,” “without love, day to day, insanity is king.”

Source: Billboard.com

~~Like our Facebook page, Grateful Globotz, or follow us on Twitter @GratefulGlobotz, so you won’t miss any future postings out of our camp.~~

© Watts Glow Grateful Productions, 2015

Dead Test Too: John Mayer versus Jerry (versus the Other Ones)

WE WANT YOU! To take DEAD TEST TOO!

Source: pinterest.com
Photo Credit: Matt Groenig

Test by Rich Saltz, Words by Russell S. Glowatz

With the rousing success of the first Dead Test, our test maker extraordinaire, Rich Saltz, decided to whip up another one! While many that took the first test were able to hands down match every musician with their musicianship, many more could not, and based upon numerous comments throughout the interweb, deadheads found themselves humbled when faced with the anonymous mastery of all these musicians. This was truly the Pepsi Challenge for deadheads, with one majorly different aim. While the Pepsi Challenge was a blind soft drink taste test, with the aim to have folks choose Pepsi every time, the Dead Test was meant to confuse the senses, and ultimately open the eyes of some that otherwise felt that many of these musicians did not have the chops to step into Jerry’s shoes. If Jerry was Pepsi, we wanted you to see the merits of Coca-Cola, RC Cola, and even Tab, during this metaphorical taste test.

Well the results are in, and barring a couple of examples, no more than one-third of the 2,775 participants matched each of the song clips with their respective players. The two exceptions being Jerry Garcia and Trey Anastasio, where participants answered correctly roughly 50% of the time. Since we are all deadheads here, the higher percentage rate on Jerry makes perfect sense, but still nearly fifty percent of devout deadheads (because you had to be pretty devout to take the time for this quiz) were not able to pick Jerry out of the pack. The higher percentage on Trey also serves to highlight his unique approach when attacking the Grateful Dead catalog, or pretty much anything Trey plays. Even myself, who doesn’t exactly have a great ear for such things, can hear a Trey riff coming from a mile away. But the takeaway here is that two-thirds of us fell flat on our faces while taking the Dead Test.

There’s truly nothing wrong with failing miserably at such tests, and it goes to show that one can love this music just as much as the next guy or gal without having the ear to decipher the particular peculiarities between different players. I truly hope that this past quiz and the new one has or will open some minds to the playing styles of many musicians that have joined the extended Grateful Dead family since Jerry’s passing. While Jerry is truly one of a kind, and will always be the barometer when discussing such things, it’s been twenty years since papa bear’s passing, and in that time there has been exemplary moments of musical majesty that we as a community were lucky enough to take part in. And while when in the mood to listen to some GD music, we may, by default, pop on a show with Jerry, there are countless shows from the last twenty years that deserve one, two, or thousands of more plays as well.

With an eye towards the future, we have a lot of GD history yet to be made. With Bob Weir and Mickey Hart just added to the Lockn’ roster in September (joining Phil and Billy), there will be several collaborations with various guitarists filling Jerry’s old role. And while Lockn’ may already be a lock in the yet to be told GD history of 2015, there’s been a consistent rumor going around regarding three of the Core Four touring this fall with John Mayer. Say what you will about John Mayer’s music, but he’s an exemplary guitarist, with such grit, that I am certain that Jerry would have loved to collaborate with him, as Weir and Lesh have already done so. The man has an intricate understanding of the Grateful Dead canon, and has already proven he’s able to bring his own panache to the mix when playing with the boys. While you’d never catch me at a John Mayer concert, I will be lining up for tickets for this tour, as it will serve to be legendary in this, the 50th year of Grateful Dead.

