Jerry Garcia fans eternally Grateful in S.F.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/02/BABK1932CV.DTL
Robert Selna, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, August 3, 2009
A lot of people know that Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia lived in
the Haight and Marin County, but a Sunday crowd showed up at his
original stomping grounds in McLaren Park to celebrate his life and his 'hood.
Garcia was born on Aug. 1, 1942, and long before he was the lead
singer of the Dead, he lived on Harrington Street in the
working-class Excelsior District, built tree houses, cleaned out
stables and ran around the nearby 330-acre, woodsy McLaren.
About 2,000 revelers turned out in all manner of tie-dye for the
seventh annual Jerry Garcia Day to listen to live tunes in the
amphitheater that now bears Garcia's name.
Many in the crowd have been Deadheads essentially for life, and the
show had the trappings that one might expect: wafting pot smoke, spin
dancing, ponytails, sundresses, sandals and peace-sign earrings. Dogs
and babies also were on hand, and it was clear that folks really dig
the park - which is just northwest of Candlestick and has sweeping
views of the bay.
Barbara Super, who saw her first Dead show in 1968, got married at
the amphitheater three years ago.
"The first time I saw the Dead I didn't know what to make of it,"
said Super, 72. "The second time, I knew that was where I belonged."
Super, who wore a tie-dye fishing hat, went on to work in security
for promoter Bill Graham and estimates that she saw about a thousand
Grateful Dead concerts. She's been coming back to McLaren for Jerry
Garcia Day since 2004.
Melvin Seals, who played keyboards with the Jerry Garcia Band for 15
years, and Stu Allen, another strummer who plays in the Dead style,
stoked the crowd. Later, the acoustic Marin-based band Check Engine
Light and Loco Bloco, a drum ensemble from the Excelsior and Mission
neighborhoods, were expected to play.
Jerry Garcia Day got its start in 2002, when the Neighborhood Parks
Council and some Excelsior neighbors joined forces to raise money to
rebuild a nearby playground. Garcia's estate allowed fundraisers to
sell T-shirts printed with his artwork, which helped complete the project.
Now the San Francisco Parks Trust and the Excelsior Cultural Group
stage the annual event.
Organizer Tom Murphy, who was raised in the Excelsior, originally saw
the neighborhood's connection to Garcia as a way to bring positive
attention to it. Later he became a Garcia fan.
"People from all over the U.S. have come to his event," said Murphy,
who works as a loan consultant. "This is drawing attention to this
great park - and it's good music."
Tim Mayer, an off-road motorcycle cop who grew up nearby and now
patrols McLaren as part of his beat, said Garcia is an important
piece of San Francisco's music history.
He remembers seeing the Dead for the first time at the now-defunct Winterland.
"We were right up front between Garcia and Bob Weir (longtime Dead
guitarist), and they played from about 7:15 p.m. until about 12:30
a.m. - they just put out."
--
E-mail Robert Selna at rselna@sfchronicle.com
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Jerry Garcia weekend ahead
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/jerry-garcia-weekend-ahead/Content?oid=1268680
The Pour House hosts Dead-themed shows
by T. Ballard Lesemann
August 05, 2009
The Grateful Dead were foreign to me until I started learning the
drums. In a way, they're still pretty far away from my usual
45-minute-or-so high-volume blast through the Magnavox jam-box a
nightly habit I still enjoy. I currently have every studio and live
album ever released by The Who, The Minutemen, and Mission of Burma
in my collection, but only one Dead LP a borrowed copy of American
Beauty I never managed to return (sorry, Fred).
I think I was 12 years old when I first saw what any members of the
Grateful Dead actually looked like. A shiny Zildjian poster in the
old Pecknel Music on King Street pictured the band's drummer duo
Mickey Hart and Billy Kreutzmann, side-by-side, surrounded by shiny
crashes, rides, and hi-hats. This the was the first time I'd ever
heard of a rock band with two guys playing almost identical drum kits
(those .38 Special videos had yet to hit MTV). Mickey and Billy
looked like typical rock drummers of that time, but on the older,
'70s-ish side of things mustached layovers from the previous
generation of rock stars or something. Compared to the New Wave and
punk bands of the time, they looked avuncular.
