Came across a nice set of shots, though they are all pretty similar: Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia, Manhattan Center, April 1971 | Photo.net (use prev/next buttons to navigate)
Ha! Dylan had it first, if you have never heard the story check it out. A. M. Saddler Concert Photo of the Day - Bob Weir
Garcia in particular did not want the Hammond, that was Brent's sound. I don't have the GD gear book, but I read a paraphrase that basically the presets were worked up by Bralove and the crew to get a good organ sound, but not too much like a Hammond because Garcia had said no Hammond (BTW the first entry under the google 'shopping' tab wants $990 for that book! Even on Amazon it's $110 and up, used! Note to publishers - when someone is asking enough to buy 3 new copies for one used copy, you might want to think about reprinting it. There's one that lists at $3,400 on Amazon, I don't know what's up with that, but it would buy you 97 copies at the list price.) I found this interview excerpt posted in a thread on phantasytour. I don't want to link the thread because its title is disrespectful to vince, and the link within the thread to the interview it came from is '404 not found.' But here is the excerpt: "VW: That was the deal. The job description was “Bruce will play the piano until we work in the new guy. You will play synthesizer -- not the Hammond organ, but synthesizer.” I wish it would have been the Hammond, too. It was either space, or they wanted to phase out that sound and replace it with other stuff. DI: So when you and Bruce played together, you had split responsibilities? VW: I had the bogus Hammond, the one that sounded not like a Hammond. [laughs] Whenever I went to the organ, that’s what I played, and the synthesizer. I learned all those songs on the piano at home. Now I get to the stage, and, with the exception of a very few rehearsals, we were up and running on the fall tour. “I must not be a piano player,” that’s what’s going through my head. “Be anything but a piano player now.” It was challenging. DI: When Bruce went on his way, were you able to bring those other sounds in? VW: Oh, yeah, and Bob Bralove was supplying my midi sounds, like he did with Brent. He fires them in from afar. He sends in, not the songs, but the sounds." Bralove and Vince were close, they wrote songs together, remained friends after the GD and were in post-Garcia bands etc. I'm sure he and Vince worked up the sounds over time, but it seems that Vince was basically handed a palette of tones to work with at the beginning that came from Bralove as the MIDI guy, with the rule from Garcia that the Hammond was off limits (and the piano was covered by Hornsby.)
Was it set 1 or 2? I have a cassette of set 1, label came off in my car's cassette player, and it gummed it all up for a while. I finally was able to rig up a paper clip and pull it out of there. A pretty well-done first set. I had heard 'Let the Good Times Roll' on some infomercial, so I had to play it.
I googled, and here's a page with that interview, minus any disrespectful headings: http://www.scentertainmentonline.com/promofl/new06/keyboardtrio.pdf
It's sad to read this at the end: VW: The music business can very well kill you. If you don’t really love it, forget about it. If you’re doing it for money, forget about it. But if this is your lifelong dream, don’t ever forget about it, and don’t ever quit -- just hang in there.
DI: What were some of the songs that you guys were thinking of bringing out in 1995? VW: I wanted “Golden Road,” and “St. Stephen” probably would have happened. One of the last rehearsals, we were working on “Strawberry Fields,” with Jerry singing. “Strawberry Fields” would have been a big, big, important piece.
Make a gratuitous snip at Bobby, learn some cool rock and roll history that I had no idea about before. I wish things worked out so well for me all the time ... and thanks!
