I have read several of Joel Selvin's books and enjoyed them. I didn't know about his negativity towards the GD. This one felt like it was a little too gossipy and negative in tone. I didn't hate it. I just wondered how accurate it was? Thanks for your thoughtful (and detailed) reply.
I don't think you have to take a side. And for the record I absolutely love Phil. I got into the jam band scene in high school, right in time for Phish to go on their Hiatus in 2000. From 2001 to Phish's 2003 return I did damn near every Phil N Friends in the Northeast. Other people who don't have an axe to grind, and have maintained respectful have also expressed that Phil is difficult to work with. (i.e. stubborn). But he is also a man of principle, who doesn't compromise on things he feels strongly about. I take Phil's side in every dispute had with his former band mates. And frankly Phil had a really good thing going prior to the Dead reunion. You can't say that for any other member besides, Bob Weir. But at that point Ratdog was on the decline as well, with the exit of Rob Wasserman.
I really liked Phil and Friends too. I met Phil at the book signing he did in Denver for his autobiography. There was a huge line but as I watched him he was not rushing people and really seemed to engage and was very friendly to everyone. When my Buddy was handing his book to Phil, Phil saw me taking a picture out of the corner of his eye. He turned toward the camera and gave a quick smile as he reached for the book. A total pro. I thought he came off as a very nice guy.
I’m no psychologist but if you are a Rock Star, millionaire celebrity, I’d imagine you get fairly accustomed to getting your way and hearing the word “yes”. Add to that you had a couple profound near death experiences and you might be a little less relaxed as it relates to time and what you have left of it in your life. And...how many guys do you know in their 70’s that aren’t a little bitchy by nature? Let’s not forget Phil’s is generally the smartest guy in the room, he’s an absolute brilliant musician. I doubt that he suffers a fool with a smile and wouldn’t be surprised he can be a dick if properly motivated. From a practical standpoint there are a lot of great reasons why he wasn’t thrilled to do the 5oth and why working with all the surviving members isn’t what he wants to be doing. I just think it’s unfair that people put all that on his wife. If it wasn’t for Jill we wouldn’t have had Phil making music as he has since 1999. She was and is a very big part of his business.
by all accounts, always a class act with the fans. He takes a lot of pictures with fans at TXR and looks like he’s having a fun time doing it. The guy seems like he’s having way more fun than Bob Weir who is know to snap on stage and told a guy to STFU when playing at sweetwater. Which was completely warranted but still, not something Phil would do. He’d send Jill out to yell at the guy.
This alone is the most on point post ever on any forum. I'm no idiot and I've been gigging on bass for 40 years, but Phil is on a level so far above me I can't even describe it let alone comprehend it.
Phil is one of my favorite bass players. His playing is so confident and bold. He does make mistakes at times but that's because he doesn't play it safe and is usually going for it. He's an influence on my very pedestrian bass playing (I'm a guitar player at heart).
The people who seemed to have serious problems with Selvin’s book struck me as hardcore Phil fans who didn’t want to hear anything bad about their hero. Almost everything in the book was pretty widely known and verifiable. Mickey did say he got the liver of a jerk, there was a falling out over the archive, Bob did complain about his increased stage volume and assertiveness, there was a falling out between him and the drummers, Steve Kimock did make a negative post about Phil and Jill after he left the band, Jill did get credited as an executive producer on the Fare Thee Well DVD, etc. You can say Phil’s side wasn’t presented, but I thought most of the book was simply factual.
I didn’t read the Selvin book. My general instinct is to stear clear of “inside baseball”. I would assume all of our heroes had( have) their good and bad points. There was a glue that seemed to hold all of them together over the years and I hope it wasn’t just greed. After Jerry died there obviously was a tremendous vacuum which really couldn’t be filled and perhaps he was a moderating force on their propensities-even when he was off I get the impression he was still a force to be reckoned with. In any event-they were faced with insecurity about their professional futures and their earning abilities at a time when they had been at a financial peak. Perhaps Phil made some wise investments along the way which made him of a more independent mind to reject the easy monetizing offer by Rhino/Warner-I don’t know. But he certainly has carried a torch for( in a way) the old Grateful Dead jamming ethos more than any of them, in my opinion. He also has had some major life threatening events which( and I know from personal experience) gives him perspective and perhaps the attitude of “F....it, I’ll do what I want“. And of the rest, they can certainly take care of themselves and Phil knows that better than we do. So-I say God bless all of them and if they find it in their hearts( in their old age) to forgive and forget go for it.
