From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V4 #27 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk JMDL Digest Friday, January 15 1999 Volume 04 : Number 027 The Song and Album Voting Booths are open again! Cast your votes by clicking the links at http://www.jmdl.com/gallery username: jimdle password: siquomb ------- The Official Joni Mitchell Homepage is maintained by Wally Breese at http://www.jonimitchell.com and contains the latest news, a detailed bio, original interviews and essays, lyrics, and much more. ------- The JMDL website can be found at and contains interviews, articles, the member gallery, archives, and much more. ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- The Grateful Dead (Long w/ SJC) [kb420@webtv.net (gr8fuldave)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 02:45:17 -0500 (EST) From: kb420@webtv.net (gr8fuldave) Subject: The Grateful Dead (Long w/ SJC) Hello Hippies, one & all :) I've just spent the last two hours reading the past week's digests and was very surprised by all the Dead content. Of course, as the list's resident "Deadhead" (I attended 90 Dead shows as well as 13 JGB and 16 various Bob Weir shows) I'd be remiss if i did not comment. I am going to try and address much of what has been said in the last week regarding the Dead but forgive me for not citing each individual poster. First for Pat, as you can see by more than a few posters, some of us do, indeed, love both Joni and the Dead (as well as countless other artists/bands). What was the draw? Many things which various posters have mentioned. For some, the deep sense of "family" among both band and audience alike. Others, the incredible guitar & bass talents of Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh, respectively. Some for the "cryptic" song writing of Robert Hunter. And still others for the collective improvisational talents of the entire band combined. FACTOID: The Grateful Dead have played more benefit concerts and have done more, both physically and financially, to help their fellow humans on this planet than any other R&R band, bar none. One of the most important reasons (that has been overlooked here) for their devoted following on the concert circuit is the fact that they had a huge (over 300) catalog of songs in rotation at all times and could (and often did) go 3 or 4 nights straight without repeating a single song. Compare that to Joni's (and most others) setlists which are largely, if not exactly, the same night to night. Add to this the fact that in 30 years of touring and thousands of shows they NEVER ONCE played the exact same show twice. In fact, some will insist that they never played any song the same way twice. Think Dylan. Gina inquired about songwriting. Robert Hunter and John Barlow (the internet free speech crusader) were the chief lyric writers for the Dead throughout their thirty year run. They supplied lyrics for the music of Garcia & Weir, respectively. Think Elton John & Bernie Taupin. (sp) Concerning Robert Hunter, IMO, he is one of the most prolific and talented lyric writers ever to grace the latter 20th century. I personally place him in my top three, just below Dylan and right above Joni. The common bond for me? Poetry, unmatched poetical lyrical talent from all three. JONI TRIVIA: Robert Hunter worked and toured extensively with Larry Klein as his bass player in the 70's. They were, and I assume are still, good friends. I've a few tapes of them together. As for Garcia, he shares at least this much in common with Joni. Both were art school students briefly prior to becoming famous musicians and both consider(ed) themselves to be artists before musicians. Both have painted extensively and "shown" their work in different and non-traditional mediums. Both bring/brought a painter's, or artist's sensibilities to their musical approaches toward their instuments. Both are/were multi-instrumentalists, Garcia playing banjo (Old & In The Way), peddle-steel (New Riders, CSN), and even some piano. Both are/were avid smokers. Also I must mention the unique bass talents of Phil Lesh who regularly played a FIVE string bass with aplomb. I rank him among the best bassists ever, along with Jaco, Jack Casady, John Entwhistle and Rob Wasserman. Phil just recently recieved a new liver and is recovering in Florida. He is getting much help and support from his good friend and fellow transplant recipient David Crosby. Please say a prayer for his recovered health, even if you "can't stand the Dead", please. Finally, as Kevin, I believe, pointed out, the Dead was not for everybody. They were a self-descibed ongoing musical experiment. Some nights they blew it, some nights they tried and achieved fleeting moments of brilliance mixed with mediocrity, but SOME NIGHTS...pure, unadulterated, MAGIC took place. I know. I've witnessed it collectively with thousands of others. THAT will NEVER happen again at ANY concert by ANYBODY(s). FOOTNOTE: Comparing Phish to the Dead is like comparing Liitle League to the Majors. To my ear they sound and write more reminicent of Frank Zappa & The Mothers or Flo & Eddie. And now for the record, Dave's Top Ten "Hippyish" Bands 1. Grateful Dead 2. Jefferson Airplane 3. New Riders of the Purple Sage 4. Allman Brothers Band 5. Jimi Hendrix Experience 6. Pink Floyd 7. Solar Circus 8. moe. 9. String Cheese Incident 10. Rusted Root gdave (who is celebrating his 37th birthday today by going to see Jorma Kaukonen & Merl Saunders tonight at the Bottom Line in NYC.) NP: Bob Dylan 1/15/74 Capitol Center, Landover, MD. - ----------------------------------------------------------------- DaveBase @ http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stage/2349/index.html ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V4 #27 ************************* There is now a JMDL tape trading list. 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