Throughout my life I really, really tried to like the Grateful Dead. I had a few friends that were serious deadheads in the 80s. I went to several shows, dug the people and the vibe, but I was never a huge fan of the music. It was just to slow for everyday listening, but I loved how a lot of the songs seemed to have a heavy blues influence.
It wasn't that the music was bad, I always recognized their talent and what they did, but I never really felt the music. As they say, "I could hear the Grateful Dead, but I wasn't feeling the Grateful Dead." Granted though, in the 80s and 90s I listened to mostly speed metal and punk rock. Talk about culture clash!
So even though I attended more than a few shows, hung out with more than a few deadheads, and listened to my fair share of live bootleg tapes, I just couldn't be swayed to join the ranks of the Deadhead army.
I was never a country fan either though, and a lot of the music seems to have a country / bluegrass sort of sound to it. It wasn't until the last 10 years or so that I started listening to a little country from time to time.
Like most non fans, I'd always turn up Casey Jones and many of the studio tracks they recorded when I came across them on the radio. I never got why most of their "real" fans never liked the studio recording and mainstream hits like Casey Jones.
Recently I discovered the Grateful Dead docu-series on AmazonPrime. The series is called "Long Strange Trip" and basically documents the history of the band from their humble roots as the house band known as The Warlocks at Ken Kesey's acid test parties to the forming of the actual band that we all came to know and love.
After watching the documentary I gained a new respect for the band and how they actually came to be. According to the documentary, Jerry Garcia did everything he could do to keep the band and the party going because he didn't want to get a "real" job. LOL, The Dood can totally relate to that. All he wanted to do is play guitar and tour to pay the bills. Fame, and all the rock-star money came much later and was almost unexpected.
So after watching the documentary I learned a couple other things I never really knew about the band. They had two drummers, and also had 3 guitarists at times which helped to give them their rather unique sound.
Now that I'm older my musical tastes have become much more well rounded. I can really dig a slow blues sound and can relate to a little country music from time to time. I gave the dead another opportunity to woo me and can honestly say I finally get it. Jerry's smooth psychedelic style of guitar playing, the big band sound of having such a large band. I also get what all the fuss was about with live recordings. Their on-stage improvisation made each track a unique experiences each time they played it live.
I've been listening to a lot of Dead since watching the documentary. I guess I finally get it. I also think I'm just mellowing out in my old age. At 52 I can still be found listening to old school punk rock and early metal from time to time. I'm still a huge fan of deep house, jungle, dNb and other genres of electronica. I finally get it though, I can actually listen to a live set of the Grateful Dead and appreciate it for the unique masterpiece it really is.
Till next week, happy Music Monday and keep on truckin.