Through high school, most of my garage band mates and friends dug
into a variety of rock bands mostly newer, slightly underground
stuff, and barely any of the freaky hippie-rock across the border of
Led Zeppelin or Bob Dylan ever hit the turntable.
It was my senior year of high school before I actually listened to a
classic Dead album from front to back. The band had released In the
Dark, and the clip for "Touch of Grey" landed in heavy rotation on
MTV. "Touch of Grey" sounded mild and undynamic to my ears, and the
video with the band done up as skeletons on stage looked ridiculous.
That year, I hooked up with few new bandmates in a group called the
Heytire Blowouts. They had good record collections with plenty of
early-era Dead stuff. I'd switched from drums to bass, so I had to
hustle when they assigned me to learn "Uncle John's Band" and "Friend
of the Devil" two songs that balanced the band's loose interaction
and yelpy singing with sophisticated harmonic and rhythmic ideas. I
liked what I heard, and I listened to more on such slabs as the
folk-styled Workingman's Dead and the more orchestral From the Mars
Hotel. But that's about as deep as I got.
Early August is a heavy time for the genuine Grateful Dead fans
around here. Guitarist, singer, and founding member Jerry Garcia was
born on Aug. 1, 1942 in San Francisco. He played with the band for 30
years before his passing on Aug. 9, 1995 (also in San Francisco).
Dead-friendly music venue the Pour House carries on with a
traditional "Jerry Garcia Birthday Celebration" every year to
acknowledge and celebrate the life and music of the rock icon.
They've booked two events this year one from a veteran group who
shares early, deep roots with Garcia, and another one from an
ensemble aiming to and re-deliver key musical song and
improvisational moments from Dead concerts.
California-based band The New Riders of the Purple Sage perform at
the Pour House at 8 p.m. on Fri. Aug. 7. They regrouped about five
years ago and gradually assembled Where I Come From, which includes
seven songs by Robert Hunter (the Dead's longtime lyricist). On Sat.
Aug. 8 the Athens, Ga.-based group Cosmic Charlie will handle a
little bit of everything from the Grateful Dead's vast catalog (they
took their name from a song on the 1969 Dead album Aoxomoxoa). Thy
consider themselves "a Dead cover band for folks that are ambivalent
about Dead cover bands."
Maybe someone will play "Uncle John's Band" over the weekend. I'd
twirl around to that. Check out charlestonpourhouse.com for more.
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Happy Birthday Jerry Garcia!
http://www.examiner.com/x-13006-SF-Events-Examiner~y2009m8d1-Happy-Birthday-Jerry-Garcia
August 1, 2009
by Diane Davis
Celebrate the life and music of Jerry Garcia! Jerry Garcia was born
August 1, 1942. San Francisco marks the birth of their native son and
one of the greatest musicians of all time every year with Jerry Day.
The Excelsior Cultural Group and the San Francisco Parks Trust
sponsor the 7th Annual Jerry Day. Jerry Garcia, as you already know,
is a musical icon! He was the leader of The Grateful Dead and a born
and bred San Franciscan. As a child he called 87 Harrington Street in
the Excelsior District home.
Officially Jerry Day is on Sunday, but you can celebrate all weekend long!
The fun begins on Saturday at 9p.m. with a show at 19 Broadway
Nightclub in Fairfax. The Dedicated Maniacs, 21 Aces, and Dead Set will play.
Jerry Day begins at noon on Sunday. The festivities will take place
at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater at McLaren Park in the Excelsior
District until 6p.m.
Jerry Day Line up:
12p.m.: Check Engine Light
12:30p.m.: Loco Bloco
1:00p.m: Stu Allen & Friends
3:30p.m.: Melvin Seals and JGB
Don't miss the official Jerry Day 2009 Post Party. Party with your
fellow dead-heads at the Boom Boom Room from 9p.m. on to the sounds
of Stu Allen & Friends.
.
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