Comments on: Jerry Garcia’s Surprisingly Interesting Technique

By: Clay

Clay — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:03:58 +0000

I used to be under the same feeling about the dead… that is anything past the 70′s was lame. I hate 80′s dead for sometime! crazy… always been a dead head. but now i love 80′s dead, jerry was absolutely on fire in the summers of 87-89. Best playing he ever pulled off. I’ll put it like this 70′s dead is like algebra, it’s what you learn after you’ve learned basic math and can start to really evaluate stuff with the algebraic methods, but you cant learn calculus (80′s dead) til you get your algebra down. you definitely have to find the board recordings that have been mastered from the 80′s. check out downhill from here-a movie that shows the band in peak 80′s form. I love how the dead evolved with the times, they definitely took a lot from their surroundings to create the psychedelic version of whatever was happening in america around them.

also, the most overlooked rhythm guitar player ever. bob weir. amazing rhythm guitar player. think about playing rhythm in that band, crazy. i hate deadheads that worship jerry and diss bob… it’s like who do you think jerry chose to be his rhythm man? he did have a tendency to hit some bad notes and wear short shorts, but dont we all? bob even made classy sparse rhythm tracks with 80′s distortion and a floyd rose. now thats how you use a pimped out 80′s axe!

By: MongoTheLloyd

MongoTheLloyd — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:43:44 +0000

I have seen Garcia w/ the Dead and with the JGB more times than I can count or remember. In the hundreds. Keep in mind… Jerry had to learn to play guitar TWICE, and in both cases, he taught himself. The video selection here hardly represents Jerry at his finest. I have played guitar now for over 30 years. I have seen most of the ’60s-’90s guitar “greats” at one time or another, live. I have never seen anyone more captivating than Garcia. The only guitarist I would classify as “better” would have been Zappa. Yet, Zappa couldn’t emote through his instrument the way Garcia could. It is a shame that the author wasn’t able to put his preferences aside in order to experience Garcia live. One doesn’t need to “get on the bus” to go to a concert. His loss.

By: jonnybabylon

jonnybabylon — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 04:37:32 +0000

Hey folks,
Nice to read all this. I saw Garcia quite a few times. He was a Master. How good was he? He was good enough for me. That's all you need with any art.

By: Alligator69

Alligator69 — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:19:05 +0000

"But try listening to 'The Other One' or 'Dark Star' from any of the Fillmore East performances. "Zero-Agression" will be the last thing on your mind."

Well said Adam. I find this to be the one most common misconception of both Jerry and the Grateful Dead from many rock fans and guitar players over the years. The period of the Dead's mid 1967 – summer 1972 playing exemplifies extraordinary levels of spontaneity, creativity, heavy electric raw power and unbridled energy. The music at it's peaks, is highly experimental improvisation yet somehow stays in its' various grooves and swings as madly as a lightning fast John Coltrane or Charlie Parker solo. A lot of the extended jams get way out there and are not for everyone but there's not a rock guitarist or fan on earth who could use the term "Zero-Aggression" after listening to any of the jams from this period. By the end of '72, the band really started to mellow and ultimately lost its' aggressive edge as the post retirement years began and the guitarists and sound crew seemed to be in a never ending quest for mellower and mellower ultra clean guitar tone in the band's sound. Anyone unfamiliar but curious should check out Live/Dead, Skull and Roses, LAGTGD: Fillmore East 1971, Fillmore West 1969, Harpur College 1970, Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72 or Rockin' The Rhein: April 24, 1972 to name a few. You won't be sorry…

By: Garrapata.Red

Garrapata.Red — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:59:30 +0000

Which is why ToneWoody here had the long-held perception of Garcia not being a serious musician. I do commend you for admitting the error of your previously held beliefs, and it is a good thing you happened to run into the interview with Garcia. For in fact, Jerry was a *very* serious musician. In the early, early '60s, he taught banjo at Dana Morgan's Music Shop in Palo Alto….he was a serious bluegrass and jug band devotee before he was ever a rock musician, a love he carried over into Old and In The Way and his late-life work with David Grisman and Tony Rice. Once the Warlocks metamorphed into the Dead, it was the eye of the vortex for a musical renaissance not seen since the early 19th century (fueled by Mother Nature's bounty, to be sure).

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:17:48 +0000

I never understood the Dead growing up. They seemed a bit too weird and they didn't fit into the prevailing hard rock 'scene' in the 1970's. Therefore, I never went to see them live. BIG mistake! Make no mistake. The Dead were a LIVE band, where you didn't just go to listen, but went for the total 'experience'. Putting aside the fact Jerry liked to get high, the band would simply take chances and go places no other band would. They didn't care if they crashed and burned or had an off night because more often than not they went to magical places. Did psychedelics influence their playing? Absolutely! Hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin (especially Garcia) did the band in, but during their 30 year run they created a cannon of songs and recordings (mostly live) that are timeless. My favorite era was 68-72 when Pigpen was still alive and they could go from psychedelic explorations into down-home funky Blues on a turn of a dime. There will never be another Grateful Dead. RIP Jerry…

By: WoodyTone! - Jerry Garcia on Playing Stoned

WoodyTone! - Jerry Garcia on Playing Stoned — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:57:47 +0000

[...] the recent Jerry Garcia post raised a few eyebrows and a few good points, I thought I’d follow it up with an amusing (my [...]

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:24:46 +0000

I consider myself an 80's guitar playing, metal head. (Eddie is my all time favorite.) In high school, I thought the Dead sucked. However, A Dead Head friend of mine got me a ticket, so I went to a show. Jerry blew me away. Since then he's near the top of my list of favorite players. He's got original chops, riffs and licks. I reallly like the way he compliments his singing style with his guitar playing. If you can't get into the Dead, try listening to The Jerry Garcia Band Live CD from 1991.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:40:14 +0000

I guess I will call you close-minded. I've enjoyed a lot of your writing, especially on bands and artists I would not listen to otherwise. Prior to finding WoodyTone, I thought George Lynch was a total douche. I still do, but I like his playing and I wouldn't have given him a chance otherwise.

That said, I can't understand not giving The Grateful Dead more of a chance. There seems to be this perception that the "never-ending concert, drooling stoner, zero-aggression, electric caravan music scene" was the band's idea. Sure, some of the late-70's to mid-80's stuff can get a bit self-indulgent. But try listening to 'The Other One' or 'Dark Star' from any of the Fillmore East performances. "Zero-Agression" will be the last thing on your mind.

Sorry. I have Phil Lesh's autobiography right next to me, so maybe I'm feeling a little biased. But hey, all that being said, I like your work. Good luck, and if you keep writin' I will keep readin'.

P.S. Here's a link to a massive archive of streamable live recordings. In case you're ever feeling a little open-minded :)
http://www.archive.org/details/GratefulDead