• DTTOO

In the spirit of celebration of fifty years of transcendent music, we present this quiz to test your wits in respect to a handful of these guitar players’ modus operandi. Rich Saltz, a fellow deadhead and guitarist extraordinaire in his own right, edited together the below Soundcloud clips, without any labeling, so we deadheads can challenge our preconceived notions about who our favorite deadhead family guitarists have been. With an aim towards open-mindedness, please press play on the below Soundcloud file, and while you’re listening, scroll down and take the quiz. Choose the lead guitarist that you think is playing in each respective version. Rich chose to take seven different clips from They Love Each Other (which is fitting because all these guys would love each other’s form), played by seven different guitarists, and leave it up to our wits, experience, and overall knowledge to guess who’s who. The original intent was to listen to each clip without the added prejudice of knowing who is playing them, and then decide which one is your favorite…in upping the ante, we’re now asking you to identify each respective player.

While many of you will surely hypothesize correctly, we imagine many of you will not as well. And in making errors in identification, perhaps some folks will drop their preconceived notions relating to who is better than whom. If even through doing this, one person develops a new respect for one or more of these impeccable guitarists, then this experiment will be absolutely worthwhile. If there were a Grateful Dead hall of fame, John Kadlecik, Jeff Mattson, Steve Kimock, Stu Allen, John Mayer and Mark Karan would all have their rightful place within, right aside Jerry Garcia himself.

Now press play, sit back, and enjoy Dead Test Too! And most importantly, have fun!

~~And Like our Facebook page, Grateful Globotz, or follow us on Twitter @GratefulGlobotz, so you won’t miss any future postings out of our camp.~~

Also, if you’re interested in the shows we used for the first Dead Test, here are the dates and bands:
Jerry Garcia – Grateful Dead- Cow Palace 12/31/76
Stu Allen – Phil & Friends – 6/12/15
Trey Anastasio – Fare Thee Well – 6/27/15
John Kadlecik – Furthur – 7/28/11
Jimmy Herring – The Dead – 8/10/03
Warren Haynes – The Dead – 7/4/09

© Watts Glow Grateful Productions, 2015

Deadhead Lent and the Days Between

Russell’s Round Room 

Photo Credit: Dave Brickler, All Photos Via http://www.gdao.org

by Russell S. Glowatz

Take any Grateful Dead song, and one can find countless meanings within. There is no exception with “Days Between,” the last true fusion of the beautiful minds of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. A few songs have taken up special meaning since the death of Garcia, and with “He’s Gone,” Days Between has become a notable term in the Grateful Dead lexicon. While the ultimate Days Between, a celebration of the life and times of Jerry Garcia, takes place between August 1st and August 9th, the birth-date and death-date of Garcia respectively, I contend that the run-up to the Days Between, from the anniversary of the last Grateful Dead show on July 9th, to Jerry’s birthday on August 1st are special days as well, and compile our symbolic Lent.

While the Days Between came to fruition, first and foremost as a Jerry holiday, as the years go by it seems that this extended month-long observance is evolving into something greater. It has become a celebration of all we’ve lost, and all we still have in our deadhead community as a whole. This is our reflection time, an opportunity to deal with unresolved grief, a moment to look upon the past year, wrestle with the good and the bad, and even atone for any misdeeds we may have done. Truly a time for karmic contemplation, and joyous communion.

If one were to call the Grateful Dead community a religious phenomenon, or at the very least a spiritual one, Deadhead Lent and the Days Between are our High Holy Days. As certain days of significance, for Christians, scatter the path in the lead up to Easter, starting with Ash Wednesday as the symbolic beginning to conventional Lent, observances such as Palm Sunday and Good Friday cap off the Holy Week leading to a final celebration of the biblical anniversary of Jesus’ Resurrection. While I am near certain that neither Jerry Garcia, nor any other deceased members of the Grateful Dead have been resurrected, the handful of anniversaries observed during this month-long high holy period serve as symbolic reminders of various crossroads in Grateful Dead history. Deadhead Lent calls to mind a time when many deadheads found themselves wandering through the metaphorical wilderness in the early post-Jerry days. And while some essential moments fall outside the realm of these days, many use this time as a spiritual recognition of those anniversaries as well.