I knew this story and I still thought your comment was funny. I read about this around the time I was proclaiming Dylan & The Dead to be a good album, to mixed reviews here as I recall. Edit: Dick's 36 now playing:
3-31-83, the last night at the Warfield. Set 1 solid, a good Stranger to open things up. I think I like 80s Friend of the Devil more than late 70s Friend of the Devil, the busy keys complement the slow tempo. Brent is also a monster on Little Red Rooster. West LA is a tune that's grown on me, and Don't Ease is usually fun. Set 2 is the @US Blues special - Sailor>Saint>Far From Me to open up... (Lost Sailor is just fine with me, and I like the 'shredding' bit in Saint and how the chorus part comes back in. I've got nothing against Far From Me either, I certainly prefer the Brent songs with the full band as opposed to his pre-Drums experiments.) Terrapin's perfect slot is near the middle of set 2, this would be a prime example, but Garcia forgets quite a few of the words. 'Let my inspiration row? go?' bleh. It gets worse before it gets better. Garcia gets a handle on the lyrics, but it's a pretty subdued version overall. Phil does get quite animated on the closing jam. Drums is high energy until the end, and space is basically Garcia with a clean tone, hinting at the Other One, and what sounds like a loon call (some synth work from Brent?) for 2 or 3 minutes before the real Other One starts in earnest. It's a good enough little snippet, though the backing vocals on the only verse are a bit lackluster. And what do we get after? Throwing Stones again! It's actually a highlight, along with the decent Wharf Rat that followed, but I was not overwhelmed here. Sounded like a 'get out of town' kind of night. Brokedown Palace was a nice encore.
Is anybody actually going to buy the new Best Of Live compilation? With not even one single unreleased track I can’t see many people buying it.
I really like Vince. Seemed like a great guy that got slightly screwed over perception wise due to being pigeonholed into stuff by the band.
It is what it is. His singing and playing was a bit sharp and unsettling at times. It’s like they only gave him ten minutes a night to sing so he had to make the most of it by sreaming as loud as he could to be noticed. It wound up being more disruptive than anything. Don’t feel too bad for the guy, he wanted the job and it was the best gig of his life.
Sort of funnyy story; when Vince was hired he asked the band what he was going to be paid. He was told “$1000 per day”. The Vince asked “how many days a year will that be” and the answer was “every day; 365”
The Pepto Pink guitar died during Sugar Magnolia at the end of the second set (30 April 1988- Frost). They were heading into the jam when Bobby ran off-stage and came back out with a brown guitar that he had used regularly in the early-mid 80's. It had a fuller tone, more "wooden" if you will. He was miffed and channel his anger into the jam, which raised the energy level nicely. Finished off the set with some fire. That night was also the 3 song encore: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider; One More Saturday Night. Best encore I ever witnessed, save perhaps for the breakout of Revolution at MSG, 12 October 1983. Being just a few miles from where John Lennon lived and died, the emotion of that song was intense. I was halfway back on the floor, and we all fell off our chairs (standing on them to see the stage) when Jerry started singing: Say you want a Revolution...
He thought at first they would receive that daily payment only when they were on tour, which I guess would be more typical for bands.
As I mentioned it looks like it is geared to people who are barely familiar with the Dead. I doubt anyone on this thread will want it but it may have success with other people.
Alrighty en route to Neenah WI leaving Chicago. Cant decide what to play. I think a first airing of New Haven 77 will do.
Yes, the encore is on the set 1 tape too. It's not necessarily by a great distance, but I prefer his singing to Brent's. (maybe even 90s Phil.)
Just wanted to say these past 3-4 pages have been some of the most intriguing and informative discussion of the GOGD that I have read in quite some time. Thanks for all the info everyone! I find it interesting that Vince said that St. Stephen was being considered for a comeback in 1995. My overall impression of that year is that Jerry was in no shape to try to tackle a song that he had previously refused to play for 10+ years. Yet he seems to be saying it was being rehearsed before the final tour?? Although I think I remember reading (maybe here?) that there was always rumors on the lot in the 1990s that they had sound-checked Stephen before the show and it was ready for a bustout...but who knows if this ever happened? Maybe someone here who was on tour during this era could enlighten us a bit more? As far as I know the last time they played it as a band was October of 1983.....
I read an interview with Phil or Bob from 94 or 95 where they talked about trying out St. Stephen, and they said Garcia doesn't like the bridge. (Pretty sure it was Phil in Dupree's Diamond News.) They soundchecked St. Stephen on 12-8-94. As far as Garcia and trying out songs, they busted out Unbroken Chain in 95 - (to less than spectacular results, for the most part, but still, that's among the most difficult songs they played.) The difference was Garcia also had to sing St. Stephen.
