Your first contact with the Grateful dead music.

Hello people, well this threat is simple, tell us your story, how did you get into the grateful dead music, mine is a particular story.

I was like 12 years old, I have been a music freak since I was a little kid, my favorites bands by that time ( and still are) were Rush and Marillion, imagine a 12 years old kid listening to 2112 or script for a jesters tear, well, my friends were into Glam rock, mee... well deep into the symphonic rock masterpieces.

My cousin, who was also a music freak, came by my hometown with a nice cassette, it was a tape with music from Workingmans dead and Wake of the flood, and a special song, Fire on the mountain.

Well we were on the beach, and then he played the tape, well, the first song was the last one of side 2, it was fire on the mountain, what can i tell you, I have spend the whole week with that song in my head, i loved it, it was so different, so easy going, and at the same time so deep, since taht day, i got into the grateful dead Music, right now, almost 20 years later, My need for grateful dead music is still there, I became a dead head, getting everything that i could get.

Thanks cousin.

 

thats a great story. a wonderful way to be initiated into the Dead world.

my uncle for as long as i can remember was a Dead head. he was always playing them around me and Phish as well. they became part of the tapestry of my life. but at 14 my friend recomended me a disc and i went out and bought it. Skeletons in the Closet. its a best of as most of you know, but it has such a wonderful flow, it was put together so well. if you read on the the road, the album follows it very well. the action curve of the album follow the curve of the book. that got me thinking who put it together...etc. anyway, i always listened to that disc, then when i moved from singapore to california, i found an old tape in one of our boxes.....Blues for Allah!! it became the anthem of the summer. i went to visit my girlfriend who moved to new mexico from singapore and she fell in love with it. from there i got more and more shows....saw Phil and Bobby at Bonnaroo 2002, Dead NYE 03-04, Phil and Friends so many times and Ratdog....i love the music. i love the modern interpretations. its all so, so good.

 

Hahaha... nice story...

 

Well i guess im a fairly new deadhead. While growing up i always heard Truckin , casey jones, touch of grey, sugar magnolia on the radio. But it wasent until my best friend told me how she really loved them, thats how i became a dead head. And having archive avalible just makes it so much easier for me to be surrounded by their music. I love them

 

This is pretty cool.. While my old man was a over the road trucker.. He had a odd collection of 8 track tapes.. YES I still have some.. Well he had the weird shit they listened to.. Like Conway Twitty, Kenny Rogers.. And all the truckdriving songs that were in Smokie and the Bandit...

HE had shit like Jethro Tull, Queen, Uria Heap...

One day I overheard my mom talking about some of the 8 track tapes..
and said "the grateful dead grateful their not dead".. I was probable 12ys old..

I dont know how I heard it.. But I was 7 playing the panio. And 11 at the guitar.. My grandma made sure I didnt listen to country music..

Though she wanted me to be the next Liberace, Hey the glam in my childs eye wasnt any different in retrospect than the way I saw Queen and David Bowie..
Liberace was totally awsome and still is.. Anyway... While taking Piano lessons I passed in the guitar section in the store and this dude is jamming on a guitar.. I seen that and I said to my granny I want to do that... Well a big fight happened.. I used a cuse word at granny for the first time.. Dad beat my ass..Ended piano lessons...Yelling about piano...The next day or so the old man pushes open the door in my room with a Acoustic guitar.. Throws it on the bed.. Mumbles a bunch of shit... And honestly he just bitched that ID never learn like I had already did the piano...
It was a crappy acoustic,, Rusty srtings,, Was built for nylon strings.. So I got into classical.. Granny took me to store for guitar lessons...And bought a Strat for me in 1981..
Granny insisted I play ROCK and nothing but!!!!!!! Black Sabbbath,,Pink Floyd,,
While I loved the PARINOID album.. The clean tone of the strat went better with playing along with the Floyd.. And I collected every Floyd I could on vinyl.
It wasnt intill 1985 that a freind I played guitar with said 'Do I want to go see the Grateful Dead" I said who?? You know the Grateful Dead..
He didnt own any thing by the DEAD he was a HAIR band type of dude a few years older than I was.. Liked Judas Preist. Maiden.
Any ways.....
I go home and look for the 8 track tape and found it "Mars Hotel"...
Didnt really get into it at first but after my freind took me to the Show I was sort of taken.. They were a Rock n Roll band... Not country..

Ill tell you they are a meaningful part of my life... Since 1985.........What a long strange trip its been......

 

I was 14 years old.

Of course I had heard the truckins, touch of greys, casey jones, and what not. But this is the first time I had listend with some intent. This is the first time I appreciated...........fell in love.

First time I tripped as well. Giant tripping party. Pretty much the greatest night of my life.

A dude down the hall (boarding school dorm) had the 3/21/72 Acadamey of Music, NYC sbd.

I still listen to it to this day. I love the other one>wharf rat>sugar magnolia especially.

I was also introduced to Panic, DJ Mark Farina (san francisco sessions part 1), Olivia Tremor Control (excellent band), and Lorana Mckennit.

Incredible tripping party