Did Brent Mydland's death kill the Grateful Dead?

This is the kind of answer someone that only reads the headlines in the newspaper would state. There is far more to their demise than the easy answer of 'substance abuse'.

 

I am not doubting that at all, just Jerry did not seem to look at Keith as a little brother as much as I felt he did with Brent, but of course it is all just an impression.

 

On the other hand, there was Jerry's penchant for leaving the stage when Brent started one of his own songs in the mid 80's (or perhaps it was more Brent starting up one of his songs after Jerry left the stage - I didn't see those shows).

BTW it was interesting in Bill's book where he wrote that Vince was also primarily Jerry's choice, and that Jerry seemed to like that his keyboard playing was "understated" during the audition.

 

I'm betting that Bill Graham's horrific death put more of the frighteners into Jer than Brent's.

 

They both were damages to a very shaky foundation, very likely.

I think I'll spin the 2 disc set of reckoning tonight after work. I like Brett's playing on that one.

 

True and true.

However, That's all I wanted to say about the topic.

 

No! And also, no.

 

It seemed to me the Dead always got the wrong type of person to be their keyboard player.

Not talking about talent or fitting in with the music but Pig, Keith, Brent and Vince all seemed to be on the shy side with not enough self esteem to handle the amount of pressure of being in such a huge band with such strong personalities, add in someone with a taste for drink and drugs to go along along with the scene..

 

Bruce did not have that problem

 

Jerry also liked Vince........liked his input on bringing back "Here Comes Sunshine" and the many Beatles songs the last few years.

 

Bruce wasn't really an official band member.

 

Neither was TC, and he turned out fine too - I see a pattern here...

 

Yep, Baba O'Riley, Vince's own songs, etc.

Jerry liked him because he didn't try to be a clone of anyone else - he came in and was just...Vinnie. I think Jerry really dug his personality AND his playing for the same reasons, he was really understated and different texturally than any keyboard player that Garcia worked with. Except maybe Merle Saunders, who could play ANYTHING.

 

Well, it certainly killed Brent.

 

The first time I saw the Dead, Brent and Bruce were both playing, though Bruce may have just sat in for some numbers, as The Range were the openers. I thought it was after Brent's suicide that they offered Hornsby the job, but he didn't want to give up his solo gig. I even remember an interview with him when he was filling in where they asked him if he had joined, and he evasively answered "I'm not sure."

 

TC was an official member. (Bill says he didn't consider him a full member in his book, but that is just him being a crank, I think.)

 

I remember seeing them, I think it was in 1990, and Jerry was noticeably thinner. I think this was around the time he got into scuba diving. Wish it could have taken.

 

Last I heard he was hiding from the Grim Reaper in Hickory, NC, my old home town. I know my (now former) brother in law, who's an amateur musician and stand-up, used to run into him.

 

I agree Bobbo, I saw it the same way. I thought Hornsby was great, but there was something missing after Mydlands died

 

According to Tom Davis (from Franken and Davis and a drug buddy of Garcia) the Dead tried an intervention with Garcia and he said he'd quit the band if he had to choose between drugs and the Dead. That was the beginning of the end.

 

Didn't Hunter said in a rollingstone interview lately that Garcia wasn't planning on living forever or something like that?

 

TC just shared some videos on Facebook of a gig he did recently with a string quartet where one of my college friends played cello.

 

It was obvious to those of there, the loss of Brent deeply effected Jerry. It was a huge loss. As many have said, losing Jerry is what really finished the band. There were very good musical moments for a few years following Brent's death. Impossible to say if Brent hadn't died what effect, if any, that may have played on Jerry, but given what we know; doesn't appear it would have mattered.

 

I've never heard that one before.
All I know is the surviving members only had really good things to say about Brent's performances that year (1990).

 

Uh, no.