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Conference rdvax::grateful

Title:Take my advice, you'd be better off DEAD
Notice:It's just a Box of Rain
Moderator:RDVAX::LEVY::DEBESS
Created:Thu Jan 03 1991
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:580
Total number of notes:60238

534.0. "August 8th Rolling Stone" by ASDG::MCNAMARA (strange visitor......) Thu Jul 18 1996 16:52

    ...just put down the latest Rolling Stone mag.....cover story 
    entitled "The Secret Life of Jerry Garcia" (Robert Greenfield).
    
    Immediately got this incredible urge to rip it to shreds...BUT
    decided to read it instead.....many, many interviews with several
    close folks (Carolyn Garcia, Manasha Matheson, Vince Di Biase, etc...)
    
    People, it mad me cry, I was soooooo overwhelmed with grief...maybe
    that's one of the reasons none of the surviving members of The Dead
    were interviwed...perhaps too painful for those guys who were sooo very
    close to the man we all love.....
    
    Have to quote one of the folks interviewed (Laird Grant):
    "Jerry said to me, 'This scares the sh*t out of me.  Some people
    at the shows think I'm some kind of a f*cking prophet or something.
    That makes me crazy, man.  I'm afraid to say anything because of what
    people are going to take from it...God, if I could play my music
    and not have to deal with any of this, it would be the happiest
    day of my life".
    
    Hafta wonder if all the quotes are accurate, BUT if so, one question
    begs to be answered:  did we collectively do this to Jerry?
    
    Hope not, but perhaps thought it best to let you good people
    know about this latest take on Jerry's life and time.....hell,
    good or bad, nothing lasts forever.....
    
    
    Peace, Jerry....you've certainly found it in the sleep of eternity....
    
    For what it's worth.....
    
    macky
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534.1SPECXN::BARNESThu Jul 18 1996 17:0621
    re: did we do this to Jerry......
    
    no...
    others have always said that Jerry could not be told what to do...he
    was the master of his own destiny, the Capt. of his own ship. 
    He himself said he was an addictive person, that he had to watch his
    intake of anything because it eventually would take him over. 
    
    ANd this Secret life shit...hell anyone involved in the scene
    *KNEW* what was goin on with all the boyz...the rumors and facts came
    from everywhere...fans, roadies, band members, hell even band members
    kids knew Jerry had a problem...Micky's kid told an aquantance of ours
    kids backstage at Vegas that Jerry "was too fat and on hard drugs,
    that's why the dead weren't as good as they were" honest, true story.
    
    another book to sell.....
    
    I may not even read the RS, 
    
    rfb
    
534.2STAR::64881::DEBESSrainbows end down that highwayThu Jul 18 1996 17:1732
	haven't read the article - did we do this to him?  what's -this-?
	his death?  his drug use?

	if it's his drug use:
	like rfb said, noone could tell Jerry what to do.
	also, he was an addictive personality, so he tended to do
	things to extremes.  One of those things was playing music.
	He was a music junkie - and wouldn't have been the player
	he was otherwise (imho)...

	if its his death:
	I often think about this very question - did =we= do it to him?

	ya know, after that awful last tour where all kinds of disasters
	seemed to follow it - manmade and acts of nature - it almost
	seemed like some sort of Greek epic where you just -knew-
	the ending would be tragic...

	it seems to me, with hindsight, that Jerry could just see this
	wonderful life experiment rolling out of control, getting too
	big too fast, and not being able to organically educate the
	newcomers because of the vast numbers...and with the huge
	organization/family depending on the circus going on and going
	on -big-, there almost was no other way out for him.  

	I think his heart was broken, literally.

	Debess

	ps - I don't think that the band members weren't part of the
	story because it was too painful - I think they figured it's
	private.
534.3NECSC::CRONIC::semi3.hlo.dec.com::notesi believe in Chemo-Girl!!!Thu Jul 18 1996 17:3024
did we do this to him???

in part, i think yes...


as he himself said, he was put on a pedestal and a
"Jerry Myth" evolved around him with very little input
on his own...  it was out of control and it had a porfound
impact on his ability to lead anything close to a normal
life...

are we responsible for that???  no i don't think so...
it's part of the price you pay to lead the life,and have
the experiences that he had...

did we kill him?  no... he died...  it happens and that's that...
ou hearts may be broken but according to people close
to him, he was happy and doing his thing when his time
came...  he went out with a smile on...  :^)  let us remember
that...  let's be careful that we don't dump stuff on him
now that he's dead, the way we did it to him while he was
alive...

			da ve
534.4SPECXN::BARNESThu Jul 18 1996 17:311
    hey da ve ...make up yer mind! %^)
534.5NECSC::CRONIC::semi3.hlo.dec.com::notesi believe in Chemo-Girl!!!Thu Jul 18 1996 17:325
i have no mind...  therefore i must always "make it up"
everytime i spout...  :^)  that's why it's different every time...

			da ve
534.6SPECXN::BARNESThu Jul 18 1996 17:372
    well , at least ya do a grate job! %^)
    
534.7and if you -weren't- referring to me, nevermind!STAR::64881::DEBESSrainbows end down that highwayThu Jul 18 1996 17:4223
>let's be careful that we don't dump stuff on him
>now that he's dead, the way we did it to him while he was
>alive...


