Starburst Commander tells about 288 Grateful Dead concerts he attended
http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_14354077
Paul Liberatore
Posted: 02/07/2010
In the world of the Grateful Dead, Bob Drobatz is known as the
Starburst Commander.
So naturally that's the nom de plume he uses for his self-published
memoir, "Confessions of a Dead Head: Trips and Travels with a Magical
Band" (www.confessionsofadeadhead.com, $9). He describes the slim,
88-page paperback as "an emotional and heartfelt journey into the
music that not only defined an era, but continues to define a
philosophy that refuses to go away."
From 1974 until Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, Drobatz attended 288
Grateful Dead shows, often traveling with a posse of friends in his
van, the Orange Barrel. Post Garcia, he has been a fixture at the
many iterations of the Dead, most recently the Furthur shows in Mill Valley.
He got his Deadhead nickname because of his ever-present supply of
cotton-mouth-combating Starburst candy. Drobatz, who's 56 and lives
in San Rafael with his wife, Caroline, worked for many years for
Molly Stone's market in Sausalito. He is now the president of
operations at Petaluma Market.
Q: How did you become a Deadhead?
A: My mind didn't grab the music at first, but after listening to
'Europe '72,' I finally got it. I was on a cross-country road trip
and I could not get it out of the tape player. It was in there constantly.
Q: Was it Jerry Garcia that attracted you initially?
A: Absolutely. The sound of his guitar is totally enthralling, and
his voice, too. He was the spiritual leader of a very spiritual band.
And spiritual happenings occurred all the time during their shows.
Q: What inspired you to write this book?
A: During the Dead's spring tour last year, I was standing in line at
Shoreline to buy a T-shirt and I go, 'Oh, my God, I've got a great
idea for a book.' I knew the opening was going to be how much I
missed Garcia's voice. And I knew the end was going to be the Jerry
Garcia memorial. So I knew the beginning and the end of the book, and
from there it was just writing about our little adventures and how
the music has affected me.
Q: How has it affected you?
A: The content of their lyrics is so powerful. Non-Deadheads don't
realize that. The music has its philosophical side about treating
people the way you want to be treated. It was really the philosophy
of the '60s, which they've carried on through Garcia's death.
Q: You write about the social aspect of being a Deadhead as well as
the musical aspect.
A: When you woke up on the day of a show, whether you had to go to
work that day or you were on the road traveling, the social aspect of
the Grateful Dead began. You began thinking about it as soon as you
woke up. And part of the show was traveling to it with your group of
friends. That might even be the most memorable part of the whole day,
just getting to the venue.
Q: You write that you wanted this book to be completely positive, so
you almost left drugs out of it.
A: How can you write a book about the Grateful Dead without
mentioning drugs? That's kind of impossible.
--
Contact Paul Liberatore via e-mail at liberatore@marinij.com
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Adventures of a modern-day Deadhead
http://www.emcottawawest.ca/20100205/editorials/Adventures+of+a+modern-day+Deadhead
Posted Feb 5, 2010
By Rosalyn Stevens
It starts the same each time.
Pick the dates, buy the tickets and find accommodations. Plan, plan
and plan some more. Obsess just a little bit. Plan a little more.
Pack the car, stop for coffee, obsess a little more and hit the road.
It's the life of a modern-day Deadhead.
Back in the '70s, fans of the Grateful Dead would pack up their lives
and travel from city to city and venue to venue to see their
favourite band perform. Since so many fans did this tour after tour,
friendships formed and bonds were created. They were called Deadheads.
Today, fans of another band are picking up the torch, as it were, and
travelling from show to show, relishing the moment their favourite
band hits the stage. It makes for great stories, unimaginable
adventures, and of course, a lot of great music. We're Hanson fans,
and we're unstoppable.
It was just a few years ago when I joined the ranks of travelling
fans, booking my vacations to follow whichever tour the guys were on
at the time. And though I'm still early in the process of becoming a
hard-core touring fan, I've come to realize just how many of us there
are. My touring friend, who's been part of the scene for about 13
years, knows many of the fans we see standing in line they've stood
in line together for more than a decade.
When this happened during the Deadhead days the Grateful Dead
starting changing their shows to accommodate the repeat attendees. It
meant that from one night to the next, the fans would be seeing a
different show. How could the band not know the faces in the crowd
each night barely changed, even though they played in new cities each
night? Same goes for Hanson. They know we're there, and they
appreciate it. So much so, they're putting together a special
performance in New York City this spring just for us.
My friend Daniela and I had barely come down from the natural high of
our October trip when we found out about the Five of Five series this
spring. Just before the band hits the main stage at Bamboozle
Festival in New Jersey, they've booked Gramercy Theatre for a
five-night run through each of their major albums and the debut of
the as-yet unreleased disc.
And so, just a few months after our last amazing trip, we began
planning the next. From the look of the Facebook group created for
this event, we'll be running into a few familiar faces we haven't
seen recently. As well, there will be fans coming from other parts of
the world, including Sweden, Brazil, Italy and Australia, evidence
this is a gathering of the most dedicated fans.
Friends and family members love to poke fun at me and question why I
need to see so many shows year after year. Daniela and I have
repeatedly been asked those questions and there's no answer that
seems to satisfy our questioners. We've talked about it for hours,
tried to find words to describe the feeling of being on the road with
our favourite band. Simply put, it's addictive.
The first show of the tour is our reward day, our opportunity to act
a little silly and have fun without worrying too much about running
into the band members. We dress our best, listen to the band's music
on the way to the venue, and let all of our silliness come out before
anyone can catch us acting like 11-year-old girls.
Most people don't understand what it is that draws us to this band,
which hasn't had a radio hit in years. Maybe it's the fact that we're
all the same age - the band members and the fans alike. Maybe it's
the fact that we literally grew up with them, from the impressionable
years of our youth, to the formative years of early adulthood.
But I think it's something more. Each generation has something they
need to rally behind, mine rallies behind the idea of change. Whether
it's a change from the manufactured music force-fed to us through
commercial radio, or a change in the horrific realities of poverty
and disease around the world, we seek change passionately.
And Hanson? Well, as youngest brother Zac told me in 2007, they'll
always keep trying to "lead with passion."
For as long as they lead, the modern-day Deadheads will follow.
.
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