While Deadhead Lent is very different from conventional Lent, it embodies the lead up to our Holy Week that is the Days Between. It is in essence pertinent to our overall celebration for those that passed on, and a commemoration of those lost days in the immediate aftermath of the final Grateful Dead show and Jerry’s death. No one gives up meat, smoking, or anything else for Deadhead Lent, yet in similar ways, many Deadheads can get contemplative during this time. They often mourn community losses, atone for karmic sins, and ultimately strive to be penitent, cleansing themselves for the year that lies ahead. As Deadhead Lent winds down to a close, our Holy Week begins with Jerry’s birthday. This month of solemn anniversaries and jubilating remembrance has become our holiday of holidays. Since more or less every single show or event we attend is in spirit a holy day, this month provides a time for those that may not or can not actively attend shows to participate in mourning and celebration as well. It remains to be the highest of holy days celebrated by deadheads on an international level.

Yet since nothing is really defined within the deadhead community, no edict or announcement regarding these days was ever put forth in an official sense. Rather the observance emerged organically after Jerry passed on. The hazy denotation of the term Days Between encapsulates the non-dogmatic nature of the band and community’s ideals as reflected through various GD song lyrics. And while Deadhead Lent remains an informal notion, people have been marking this occasion for years without truly designating the space in time. Ask any deadhead why and when the Days Between occur, and what they do and how they feel in the leading weeks, while varying, you will get fairly similar answers. It is a tacitly approved holiday, celebrated on informal, personal, and sometimes community wide levels.

Photo Credit: Stephen Dorian Miner

Photo Credit: Michael A. Conway

As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead saga, 20 years since the last Grateful Dead show and Jerry’s passing, Deadhead Lent and the Days Between take on special meaning this year, and are likely being celebrated, in one way or another, by more deadheads than ever in years past. Whether it’s making a tribute post on Facebook for the anniversary of Brent’s last show or his death (25 years ago on 7/23/90 & 7/26/90 respectively), or putting on a show from ’77 in honor of Keith’s passing (35 years ago on 7/23/80), deadheads are making small gestures in remembrance across this great green Earth. It could be a blog post (as this is), heading to a grassroots type festival such as Grateful Fest in Ohio, or hitting up a bigger Dead oriented fest like Gathering of The Vibes in Connecticut (celebrating 20 years!) for Jerry’s birthday weekend. Large and small, deadheads are making gestures and pilgrimages alike in celebration of our unique community, and the boys who started it all, the members of the Grateful Dead.

Photo Credit: Robert “Bob” A. Minkin
Keith Playing Guitar

So over this month of contemplation, consideration, and karmic realignment, I am sincerely hoping that all the deadheads out there, near and far, have or will take a moment from their day to celebrate in their own special way. There is no definitive procedure to properly take part in Deadhead Lent and the Days Between; you only need to consider yourself somehow a part of this harmonious circus, and do what you feel is special. If our cosmic energy aligns throughout these days, perhaps Jerry, Pigpen, Keith, Brent, Vince, various crew and GD family members of past time, will feel our collective stream of goodwill beaming towards them, wherever they are.

“There were days
and there were days
and there were days between
Summer flies and August dies
the world grows dark and mean…

Photo Source: Grateful Dead Archive Online. All Photos Via http://www.gdao.org

…there were days between
polished like a golden bowl
the finest ever seen
Hearts of Summer held in trust
still tender, young and green…” —Robert Hunter

Stay green my friends, and through the good times and bad, do your best to keep the spirit alive. Happy Days!