	I don't know what you mean here da ve?  are you
	talking about what I said (cause your reply followed
	mine, so that's why I'm asking)?

	okay I admit it - I think he was "a f*cking prophet" -
	he was humble about it too - he lived his life true
	to himself, turning the "you must do things -this-
	way" business methods into "noooo, I think I'll try 
	-this- here approach, and support all my counterculture
	friends" and he(they) was successful, and he was
	revolutionary because he stayed true to his ideals.

	about his personal life - that's what I felt about it -
	personal.  but his public personna - ahhh, -that- I
	truly will always admire.

	Debess

534.8STAR::64881::DEBESSrainbows end down that highwayThu Jul 18 1996 17:506
>                         -< August 8th Rolling Stone >-


	oh, and probably no coincidence the date this will hit the
	newsstands - how very thoughtful of RS.

534.9hope this ain't offendin' anyone...ASDG::MCNAMARAstrange visitor......Thu Jul 18 1996 17:5311
    ...man, I hope you all don't think me crass fer starting this
    here note....mac realizes that these articles ALWAYS pop up
    after an icon has passed-on (i.e. John Lennon's death, and the Goldman
    book...at least I think that was the dude's name..)
    
    only wanted to keep the file informed on this here latest
    article on Jerry....nothin' more, nothin' less.....
    
    groove-on
    
    macky
534.10SPECXN::BARNESThu Jul 18 1996 17:566
    hey Wacky....
    
    you're one of the good guys....don't worry....we couldn't think any
    less of you than we do already! %^)
    
    rfb
534.11now that's a compliment!ASDG::MCNAMARAstrange visitor......Thu Jul 18 1996 18:345
    ....Cool!  Now I really feel at home!
    
    The wifey sez da same thing ta me all da time!!!
    
    more_or_less_wacky
534.12RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRageTOLKIN::OSTIGUYRipples never come backThu Jul 18 1996 18:445
Mac, you didn't write the article...Goldman is the correct name, idiot that he
was, not so humbly said

Wes_who_thinx_it's_been_kinda_sad_in_here_today_except_the_bit_about_bustin_
the_Yankees_and_who_thinx_he_needs_loud_music_and_Cold_Beer
534.13DELNI::DSMITHCan you see the real meThu Jul 18 1996 19:098
    
    >okay I admit it - I think he was "a f*cking prophet" -
    
    Me too.  :-)
    
    >Did we cause Jerry's death
    
    No, we kept him alive once in 86, again in 92...We still are in a way.
534.14STAR::64881::DEBESSrainbows end down that highwayThu Jul 18 1996 19:106
    
>    No, we kept him alive once in 86, again in 92...We still are in a way.

	I love what you just said Deane - it brought tears to my eyes


534.15SPECXN::BARNESThu Jul 18 1996 19:453
    yes...very good!
    
    rfb
534.16NECSC::CRONIC::semi3.hlo.dec.com::notesi believe in Chemo-Girl!!!Thu Jul 18 1996 23:0128
ditto that...  :^)

and yes, Debess... i was kinda referring to what you were saying 
about his heart being broken...all i'm thinking of is that we, as in
humans collectively, often will assign feelings, situations, attributes etc 
to people and things that just aren't there... typically it's a case of
us feelign very close to someone or something and believing in
our hearts that something is true, or one particular way...  we all 
affect each other in different ways...  

kinda like when i'd sit with someone who would look at a cat staring out 
a window and they'd say "oh, look at the kitty it's so sad...."  when in
reality the cats probably thinking (if anything) "gee, if that bird would 
come just a little closer to the window, i'll be eating well tonight!!!!"  :^)

like i was saying...  our hearts may have broken, but that doesn't mean
his was...  he died a happy hippy man...  :^)  i may miss his impact on 
my life, but now that it's a year later, i would like to celebrate him as 
one who lived as he chose, doing the best he could, and who made many
people happy...

once in a while you get shone the light, in the strangest of places if you
look at it right...  i'm glad we saw the light...  i'm not ready to make him
a prophet though... :^)  at least not in the classical sense...  :^) :^) 
he had some brilliant things to share, but he was also the epitome of
a "strange place"... :^)

			da ve
534.17Heaven help the fool...moi!!!WMOIS::DELROSARIOAll too clear, we're on our ownSat Jul 20 1996 15:0510
    
         Has a year already gone by since Jerry's passing??? You
    coulda' fooled me....He's alive and well inside my heart and soul
    and as long as I'm alive, so is He. He may be physically gone but
    spiritually, He's There...in each one of us and there's nothing we
    can do about it...God I miss Him....
    
