For information about how to use this forum please check out forum help and policies.
Yup , big time second that . Damn shame that our favorite band can't/won't sell audio and video complete shows in pristine condition like the fellas from GD . I always said it was a major missed opportunity ($) to rake it in $ .Quote
Maindefender
I subscribe to the Dave's Picks series, which still bangs out 4 impressive shows each year. Philly 4/20/84 just came out. '84 is considered a really inconsistent year for Garcia with his drug situation, but this show(along with 4/19 hilites) is truly one of their finest. Such a nice surprise!!
The Stones vault stuff can't touch the quality of the Grateful Dead live releases
It was Heroin that had the grip on him and his wife Deborah Coons issued the decree of get clean or else ! So at the end of the disastrous 1995 spring/summer tour Jerry Checked into a rehab clinic in Marin and he passed away as his heart gave out from all of the stress that he carried on his shoulders of keeping that gigantic production on the road and making money . All of the vendors that feed off of GD Productions was an immense pressure on Jerry to keep the show going or else tons of people would lose there livelihood . Jerry was very sensitive to the whole machine that followed the Dead around from tour stop to tour stop on each and every city the Grateful Dead would visit and perform at . Jerry shooting buddy was Vince Welnick the keyboard player in the Dead , who was hired after Brent Mydland passed away ( R.I.P., who was my favorite in the Dead as I loved the middle period the best of 1979-1990 ) Ever notice how you never see or hear or read of Vince Welnick being involved in any of the tours like Further Fest or Phil Lesh and Friends or any of the other incarnations including the most recent with John Mayer playing lead with the Dead ( who is not bad to my surprise in that environment ) ? There is a major resentment from the 4 living/surviving members of the Grateful Dead ( Lesh, Weir, Hart, and Krutzman ) towards Vince Welnick due to the Heroin usage . So many times over the years Jerry wanted to hop off the bus , but the pressure of so many people depending on him as the means to put food on the table and in there mouths led up to all of this until his heart succumbed . I know some will be annoyed at my sentiments towards a Heroin junkie but facts are facts and are easy enough to fact check and confirm as this painful story was and is very well documented . Dave McNally Dead publicist is good place to start the search on the facts of this sad ending to a virtuoso guitarist life !Quote
Hairball
I always enjoyed some of their studio recordings along with the occasional live recording, but they never really clicked with me the way they did/do for some others. I saw them in '78 or '79 at UCLA Royce hall, and really couldn't understand what all the fuss was about regarding their "epic" live shows, but I was only 16 or 17 and might have been able to relate a bit more had I been a bit older (or frying on acid). I also saw Phil Lesh and Friends with Bob Dylan back in 2001 and had a similar feeling - while Dylan and his band were sublime and on point, Phil Lesh and this band were monotonous w/endless jams that sort of meandered aimlessly. Back in h high school c. '80/'81, I had several friends/acquaintances who became massive deadheads and would follow the band around the country dropping acid every step of the way, and each time they came back from their journey, they'd seem further away. I had experimented a bit w/shrooms and acid back in the day, but evidently if you take it on a daily basis for weeks/months on end....well...don't think I would recommend it as a lifestyle.
Anyhow, I remember when Jerry died and thinking how sad it was, but he was clearly out of shape/overweight, and when you mix that with a cocaine addicition that still gripped him, evidently his heart just couldn't handle it.
RIP.......................
Quote
TheGreek
Ever notice how you never see or hear or read of Vince Welnick being involved in any of the tours like Further Fest or Phil Lesh and Friends or any of the other incarnations including the most recent with John Mayer playing lead with the Dead ( who is not bad to my surprise in that environment ) ?
Ok, but he did not play from the time of Jerry Passing in August 1995 thru 2006 as well . It seems as he has been white washed from the Grateful Dead community and archives as well . Kind of odd that the man hired to replace Brent Mydland , who was hired from the Tubes due to his work on the synth is omitted .Quote
bye bye johnnyQuote
TheGreek
Ever notice how you never see or hear or read of Vince Welnick being involved in any of the tours like Further Fest or Phil Lesh and Friends or any of the other incarnations including the most recent with John Mayer playing lead with the Dead ( who is not bad to my surprise in that environment ) ?
