Has it been ten years already?

[kvk]

Jerry Garcia 8/1/1942-8/9/1995

Seems like yesterday. Where does the time go?

[SternART]

Yeah.....I was just thinking the same. As my personal memorial I went out & bought a dozen
black T shirts on 8-9-95. (Garcia always wore black T shirts) I've had to replace them a
few times since. I'm fortunate to have seen Jerry play with Grisman both in the OAITW days,
back in the 70's......as well as the later Grisman/Garcia era in the 90's.

[Pete Braccio]

Yep. A true black anniversary. I still miss this wonderful musician. You never knew where Jerry would take you during a show.

Pete

[Fred G]

ten long years. I have spent the last few days thinking about all the good times I had at the shows. All the friends I went with, made, and the random people that were all because of JG. May his memory live forever.

[AlanN]

His passing was big news. Huge front page spread in the New York Times.

[fatt-dad]

Having seen Jerry play banjo, pedal steel and guitar, now I wonder whether he ever played a mandolin?

fatt wow-what-a-fast-10-years dad

[TeleMark]

I set up an "All Things Jerry" playlist on my iTunes, and that's what's playing all day. Right now it's the first song I ever saw the Dead play live - Bertha, from the July 4, 1989 show in Buffalo.

Fare you well, Captain!

[ira]

amazing how much garcia/the dead colored so many parts of mylife (3 out of the 1st 4 dates with my wife, the meeting of so many friends, seeing the country, etc...). a true loss of a unique musical genius and icon.

actually reentering the scene a bit,as i'm going to the gathering of the vibes this coming weekend. they are having a big jerry tribute - dark star orchestra with donna, tom c., melvin seals, peter rowan and others. should be a blast. bob w's band is playing the night before, maybe he will stay and play a bit on saturday night as well. either way, music and joy are the most fitting way to remember j.g. (imho).
peace,
ira

[bjc]

Wow 10 years...and it happened on my birthday...man, the second atomic bomb dropping and Jerry

[recklessmando]

Great sentiments everybody. I've been having similar thoughts.

I got into bluegrass music because of Jerry and started playing mando because of BG music so I guess I can blame him for all the time I spend here. Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Telemark,in case you're not aware, that 4th of July Buffalo show just got released on DVD. My copy came in the mail yesterday; haven't watched it yet (DeeVeeDees.com if you're interested).

[garyblanchard]

It is indeed a sad day to mark, but I hold onto the joy of his music, which lives on and grows. I was amazed to find 14 of the old-time/good-time songs that I play have ties to Jerry and the Dead.

The music never stops.

[kvk]

When our son arrived, Garcia/Grisman "Not for Kids Only" lived in the CD player in his room for like a year. Basically that's what inspired me to take up mando.

Ever go to amazon.com and search on Jerry Garcia and/or David Grisman? What's interesting is that usually four out of five of the best selling Grisman albums have Jerry on 'em and four out of five of the best selling Jerry albums have Grisman on them.

[garyblanchard]

The Garcia/Grisman combination is great, probably because it was done in fun and friendship. It was the Shady Grove CD that encouraged me to try out the mandolin. Great stuff.

[kvk]

Actually I just checked Amazon and the top five Jerry albums and the top five Grisman albums are the same five albums!!!

[PaulD]

10 years... thankfully Dawg has been trickling out new music from their private sessions over the last decade. I wouldn't be surprised if Garcia noodled on mando... he did take a stab at fiddle... but I doubt he ever seriously played it. I was surprised to find that he recorded a track on Rob Wasserman's Trios where he played piano; I don't think there's anything he couldn't play if he tried.

I'm envious of those who got to see Garcia and Grisman together... shows like that rarely happen in Utah! I especially would have liked to have seen OAITW... it sounds like Vassar's not likely to be around much longer either. They will live on in our memories and in their music.

[TeleMark]

Telemark,in case you're not aware, that 4th of July Buffalo show just got released on DVD. My copy came in the mail yesterday; haven't watched it yet (DeeVeeDees.com if you're interested).

Oh, I'm aware... I pre-ordered the set (CD, DVD, T-shirt...). Someone mentioned on a Phish forum that it was coming out, and it seemed like a good idea to replace the multi-format version at archive.org.

That, JGB, the Pizza tapes, and some of the Garcia/Grisman disks have been going all day. I love the loose feel of The Pizza Tapes. The conversation between songs, as well as the screw-ups, make it a real treasure.

