Rob Skane: You? Me? The Dead? – An Xperience Column

You? Me? The Dead?

By Rob Skane.

 I never “got” the Grateful Dead. I just didn’t understand it. And I didn’t want to – at all. For quite some time and with no shame whatsoever, I was VERY happy listening to albums like “KISS Alive!” to focus on anything but the sound of a Gibson Les Paul, electric rocknroll guitar, plugged into a very loud and very big Marshall amplifier. The LBP-1 power booster (i.e., the secret weapon) was often involved, too. But, when certain tunes from the Dead jumped out of the FM radio – always tuned to WOUR, the Rock of Central New York – I was all in, but I didn’t know why. “Truckin’,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Playing In The Band,” “I Need A Miracle” – all the hits, I guess. It was somewhat “Top 40-ish” for the Dead. The sounds just resonated with me. I think it was Bob Weir’s singing; I always liked the timbre of his voice. He sang in a very gentle and friendly way, like he just loved the songs and “playing in the band.”

I felt sad when I was told of Bob Weir’s passing. It hurt me, and I didn’t know why – I still don’t. Maybe because another important musician left the proverbial building? I couldn’t tell you, kids. But, I do know this – in addition to having a very cool singing voice, Bob Weir was a stupendous rhythm guitar player. I have watched many bootleg videos since his passing, and seeing him play is mesmerizing. Jerry Garcia was fantastic, too. He’d be ripping leads and would never repeat the same lick during the course of a 3-hour gig or 3 days … I mean, they played a LONG time, EVERY time. Check out Barton Hall, 1977 – dedicate an afternoon to that one. It’s worth it.

My favorite aspect of Jerry Garcia’s playing was the fact that he didn’t make those stupid guitar player faces. He just connected to the music and let things rip. No posing, no frills; he probably changed strings every ten gigs for all I know. You can kinda get a vibe that he dug bluegrass music when you hear some of the things he played, especially on the “American Beauty” LP. I bet he listened to Django and Chuck Berry, too – and we all should. Although I never understood how they could have so much wattage onstage and still have, at least in my mind, such thin guitar sounds. Simmer down, I know that’s a me problem. But the sounds were pure and real. Just like the music. I mean, they cared about the music so much that in 1974 they were lugging around a 75-ton sound system. Read that again: SEVENTY FIVE TONS. The bootlegs from that timeframe sound absolutely beautiful, too.

The Dead’s music defined a time, a movement, and a counterculture. We all know about the Haight Ashbury stuff and the Ken Kesey stuff. There’s no need to beat that into the ground. But, if you’re not down, then you gotta go to school, kids. Google that sh**, yo!! The Dead brought people together and gave them joy for decades. They freely let fans bootleg their performances so people could swap shows for years and years to come. It was a brilliant idea because it encouraged a spirit of community. Thankfully, those bootlegs are still in circulation for all of us to enjoy, if we’re so inclined. The Dead wasn’t magic onstage every night, no band is – but on the nights they were … there was nothing like it. Here’s the deal: music can move you, and you’ll never know why – you don’t need to know. Just listen, and if it moves you, that’s an absolutely beautiful thing.