One reason that Vince Welnick hasn't played with Phil Lesh & Friends or Dead & Company is that he died in 2006.
[en.wikipedia.org]
Quote
TheGreekOk, but he did not play from the time of Jerry Passing in August 1995 thru 2006 as well.Quote
bye bye johnnyQuote
TheGreek
Ever notice how you never see or hear or read of Vince Welnick being involved in any of the tours like Further Fest or Phil Lesh and Friends or any of the other incarnations including the most recent with John Mayer playing lead with the Dead ( who is not bad to my surprise in that environment ) ?
One reason that Vince Welnick hasn't played with Phil Lesh & Friends or Dead & Company is that he died in 2006.
[en.wikipedia.org]
Quote
Hairball
You might have been to some shows at the Ventura Fairgrounds daspy? Evidently they were banned from playing there in the late '80s because after they left town there were still hordes of homeless deadheads loitering in the city for weeks on end basically wreaking havoc. Happened just before I moved up to Ventura County from Santa Monica in '89, so can't confirm whether true or not, but that's how the story goes...
Quote
daspyknowsQuote
Hairball
You might have been to some shows at the Ventura Fairgrounds daspy? Evidently they were banned from playing there in the late '80s because after they left town there were still hordes of homeless deadheads loitering in the city for weeks on end basically wreaking havoc. Happened just before I moved up to Ventura County from Santa Monica in '89, so can't confirm whether true or not, but that's how the story goes...
Yep, I went to Ventura a couple of times. 1984, 1985 and I think one other time. I remember staying at the Vagabond Inn one time with a bunch of other people.
Quote
daspyknows
I saw the Dead between 300 and 350 times and to this day some of the best concerts I attended were Grateful Dead concerts. When they were on drugs were not needed to get off on the music. That said, those shows were once every 20 to 40 shows. That's where I got into taping and I wasn't interested in getting too far out there with thousands of dollars worth of gear. Towards the end, the shows were not as good as Jerry wasn't the same and the scene had gotten out of control. I preferred theaters and arenas to stadiums so the last 2 years I didn't go as often. When Jerry died it was a sad time but was not surprised at all. Hard to believe it has been 25 years. Those were fun times.
I stand corrected as I just checked and he did perform at Phil Lesh and friends 1998 . He was disappointed at not being invited to join the "surviving " members of the Dead in 2002 . Thanks for the correction . Such a sad story about Mr. Welnick .Quote
bye bye johnnyQuote
TheGreekOk, but he did not play from the time of Jerry Passing in August 1995 thru 2006 as well.Quote
bye bye johnnyQuote
TheGreek
Ever notice how you never see or hear or read of Vince Welnick being involved in any of the tours like Further Fest or Phil Lesh and Friends or any of the other incarnations including the most recent with John Mayer playing lead with the Dead ( who is not bad to my surprise in that environment ) ?
One reason that Vince Welnick hasn't played with Phil Lesh & Friends or Dead & Company is that he died in 2006.
[en.wikipedia.org]
Don't wish to derail this discussion any further, but will say that's not true and leave it at that.
That's good information . I always wondered how Jerry kept all that weight on his body and I think that explains it and makes a lot of sense as well . Thanks for the information .Quote
jbwelda
I hate to rain on anyone's illusions about the GD, but the reason I heard Vince Welnick was ostracized was because he attempted to commit suicide in the tour bus before a performance. The GD were never really known to be all that "kind" despite the hype, and they never forgave him for that and hardly lifted a finger to get him help that day/night...I heard no one would even drive him to a hospital. I think they called a cab and loaded him into it and waved bye bye to their "brother". Not a pretty picture but one that was repeated more or less many times within the camp, for various reasons.
And one thing about Jerry: he never shot (injected) heroin, he preferred to "chase the dragon", a smoking technique using tin foil with the drug on top and a lighter underneath the foil, using a straw to inhale the vapors.
And folks, blaming it on Vince Welnick while totally ignoring enablers like oh say Rock Skully is really stretching it. Welnick was a sick cat who fell in with the worst possible bunch for controlling a sickness.
One lesson to be learned from the whole mess: maybe the Stones should know when to say "when" and not let their last days be miserable on the road for the sake of "fan" flakes who just want to see one more show, no matter the cost.
jb