© Watts Glow Grateful Productions, 2015

~~~ If the mood strikes you and it’s not too personal, share below (or on Facebook, Twitter or any other medium) how you will be, or have been, celebrating this year. And please like our Facebook page, Grateful Globotz, or follow us on Twitter @GratefulGlobotz, so you won’t miss any future postings out of our camp. #DaysBetween ~~~

If you have gotten something out of anything you’ve read on this site, and are able, we’d be eternally grateful for whatever you can contribute to our emerging blog (could be as little as a buck, or as much as you gather we’re worth). We will use the proceeds to buy a domain name, spruce up the website, and add new features. The goal is to make this a smoother and more inclusive experience for everyone!

Thanks 🙂

  

Jam Bands & Politics Rarely Mix (Or Do They? You Decide!): The Survey

The Dead w/ President Obama & First Lady at the Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball                            source: rollingstone.com

by Russell S. Glowatz

Like oil and water, politics and jam bands rarely mix. Yet many jam bands support political causes, and occasionally even support or oppose political candidates. When the latter is attempted, it’s often to mixed reaction from fans. I can recall being at a Crosby, Stills & Nash concert at the Beacon Theater in 2005 at the height of George W. Bush’s unpopularity. When David Crosby went off on a rant about the politics of ‘W,’ a fan in the crowd bellowed at him to shut up and play. Crosby told the fan that if he doesn’t like it, then he could get the fuck out of the theater. The crowd ruptured in applause to Crosby’s response in dealing with the heckler. While many fans would agree with that disgruntled concert attendee’s sentiment, but would not yell as much in the middle of a performance, many other fans believe that these musicians have given us so much, and paid their dues time and time again, that whatever political crusades performers’ may go on, it is their right to do so.

When The Dead reunited for a concert at Bryce Jordan Center, on the Penn State University campus in October of 2008, many Deadheads expressed disappointment that the godfathers’ of jam would abandon their, for the most part, apolitical stance to support then candidate and Senator Barack Obama. Fans expressed their disapproval (and approval) on forums such as Facebook, MySpace (yes MySpace), and Twitter. Regardless of mixed feelings, the show went off without a hitch, and at the end of the concert, Mickey Hart came to the microphone, and echoed the sentiment expressed in the now famous Hunter S. Thompson quote, that “if every Deadhead in Florida had voted [in 2000] the world would be a different place.” As Mickey’s reading of that quote suggests, the band’s inaction during the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential campaign spurred The Dead to life in respect to intervening in national politics.

The same Hunter S. Thompson quote is said to have inspired Head Count to set up shop, in 2004, at concerts and music festivals across the country to encourage jam band fans (and now music fans in general) to register to vote. While mixed feelings have certainly been expressed by jam band fans about inserting politics into our community, most have no issue with Head Count’s effort to register voters, as they do not encourage fans how to vote, as long as they ultimately head to the polls and do their civic duty. Perhaps Head Count doesn’t push people to vote for particular candidates or political parties, because it is widely believed that the jam band community consists of mostly liberal-minded people. I can not be certain if that is their intent, because I am in no way affiliated with Head Count, but feel free to check out their website here to read about all they do (and if you have not done so already, register to vote while you’re at it!).

While our community may lean liberal on the surface, I am certain that we do not all identify that way. Ann Coulter, well-known conservative talking head, is a devout Deadhead and jam band fan. She can be seen in the below photo posing in front of a Grateful Dead, Europe 1990 Tour poster. Coulter also once dated a taper, and due to that relationship, has an “excellent collection of tapes, including Mickey Hart rapping Fire on the Mountain.” In a 2006 interview with Jambands.com, Coulter suggested that “true Deadheads are what liberals claim to be but aren’t,” yet she also implied that we are a ‘pull yourself up by the bootstraps’ type of community, and would fit more succinctly in the conservative camp. While Coulter may be drinking a kool-aid all her own, maybe she has a point. In researching, I have not been able to come up with any polling information regarding jam band fans political affiliations, so no one really knows where we all stand (comment below if you know of any studies).

Source: liveforlivemusic.com