I don’t think you need to be some kind of Phil super fan to take issue with his narrative. Sure, it’s factual but it’s one sided. And....it’s completely Unnecessary. It’s not like Phil is the only millionaire rock star celebrity that can be demanding in this story. Bobby has a manager that he sends out to be the bad cop when needed, all of them do. Many people (including Bobby) talk about how challenging and exhausting Mickey can be. The author just decided to present facts in a way that makes Phil the antagonist in the story so he would have a story. I’m not upset about it but that is what’s happening. at the end of the day, the shows happened, they were wildly successful and brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people. There really isn’t much meat on the bone to make a story and get a publishing deal. Enter a “journalist” who isn’t a fan and has no connection to the history or the community And who Phil wouldn’t sit with for an interview with. I think there is a good argument to be made that it’s just opportunistic profiteering more than a story that is worthwhile. As always, it’s about the music, you don’t need a book to listen and what color m&m’s they wanted backstage is just silly gossip.
Can’t say I noticed any decline in Ratdog, either musically or in terms of drawing a crowd. If anything, I thought Robin Sylvester filled some pretty big shoes admirably and the band was still playing great and doing interesting things. There were still some good new songs, post-Evening Moods, that had me hopeful we’d get another album. Alas. Saw them on what I think was their last tour (2014) and I had to score a ticket on the street outside the venue (Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee) because the show was sold out. Damned good show that night.
You are 100% correct. I saw rat dog in 96 when Vince was in the band, that tour in 2014 and many times in between. There is no case to be made that the band was in decline from a stand point of crowd size or content. Their best years are far and away their later years. Rat Dog was nearly a bar band for the better part of ten years, that last tour was all nice theaters that sold out.
Oh and the article mentioned those Warfield Trey shows-later on I caught some of those summer tour shows with Trey on lead. Loved the shows I saw-and Phil was in the flow bigtime.
on the decline may have been a bit harsh. Thank u for correcting. It was 20 years ago. Looking back now I do think the peak ratdog lineup had wasserman on bass. Opinions may vary there. But no ratdog was not losing fans in 2002 when the 4 members got back together. But I don’t think this band was actually surging the way Phil n friends was. EDIT: surging autocorrected to surfing. I almost let it slide as it kind of worked
I saw Phil and Friends more times than I can count, and loved every show (regardless who was in the band - although the Q was my favorite incarnation). Every time I saw Ratdog, I came away indifferent - and many times I said I am not going to see them again. I was so down on Ratdog, because to me there was no real energy, and the music plodded along at a slower pace than I liked, that when they played the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ (only 15 - 20 minutes from my home) I didn't even go; and tickets were easy to get. I haven't seen Phil since seeing him with Further - which band incarnation never put on a bad show (at least those I attended).
I saw quite a few Phil shows and really enjoyed all of them-esp. those with Jackie Greene and Larry Campbell. I saw Ratdog one time and thought it was ok but I was never motivated to go again. Bob’s current Wolf Bro’s. gig is not my cup of tea. I really enjoy Deadco, however.
The 3/14/2019 Phil show @ Capital Theatre with Scofield, Greene, Tench, Grahame & Molo was spectacular. 11/2/2018 was also tremendous as was the show I saw in September 2018. I got to hear New Potato Caboose and We Bid You Goodnight and those were only cherries on top of a big tasty sundae of course I only saw Phil for the first time live since 5/11/1979 in 2018 so I don’t have much to compare it to. but fairly easily the best Dead related show I’ve seen since I started seeing JRAD, DSO & Phil back in 2017. and although I read or are reading anything Dead related I’m not going anywhere near the Joel Selvin book. I might be looking through rose colored glasses but Phil is among my favorite people in the world I’ve never met. I count him among the few great National treasures and I don’t really need to know his faults from a biased source in a book that’s written or released when the guy was over 77 years old and still bringing the music to all of us.