[Paul Kotapish]

Each year on this anniversary we remember and celebrate Jerry at a great little festival up in Willits, California, called "Dead on the Creek." It's a sweet weekend long campout and festival for about 100 folks, with music all day and night on a nice stage with great sound. The music mix includes Dead tribute bands, bluegrass bands, and various other acoustic and roots music bands, and there are usually some Garcia-Band alumni there, too. Always some mandolins. The site, food, and scene are lovely. It's fun and funky, and a great way to celebrate Jerry's varied musical interests and his ongoing inspiration.

Our band, Wake the Dead, always plays Friday night, and the David Nelson band often closes the weekend on Sunday. Other groups this year include Broke Mountain (bluegrass from Colorado with Robin Davis on mandolin), Adrienne Young, Lorin Rowan's (Pete's brother, played with Garcia on occasion, great guitarist and mandolinist) Rattlebox Band, the Deadbeats, Due West (great bluegrass band), and the Flying Other Brothers.

Check it out:

http://www.deadonthecreek.com/

[jefflester]

Last week I went and saw Shakespeare by The Sea do their production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" in Hermosa Beach (South Bay area of L.A.). In an otherwise period setting (it wasn't some adaptation to modern times), the show started with one of the minor characters on stage eating an apple while Dawg and Jer's NFKO rendition of "Horse Named Bill" played over the P.A.

Put a smile on my face.

[wah]

Last night we watched our "Grateful Dawg" dvd. It really is a heartfelt tribute to Jerry. I love watching him in that relaxed setting, Jerry and Dawg really bring out the best in each other.

Sunday we went to McClaren Park in SF where they have named the music ampitheater after Jerry. They've been having this Jerryday for a few years. A nice free event in a cool venue. They even had bluegrass - a bay area band named Harmony Grits - among the Dead cover bands. The best moment was singing Happy Birthday to Jerry, it felt like we were not just celebrating his birth and life but also honoring his passing.

I've been playing "How Sweet It Is" and "The Way You Do The Things You Do" trying to add themn to FOTD, "Ripple," and "Catfish John" in my songlist.

Wayne

[Dave Gumbart]

Well, on the day of his passing, I was the first to call a close friend and ask "Did you hear about Jerry?..." A short conversation, since there wasn't a whole lot to say right there and then. Later in the day, my friend met his wife as she was leaving a business training meeting or some such. Having shed more than a few tears, my friend describes his look at that moment as something similar to what the cat dragged in. His wife, not a Deadhead (but into good music in general), sees the obviously distraught husband and blurts out what she (mis)heard of the news during the day: "Did you hear the guy from Ben and Jerry's ice cream died?"

We crack up pretty hard over that one now.

Short Jerry moment: got to see one of the "Jerry on Broadway" shows when he played a run at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater (think I got the name right), which included a set with the Acoustic Band. When he was introduced (by Sandy Rothman, maybe), the crowd gave a long, sustained ovation. Not raucous, no shrieking, and I don't even recall hearing a single "JERRY!!!" Just an outpouring of appreciation for giving us the gift of music for so long.

Thanks Jerry.

[AlanN]

Speaking of the Pizza Tapes, my fave part is right where Dawwgy flubs the intro to, I think, Long Black Veil. After the 3rd flub, Rice says "What the F was that?" Gets me every time.

[ira]

hey dave g- thanks, haven't thought of those l-f broadway shows in a long time. just phenomenal music. such great acoustics and a small sound, and jerry was right on!

[kvk]

Fare you well, my honey
Fare you well, my only true one
All the birds that were singing
Are flown, except you alone

Gonna leave this brokedown palace
On my hands and my knees, I will roll, roll, roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time, in my time, I will roll, roll, roll

In a bed, in a bed
By the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

River gonna take me, sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy all the way back home
It's a far gone lullaby sung many years ago
Mama, Mama, many worlds I've come since I first left home

Going home, going home
By the waterside I will rest my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Going to plant a weeping willow
On the banks' green edge it will grow, grow, grow
Singing a lullaby beside the water
Lovers come and go, the river will roll, roll, roll

Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

[wah]

There are two cd packages of those Lunt-Fontanne shows available at jerrygarcia.com. One is the Halloween shows, both acoustic and electric, and the other is a "best of the rest." A total of seven cd's of pure magic. No financial interest it's just what I listen to when I want some Jerry.

Wayne

[PaulD]

Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Great tune... one of my favorites. I've picture him "Standing on the Moon" several times over the last 10 years. In fact... the Man In The Moon looks a little like Jerry... hmmm.
I never considered myself a Dead-Head... in fact back in the '80s when my Dead-Head friends would accuse me of being on I would tell them that I was really more of a Dawg-Head. I was a Jerry-Head, though... it really struck me how he could burn it up on a tune but make it look so easy, unlike most of the rockers I used to watch who tried to make it look painful.