So what we are going to do here today is ask you nine survey questions to gauge where you fall in the political spectrum, and how you feel about politics being inserted into our community. The poll itself is not scientific, but my hope is that if enough of you participate, we will discover some overriding patterns that define our community in the political sense. The poll will be anonymous, easy, and quick to take. The polling period will end at noon on Monday, August 3rd, which gives us roughly two weeks to get as many jam band fans as possible to participate, so please share far and wide!

You must be of voting age to participate, so those of you that are under eighteen years of age, I am going to ask you to please sit this one out. Don’t worry, there will be more polls, experiments, and quizzes for you to participate in down the road.

Whether you are political or apolitical, please lend a hand with this survey! We value your opinions, and without them, this whole experiment will not work. In the upcoming weeks, stay tuned for the follow-up article on this poll you took part in! So you surely see it when it comes out, please like the Grateful Globotz Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter @GratefulGlobotz. And if you are unsure of where you fall on the political spectrum, definitely take the Political Compass test (a fun and enlightening thing to do if you know where you fall on the spectrum as well!–If you find the results at all confusing, read deeper on their page, it’s absolutely worthwhile and fascinating).

Now sit back, and have fun taking the Jam Bands & American Politics survey!

© Watts Glow Grateful Productions, 2015

Dead Test: Trey versus Jerry (versus the Other Ones)

WE WANT YOU! To take the DEAD TEST!

Source: pinterest.com
Photo Credit: Matt Groenig?

by Rich Saltz & Russell S. Glowatz

After Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead, most of us have been overwhelmingly positive regarding the experience, and the choice the Core Four made in choosing Trey Anastasio as lead guitarist for the five show run. Yet some remain critical of Trey, and even after throwing down, they do not believe he was the right selection. And while much criticism has boiled to the surface over Fare Thee Well, this friction seems to stem from the central question in an ongoing debate that has been happening for the last two decades: can anyone truly fulfill the role of Jerry Garcia in all the various Grateful Dead offshoots and incarnations?

The simple answer is no. There’s no one out there that will truly, 100%, replace the magic that Jerry brought to the stage, time and time again, over a thirty year period. No one can truly mirror Jerry, nor should they. Yet despite this debate, several exemplary musicians have dared to cross the threshold through the years, and bring their own style and cadence into play for our listening pleasure. They’ve created new magic, their own magic, and shared it with the rest of us. These men should be honored; not for emulating Garcia, but for stepping into a situation where, no matter what they do, or how they perform, they will be roasted one way or another. Whether they aim towards replication or reinvention, criticism is often the hallmark of many of these performances. As deadheads, we are a critical bunch, and while it may be unfair to compare the stylings of these men to Garcia himself, we often can not help ourselves.

Nevertheless, each of those that dared are outstanding performers in their own right…the former GD band members would have never chosen them otherwise. For the rumored upcoming tour, the three band members that are allegedly taking John Mayer with them, would not be if it wasn’t for his consummate skills, and his understanding of the Dead canon as a whole. You do not have to be a fan of John Mayer music to appreciate his competence as a guitarist extraordinaire. The band realizes this, and as deadheads we should respect the band’s decisions, and applaud the musicianship of Mayer and the rest these men, even despite our personal opinions.

In the spirit of celebration of 50 years of transcendent music, we present this quiz to test your wits in respect to a handful of these guitar players’ stylings. Rich Saltz, a fellow Deadhead, edited together the below Soundcloud clips, without any labeling, so we deadheads can challenge our preconceived notions about who our favorite deadhead family guitarists have been. With an aim towards open-mindedness, please press play on the below Soundcloud file, and while you’re listening, scroll down and take the quiz. Choose the lead guitarist that you think is playing in each respective clip. Rich chose to take six versions of the first break of Morning Dew, played by six different guitarists, and leave it up to our wits, experience, and overall knowledge to guess who’s who. The original intent was to listen to each clip without the added prejudice of knowing who is playing them, and then decide which one is your favorite…in upping the ante, we’re now asking you to identify each respective player.