    Allenhead
    
    
534.18SPECXN::BARNESMon Jul 22 1996 13:312
    "I don't know how to tell you this, but the guy's not dead".
                                                     Bob Weir
534.19Hamlet, Act I, Scene 2NETRIX::danDan HarringtonMon Jul 22 1996 17:178
This note got a synapse firing over the weekend...finally
figured it out:

	He was a man, take him for all in all,
	I shall not look upon his like again.

Dan
534.20TEPTAE::WESTERVELTMon Jul 22 1996 19:151
    hear hear
534.21SPECXN::BARNESMon Jul 22 1996 20:271
    amen
534.22ASDG::IDEMy mind's lost in a household fog.Thu Aug 01 1996 11:5617
    I've only skimmed the article, but it's already re-opened one old
    wound.  Brent's death was the beginning of the end of my fascination
    with the Dead.  I still liked them and caught a few more shows, but, for
    me, the scene took on a real dark tone after that.  It just wasn't fun
    anymore.
    
    Through some of the Dead's low points in the mid-80s, Brent was the one
    who always showed up to play.  I wasn't a fan of all his material, but
    it took balls to play a lullaby for your daughter in front of 90,000
    disinterested fans.
    
    I thought the band and the fans were very cavalier about his death. 
    For most folks, their first reaction was "who'll replace him?"  For me,
    it exposed an ugly underside of life in the Grateful Dead and it just
    wasn't the same after.
    
    Jamie
534.23from the man himself...JARETH::LARUau contraire...Thu Aug 08 1996 12:0510
534.24SPECXN::BARNESThu Aug 08 1996 13:107
    saw him say that last nite on TLC's History of RnR...some grate stuff
    there, lot's of the boyz and esp. Micky and Jerry talking. 
    
    the look on Jerry's face at The Isle of Wright when the crowd was
    shouting him down....
    
    rfb
534.25BINKLY::CEPARSKIMay Your Song Always Be SungThu Aug 08 1996 13:373
    "Being in the Grateful Dead is in no way a privilege."
    
    							J. Garcia
534.26Dark StarJARETH::LARUau contraire...Mon Aug 12 1996 14:2710
    I saw a clip on CNBC this weekend, with the guy who wrote
    "Dark Star; Oral History of JG."  (Is that where the RS stuff is
    from?).
    
    Anyway, I got the feeling that he was not putting JG down;  he said 
    that JG was a real artist, and somehow took his darkness and turned
    it to light; that he was able to express a lot of joy.  As per CNBC,
    the interviewer didn't seem to have a clue.
    
    /b
534.27SMURF::HAPGOODJava Java HEY!Mon Aug 12 1996 15:069
              <<< Note 534.26 by JARETH::LARU "au contraire..." >>>
                                 -< Dark Star >-

Ya,  I think the guy wrote/quoted the complete story in his book and RS 
chose a few dark spots for his later years to put in the magazine...
...gotta sell the rag....

bob

534.28STAR::EVANSFri Aug 16 1996 19:367
I noticed that the latest RS ran an interview with Hart and Hunter in the 
latest issue that put a much more positive spin on the Dead community.  
It also revealed (well, at least new to me) that Mickey had had a heroin 
addition at one time.  Jees, with Jerry and Brent that made three in the 
band with addictions.

534.29grimWMOIS::LEBLANCCAll good things in all good timeMon Aug 19 1996 11:284
    wow
    never thought mickey was that heavy into the drugs gig myself either
    
    goes to show you don't ever know
534.30SPECXN::BARNESMon Aug 19 1996 14:351
    face it...they all dabbled....in everything....
534.31JARETH::LARUau contraire...Mon Aug 19 1996 15:2118
534.32SPECXN::BARNESMon Aug 19 1996 16:118
    don't get  me wrong...i'm *more* than thankful! and yer note says what
    mine was supposed to....those that were appalled by the actions of the
    boyz shouldn't be, and those of us that knew...simply knew....
    
    
    BTW, did i thank U for that calendar?? %^)
    
    rfb_after a rough weekend
534.33E::EVANSMon Aug 26 1996 15:275
I doubt if I will ever be thankful that Jerry developed a heroin habit.

Jim

534.34a gift to us all...JARETH::LARUau contraire...Mon Aug 26 1996 15:483
    Just give thanks to and for Jerry Garcia...
    
    /b
534.35SPECXN::BARNESMon Sep 23 1996 22:1810