While many of you will surely hypothesize correctly, we imagine many of you will not as well. And in making errors in identification, perhaps some folks will drop their preconceived notions relating to who is better than who. If even through doing this, one person develops a new respect for one or more of these impeccable guitarists, then this experiment will be absolutely worthwhile. The most important thing is to be kind through this process, and in any comments thereafter. Criticism is fine, but try to make it constructive and purposeful, and most of all, respectful.

And while only six guitarists were chosen for this test (Jerry Garcia, Trey Anastasio, John Kadlecik, Stu Allen, Jimmy Herring, and Warren Haynes), many more deserve a shout out. Including those mentioned, we’d like to thank the whole bunch of Dead family lead guitarists for continuing to spread the music we hold dear to our hearts. So thank you Steve Kimock, Mark Karan, Jeff Mattson, Larry Campbell, Barry Sless, Jeff Pevar, Al Schnier, Jackie Greene, Robben Ford, Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Stanley Jordan, Keller Williams, and likely a few others as well, for giving us your best over these past couple decades.

Now press play, sit back, and enjoy the Dead Test! And most importantly, have fun!

Take The DEAD TEST

© Watts Glow Grateful Productions, 2015

Please like our Facebook page, Grateful Globotz, or follow us on Twitter @GratefulGlobotz, so you don’t miss any future postings out of our camp.

We Are Everywhere: Musings on the International Deadhead Diaspora

Source: forum.phish.net, (If original artist is out there, please contact me for proper credit).

by Russell S. Glowatz

So with my second blog post on this page, Dear Youngins: A Message To Post-Jerry Deadheads, I went viral. Well, as viral as one can go within the online Dead community. Through this unexpected experience, and also through the excellent tracking tools WordPress provides for bloggers, I had a long-held suspicion confirmed. A suspicion that many of you likely have: that we are EVERYWHERE.

Grateful Dead is a uniquely American band. Everything about the members, songwriters, music, lyrics, and past shows, oozes something that is particularly American. Due to this, and the fact that the band only seldom toured outside the States and Canada, most Deadheads are American. Yet a dedicated Deadhead Diaspora has emerged outside of North America as well, intricately connected to the band and the community by an appreciation for the songs, transcendent jams, ideals, and spirituality that the Grateful Dead phenomenon has to offer.

A diaspora is a group of people with a commonly held cultural identity that, for whatever reason, are settled far from their ancestral homeland. The world Jewish population became a diaspora community with their initial expulsion from the Kingdom of Judah (present day Israel) during the Babylonian Captivity. Many people from war-torn countries that have become refugees make up diasporas of their own, such as the Ugandan Diaspora. The Tibetan Diaspora emerged as China occupied Tibet and the 14th and current Dalai Lama made a pilgrimage from his homeland, with many followers, in order to escape the aggression of their occupiers in the late 1950’s. As Deadheads, our circumstance is a little different. We weren’t personally expelled from our homeland, nor were our genetic ancestors (unless you happen to be a part of another diaspora community as well), yet I contend that members of the Grateful Dead and their extended family were expelled from their home when the scene in the Haight District became untenable after the influx of aspiring “hippies” during the “Summer of Love” in 1967. While no longer in existence, the Haight district of the mid-sixties embodied the utopian ideals that many Deadheads hold near and dear. As Deadheads, this is our ancestral homeland.

This deterioration of the Haight-Ashbury scene, and the increased popularity of the band throughout the greater San Francisco area, and the country as a whole, encouraged the first out-of-state touring for the Grateful Dead. Their first East Coast tour was during the summer of 1967, where the Dead found themselves playing a show in New York City, and then at SUNY Stony Brook campus out on eastern Long Island. These shows encouraged enterprising folks who liked what they heard to promote shows for the Dead on Long Island and throughout New York in the years to come. What emerged was the first diaspora community, composed of New York Deadheads. The New York Deadhead community remains an essential part of the Deadhead Diaspora, evidenced by Phil Lesh’s choice to play residencies at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY, since he’s retired from touring. I go into greater detail of how this went down in another piece I wrote, which I link here. As the Dead toured North America, what happened in New York transpired for other regions and what I coined as the Grateful Dead Diaspora truly emerged by the end of the seventies, as Deadheads from across the continent identified commonly with the band and their ideals.

Now the emergence of a worldwide Deadhead population couldn’t have only been spurred by touring, since the band toured outside the country merely a few times during their career. Despite that, through taper networks, the selling of studio albums, and Deadheads’ early adoption of the internet, there is a healthy GD community outside the bounds of North America. While many of these are certainly American expatriates, I am certain many of them are not. To use one country as an example…a country that has an inclination towards American music possibly due to the United States post-WWII occupation and continued presence therein, that based on my stats happens to have the largest international Deadhead Diaspora community (outside of Canada), here are three photos involving two Japanese Deadheads…

Exhibit A, a photo of a Japanese Deadhead holding up her sign looking for a miracle ticket at the Fare Thee Well shows in Chicago.

 Source: Anonymous Japanese Deadhead

Exhibit B, a poster made by an enterprising Japanese Deadhead named Miki Saito.

Exhibit C, a letter from Miki Saito to the band.

Source: Saito, Miki, “Japan Deadheads poster with letter,” Grateful Dead Archive Online, accessed July 10, 2015, http://www.gdao.org/items/show/825781.

Also emanating the vibrant nature of the Japan Deadhead community is Exhibit D, Japan’s premier Grateful Dead cover band. Here is a link to an article, on Jambands.com, showing Joe Russo performing with Warlocks of Tokyo in 2014. Please click the link for set list information. If I ever venture to Tokyo, I will surely check this group out…they can noodle and jam with the best of ’em, and absolutely capture the vibe in their music.

Back to the present day, and my widely dispersed blog post (I don’t mention this to boast, but to show definitive evidence of our presence amongst the people of the world). WordPress allows bloggers to see where their posts are being read, and what I’ve confirmed is that we are on every continent on Earth (excluding Antarctica, although I’d bet a miracle ticket that there is a Deadhead or two amongst the hundreds of folks currently wintering in that frozen tundra). Here is a list of countries and territories confirmed to have Deadheads currently living within their borders (in order, from the most Deadheads reading in each country, to the least):

United States, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, Brazil, Australia, India, Spain, Italy, Mexico, France, New Zealand, Netherlands, South Korea, Thailand, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, US Virgin Islands, Denmark, Norway, Costa Rica, Philippines, Belgium, Portugal, Russia, Finland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Slovenia, Taiwan, Singapore, Argentina, Romania, Colombia, Vietnam, Bahamas, Anguilla, United Arab Emirates, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Cambodia, Jordan, Hungary, Jamaica, Nigeria, Rwanda, Peru, Chile, Ghana, Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Indonesia, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Grenada, Fiji, Guam, Qatar, Tanzania, Poland, Aland Islands, Nepal, Malaysia

Now I decided not to list the individual numbers of Deadheads in each country and territory because these stats are not scientific in the least. They do prove Deadheads live in each country listed, but only the ones that read my blog, and more certainly exist. Some of these sectors of the Deadhead Diaspora appear to be extremely small, yet once again their existence proves that we are here, there, and EVERYWHERE.

We are a worldwide scattered community consisting of people who all share a commonly held identity based around the Grateful Dead, and more importantly the Deadhead community as a whole. Within our Deadhead subculture certainly exists diversity; diversity in nationality, religion, and opinion. Show me two Deadheads, and they will give you fifteen differing opinions. We are a very opinionated bunch! Yet our disagreements exist due to our strongly held convictions about the band, community, collective history, spirituality, ideals, and culture we have in part created, advanced, and consistently been a component of throughout our developed lives. Some of us are more dedicated than others, but each of us identifies with our reciprocal symbols, knowing that we are far from alone on this “bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free.”

© Watts Glow Grateful Productions, 2015

For a more detailed look into the emergence of the Grateful Dead Diaspora, and how we resemble a religious community, go check out Unconventional Church: The Emergence of the Grateful Dead Diaspora.

And please like our Facebook page, Grateful Globotz, or follow us on Twitter @GratefulGlobotz, so you don’t miss any future postings out of our camp.